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Aether Captains returns on Kickstarter in April 18th by MAGE Company & Ninja Division! An asymmetric steampunk board game of villainous sky pirates and heroic naval zeppelins in epic conflict above the skies of Arkady! We currently develop the Kickstarter page by adding videos, images etc. Check out the page and subscribe here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/56249778?token=e237ce24

What is Aether Captains?

A steampunk board game for 1-5 players here one player commands the mighty naval zeppelins of the Grand Compact: Dauntless and Dominion. As Commander, you have been tasked by the Emperor to defend the Grand Compact and Arkady from the merciless sky pirates. With your staunch crew of steam welders, engineers, navigators and gunners, you fly with honor to confront the pirates threatening Arkady.

The remaining players command waves of attacking sky pirates, each with their own unique objectives which may pit them against any player when it results in the greatest profit for themselves. Infamous and feared, you have risen through the cutthroat cadres to become a War Captain. You swear to never rest until you control the skies and the Grand Compact falls!

Aether Captains offers a unique gaming experience and playstyle which begins with the different roles players assume. The Navy Commander protects Arkady from the raiding War Captains, using a “points selection” system. The War Captains who are attacking Arkady play using an “action choice” system. Although War Captains have the same goal of raiding Arkady, they do not play cooperatively except when it will result in the greatest benefit for them based upon each player’s unique objectives.

Aether Captains use 6-sided dice to form the different ships which compose the fleet of the Navy Commander and the War Captains. These “dice-ships” play a strategic role in the game, but players do not roll them. The dice-ships represent the power and life of each player’s fleet. All ships begin the game with their starting face up. As the ships take damage, players turn the die face to the next side. Each side of the ship’s dice represent several numbers: attack, strength, and value.

Each War Captain recruits a fleet of up to three dice-ships with a value equal to or lower than five points. Each War Captain plays the game with their own unique objectives. Each objective card creates different elements and conditions in the game, increasing the replayability. Each objective has an Entry Point, which specifies a city or an area on the game tiles where the War Captain’s fleet begins the game.

Aether Captains uses twelve-sided dice (d12) as a randomizer for attacking, damage, value of resources, and other elements of the game which require a randomizer. Aether Captains attributes are mechanically built upon a small set of cardinal numbers: 2, 3, 4, 6. A D12 nicely combines with these cardinal numbers for multiplying and dividing, and provides the game with a smooth and natural feeling.

The ship miniatures are used to mark your fleet’s location and movement on the game board as they make their way over the skies of Arkady. Movement can be affected by not only other players’ ships, but by the wind and weather. Choose the path you take carefully. The enemy is waiting, hidden in the clouds—ready to attack!

The dice used in the game act as miniature ships for the players. As a ship takes on damage, the dice are rotated to show different faces and the players can see the damage to their ships mounting. So you get a nice realtime visual effect of the ship in trouble. Cannons on sections of the ship also lose range as damage is taken so it is important for the player to spend time repairing the ship which takes away from attack and defense so there is a strategic balance to contend with. Here you see all the 6 dice of a zeppelin ship from the top to the bottom. From the left to the right you see the different faces of each die while it gets damaged more and more.

Loving the artwork on this one - looking forward to this campaign starting!

Shiny.

That's a really impressive looking game.

We work non stop with Ninja Division and our studio.
Until the launching day we will add a lot of material into
the game.

What we love mostly in this game is that it will work
in a tournament way, you choose your air fleet and
the short playing time.

Ninja Division is excited to bring this experience to players! Keep your eyes on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/56249778?token=e237ce24


Arkady is divided into three regions. The South is home to the Grand Compact and its allies. Nomadic tribes of weapon makers live in the North. In the West, Air Pirates have their bases and supply depots.

The Grand Compact is made up of ten powerful city-states. Some city-states are centers of learning and study; others are industrial hubs for Arkady. While ruled by the Emperor, there exist several classes of nobles and commoners. It is, however, an egalitarian society with men and women from all strata serving equally in His Majesty’s Aethernavy as well as employed in all other forms of work.

The Grand Council was established by the Emperor in the Grand Compact’s founding years. The purpose of the Council is to distribute the more quotidian duties of the Emperor into the hands of the city-states that make up the nation. They are responsible for the general health, wellness and prosperity of the Grand Compact.

The Grand Council has a representative from each of the 10 city-states and, while it does not convene on a regular schedule to make decisions, it is held responsible as a whole for the general prosperity of the land. Within the council there are several positions of honor that are held by those most suited and devoted to the Council’s tenants.

