As the deadline for Arc40k draws closer, I wanted to share with you how adding background can elevate your army's narrative and enhance the overall event experience. Plus there’s points available for everyone who is able to communicate what’s the reason or background to their collection.
When it comes to creating an army, it's not just about having a collection of painted miniatures on the tabletop. For me finalising the narrative is an important box to tick in preparing my army for Arc40k.
A truly immersive hobbyist goes the extra mile and creates a theme for their army. In fact, having a strong army theme is so important that it's worth up to 10 points in the Arc40k army scoring system.
Throughout the ArcArmy Challenge, I've already worked hard to tick off a lot of the theme boxes, but I wanted to finish with a flourish by creating the story behind my Nahgim Hegemony Strike Force.
Creating a narrative doesn't have to be a daunting task, and with less than two weeks to go before the event, there's still time to add background to your army.
So staying in theme - which for League of Votann is that an Ancestor Core often gets asked questions to cogitate and then produce answers - I decided that the answer for this task was to employ a similar AI technology to create my background story for my Arc40k Strike Force.
I can tell you that a great option for generating story ideas is that website creating media interest worldwide - ChatGPT - an AI language model that can generate text based on your prompts.
So ask it the right questions and you might just end up with some cool background.
For my Nahgrim Hegemony Force, I used ChatGPT to create the backstory.
It has been a bit of fun feeding in the details or dot points i had decided would be part of the background for my army. I asked it to generate names for all the leaders of my force and it delivered.
I feed in the background of the Leagues of Votann, the names it had generated and then after a couple of redefining questions created the story below.
If you try it you'll need a bit of patience and might need to ask the same question several times. The more basic information you can give the quicker the process.
So if you're stuck and looking to add some extra depth to your army before Arc40k, don't be afraid to get creative with your background and use tools like ChatGPT to help generate ideas, or like me a short story.
With a little bit of imagination, you can create a unique and compelling narrative that will make your army stand out from the rest - or at least qualify for 10 easy Tournament Points.
I look forward to seeing everyone else’s regardless of their inspiration or creation process.
And remember if you can find a cool or unusual way to display it with your army there's points for that too!
So here’s my story…
Horgar Stonefist, a Khal of the Nagrim Hegemony, stood on the bridge of his starship, the Forgewright. Staring out at the inky blackness of space, he could sense the tension among his warriors, as they prepared for the battle ahead.
Sigurd Hammerfist, Eyrnheart Champion, and his second in command stood beside him, his features grim and determined. Keldor Axebreaker, Ulfric StormShield, and Bojorn Stoneborn, host trusty Theyns and leaders of the strike force’s Hearthkyn Warrior units, stood at the ready, their weapons and armor glinting in the dim light.
Erik Ironviein, Brokhyr Thunderkyn leader, was grouped with his team, fine-tuning the equipment they would need for the mission ahead. Arvide Battleborn, the Hearthguard leader, stood with his warriors, the glow from their EtaCarn Plasma Guns and the crackling charge humming from each of their concussion Gauntlets keeping them apart from the rest of the force.
Horgar felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. The call for help from the outpost had come suddenly, and the Nagrim Hegemony was one of the few factions in the sector with the resources to respond.
They had to act fast, before whatever threat was facing the outpost could do more damage. But as they approached the asteroid, Horgar felt a growing sense of unease. What kind of enemy were they facing? He had been given no details, only the location of the outpost and the desperate plea for assistance that had been relayed - it was a barely discernable message - a garbled transmission. ‘Help they are attacking the base!” Was all that the coms scrubbers could translate.
So help was coming… and the tension among the warriors grew as they descended to the surface of the planet. They had no idea what awaited them, but they knew it would not be easy.
Horgar looked around at his troops and felt a sense of pride. They were the best of the Nagrim Hegemony, the elite of the elite, and they would face whatever enemy lay ahead with honor and bravery.
As the ship landed, the warriors readied their weapons and armor. The ramp hissed open, and they stepped out into the bright sunlight of the alien planet. They saw the outpost in the distance, smoke rising from its damaged walls. They tensed, ready for the fight to come. But as they approached the outpost, they saw no sign of the enemy. The outpost was silent, and the air was thick with tension.
Horgar signaled for his warriors to fan out, and they moved cautiously towards the outpost.
As they drew closer, they saw the bodies of the defenders lying infront of crudely built defenses, their weapons scattered around them. Horgar felt a cold rage wash over him. This was an act of cowardice, to attack an outpost so far from the front lines. He knew that the Nagrim Hegemony would not stand for it.
As they entered the outpost, the warriors saw the signs of the battle that had taken place. The buildings were damaged, and the equipment was destroyed. But as they moved deeper into the outpost, they saw something that chilled them to the bone. The enemy had left a message, scrawled in blood on the wall of one of the buildings.
"Your time is coming."
Horgar felt a surge of anger and fear. They did not know who the enemy was, but they knew that they were powerful and ruthless.
They had attacked an outpost in the heart of Nagrim Hegemony territory, and they had left a warning that they would strike again. Horgar knew that his warriors would have to be ready for the fight to come.
He signaled for the Sagitaur to be deployed along with Olaf Stonehelm and his Hernkyn Pioneers to scout ahead. His forces were getting ready to move out, to prepare for the long and bloody battle ahead. The fate of the Nagrim Hegemony hung in the balance, and Horgar would do whatever it took to defend his people.
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