9th Age Escalation Campaign

[Wentwizard]

The Invasion of Chaos – A 9th Age Escalation Campaign

It is the Ninth Age of mortals and the world has begun to recover after being nearly annihilated. Empires were fractured and battered, but they persisted through the maelstrom that consumed the old world. As shattered realms emerge from the rubble, new factions and great houses come to the fore, each one eager to grasp the largest share of the recently devastated world. 

With new opportunity and prosperity, comes a desire for conquest and plunder from the legions of Chaos. The great eye of destruction once again turns its gaze upon the mortal realms and sees a new age of subjugation before it. The wind whispers of dark omens, and the mortal empires again look to the edges of their world, afraid of what they may find. Intent on toppling the weak forces of Order, the taint of Chaos creeps into the minds and souls of the unrighteous, binding otherwise warring factions together for a greater cause. The followers of Chaos are mustering their hordes to descend from the wilderness and extinguish the fragile hopes of those trying to stem the evil tide. In short order the realm will be thrown back into war. The forces of good must band together to stop this new encroachment. The banners are mustered, and the rallies are cried. Will you heed their call?

What: The Invasion of Chaos will be a 4-5 game escalation campaign set in the 9th Age World. Players will be split into two teams: Order and Chaos depending on the factions of all the players. The campaign will be played over a series of several weeks with one scenario occurring at a time. Battles will start small (2,000 points) and get larger as the campaign progresses (up to 4,500 points). At the start of each scenario, players will be matched up on a 1v1 basis between Order and Chaos, and the outcomes of each battle will be tallied up to determine the following scenario. Bonus points will also be given to reward hobbying.

When: Early January

Where: We will host 1 or 2 nights at WOW (717 SE Main Street in Portland) for people to meet up and have battles concurrently. This is a great way to meet other people in the campaign and to have a space where we can be assured enough room to battle. Regular fees will apply for members/non-members. Interested players, please fill out the participation survey here: https://forms.gle/uiADYooHzoy5jPuY6. For those who cannot make the meetups, you will need to coordinate with your opponent to find another time to have your battle. If the battle cannot occur due to scheduling conflicts, then the battle will result in a draw, or a minor loss / victory depending on the circumstances.

Summon your forces! Break out your paints! To battle! Feel free to message me or @TheBeninator with questions

Campaign Info: https://sites.google.com/view/calapooia-campaigns/home

 

[TheBeninator]

Huzzah!

@Andrewgeddon This is the perfect chance to break in your new forces of Good (SE)

@valourunbound What an opportunity to start a VC army!

@OreoGolem We need Orcs!

@Jason The Dwarven Holds would rely on you to be represented in this struggle

@splinx Will the dark elves heed the call of their chaos masters?

@Exile No better way to ease into a new ruleset

All others are highly encouraged to join! My Lizards and Dwarves are up borrowing if you don't have an army to play with.

[Jason]

The dwarfs have retreated into the deeps...but the men of the Empire will stand against the forces of darkness!!

[splinx]

If anyone is interested in the Undead I have all three AOS (nasty AOS) starter boxes going cheap! And thanks @TheBeninator If I can get the infernal dwarves going over Christmas then that's a possibility but otherwise I can bring my Empire, O&G or Dark Elves to play. :) Let me know when the dates are in Jan and I will get clearance from the wife away from baby! What points will we be starting at? 

[TheBeninator]

9 minutes ago, splinx said:

If anyone is interested in the Undead I have all three AOS (nasty AOS) starter boxes going cheap! 

@valourunbound

Quote

"What an opportunity to start a VC army!"

Points will start at 2k, and will increase by roughly 500-750 each time. I think the whole campaign is 5 or so matches, the scenarios and conditions of which depend on the results of players for Order/Chaos.

You should fill out the poll! Obviously you will not be held to these days, its just to figure out where we should generally try to schedule.

https://forms.gle/uiADYooHzoy5jPuY6

[valourunbound]

Which starter boxes are you referring to, @splinx? Looking at the current mess of a website that GW has, I can't be sure what you have.

[splinx]

All three of the legions of nagash starter box sets are what I have along with a couple extra boxes of skeletons. So: 

start collecting malignants

start collecting flesh eater courts

start collecting skeleton horde. 
 

X2 of skeleton box. 
 

hope that helps! 

[BenKerr]

Let me know when this starts. I am also intrigued, have a couple different armies i could bring. Would be fun playing at a smaller point value

[BenKerr]

Also @splinx let me know how much you want for those starter boxes if John isnt interested

[Wentwizard]

Glad to hear you're excited @BenKerr! Here's a link to the survey to get your email and the army you plan to play with: https://forms.gle/uiADYooHzoy5jPuY6

[Guest]

Ooo. Have to figure out if I can get it up an running by then, but tentatively signing up. Not sure if I can meet the upper end point requirement, but we'll see. I'm very green to this game, and this looks like a good starting point.

