Hi all,
As we look at the LVO narrative event’s we have the organizer of the AoS narrative on to discuss their event! Enjoy!
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?
Several years ago I was recruited to join the Animosity Campaigns Team. Behind the curtain, Animosity Campaigns is a creative collective of writers, artists, engineers and community moderators. Although the Animosity brand existed as a venue for Warhammer Fantasy Battle campaigns on the internet between 2004 and 2014, the Team Animosity considers this current incarnation to be the spiritual successor of the acclaimed Coalescence
Global Narrative events of 2017 and 2018, founded by Eric “Stonemonk” of the Mortal Realms podcast. In 2019, the Animosity brand relaunched for Age of Sigmar with “Animosity I – The Hallowed Necropolis”. Narrative Event Organizers ran events across the United States, including Virginia, Washington state, Pennsylvania, New York, and also in Thailand and the UK. During July- August of 2020, “Animosity II – The Burning Winter” proved itself to be a breakout campaign despite, or perhaps because of, the global pandemic. Taking place primarily in the Animosity Campaigns’ Discord server, many practices were re-instituted from Animosity’s forum-based, Warhammer Fantasy Battles past to allow for a socially distanced Warhammer experience on a worldwide scale. The 2021 and 2022 campaigns, “Animosity III – The Prime Dominion” and “Animosity IV – The Bleeding Wilds” proved just as popular, with over 150 players averaging more than 300 unique reports per turn. Today, the Animosity Campaigns Discord community boasts 500+ members with a four-person moderation team ensuring a positive, welcoming environment for Games Workshop hobbyists around the world. One of our proudest moments was being mentioned in WhiteDwarf #488.
As for myself, I am a Las Vegas local and a supporter of the Arcane Arts. Stay Tzeentchy my friends!!! There is an old saying in my gaming circles “How can you tell if a Warhammer player used to play WH:Fantasy Battles and for how long?” Well, don’t worry they will be sure to tell you without even having to ask them that question!!! I started playing back in 1996 and fell out of the hobby some time around 2010. When AoS was announced I was incredibly excited, shortly after launch I had moved to Virginia and was quickly adopted into the community. Pre-pandemic I had moved back to Las Vegas and have hosted over 20 narrative campaigns across the Las Vegas valley at Power 9 Games, WarRoom Games, and my very popular backyard for Naro’s PoolHammer.
2. How do you structure your events? How do you try to involve players in the story?
Animosity Campaigns’ global narrative events are immersive online and in-person experiences where players around the world participate by submitting PLAY, HOBBY, and WRITING reports. In addition to
Age of Sigmar, players may also submit games of Warcry and Soulbound. In our Discord, players can plan, plot, and scheme with other Coalition members in secrecy. When reports are ready for submission, players can simply submit them online or at in person events such as the LVO, ready to be entered into the game engine and written into the greater Unfolding Narrative.
This year we are taking this philosophy and bringing it to the LVO in conjunction with one of our online weekender campaigns. At the LVO 2024 we are hosting both the AOS and the Warcry narratives with the results of the Warcry event affecting the AOS narrative on the following day. Doug from 2+ TOugh Youtube CH made an amazing video about Animosity Campaigns a few years ago that does a really great job explaining what we are all about, check it out!
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?
Each campaign depicts an epic struggle between rival player teams called Coalitions. Each Coalition is led by a charismatic non-player character known as a Figurehead. These Figureheads are the catalysts of the conflict, whose ambitions have caused the player’s armies to muster for battle. The Coalitions and their Figureheads then fight across the campaign’s Setting, depicted by Animosity Campaigns’ own original, hand-drawn map and dotted with grand and mysterious Locations. All of this and more can be found on the Animosity Campaigns website, www.AnimosityCampaigns.com.
Traveling between campaign settings is a path that flows along the Urr River which loosely connects our stories across the Mortal Realms. The Ur-River has been said to be the most ancient of all watercourses in the Mortal Realms. Like an ouroboros, it is believed to have no headwaters and no outlet, instead crashing endlessly from one realm to the next, its course constantly shifting as it perpetually grinds a new path through the Realm
4. Are you using any Path to Glory rules or other special mechanics?
No Path to Glory this year. Instead we have developed our own battlepack based on matched play but with narrative restrictions and twists. The beginning of this event will use 1000 point armies. As the event progresses, army sizes will escalate from 1000 points, into 1250 points, 1500 points, 1750 points, and 2000 points. This event will take place over three days. Players will create two lists: A 1000 point list (Core Force) and a 1200 point pool (Sideboard). Each battlefield has unique Realm of War type conditions and there is also a weather hazards/boon table that affects all tables every 30-60 minutes.
Players MUST create a custom Anvil Hero to represent themselves of up to 16 Destiny Points. This Anvil hero does not need to be the General but if an Anvil hero is a General then it may be created up to 18 Destiny Points instead. There are even ways to earn more Destiny Points for Anvil Heroes during the course of the event, earning Destiny Points will also increase the points value of Anvil Heroes for list building purposes.
5. Are there any ways you try to balance armies or units?
We kept it simple, in the narrative we did not want to see Kragnos or other god-tier units on the board. With a few additional restrictions as well such as the following. Restrictions: “Unique” units with a points value of 200 points and larger will not be permitted. For Games 1 and 2, units over 350 points will not be permitted in lists. Sons of Behemat players will need to contact us prior to the event
6. Why should players attend this event compared to the many other options at the LVO?
Animosity campaigns is a unique gathering of passionate players and dedicated game masters. Players are not only battling against each other but they are also playing against the terrain and battlefield conditions managed by the event game master. Players are able to vote on narrative paths after each game. Winning a narrative path introduces new rules into the next round of games, always shifting the gameplay experience.
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