The Adherents of Starlight: An unofficial AoS faction - Feedback needed

Inspired in part by @Lord Agragax of Lunaxoatl and by my own ideas that have been forming for a while, I have decided to share my own custom AoS faction that I have come up with! The idea stems from various different places. First of all, apart from the Daughters of Khaine (who are clearly designed for a different gender than that they depict), Age of Sigmar doesn’t really seem to have a proper all female faction. 40k now has the Sisters of Battle, and there are plenty of all male and mixed factions, but Age of Sigmar is still lacking a female faction that, y’know, actually wears clothes. If nothing else, it would probably fill a gap in the market for GW. Secondly, stemming more back from the days when the Seraphon were actually Daemons but still relevant now, was the fact that all the other ‘Daemon’ factions had mortal followers, but the Daemons of Order did not, and at the time were also looking for a buff to make them up to scratch again. Another factor was the fact that the whole tribal thing seemed largely unrepresented in AoS - Slaves to Darkness has a bit of it, but in more of a barbarian aesthetic rather than the hunter-gatherer stereotype. Finally, I thought it could give AoS its own interesting take on Amazons.

So, inspired by some of the lore in the Seraphon Battletomes and the ideas above, we have the Adherents of Starlight (if someone comes up with a better name I am willing to change)! These are the various tribes of the Mortal Realms who, having seen the Seraphon in action fighting against their oppressors, have begun to worship them and fight battles in their name. They travel across the Realms, fighting Chaos and other malign forces and hoping to come across the subjects of their worship. While high priestesses lead them in worshiping the ‘star-beings’, others study the locations and actions the Seraphon have taken in order to best work out how best to aid them in their battles, and where they can find them next. Lead by skilled warriors, they then traverse the realms, launching lightning fast hit and run attacks on the enemies of Order. The majority of the tribes fight on foot, but those deemed worthy can often be seen riding the sacred beasts that are left by the mysterious star warriors. The Slann themselves for the most part are puzzled as to the strange tribes who keep leaving effigies in their likeness and joining them in battle, but more often than not their help is greatly appreciated, and many have even been known to intervene when a battle is unlikely to go in the way of the tribes or help is otherwise needed.

Below I will attempt to work on a more expanded lore for the faction, as well as the various rules and Warscrolls that would come if they received a Battletome. In doing this, all and any help would be massively appreciated! However, there are a couple of things worth noting: I am a very inexperienced gamer, and as such my grasp on what would be overpowered/underpowered isn’t very good. My coming up with rules and things is also based more on what seems new, interesting and different, or what fits the lore, rather than what would fit into the actual gaming scene. The vast majority of you are in all likelihood far better at working out this stuff than me, so if anything seems silly or over/underpowered then don’t hesitate to let me know, likewise if you have any other ideas you like the sound of! Also, any suggestions for unit and ability names would be much appreciated!

And now, I will share with you the various ideas for abilities, units and other parts of the faction I have had so far!

 

Lore:

 

Allegiance Abilities:

Battle Traits:

[Battle Trait 1]: Adherents of Starlight units may retreat without suffering the usual penalties for doing so, provided they end the move 3” away from another enemy unit. (Penalties being that unit doesn’t have to end it further away from enemy units, can run and can still shoot in the shooting phase, although it still suffers from the obvious penalties of shooting in combat.)

[Battle Trait 2]: If in the preceding movement phase an Adherent of Starlight unit ran and moved further than their movement characteristic, that unit may gain +1 to wound with all its weapons for the for the rest of the turn. (ie a unit must run and actually move the additional distance gained rather than just doing it for the sake of it.)

Divine Intervention: It is not uncommon for the Adherents of Starlight to enter battle alongside the very beings they worship, and they fight all the harder in their presence.
1 in 4 Adherents of Starlight units may instead be Seraphon units, and said units gain the benefit of the Seraphon Battle Traits instead. In addition, when within 6” of any Seraphon units, Adherents of Starlight units gain +2 bravery.

