Hi All! Happy New Year!
The final interview we have for you all is with Bill Castello, who will be running the Age of Sigmar Narrative event. Age of Sigmar is still finding its feet in terms of determining what makes for a great narrative event. As one of the premier events, lets see what we can learn from the LVO!
1. Tell me a bit about you and the other organizers, what armies do you play? How long have you been playing and what are some past events you have organized?
I am Bill Castello, host of the Rolling Bad Podcast, and Narrative Event Organizer (NEO) for the LVO AoS Narrative Event. I play mostly AoS, but I do really enjoy a whole gamut of miniature games, mostly GW stuff, but I delve into Battletech and some others. I have been playing AoS since the day it dropped, but I never played WHFB. At that time, the rules were too crazy and I had my hands full playing 40K. I have organized local narrative events for the store, as well as the 2019 LVO AOS Narrative. The 2023 Event is actually part 2 of that story.
2. How do you structure your events? How do you try to involve players in the story?
In my view, organizing a Narrative event is a really important thing to be broad minded and open about. You have to keep in mind that this might be someone’s vacation for the year, or the only event they can make it to, and they spent hard earned money on it. I try to be as broad and flexible, allowing folks to bring armies they might not be able to include normally in a game of AoS. There is also the ’special’ hero that players get for free and will be built up over the course of the event using resources gained during their games. I feel like the NEO is responsible for creating a framework that the players can then immerse themselves in and then ‘go crazy’ and have fun, but not at the cost of anyone else’s fun. I try to keep the scenarios as open as possible so the players can explore more fun ways to play. It’s a lot of fun to watch the players take the theme of the event and mold it to their desires and help move the story along. I have always felt that if the NEO dictates the story and outcomes, then you may as well just be playing a big D&D game. The players must rule!
3. How do you develop your ideas for these events? Do you have the stories build on past events or start fresh every year? What is the latest narrative hook?
This year’s event builds on the feedback from the last event, where the caravans in the desert Oasis of Flame are still trying to vie for the power of the area and plan to use the player’s armies to amass fortunes, and help the players along as they go. Each of the four caravan masters has different goals, some not so well known, and they plan to ‘use’ the player’s armies to exert as much control as they can to become the top trader in the area and amass the biggest fortune. Cagey players will use their greed to their own advantage and make a name for their army as the undisputed force in the Oasis as well. The Caravan, and players within its loyal forces will then be crowned as the victors and then may just have to defend that title in the ages to come. But, it is always said, never trust a trade caravan in the mortal realms, for they have long knives and their motives are never plainly seen.
4. How are you adjusting the event to account for 3rd edition rules? Are you using any Path to Glory mechanics?
For this year’s event, we will not be using any battle packs for the games, it will be pure AoS. While not using Path to Glory, we will use the Anvil of Apotheosis rules for the player’s personal hero. I personally feel like the AoS 3.0 rules are very solid and quite playable by themselves, whereas the current battle pack just adds some mechanics and complexities that are not conducive to narrative play.
5. Are there any ways you try to balance armies or units?
Balance in a narrative event is much like unobtanium. You can strive for it, but you hardly ever reach it. To allow players to have fun armies that aren’t ’normal’ can lead to some wacky games. But since the narrative mindset is foremost, the players all know this and adapt. Some scenarios have hidden ‘gotchas’ that will penalize a super strong army in ways that are not always obvious. The idea here is for people to have the fun they want, not what is dictated by strict adherence to the published battlepacks.
6. Why should players attend this event compared to the many other options at the LVO?
Quite simply put, if you do not enjoy the competitive scene and want to flex your AoS bones, then the Narrative event is for you. I do enjoy competitive AoS, but it is a mindset that sometimes get’s in the way for real fun games, and the narrative event tries to fix that. The games need to be won, but not at the cost of another player’s fun and sometimes, losing a narrative game might be the better course?? So, that said, if you’re looking for games where lesser powered armies have a chance, and the strict rules can be ‘bent’ for the right amount of coin, the Narrative is for you.
Thanks Bill! I loved your point about how this event could be someone’s vacation. I think it can be easy to overlook how special these events are and how much weight they carry. Organizers have an important role that they should take seriously.
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