Nova Aetas: Dark Renaissance Tactical Game

Waiting second wave recap Ep. 3
over 8 years ago – Fri, Nov 24, 2017 at 08:23:47 PM

Hi guys!

Welcome to the third episode of our trip to Nova Aetas's second wave! In this update, we will introduce the four epic classes with which you can evolve the core box heroes!

The Templar

These sacred warriors reformed the order excommunicated almost 200 years earlier to defend the faith but are kept separate from the Church of Rome, which they no longer trust. this Epic Class can be used by your Knights or Preacher heroes.

The Templar Epic equipment. The Cilice is a painful help for the Templar ;) ( yes all the epic class cards have colourful arts).

When you take an Epic class you have to choose one of the two Epic skills. Both the Templar skills use Sacrifice Point to trigger powerful effects. To keep the count of the Sacrifice point you have to put a d6 on the skill card

The Traveller

Wandering adventurers, reckless thieves, dominators of space and time, Travellers are known as unpredictable and powerful individuals capable of spectacular and reckless actions. This amazing Epic class can be used by a Rogue or a Chronomacer!

The equipment of the Traveller allows him to continue to exploit his Chronomancer skills in new and spectacular ways. Thief shooting skills will be useful to exploit the insidious Sloth Daggers.

With its epic skills, the Traveller may decide to launch a terrible final attack or plunder the battlefields once the hostilities are over.

 The Necromancer

These obscure magicians embraced the study of the darkest side of their mental abilities, under the guidance of the mysterious "Uomo Nero" they learn to deceive the death. Obviously, they are kept hidden from the Church strict eye.

Among the macabre Necromancer equipment, we find the Bone Marionette, her faithful guardian and the lethal Reaper's Glove that use the Assassin's combo point.

The power of the death itself, freed from its Summon of Hades skill, makes the necromancer more powerful depending on the number of models killed on the battlefield!

The Scourge

A new kind of soldier is wandering in the Italian battlefields, the so-called Scourge! These mercenaries combine their warrior skills with the Renaissance scientific discoveries by creating a lethal mix of assassin fury and chemical weapons!

Scourge becomes more lethal by increasing the number of enemies he hurt, thanks to his special ability: Agony. Through the fruits of its constant search, it becomes a precious ally to support the entire party, thanks to his very useful skill: Power of Science!

I left you with some pics of our test on Nova Aetas PVP rules. The skirmish rules are gaining great success here in the studio and between our testers and soon we will speak about it more in-depth. In Pandora's box you will find everything you need to play with the 3 factions of the NA core box but now we are testing the brand-new Undersiege faction: the Imperials!

And for this update that's all folks! I hope you like all this stuff and continue to follow us!

LMS

Waiting second wave recap Ep. 2 (and Essen report)
over 8 years ago – Thu, Nov 09, 2017 at 11:56:46 PM

Hi guys! 

We have come back from the intense convention-period and we have a lot of stuff to show you! But let's begin with the recap of our "Waiting Second Wave" series ;).

Giovanni del Nord

We have arrived at the end of the Paersona series with this proud warrior from the north. Giovanni is a hardened captain of the “Scudi Neri”, the last standing bastion of the Papal States in the long war against the Lansquenets. He earned himself the title Giovanni del Nord when he became commander of the troops of Ferrara, the northern settlement under Vatican holds. Those who evade his sword, perish at the mercy of his wolf.

Giovanni goes into battle with the faithful wolf, which gives him a good mobility. Wounds do not frighten him with "His guard is not over" and with "The North doesn't forget" are even useful.

 And finally Giovanni's Miniature!

2 new hero!

With the second wave, we introduce new heroes to improve your Company, two of them are the genial Architect and the mystical Cabalist. Let's give a look at this new guys!

The Architect

This hero will be your preferred if you love to modify the battlefield and surprise your enemies with genial inventions. Even the 2 specializations use special equipment like Meccano or Artifacts.