Command Traits:

Traits of the Priestess - Astral Sisterhood only:
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:

Traits of the Warrior - Primeval Sisterhood only:
1: Impossible Swiftness: This warrior is blindingly fast, able to traverse the battle in an instant.
When running with this general, you may always treat the roll for how far you can move as a 6.
2: Cunning Strategist: A veteran of many conflicts, this general has learnt to read the ebb and flow of a battle like a map.
If this general is part of your army and on the battlefield at the start of your hero phase, roll a dice. On a 4+, you receive 1 extra command point.
3:
4:
5:
6:

Artefacts of Power:

Artefacts of the Star-gods:
1: Oracular Scroll: Containing the carefully transcribed writings of what Star-god plaques have been recovered, the writings of the scroll are eerily accurate when interpreted correctly.
If the bearer is part of your army and on the battlefield at the start of your hero phase, roll a dice. On a 4+, you receive 1 extra command point.
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:

Astral Blessed Weapons:
1: Celestite Warblade: This powerful blade has been recovered from the site of a Star-god battle, and still contains a measure of its bearer’s cold ferocity.
Pick one of the bearer’s weapons. When attacking with that weapon, a hit roll of 6 generates two hits instead of one. Make a wound and save roll for each hit.
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:

Prayers:

1. Rite of Seeing: The Priestess casts her mind up to the cosmos to catch a glimpse of the strands of fate and where they lead.
At the start of your hero phase, friendly models that know this prayer can chant it. If they do, make a prayer roll by rolling a dice. On a 3+ the prayer is successful. If the prayer is successful, gain 1 command point. Once this prayer has been successfully chanted, it cannot be chanted again that hero phase.

2. Rite of Swiftness:
At the start of your hero phase, friendly models that know this prayer can chant it. If they do, make a prayer roll by rolling a dice. On a 3+ the prayer is successful. If the prayer is successful, pick 1 Adherents of Starlight unit wholly within 18” of the model chanting this prayer. Until the start of your next hero phase, add 3” to any run rolls the unit makes. Once this prayer has been chanted, it cannot be chanted again that hero phase.

3. Rite of Healing:
At the start of your hero phase, 1 friendly model that knows this prayer can chant it. If they do, make a prayer roll by rolling a dice. On a 4+ the prayer is successful. If the prayer is successful, pick 1 friendly Adherents of Starlight unit wholly within 18” of the model chanting this prayer. That unit may heal D3 wounds, or if no wounds are currently allocated to that unit, you may return models to that unit that have a combined wounds characteristic of D3 or less. Once this prayer has been successfully chanted, it cannot be chanted again that hero phase.

4. Rite of Invigoration:
At the start of your hero phase, 1 friendly model that knows this prayer can chant it. If they do, make a prayer roll by rolling a dice. On a 4+ the prayer is successful. If the prayer is successful, pick 1 Adherents of Starlight unit wholly within 18” of the unit chanting this prayer. Until your next hero phase, that unit may add 1 to the hit rolls for all its melee weapons. Once this prayer has been successfully chanted, it cannot be chanted again that hero phase.

5. Rite of Soaring:
At the start of your hero phase, 1 friendly model that knows this prayer can chant it. If they do, make a prayer roll by rolling a dice. On a 4+ the prayer is successful. If the prayer is successful, pick 1 Adherents of Starlight unit wholly within 18” of the model chanting this prayer. Until your next hero phase, that unit can fly. Once this prayer has been successfully chanted, it cannot be chanted again that hero phase.

6. Rite of Abjuration:
At the start of your hero phase, friendly models that know this prayer can chant it. If they do, make a prayer roll by rolling a dice. On a 3+ the prayer is successful. If the prayer is successful, until your next hero phase, that model may attempt to unbind one additional spell, and may attempt to dispel one additional endless spell. Once this prayer has been successfully chanted, it cannot be chanted again that hero phase.

Tribes:

Umbral Shadestalkers:

Abilities:
Stalkers of Ulgu: The Umbral Shadestalkers hail from the shadowy lands of Ulgu, where they have honed their skills in the jungles of the Coalesced Temple Cities.
Any Seraphon included in a Umbral Shadestalkers army must be Coalesced, and if the Malign Sorcery rules are being used for the battle, the Umbral Shadestalkers army must hail from Ulgu.

Stealthy Hunters: A lifetime of hunting in the dark jungles of Ulgu have made the Shadestalkers masters of remaining unseen.
Friendly Umbral Shadestalkers units cannot be attacked by enemy units over 12” away, and cannot be targeted by enemy abilities from over 12” away.

