Path to Glory Blighted Wilds

This is not a review of Path to Glory Blighted Wilds. This is more semi-random ramblings about the things you might want to think about when embarking on this adventure. It's definitely the things I've been thinking about.

If you want to read a review, I recommend this one, on Goonhammer. It digs into the good stuff much better than I could.

Getting Started

I won't go into detail about the "obvious" things you'll need to take part in a Blighted Wilds campaign: the Blighted Wilds book itself, minis to represent your army, battlefield terrain, measuring devices, the AoS 4th edition core rules (either via the big hardback book, the free PDF, the AoS app, or any 4th edition General's Handbook), and the latest Battle Profiles, and of course plenty of dice.

The less obvious things you might want are the tokens and markers used in the Blighted Wilds battleplans.

While these things can probably be improvised on the fly, I definitely prefer to know ahead of time so I can prepate and bring thematic and aesthetically pleasing components to my games.

I'll go into a lot more detail on these later in this post. But for now, these are the basics for the campaign setup:

Advanced Rules

Rules in use:

• Commands
• Terrain
• Magic
• Command Models

Rules not in use:

• Army Composition
• Battle Tactics
• The Generals Handbook
• Any specifically Matched Play rules (i.e. Battlepacks, Seasonal Rules, Battle Tactics / Tactical Gambits, etc.)

Building Your Path To Glory Roster

Starting Points

The recommended starting roster is 1,000 but your group can agree a higher or lower start point.

Regiments of Renown

One Regiment of Renown can be included on your roster, but it can only be the Regiment of Ghyran - the rules for which are included in the book. Wild stuff can be built with this system - I'm already looking forward to dusting-off my pirate orruks' battery of looted great cannon and getting them back on the table.

Reinforced Units

Unlike Ravaged Coast, when you add a unit to your starting roster, you can add it as a reinforced unit. Non-reinforced units can be reinforced as part of the aftermath sequence.

Faction Terrain

Your roster can include both faction terrain and a Landmark of Ghyran, from the start. A Landmark of Ghyran is a custom terrain feature (that costs points) built with a system link the Anvil of Apotheosis. I've already had a go at making rules for The Cleavermaw...

Renown And Glory

Blighted Wilds does not use anything like Emberstone, the "currency" from Ravaged Coast, it returns to the renown and glory points used in Ascension.

Paths

Your General starts with 5 renown points, and the Aspiring rank. This means you can pick a path for them immediately. That path, and any other paths units embark on later, can be from any Path to Glory battlepack, including Ravaged Coast and Ascension. You might not feel the need to look at them, since the options within this book alone are really cool, but it's very nice to have the choice.

Enhancements

Unlike Ravaged Coast, you can pick 1 heroic trait and 1 artefact of power and give them to eligible units on your starting roster.

Arcane Tome

The Arcane Tome for you roster is larger than the equivalent in Ravaged Coast, you can have a maximum of 6 non-Summon spells/prayers (in any combination), and 3 Summon spells/prayers. All wizards/priests on your roster know all the spells/prayers in your Tome.

Staring Spells (p.33)

You can start with a full Arcane Tome if you have at least one wizard and one priest!

• Up to 3 spells from one spell lore
• Up to 3 prayers from one prayer lore
• Up to 3 Summon spells and/or prayers

Contamination and Remediation

Now we get to the really good stuff. This is a primary mechanic of the Blighted Wilds campaign, each player will need up to 12 contaminated/remediated tokens in every game of the campaign.

At the start of every battle a number of terrain features will be contaminated, and both players need a token to mark them as such. And contaminated terrain can be remediated by units during a battle, this state is shown by flipping the contaminated token to show a different face.

Because contaminated terrain has negative effects on nearby friendly units, even if it has been remediated by an enemy unit, both players need their own set of tokens to mark each contaminated terrain feature.

A side-bar in the Blighted Wilds book recommends using something like coins or token that have two different faces, that will clearly show which state the terrain feature is currently in. I definitely recommend finding something that fits your army thematically, and isn't identical to your regular opponents' tokens.