The Architect's equipment is a mix of technological inventions just created and antique objects lost in time and recovered from a far past!

 The Antiquarian can use powerful Artifacts during a battle. These incredible relics are randomly picked from his bag and used once per mission.  

 And finally the miniature!

The Cabalist

This is one of the heroes created by the collaboration of one of you! Warren Tusk is the active backer that help us to give a life to this new hero.

As for the Apprentice, the Cabalist is not a very physical hero but he can support the party and inflict some damage and conditions to the enemies.

 The Cabalist has access to the "Rituals", a sort of powerful spells but that inflict some penalties the to the Cabalist. Another powerful skill is the Golem evocation, a pet that protects and help his master

 And finally the awesome Cabalist miniature! The model obviously has the features of Warren Tusk! Say HELLO Warren!

Essen year two

Once again, we have returned from Essen safe and sound! And just like the other years, we’re buzzing with energy after having met so many of you guys and making so many important new professional contacts.

First things first, we’d like to thank the guys (almost all of whom are our backers) who came to help out at the booth! Huge thanks to Niklas Fröse, Adnreas Micheel, Bernd Stumpf, Matthias Hasenpusch and massive good wishes for Bram Kok, who following a sporting accident was unable to join our troops, but who came anyway to say hello and offer his support! A genuine thank you guys, it was a pleasure and honor to work with you! 

The fair was exhilarating as always: we made hundreds of demos, introducing Nova Aetas to those who didn’t know it yet and playing it with the many backers who came past to check out the new miniatures.

In fact, on the fantastic demo table (made by Captain Andrea's team), we played a mission with the new miniatures straight out of “Under Siege”, including the incredible Jager in all his beastly beauty.

During the four-day exhibition, our fantastic booth was visited by hundreds of players who were able to try not only Nova Aetas, but also Sine Tempore, with another fantastic demo table containing all the core box miniatures and our new project, Black Rose Wars, with a fantastic prototype and demo games guided by the author of the game himself, the super-talented Marco Montanaro. 

One interesting announcement is that we finished all the last copies of Vesuvio’s Forge in Essen, which for the time being won’t be reprinted, so hold on tight to your Cyclopes!  

Finally, this year Essen was once more very generous to us and we can’t wait to go back next year!!

That's all for now! We’ll see you guys on the message board and in a couple of weeks for another Update!

LMS

Waiting second wave recap Ep. 1
over 8 years ago – Wed, Oct 25, 2017 at 11:36:39 PM

Hi guys!

As promised it's arrived the first "Waiting second wave" recap!

Let's starts with some Paersona!

Caterina Sforza

The Lady of Imola and Forlì. Courageous and fearless, she is also a fine alchemist. Imprisoned by the Borgia in Castel Sant’Angelo, she managed to escape by poisoning her jailers, obtaining the title of “Belladonna”. The sightings of Caterina became increasingly rare, as she wandered building on her knowledge of poisons and tonics.

Caterina is a truly versatile character, she has good physical and mind values. Her rapidity value, which is lower than others, means she can be activated more often than many other models.

Caterina is also a terrible adversary. Difficult to strike because of her high physical and mind values, she also has an attack able to inflict two special effects. Her annoying ability to control makes her the last enemy you'd want to meet on the battlefield.

Her skills mean she can move her way around the battlefield and distract enemies.

Lothar

Lothar Basler is the most controversial figure in the endless battle of the church against the heresy. He pursues a personal revenge against the forces of evil, so is not directly subordinate to His Holiness. Thanks to his Shaka Ni Mha ritual blade, he is able to wound all types of enemies. The protagonist of the Lothar Basler's novel trilogy, of the talented writer Marco Davide.

His high physical characteristic makes Lothar an excellent fighter, while his discrete mind characteristic allows him to use powerful magical attacks.

Having Lothar as an enemy is risky due to the double nature of his attacks (physical and magical), the possibility to inflict cursed and bleeding and his lethal close combat skills against many heroes.

