Nova Aetas: Renaissance

Destiny is in the stars
over 5 years ago – Sun, Oct 25, 2020 at 01:04:55 AM

"Many people think that the practice of observing the stars is for charlatans... but, in truth, I tell you that destiny for each of us is already written. Only the stars, and those who can read them, know it."

                                                                                                                                                           Jafar the Divinator

Hello Heroes!

We are entering the central part of the campaign and after a crazy start that has left us breathless (in every sense) we can now enjoy more calmly the many SGs unlocked so far, always keeping an eye on the things that still await you ... it will be 20 really exciting days!

Today we will talk about the Zodiac Cards!

These 12 cards will allow you to further customize your heroes by giving them an ability linked to the chosen zodiac sign.

Before the first mission in which you will use a Hero, you will be able to select one of the 12 Zodiac signs, taking the corresponding Zodiac Card and keeping it from there on near your Hero Sheet. Choose carefully as it will not be possible to change Zodiac Sign during the campaign and also there can never be two Heroes with the same Zodiac Sign.

How to choose the Zodiac sign for your favorite Hero? Well, it's all in your hands!

You can select your Zodiac Sign, so if you are a Scorpio, your Hero will be a Scorpio!

Or, if you like super-efficient combos, you can choose the Sign that best matches your Hero's abilities or play style. Finally, you can let yourself be guided by the Hero's background and choose the Zodiac sign that best represents their nature (for example we are quite sure that Rebecca is a Leo), or finally, you may draft them!

Let's take a look at some of the skills these cards will provide you with.

Some will give you stat bonuses when you make a particular attack, for example, Sagittarius will give you a Reroll for ranged attacks, and it will surely be greatly appreciated by Sofia and the Mediceo.

We will reveal all the zodiac signs during the campaign with the next updates!

In the meantime, why don't you tell us which Zodiac signs our 6 heroes belong to? Give us your ideas on the board and in the Update messages!

See you soon!

Let the Hunt begin!
over 5 years ago – Sat, Oct 24, 2020 at 12:14:04 AM

Hunts in the original version of Nova Aetas were fun and unpredictable missions, they were giving you the chance to find exceptional equipments, very helpful for the main campaign.

By simply going into a tavern in the city between one game session and the next one, you were having access to a specific deck of cards with all those missions.

Unfortunately, being our very first project on Kickstarter, the funds raised did not allow us to unlock all the miniatures of the hunts and some of these used simple tokens instead of three-dimensional models.

With this version of the game we have studied a more engaging system.

Basic mechanics remained the same as in the original game, each Prey has its own card, with characteristics and abilities,  and a set of mini cards with all behaviors and attacks for the Prey.

Each time the Horologium activates the enemy, you draw a card from his deck and apply its effects.

If the Prey is defeated it will allow the heroes to recover some reagents that could be used to craft special weapons and equipments.

These Formula cards will be available immediately, so reagents will be the only thing you need to find.

The biggest change are the missions that will bring you on the Hunt.

Hunts will now be contained in mysterious boxes, with no reference to the content, only one symbol will distinguish them from each other.

When you get the mission in the tavern, it will not tell you clearly which enemy you are going to face, the text will address you to a section of the plot book, where you will find rumors, up to you to judge if they are true or misleading.

Only when you will reach the destination, the mission card will indicate you which hunt box to open, through its symbol, and just now you will discover which enemy you need to face.

Symbols have been studied to make them similar but not identical, to make difficult the connection between each symbol and the content, to preserve the surprise of discovery as much as possible.

You met Hyperion at launch.

For now, you have unlocked the fiercy Chimera.

A new Hunt will be available as add on: the Minotaur!

But don't worry, we have studied many other Hunts for you, we will reveal other powerful and scary creatures in the next days.

and now... a little spoiler...

New enemies!
over 5 years ago – Fri, Oct 23, 2020 at 12:05:01 AM

Hello Heroes!

The campaign proceeds at full speed! You are doing an amazing job, you unlocked an avalanche of Stretch Goals!

Let's have a look at the Stretch Goals unlocked so far, starting from Alternative Enemies!

For those who love to have many different models on the battlefield (we are among them), to give a great visual variety, in this first wave of Stretch Goals, many of them are alternative models for the Enemies originally included in the Core box.

For example, instead of 10 Swiss Guards we now have 5 Swiss Guards and 5 Swiss Keepers.

More than that, these SGs don't give you just an alternative pose, but proper new models in all aspects, including different Enemy Cards that will add even more variety to your Missions!!

The new Enemies will have different characteristics and abilities from the original ones, and they will challenge your heroes with new tactics!

For missions that involve the use of Reinforcement Points (the old Spawning Points), you can add the new Draft Cards to the Enemy Deck , this will make missions more unpredictable and different.

Speaking of variety, among the many SGs already unlocked you have the first two new tiles, again not just aesthetic, but with new in game characteristics; mountainous areas, rich of rocks and dangerous protrusions that will limit your movement, insidious Swamps full of dangers, with animals hidden in the water. These new Tiles could replace the original Tiles in some Missions (especially in the Side Missions) increasing the difficulty and adding even more lifespan to NAR.

We have studied other different tiles with dedicated terrains and with additional rules, we very much look forward to unlock them to give even more variety and depth to the base game.

A small spoiler on the Guest Star Missions, which just appeared in the SG list!

It's a series of Side Missions, created by some of the most talented Italian Game Designers, real guest stars who enjoyed to help us making Nova Aetas Renaissance even better!

The first special guest is Stefano Castelli ("Potion Explosion", "Minute Realms") who will bring your heroes with a very special Mission into the house of Lorenzo Della Volpaia, a true Renaissance genius; beware... the house is full of traps, clocks and other weird mechanisms.