Command Ability:
Sudden Counter Ambush: The warriors of the Shadestalkers know well the telltale snapping twig and rustle of leaves that signify an enemy attempting to remain hidden, and are adept at dealing with these interlopers.
You can use this command ability when an enemy unit is set up within 18” of a Umbral Shadestalkers Hero with this command ability. If you do so, select an Umbral Shadestalkers unit within 12” of the Hero. That unit may shoot at the enemy unit as if it were the shooting phase, or attempt to charge at the enemy unit as if it were the charge phase.

Command Trait:

Artefact of Power:
Realmshaper Shard: Although it lacks the power to truly tame the lands around it, this shard of a Realmshaper core can still temporarily bind the landscape to the Astromatrix.
During your phase, you may pick 1 terrain feature within 18” of the bearer. Until your next hero phase, any Damned, Arcane, Inspiring and Mystical scenery rules for that terrain feature only apply to Adherents of Starlight and Seraphon units, while any Deadly and Sinister scenery rules for that terrain feature do not apply to Adherents of Starlight or Seraphon units.


Salamandrian Firehearts:

Abilities:
Warriors of Aqshy:
Any Seraphon included in a Salamandrian Firehearts army must be Coalesced, and if the Malign Sorcery rules are being used for the battle, the Salamandrian Firehearts army must hail from Aqshy.

Hardened Fighters: Forged amid the flames of battle, the Salamandrian Firehearts are tough and uncompromising warriors.
Roll a dice each time you allocate a wound or mortal wound to a friendly Salamandrian Firehearts unit. On a 6, that wound or mortal wound is negated. Salamandrian Firehearts Sisters of the Scale units negate them on a 5+ instead.

Command Ability:
Brutal Retaliation: Many a charging foe have found themselves on the receiving end of a counter attack with such strength worthy of the Fireheart’s namesake.
You may use this command ability in the enemy charge phase. If you do so, pick 1 friendly Salamandrian Firehearts unit that has just been successfully charged. That unit may immediately attack the charging unit will all its melee weapons.

Command Trait:
Disciplined Commander:
Roll a dice each time this general is used to issue a command to a friendly Salamandrian Firehearts unit. On a 4+, you receive 1 extra command point.

Artefact of Power:
Sunblood Warmace: Once wielded by one of the mightiest of the Star-gods, the primal rage within this weapon knows no bounds.
Pick one of the bearer’s weapons. When attacking with that weapon, a hit roll of 6 scores 2 hits on the target instead of 1. Make a wound and save roll for each hit. In addition, if the wound roll for an attack made by that weapon is 6, that attack inflicts 1 mortal wound on the target in addition to any normal damage.

Primordial Beastravagers:

Abilities:
Lurkers of Ghur: The Primordial Beastravagers have embraced the savagery of the Coalesced, and put their skills to deadly use stalking the wildlands of Ghur.
Any Seraphon included in a Primordial Beastravagers army must be Coalesced, and if the Malign Sorcery rules are being used for the battle, the Primordial Beastravagers army must hail from Ghur.

Primal Ferocity: Out of all the Adherents of Starlight, the Primordial Beastravagers most embody the savagery of the Star-gods, falling upon their foes in a frenzy of attacks.
Add 1 to the attacks characteristic for the melee weapons of friendly Primordial Beastravagers units that made a charge move in the same turn.

Command Ability:
[rip and tear]:
You can use this command ability in the combat phase. If you do so, pick 1 friendly Primordial Beastravagers wholly within 12” of a Hero with this command ability. Until the end of the phase, improve the rend characteristic of that unit’s melee weapons by 1. A unit cannot benefit from this command ability more than once per phase.

Command Trait:
Touched by Ghur: The primordial energies of her home realm have infected this warrior, driving her to even greater acts of martial prowess.
This general can run in the movement phase and still charge in the charge phase.

Artefact of Power:
Blade of the Carnosaur: Crafted from the tooth of a Carnosaur, this weapon allows the bearer to gain a measure of the mighty beast’s power, at the cost of them succumbing to the creature’s savagery.
Pick one of the bearer’s melee weapons. At the start of the combat phase, you may choose to add 1 to the hit and wound rolls for that weapon for the duration of the phase. If you do so, you must subtract 1 from any save rolls the bearer makes for the duration of the phase.