The Federation of Air Pirates is ruled by an ever-changing lineup of Pirate Bosses from the remote Black Canyon, a location that shifts as often as the leadership of the Federation. The Air Pirates are a constant menace to the free peoples of Arkady. Their ranks are filled with slavers, black marketers, and disgraced engineers. Most Pirate Captains are law unto themselves and rule their ships as tiny kingdoms, using Revenants as shock troops to keep crew and slaves in line as well as to harry the zeppelins of the Grand Compact.

MAGE Company is excited to bring you Aether Captains! Aether Captains is a steampunk-themed, scenario-based, asymmetric board game for 1-5 players created by Todd Sanders and published by Ninja Division Publishing.

One player commands the mighty naval zeppelins of the Grand Compact: Dauntless and Dominion. As Commander, you have been tasked by the Emperor to defend the Grand Compact and Arkady from the merciless sky pirates. With your staunch crew of steam welders, engineers, navigators and gunners, you fly with honor to confront the pirates threatening Arkady.

The remaining players command waves of attacking sky pirates, each with their own unique objectives which may pit them against any player, especially if it means greater profit for themselves. Infamous and feared, War Captains are cutthroat and cunning. As a War Captain, you swear to never rest until you control the skies and the Grand Compact falls!

Aether Captains got funded and now we unlock stretch goals. You can check out the project: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Let's dig in a bit the add ons and especially Spikeminer! This one is an exclusive kickstarter and plays with the War-Captains. Each single die-ship comes with 6 Action cards. It has Strength 4 and Attack 4 and that's the initial statistics of the die-ship. Having Strength 4, it means it can take 4 strikes and the Navy Commander will also need to give a final 5th strike in order to destroy it.

However, you can also repair-upgrade to have Strength 5, or even 6, meaning it can take more strikes in case of losing a combat. When a ship-die is upgraded, aside the fact that the statistics change, the background color also changes. What is so special with Spikeminer?





Is the first ship that has its own ability, a unique one. Due to its strange construction, it can move fast and avoid the Storm and general is not affected by weather phenomena. Is this important? Yes because when storm is moving to a hex tile, any ship on it, it takes a damage. You will also be able to move against the wind without spending any Fuel which is also very important when you want to complete an Objective.

Does it worth to add it to your fleet? Yes. It's unique ability will make things a bit easier for you during the game.

For further info check our the campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0

Awesome! We hit another stretch goal. Thoia City and new hex tiles are now unlocked. These hex tiles expand the land of Arkady.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0

Thoia City has a new ability: When you move your ship there, you can exchange one of your resources with another of your choice. Among the rest hex tiles you will find: A Snow field-Drop Zone, a Rock field-Target Zone, a Sand field-Target Zone and 2 Sky hex tiles.

Drop Zones are areas where you can transfer Crew members or Resources based on the Objective you have chosen. Target Zones are neutral areas and each time you move your ship through a Target Zone you take automatically 1 damage.

Next Goal: New dice: Scorpion Grappler, Action cards and board!

It is time to explore further Aether Captains and dig in more.. There is a new add on item in the "market" and is the Nomads' Cannons! Today our artist sent us the final image. We are working on this variant some time now and finally is ready. As soon the studio finds some free time we will start sculpting this new item. The Cannons will make the game more difficult since movement options around Arkady will be less. Soon or later, either you are War-Captain or the Navy Commander, you will have to destroy these weapons otherwise your fleet will be in great danger.



Also a new Pledge Level with hand painted miniature ships was added today in the campaign. For further information you can check out Aether Captains here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0

If you choose the Imperial Force pledge level (limited) you will get the base game and the two expansions and the miniature ships will be hand painted. The ships will be painted based on the illustrations we have created but in order to separate the minis of each player, especially the War-Captains ones, we will customize the colors so each War-Captain will be able to recognize their ships during the game.




The War-Captains customs dice are also ready. Imprinted Custom Dice with heat transfer

Scorpion Grappler is unlocked. New Kickstarter exclusive ship, 6 Action cards and the equivalent board.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0



Special Ability: When Scorpion Grappler attacks, you choose 2 ship sections (instead of 1) and attack both. One of the Scorpion Grappler's Action cards is Bomb Launch Attack. This card allows you to attack twice a ship section. Combining it with the ability of the ship you will be able to attack 4 times the rival ship!



Statistics: Scorpion Grappler has low Strength. The initial statistics give a Strength of 3 to Scorpion Grappler. With 4 successful attacks this ship is destroyed. However you can always repair and upgrade your ship giving it additional Strength, make it stronger!

