Nova Aetas: Renaissance

July Production Update
over 2 years ago – Tue, Jul 11, 2023 at 06:10:31 AM

Update Contents:

• Plastic Trays
• Mass Production Advancement

Hello guys!

Here we are with a new update on the progress of NAR's Wave 1 mass production.

In the past few days, we have received the production samples of the plastic trays of the boxes that make up Wave 1 and we are giving you a preview of them!

The plastic trays allow you to conveniently and intelligently store all the components, ready for use during your adventures. All the mission envelopes are contained in one compartment.

The core box also contains all the many Stretch Goals that were unlocked during the KS campaign. In this regard, the "crossover" Stretch Goals between BRW and NAR deserve some attention. These SGs will go to all NAR backers as well as backers who have supported us with a Magister Pledge.

Therefore, we have created the "Magister Box", which for NAR backers will be inserted directly into the Core Box, while for Magister Pledge backers it will be a separate package, but both will have the same plastic tray.

Of course, you will be able to store your cards in sleeves ;).

As for the timeline for the end of production of Wave 1 in ITA and ENG, the factory has confirmed to us in mid-August! We are already hard at work researching the ships and will keep you updated as soon as we have news!

For Wave 1 in GER/FRE/ESP, we will receive all translated and revised files by mid-August. Since the production of the language-free material (tokens, tiles, etc.) and plastic will be finished by then, we are quite confident that we can keep the production of just the printed material for these 3 languages relatively short and aim to have the goods shipped from China by the end of September.

Before we close, we would like to remind you that the NAR rulebooks in ENG and ITA are available on our WEB APP to help you get started in the world of Nova Aetas!

That's all for today, see you soon for new production updates

June Production Update!
almost 3 years ago – Thu, Jun 08, 2023 at 09:28:51 AM

Update Contents:

• Mass Production advancement
• Rulebooks
• Convention Reports
•  Ashes #7 & Cosma 

Hello, Guys!

A brand new update with new information on NAR's mass production, reports from the conventions where we presented the final game material previews and a rich new issue of Ashes magazine!

Let's start with the topic that is surely closest to your hearts, the progress of mass production.

As you can see from pictures, miniature production is continuing at full speed, on schedule for the end of operations, set for the second half of June.

 Concerning the paper material, we are completing the final revisions of the English and Italian language drafts these days and kicking off the printing of cards, rulebooks, punchboards, and boxes. Given the huge amount of material to be revised and rectified in the various steps leading up to printing, it has been very long and hard work. 

As for the French, German, and Spanish versions, the translations are nearing completion, but considering the time it took to check and revise the ENG and ITA versions, we have to anticipate a longer timeframe for the start of printing for these languages.

For this reason, we decided to carry out a first shipment of Wave 1 of the ENG and ITA versions as soon as they have been printed, approximately between the end of July and the first half of August. On the other hand, the second shipment with FRA, GER, and ESP versions will be scheduled to start by September. We will try to reduce the gap between the two shipments as much as possible, we are printing all the language-free material (miniatures, plastic trays, tiles, and punchboards) now, so everything will be ready for assembly as soon as FRA, GER, ESP cards, and rulebooks are printed. However, given the amount of material to be inspected and the importance of this step, we prefer to keep a more cautious estimate for the time being.

As mass production progresses we will be able to give you a more precise date for the departure of the two shipments.

As for the Rulebooks, you will find ENG and ITA versions of NAR's Rulebooks in our Web App from today! The first to be published will be the Tutorial, the Handbook, the Rulebook with the Stretch Goals rules, and the Magister rulebook. In the coming days, we will upload all the others, including the Analytical Rulebook and all the rulebooks of the expansions.

With the Tutorial, you will learn how to play NAR quickly and easily. You can play the tutorial mission or just read this rulebook, and you will have everything you need to manage and play a NAR Mission, turning to the Analytical Rulebook to delve into a specific aspect of the game and learn the rules for managing the Campaign.

The Handbook is designed to be consulted during a Mission to read the icons and learn about the effects of generic Skills, Traits, and Tokens.

The Stretch Goal Rulebook is organized into modules that you can add to the Campaign as you wish and includes all the rules for the 4 additional Heroes, Enemies, and Hunt Missions unlocked during the Kickstarter.

Finally, the Magister rulebook contains all the rules for using the NAR crossover material in Black Rose Wars and Rebirth!

With these 3 Rulebooks, you can already prepare for the coming of Nova Aetas and get an idea of what to expect!

Now let's move on to talking about game conventions! The largest convention in Italy, Modena Play 23, took place at the end of May. LMS participated in a huge booth, where hundreds of players took turns on the tables of our games. NAR was present with both a demo table and a wonderful showcase entirely filled with all the Wave 1 material! 

 The lucky ones who stopped by to visit us were able to experience first-hand all the final material thanks to the pre-production samples sent to us specifically from the factory. At the Demo table this time we had the Minotaur Hunt to try out so that we could give a first taste of this mode as well.

