The Ravaged Coast, part 1

The Ravaged Coast is a new narrative Warcry campaign, set in Aqshy, published in White Dwarf #504 (September 2024). The full text has also been published on Warcrier.

And its great!

I joked with my friends immediately that it felt like it was written especially for me. The campaign rules feels slightly more deadly than the Gnarlwood campaign, and there seems to be a section or two missing - maybe things were dropped from it between writing and publishing? A lot of the artefacts have a [Corrupted] rule, and there's a mention of a way to purify them and how that changes their special rules. But the actual rules to purify artefacts are missing. There's also a mention of other [Rewards] to be found through exploration rolls, but no [Rewards] in the Exploration tables!

But leaving that (honestly, very minor) editing issues aside, the setting is littered with nautical references throughout the new Heroic Traits, Quests, Exploration, Encampments, Lesser and Greater Artefacts, that replace the Core Book versions. As a result I'm very keen to dig into it.

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There wasn't much solid information on exactly where the Ravaged Coast is in Aqshy. This is all we get in the article:

"Far to the east of the Great Parch where the land meets the Ocean of Tears - lies the Ravaged Coast. This vast archipelago now lies crushed between the Great Parch and the emergent Gnaw, and it has quickly become a battleground of violent seas, sand-blasted atolls and Skaven-tainted ruins."

I looked through all the books I have and I searched online a lot, and as far as I can tell no published maps of Aqshy have it marked.

Then a month later, in another Warcry article in White Dwarf #505, there was another Ravaged Coast reference!

"On the very edge of the Ravaged Coast lies Hel's Claw, a city once dominated by Khorne's Bloodthirsty warriors and then reconsecrated by Sigmar's followers. Since the emergence of the Gnaw, Hel's Claw descended into wrack and ruin, its streets overrun by the Skaven of the Vermindoom who look to harvest both warpstone and emberstone that have been disgorged by the cataclysm."

That actually gives us a usable reference point! Hel's Claw (Ruined) is marked on the new maps of the Great Parch in Aqshy:

So maybe "the Ravaged Coast" isn't a specific place's name, but more of a general description of the south-east coast of the Capilaria. Honestly, I can live with that!

As I said, the whole thing is riddled with piratical goodness: shipwrecks and peg-legs and coastal locations. For example; the exploration and encampment locations include:

Desolate Beachhead - the default encampment when starting a new campaign in the Ravaged Coast, instead of the ‘Outskirts of the Gnarlwood'.

A Watery Grave - A multi-limbed deep-sea monster bursts from the water. Your fighter must battle for their life or risk being dragged beneath the ocean to be drowned and devoured.

Flotsam And Jetsam - There is plenty to find along the Ravaged Coast, but much of it is merely the scattered debris of disaster and death.

Washed Up Treasure - Whether it was washed ashore in the wake of some terrible battle at sea or fell from the hands of a dying adventurer, this half-buried artefact radiates power.

Wrecked Hulk - You discover the shattered wreck of a sea-going vessel that was sunk or abandoned following the Vermindoom. It might provide a place of safety - or danger.

Smuggler's Cove - A series of inlets dot the coast, where smugglers or pirates used to hide smaller ships. If you are lucky, you might find someone's abandoned stash.

Lightglass Tower - This ruined tower with its aetherquartz lens was once used to keep the coast lit in order to prevent shipwrecks. These seas are home to more monsters than fleets these days, but the watchtower is still a fine place from which to survey one's surroundings and illuminate potential hazards.

Ship's Graveyard - Redolent in the magic of endings, this cove is full of shipwrecks. Giant nautical castles with vampiric heraldry, mechanical ironclads and sleek aelven vessels alike share a common grave. Deathly beings can draw energy from this place, while the living might find treasure amidst the wreckage.

Secluded Inlet - Sheltered from the ravages of war and Skaven malevolence, this inlet provides a perfect location for warbands to recuperate. Yet there is no such thing as sanctuary in the wild realms, and soon enemies or predators will also stumble upon this place.

All this sounds exactly like my kind of place!

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So this, and the forthcoming pirate-themed Animosity Campaigns "Weekender" in January 2025, means I'm making some more Pirate Encampment scenery:

Ruined buildings, partially rebuilt or modified with shipwreck timbers and surrounded by nautical detritus. This will mostly be things like wooden barrels, treasure chests, and coiled ropes. But also, if I can find them, things like bottles, floats/buoys, buckets, anchors, bill-hooks, muskets and pistols, cutlasses, hats, fishing nets, hammocks, maps, lanterns, fish and sea-shells, etc. Basically any vaguely nautical bits that I can get my hands on!

With three fairly big pieces of scenery built it's probably time to get some paint on them. Although... I might add just one or two more bits from this box of Kraken-eater spares...