Yarrr, me treasue!

I'm part-way through making a set of contaminated tokens (9 out of 12 done so far), themed as looted treasures for my pirate Ironjawz. I'm using plastic Blood Bowl turn-counters, with the Blood Bowl logo on the tails-sides clipped away. I replaced the logos by filling them flush with greenstuff and sculpting a spiral symbol into it.

I had thought about using the Ironjawz tokens that came with their first edition AoS Warscroll cards. Both sides of them have lovely designs - orruk horned skulls on one side, and John Blanche "evil suns" illustrations on the other.

I'm not sure if there have been similar tokens for other factions over the years, but I'd be surprised if there weren't some at least.

Other tokens and markers for Blighted Wilds

• 6x Ingredient Clusters
• 6x Wildcrafting Harvest tokens
• 3x Navigation Landmark markers
• 1x Rot-seed
• 12x Malignant tokens
• 5x Forage Spots

In addition to contaminated tokens, over the course of the campaign you will need to use something for at least a few of the above accessories, probably most of them.

Many of them can be any tokens or coins you already have, or even just 40mm round bases. If you use bases they could be marked with anything from simple numbers or symbols, to atmosphericly themed, and fully modelled and painted, scenic objectives.

I love coins and tokens, but I generally prefer the later. Even having said that, I fully acknowledge that they are optional: nice to have, and definitely not need to have.

Ingredient Clusters

In the Battleplan Thyria's Bounty each player places 3 Ingredient Cluster markers. These are described as 40mm objective markers that are either treated as friendly or enemy, depending who placed them.

I'm using the five Mysterious Forest markers I made years ago, for use with the Mysterious Terrain rules, in WFB 8th edition. They have appeared in many of my battle report photos over the years since. As you'll see in a moment, the sixth of the markers in the photo was made years later, and it's going to be pulling double-duty.

Wildcrafting Harvest tokens

In the same battleplan units can Forage enemy Ingredient Clusters, which removes the cluster and gives the foraging unit a wildcrafting harvest token. (If a unit with wildcrafting harvest token is destroyed the token is removed and an enemy Ingredient Cluster is placed on the battlefield where they were).

I'm probably going to use the light spiral tokens from Warhammer Quest Darkwater (I got just the tokens on eBay for a couple of quid). Or I might use the green acrylic crystals I have (they're very much like the orange crystals I used as Emberstone tokens).

Navigation Landmark markers

The battleplan A Dense and Choking Maze instructs players to mark three terrain features as Navigation Landmarks. Again this could be done with any tokens or objective markers, including anything made to be Ingredient Clusters, but I fancy using something more thematic.

I already have some pirate styled Legendary Coins (that I bought to track Waaaagh! Points in 3rd edition AoS), some of which have a compass rose on one face which will serve perfectly well for this role.

But I do like the idea of making something more scenic, on 40mm bases. I'm picturing a table or group of barrels with navigation equipment placed on top; maps and charts, a telescope, a sextant, etc.

The Rot-seed

For Cursed Kernel you need a single 40mm base as a Rot-seed - an objective that can be moved around the battlefield.

I made this 40mm marker from Nurgley leftovers, I think from the Feculant Gnarlmaw I converted a few years ago.

Malignant tokens

In the battleplan Nexus of Contamination, all terrain features are automatically contaminated. Over the course of the battle 12 areas of the battlefield will semi-randomly become malignant - contaminated terrain in malignant areas cannot be remediated and all nearby units at the start of each battleround are destroyed!

I'm using the dark spiral tokens from Warhammer Quest Darkwater.

Forage Spot tokens

You need to mark five Forage Spots in Emergency Foraging. These could be normal objective markers, coins, etc., as before. But I'm planning to use the light spiral tokens from Warhammer Quest Darkwater.

I painted spirals and Ghyran runes on a set of wooden pendant trays my wife was throwing out. I had planned to use them as Contaminated tokens, but my plastic BB coins have taken their place.

I still might use them for marling something im the campaign - Forage Spots for example.

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The next few images are my references for Thyria, from a number of sources...