Anyaral: The Kedashi Swarms Kickstarter

Die Welt von Anyaral bekommt wieder Zuwachs.

For years we’ve heard rumours of the creatures that live within the vast and deadly Naralon forests, and now is your chance to help unleash the fury of the Kedashi swarms!

Welcome to the world of Anyaral!

Anyaral is the setting for the World of Twilight, a project I’ve been working on for over twenty years, from early sketches of this world’s denizens to the vast array of characters and creatures that have been designed and sculpted over the years. The Chronicles of Anyaral book brought together some of the background and all the core rules for playing, but inevitably we keep on exploring new parts of the world and continuing the story.

Many of you are returning once again to this world (welcome back!), but if this is your first visit to Anyaral, then I recommend having a look at our site, or at our previous kickstarters for a broader introduction.

The frenu that live in the forests of Anyaral were some of the earliest creatures I sketched, a race of fiercely territorial little flying creatures who lived within the great woods. Over the years those initial frenu evolved into the mysterious Kedashi swarms, their trebarnii servants and numerous beasties and monsters they control.

It’s been a few years since the first frenu were sculpted (in collaboration with the talented Mark Craggs) and the range has been popular ever since, even with only playtest rules for people to try. I’ve been trying to get the rules fully released for the last couple of years, but life has somehow got in the way (not to mention me getting distracted sculpting other side projects…). In that time the range has grown with an array of new creatures and trebarnii, so the time hasn’t gone to waste!

Some new trebarnii pets – the hunting akitiin!

The Kedashi are the true rulers of the forests of Anyaral. While the devanu rose to dominate Anyaral and then fell as the fubarnii grew their empire, the Kedashi have kept to themselves. There has always been the understanding that the outsiders would not disturb their territory.

As the Delgon invasion of the Fubarnii Empire has stalled, the Enarii have cast their eyes to the Naralon forests. These vast territories could provide untapped resources, fuel for their engines of war and perhaps safe paths through to the Southern clans.

These trespasses have not gone unnoticed and now the Kiterak, one of the great rulers of the Kedashi, is gathering her forces to repel the invaders and teach all outsiders a lesson they will not forget for thousands of years.

Kickstarter has proved to be an excellent way for me to expand the world of Anyaral – the recent campaigns we have run have given me the chance to focus on one part or other of the world in more detail, either introducing a new culture (such as the Casanii) or focusing in detail on some characters (Civilians of Lanakar and The God, the Guns and the Beastie). This campaign is focused on giving the Kedashi a full release – releasing several new playable starter forces and unleashing some monstrous creatures to accompany them. I will also be polishing up the Kedashi Traveller that I have slowly been working on for the last couple of years, along with reference cards so that you can field your freshly painted forces on the battlefield.

I realise not everybody wants to build a new force, so I’m also expanding rules and scenarios so you can use a smaller selection of beasts or characters in scenarios.

The Models

This is probably the main reason most of you are here!

A large portion of the range has been released in one form or other over the years, but I’ve been quietly working on a few additions. I’ve also taken the opportunity to shift the main starter forces into metal. I originally released all the frenu and kaopi in resin – it is a lovely material, but prone to breakages and difficult to include in starter forces due to the price. I’ve been amazed how well our casters have managed to produce these models in metal and this transition has been key to turning these into a full force rather than a fun sideline.

Some of the larger models would never be practical in metal, so I’ve kept nearly all the big beasties as resin models! I’ll also have a few sets of resin masters of the new models that might appeal to collectors.

The kellanion akitiin in all its gribbly glory! (available as a resin add-on)

Since the early days when we started publishing rules for Twilight it was obvious that it was never going to stay still for long! Even before I had the rulebooks back from the printers I had already started on the next set of sculpts. To manage this, we have occasionally published the Twilight Travellers. They are all available to download, but they’ve also been compiled into books over the years. The first were combined into the Chronicles of Anyaral, which is still the core of all the rules. Since then we have released two Compiled Travellers and a separate Traveller just for the Casanii. The Kedashi were first introduced in one of the Compiled Travellers but it is about time they got their own rulebook. The book will be at least 24 pages long and include all the specific rules you need to play the Kedashi swarms. I get the distinct feeling that I may have to expand the book, but we shall see how it goes over the next couple of weeks!