Next Stretch Goal: Kestra City! We also added more Stretch goals in the main page. Don't forget that our Social Media Stretch goals. We have time to unlock them with your support!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0

Movement is the most important aspect of the game since it is the fundamental means through which all ships get around Arkady and complete their Objectives. Remember, you must plan your strategy by being mindful of your movements. This is especially true for the Navy Commander since there will be several instances where any movement may be thwarted by the War Captains that dominate more areas of the board.

A War Captain starts the game from the entry point indicated on his or her Objective. The Navy Commander’s entry point is always the Northern-most hex tile. This gives War Captains measured distance that allows them to strategize their moves carefully during the first round. Movement is triggered by specific Action Cards: Move, which allows all ships to move once; and Double Move, which allows all ships to move twice during the same turn. These Action cards tied to specific ships, so each player must be careful how and when they trigger them.



The land of Arkady is composed of Cities, Fields, Drop Zones and simple sky hex tiles. There are 5 different Cities in the base game: Etherton, Antara, Mavery, Perium, and Easley by the River. Each City offers a different resource. The Drop Zones are areas where War-Captains must transfer Crew Members and/or different resources. The Fields are areas inhabited by different, hostile groups who attack either the War Captains or the Navy Commander whenever either fly over their territories. Stops or passes through a Field Area, therefore, automatically incur one damage. The sky hex tiles are neutral areas and nothing happens when a ship moves through them, they just complete the Arkady skyscape. Thus, Arkady is thoughtfully composed to maintain a balance of distance and strategy that allow for fun, fair play for all.

Cities, in particular, are significant to War Captains for three reasons: 1) They offer resources; 2) they offer asylum to the War Captain ships, thereby shielding them from the Navy Commanders’ attacks; and 3) they help fulfill some Objectives, particularly when a War Captain is tasked with taking control of a city.



The only obstacles the cities pose are their defense lines. If a city’s defense line is broken, then the city falls. If a War Captain has control of a City, then it is harder for the Navy Commander to defeat him or her since the Navy Commander must first free the city in order to launch an attack on a War Captain. Cities are also important for the Navy Commander, too, since they allow for the collection of gold. This allow the Navy Commander to recruit new Crew members from the Neutral Ground.

Each of these elements affects the game with varying effects. With competing forces and challenging elements, each player must strategize, move carefully, and attack wisely. While some of the distances may appear impossible, they are not. Each game runs about five to six rounds, and each game moves relatively fast. Player must, therefore, pay careful attention to each other since the setup of Arkady allows each player a fair chance to either meet their Objectives or destroy their rivals to win.

You unlocked Kestra city along with 2 Drop Zone hex tiles, 1 Target Zone hex tile and 2 Sky hex tiles. Kestra has also a new ability: A War-Captain can move to that city and change his Objective with a new one. However, he must first successfully attack Kestra. Here is the difficult part. Kestra has strong defense and you must roll 10+ with your D12 in order to take over the control. This task is not so easy since the Navy Commander is moving around but also you must be careful to avoid any possible damages from the Storm!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0

You unlocked Kestra city along with 2 Drop Zone hex tiles, 1 Target Zone hex tile and 2 Sky hex tiles. Kestra has also a new ability: A War-Captain can move to that city and change his Objective with a new one. However, he must first successfully attack Kestra. Here is the difficult part. Kestra has strong defense and you must roll 10+ with your D12 in order to take over the control. This task is not so easy since the Navy Commander is moving around but also you must be careful to avoid any possible damages from the Storm!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0

Next Stretch Goal!

Complete art for the new Objectives of the War-Captains by Anthony Cournoyer. Less than 2 weeks before the campaign ends and that's your chance to get Aether Captains along with the expansions Clash of Corsairs and Fleet of Doom. Soon the solo rules will be ready and we will post an update. Stay tuned! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0

Resources and Solo Rules
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0

There are five different resources in the base game: Fuel, Bombs, Gold, Water and Repair Gear.



Fuels are important for the War Captain’s fleet since their ships can move against the wind. Fuels are also helpful as they allow War Captain’s ships to move and change sides when they are in close combat with the Navy Commander’s ship(s). Fuels, however, are limited to 15 tokens. Players must, therefore, carefully allocate them across their Stats Boards (i.e., some Stats Boards have slots for four Fuel tokens, while others have only three or two).



Bombs can be claimed by one of the Arkady cities and they can trigger the Bomb Launch Attack Action Card.



Gold can be claimed in Perium and it allows players to recruit a Crew Member.



All other resources are target items of specific Objectives. Each resource type also has a limited amount of tokens associated with it. This makes the game more challenging.

Because a Navy Commander’s ship can take five to six resources and/or Crew Members, the stakes are slightly higher for War Captains who may require specific resources to fulfill their Objectives. A good strategy for War Captains, therefore, is to collect resources at the beginning of the game, before the Navy Commander moves his or her ships. One smart way to collect resources freely is to take control of a city.