Are you curious? We will give you more details soon!

Convert yourself to the new Renaissance
over 5 years ago – Fri, Oct 23, 2020 at 12:00:08 AM

Hello Heroes!

With this update, we are going to take a closer look at the Conversion Kit contents that will allow you to reuse many of the miniatures and 3d scenic elements of the old Nova Aetas in Nova Aetas Renaissance! Please note that this conversion kit is only helpful for those who have a copy of the original game.

With the 30 Enemy cards contained in this kit, you can insert the many Enemies of the Core, the Expansions, and the Stretch Goals of our first and never forgotten KS into your new game.

Here is a list of the cards that you will find in the Kit divided by faction:

Rome

• Battle Sister
• Papal Guard
• Swiss Guard
• Caterina Sforza
• Lothar Basler
• Templar
• Cardinal
• Blacksmith

Venice

• Assassin
• Stratiota
• Witch
• Crossbowman
• Giovanni del Nord
• Cabalist
• Traveler
• Hunter

Fauns

• Centaur
• Faun Warrior
• Faun Musician

Mercenary

• Pigman
• Circe
• Head Cultist
• Scarface
• Obsidian Beast
• Cyclop
• King Vesuvio
• Lady of Fire
• Condottiere
• Mater Ignis
• Salamanders

You will be able to include these enemies in all Missions that feature random Enemies depending on their Faction. Mercenaries are a particular category of Enemies that can join multiple Factions.

As the old NA Backers have probably noted, some models have changed their role and therefore the various Persona or Heroes of the old edition have now become Enemies in NAR.

In addition to the Enemies, this kit gives you access to some of the old Scenic Elements contained in the original game, with the new 6: 

• Well x1
• Inn x1
•  Pine x1
• House x1
• Goods crates x1
• Chart x1

These cards can also be used to increase the replayability of your games!

If you are curious to know how you can insert these Enemies and Scenery, it is easy to explain!

Many NAR Missions involve the use of Random Enemies and Scenery. Enemies can be spawned thanks to the Draft Cards and Reinforcement Points. These are particular scenic elements that modify the map, or from which one or more Enemies can be deployed on the battlefield, at particular times within the Missions.

When this happens, you will have to form an Enemy deck with all the Draft Cards of a Faction and randomly draw the Enemy to deploy. For this phase, you can insert the Draft Cards from the Conversion Kit to add variability to your games and confront a wider variety of enemies!

That's it for now, see you soon for a new update!

Meanwhile, a little look at things to come...

The Flaming Titan
over 5 years ago – Thu, Oct 22, 2020 at 01:28:47 PM

Hello Heroes!

What a cracking start! After the first few hours, we have already burned a lot of Stretch Goals setting the stage for a great campaign!

And speaking about things that burn, it's time to meet the bulky protagonist of the NAR first expansion!

Never anger a Titan

The Titans are now a reality! After the arrival of Crono in the halls of the Black Rose Lodge, another exponent of the Titans mythical race has made its appearance in Italy, Hyperion!

Rumors of a terrifying fire giant who leaves only scorched earth behind, are chasing each other across the peninsula!

Nobody knows what his aims are, but his anger and thirst for destruction is marking towns and villages as he heads north of the peninsula ... guess who's going to take care of this?

Hyperion it's the NAR's first Hunt Mission and will see our heroes pursuing the fiery Titan in a mini-side-campaign that culminates in the death fight against Hyperion itself!

This gives us the opportunity to take a look at the Hunt Missions that old Nova Aetas players know well.

The Hunt Missions are special Boss fights where the heroes will have to contend with a lethal opponent managed by special Action Cards. Each card describes the Enemy's action and its Action Point (AP) cost. Actions can be attacks, movements, or special abilities and the Heroes will have to learn to know the moves of their prey if they want to have a hope of victory.

Each Monster will also have a Hunt Card, which will describe its characteristics, its special rules, and its sequence of targets, which you will need to determine who will attack during its activations.

Obviously, for these missions the saying "no pain, no gain" applies, and in fact if you succeed in defeating the boss you will get rich rewards consisting of unique Reagents, necessary to craft the equipment that each Hunt mission brings with it.

In fact, a difference compared to the last edition is that now when you decide to add a Hunt Mission to your campaign, you can automatically add its Formulas to those available from the City Craftsman, so that every time you get the precious reagents you can immediately build your favorite Equipment!

The Hunt Missions can be faced several times so that every time you will have the possibility to obtain new reagents for crafting.

Hyperion in particular will engage you fully with its fire-based abilities and with the power to control its 3 Flaming Myrmidons, which even if defeated will cyclically return to the field to hinder the Heroes.

Also as you know, Hyperion can also be used in Black Rose Wars as a new and powerful Asymmetrical Mage!

A Player will be able to control Hyperion, using a basic deck consisting of 6 Unique Spells and composing their deck during the game as usual.

Hyperion will also be equipped with 3 copies of his Personal Spell and will be able to change form, transforming through one of his spells into his Burning Legion composed of 3 Myrmidons. Depending on his form, he will have different advantages and disadvantages and will use his 3 new Lodge Rooms to teleport or as a Cell for when he re-enters the game after being defeated.

Also in this set, you will find 2 new Forgotten Spells that will allow you to summon Hyperion or the 3 Myrmidons during your standard BRW games.

What do you think? Whether you are Black Rose Mage or intrepid NAR mercenaries, do you feel ready to face the power of the Sun?

You can find out thanks to this fantastic expansion!

That's it for now, soon for a new update!