The NSKN Method

The topic of Kickstarters being late comes back to me every few weeks. Talking to other gamers, reading content on BoardGameGeek, or listening to a podcast, I encounter yet another story of a game, an expansion, a box of miniatures or wargaming terrain being just late – or horribly late. In fact, more than 90 percent of Kickstarters arrives to their backers late, and it seems that everyone expects their products to be late. But it does not have to be that way.

We’ve recently been to UK Games Expo, where we had the chance to talk to our backers about both Exodus: Edge of Extinction and Mistfall. Most were pleasantly surprised that everything is on time, and that they will be receiving their games as planned. Some even jokingly asked us if we could reveal some of our secrets to other publishers, so that they could do what we did. And now, with first copies of Exodus: Edge of Extinction reaching the backers, we decided to did exactly that: reveal our method. So, if you want to be on time, just follow these three steps:

1. Do your research. 

This is really crucial: be sure that you know beforehand what the costs of everything are and how much time you will need to manufacture your product. If in doubt, try to ask others who already know how some of these things are done – or at least take a good look at Kicksarters similar to yours – and never leave anything for later. Have everything you possibly can researched and planned, always taking into account the possibility of things taking exactly as longs as expected (basically, treat 3-5 weeks as 5 weeks), and giving yourself some extra time in case something is late.

2. Set your deadlines. 

After researching everything and giving yourself some extra time just in case, set a hard deadline for each step of your project – including deadlines for you personally. Put each of them in a single timeline (using any software you see fit – or even a traditional paper calendar), and be sure that anyone involved with the project knows and has accepted them, and has easy access to them.

3. Stick to your deadlines. 

No matter what, do not change them. Do not move them. And if you’re late, don’t throw up your hands and delay everything by a week. Instead, burn the candle on both ends if needed, work through the night, and minimize the consequences of the delay in such a way, that as many of the following deadlines as possible are met.

And that is it. That is seriously it. That is how we managed to be on time with Progress: Evolution of Technology, with Exodus: Edge of Extinction – and that is how we will be on time with Mistfall. Now you also possess this not-so-arcane knowledge, and can pass it on – free of charge! – to anyone you think might need it. And if you make a use of it, come to our booth at any convention to brag about it. We’ll be happy to shake your hand!|| 

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Conventions and trade shows – and why we attend them

A convention or a trade show is a very special event, both for those gamers who are more deeply engaged in the hobby, as well as for us – publishers and designers of board games. Some of us love them, some of us hate them, but most of us attend for reasons I’m going to share below. And it’s a great time to share, since it’s all still fresh in my mind after the recent UK Games Expo.

Let me again start with a quick preamble: NSKN Games is very much like other publishers, but neither I, nor any other member of our crew has yet mastered the art of mind reading (though Andrei, the Big Boss himself, is most likely to make that breakthrough, and when he does a voice in your head will happily announce it to you), so whatever I say here will not be true for all publishers. Although, from our own experiences, educated guesses and some beer-propelled conversations with other people in the business, it probably is true for most.

So, let’s start with the basics: going to a convention is both expensive and exhausting. I won’t be talking about actual prices of space in different convention halls, but just know that the owners of these facilities know their worth. They also know very well that not all booths are equal, and not only size, but also multiple other factors influence the final price of being able to set up shop during the convention or show you saw us at – with all sorts of corner booths usually being the most expensive, and the first to go.

When it comes to exhaustion, just remember that whatever you see around you at a booth, was brought in by a number of human beings. And if you’re in a booth belonging to a smaller publisher (like NSKN Games), also know that those same human beings are most probably surrounding you now – all bubbly, enthusiastic and happy to see you, often despite being quite tired. Incidentally, this is why if you are absolutely certain you are not interested in a product they are to tell you more about, just tell them. You’ll save yourself some time – and they’ll be able to preserve their voice.

The NSKN Team at our UK Games Expo Booth

Having revealed the awful truth about conventions and trade shows, it’s time to finally get to answering the titular question. Why? Why do we attend? Is it for the possibility of making a quick buck on games that sell well, or sell out? No. Definitely not.

