Creating this in advance to centralize discussions of the soon to be released book, this is going to be awesome!
Ok, now that I have the pdf, I think the best way for us to approach debating and commenting on the 200+ pages of content it has is for an artificially slowed down pace, so we can savour together the coolest stuff as we go through it. Hence, today I shall be reading and sharing my thoughts here about "LAND OF THE ANCIENTS: The Mysterious Continent of Lustria is Described", which is the books first and introductory section. For the most part, this section reads not too differently from any introduction to Lustria you'd see in the compiled in the wikis or in previous army books, but it does mention a lot of stuff that is either new or confims long-held headcanons and theories: -"Each week ships carrying adventurers and colonists cross the ocean." This puts it into context how busy migration to Lustria is, if there's enough people wanting to go for leaving voyages to be a weekly affair. -"For many ages of the world, Lustria remained hidden to the folk of the Old World. This was not through accident or geographical oddity, but as a result of a network of magical wards, enchantments which disorient intruders and repel daemonic entities. The efficacy of these enchantments has dwindled over the ages, and now most experienced navigators can reliably guide a vessel to the shores of Lustria, but whilst they have lost their former power, the wards still exert an influence upon those who set foot there. Many of those who visit the land report feelings of disorientation and despair, a malaise of the mind and spirit." Important stuff to keep in mind! If you are writing a story set in the setting's past, Lustria might not be known to exist at all, and its dishorienting effects are still somewhat active! -"During the equinoxes, Lustria experiences sudden and dramatic seasons of rain." Interestlingly, this would mean that Lustria has two rainy and two dry seasons, which coincide with the solar year and not with how real seasons operate. -"The Asur (...) claim that at the height of their empire their territory included significant holdings on the isthmus and the southern cape of the continent." Interesting stuff, the elves claim (which means the book isn't calling it a truth or lie) that they used to have an actual colonial empire, not just outposts, in Lustria. -The section on the Spine of Sotek is one I specially liked, it claims that the range is covered in glaciers, has dozens of active volcanoes and dotted with ancient Lizardmen sites. And that the only straightforward route through them is the Chasm of the Condor, which is still dangerous because the Xhotl lizardmen still guard it. -The Tribulation of Averheim, The Chronicle of Itza, the writings of Colombo and Pirazzo, Dreams of Lustria, The Tyranny of Lord Zhul (this one is special, it seems to be a recorded instance of a daemon possesing a slann), The Jellaba Fragments and Chronicles of Beltharius are all books which are mentioned as being in-world sources of information about Lustria and the Lizardmen. But people ignore and misinterpret them a lot in-setting. -A fun section details how Losteriksson wasn't actually the first man to visit Lustria. That honor belongs to his father, Erik the Lost.
"PLACES OF POWER: Describing Arcane Sites Found Across the Continent" is basically a travel guide, but does finally give us actual descriptions for locations which before only existed as markers in the map. (It actually goes over more than 5 locations, don't worry) - Yep, imperials seem to indeed generally believe Lizardmen are just warm climate beastmen. -Ziggurat of Dawn: It's close to Skeggi, but norscans have learned never to raid it, going instead for distant targets.A flame of Chotec is kept burning within to cleanse chaos-touched artifacts. There's a rumor about it granting the power of the sun, so multiple people have become bacon trying to use it to mimic the Flame of Asuryan. It seems to be slowly dwindling. It is guarded by the Keeper of the Flame, a unique Lizardman spawn who is always born in time to replace the previous keeper. -Stellar Pyramids of The Southern Skies: Their tiers are ringed instead of rectangular or square. There's three of them, and they track the moon,stars and sun. The tiers actually rotate like gears, but they do so with such slowness that the human eye can't tell. Slann meditate in their shadow but not inside or atop them, something apparently unique. They can be used to tell the future, but the main one is all wonky and unreliable since a dark elf sorceress used it. -Head Monoliths of the Fallen Gods: A series of giant stone heads look out toward the sea. Their designs are unique but they were still created by the Lizardmen. They Lizardmen don't tend to them or worship them, so its unclear what the "gods" they represent might be to begin with. -Lake Xuhua: Basically an expy of the irl Lake Guatavita. Except massive and filled with so much gold it glows in the night. Anyone who dives into the lake is trapped. All they can do is hammer helplessly against the surface as their lungs burn out. So the lake is filled with tons of gold, bloated corpses and sunken buildings. -Wellsprings of Eternity: The Lizardmen believe the Wellsprings were once important to the Old Ones, a place where their silver sky chariots would come to prepare for journeys across space, but it want all wonky when Mazda changed the lay of the land around it to curbstomp a bunch of druchii. They had to carve a massive stelae to retether it to the Geomantic Web. Drinking from it gives you visions. -Marks of the Old Ones: Nazca Lines expies. It is apparently something the Lizardmen built to try to reconnect with the Old Ones, like SOS signals. The Centinels of Xeti, on the other hand are like telescopes, actively looking for them. Kroxigors still clean them up, but otherwise abandonned. -The Amaxon: What you'd expect from the Warhammer Amazon River. -Piranha Swamps:When invasion seems likely, Skinks will damn sections of it to starve and frenzy the