With the Beastmen slightly waylaid along the beast-paths, the Wood Elves have sprung their trap early, becoming the eighth core faction to arrive for Warhammer: The Old World. Forest Spirits JTY and Danny have been awakened from their slumber to answer a few questions on the upcoming release.
JTY: The tale we tell in Arcane Journal: Wood Elves follows directly on from the Beastman Journal that will be coming out any minute now.
As we’ve alluded to in the past, there’s something afoot with the Beastmen at present in the Old World, with both the rebirth of Morghur the Shadowgave, and the rising power of Chaos fueling their fury. The Wood Elves are aware and they aren’t very keen on this turn of events, so while much of mankind’s attention is upon the big campaign against Frydaal the Chainmaker and her Chaos Marauders going on in Westerland, the Beastmen have migrated north into the Laurelorn Forest.
This hallowed forest doesn’t traditionally have many Beastmen in it, as Wood Elves live there. This is where this Arcane Journal picks up – Orion has awoken from his winter slumber and called the Wild Hunt, heading directly to the Laurelorn in an attempt to defeat Kralmaw, the Prophet of Ruin, and this misbegotten infant who could go on to unite the Brayherds.
Danny: The scenario features Orion hunting down Kralmaw. And in his wrath, the King in the Woods has allowed himself to be drawn into a trap. He’s travelling paths long forgotten along the World Roots, and he’s a long way from home and underprepared for what his quarry has planned.
JTY: The World Roots – which are possibly the remnants of the Geomantic Web created by the Old Ones – are otherworldly pathways along which Wood Elves can move from forest to forest, which also allow them to be more active in the Old World than they otherwise might!
Danny: The Elves of Laurelorn have spent the winter desperately trying to hold the Beastmen at bay. While the spirits of the forest slumbered through the cold and Athel Loren focused on protecting its own borders, they were left to defend themselves – but with the onset of spring, the wrath of Athel Loren comes to the aid of their northern kin.
However, as Orion and the Wild Hunt have pressed deeper into the woods, they have become enveloped by a great Brayherd. Their objective is to slay Kralmaw and vanish into the depths of the forest before the net closes behind them.
The scenario is for armies of 2,500 points vs 1,500 with 2,000 points in reinforcements, so it definitely captures the urgency felt by the Wood Elves as they battle to secure a swift victory. If they delay, they’ll quickly become outnumbered, but speed and fury are the key tactics of Orion and his Wild Hunt!
JTY: This is an instance in which the good guys might struggle for supremacy, where the forces of Chaos can come out victorious if the Wood Elves don’t secure victory quickly. The story certainly ties into the ongoing war in Westerland – after all, Laurelorn Forest is right there – and it leads into the imminent arrival of Cathay.
Danny: There is a narrative weaved throughout the Arcane Journals. Some are more critical to the wider plot than others, but this is a series of connected events which transpire over a short span of years. There are the beginnings of a Waaagh! brewing in Bretonnia at the same time as the northern reaches of the Empire are invaded, and while that’s going on, Settra is pushing through the Border Princes. Could it all be connected?
JTY: We’ve set up the big beats of the stories we plan to tell across the first nine Arcane Journals. There have been a couple of outliers: the Dwarf one tells a standalone story, as an example of what the Dwarves are up to at this era, while the Empire book shows us how different the Empire is.
As Danny says, Settra’s invasion to the far south east is a big deal, as is the Chainmaker’s fiefdom in the north west. It nicely sets up the arrival of warriors from Grand Cathay – which is not a total surprise to the residents of the Old World, as there are often ships from Grand Cathay docked in Marienberg, for instance.
Danny: The unusual part is the fact that they’re about to become warships filled with warriors, rather than merchant vessels carrying traders.
JTY: We’ll find out more about all that in due course, both in Arcane Journal: Grand Cathay and in the sequence of books that follow it. We will continue to jump around the Old World, telling the stories of Westerland and elsewhere, moving back and forward over a period of around a decade. Suffice to say, there’s plenty more to come.
