4th Edition: The Writers of 'Invasion'

You've heard all about the Xirkaali, the big stars of the new INVASION book for Kings of War. But who else is going to be kicking off this new sweeping narrative?

Co-ordinated by C L Werner, a crack team was assembled to bring the story to life through new lore and fiction - covering not just the Xirkaali but also the Trident Realm, Salamanders and Halflings.

Let's introduce you to the team, along with some *spoiler-free* insight on what it was like to write the lore for Invasion! 

The Trident Realm – Ben Stoddard (author of Drowned Secrets)

I found Kings of War back in its second edition, and always wanted to have a hand in crafting the narrative for this world. Being in charge of the Trident Realm lore for this new book, I approached this project much the same way as my novels (like 'Drowned Secrets'); writing first the main points I wanted and needed to touch on, and building outwards from there.

Some of the story points and ideas were based on things that I had already thought of. A few of the narratives were directly lifted from stories that I'd already written, but never published. With some modifications, they fitted perfectly with the overall narrative. Some observant readers will even notice characters from the Tales of Pannithor novels being used, in fact. Other things that I had to write from scratch were done in conjunction with Clint's oversight, and it was fun working with such an experienced author. He was always really supportive and gave feedback on what things worked and what needed revisions.

I think the hardest part was writing the historical sections, as I didn’t want them to be dry. I pulled from all of my nearly 30 years as a wargamer to remember how similar stories have been told in all that time, what made them the most memorable and worked from that.

The end result is something that I am quite proud of, and that I think players will enjoy. I love that the factions are finally getting fleshed out to the level that we’ve always wanted, but that hasn’t necessarily been realistic until now. While Kings of War factions have always had character and potential, I think that we are finally going to see that realized in the way we've always hoped for with these new books. I look forward to seeing player reactions and working on future projects!

Salamanders – Mark Barber (author of the Sacred Ark series)

Salamanders are a popular faction in Kings of War, and for good reason. In a game which is known for its even balance, every faction needs to have some real character and individuality. Scaly lizard/reptile guys are a stalwart cornerstone of the fantasy genre; I remember them being in Fighting Fantasy way back when I made my first steps into the hobby (when I still had some youth)!

But the thing that separates Kings of Wars reptilian warriors from the most others is that these are the good guys. With that in mind, I wanted to lay down some priorities before I set out to work.

I had two main aims - first, respect the source material as it already stands. There’s a good smattering of salamander lore already out there, from the faction’s first real introduction in ‘Uncharted Empires’ back in v2, through the expanded lore in the v3 rulebook and the extra snippets of lore for each unit. I had also written a salamander character in the novel ‘Hero Falling’ (and still haven’t received any disgruntled mail about it), so I figured that was also on the right track! The aim was to expand on the foundations that were there - not to retcon or turn over somebody else’s previous hard work and creativity, but to add ‘canon’ clans with colours and emblems, the development of weaponry, and more.

My second priority, and arguably the greater one, was to make this faction cool for the players. People across the globe have invested a lot of time and money into their armies, and I wanted this faction’s background lore to live up to the expectation. No nasty surprises, just a good mixture of brutal reptilian aggression for the cause of good, and some light-heartedness along the way, too.

Just remember the first rule of catching a kaisenor raptor: 'stay away from the long grass…’

Ej Halflings – Scott Washburn (author of Broken Alliance)

I may have had the easiest job in writing for the new Invasion book, able to revisit old friends who'd appeared in earlier books, including my halfling novel 'Broken Alliance'. In that book I had already introduced the Ej Halflings, so had a foundation on which to build.

When I had written before about Shire Halflings, I went all the way back to their earliest times as wandering nomads and then the sundering of the race caused by the creation of the Infant Sea. Those that became the Shire Halflings went north, while those who went south became the Ej Halflings. I now had to backtrack to that point and decide exactly how different the Ej Halflings had become. Of course, that also brought in the elves (since they'd taken in the fleeing Halflings and given them a place to live), and not a lot has been written about them so far.

I also wanted a new map of the Ej Halfling homeland. Those of you who have read 'Broken Alliance' already know how much I love maps! Mantic already have a map of the general area, but I wanted more detail and they were kind enough to incorporate a lot of what I'd created into the forthcoming official maps.

Along with devising a culture and society for the Ej Halflings which was different (but not too different) from the Shire Halflings, I also had to address the major consequences of the Xirkaali Invasion...

Just what does that mean? Well, I don’t want to give that away here!

Thanks everybody!

New blogs, videos and stories will be dropping regularly between now and the launch of 4th Edition in December 2025.

Start your next tabletop army with game-legal battalions for the Xirkaali Empire, the Halflings, and the Trident Realm...with Salamanders coming in the near future as a digital army!

Watch out for more exciting Kings of War news HERE.