From Stormcast to Skaven: Introducing Age of Sigmar's Factions
Warhammer Age of Sigmar (AoS) is a rich and expansive fantasy universe created by Games Workshop. It replaced the earlier Warhammer Fantasy Battle and introduced a fresh, dynamic setting with a host of diverse and intriguing factions. Each faction, or "Grand Alliance" in Age of Sigmar offers unique lore, thematic elements, and playstyles, allowing players to immerse themselves in a world teeming with epic battles, powerful magic, and legendary heroes.
Grand Alliances
The factions in AoS are organized into four Grand Alliances: Order, Chaos, Death, and Destruction. Each Grand Alliance represents a broad coalition of races, civilizations, and deities, united by shared goals and philosophies.
Order
The Grand Alliance of Order is comprised of those who seek to impose stability, justice, and civilization in the Mortal Realms. Central to this alliance are the Stormcast Eternals, celestial warriors forged by the God-King Sigmar to combat the forces of Chaos. These heroes are clad in gleaming armor and wield divine weapons, often forming the backbone of Order armies.
Alongside the Stormcast Eternals are the Seraphon, ancient reptilian beings who descend from the stars, guided by the wizarding Slann Starmasters. The Seraphon fight to restore balance and eliminate the taint of Chaos. Other factions in Order include the noble Fyreslayers, dwarf-like warriors driven by a lust for battle and gold, and the ethereal Lumineth Realm-Lords, who harness the power of light and elemental forces.
The Cities of Sigmar faction is a resilient coalition of human, duardin (dwarves), and aelves (elves) who have united to reclaim and defend the mortal realms against the encroaching forces of chaos and destruction.
The Daughters of Khaine are fierce warriors known for their devotion to the bloodthirsty God Khaine and their mastery of dark sorcery.
A mysterious and reclusive faction of aelves dwelling in the ocean depths, the Idoneth Deepkin are known for their cavalry of sea monsters and raids on coastal settlements.
The Kharadron Overlords are a technologically advanced and industrious race of dwarves, renowned for their mastery of aether-powered airships and trading prowess.
Protecting the realms' enchanted forests, the forest spirits Sylvaneth embody the primal forces of nature with their ancient magic.
Chaos
Chaos is the embodiment of destruction, corruption, and unrestrained power. The Grand Alliance of Chaos is led by the four Ruinous Powers: Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle, and Slaanesh. Each of these dark gods has its own followers, united by their desire to spread their patron's influence across the realms.
Khorne's followers, the Bloodbound, revel in bloodshed and warfare, honoring their god with acts of violence. Tzeentch's disciples, the Arcanites and the daemonic hosts, are masters of sorcery and manipulation, seeking to alter reality to their whims. Nurgle's Rotbringers spread pestilence and decay, delighting in the cycle of life and death, while the devotees of Slaanesh, the Hedonites, pursue excess and sensory overload to honour their hidden god.
The Skaven are a madly paranoid and malevolent faction within the Chaos pantheon; a subterranean race of ratmen known for their cunning, treachery, spreading corruption and decay in their verminous wake.
Outcast to shadowy forests and mountains, the Beasts of Chaos are a savage and primal faction, embodying the wild and untamed forces of nature.
Descended from ordinary humans doing anything to survive the Age of Chaos, the barbaric Slaves to Darkness fight to claim back their rightful place as heirs to the Mortal Realms.
Death
The Grand Alliance of Death is ruled by Nagash, the Supreme Lord of the Undead. This faction seeks to impose the order of undeath upon the living, transforming the realms into a domain of eternal darkness. The Legions of Nagash are composed of skeletal warriors, spectral apparitions, and powerful necromancers who command the dead to rise and serve.
Among Death's ranks are the Nighthaunt, ghostly spirits filled with torment and malice, and the Ossiarch Bonereapers, skeletal constructs imbued with the souls of great warriors. The cannibalistic Flesh-eater Courts are cursed by a distortion of reality, believing themselves to be righteous and true. Also with a vampiric thirst for flesh and power over the mortal realms are the Soulblight Gravelords who command legions of undead minions.
Destruction
Destruction is characterized by primal fury, untamed wildness, and a desire to smash and conquer. The Orruk Warclans are at the forefront of this alliance, with brutish orcs reveling in constant battle and chaos. The Ironjawz and the Bonesplitterz represent different aspects of orruk culture, one focusing on brute strength and the other on savage cunning.
The Ogor Mawtribes are another key faction in Destruction, comprised of massive ogres driven by an insatiable hunger. These gluttonous giants are formidable on the battlefield, using their immense strength and ferocity to overpower their foes. Embodying trickery and malevolence, the Gloomspite Gitz are a faction of malicious goblins and monstrous arachnids, while the gargantuan Sons of Behemat bring unparalleled size and strength to the battlefield.