I'll have my Siege Daemons of Khorne.

[Wentwizard]

Greetings campaigners!

Last chance to sign up for this campaign is Friday December 13th (https://forms.gle/uiADYooHzoy5jPuY6). Shortly afterwards I'll send out an email letting folks know whether they will be fighting on the side of Good or Evil, and we can set a date for the first battle in early January.

There will be a few special rules for this campaign to help create a sense of continuity from one battle to the next. Each army will be led by a general and their (in)famous retinue of chosen warriors, who will gain experience and new abilities as the campaign progresses. Detailed description of the rules to follow, but for now start thinking of ways to make your general stand out and which unit of Core troops might make the best choice for your general's favored retinue!

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Wentwizard said:

There will be a few special rules for this campaign to help create a sense of continuity from one battle to the next. Each army will be led by a general and their (in)famous retinue of chosen warriors, who will gain experience and new abilities as the campaign progresses. Detailed description of the rules to follow, but for now start thinking of ways to make your general stand out and which unit of Core troops might make the best choice for your general's favored retinue!

Does the Retinue really have to be a Core choice? And for that matter, what if your General can't join units? And any sort option to have the General become a higher price model later in the game.

Can't even go Wrath at 2k.

[TheBeninator]

12 hours ago, paxmiles said:

Does the Retinue really have to be a Core choice? And for that matter, what if your General can't join units? And any sort option to have the General become a higher price model later in the game.

Can't even go Wrath at 2k.

I dont speak for any of the final decisions for the campaign but I do have some insights.

1) Yes, the retinue would be a core choice since it will be "upgraded" over the campaign. This is to elevate a core choice into something great, not an already great unit into something neigh unstoppable. 

2) Yes, you miss out on being officially labeled wrath due to the lack of a GD for DL. The solution is to use the ol' imagination.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, TheBeninator said:

I dont speak for any of the final decisions for the campaign but I do have some insights.

1) Yes, the retinue would be a core choice since it will be "upgraded" over the campaign. This is to elevate a core choice into something great, not an already great unit into something neigh unstoppable. 

2) Yes, you miss out on being officially labeled wrath due to the lack of a GD for DL. The solution is to use the ol' imagination.

Oh, I get that. The issue I see is that the General determines eligibility of the manifestations for the Harbingers. So if we start with no access to a given, Sin (gods?), then we can't get it later if we are stuck with the same General for every game, doesn't matter how high it escalates. It's like if the Escalation league banned O&G from taking Forest Goblin for their leaders.

Any chance we could just have a required reoccurring Hero-Character, rather than requiring them to be the general?

And for the record, the issue isn't that we don't have enough points in characters for the Scourge, it's that the Scourge also counts as Aves and we can't take that many points in Aves at 2k.

[Guest]

Anyway, it's not a huge issue, just annoying. And the issue is more with the Army Book not scaling down well than it is with this event.

Still not even sure if I'll have the army up and running. And I own other General options. Frankly, the Scourge isn't even the strongest General option, especially if the General has potential to gain further buffs during the campaign.

[Guest]

Oh, with general and core unit selection, do they have the option to take further upgrades/models DURING the campaign, or is whatever we start with the fixed profile for the entire campagin?

 

Or rather, should I purposely take the unit I'd bring as core in 4.5k to the 2k game because I won't be able to change it later? Likewise, should I take the upgrades for my General that I'd want at 4.5k in the first 2k game?

[Wentwizard]

41 minutes ago, paxmiles said:

Oh, with general and core unit selection, do they have the option to take further upgrades/models DURING the campaign, or is whatever we start with the fixed profile for the entire campagin?

 

Or rather, should I purposely take the unit I'd bring as core in 4.5k to the 2k game because I won't be able to change it later? Likewise, should I take the upgrades for my General that I'd want at 4.5k in the first 2k game?

Glad to hear you’re getting excited about the campaign! Generals and their retinue can upgrade equipment, banners, unit size, etc. over the course of the campaign. The main idea is to connect the narrative from one battle to the next. We can talk over whether your army’s leader also needs to be the “army general”. I’m inclined to say yes, but I realize it might favor some armies over others, so I’m open to being persuaded if someone is going to be really hurt by that rule. At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that this is mostly about the storytelling aspect of the game. 

[Guest]

Well, "really being hurt" is an overreaction.

And that Scourge really does have no business being in a 2k game.

It's just that "general" selection has a very large impact on daemon legion armies. While some armies select subfactions, Daemonic Legions determine it via their general.

And most of the Daemonic Legion generals have a very high point cost, which isn't really friendly for a 2k game.

My backup General is a Miser of Sululag, who is about 800pts, but is fine for 2k due to not counting towards Aves like the Scourge does (who is also about 800pts).