Startouched Devotees:

Abilities:
Devout of Hysh:
Any Seraphon included in a Startouched Devotees army must be Starborne, and if the Malign Sorcery rules are being used for the battle, the Startouched Devotees army must hail from Shyish.

Fervent Adoration: The Startouched Devotees revere the Star-gods more than any other tribe, and are driven to acts of unbelievable heroism when blessed with their presence.
If a friendly unit of Startouched Devotees are within 6” of any friendly Seraphon units, they do not have to take battleshock tests. In addition, Startouched Devotees units gain +2 to their bravery characteristic if they are within 12” of a Seraphon unit, rather than 6”.

Command Ability:

Command Trait:

Artefact of Power:

Amaranthine Realmscourers:

Abilities:
Roamers of Shyish: Following the path of the Starborne, the Amaranthine Realmscourers now scour the lands of Shyish, looking for the various celestial artefacts unearthed by the Necroquake.
Any Seraphon included in a Amaranthine Realmscourers army must be Starborne, and if the Malign Sorcery rules are being used for the battle, the Amaranthine Realmscourers army must hail from Shyish.

Mystic Wards: The various celestial trinkets and talismans the Amaranthine Realmscourers collect serve to protect them from fell spirits and other threats.
Enemy units that can fly cannot pass over Amaranthine Realmscourers units.

Command Ability:

Command Trait:

Artefact of Power:
Sigmarite Spelltrap: Carefully recovered from the wreckage of a ruined Stormvault, this device can entrap all dangerous magics in its vicinity.
Once per battle, in the hero phase, the bearer may dispel all endless spells within 24” that are not bound.

Esoteric Runeseekers:

Abilities:
Questers of Chamon: Venerating deeply the Starborne’s mastery of magic, the Esoteric Runeseekers aim to purge Chamon of all who would use the arcane for ill.
Any Seraphon included in a Esoteric Runeseekers army must be Starborne, and if the Malign Sorcery rules are being used for the battle, the Esoteric Runeseekers army must hail from Chamon.

Runic Empowerment: The mystic runes that the Esoteric Runeseekers tattoo onto themselves awaken in the presence of magic, granting them a measure of additional protection.
If a spell is successfully cast within 12” of a friendly Esoteric Runeseekers unit, your opponent must subtract 1 from the hit rolls of any ranged weapons that target that unit.

Command Ability:

Command Trait:

Artefact:

 

Units:

Heroes:

Solar Priestess:



Solar Priestess on Bastiladon Ancient:



Sister of the Hunt:



Lunar Priestess:



Stellar Scryer:



Sister of the Predator:

 

Sisters of the Talon:



Sisters of the Fang:



Sisters of the Claw:



Others:

Sisters of the Horn:



Sisters of the Spine:



Sisters of the Scale:



Sisters of the Venom:



Behemoths:

Bastiladon Ancient with Star-god Engine:



Points:
Sisters of the Talon: 80pts

 

Just a quick note but in terms of the various markings/fonts etc, bold dictates keywords, italics is for the lore blurb, [square brackets] is where I haven’t yet thought up a name and (normal brackets) is for my description of what the gist and thought behind any abilities are meant to be - it wouldn’t be featured in an actual battletome

 

Very impressive so far! I love how you’ve structured the posts for Allegiance Abilities, Battalions e.t.c (I didn’t do that with the Spawn , but I will do this for a couple of other unofficial factions I have up my sleeve).

I’m certainly interested in the idea of linking a female faction with Seraphon - will they be along the lines of Bretonnian Damsels with Seraphon-inspired mounts and equipment (as they wear very long dresses and personally they’re my favourite GW female models), or will they be more like female Aztecs?

Feel free to start playing with the Warscroll maker I found for developing the Spawn and the two other factions I have yet to discuss here, so you can start getting some profiles up:
https://runebrush.pa-sy.com/warscroll/

I look forward to see what you come up with!

 

Honestly they’ll probably be more like some of the Slaves to Darkness models with a very tribal feel, but with an emphasis more on furs and hides rather than armour, a bit like the far right one below but slightly more primitive and on a woman, obviously. For some reason I’m imagining orange being the main colour of the ‘poster’ faction with the hair and furs being that colour, but there will be a bunch of subfactions with different schemes.