Lothar’s equipment allows him to defend against his adversary’s spells, wound them from a distance with his trusty Flintlock and finish them off with his Shaka Ni Mha.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci is the keeper of human knowledge. A skilled engineer, painter, and inventor who dedicates his life to technological research. The name Leonardo however, can also be heard in the black market of Florence, where it is possible to buy his inventions. What few people know, is that Da Vinci collects ancient relics of unknown origin

 Leonardo's exceptional intelligence means he has a high mental characteristic, unlike his physical characteristic, which is decidedly low

Leonardo's incredible knowledge is also a terrible weapon for heroes who cross his path as an adversary. His Clear Mind skill and a value of 7+ to be wounded by magical attacks, makes Leonardo a hard catch for the spell-makers!

Leonardo is the genius of re-rolls! In fact, with "Clear Mind", he can re-roll a die when struck by a magical attack and with "Know Your Enemy", allies can re-roll a die when attack a specific enemy.

Pheew what a long ride..and this is only the beginning we have a lot of other stuff to show you! 

In the next weeks, we upload all the new rulebooks so you can begin to read them and been ready to play when the II wave will be in your hands ;)

Stay tuned!

p.s. We hope to see a lot of you to Essen from tomorrow!

Second Wave is coming!
over 8 years ago – Thu, Oct 05, 2017 at 11:24:47 PM

Hi everyone!  

It’s been some time since our last update. Summer is finally over and a fantastic Autumn has just begun. We apologize for our absence here on KS, but we haven’t been sitting on our laurels :). As those of you who follow us on BGG and FB would know, we’ve been working hard to fine-tune all the last details of the second wave! And we’re finally ready! Production of the materials has begun and we’re confident that in just a few months, you can finally enjoy Nova Aetas at 100%.  

We know that when all is said and done, the delay will have been equivalent to a year or so with respect to our original estimate, so we are very grateful for your patience. Creating NA has taken much more time than we had expected, but it has been an unforgettable experience and above all, it has helped us acquire that additional “know-how”, helping us to keep improving our games... and through it all, you guys have been the key players, so all this is only thanks to you!  

But before we get emotional (again), let’s get back to the topics of this update!  

Production notes  

Production has begun and we’d like to update you on a few points:  

Wave I revamp - As many of you would know, over these last few months, together with many Backers, we have been seriously reviewing the NA rulebook, to the point where we’ve even reviewed certain rules and edited some of the more uncertain points. Now the rulebook (and the plotbook) have massively improved, and in addition to being available free on our support site (http://support.ludusmagnusstudio.com) , they will also be printed and resent to all of you, together with the second Wave. The same is true for the game cards. Many of the cards have been edited and corrected, so, to make sure we don't create any confusion, we have another surprise for you! We are proud to inform you that we will resend the entire set of core box and Vesuvio’s Forge cards, updated as per the latest version of the rulebook!! We are so happy to have been able to do all this with you and for you, without needing to run a new KS campaign. Basically, with the Second Wave, you’ll receive Nova Aetas 1.5... completely free!! 

Card sleeve – As you know, one of the SGs unlocked during the KS campaign related to the protective sleeves for all your core box cards. Unfortunately, we’ve encountered a few difficulties in planning production for this SG, so the cards will not have the decorated back with the famous renaissance paintings. We realized that these decorated backs would have caused serious problems for players during play, given that they would have covered the original back of the cards (as you know, in many cases this is fundamental), and creating different sleeves for each type of card would have led to further delays in production. Therefore, you will receive a complete set of transparent sleeves to protect the NA core box cards. We are sorry for this arbitrary change, but we made the right decision, for your sake too.

Arlecchino! - If you remember, you’ll find this additional bonus miniature in Pandora’s Box! The Harlequin is our gift to thank you for your patience and was chosen by you, during a public survey. This insidious new enemy will be added to the NA Venetian enemy faction! 