The truth is that selling a lot, or even all the games you bring to a convention, does not “make” you money – not in the sense of coming back with more cash than you had coming in. Most times, when you saw a booth selling games left and right, or have come too late to pick up a game (this may have happened to you for example last year in Essen if you wanted to pick up Praetor or Versailles on Sunday – or Progress on a Saturday afternoon), the publisher was not in for a big financial gain, but was happy that the event will break even.

Yes, between the prices of exhibitor space, the travel and transport costs and the hotel bills, a convention or a trade show for a publisher is a financial success if it makes them, all in all, spend a relatively small sum or no money at all. But no matter how much we pay, we do bring something back from each such event. We bring you.

Exodus Proxima Centauri - base game and the Edge of Extinction Expansion at UK Games Expo 2015.

Trade shows and conventions are important because of people we get to meet. We are happy to get to know new people in the industry, joke around a little bit, congratulate our competitors on a job well done (yes, that really happens!), and share experiences in the evening, in a hotel filled with exhibitors and attendees, or in a nearby pub overrun by the convention crowd. Apart from that, hands are shaken, eyes are looked in – and deals are made. Sometimes deals that make smaller publishers stay in the game – or help them develop, expand and grow.

Finally, conventions are important because of all of you. All of the people that come by to say hello – and all those who come in to ask: “Who are you again?”. Believe it or not, but we not only get a kick out of meeting new people, or getting to shake the hands of those of you, who we usually know by their Facebook profiles, Twitter or BoardGameGeek handles, but we are also interested in what you have to say. 

Clicking a thumb up on Facebook or bashing a game or mechanism online is so easy, that sometimes it almost goes unnoticed (although we always try to listen). Having an actual, face to face conversation with a person wanting to praise or critique something we’ve done is always memorable. And having ten people say “we did/did not like this and this” to our faces may actually influence what and how we’ll do in the future.

For all of you who asked about the NSKN Cats during UK Games Expo :-)

I’ve written all of the above mainly because we’ve just come back from UK Games Expo, and I had a chance to show off an advanced prototype of Mistfall to both new people, and our extraordinary backers. And this made me aware of one more thing. Each time (after playing a few turns) someone would tell me: “Yeah, I’m happy I backed this, it’s an awesome game”, I felt that a total of four hours in the air, two take offs and two landings between two consecutive flights suffered by a guy who hates flying, was something that guy would happily endure again. And each time we would say: “Yes, both Exodus: Edge of Extinction and Mistfall will be delivered without delays”, and see perplexed faces of gamers not used to their Kickstarter stuff ever arriving on time, we got a feeling that it is something we are simply unable to put a price tag on.

So, in short, the people are why we attend. The lure of talking to all sorts of individuals from all corners of geekdom, the chance to meet the persons we are fans of – and the people who are our fans, and the chance to share in stuff that is not only good for our business, but also pretty cool as a memory for us, simply as human beings

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Manufacturing secrets

They may not be actual secrets, but it's very rare that someone is actually willing to show what happens before a game reaches the stores and after it gets funded on Kickstarter.

Let's discover the story of Exodus: Proxima Centauri and Exodus: Edge of Extinction and their route from Kickstarter success to delivery all over the world.

After the files are delivered to the printer, it's waiting time. Before anything is produced, we have to approve the preliminary printouts to be sure, that the final product is up to our and your expectations. From the rulebook and the box, to cards and punchboards, everything needs proper scrutiny and approval before it goes into production.

Punchboards setup

Right before checking out the punchboards - and don't worry, we're using a slightly thicker cardboard with the actual games.

While the litograph is not an essential part of the game, we want it to be the best it can be. And that means we need to color proof it as well.

Signing off the color proof for a lithograph

And here's another look at punchboards for approval - and with them, also player player boards. To put it shortly, everything needs to be carefully looked at.

Color proofs of player aids, punch board, player boards etc stacked over die cut samples

But cardboard is not everything. To assemble new copies of both Exodus: Proxima Centauri and the Exodus: Edge of Extinction expansion, we also need a whole bunch of plastic stuff.