That said, neither are really 2k friendly. I'd much rather my reoccurring character be a 200-300pt Harbinger, but the army takes a hit if the Harbinger is the general.

 

[TheBeninator]

I believe at the 2k level everyone will be restricted to "hero" type generals. Meaning no high princes on dragons, demon lords, dwarf kings, dukes on pegasus, ect. 

Also, I believe casters will be kept at adepts.

[Guest]

5 hours ago, TheBeninator said:

I believe at the 2k level everyone will be restricted to "hero" type generals. Meaning no high princes on dragons, demon lords, dwarf kings, dukes on pegasus, ect. 

Also, I believe casters will be kept at adepts.

Another houserule? I get the distinct feeling that Daemonic Legions are a faction you've not explored much.

Rulebook wise, the modifications for a 2k game are minimum army size is only 3 units, table space is 3'x4', and 0-X items are halved (rounding up).

Both the Daemonic Legions and the Kingdom of Equitaine have the same character limits: 25% of points. At 2k, that's 800pts. There's no rulebook difference between heros and lords, and it's not a component of my faction.

[TheBeninator]

Hero is an old term, it more or less boils down to. if it can be a bsb, or is cheaper than your bsb option, it’s probably a hero. With some exceptions

as wentwisard said, it’s about a story and having some fun battles, don’t worry too much about the specifics. If you aren’t sure, wentwisard will make an exception for you. You already agree that a Scourge has no place in a 2k game, so your heart is in the right place.

deceivers and harbingers look like the appropriate character candidates for DL, but feel free to make a case for something different. 

Despite the rule book having suggestions for 2k games, the game is not balanced or priced with scaling in mind, therefore the scale will favor certain factions over others. Hopefully with the changing point limits each scenario, it will balance that favoring out.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, TheBeninator said:

Hero is an old term, it more or less boils down to. if it can be a bsb, or is cheaper than your bsb option, it’s probably a hero. With some exceptions

as wentwisard said, it’s about a story and having some fun battles, don’t worry too much about the specifics. If you aren’t sure, wentwisard will make an exception for you. You already agree that a Scourge has no place in a 2k game, so your heart is in the right place.

deceivers and harbingers look like the appropriate character candidates for DL, but feel free to make a case for something different. 

Despite the rule book having suggestions for 2k games, the game is not balanced or priced with scaling in mind, therefore the scale will favor certain factions over others. Hopefully with the changing point limits each scenario, it will balance that favoring out.

For starters, your comments really feel like a witch hunt against my specific army - which is not fun. I'm very close to dropping out, as I don't feel welcome in your "fun" escalation league which seems stacked against DL, while greatly favoring armies like the Kingdom of Equitaine.

Beyond that, sounds like you want to start at 1k. At 1k, I'd only have 400pts for characters, which would limit me to a Deceiver or a Harbinger.

 

[Ish]

It's an Escalation Campaign, Pax. The whole point of escalation campaigns isn't to be competitive. The goal is too learn the game, offer a bit of an incentive to finally slap some paint on that model that's been sitting on the table for months, and grow into a full army. You'll get your 4,500 in the final week(s), same as everybody else.

 

[Guest]

On 10/30/2019 at 11:36 AM, Wentwizard said:

What: The Invasion of Chaos will be a 4-5 game escalation campaign set in the 9th Age World. Players will be split into two teams: Order and Chaos depending on the factions of all the players. The campaign will be played over a series of several weeks with one scenario occurring at a time. Battles will start small (2,000 points) and get larger as the campaign progresses (up to 4,500 points). At the start of each scenario, players will be matched up on a 1v1 basis between Order and Chaos, and the outcomes of each battle will be tallied up to determine the following scenario. Bonus points will also be given to reward hobbying.

^That's what I'd be interested in playing. That sounds fun.

On 11/17/2019 at 9:02 PM, Wentwizard said:

There will be a few special rules for this campaign to help create a sense of continuity from one battle to the next. Each army will be led by a general and their (in)famous retinue of chosen warriors, who will gain experience and new abilities as the campaign progresses. Detailed description of the rules to follow, but for now start thinking of ways to make your general stand out and which unit of Core troops might make the best choice for your general's favored retinue!

10 hours ago, TheBeninator said:

I believe at the 2k level everyone will be restricted to "hero" type generals. Meaning no high princes on dragons, demon lords, dwarf kings, dukes on pegasus, ect. 

Also, I believe casters will be kept at adepts.

2 hours ago, TheBeninator said:

deceivers and harbingers look like the appropriate character candidates for DL, but feel free to make a case for something different.

^this doesn't sound as fun, and keeps sounding less fun with each additional "surprise" modification. I don't really want to play the army that you pick, I want to play my own army. I don't feel that I should have to "make a case" to play my army the way I want. If that's really unreasonable, then count me out.