RPG publisher Cubicle 7 has revealed what to expect from new character archetypes in the upcoming Era of the Beast expansion to the Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Soulbound RPG. Archetypes in Soulbound are similar to classes in DnD, and they’re one of the biggest choices players make for their characters. In a December 7 preview article on the firm’s blog, Cubicle 7 gives details of ten archetypes from the upcoming book: five aelf (elf) archetypes, one human, three Stormcast Eternals, and a single Draconith – true dragons that have only just returned to the Mortal Realms.
Cubicle 7 promises that the new Errant Draconith will be “every bit as deadly as you would expect from a dragon”, complete with “thick scales, scything claws, titanic wingspan and a devastating flame breath”. To balance out that power, the Draconith is also naive. Narratively, this is because their species has been sheltered by the Seraphon (space-faring lizardfolk) for untold ages, and they have only just returned to the world of mortals. The publisher doesn’t explain precisely what this means in game terms, saying only that “at character creation, an Errant Draconith can expect to have almost no training in the finer points of life in the Mortal Realms”.
The Draconith was hinted at in the Soulbound reveals for GenCon 2022, but this is the first time that Cubicle 7 has explained how they plan to balance such a colossal monster in a party of comparatively wee adventurers. The most recent preview also reveals that players can take on the role of a Free Peoples Witch Hunter, Lumineth (high elf) Scinari Loreseeker, or Stormcast Eternal Knight-Judicator – a bow-wielding warrior accompanied by two dog-like Gryphounds. The article also gives more details on six, previously-revealed archetypes.
The Era of the Beast expansion is set in Ghur, the Realm of Beasts, which (as the name suggests) is a land defined by huge monsters and primal wilderness. This moves the story of Soulbound on: the main antagonist from the launch of the game was the Nighthaunt, but Era of the Beast will update the narrative to match the progress of Warhammer Age of Sigmar, which has focused on Ghur since the launch of the wargame’s third edition.
Cubicle 7 announced Era of the Beast in August 2021 and revealed it at GenCon 2022, but the preview article only states that the expansion is “fast approaching”.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Soulbound is sometimes overshadowed by its sister game Warhammer 40,000: Wrath and Glory, which appears in both our list of tabletop RPG dice systems that are better than DnD, and the top tabletop RPGs, but it was a close-run thing. If the idea of playing a naive dragon has you excited to generate some new characters, check out our list of the playable DnD races to pick out a scaly starting point.