The End Time Khaine

[Telen]

Just got the new end times book. Never seen such a big lore change before in fantasy.

Everything that could change pretty much has for the Elves. If your into the High or Dark Elves I wont spoil it but your in for one hell of a shock.

Also some of the hints about the upcoming race books look really interesting. Could Sigmar and Grimnir be returning from disappearing centuries ago for the final battle against Chaos?

Everything that was hinted at during the Age of Reckoning storyline in game is in motion now. The Rhana Dandra that players have read about for years of playing fantasy has begun. Ive been waiting for this for 20 years.

I wonder if WAR closing had anything to do with this huge setting change and if GW had this planned with the games license length coinciding with it.

[Aquilon]

Now I should ask you for:

1. Spoilers. More, more spoilers, please. More spoilers - more fun. Luv'em!
2. For lore noobs, that played rvr+tovl+tombs , but want to get better : what is overall summary of WAR's story(\line\s), please? And, also, enlighten me, please, what is the timeline of the game's events in the world's history?

[Luth]

Spoiler:

The End Times

[Valayare]

Having been a HE player in WHFB for the last 25 years (including a stint working for GW) and a massive fan of Bill King and Andy Chambers (who wrote the original background story), I was completely gutted to read the nonsensical cooperate trash that is ET: Khaine. The whole ET series is a money making board room contrivance to sell more product, ok it works for VC + TK and Chaos, but what's been done in ET: Khaine goes against and rewrites the script and heart of the old hobby just to sell more product. Sad times.

And yep, I'm told The ET's started out in concept back in and around 2012, so I guess it did have an impact on WAR; WAR was designed to be an alternative narrative to Storm of Chaos, which has now been reconned, so effectively WAR has also been redacted and in this new timeline essentially never happened.

Sad to say in the current management era GW is all about the shareholders and selling product no matter the cost. The decisions being made internally now a days are largely to the detriment of the heart and soul of the hobby and its veterans.

Anyway, let's see what 9th brings.

[Luth]

I think the following happened:

- GW found out, that every WH 40k race for itself generates more profit as the whole WH fantasy franchise
- so one management guy had a brilliant idea:
"Let's merge some of the fantasy races (that generate low profit) and scrap others completely (that generate no profit). To avoid massive shitstorms, we just mask this as a new "big event" / next step in the warhammer lore; this will also help us selling new rulebooks and miniatures = win."
- management guy is promoted to "staffmember of teh month"

But seriously i don't think there are many people left @GW, that are experienced in WH fantasy.
If you just take a look at the newer dwarf miniatures:



The armor looks like some ancient servo harness with some "eldar-like" runes on it. To complete the alien look, they obviously decided to design the faces in genestealer style.

[Valayare]

Sadly Luth, I think you're spot on there mate.

And re. Staff... Yep, you wouldn't believe the turnover they've had this year and seeing who the new ceo is, I can't see things getting much better :'(

Sad times, here's hoping someone realises the problems and does something.

[Valayare]

P.s. I feel your pain re. The dwarf sculpts too!

[Telen]

While they have really screwed over the Elves in alot of ways we've know since the early editions that as a race they were going to die out in the final battles. Still some of the events still dont make sense to me even after looking back and reading explanations again.

Spoiler:

I dont get the story of Malekith being the true heir Aenarion and incarnate of Asuryan. He isnt Tyrion is and the flame burnt him for that reason. They try to fudge it in the books but it is such a stretch. The fact he acts like an emo douche the whole time leading up to it didnt make it seem likely either.

Quite liked Tyrion being the Incarnate of Khaine though. Thats been on the cards since the beginning.

The end of Ulthuan was an interesting turn and Im wondering in what form the Elves will be in 9th. If its some sort of ascended race or just a carbon copy of the the Eldar craftworlds thats going to suck.

I think the death of Fantasy had alot to do with the stagnation of the storylines. While 40k has moved forward over the years as its been GW main product I think moving toward the End Times War is a smart move they have been in this standoff with Archeon pretty much looking completely incompitant since I used to play. Still merging the Dark Elves into the more popular High Elves was a lazy move instead of doing something more interesting with them. Still that they seem to be moving fantasy to paralell the 40k storyline is cheap.

Still considering how hard it was to get my hands on the new book as preorders kept selling out. They must be doing well with the new unified armys.

[Tesq]

I dont get the story of Malekith being the true heir Aenarion and incarnate of Asuryan. He isnt Tyrion is and the flame burnt him for that reason. They try to fudge it in the books but it is such a stretch. The fact he acts like an emo douche the whole time leading up to it didnt make it seem likely either.

is a common missunderstood , flame burnt too aenario but after his body comepletly destroyed he got a new body and resurrect with the same soul.
The old body MUST be destroyed to re-born as phoenix do...!

Malekit first attempt where pure it wasn't for claim power to itself , he truly tough that he had the right to be king, but while his body were in the process of the destruction... at the point of no return his faith wasn't strong enough as his father and he tried to survive .....................then his mother morathi saved him with that black armor
Malekit never end the ritual so we cannot tell if it would be rightfull successor or not plus, but well he kind fail as he wasn't enough ready to give totaly himself for the elf sake as Aenarion done in past

Spoiler:

The phoenix king elected after aenarion never done the ritual he just fake it so the only one that truly pass the ritual was malekith father, and as tyrion inherit the hunger of his father and so was able to weild the sword of khaine.
Aenarion sons should be able to pass the ritual, and with teclis lost somewhere in the warp, tyrion dead or alive but with him, the only choice is to let rule malekith. Considering that after his mother betrayal his mind should had return in a good shape, it's the only powerfull elf left , it's the son of aenarion, and 3 elf realm are alredy in ruin ; they no longer need internal fight, as all this situation would be avoided if those stupid prince let malekit power instead those two( one after another) fake phoenix king, you must be blind to not see that a avatr of a good it cant die for simple poison, it took a nurgle new disease to kill the previous everqueen, and it took a while.

[Valayare]

Spoiler:

I hear you Tel; it is just that, completely lame... What they've done is just to sell more product. They have basically fudged/rewritten the original King/Chambers story with no respect for previous WH history and also completely changed the personality of the characters. I personally hate it. Did you also catch the bit where they had a space marine appear!? ./shakes head. I know a lot of HE and some DE the players in the community and so far I've heard no HE players and also few DE players that like it. Killing off Tyrion, Eltharion, Finubar, (possibly) Teclis and Malus Darkblade isn't sitting well with fans. Also, what I hear (and agree with) is that few people like Gav Thorp as a writer, he's terrible and way too biased by his own likes, he's admitted that Malekith and Anar are his personal favourites (who he's written about before, with Caledor) and guess who are the survivors and big winners!

Bottom line, some stories are set up for certain dramatic twists (I guess like Game of Thrones) and others are fudged to try and make it dramatic... IMO the latter don't work. Again IMO Malekith makes a great, psychotic villan, why spoil, if I'd been writing it, that's what I'd have like to have played on.

Yeah the books were printed in very small amounts, local GW stores only got sent one or two. They are reprinting in softback :/

If you want the next one (apparently about Skaven) it's out in early Jan