I have also created several sets of reference cards that I find invaluable when playing! The Kedashi Traveller will come complete with a set of cards for all the models in the book.

Every campaign I’ve run has included a little mascot character to lead the way. This time I’ve chosen a Swarmcaller. The Swarmcallers are members of the trebarnii race. The trebarnii are seen as little more than beasts by their civilised fubarnii cousins, but within the forests they have been raised up as invaluable servants of their Kedashi gods. The Swarmcallers have proven their value to the Kedashi queens by being able to control the swarms of frenu, sending them against the enemies.

The Swarmcaller is a perfect entry point for trying out a few frenu and I’ll include a scenario so you can use them as an encounter within your standard games.

Those of you who have seen previous campaigns will know that I like to keep things reasonably simple (but have a habit of getting carried away!).

I’ve kept the postage as low as I can for the small pledges, so there may be a charge after the campaign for additional postage if you buy add-ons. The postage on the two larger pledges will cover any add-ons you might like to add!

•  Enthusiastic Supporter: You can either use this pledge to just show your support, or you can add on any random add-ons you would like (extra postage for add-ons).
•  The Swarmcaller: This metal figure is (of course) accompanied by a few frenu (extra postage for add-ons).
•  The Kedashi Traveller: This is the book itself, plus a set of reference cards and the Swarmcaller (with 6 frenu) (extra postage for add-ons).
•  Enter the Forest: Every Kedashi queen or trebarnii boss needs to start somewhere! This set comes with your choice of starter force, as well as the rules, cards and the Swarmcaller.
•  The Newcomer: If you are new to Anyaral, then this pledge is a great place to start! It gives you all the rules you need to play, along with two playable forces that will give a nice introduction to the game and are tailored to fit some starter scenarios.

The Starter Forces

The Kedashi are a hugely varied race, governed by the ancient and wise queens. We have created three starter forces that serve as clear examples of the different styles of force available. Each starter force is roughly balanced against each other and the existing Twilight starter forces.

It is rare for the Kedashi queens to descend from the nests of the great home trees, but with more outsiders venturing into the forests the young queens are feeling it necessary to see them with their own eyes. The queens are invariably accompanied by their kin, the majestic kaopi and swarms of the countless frenu.

The trebarnii are truly loyal to their masters and creators. They craft weapons and train beasts to serve the Kedashi. This force includes another Swarmcaller to lead the way and manipulate the frenu that accompany them. The tohkarri bomb carrier and the brute give this force some nasty hitting power.

The trebarnii are the most common minions of the Kedashi, with their hulking brutes and skill at goading creatures into battle.

This breed of trebarnii spend their lives high in the trees, serving as sentries for their queens. When they spot danger they can be heard from miles around, leaping through the canopy or over the backs of herds of vicious abrok. The bands of howlers are almost invariably accompanied by the long clawed seldoath, who lend their deep bellows to the treetop cacophony.

Add-ons:

The core starter forces are a great way to try the new force out, but there were a few creatures that are simply too big to fit in them! These models can be added to any of the starter forces to add a bit of interest! If you would like to add the Kiterak herself, or one of the larger beasts then you can add these to any pledge. The postage for „Enter the Forest“ and „The Newcomer“ will cover any add-ons, but if you would like to tailor a smaller pledge then we may have to contact you after the campaign for some additional postage.

The ancient queens of the forest rule from their councils high up in the canopy. The Kiterak is one of the most ancient and it is her territory where the Delgon have trespassed.

The great beasts of the forest are coaxed into battle by brave trebarnii. The bagrun are semi-domesticated and are used as beasts of burden by the trebarnii. The poor creatures are sometimes laden with clay bombs filled with vicious garkrid that the frenu are trained to drop on trespassers.

Die Kampagne läuft noch 7 Tage.

Quelle: Anyaral: The Kedashi Swarms