Front Page

Content

Authors

Game Index

Forums

Site Tools

Submissions

About

KK
Kevin Klemme
March 09, 2020
35147 2
Hot
KK
Kevin Klemme
January 27, 2020
20825 0
Hot
KK
Kevin Klemme
August 12, 2019
7405 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
December 19, 2023
3967 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
December 14, 2023
3498 0
Hot

Mycelia Board Game Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
December 12, 2023
2075 0
O
oliverkinne
December 07, 2023
2583 0

River Wild Board Game Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
December 05, 2023
2255 0
O
oliverkinne
November 30, 2023
2496 0
J
Jackwraith
November 29, 2023
3016 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
November 28, 2023
1973 0
S
Spitfireixa
October 24, 2023
3692 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
October 17, 2023
2625 0
O
oliverkinne
October 10, 2023
2461 0
O
oliverkinne
October 09, 2023
2289 0
O
oliverkinne
October 06, 2023
2506 0

Outback Crossing Review

Board Game Reviews
×
Bugs: Recent Topics Paging, Uploading Images & Preview (11 Dec 2020)

Recent Topics paging, uploading images and preview bugs require a patch which has not yet been released.

× Buy your army to crush your enemies.

Aetherium

More
19 Jun 2015 11:19 - 19 Jun 2015 11:22 #204592 by charlest
Aetherium was created by charlest
Wow. Aetherium is a miniature skirmish game that appeared on Kickstarter last year and delivered earlier this year. It was kind of a quiet project and hasn't gotten any buzz. It exists in an odd realm being a miniatures game with a line of additional purchases coming and requiring the purchase of a starter box. The minis are resin and highly detailed (a step above Mantic but slightly below GW) but require minor assembly. Most are in two or three pieces maximum and they require gluing to bases that are included.

I didn't back this project but it caught my eye and I was able to nab a review copy. I love reviewing these hidden gems that come out of nowhere and are neglected. That's where the most interesting releases seem to be including stuff like Nate Hayden's catalogue and Camp Grizzly which I recently reviewed.

Anyway, holy shit. The starter box is deluxe and reminds me of the coffin box GW games of yesteryear. The feel is a hot mixture of Necromunda, Wiz-War, and Netrunner. It's insane and I think I may be in love.

It's miniature skirmish battles with factions, and a unique programmed activation system that reminds me of Queen's Gambit. When units are activated its an action point system and you can spend the sole resource, RAM, to overclock and perform additional actions. RAM can also be spent to physical shift the map Wiz-War style. You play on map tiles that remind me of larger Earth Reborn equivalent, and the setup may consist of tiles being linked but some may be floating off on their own. The tiles sit on a large game mat made of neoprene with squares denoted on the mat and the tiles themselves.

Units may move through the quantum noise of the mat and off their tile but they suffer damage, and possibly an auto-kill (it's wildly variable). So you can shift tiles to create gaps and then perform actions to shove people off the tile. You can rotate a tile to create openings so your squad of riot girls can make it to the Praetorians and beat the hell out of them.

It has custom dice with a stellar combat system and a really simple ruleset with complications arising from each unit possessing special abilities and stats. So you get the variability in special rules of Warhammer units but condensed into the small number of miniatures of a game of Necromunda.

The 60 page rulebook is full color and only contains about what could be 7 pages of condensed rules. It has huge illustrations, tons of background information, and full force lists for the two included factions. It definitely comes across like a Games Workshop army book combined with a streamlined ruleset.

I'll have a review coming in a couple weeks when I've settled down a bit and can see how I feel when the shiny new glow has worn down. Right now, I'm thinking this has the potential to be the best new thing I've played in the past few years.
Last edit: 19 Jun 2015 11:22 by charlest.
The following user(s) said Thank You: ChristopherMD, SuperflyPete

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
19 Jun 2015 11:36 #204596 by SuperflyPete
Replied by SuperflyPete on topic Aetherium
I saw it and thought the same thing. I would've backed it but I have literally 600+ miniatures and 50 pieces of terrain to paint/assemble/both so I'm not buying shit until then. Miniature Market has some Plasti-Craft terrain "Built for Infinity" that I wanted and it's SO CHEAP, but I've resisted because of my backlog.