Here's where the ships are made by a machine.

This is the machine responsible for creating the mighty fleets you will command in the vast space of the Exodus universe.

And here they are sorted by a man.

However, to finish the process a human touch is necessary. Separating ships from stray pieces of plastic, and getting rid of those unfortunate few that made it out damaged or incomplete is yet another step that brings the game closer to your door.

Almost a rainbow of dice as they arrive at our doorstep.

To make the games complete, we also need to add the dice. Once again they will go through and inspection to weed out the ones that are not up to par, before they are put into boxes.

Ships ready to form your fleets.

Finally, there is the matter of ships that arrived just like the dice, and are now ready to be added to each game. A long time of waiting (and some frantic work to proceed to next stages as fast as possible) we are now closer and closer to the moment the games are ready to be shipped to you.

Questions? Comments? Ask and see them answered!
 
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The Ultimate Edge

Kickstarting Exodus: Edge of Extinction has been a wild ride – and now, as the last day of the campaign is nearly upon, things are really heating up. Here is a quick look at what has been unlocked by our truly amazing backers.

As we reach the hectic 48 hour mark until project end, we look upon the list of stretch goals unlocked with what can be described only as a great pleasure. Once again, after our first Kickstarter campaign, we have earned the trust of many of our fans – and drew in more people to become a part of the Exodus universe and the ultimate 4X experience offered by the Edge of Extinction expansion. And to say we are extremely happy and grateful would be a vast understatement, as our current Kickstarter project went above and beyond all we could reasonably expect – with some time still left to reach even further!

Stretch Goal History

Throughout the campaign, we have managed to add to the Exodus box (which was pretty full to begin with) even more variability and more options, by successfully unlocking all of the stretch goals. This means that we added a double feature of new Combat Cards, an assortment of new Centaurian Resistance for all who buy a retail copy of Exodus: Edge of Extinction to enjoy.

We also managed to add not one but three packs of ships which will allow all who face off using the Edge of Extinction rules to command fleets bigger than those ever seen in the base game, as well as a set of extra combat dice to make properly displaying your new firepower appropriately impressive (not to mention faster and easier).

Our Kickstarter backers will also receive three more Combat Card sets, as well as a pack of all new political cards, to make the negotiation and bidding even more tense. The below stretch goals, including the Single Player Expansion are Kickstarter Limited material, which means that they are added to all Kickstarter copies, but will also be available separately via the BoardGameGeek store and on conventions NSKN Games would attend (until our stocks lasts).

The list of stretch goals ends on a set of more customized Action Cards, that provide each of the factions with yet another unique edge, and our ultimate goal: an impressive set of ship bases, that make the Exodus fleets hover over the game board proudly, making the game experience that much more immersive and impressive to look upon. And although the last of the stretch goals seemed like a distant dream (and something that started as an almost unreal idea with someone saying: "You know what would be really awesome?"), it is really here.

Beyond the Ultimate

Now, more than ever, it is a great time to become a part of the Exodus universe and pledge for your copy of the expansion – or a tasty bundle of the Revised Edition of Proxima Centauri and the Edge of Extinction. Become a part of the space empire building legend and help us finish off with an even louder bang.

How It Is Done

Finally, throughout the campaign we also managed to bring you two videos. The first one shows the NSKN’s own Agnieszka, Andrei and Błażej tearing themselves away from Kickstarter to play a game of expanded Exodus (and do away with any box size doubts) for your viewing pleasure:

The second one is a treat for all that have an artist in them – and for all who are curious how the amazing art of Exodus comes into being. Now you can watch Odysseas Stamoglou working on the cover art, peeking at the creative process behind the awesome sci-fi magic:

Pledge now and keep playing Legendary Games!

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An ongoing Kickstarter adventure

Exodus: Edge of Extinction and Exodus: Proxima Centauri have been seeking funding on Kickstarter for the past two weeks and things are looking good, even a little bit better than we expected.

Funded in less than 3 days, our project has dug deep into the stretch goals pool and this is what we have achieved so far...