 

Were you at all inspired by the Amazons as an unofficial faction for Warhammer Fantasy? Although they're as scantily-clad as Daughters of Khaine, as an army they have a similar roster and feel to your female faction and have a lot of Lizardman-themed units. A chap named Matthias Eliasson, renowned in the Fantasy community for writing unofficial army books, has written one for them, perhaps some of their unit choices may inspire you?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Redi9cZJ5iU19xZVVUMlB6V1k/view

 

My first full warscrolls are now up, along with a lot more other abilities. Any comments on the rules so far would be greatly appreciated!

I was inspired partly by the concept of Amazons and the notion of them being linked somehow to Lizardmen/Seraphon, but to be honest I already has quite a strong idea of what units and types I wanted to include in the army, and the lore is quite different I think, so I don’t think there’s much I can take from that. Thanks for the link though - it’s an interesting read if nothing else!

 

I've noticed you've missed out the Move, Save, Bravery and Wounds stats of the characters and the weapon stat of the Sisters of the Claw, would be interested to see what those are

I'm especially liking the ability that can cause one of your units to be treated as Saurus or Skinks to synergise with Seraphon abilities, that's a good one that really ties the two armies together better.

 

I’ve almost completed the Warscrolls for all the units in the army now, and made good headway on Allegiance Abilities, so I think I’m now ready for some more experienced players to give their opinions on what their initial impressions are of the faction as a whole!

 

I’ve thought of a cool name for your Aqshy Warrior tribe - Salamandrian Firehearts, as that pays tribute to Lizardman Salamaders who spew fire - does that sound good to you?

 

Just changed it now, thanks!

 

Warscrolls are now finished. All comments welcome

 

Great to see you used the Warscroll Designer in the end! They are so much easier to read now. Just one thing, though, what did you save your Warscrolls as? I ask because they don’t look that clear to read and some of the units’ warscrolls I can’t read at all because they just come up as an

that doesn’t show the picture. I save mine as JPEGs using the JPG button to the right just below the ‘save to Google’ button

 

Should all be fine now imgwise - the blurriness is usually fixed if you click on the actual image

 

Even though you said this army isn't Amazon, it still makes me think of this Kickstarter.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1084608523/raid-on-the-temple-of-serpents

 

Well, I’ve read your Warscrolls and they do look great all in all, but I just have a few queries:

• I wasn’t sure if you knew that the standard movement value for a human in AoS is 5” rather than 4” (it was 4” in Fantasy, but they’ve increased it to 5” now). 4” is the movement value for Dwarfs and other creatures slightly slower than a man.
• I can see why you decided to give the light missile troops (Sisters of the Fang and Venom) a whopping movement of 8” because of the lack of armour allowing freedom of movement, but would the same apply to your elite Sisters of the Horn, especially given that they carry double-handed hammers which would be very heavy weapons to wield? I can see you’ve given the more tanky Sisters of the Scale a reduced movement of 6”, which makes sense - wouldn’t Sisters of the Horn thus have a similar move value? Mainly would just be interested to hear an explanation lore-wise about why you’ve chosen these different move values.
• I’ve noticed you’ve given Bastiladon Ancients a 1+ Armour Save in the first tier of their Damage table - in Warhammer Fantasy a 1+ Save was the same as a 2+ Save but a -1 armour save penalty would keep the roll as the same - would this be the same in AoS or is a 1+ Save an automatic pass in this game?
• Concerning the Deadly Flankers Special Rule for Sisters of the Spine, you refer to it in the lore as occurring whenever they charge a unit already engaged in combat, whereas the actual rule gives out the bonus whenever they attack an enemy unit that has already fought - which one did you intend to use to trigger the bonus?
• At the moment I’m at a slight concern about there being only two dino choices for a faction so enamoured with Lizardmen - was this done with the intention of making sure there weren’t too many choices when Seraphon are drafted into the army as well? I just ask because it seems a bit odd, for instance, that you have hero choices mounted on Ripperdactyls and Terradons, but no bog-standard Ripperdactyl and Terradon riders to go with them apart from those ridden by allied Seraphon.

