Pre-Launch Reservation with a Perk
As a small experiment, we are opening up Pre-Launch Reservations for the upcoming Gamefound Campaign today. Now, what does this mean?
Basically, it means that you can go to our Website to put down a small $5 Deposit for the upcoming campaign, and in return, when you back the Gamefound Campaign, you will be able to add a small perk/promo-item to your pledge for free, which we have called Flavor Pack 1: Britannia. The full reservation amount will be made available as Credits on your User Profile to spend on the upcoming Gamefound Campaign for the EU:tPoP reprint + Defying Destiny expansion. For those who don't make a Pre-Launch Reservation, this promo-pack will be available as a purchase in the pledge manager (if it is still in stock).
The flavor pack contains 9 new Britain- and Ireland-themed Events, with 5 of them being alternative Events for England, and 4 of them being generic Events that brings more life to this region of the map. These Events will let you shake up those familiar opening moves in the "Discovery & Reformation" scenario and Grand Campaign, or you can use them to create your own British-focused custom scenario.
Examples of alternative Events include the Union of the Crowns, which can solidify the Union between Scotland and England, or could end with the assassination of James I if the Gunpowder Plot is not stopped, and New Model Army Revolts, which is a new take on the English Civil War that lets England grab Oliver Cromwell as their new Ruler right away.
From the Generic Events, we have examples likeTyrone's Rebellion, which will showcase the resistance of the Irish Catholics against the English, but also provide a ruler if you happen to play as one of the Irish Minor Realms, and Jacobite Risings, which deals with the Jacobite Rebellions in 1719 and 1745 attempting to remove the Hanoverian kings from the English throne.
UKGE 2024 – Stand 2-402
If you're still on the fence about coming to UKGE to see us, I just thought I should tell you that you can actually get Flavor Pack 1: Britannia at our stand, if you make your Pre-Launch Reservation on-site.
We are on Stand 2-402 together with Hegemonic Project, so come by and get your copy in 2 weeks.
The Catholic Monarchs sitting pious and dignified on their thrones.
Defying Destiny Dev Diary #3 – Aragon
"If by my life or death, I can protect you, I will. You have my sword"
Today we move to the Western Mediterranean shores to find the next Realm featured in the Defying Destiny expansion, Aragon. Ruling over Eastern Iberia, the isles of Sardinia and Sicily, and with Naples under a personal union, Aragon was one of the strongest Realms in Southern Europe in 1444. Later in the 15th century, they would enter into a dynastic union with Castile, forming the potent new Iberian state that would eventually become Spain.
Aragon completing the Reconquista in Finn and
his gang's custom-made Mediterranean scenario, where they playtested new
Events and Missions from Defying Destiny. We have a full AAR from this
epic game, which we will publish later for those interested.
As community member and playtester Finn Folkwalda puts it:
- Aragon is a strong Realm with a lot of options. Due to its location in the middle of the Mediterranean, everything in the southern part of the map is close to you. This is both a blessing and a curse/threat. Spain, Italy, the Barbary Coast, France, Greece, or going colonial – all are valid options, as long as you keep the naval dominance around your Core Provinces. The main challenge when playing Aragon is having too many options, and doing them all a little bit won't get you anywhere. This realm has a lot of replayability! The central location can make you a key player in keeping the balance of power. So use that to your advantage! Let your opponents send you money to wage war on the number 1 player on the other side of the board. Or support other players/Alliances in their war efforts when this will cost others more than you.
The Aragonese Events also present impactful choices right from the get-go, with The Aragonese Succession giving the option of either complying with Alfons’ testament, handing Naples to his illegitimate son, Fernando, or disregarding his will at the Pope's dismay, and with The Catholic Monarchs, the choice of getting cozy with Castile, or following the alternative path of strengthening their ties to Italy.
The portraits or illustrations are all placeholders
Moving into the later Ages, we wanted to create Events that captured the interests that we imagined an Aragonese Realm would have if it had remained independent, sometimes diving into a bit of an alternative timeline, while also paying attention to Events that touch upon Spanish history affecting those territories that were once Aragonese.
In A Male Trastámara Heir! there is a possibility that Joan, the son of Ferdinand and his second wife, Germaine de Foix, might survive an early illness, providing Aragon with a male heir separate from the Castilian line of succession, and in the first Event for Age IV it is possible that Charles of Habsburg might retain the throne of Aragon following the Spanish Succession War, heralding a new Renaissance for Aragon.
Meanwhile, we have also included more historical Events, such as The Muslim Threat at Sea, which provides a possibility to form the Holy League (which would lead to the battle of Lepanto), and The Fronde and Reapers' War, covering revolts in France supported by Spain, and in Catalonia supported by France, in the middle of the 17th century.
The Aragonese Missions will maintain the Mediterranean focus that Aragon had already shown in the centuries leading up to 1444, with a special interest in Italy and North Africa.
As a final note about the Aragonese Events, we also want to mention that Aragon's Events for Ages III and IV have been designed in such a way that they also make sense when playing as Spain II in scenarios using the 1618-setup, allowing us to create a 2 vs 2 team-play scenario, pitching Ottomans vs Spain, using Mamluk and Aragonese Events for Ottomans II and Spain II, respectively.
While working on the Events for Aragon, we also took the opportunity to create a couple of new, alternative Events for Castile, to make it easier to pitch those two Realms together in the same scenario.
In 1444, Castile has the strongest position in the Iberian peninsula as well as a strong start with a base game Event that sets them up for Subjugating Aragon. With Aragon as a PR, we wanted to level the playing field a bit in Iberia, and since Subjugation in this situation is off the table in any case, we decided to make a Castilian Event that focused on the reign of one of their weaker historical monarchs, Enrique IV. The Impotent King can also be used in shorter scenarios as a counter-balance to Castile's shielded geographical position and strong start.
Mary of England, is an alternative Event for the first half of Age II, representing the marriage of Philip, crown prince of Spain, to Mary I of England, and the Spanish crown's attempts to maintain Catholics in power in England.
As mentioned in our previous Development Diary, we also want to expand the options that the game has to offer by providing new content that can be used to modify the already published scenarios. With that in mind, let us show you a couple of Events that can easily fit in a scenario that includes Aragon, but also in any existing scenario that features the Mediterranean region.
The Iberian Diaspora Event, revisits the tragedy of the expulsion of the Moriscos and Sephardi from Spain and will give the players a choice of welcoming them to their Realm or looking the other way.
Yeah, we know Andrea Doria doesn't look like
that, but Barbarossa got the temporary honor of adorning the card we
used for playtesting.
Another example would be Holy League Armada, which will fit perfectly with a scenario like Mediterranean Dominance (S2-03), helping you to get enough ships to dominate the seas, or, if you are prepared for battle, giving you the chance to launch a coordinated assault on your enemies, with Andrea Doria leading your attack (if you have the Curia's support).
We hope you enjoy these previews of Defying Destiny as much as we enjoy creating them!