• A lot of plastic space ships - on top of the 24 miniatures in the expansion box we managed to add another 6 Dark Raiders and two more packs of 6 War Cruisers and 6 Fighters are waiting to be unlocked

• 30 dice to make the combat quicker and more fun. Now the Edge of Extinction expansion combined with the base game Exodus: Proxima Centauri offer a total 0f 60 combat dice - 10 per player - making space battles an amazing experience

• 10 unique Centaurian Resistance cards to add even more diversity to the game and give a true 4x feeling

• single player expansion - now you will be able to enjoy Exodus even if you group of friends is not around, with a rules and scenario book

We would like to thank all of you who supported our project and, with 9 days to go, we are hoping to add even more awesome stretch goals to the Exodus universe.

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Kickstarting an expansion does miracles and what's more happening in NSKN

Last week is one to be remembered for NSKN Games. On Thursday we went live with our second Kickstarter project to seek support for Exodus: Edge of Extinction and 3 days later the project reached its funding goal of $28000 and even more, the first stretch goal is now unlocked and we are dangerously getting close to the second one. That is awesome!

If you have not had a chance to see what Edge of Extinction is all about, you can see below a video preview of the expansion.

But that's not all. Versailles got its share of attention with a review from Joel Eddy of Drive Through Reviews and Progress: Evolution of Technology was analyzed by NVS Gameplays:

Last but not least, Versailles and Progress will be released in North America by our partners Passport Game Studios. And if you are in the Pacific Northwest/Seattle area, enjoy the Launching Party in Renton on January 23rd! Do not forget to RSVP and to have fun. :)

You can also read an interesting story about how these games came to life in an interview with the NSKN on the Passport website. A short excerpt is below:

How did the ideas for Progress and Versailles come about?

Agnieszka: The idea for Progress: Evolution of Technology came while designing the first edition of Exodus: Proxima Centauri, specifically its technology tree. 

We - both the designers of Exodus and Progress - are big fans of civilization games and the part we love the most is the technological development. Thus came to us this seemingly crazy idea to make a game which is just about building a tech tree, stripping it of all the other parts.

Andrei: Surprisingly, Versailles found its roots also in the Exodus universe. Originally themed as Exodus 2, a sequel to Exodus: Proxima Centauri, the game has become Versailles after extensive feedback from Daniele Tascini (the co-designer of Tzolk'in) and a few other great minds in the industry. What we call today Versailles was built around the idea of a worker movement game - a special type of worker placement in which all the workers are already set up on the game board and player get to move them in a rondel-like system following given paths.

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Live on Kickstarter

A few moments ago, the most ambitious project of NSKN Games has gone live on Kickstarter!

With your help, we would like to reprint Exodus: Proxima Centauri and to bring to life its long awaited big expansion Exodus: Edge of Extinction. 

Let me tell you why we believe so much in this project... so follow me through a short journey through time.

Like every other small child, ever since I can remember I was fascinated of what could lie far away between the starts. I was fascinated with Star Trek (and I am still a big fan) and I dreamed of one day flying out there, somewhere. Obviously that did not happen... so I had to use my imagination to be a space traveler. Fast forward.

When I started thinking about game design back in 2008 I wasn't even familiar with the concept of empire building games, even though I had played a few. Twilight Imperium 3rd edition quickly became one of my all time favorite games, even though its length makes it hard to put on the table. However, I had my own vision of a space empire. one built by mankind and helping humanity finally find its place in the history of the universe. Fast forward.

In 2011, right after NSKN's first Essen, I showed my coworkers the first prototype of Exodus: Proxima Centauri. The game implements most of the design paradigms I try to follow and some of my core beliefs: it's realistic as much as a sci-fi game can be, it has as little down time as possible through simultaneous decisions, it paints a slightly dystopian although pragmatic portrait of humanity and it is challenging and fun. For the first time I felt that I put part of myself in a board game and I felt proud of it. Fast forward.

First edition vs. Revised edition

After a first edition which brought us from agony (production quality problems) to ecstasy (good reviews) and back a few times, in 2013 NSKN Games published the Revised edition of Exodus: Proxima Centauri. The quality was great, the artwork massively improved - no more of those rookie mistakes caused by our previous lack of experience. I had finally become the co-designer of a board game which looks well, feels well and sells well. 

