I’m here today to talk about Organized Play for our latest game! First Contact is our release event for Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika, so now’s your chance to be the first through the gate in the Thousand Worlds to experience a strange new planet!
Three silent gates scattered across the Thousand Worlds have opened for the first time in human memory. These gates lead to a long-dead Empyrean world full of mysterious technology and valuable Arcanessence.
None of the warring Factions know how long the gates will remain open; nonetheless, each has sent forth their forces to secure what they can. Inside this document, players will find four new missions—two skirmish and two primary. Each of these missions is designed to showcase the escalating battles on the surface of the planet Achlys Secundus. A player can also earn gate points by completing various achievements throughout the event.
Don’t quite feel up to having one super long day of just Warcaster? I get it. Thus, these missions were designed so players could play one per day over a longer period of time. While doing so, players still gain gate points from achievements that occur during the event.
Prize support for this event is eight “First Through the Gate” patches.
Each person who participates in the event should receive a patch. Although there is no specific prize for the person who ends up with the most gate points, an EO can supplement the prize support with a Pendulum Organized Play kit. In that case, EOs can shower the winners of the event with additional nifty prizes.
Knowing people might want to see a bit of what’s in store, I’ve decided to drop the first of the four new scenarios right here.
Mission #1: Ark of Shadows
As the ancient gates around Achlys Secundus open for the first time in human reckoning, rival factions descend upon the unknown world like warring locusts. With the conflagration engulfing the territories closest to the mighty gates, expeditionary forces rush to uncover the secrets of this unexplored planet. Now, two such expeditions meet head-on at the site of timeworn ruins concealing the lost relics of an alien race. With prized artifacts close at hand, neither can afford to retreat empty handed.
Setup
This mission uses the skirmish mission rules except that each player’s force can include only up to 6 units with no additional Hero solos.
Place one permanent objective (main dig site) along with three additional permanent objectives (secondary dig site) numbered 1 through 3 onto the battlefield as indicated on the map. Objectives should be centered on the points described. All permanent objectives are considered to be terrain features that provide cover.
Special Rules
Any unit can hold objectives.
At the end of the first Pulse round, after scoring, roll a d3 and remove the corresponding secondary dig site objective from the table. At the end of the second Pulse round, after scoring, roll a d3 and remove the corresponding secondary dig site objective from the table. If the roll results in a secondary dig site that has already been removed from the table, roll again.
Scoring
Players score victory points at the end of each Pulse round for each objective they secure. One (1) victory point is scored for each strategic location objective during the first Pulse round, two (2) victory points during the second Pulse round, and three (3) victory points during the third Pulse round.
This mission has a random element you won’t see in some of our more tournament-friendly missions. You won’t know which dig site will be exhausted until it’s too late, so you’ll have to stay on your toes moving around the map in order to keep up with a shifting scoring mechanism. The only thing you can be sure of is there is a nearly endless supply of treasures in the main dig site, just waiting for the taking.
One important announcement before I wrap things up here. Due to current events, we will be offering “at-home” kits of all of our new Organized Play kits. These will be made available to anyone and everyone direct from our online store once they are released. The First Contact at-home kit will contain only 2 patches instead of 8. First Contact at-home kits are made to support two players for each kit purchased. We understand that not everyone will feel safe going into a store to play in an event, and we hope that by offering these alternate Organized Play kits, more people can safely enjoy Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika. I hope everyone is staying safe while digging into our brand-new game!
Stay tuned for a forthcoming insider on Pendulum, our tournament format for Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika. Until then, I’ll see you all on the other side of the void gate!