We were very pleased to receive enthralled feedback from backers who stopped by to take a look. They were especially impressed with the quality of the miniatures and the amount of material in the box, which could completely fill an entire showcase! 

 Another big star of the event was the 7th special issue of our magazine, Ashes, which this time came with a wonderful Deluxe box with a new promotional miniature: Cosma!

This dark character will be one of the protagonists of Requiem, a new LMS project that will see the light of day in Q4 of 2023 (after the delivery of Rebirth and Nova Aetas Renaissance). With the components inside this luxury box set you can add Cosmas to NAR's Side Missions and confront him in hopes of beating him and seizing an exclusive Reward Card. Cosma also happens to be a powerful Lodge Magister, and in addition to his stunning PVC miniature, included in this elegant package were his Mage Card and 3 copies of his Personal Spell, so that you can include him in any BRW or Rebirth game! 

We know that most of you were unable to stop by Modena Play to secure Ashes #7, but fear not!

Here you have 2 options to buy the new issue of Ashes (only in English!) with Cosma:

1 - You can order Ashes #7 on our shop and have it shipped directly to your home, shipments will start from June 15.

2 - Until June 11, 2023, if you have a Rebirth Pledge or Late Pledge, you can order Ashes #7 on our shop and add it to your order, along with all the rest of the NAR items of the Wave 1, without additional shipping costs! Simply, enter the "BACKERSNAR" coupon at checkout.

Choose the best method for you and get ready to welcome Cosma into Nova Aetas! 

Our booth was pretty much stormed for all 3 days of the Convention, and it was a pleasure to meet friends, old and new, and show the people all the material from the games being delivered in the upcoming months.

A giant THANK YOU to all of you who stopped by to meet us and to those who didn't stop by but would have liked to!

That's all for today! See you in about a month for new updates on Mass Production!

Production Update!
almost 3 years ago – Tue, May 02, 2023 at 08:26:51 AM

Hello, guys!

Here are the pictures coming in from the factory for the production of Wave 1!

The pictures and video cover the final stages of miniature printing, with gluing operations also proceeding simultaneously.

As you can see, the final mass production phase of NAR has not only actually begun, but is also in a rather advanced state. Our goal of getting the game to your homes by summer 2023 is well underway!

Speaking about the miniatures, from the pictures you will surely notice the high quality of the printing. All the extensive optimization work done together with the factory technicians has paid off, resulting in top miniatures, both in terms of materials and level of detail achieved.

NAR's miniatures are truly spectacular, guaranteed to make your gaming tables impressive, allowing you and your friends to immerse yourselves in the story intensely! And those of you who love to paint will have a lot of fun in the upcoming months!

As for the paper material, as we showed you in the last update, we are continuing to work with the factory on the approval of all drafts, in preparation for printing. The process is very lengthy, given the amount of material, but the timing for mass production will be much faster than for the plastic material. We are currently finalizing the drafts of the English and Italian material and the language-free material (punchboards, tiles, etc.), which will allow us to proceed faster once the other language files are finalized.

In the meantime, those of you who will be at this year's Modena Play (May 18-21) can visit us at our booth and touch the very first production copies we will be showing during the fair days, and try one of the many missions! We look forward to seeing you!

That's all for today, see you at the end of the month with a new Production update!

Let the Renaissance burn!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Mar 30, 2023 at 11:22:38 AM

Update Contents:

• Hyperion Expansion
• Production Advancement

Hello guys!

This month’s update is a fiery one, featuring a fiery protagonist: Hyperion!

The flaming Titan (brother of an old acquaintance of the Magisters of the Lodge) towers in this expansion, not only because of his size but also in terms of importance. In fact, Hyperion is a Crossover expansion between NAR and Black Rose Wars and therefore can be played in both games, taking advantage of all the material inside the box in addition to the beautiful miniatures.

In NAR, Hyperion will drag you into a two-Mission Side Campaign, where the Heroes will have to foil the plans of an insane cult that aims to have the entire world perish in the flames of their fiery master. We won't give you any major spoilers by telling you that the climax of this adventure will see you engaged in a confrontation with Hyperion and his legion of Myrmidons, in a truly challenging and high-risk burn Hunt Mission.

Unlike the other Hunts (which we have told you about in past updates), the Heroes facing Hyperion will have to deal not only with him but also with the Myrmidons, flaming creatures that will greatly increase the intensity and difficulty of the confrontation. Burned Trees, four new 3d elements in cardboard, will also have an active role in the clash, and the Heroes will have to hurry to cut them down so as not to suffer too much from their harmful effects.

But with great risk come great reward (no pain, no gain, right?), and if you can survive you can access the four Reward Cards that make up Hyperion's loot. You will then be able to grab some of the most powerful items in the game, but as with all hunts, completing the set will require facing Hyperion more than once.

In the Black Rose Lodge, Hyperion will have two incarnations, a more standard one, as a Forgotten Evocation, and the other as a new unique Magister! 

Playing with Hyperion is a completely different experience than the regular Magister, not only because of his size but because every time you are defeated you will turn into three Myrmidones completely changing the style of play. 

