Along with the awesome models that the Starter Set comes with, you also have a 96 page book that contains some background, basics of painting, scenarios, and warscrolls.
I'll give the warscrolls a more proper delve with a Lore Library post, but let's talk about the book in general.
The first 20 pages are an introduction to the setting. Much of what's written here is also found in the White Dwarf 75 articles, but we get a little more detail. While the list of Realms and Grand Alliances are exactly the same, a little more attention is given to the set-up of what is now being called the Realmsgate Wars. This is the first arc of the Age of Sigmar storyline, the first offensive by the Eternals that is chronicled in the early fiction, hardcover release, and this Starter Set. As has been the standard so far, the art is excellent and is a mix of original art and photos of the models.
The next 22 pages are split between The Storm Made Flesh and Blades of the Blood God. Here, each army gets profiles done on them, which each unit given a half-page photo of a beautifully painted model and a half-page of text about them. The named characters get background related specifically to them, while the more standard units get a description of the units themselves, even if certain characters have been named in those units in the novella or elsewhere. There is a little more information than can be taken from The Gates of Azyr, but this is more an encyclopedic overview than look into the character's mind (as is to be expected). Of note, the Eternals get a "Force Organization Chart" that doesn't help with the comparisons to Space Marines.
After that is The Pageantry of War, an 8-page that has very basic painting guides for both armies. These are simply 6 progressive shots of a Liberator, Bloodwarrior, and Bloodreaver and may be helpful with the information found in White Dwarf 75, but certainly isn't going to teach complete new comers how to paint. For that, both the Painting Guide and the excellent YouTube videos GW has been releasing for each figure is way more informative. More importantly, however, is that we get to seem the color schemes of other factions of the two starter armies. The Eternals have 6 "Stormhosts" and we get 6 "Warbands" for Khorne. Each gets a few sentences about what makes them different from one another along with some colored line art to show how their paint schemes differ. I'm a big fan of the Aqua and Maroon with Gold/Silver Highlights that the Celestial Vindicator Stormhost uses, also, pretty sweet name.
Next is Fire & Thunder, 16 pages that comprise of 6 scenarios that act as tutorial and a linked mini-campaign. These are, as I guessed, the events that take place in The Gates of Azyr. Here players have a chance to recreate the first offensive against Chaos as a Chamber from the Hammers of Sigmar attempt to open a Realmgate in Aqshy to allow the rest of Sigmar's armies in. In a way, this goes back to the roots of many wargames, as they generally started out as a chance to recreate historic battles and maybe have different results. The same things is, in essence, happening here. Players are allowed to "recreate" the opening salvo of the Realmsgate Wars and potentially have a different outcome than what "actually happened" (or canonically happens according to the fiction). The first scenario comprises of just the Lord-Celestant taking on the Khorgorath and Bloodstoker and ramps up adding more models with new rules until the final two use the whole armies from each starter set.
This allows players to learn a few special rules outside the core ones each time and, if played in order, a chance to use the Major Victory rule as well. The first scenario can even be played solo and the last gives you the option to use more models than what is just in the Starter Set, so by the end, you're playing with full armies and full rules. It's all set-up with one page of fluff text along with a second page listing the armies each side can take, the set-up if it differs from standard rules, win conditions, and even a few hints & tricks. I think this is an awesome way to play the game. It not only teaches the rules, but extends the game into something beyond each player setting-up some troops and going after one another (which can still be done using just the rules themselves). It helps forge a story and it is how GW plans on moving the story forward as the game progresses. The big 256-page book contains several more scenarios allowing you to play out more key moments in the Realmsgate Wars.
There is a 10 page section called Battle Unleashed next that is mostly there to sell more models. There is a spread of each army from the Starter Set with more units added to look more grandiose along with text about how to increase your army by buying a second Starter Set (and trading units to a friend, so you only have to pay for half, see!) as well as a few photos of models from other armies to wet your appetite for future releases.
The next 15 pages after that contain the Warscrolls of all the Units in the Starter Set. These all follow the standard format that's seen on-line and in the new Age of Sigmar app. I'll take a closer look at these in a Lore Library to really pull apart what you can learn fluff-wise about each unit from the scrolls.
The final 4 pages contain Warscroll Battalions which add an interesting new layer to the game. Warscroll Battalions allow you to gain a few more special rules for an army if they are composed of the units listed on the Warscroll. Again, recreating some of the special tactics specific Chambers or Warbands or other collections of units would have if they are made up of "canon" deployments. Each army gets one and they are made up of the exact units that are found in the Starter Set. The Eternals get the Thunderstrike Brotherhood, that gain both a Bravery buff and the ability to "Deep Strike" (Again, not helping the Space Marines similarities) by coming down from the sky in shells of ball lightning, as they do in the novel. And the Khorne Bloodbound get the Goreblade which allows them to reroll Charge attempts and let's them buff Attacks if they see a unit wiped out that turn.
All in all, there is plenty here to not only get you started, but offer you quite a bit of game time without having to add any other purchases. It's an excellent starter set, especially for it's price, and a good start to a new era of Warhammer.
Next, a look at the game in play to give the rules a proper review, a lore library on what's inside the Starter Set book, and then onto the Painting Guide.
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