“Waiting for the second wave” 

We know that the wait has been exhausting. Therefore, to help you get through these next few months, next week on our Facebook page we’ll be starting a new section, where we will display and describe one of the second wave materials, every day. 

Each day, you can discover how the novelties you're about to receive, actually work. For those who aren’t FB fans, every 2 weeks we’ll post a recap of the things shown on FB here, with an update entirely dedicated to the new materials! So get ready for 9th October, with the first episode of “Waiting for the second wave”. The first topic: the Paersona! Be ready to learn all about the tiger of Forlì! 

Essen

October has begun in the name of the Essen fair! We're finishing off preparations so that we can bring a number of important novelties to this important event. We will have impressive 4 demonstration tables dedicated to Nova Aetas, Sine Tempore, and the upcoming Black Rose. On the Nova Aetas tables, you can try a mission dedicated to Under Siege, try your luck with the force of the Lansquenets and meet a dangerous rival.

On the Sine Tempore table, you’ll get a first taste of the power of Fato, included in the core box during the campaign.

Finally, there’ll be a table to try Black Rose, the new game that will be released on Kickstarter under our own brand, and written by the talented Marco Montanaro (scheduled for the first quarter of the new year).

Those who come to visit us in Essen will have the possibility to receive a hard copy of the first Ashes special and a promo card for Nova Aetas.

That’s all for this update guys! Stay tuned as always!

During a very hot summer...
over 8 years ago – Sat, Aug 19, 2017 at 01:29:31 AM

Hi everyone,  

here we are finally with a new, rich update.  

In September, Whatz Games will begin the production of the entire second wave. We will start with the miniatures - which need roughly an extra two months of preparation - before moving on to the printed material in November.  

We’ve nearly finished reviewing Under Siege, a campaign proving to be much more interesting and entertaining than expected. We have even inserted some new concepts “stolen” from Sine Tempore to improve the game experience.  

This campaign will lead you to visit the various districts of Papal Rome burned to the ground by the lansquenets, through the characteristic laneways and alleys of the eternal city.  

An initial ‘what if’ will allow you to save Giovanni Dalle Bande Nere from his premature death and to meet him on multiple occasions during this compelling campaign.  

We’re working with a native-speaking editor to review the NA rulebook before it goes to print. We’ll also publish the Pandora Box manual featuring all the second wave rules and expansion manuals, as soon as possible to receive your feedback.  

The use of a professional editor hadn’t initially been considered for Nova Aetas, but rather only its translation. We’re pushing the limits of the budget to make an already great game excellent, all with a sword hanging over our heads in terms of time. 

We’re not sure if we’ll be able to review all of the material before going to print. This is why we're asking for your support. 

Just like you did for the manuals in the first wave, we look forward to receiving your feedback in large numbers to facilitate and speed up the editor’s job. 

Much to our delight, many of you have contacted us to offer your help at the stand. We are very appreciative and Andrea will get back to you to organise who, how and when. 

Moreover, those who visit our stand will be able to try the latest novelties of the second wave. 

If you’ve read the last edition of Ashes, you will no doubt have seen the new Black Rose project: a war between magicians of the secret caucus of the Black Rose. This project shares a background with Nova Aetas, meaning you’ll come across several of your old companions... keep your eyes open. 

The Black Rose project was developed by an external game designer and in no way influences the finalisation of the previous projects. Nonetheless, the Kickstarter campaign will begin only after the ships carrying the second wave of NA have left China. 

A small, pleasant side note: Nova Aetas has passed from an average of 7.3 to 8.0 on BGG. We believe this to be an enormous success, considering it was our first game, as an Indie company, subject to the errors of youth and inexperience. 

We’ve asked ourselves time and again how it would have gone if we’d had just a touch more experience, thus avoiding certain mistakes...? This is a great inspiration for us to improve and support our games.

Stay tuned!