The forthcoming Beyond the Gates of Antares narrative supplement, ‘The Battle for Xilos’ features six key new characters who find themselves (for better or for worse) at the heart of the struggle… you’ll soon become very familiar indeed with these antagonists – some of which you may recognise (though ‘The Battle for Xilos’ takes these individuals forward in time, to the events portrayed in the Xilos campaign) – and some will be entirely new to you!
During the build-up to the launch of ‘The Battle for Xilos,’ we’ll be offering a few tantalising previews of what you might expect from the first narrative supplement for Beyond the Gates of Antares… to whet your whistle and offer a primer before final checks of the Drop envelope, and deployment to the battlefields of Xilos…
We’ve previewed four characters over the past couple of weeks… click the links below to take a look;
- Fartok, Leader of the Outcast Revolt
- Commander-in-Chief Josen C3 XEF
- Ghar High Commander Karg 12-40-9
- Amano Harran, Oszoni Freeborn Mercenary Captain
- Boromite Guildess Arran Gestalin
…and today we have another personality to throw-into the mix….
Isorian Drone Commander Xan Tu
In a previous and entirely organic existence, Xan Tu was a successful commander of Senatex forces whose career spanned almost two centuries and warzones from the Northern Spill to the Vorl frontiers in the Deep South. Reaching what was a natural end to a long and active life Xan Tu elected to live on in machine form – transitioning his mind into a drone body.
Transitioning as a drone was for Xan Tu a logical choice – for it would allow him to do what he had always done – to continue to lead Senatex forces wherever they were needed. As a machine he would lose much of his human personality, but his mind would gain so much more by direct association with the IMTel.
The promise of machine existence was as close to immortality as it was possible to get. Xan Tu understood that the machine which he would become would evolve ever further from the person he had once been, but that did not seem such a terrible thing. It was, he considered, certainly no worse than the perpetual erosion of purpose and disillusionment of mere human existence.
Drone Commander Xan Tu is the first drone commander introduced into the Antares game and as a transitioned human his qualities are perhaps a little different from those of a pure machine intellect. He is a weapon drone type unit as well as a command unit, and can include further Nhamak type drones too.
Xan Tu works out relatively cheaply compared to a regular Command Squad and this is largely down to the fact he is unarmed, while his nano probe net ability is an upgrade. The addition of Nhamak drones does change things though…
The Battle for Xilos
To read more on the Xilos conflict, and for a trove of other content, including;
– Six new narrative scenarios representing pivotal battles during the battle for Xilos from the first orbital landings to the climax deep below ground as rival forces confront the Builders’ ultimate creation.
– Campaign rules designed to link the games together, providing for character and army bonuses as forces gain experience, and also suitable for turning any sequence of Beyond the Gates of Antares games into a campaign of your own.
– Rules for fighting multi-sided games, games with allied forces, battes with combined armies and further rules for incorporating mercenaries into games of Beyond the Gates of Antares.
– An entire new army, the Ghar Outcast Rebels, complete with it’s own army list and numerous new rebel units, plus two sub-lists representing mercenary Freeborn Adventures and a hireling Boromite Clan.
– New units, weapons and rules for the likes of Isorian Pulse Bikes, Isorian Tsan Ra Troopers, Algoryn Compression Cannons and Bombards, Freeborn Compression Bombards, plus new units for the Ghar Outcast Rebels, including Creeper vehicles, Hybrid Weapon teams, and Flitter Bombs. New equipment, including Synchroniser Drones for Concord, Isorians, Algoryn, Boromites and Freeborn, plus rules for Drop Capsules, Support Drone Landers and Kinetic Barriers which also feature in the campaign.
…head on over to the Warlord webstore and pre-order your copy today to ensure that you don’t miss out!
But that’s not all!
By ordering direct from Warlord Games, you’ll also receive the exclusive ‘Ghar Outcast Black Guard leader’ miniature – not available anywhere else
Article written by Richard Dando
Sam Phillips