The name of the game - Exodus expansion

We're taking a short break today from our weekly mini-series about the factions in the new expansion for Exodus: Proxima Centauri to ask for you help with a very important decision.

The expansion has almost everything it needs to bring an improved gaming experience and the one thing missing is a cool name. We have created a poll (right hand side of this page) with five proposals, most of them from our very kind fans and friends. Please take a moment and cast your vote, every opinion counts!

To have a better idea of what this expansion is all about let's see a few illustrations...

Arctic Dominion faction sketch by Odysseas Stamoglou

Han-Xia Dynasty faction sketch by Odysseas Stamoglou

You can also check our earlier posts about the making of the expansion and Exodus itself:

An expansion for Exodus - VII. Han-Xia Dynasty

An expansion for Exodus - VI. Arctic Dominion

An expansion for Exodus - V. Sirius Theocracy
An expansion for Exodus - IV. Victory
An expansion for Exodus - III. Asymmetric game play
An expansion for Exodus - II. Technologies (part 2)
An expansion for Exodus - I. Technologies
Live from Spiel Essen and Exodus makes it to Tom Vasel's top 100 games of all times
An expansion for Exodus: Proxima Centauri
Exodus Revised Edition in images
A review of Exodus by Michael Barnes
An expert opinion
Exodus - making the first prototype and more challenges
From Alpha Centauri to Exodus
The Story

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A Touch of Fate

“Dice are a thing now”, said one of my friends a few days ago, while examining my copy of Dice Brewing. I did not disagree out of fear of being disproven faster than paper disproving Spock. It would inevitably happen since Pandemic: The Cure and Nations: The Dice Game were conveniently sitting on top of my Essen haul pile, which I still failed to fully redistribute around my ever-so-packed gaming shelves. I didn't disagree, but I probably should have, as there is one thing he actually got wrong: the timing. Honestly, I am hard pressed to find a time when dice games were not a thing.

Image source: 
BoardGameGeek

It seems that dice games have been there always, either existing in the shadow of games they were merely the dice versions of (like Catan: Dice Game, Ra: The Dice Game, Alhambra: The Dice Game and dozens of others, including but not limited to – and I kid you not – Strip Poker Dice Game), or created from the start as titles that would use dice as the gameplay basis and stand on their own (like Kingsburg, Alea Iacta Est, the terribly overpunned Quarriors, the elusive Dice Masters series or the truly ingenious Alien Frontiers), without another property serving as a crutch.

But why are dice games so popular? Maybe it’s because the dice versions of other games are usually faster, simpler and lighter than their “bigger” cousins, so they may appeal to those of us who wish a similar experience, only in a shorter time frame? Then again, the same can quite often be said about “The Card Game” genre, which tries to distil full-blown board games into a smaller, more manageable, card-based experiences.

While the time and simplicity factor may be important, it is not truly distinguishing, and I believe it’s safe to say that the most important building block of dice games are (obviously) the dice themselves. And not only as a physical component, but as an unexpected randomizer that creates a specific dynamic to any game fully either dice based, or just using dice rolling as one of its cornerstone mechanisms.

Image source: 
BoardGameGeek

Although nobody would probably say that Castles of Burgundy, Troyes or Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia are “just” dice games, what makes those games what they truly are is the dice rolling and randomness management. The fact is that without dice none of these games would be what it is, and although we may argue over whether they would be better or worse, the dice based randomization is an element essential to each of them.

Whether the game revolves around pushing one’s luck or around careful dice manipulation, one thing stays the same: a player might be aided or hampered by what their dice come up with. And although the general consensus seems to imply that a good dice (or dice based) game allows low-rolling players to compete and even win, randomness always plays its part for better or for worse.

Modern board gaming is about smart designs that allow us to jog our brains and have fun while we’re at it, but it is not fully detached from the culture we live in. And that culture promotes the seemingly weaker, but determined individuals who fight against odds and win in the end thanks to their conviction, skill and a little bit of luck. Simply put: we like to see the underdog win, and sometimes, we are the underdogs.

Image source: 
BoardGameGeek

Although not exclusive to dice games, the randomness that levels the playing field is openly signalled by the use of dice rolling as a mechanism. For those, who like to play a decent turn despite a weak roll or to come back at the last moment thanks to a spectacular one, gaming is exactly the underdog fighting to the end – and sometimes even winning.

By no stretch of imagination am I trying to say that more randomness means better game. For some a luck based swing will be unacceptable, but for others chance helping them catch up after some botched turns is exactly what they need to feel invested in a game from the start right to the end. And it is still a win gained by wits and strategy, even if aided but a subtle touch of fate.

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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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The World of Mistfall: Part 2

We continue the story of the world of Mistfall and present a new sketch, as well as a fully finished illustration - one of many to be found in the upcoming Mistfall game.

On the error of creation.

Beastman Shaman - prototype sketch
by Enggar Adirasa

For more than a hundred years humanity fought a desperate battle, trying to fend off the Nightfather’s children. The beastmen, relentless in their cruelty, with minds forged in the Darkness by an envious and bitter god, were relentless in their pursuit to dominate the world. But the children of light were not easily destroyed. And although some kingdoms had fallen, others would resist with the strength and resilience born out of unwavering faith in the Mother of Day – or from humanity’s pure resolve and defiance.