The game's fans had noticed the same thing as we, the designers, did.  There was one missing part of the Exodus puzzle, the natural diversity of the factions. We, people as well as peoples, are inherently different in our ways of thinking and approaching life and leadership. Exodus should also reflect the diversity of mankind. So, we starter working on an expansion. Fast forward.

Exodus: Edge of Extinction game components

15th of January 2015. Edge of Extinction brings asymmetry to the game play through six very different, not-so-historically-accurate factions. The universe of Exodus extends far beyond the game play, it is my interpretation of one of the possible many-worlds.

So, today, if you share this vision and you want to build your own space empire, we invite you to pledge for Exodus: Edge of Extinction.

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An expansion for Exodus - X. Blackwater

Happy New Year everyone! 

After well-deserved holidays we have returned to work and gaming with renewed strength preparing the last details of our upcoming Kickstarter project for Exodus: Edge of Extinction. 

With that in mind we are presenting today the sixth and final faction of the expansion, the warmongers of Blackwater.

Blackwater faction sketch by Odysseas Stamoglou

Blackwater is the most conflicted oriented faction in Edge of Extinction. Their whole existence revolves around a single goal - their total domination over mankind. To implement this philosophy, they have developed powerful weapons, such as EMP Cannons, investing massively in offensive space combat technologies. The leaders of Blackwater are not naive and they acknowledge the threats posed by other warring factions, thus they did not neglect the development of defensive research, leaving almost no aspect of space conflict uncovered. 

Precision and reliability – these are the concepts that made us into what we are today. But make no mistake, although we draw from the past, we are the future of mankind, whatever others might want you to believe. In the old days we were able to adapt, displaying power in all kinds of conflicts and proving that we will always exist and remain in a prestigious position of power and influence. Now comes the time when we take the gloves off, and swap our obscure influences for open and total domination.

Blackwater is more of a corporation than a faction, changing and adapting with time, but still holding on to what made it economically strong before leaving Old Earth. Although much had to change in the faction’s structure, the basic ideas remained immutable, serving as obvious proof that some of humanity’s flaws prove to be an infinite resource to be properly exploited.

Built around a vast economical power, Blackwater believes itself to be the true heir of humanity: a faction stemming from an organization that had existed on the top of the world’s food chain for decades before the Exodus. Now, through intensive development of space weapons, Blackwater is gathering strength to strike at its enemies with the cold precision and the dauntlessness that had forged its name in the old days.

Blackwater is a goal oriented faction – perhaps even the single most objective-focused one in this new world – and the goal is to make the final transition from an almost all powerful organization to a truly omnipotent one. After all, the laws and regulations that had curbed the corporation time and time again back on Earth no longer apply, with almost no obstacles standing in the way of total domination.

Now everything Blackwater does is means to an end, with no humanitarian laws putting a damper on what the faction’s specialists are able to achieve. And soon, very soon in fact, all those who want to win will find out they are playing a game not only invented but also arbitrated by one of the opponents. The one that is invading their borders, destroying their fleets and holding their assets, before their own aggression can finally be stopped.

If you're curious about the other factions in Exodus: Edge of Extinction, check them out:
Sirius Theocracy 
Arctic Dominion
Han-Xia Dynasty
Titan Diarchy
Confederation of Sol

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An expansion for Exodus - IX. Confederation of Sol

We're presenting today the one but last faction of Exodus: Edge of Extinction, Confederation of Sol. Originally reuniting the peoples of Latin America, the Confederation has evolved past its historical ideological boundaries, while keeping the essence of its ancestry.

Confederation of Sol sketch by Odysseas Stamoglou

While the Confederation is not favoring open conflict, their history recorded many asymmetric responses they offered to various threats. They have mastered the weapons of mass destruction while developing almost impenetrable protection against them, making the Confederation less vulnerable to surprise attacks. And since the people of Sol do not like surprises of any kind, their technologies include Advanced Cloaking and Dark Energy Shield, making their space ships very difficult targets.

