Warhammer Age of Sigmar

Complete painting guides for all current Age of Sigmar factions (2025 ruleset).

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Warhammer Age of Sigmar Lore

The End Times and the Mortal Realms

The story of Age of Sigmar begins with the cataclysmic destruction of the World-that-Was, a narrative known as the "End Times." This apocalypse, which saw the forces of Chaos finally triumph, resulted in the complete annihilation of the world and all its inhabitants. From the debris of this broken world, the eight Mortal Realms were formed—vast, magical dimensions connected by a web of mystical pathways called Realmgates. For millennia, these realms were left to the unchecked dominion of the Dark Gods, with only the God-King Sigmar and the few survivors of the End Times to oppose them.

The Age of Sigmar dawned with the release of the Stormcast Eternals, an immortal army forged from the souls of worthy mortals, marking the beginning of a slow and grinding reconquest. The forces of the realms are organized into four broad ideological groupings known as the Grand Alliances: Order, Chaos, Death, and Destruction. These alliances are not monolithic empires but "umbrella terms for factions with broadly similar goals". Within the Grand Alliance of Order, for instance, a deep-seated philosophical rift exists between the Sylvaneth, who seek to protect the natural world, and the Cities of Sigmar, who pollute and encroach upon the land to build their civilizations. This fundamental disagreement prevents a simplistic "good vs. evil" morality and highlights that even allies can clash over their core principles. The forces of Death and Destruction, meanwhile, are not presented as malevolent evil in the same vein as Chaos. The Ossiarch Bonereapers, for example, see nothing wrong with their monstrous "Bone Tithe" on mortals, believing they are building a "better, more orderly world". This moral ambiguity illustrates that in the Mortal Realms, different philosophical forces are at war, each with a plausible, if warped, perspective.

A Comprehensive History and Lore of the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Setting

The Warhammer Age of Sigmar setting represents a dramatic and deliberate departure from its predecessor, Warhammer Fantasy Battle. Its narrative foundation is built upon the complete and utter destruction of the previous world, an apocalyptic event known as the End Times. To fully understand the Mortal Realms, it is essential to first comprehend the cataclysm that birthed them and the nature of the figures who survived.

1.1 The End Times: A World's Final Breath

The history of the Mortal Realms is preceded by a cataclysmic period known as the End Times, a saga that concluded the narrative of the Warhammer Fantasy universe.1 This final war, which spanned from 2519 to 2528, saw a massive Chaos Incursion, led by Archaon the Everchosen, sweep across the old world.2 Archaon, a character whose story predated this final conflict, was once a priest of Sigmar’s faith who became disillusioned and turned his devotion to the Chaos Gods.4 He rose to become one of the most powerful and feared characters in the Warhammer multiverse, earning the title of Everchosen after he collected six magical artifacts in the name of the Chaos gods.5 This immense war resulted in the destruction of every major civilization. All but everyone perished, and the very fabric of the Warhammer World was unraveled.2 The End Times was not a gradual decline but a definitive, apocalyptic finale that saw the world consumed by Chaos, a narrative decision made to pave the way for a new, fresh setting.

1.2 The World-That-Was and the Survivors

While the Warhammer World was destroyed, not all its denizens were lost. A few powerful beings and artifacts survived the cataclysm, a narrative bridge between the two settings. These survivors included:

  • Sigmar Heldenhammer: The human god of the Old World, Sigmar survived by clinging to the core of his broken world. He was saved by the celestial drake Dracothion and found himself adrift in the Aetheric Void, the empty space between realities.

  • Dracothion: A cosmic being who guided Sigmar and introduced him to the nascent Mortal Realms, becoming his first divine ally in the new age.

  • Gorkamorka: The two-headed god of the Orks and Goblins, a being of pure, mindless destruction who also survived the End Times.

  • Nagash: The Great Necromancer and self-proclaimed God of Death, who was able to absorb the vast majority of the death magic from the World-That-Was as it was destroyed, greatly increasing his power.

  • Alarielle the Everqueen: The goddess of life, who escaped the destruction with the help of her devoted followers.

  • The Aelven Gods: The Elven gods of the Old World, including Malerion, Tyrion, Teclis, and Morathi, were also able to survive, though their fates were entwined with the Chaos God Slaanesh, who had consumed the souls of their people.

  • The Ancestor Gods: The Duardin gods, including Grimnir and Grungni, also survived, with Grimnir sacrificing himself to battle a monstrous god-beast and shattering his essence into a magical ore known as ur-gold.

1.3 The Birth of the Mortal Realms

From the debris of the destroyed World-That-Was, the eight Winds of Magic were released into the Aetheric Void. These winds, the fundamental forces of magic, coalesced and solidified to form eight distinct and interconnected realms, each a reflection of its foundational wind. These are:

  • Azyr, the Realm of Heavens: The realm of celestial magic, home to Sigmar and his pantheon.