So, I don't talk much about this, but check this out: Take any skirmish game like this, then add in a box of Mighty Empires. Paint it/flock it with sand or whatever, and add in a pile of Monopoly houses or something and now you have not only a skirmish game, but an empire building meta-game. Each battle is for a piece of terrain, so you literally have 4x game that revolves around a skirmish rule set.

I did this on paper until I was lucky enough to have a F:ATtie sell me Mighty Empires, at which point I ended up with a bad ass set of tiles to play Wasteland 3: Total Meltdown.
The following user(s) said Thank You: charlest

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
19 Jun 2015 11:47 #204598 by charlest
Replied by charlest on topic Aetherium
We've done that campaign thing in the past with Warhammer, Kings of War, and other skirmish games. Make our own maps and rules and conquer territory. Usually takes way too much commitment for what I can afford though so it always peters out. Our Necromunda campaigns usually had campaign maps as well with the territories denoted.

I'm not sure how well that would work with Aetherium as the battlefield is a virtual reality that was discovered when messing with splitting particles at the atomic level. Think of a more unstable Matrix without some overlords running the thing. The battles you fight are on volatile openings in the Aether that stabilize around pillars/nodes of stability. But the battleground is transient so fighting over specific chunks of dirt is kind of a concept that doesn't work at that level.

If there's one thing missing from Aetherium that I wish it had, it would be the campaign style of Necromunda. Your gang/faction increasing in skills and injuries being permanent. There is a nice benefit though of it being contained scenarios, in that it requires less dedication and allows for more experimentation in forces and strategies and scenarios.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
19 Jun 2015 11:53 #204600 by Mr. White
Replied by Mr. White on topic Aetherium
I won't even look at a minis game unless it has a strong campaign system in place. Part of the reward for investing all the time and effort in the painting and modelling is to then see their stories come to life throughout a campaign. Or maybe it's just the role-player in me.

However, getting those campaign rules right takes a lot of well tested development and in this cult of the new driven era I think companies are pretty keen that folks just want shiny toys and not deep, long term campaigns as they're soon off to the next kickstarter mega mini bundle game. That's my best guess why there's a ton of skirmish games out now, but most are so light on the campaign side.

It's why we're _still_ playing our Blood Bowls and Mordheims...
The following user(s) said Thank You: charlest

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
19 Jun 2015 14:09 #204615 by SuperflyPete
Replied by SuperflyPete on topic Aetherium
The best example of a "light RPG skirmish game" is Strange Aeons. Decisions matter, it has a random mission generator, and the rules are tight as a drum. Fantastic game, even if you don't like Cthulhu stuff.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
19 Jun 2015 14:23 #204616 by charlest
Replied by charlest on topic Aetherium
My main problem with straight up miniature games is terrain. I'm capable of making it (created triple canopy jungle, hills, bunkers, etc. for a 6 foot 20mm Vietnam table) but it's a pain to store and takes tons of time to do well. For this reason I'm not really actively engaged in any miniature games besides X-Wing and Sergeant's Miniatures Game. Aetherium uses tiles which is my preferred method.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
19 Jun 2015 14:33 #204617 by SuperflyPete
Replied by SuperflyPete on topic Aetherium
I find that making terrain, despite the aforementioned drawbacks, is a great hobby. It's saleable material you're making, so if you get tired of it, you'll always come out ahead, and also, it's very peaceful. I really like making it because it forces me to sit down, away from the wife and kids, and build my own little alternate universe. It's almost therapeutic.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Moderators: Gary Sax
Time to create page: 0.173 seconds