fish, releasing them just at the moment the foe is passing through, -The Great Confluence: The hearland of Lustria, a set of massive waterfalls with pyramids floating on top of them. It's the meeting place the Slann use the few times they meet in person. Two of the temples honor Tzunki and Xokha. But the main one is abandonned and its glyphs obliterated, its sealed and not even terradons use it as a perch. Apparently the glyphs might have looked like a hooded figure or a bell (maybe Skaven stuff?) but no one is sure. -Gwakmol Crater: Site of the biggest victory against the Skaven by the Lizardmen. They captured thousands of ratmen on its slopes and Tehenhauin used it in his biggest sacrificial revelry ever. It's filled with snakes and stained red. The ratmen never dare approach it. The altar at the center of it is older than Sotek tho, and no one knows what it might have been before. -The Emerald Pools: Fountain of Yoith expy, the Slann bathe in them often. -Beujuntae:Entrance to a great vault forgotten even by the Lizardmen, it is constantly moving and impossible to track. Inside are kept great golden discs, within which daemons are trapped since their defeat during the Great Catastrophe. It's basically a nuclear silo with no map to it. -The Volcanic Isles: Some of the greatest lizardmen artifacts, like Gor-Rok's mace, were forced in the smaller island (Spitting Serpent), using the volcano as a forge. The Fuming Serpent is inactive and a pilgrimage place for the Cult of Sotek. -Sentinels of Xeti: Basically radiotelescopes for the winds of magic. The Slann in charge of them is as close to depression as a lizardman can be. Once they piked up a transmision from an Altdorf magister, much to their chagrin. -Mine of The Bearded Skulls: Complex built into one of the tallest peaks of the Spine. It's filled with carvings of bearded skulls indeed. No one is sure wether long lost dwarves or something else built it. -The Fire Bogs: Another creation by Mazda, he made them to preserve the territory around sunken Chupayotl. Every now and then the broken magic in there does burst out with great gusts of flame. The lizarmdmen don't visit because it is a pinful memory. -The Sky Roads: Enormous obsidian pathways suspended from towering pillars. They used to connect the sites in southern Lustria like Oyxl and Chupayotl, But big chunks have fallen into disrepair. -Sentinel of Time: Literally a person frozen in time (human or elf, unclear), not petrified literally just paralyzed for eternity, overlooking the Culchan Plains. Anyone who steps into the plataform the sentinel stands on becomes the new sentinal.
SKEGGI: A Colony of Norse Marauders Raiding and Trading on the Isthmus of Lustria" A very nice overview of the shitshown that is Skeggi. -Fun-fucked up-fact: Losteriksson's kid, who Skeggi was named after, died of gumrot a few days after she was born. Quite the tone setter. -Jungle pigs are farmed (likely peccaries); skins have been replaced with grass weaves. They make very sweet and hallucinogenic mead from the honey of big-ass bees. They call new arrivals "Ice bears." -Sammi Fiorgeirsson, second ever Jarl of Skeggi, strangled Losteriksson to death, but it's assumed that they both hailed from the Bjorlings. He's the one who started pushing inland, Losteriksson was cautious. -The first time the Lizardmen attacked Skeggi, the siege lasted 10 fucking years. Another time Lizardmen set the city on fire, and a third one a Skink triggered a tsunami with a meteor. -Book continues the tradition of people having no idea what the Amazons are, mentions both the "Norscan shildmaidens who picked up worship of the Old Ones." and the "Completely new species." theories. -People are actively digging around the beaches Skeggi is built on top of to find Losteriksson's skull, because his crown was bolted to his head after his death. -A pigdin language is spoken in Skeggi, mainly a mix of norscan, estalian and tilean. - The Dodvakt (meaning Deathkeepers) are Skeggi's guarding navy, their job is to keep Luthor's guys at bay. They are so succesful as a deterrence than most Pirate Kings of Port Reaver swear not to touch norscan longships. It is also mutually beneficial: As long as the Norscans are around, no Old World nation can squash piracy down. -There's also the Veslvakt, the Sneak-Guard, whose job is to protect the city from the creeping greenery, wildlife and passing Lizardmen. And the Jarlvakt, who protect the king. -We also got a nice new map that settles down a lot of specific locations for the settlements: -The current King of Skeggi(a tzeench-worshipping woman, because Norsca doesn't have a female word for king, is called Adella of The Thousand Mouths. She rules through dividing the factions rather than by overpowering them. She is extremely mutated -Many Norscan villages have a cave or barrow on the outskirts where the sacrifices or totems are placed or buried. In Skeggi this pile has become so large that its become an entire Corpse Reef just by the entrance of the city. It's literallly a half-submerged hill of bodies. -Soren Hoarder is the most esteemed vitki(basically a self-proclaimed priest or shaman) in Skeggi. He has recieved so many gifts for his visions and help that he carries around hoard larger than himself. -We now have a map of Skeggi! -We get some info about places around Skeggi, some of which is crazy (like a tribe of human and elven inmigrants who are trying to mimic the Lizardmen) which I can't really go over while doing it justice.
-Wellsprings of Eternity: The Lizardmen believe the Wellsprings were once important to the Old Ones, a place where their silver sky chariots would come to prepare for journeys across space, but it want all wonky when Mazda changed the lay of the land around it to curbstomp a bunch of druchii. They had to carve a massive stelae to retether it to the Geomantic Web. Drinking from it gives you visions. [/QUOTE] Any chance you could give us a pic of this section? Would help with some lore thing i'm writing up and haven't had the coin for the book yet. Ty for doing this summary too