In May, Games Workshop announced a new edition of Warhammer: Age of Sigmar.
Cubicle 7, the publishers of Age of Sigmar: Soulbound, the RPG for the setting, had no comment at the time. Now they do.
Era of the Beast
Scheduled for a Q1 PDF release next year and a Q3 in-store release, Era of the Beast will offer players and GMs the chance to bring their Soulbound games up to the “present” Age of Sigmar universe timeline.
The Soulbound corebook allows players to adventure in the tumultuous time following the Necroquake. Era of the Beast offers a chance for players and GMs to follow the ongoing narrative of the Age of Sigmar universe, and brings the timeline forward to the current period, which is known as the Era of the Beast. This book recounts the events of the Broken Realms saga and updates the lore of major cities and the status of the gods of the realms. Era of the Beast details the lands of Thondia in Ghur, complete with monstrous creatures to face. The book also includes a number of new Archetpyes, such as the Scinari Loreseeker of the Lumineth, the Melusai of the Daughters of Khaine, and the Knight-Vexillor of the Stormcast Eternals.
The Necroquake was a powerful blast of death magic that triggered the rise of undead armies as a faction in the Chaos versus heroes of Sigmar fantasy warscape.
Games Workshop releases new editions of their wargames to keep them fresh and exciting for players, make rule adjustments for balance and sell them, introduce plot twists to allow for new armies, sell them, and revigorate interest. It’s a risk to do this too often or too infrequently.
The new edition Age of Sigmar makes enough changes to the world that many tabletop RPGers will see new character options and enemies. It’s also the first significant plot change that Cubicle 7 has dealt with during its tenure as Games Workshop’s RPG publisher partner.
Ulfenkarn: City at the Edge of Death
The Soulbound Era of the Beast supplement isn’t the only planned expansion in Cubicle 7’s Soulbound plans.
Slated for a Q1 2022 PDF release, hitting stores before Era of the Beast in Q2, there’s Ulfenkarn: City at the Edge of Death.
Ulfenkarn: City at the Edge of Death is an in-depth guide to the cursed city of Ulfenkarn. It details the history of the city, and offers GMs advice on playing in different periods of the city’s bleak past. This book offers dozens of locations and adventure hooks, advice for GMs on running horror-themed campaigns, and a horde of new horrific creatures you’ll encounter in Ulfenkarn. As well as that, the book includes new Archetypes built using the Grim and Perilous rules from Soulbound, and gives players the chance to take on roles such as a Vampire Hunter, a Doomslayer of Sigmar, an Aelven Exile, and a Guard Captain of Ulfenkarn.
Cubicle 7 releases PDFs via their own store, DriveThruRPG and is now engaged with virtual tabletop platforms. The fantasy Warhammer RPG launched on Foundry last year.
The Dawnbringer Crusades
The Dawnbringer Crusades may arrive in stores roughly at the same time as Era of the Beast, although the PDF release is targetting Q2.
The Dawnbringer Crusades is a guide to building your own settlement in the Mortal Realms. The book dives into the lore and history of the Dawnbringer Crusades, and offers GMs and players advice on building their own fledgling settlements. Where is your settlement? What resources are available? What threats does it face? The Dawnbringer Crusades also includes two sample settlements to use in your own campaign.
Excelsis: City of Secrets
Towards the end of 2022, although perhaps earlier in digital, the city guide for Excelsis is expected out.
The great port city of Excelsis is a bastion of Order in the wild and savage realm of Ghur. It is constantly lashed by rain and wracked by vicious lightning storms that sweep in from the seas, and is under near-constant assault from rampaging Orruks. It is a dangerous place to live, one that yearns for heroes.
We don’t know which Age of Sigmar (Ages of Sigmar?) era Excelsis and the other expansions will cover. Both? Does that mean some of the book is redundant for players not gaming in both? A likely challenge for Cubicle 7.
Ruins of the Past
Potentially as far away as 2023 for physical delivery, the RPG publisher has confirmed Ruins of the Past and city guides and campaigns for years to come.
Ruins of the Past explores ancient and lost locations in the Mortal Realms. This book provides the GM with a variety of adventure locations to use in their game, including realmgates, Stormvaults, hidden tombs, lost citadels, ancient abandoned cities, and more.
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