If the years since we left Earth has taught us something, it’s that we just want to exist. Without poverty, without threat, without revolutionists and warlords telling us what to do. We are happy with the status quo – or we would be, if other weren’t so unhappy with it. We don’t want a war, but if we are to face opponents who think they are stronger than us, then so be it. They will be in for a surprise.

The Confederation of Sol originates from what was known back on Old Earth as Latin America – a place filled with wonder, but also with social inequalities and injustice. From corporations eagerly exploiting the people and the lands, to power hungry local leaders, the faction’s ancestors rarely had had an easy life of the rest of the world. That is probably why the Confederation now just wants to exist in peace and be left to its own devices.

Many other survivor factions boast their reputed technology lead, the might of their fleets or the superiority of their way of life. In comparison, the Confederation of Sol does next to nothing in terms of flexing their political muscle or displaying their military might, believing that when the imminent conflict finally comes, there may still be hope that the warring factions will leave Confederation alone.

Rapid technology development is not the main goal of the Confederation – or at least does not seem to be. A very cautious observer might notice, however, that research was a discreet focus of this particular faction. There are even those few who, after repeatedly provoking the Confederation, lived to tell the tale. And it is a horrifying tale of whole fleets silently materializing in the emptiness of the void to strike with surgical precision and wreak unspeakable havoc before disappearing once again, without a single ship lost.

Survival and a relatively comfortable existence are the current goals for the Confederation’s leaders. Simply put, they want to live their own life and are perfectly content with letting other survivor factions do the same, going so far as to easily forgive minor infractions that would set others off – and buying time to mount a sudden, unstoppable and crippling counteroffensive. That is also why they fight most their battles on their own territory, and with ages of guerrilla warfare experience behind their belts, the members of the Confederation will usually only defend their homes, and do this effectively enough to put all else to shame.

If you're curious about the other factions in Exodus: Edge of Extinction, check them out:
Sirius Theocracy 
Arctic Dominion
Han-Xia Dynasty
Titan Diarchy

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An expansion for Exodus - VIII. Titan Diarchy

The new faction of the Exodus expansion we are presenting today is Titan Diarchy. Before we get down to business, we want to thank you once again for helping us choose the name of the expansion, Exodus: Edge of Extinction.

Titan Diarchy sketch by Odysseas Stamoglou

Titan Diarchy has a special appetite for science and while they are willing to share some of their knowledge with the others, their awareness that knowledge is power guides their philosophy of existence. Several unique technologies give the Diarchy the upper hand in the tech race and provide them with the means to assert they supremacy through technology. Even if war is not their main focus, with their almost limitless access to science, Titan Diarchy has all the means necessary to reach to an immediate or long term threat.

We know what war is, we have seen scars left on our lands time and time again. We were taught that the future lies not with the strength of arms, but with humanity’s true achievements: scientific discoveries. Over time we have learned to excel in what everyone needs to build a better life. And we will share our knowledge with those able to aid us in further research, to build a better future for all mankind.

Although many survivor factions claim to be the most technologically advanced, the members of the Titan Diarchy are the true masters of research and the leaders of innovation. With the skills and traditions of the scientific and academic Europe of the Old Earth, the Diarchy is able to use its specialized workforce with utmost effectiveness and precision, becoming the only faction able to come up with a few groundbreaking discoveries in the time it takes others to make a single breakthrough.

The technological lesson is, however, not the only one the Titan Diarchy decided to never forget. The 20th and 21st century wars left Europe destroyed and rebuilt time and time again, which taught the Diarchy that even though fighting on home territory comes with some advantages, the losses usually outweigh the benefits.

This approach has seeped into the Diarchy’s attitude towards armed conflicts. Although the leaders of this scientific faction will always choose peaceful coexistence, they will not run from combat when war is inevitable. In fact, the Diarchy will be the first survivor faction to aggressively attack an opponent, trying to ensure any conflicts play out as far from their own borders as possible.