I think they’re the only comments I have at the moment, apart from that I’d just be interested to hear the thoughts going around your head when you’ve been designing this army - whether you intend for it to be a horde or elite army (I’m assuming it’s going to be largely a horde army but I’d still like to hear you elaborate), what sorts of tactics and builds you’d advocate as being particularly thematic for your faction, and the general playstyle.

 

Happy to elaborate!

The main emphasis of this army is definitely on speed - they are meant to be fast and manoeuvrable. The manoeuvrability is represented by the battle trait and the command abilities of the Sister of the Hunt and Predator, whilst the speed is based off the movement characteristics and the numerous abilities that generate off running. This was based partly off the fact that there seemed to be very few abilities based off the run action - I can literally only think of one, which compared to how many there are based off, say charging, seemed like it was missing. I has also had the idea in my head for a while about the ability to retreat over to other enemy units, and high speed seemed the natural partner to that. Lore wise, this would be backed up by them being largely nomadic, constantly moving to where they think the Seraphon will appear next.

The Sisters of the Horn are meant to be complete glass cannons. Lore wise, they would wear practically no armour, even by the standards of the Adherents, and instead smash into the enemy at high speeds, decimate them before they can retaliate, and then beat a hasty retreat. Their stats are meant to represent this - in theory they should move fast, hit harder and, if not used properly by the player, die even faster (note the 6+ save). Of all the units, they would probably be one of the best candidates for the Sister of the Hunt’s command ability - you would probably want to charge them in, smash whatever the biggest threat is, then, before they are massacred in the retaliation, use the ability to shift them over to a lower threat unit, or one that is already engaged in combat.

The save stats are just the same as the new Warscroll of the regular Bastiladon - we’re still waiting on an FAQ as to what exactly the 1+ means but general consensus seems to be that it is the same as Fantasy.

The lore still stands - the ability is just a way to incentivise doing that in such a manner that is still in keeping with existing rules. In theory, the player would want to charge them in to a unit already tied up, or otherwise use the Deadly Focus command ability to switch targets or Hit and Run to break off again for them to get the best out of it; none of the Adherents are durable exactly, and given that there’s little stopping you from just waiting it out with them, your opponent is likely going to want to try and blunt them if they were engaged in a straight fight.

Although the Adherents are massive fans of all things Seraphon, getting hold of the beasts wouldn’t exactly be easy, given that most either disappear in a blaze of starlight after each battle or are kept in nigh impenetrable jungle cities whose owners take “get off my lawn” to a whole new level! As such, they probably wouldn’t have too many, and what ones they do have would be considered precious links to the Star-gods. Of all of them, Cold Ones would be the easiest to get hold of given the comparative amount the Seraphon field, and the fact they are shown to be kept elsewhere as well. The Sisters of the Claw would probably be held in higher esteem amongst the Adherents than Saurus Knights would be amongst the Seraphon though given their comparative rarity. Horned Ones can simply be bred with Cold Ones and some of the other native fauna of the land they travel across. Bastiladon Ancient would be rare finds, and probably the most venerated of the lot - the backstory behind them having them as opposed to normal ones would probably be that the Seraphon release the beasts once they reach a certain age. Terradons and Ripperdactyls would probably be equally rare - getting hold of one would be considered a rite of passage to ascend to the Primeval Sisterhood. That they managed to capture a Terradon, or even heaven forbid a Ripperdactyl would be considered a massive achievement and would demonstrate that whoever did it had the skill to ascend to one of the commanding ranks. And then there’s also the fact that there is no limit beyond the 1 in 4 for adding Seraphon to your army - if you want your big dinos, there’s nothing stopping you from grabbing a bunch of MSUs and then going mad with the Stegadons!

Overall I think this army would be a fast, manoeuvrable one that would veer more towards the horde side of things, but probably not to the extent of the proper ‘drown your opponent in bodies’ armies. The play style would be one of speed and positioning - they pack a decent amount of punch on offence, but would likely be shredded upon retaliation so proper fights aren’t really their style. Instead you’d want to be rushing them up the board to claim objectives, and in combat, be constant shifting units about so they hit the priority targets hard before moving straight back to the weaker ones and allowing tougher units to take the ensuing backlash. I don’t think they’d necessarily be the easiest army to master, and they are quite synergy-reliant I think, but I hope they would be a fairly fun and balanced!