  • Ghur, the Realm of Beasts: A savage, primordial realm of wild magic and titanic monsters.

  • Aqshy, the Realm of Fire: A fiery realm of raw emotion, passion, and aggression.

  • Ghyran, the Realm of Life: A verdant, bountiful realm of never-ending growth and rebirth, though it is also a place of great danger.

  • Shyish, the Realm of Death: A bleak and desolate realm, where every living thing is a trespasser. It is the realm of Nagash, who seeks to control all death.

  • Ulgu, the Realm of Shadows: An illusory and deceptive realm of mists and secrets, where nothing is as it seems.

  • Hysh, the Realm of Light: A brilliant, geometric realm of pure light, home to the Lumineth.

  • Chamon, the Realm of Metal: A constantly shifting, alchemical realm of metal and technology.

The realms are linked by a network of mystical passages known as Realmgates, and they are filled with a magical, physical substance known as Realmstone.

Part II: The Ages of the Realms

The history of the Mortal Realms is divided into three major periods, or "Ages," each defined by the dominant forces at play.

2.1 The Age of Myth

This was a golden age of cooperation and prosperity. Sigmar, in his newly acquired divinity, gathered other surviving gods and beings into a great alliance known as the Pantheon of Order. Together, they explored the realms, bringing civilization to the scattered mortal tribes, building great cities, and battling the monstrous god-beasts that roamed the lands. This era saw the rise of magnificent civilizations, but it was also a time of great ambition and hubris, which would eventually lead to its downfall. The aelven gods, in their pursuit of vengeance against Slaanesh, inadvertently caused the events that would bring the Age of Myth to an end.

2.2 The Age of Chaos

The Age of Chaos began when the Chaos Gods, in their unending quest for power, turned their attention to the Mortal Realms. A massive Chaos Incursion, led by Archaon the Everchosen, swept across the realms, and Sigmar's grand alliance was shattered. Many of the gods retreated to their own realms to defend their people, and Sigmar, defeated and betrayed, retreated to the safety of Azyr, the Realm of Heavens. For centuries, Chaos ruled supreme, and the other seven realms became desolate wastelands, filled with the spike-ridden fortresses and corrupted followers of the Dark Gods.

2.3 The Age of Sigmar

The Age of Sigmar began with the "Tempest of Souls," a cataclysmic storm of Azyrite magic that saw Sigmar send down his Stormcast Eternals to the Mortal Realms. This army of immortal champions, forged from the souls of worthy mortals, was tasked with reclaiming the realms from the forces of Chaos. The initial conflicts, known as the Realmgate Wars, saw the Stormcast Eternals securing vital Realmgates and establishing fortified cities known as the Cities of Sigmar. This era is one of a slow, grinding reconquest, a war of attrition against a seemingly endless foe.

The Age of Sigmar has seen two major narrative events that have shaped the current state of the realms:

  • The Soul Wars: Following a cosmic event known as the Necroquake—a massive shockwave of death magic released by Nagash—the Great Necromancer declared war on all who denied his claim to the souls of the dead. This led to a series of wars between the forces of Death, led by Nagash, and the other Grand Alliances.

  • The Broken Realms: This series of events saw the forces of Chaos, Death, Order, and Destruction collide in a narrative culmination that saw the fates of many major characters and factions changed forever.

Cities of Sigmar

Lore: The Cities of Sigmar represent a desperate but resilient coalition of mortal races—humans, Aelves, and Duardin—who have carved out bastions of civilization in the savage Mortal Realms. They are the common folk, who do not have the divine protection of the Stormcast Eternals or the raw martial prowess of the other Grand Alliances, yet they persevere through grit, faith, and industrial ingenuity. Each city is a unique melting pot of cultures, with its own military traditions, religious cults, and political rivalries. The Freeguilds, their primary military force, are disciplined soldiers who stand as a bulwark against the encroaching darkness, supported by artillery, engineers, and a diverse range of auxiliaries. Their strength lies not in any single champion, but in the combined will of a people fighting for their homes and their very survival.

Painting Guide:

  • This army is a diverse mix of human, Aelf, and Duardin aesthetics, making it a great creative outlet.
  • For the core Freeguilds, use a variety of earthy and metallic colors. Browns, reds, and dark blues work well for their uniforms, while Leadbelcher and Balthasar Gold can be used for their armor and weapons.
  • Artillery and other large machines can be painted with a grimy, industrial look using washes like Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade .
  • Highlight faces with a pale flesh tone like Kislev Flesh , and use different hair colors to represent the diversity of their ranks.
  • The bases can be painted to look like cobblestone streets or cracked earth, adding to the urban feel of the army.