Things have been pretty wild here at PP HQ. We’ve all divided up into camps, declaring our undying loyalty to the different Factions of the Hyperuranian. Jeff Handley and I have annexed the breakroom in the name of the Iron Star Alliance while Curtis has indoctrinated other members of the warehouse into the bio-mechanikal folds of the Aeternus Continuum, and Tanner has led a contingent of Marcher Worlds scum to raid the Iron Star Alliance’s soda and snack stockpile. They made off with the last of our cola and sour gummy worms. I fear our days are numbered.
For those of you who have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, you should check out the Kickstarter for our awesome new game, Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika!
As I’m writing this, hunkered down in my and Jeff’s impromptu vending machine fortress, we’ve noticed a couple of common questions that we’d love to answer!
HOW DO OUR STRETCH GOALS WORK?
If you’ve never backed a Kickstarter before, the whole concept of a stretch goal might seem a little odd, and if you have backed a Kickstarter before, our way of doing stretch goals with this campaign is a little bit different than what you’re used to.
First things first: a stretch goal is a bonus that gets unlocked when we reach that amount of money after funding—for example, our first stretch goal was the Lore Collectors Cards and the new box designs. Once we reached $125,000, everyone automatically got it! Pretty cool, right?
Where some of the confusion can come from is that we have several different kinds of stretch goals. We have Micro Goals, Universal Stretch Goals, Faction Stretch Goals, and Add-On Stretch Goals.
Micro Goals are all about social media—if we get enough tweets, posts, and comments on stuff, we unlock cool digital goodies for everyone! Every backer, regardless of level, gets these!
Universal Stretch Goals are things like upgraded components, extra scenarios, and other stuff that isn’t specific to one group in the game. Everyone who backs at the Forward Commander, Skirmish Battle Force, Head to Head, Full Battle Force, or Master of Time and Space levels gets one copy of these for each Command Box they get. And retailers backing the Retailer Starter Package will get three sets of Universal Stretch Goals as well.
Faction Stretch Goals are similar to the Universal Stretch Goals, but they are for specific Factions. These include things like weapon upgrades, alternate sculpts, heroes, and more. Everyone who backs at the Forward Commander, Skirmish Battle Force, Head to Head, Full Battle Force, or Master of Time and Space levels gets one copy of each of the Faction stretch goals for each corresponding Command Group Starter Set in their selected reward tier. So, for example, if you are backing at the Master of Time and Space Level, you would get Faction Stretch Goals for all three Factions. If you did the Head to Head level and wanted the Aeternus Continuum and Marcher Worlds, you would get those two Factions’ Faction Stretch Goals. Retailers backing the Retailer Starter Package will get one of each Faction stretch goal.
Finally, there’s the Add-On Stretch Goals. These are things that, once we unlock, can be added to your pledge as an Add-On. These are generally things like heroes, larger models, and premium accessories like playmats. These are not automatically added to your pledge, so if you want them, you’ll need to add additional funds through Kickstarter or post-campaign in the pledge manager.
WHAT’S WITH THE SKIRMISH AND FULL BATTLE FORCE LEVELS?
There are two game sizes in Warcaster: Skirmish level games, and Full Battle Force level games. Skirmish level games limit the number of units you can have in your list to eight (or any other amount you and your opponent agree on) plus one Hero while Full Battle Force level games limit the number of units in your list to fifteen plus up to three Heroes. It’s kind of like playing different point-cost sized games in WARMACHINE except with specific scenarios built for each size!
CAN I GET ADDITIONAL PLEDGES?
Yes! There are a couple of ways to get multiple pledges—the easiest way is to simply add in the amount for the other pledge to the amount you’ve already pledged! For example, let’s say you have the Full Battle Force Level, but you want a Skirmish Battle Force of a different Faction. You can simply add the cost of a Skirmish Battle Force to your pledge, and when we release the pledge manager, you simply select the one you want! If you don’t want to add the funds in now (and help us unlock more stretch goals!), you can always wait until the pledge manager is released to purchase any additional pledges/add-ons!
ARE THERE ’CASTER KILLS IN THIS GAME?
The Warcaster is not represented on the tabletop and cannot be attacked directly. In Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika, we think of the player as the Warcaster, so keep your hands to yourself!
WHY DON’T THE WARCASTERS ACTUALLY FIGHT EACH OTHER?
War has changed a lot in the 5,000 years in between WARMACHINE and Warcaster. While it’s interesting to think of the Warcasters on the battlefield, charging forward, and performing the most daring-of-dos, that’s just not the way war is waged anymore. Warcasters are an immensely valuable resource—something that is so precious, it’s almost unfathomable to risk them being destroyed. Instead, the Warcasters are kept in their massive armored battle carriers, overseeing the battle and directing their troops, much like a modern-day general would.
HOW DO I PICK WHICH FACTION I WANT?
When we release the pledge manager, there will be an option that lets you select the Faction you want! This gives you plenty of time to mull over which Faction you want, as well as gives you the option of disappointing me by not joining the Iron Star Alliance.
I HAVE A RULES QUESTION. WHERE SHOULD I POST IT?
With the release of our rules last week, we’ve gotten all kinds of questions. This allows us to bring you future Iron Star Alliance citizens the best game possible, and in order to get it at it’s possible best, post that question on Facebook and the Kickstarter! We’re watching you (not in a creepy way, I promise!) and will more likely than not answer your question.
WHAT IS THE LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF COPIES OF A MODEL YOU CAN TAKE?
You can include up to four copies of any single type of unit in a Battle Force. Attachments are not limited to this. Instead, attachments are limited to one per squad. For example, the Paladin Aegis can attach to any Paladin squad. This means that you can have as many Paladin Aegis models as you do Paladin squads—so, if you had four Paladin Enforcers and four Paladin Annihilators, you can bring in up to eight Paladin Aegis attachments.
Additionally, attachments DO NOT count toward the number of units in your Battle Force.
Though warjacks can be customized with different weapon load outs, what matters for the purpose of constructing your Battle Force is the chassis. So, you can only have up to four Firebrands, even if they all have different weapon load outs.
One last note: “variants” count as the same unit type. So, the Paladin Commander in the box is the same unit type as the variant Paladin Commander you’ll get as your Faction stretch goal reward. Und unfortunately, you can only take up to four Paladin Commanders in your Battle Force, even if they’re all in different poses.
WILL THE IRON STAR ALLIANCE RELENT AND LET THE MARCHER WORLDS SETTLE NEW WORLDS IN PEACE?
No.
THE MATH ON THE FULL BATTLE FORCE LEVEL DOESN’T ADD UP TO AS GOOD A DISCOUNT AS THE SKIRMISH BATTLEFORCE…
Sadly, we caught this after launch; luckily, we’ve made it better! The Full Battle Force reward level as well as Master of Time and Space reward level will now include one copy of every single Wild Card that we unlock, as well as an additional copy of the alternate warjack weapons, if unlocked, increasing the value of that level.
WHAT ARE WILD CARDS?
Wild Cards are unique personalities from all over the galaxy that don’t necessarily owe allegiance to any one Faction. But all Wild Cards will work for at least two Factions. For example, the Wild Card that we just unlocked, Voitek Sudal, will work for either the Iron Star Alliance or the Marcher Worlds but will not work with the Aeternus Continuum.
If you have any more burning questions, please feel free to comment on our Kickstarter page, and we’ll answer them as soon as we can! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to sneak past Curtis’ bio-mechanikally fused mispack team in search of gummies and soda..