The main goal of Titan Diarchy is not an all out war. Its members knows how to fight, but it is science they truly excel at. A strong belief that developing new technologies will allow all humanity to live in peace means that the faction’s leaders will always seek a peaceful resolution to any possible conflicts, trying to negotiate and share their technology for the greater good of mankind – and for a profit that will put them in a position of true power in the futuristic technological utopia they are hoping to build.

If you missed our earlier articles, you can read here about Sirius Theocracy, Arctic Dominion and Han-Xia Dynasty.


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Exodus: Edge of Extinction and a video

On behalf of the whole NSKN team I would like to thank every one of you who took the time to help us find a great name for our upcoming Exodus expansion. Whether it was a vote, an opinion, a piece of feedback or a proposal for the name itself, this could not have happened without you. So a big thank you for transforming the Exodus expansion into Exodus: Edge of Extinction.

We had five proposals on the table and one of them stood out, both here - on the NSKN Game blog poll - and on BoardGameGeek. While you were casting your votes, we had a 'secret' internal meeting and everyone in the team also favored this cool name. So, with this much harmony we will proceed to create online material for Exodus: Edge of Extinction and keep working on the upcoming Kickstarter campaign.

While we were busy looking for a name, our artists kept on working so that today we can show you 3 pieces of the final artwork...

On a completely unrelated topic, you can have a look at an interview recorded at Spiel 2014 by Paco from G*M*S Magazine with Agnieszka and Andrei, talking about the current and future games from NSKN.

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An expansion for Exodus - VII. Han-Xia Dynasty

As promised, we continue to present the different factions present in the Exodus expansion. Before we get to the main topic of the day and talk about the Han-Xia Dynasty, let's have a quick look at early sketches of the artwork....

Box cover sketch

Han-Xia faction sketch

Han-Xia Dynasty is the faction with the best skills during space combat. Using Advanced and Fringe tactics, the Dynasty can create positive outcome out of almost any space confrontation. With their unique Hyperspace Drives, they also have the ability to move unrestricted throughout space, surprising their enemies and engaging in fights they almost always win. Without being neither moral nor immoral, their simple yet effective set of laws and amoral vision among the most powerful and fearsome factions, equaled perhaps only by Blackwater.

When others were leaving Earth in panic, escaping the cruel fate of a dead world, we were ready. We had  the best and brightest of us chosen to become our future. We did not escape into the far blackness of space. We went as conquerors. We have a history longer than many other nations of the world. We stood the test of time when others faded. We flourished when others merely survived. As our fleets dominate the void of space, so will we dominate all those who try to oppose us. And who are you to judge our ways?

The Han-Xia Dynasty originated in greater China, which probably explains why this specific faction seems more closely tied to its nationality than any other. Centred around effectiveness and unrelenting exploitation of its seemingly endless human potential, the Han-Xia adapted to the new world with astonishing speed, assimilating and modifying Centaurian technology faster than any other survivor group.

Although the Centaurians welcomed humanity and peace and did a lot to impose their pacifistic doctrines upon their new protégés, the Han-Xia Dynasty knew from the start that humanity will need a single leader – a leader forged in the rapidly dying flame of an exploding enemy fleet. With that in mind, the Dynasty introduced a cruel but frighteningly effective training regime for their pilots, quickly building a force of specialists able to best any opponents in space combat.

However, the war for domination requires not only strength, but also speed, and the Han-Xia’s ships are quickly becoming a legend, for the Dynasty is the only faction controlling the technology of faster than light travel – and this but one of many technologies the Han-Xia scientists were able to not only learn to use, but also modify heavily so that it would serve the Dynasty’s purpose.

The Han-Xia Dynasty works with the fearsome effectiveness of a human hive, able to react to change with incredible speed and to respond violently to even the slightest of provocations. Some believe that it is because of its leaders inborn cruelty. Others, better schooled in the ways of Han-Xia know that the truth is far more terrifying. The Dynasty is here to rule, its purpose is clear, and it will not shy away from achieving its goal in the most effective way possible, even if the effectiveness means resorting to lethal brutality or cold genocide.

If you missed our earlier articles, you can read here about the Sirius Theocracy and the Arctic Dominion.


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