Also, generally, the most important resources are Fuels, Gold, Bombs, as they affect side factors of the game’s mechanics (e.g., Action Cards and wind direction).

As for the Navy Commander, there are two main reasons to collect resources of any type: 1) To fulfill a specific Objective of the Navy Commander role (see the Class of Corsairs expansion) 2) To reduce a resource type (one or more) in order to prevent War Captains from completing their Objectives.

The Crew Members are another intriguing parameter of the game, and they offer special abilities to all players. At the beginning of the game, Crew Members are placed in the neutral ground and they are divided into two stacks based on the back side of their tokens. Some Crew Members are common for both sides, while others are unique.



Each Crew Member has a specific ability that can affect the attack, move, resources and other actions that the ships do. All players can recruit Crew Members by moving their ships to the neutral ground and paying in Gold. Only one Crew Member can be recruited during each round. Each Crew Member can also only be used once. After that, the Crew Member is removed from the game. War Captains, however, can keep a specific Crew Member in their Storage slot in order to complete a specific Objective. The most important condition to recruit a Crew Member is to have empty Storage slot (for the War Captains) or a free ship section (for the Navy Commander). One great advantage of some Crew Members is that they can be triggered during another player’s turn, preventing him or her from completing an Action.

SOLO RULES

Here is the general concept. In this mode, the Navy Commander will have a limited number of turns to complete his mission. At each city site, he will have to face random drone pirate dice. Further, during set up the pair side of the tiles for those randomly placed will have crew placed as hostages. He must save each hostage and as he does, he can add them to his abilities. We are working on this mode and the AI we will place in the game. Although it was easier to develop the main game, the Solo Rules are more difficult since they must offer the same feeling as the main game. We will be ready soon and will post an update just for this mode.

Last days for Aether Captains on Kickstarter. Solo rules, quick play (30-45 min.), custom dice, asymmetric gameplay, Kickstarter exclusive items and miniature ships are just some of the elements that build this project. We unlocked several stretch goals with your support and we still have few days to unlock more and expand further the Empire of Arkady and the gameplay. Check out the project here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0

Solo Rules!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0

Mission accomplished!

We have completed the Solo Rules and are editing the final rulebook. As soon as it is ready we will post it online. The solo rules will apply only for the base game, not for the expansions. The expansions, as described on the main page, add new scenarios and ships for the War-Captains and alternative missions for the Navy Commander. The solo rules apply only for the Navy Commander since he is the one who defends the Grand Compact and the world of Arkady from the War-Captains.

The War-Captains control all the cities of the Grand Compact: Perium, Etherton, Antara, Easley, and Mavery. The Navy Commander has a specific number of rounds to set the cities free while facing the War-Captains.

The War-Captains' ships act based on patterns. We have created six different patterns and the solo player rolls a six-sided die for each ship. Based on the roll, a specific pattern for a ship is triggered. Each pattern includes different actions that control what that ship must do during that round. In the base game, each War-Captain has the ability to trigger 3 Action Cards each round, therefore the same applies to the patterns. Each ship will complete 3 different actions. For example: A ship may move, collect a resource and move again. A ship may move, attack the Navy Commander and attack again, and so on. The patterns we can create for the War-Captains are unlimited since the Action cards are combined with any possible scenario a War-Captain can trigger. As in the base game, the Navy Commander plays last, therefore you must have a strategic plan if you want to win.

That's the brief summary of the AI mode and how it operates the War-Captains.

In the base game you will find 6 different dice-ships, each occurring twice. In the AI mode you must engage all 6 of the ship types. The entry point of each die-ship is the city it controls. The 6th die-ship’s entry point is the Neutral Ground - giving an extra advantage to the War-Captains. With the War-Captains spread all over the Grand Compact your task as the Navy Commander is a difficult one.

Unlocked. Brass Dagger takes flight!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0

It's here and it's ready! Brass Dagger is unlocked. New dice-ship, action cards and board. Brass Dagger is a triple-dice ship therefore if you choose it at the beginning of the game, you cannot recruit another ship. The 3 dice occupy all the slots of your board. However, this type of ships have several advantages as we explained in previous updates. One of the new action cards you will find in this ship is Betrayal! By triggering Betrayal you can recruit a rival crew member. Based on the base rules, this is forbidden but triggering Betrayal you break that rule.

Last hours for Aether Captains and here is a chance to unlock more stretch goals!

Last 48 hours to go for Aether Captains! Let’s go unlock those stretch goals!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magecompany/aether-captains-0