This book goes deeply into Wood Elf lore. There’s a lot to understand. Why are they so different from their sea-faring Elven kin that dwell in distant Ulthuan? Why do they live in a forest on the mainland? How do their gods walk among them?
They’re definitely good guys. You can talk about grey areas all you like – it’s true that they’re cruel and capricious, and that they only care about protecting their forest realm – but the bottom line is that they are enemies of Chaos, and of destructive forces like Orcs and Goblins.
Danny: They are very similar to how you might remember them from Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Orion is infamously cross a lot of the time, and he has woken up in a real mood. With the return of the Shadowgave and the destruction wrought in the winter when he’s been unable to defend his realm, he’s particularly incensed. Rather than waiting for midsummer – the height of his power – he has sounded the horn and raced off with the wild hunt right at the break of spring. Such impetuosity could be considered a folly.
Orion’s Wild Hunt is the first of the two Armies of Infamy. You can call a Wild Hunt without Orion – but why would you want to? The idea is to nominate a prized target as an offering to Kurnous, earning extra Victory Points for killing it. This is a very different Wood Elf army: you don’t sit at the back of the board firing arrows – you pack in the cavalry, run at the enemy and bring them down!
JTY: It still has that Wood Elf fragility of course. If you can pin them and hit back, they may struggle to win a war of attrition.
The Host of Talsyn is the opposite of the Wild Hunt. This Army of Infamy represents the Noble Kindreds, and it’s led by Araloth, a character introduced in plastic during the final edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle. He was around during the era of Karl Franz, but elves are very long-lived and he has been a great hero during this time period – killing Morghur not 50 years previously.
Other elven heroes, such as the Sisters of Twilight and Ariel are about too, but the focus isn’t on them right now – in the same way that Tyrion and Teclis are busy but out of frame for the High Elves. We are bringing back the Wood Elf Noble on Forest Dragon however, and it is still in metal.
The Host is more of an infantry army, focused on a less mobile core: Glade Guard, Glade Riders, Eternal Guard, and the Nobles who lead them. It’s not dissimilar to a High Elf army, in fact. It also gets a handful of new, stronger infantry units and heroes to expand upon the idea of a more regimented force.
Danny: Araloth is still the same fearless hero, with the same bird who pecks your eyes out.
JTY: When creating Armies of Infamy, there’s always more to consider, of course. The woodland spirits aspect is definitely still on our minds, and a Wardancer Wildtroupe would make for a brilliant list too. Perhaps in a future Arcane Journal…
We wanted to give each of the nine core factions a Grand Army, bringing back classic Warhammer armies and miniatures, and to accompany each with a couple of Armies of Infamy, permitting them to fight in different ways. As we move forward, we will continue working on this model. After Grand Cathay we have another interesting Arcane Journal planned, which [REDACTED]
Danny: The Asrai also gain a new Lore of Magic, new magic items and rules for Alter and Noble Kindreds.
JTY: The Lore of the Wilds explores the forest and how they interact with it – as does the forthcoming Beastman Lore. The elves get a lot of movement and subterfuge spells, while the Beastmen focus more on fear and corruption.
The Alter Kindreds and Noble Kindreds are upgrades you can give to your characters, a bit like Chaos mutations but with fewer tentacles, or Bretonnian vows without the kneeling. It demonstrates your characters’ allegiance, showing where in the great forest they belong – they’re things that speak to the character of the clans.
Danny: For most people these will be invisible upgrades, but they’re opportunities for those who want to spend some time kitbashing and experimenting with paint schemes. Whenever we walk around a tournament, we see armies which have been lovingly modelled to capture these little details – and it’s really cool to see people who are so invested in their army.
JTY: We’ve brought the beast packs back – which are pretty venerable miniatures, dating back to 1987. When the project began, Rob went looking for them – I think he’s turned the mould room manager grey! They’re here to provide a different flavour of Wood Elf, something that got forgotten about as the editions went on. You get everything in one box, but the rules let you theme the units – and players who want to field such classic miniatures won’t be disappointed by their profiles.
Thanks guys. We’ll return to talk about the Beastmen shortly. Big things are afoot in the Old World!
