Available to order from today, we present the Beyond the Gates of Antares Rulebook
At 260-pages, this full-colour hardback tome contains everything you need to know in order to get started exploring the brand new Science Fiction universe from Rick Priestley – the creator of Warhammer 40,000…
Beyond the Gates of Antares lies a universe vast beyond comprehension, a universe of human endeavour stretching eons into a dark and turbulent past, a universe of embattled civilisations possessed of unimaginable power. Across millions of worlds rival empires are locked in a struggle for dominance, driven by intellects that are as much machine as human, the omniscient integrated machine intelligence of a society and a time very different to our own.
This is the universe of the Seventh Age of Humanity and the setting for our game. Our game is called Beyond the Gates of Antares because that is where our adventures will take us. We will travel through Antarean dimensional gateways to the galaxy spanning empires of the PanHuman Concord and Isorian Senatex, and further to the myriad worlds of the Determinate and beyond. We will board the glittering space borne cities of the Vardari, the great mercantile powers of Antarean space, and we will confront foes as implacable as the Ghar and as merciless as the Renegade NuHu Shards.
Beyond the Gates of Antares was originally conceived as a game and that is where our journey begins. However, our game is only the first step upon a path that promises to take us to new stars and undiscovered worlds which inhabit a living, breathing universe, and one that we intend to realise fully in the form of campaigns, background expansions and – in time – much more in order to explore the many different aspects of our setting.
Book Contents
– A break-down of all of the game rules, easing you into the new system
– An extensive Terrain section, outlining dozens of different terrain types to be found in the Antarean universe
– An Armoury section, featuring entries (and blueprints!) of the various weapon technologies
– More advances rules for using Mounted Units, Vehicles, Buildings and more
– A section detailing just a handful of the different creatures which inhabit Antarean space
– 6 Matched Scenarios, and 6 Narrative Scenarios
– Full Army Lists for 6 factions
– A detailed timeline of Antarean Space, including Star Map and dedicated sections for each specific faction
– Quick Reference Sheet, Weapons Summary, and Templates Section to the rear of the book
Those of your familiar with Bolt Action will be familiar with some aspects of the rules system – we’ve taken a number of mechanics from our award-winning World War Two system and adapted them to fit the new universe… however, that’s not to say that Gates of Antares is a carbon-copy by any stretch of the imagination. The new system introduces an entirely new series of game concepts and unique mechanics that bring a distinct ‘D10’ flavour and feel.
Beyond the Gates of Antares is a tabletop wargame that can be played with relatively few models or, if preferred, with substantial armies depending upon the tastes and ambitions of the players. The premise of our design is that it should be possible to play a challenging and entertaining game with no more than thirty models a side and taking experienced players about an hour to complete. The game is also constructed to be easily scaleable, allowing for larger forces (following force selector guidelines) if players wish to fight bigger games. The army lists in the core Rulebook provide all the information needed to play the forces described, providing options for different sizes of game from a scouting force to a full army of conquest.
Beyond the Gates of Antares is essentially a game of infantry combat in which larger vehicles and combat drones play a mostly supporting role. Of course, as battles escalate in scale, these machines – together with heavy weaponry of all kinds, will assume a greater level of importance, but for the most part the rules of our game are concerned with combat between rival troopers.
The game is rich in detail and extremely ambitious in scope with initial rules and army lists that describe six different Antarean factions: the PanHuman Concord, the Ghar Empire, the Isorian Senatex, the Algoryn Prosperate, the Freeborn Vardos, and the Boromite Guilds. Beyond the Gates of Antares game play utilises the successful and exciting dice activation system first pioneered in Warlord’s popular and award-winning Bolt Action WW2 wargame – ensuring that both sides remain active and engaged throughout every game. There is no down-time – action is fierce, fast, constant, and unforgiving. Resolution is by ten-sided dice offering considerable expansion and great range of detail compared to traditional six-sided dice.
Set against the backdrop of a vast and ever-expanding brand new science-fiction universe – the Warlord design studio has already created an entire year’s worth of supporting product. There are plans for six plastic kits to be released over the next 12 months, along with countless metal support teams and additional units – and of course, we couldn’t resist creating larger units such as vehicles, monstrous lifeforms, and other creations from the darker depths of Rick Priestley’s brain…
Strike Vector one: The Xilos Horizon
Of course, if you want to dive straight into the Antarean universe at full pace, then the starter set – ‘Strike Vector one: The Xilos Horizon’ is ideal. Containing everything you need to get your forces started;
Warlorder Rich.D took a look through one of the very first packed copies of the launch edition box;
Launch Edition Box Contents
- Full colour 260-page hardback rulebook.
- Quick reference sheet.
- Getting started booklet.
- 3 multi-pose plastic Ghar Battle Squad walkers.
- 3 multi pose plastic Ghar Assault Squad walkers.
- 20 multi-pose plastic Concord Strike Troopers.
- 4 plastic Concord support drones.
- 8 plastic spotter drones.
- Launch Edition Strike Leader Kai Lek Atastrin (metal figure).
- 12 order dice.
- Ghar distort dice.
- 13 Polyhedral dice.
- Launch Edition plastic templates and tokens.
- 12 red plastic pin markers.
…and don’t forget!
Remember that – as a special thank you for pre-ordering the starter box set direct from Warlord Games you will also receive the following absolutely free…
- The box cover artwork personally signed by the game’s creator Rick Priestley
- Free PDF downloads of the Ghar and Concord Army lists from the book
- The exclusive pre-order miniature Fartok, Leader of Battle Group Nine, unarmoured – this figure will not be available again after launch day!
Again – these exclusive items will not be available beyond the official release date of the 7th November
PLUS! If you order the Beyond the Gates of Antares starter set direct from the Warlord Games webstore it is free postage, that’s right your copy of the Xilos Horizon starter set will be shipped to you ABSOLUTELY FREE!
Although the release date is slated for 7th November, we’ll be shipping them out as soon as we have all of the components available – so you’ll be among the very first people in the world to receive your copy of ‘Strike Vector One – The Xilos Horizon’ and to start exploring this brand new universe and the conflict within…
Sam Phillips