Myrmidones are basically a Magister made up of 3 models, with all the advantages and disadvantages of that. Being in 3 Rooms at the same time can be very advantageous, but your opponents will also be able to target you much more easily, so you will have to be careful not to feel too omnipotent, because you may face a fast defeat. If you are defeated while you are in the Myrmidones form, you will return to your cell as Hyperion, and so on until the end of the game.

Playing with Hyperion is a truly different experience, both for those who control him and his opponents and we are sure it will create a host of epic situations within the Lodge! Our Playtesters can confirm!

In short, there are really a lot of irons in the fire (LOL) in this expansion, tell us what you think too, and how much you want to try it!

Now let's talk about Production Status! We confirm that everything is proceeding as planned. The factory is working on the production of all the drafts of the paper material (punchboards, tiles, cards, plot books, rulebooks, boxes, etc.), on which we will then make the last revision for the quality check and final approval. Meanwhile the plastic material production process is ongoing.

IMPORTANT: as you know, we have already submitted a while ago the final quantities, so we are at the very last opportunity for those of you who have not yet completed their survey on BackerKit. You will have until next Sunday (April 2nd) to complete it. After that date it will no longer be possible to do so, orders can be adjusted only by our Customer Service, and products could be no longer be available.

We should be able to show you production materials in the next update. Finally we're very close to delivery, the whole LMS Graphic Design Team is working hard to ensure that, as promised, all of you will receive Nova Aetas Renaissance by this summer!

That's all for today!

Fireball!

Production Update!
about 3 years ago – Mon, Feb 27, 2023 at 08:51:02 AM

Update Contents:

• Production Update
• Material Preview
• Cards Counts
• NAR in Polish

Hello, Guys!

A blazing February update, including news on the production front and a preview of some of the final materials!

The miniatures production process is underway. We have also started sending out the paper files, starting with the non-language-dependent materials such as Punchboards and Tiles. Here is a preview of the 9 punchboards from the Core box!

Given the amount of material and the size of some very bulky components (mainly the Horologium and 3D Elements), we have tried to make use of all the slots available on each individual Punchboard, without sacrificing the quality of all material.

As delivery approaches, which we confirm is set for this summer, many people have reached out to us to get a total count of all the cards, so they can start setting up the correct number of sleeves.

At this point we can give you a tally of all the cards you will receive with Wave 1, divided by each box. We are using the Euro format for Standard and Mini cards (Standard 63x88mm; Mini 44x67mm)

Core Box + Stretch Goals

• Tarot: 253 + 68
• Standard: 28 + 53
• Mini: 250 + 120

Hyperion + Magister Stretch goals (crossover SGs NAR/BRW)

• Tarot: 17 + 6
• Standard: 4 + 18
• Mini: 22 + 56

Draco

• Tarot: 24
• Standard: 2
• Mini: 26

Minotaur

• Tarot: 6
• Standard: 2
• Mini: 20

Mediceo

• Tarot: 1
• Standard: 3
• Mini: 48

A note regarding the Tarot format cards: these cards don't need to be shuffled and for the most part will be stored in the Mission Envelopes, so it won't be strictly necessary to protect them with sleeves. You will already have quite a few cards to sleeve!

Also, the Plotbook, the book that contains the entire plot of the missions that make up NAR's main campaign, has now its final form! Given the conspicuous increase in pages from the 100 announced in the KS, to almost 200 (!!), we have opted to use a spiral ring binding. This will make it easier to use during your games, allowing you to keep it open on the Mission you're playing and quickly refer to it.

We will also show you an abstract of the Plotbook to explain how you are to use it. Each Mission is identified by a title and a number. Next to the title you will find the name of the Town or Village where the Mission takes place (in some cases, these may also be locations in close proximity to a town or village). Each paragraph you read during a game is divided into two distinct sections. The Plot section (in Italics) tells you what is going on, and immediately below you will find the Instructions (in bold) that indicate the actions to be taken to progress through the Mission, any Tests to be performed, Mission cards to be revealed, and more. 

Instructions should always be followed from top to bottom so that all steps are performed in order. We have invested a lot of time in finding an effective yet simple way to manage the Missions, and we are very pleased with the performance of this method, which will allow you to enjoy each mission in an easy and fun way as you move forward in the story. In addition, with this method we could easily insert new special rules into the various missions, thus making each mission truly unique. We can therefore say that you will never play one Mission identical to another. Because of the large number of choices and options available to you, even replaying a Mission will be an ever-changing experience!

Lastly, today we also formalize great news for the Polish fans of NAR: our partners and friends at Czacha Games will edit the Polish version of the game! They have asked us for the opportunity to run their own crowdfunding campaign to offer NAR with all the material produced for the Polish gaming community. The campaign will start on March 2 on their platform. During the month of March, we will contact all Backers who have selected the Polish language as their preference in the Pledge Manager on BackerKit by email, giving them the choice of receiving the game in English or Polish. 

We are really happy about Czacha Games' initiative, as it will allow all Polish Backers not to have to settle for PDF translations only!

That's all for today! see you in March with a new update!

Renaissance is coming!