Where children of Dusk came to rule, chaos would ensue. With minds set on battle and destruction, without common enemies, the wild beastmen fought among themselves, forming tribes to war each other, spilling blood over hunting grounds – and falling deeper and deeper into an internal strife that would in time leave them open to retaliation. Displeased yet again, the Nightfather tried to punish those of his children who were first to turn against their own kind, but quickly found that whatever ill fortune he would condemn the savage creatures to, it would only make their fury burn ever hotter and more savage. 

And then he came to realise the weakness of his creation. While men, made when Dawn and Dusk laboured together, the beastmen were condemned to the one purpose the Nightfather had forged them for – and all they wanted was the power and might gained by what he poured into them.

On the coming of the Mists

Unable to control his children any more, Dusk devised a most cruel punishment. The Nightfather took away all the power his support had lent them thus far and with it, all dark magic they called upon to strengthen their blows against humanity. Suddenly deprived of their might, the shamans and chieftains of the tribes called out to their father, but he would not answer, watching in bitter satisfaction as servants of Dawn started reclaiming the lands they had been banished from.

But the beastmen, unable to comprehend the change of their fate, would still call out, craving for their lost strength. Drums beat day and night, as the abandoned tribes preformed dark rituals, trying to win back the grace of Dusk by feats of strength and bloody sacrifice. Determined to regain what they had lost, they would call out dauntlessly, until something answered.

From the far north, from a land where night and day are almost like one, the Mists reached out to the abandoned children of Dusk, filling them once more with the power they had craved so much. But the touch of the Mists was far different from the gaze of the Nightfather, as it would twist and transform some of its new servants, and where it was thickest, even the animals or the land itself.

Skeletal Magus by Enggar Adirasa

On the Age of Heroes

Filled with a new power, the beastmen started yet again to gain the upper hand against the children of Dawn. Faster and more determined, as if filled with a rage unknown even to the Nightfather, they struck against all, mercilessly killing even those few among men that served Dusk. And as the cold tendrils of the Mists spew out creatures transformed into beasts even more fearsome and savage than the beastmen warriors, a new threat emerged from the impenetrable, ashen veil.

The tales were first told by the few survivors of the nightmarish battles against the servants of the Mists. And they were tales of ghostly shapes walking the barrows and the dark woods, of empty skulls and rotting flesh peeling off bones that would move once again. Tales of the dead raised from the ashes. Tales of former brothers reanimated and twisted by the power of the Mists, once again taking up arms, but this time in service of a power bent on only one thing: a total annihilation of all Dawn and Dusk had ever created.

Deprived of his power over the beastmen, Dusk turned to the few servants he had among men, once again lending them his power and voicing his will. Seeing the plight of her children, Dawn spoke to men as well. And while Dusk moved his pawns far away from the new threat, Dawn empowered the bravest of her children and send them into the Mist ridden lands. Many of them would not return, but the Mother of Day knew that the power that twisted her world and shaped it in its own malevolent image must be stopped at any costs.

And so came the Age of Heroes.

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An expansion for Exodus - VI. Arctic Dominion

Last week we started presenting the factions fighting for supremacy in Exodus: Proxima Centauri. We continue this series with the Arctic Dominion, the experts of trading.

The Dominion is the single faction with the ability to convert resources into victory points. This ability is backed by their trading, banking and mining skills supported by specific technologies, allowing the Dominion to convert very fast their territorial claims into power. Another unique technology of the Arctic Dominion, the Quantum Reflection, is their key to take full advantage of fighting the Centaurian Resistance, getting both the victory points and the direct benefits from the resistance cards.

Some see space as a dark, cold and unwelcoming place. In the ancient times seas were similarly perceived, but even then our ancestors braved the freezing blackness, acknowledging the dangers, but also seeing the possibilities it offered. They were warriors and traders; we are businessmen. If there is a price on something, and if it is the right price,  we can deliver. And as far as we know, there is a price on everything.

On Earth the Arctic Dominion grew where all else would either freeze, or have the right mind to leave. The cold and unwelcoming place of the northern part of North America and the territories north of Siberia, though rich with natural resources, forged the shrewdness and mettle of the people living there. With time it became clear that the common focus on turning a profit became more unifying than any particular nationalities and beliefs, becoming a deciding factor in the origin of Arctic Dominion.

There is and has always been only one guiding force behind Arctic Dominion: money. Leaders of the faction believe that although Old Earth might be merely a legendary home world with a legacy many hope to fall into oblivion, there are still lessons that should never be forgotten. And for the Dominion, those lessons allow them to flourish and profit where others struggle for survival.

Members of the Arctic Dominion are descendants of Earth’s miners, traders and bankers, today unified mostly by a mutual desire to build the wealth and power of their organization. A long tradition of trading with yesterday’s enemies and tomorrow’s allies makes them a group of business negotiators, with a level of skill unmatched by any other. Their economic potential allows them to also remain a challenging wartime opponent. It is not unknown for the Arctic Dominion to profit from their conflicts by auctioning off carefully obtained POV’s that are the key figures for other factions.

Although concentrated on their own power, the Arctic Dominion managed to maintain the closest relations with the Centaurians, learning as much as possible from humanity’s benefactors and supplementing civil science research with a focus on Centaurian technologies that allow them to maximize the gains even from fighting off indigenous resistance. 

We will continue our detailed presentation of the expansion next week with the Han-Xia Dynasty. 

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