At long last, the Barranai Nui tabletop wargame has arrived, bringing with it a new Second Edition and a complete game overhaul! We wish our European friends a happy 810NICLE Day, and hope you all enjoy the game.
Download Barranai Nui Second Edition here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yq_-Mn6FMIEOZtMEpl5Re52VTImrCX1g/view?usp=sharing
Barranai Nui Second Edition change overview
The following is a list of the most important changes in Barranai Nui’s Second Edition. This is more of an overview rather than a comprehensive catalog, in part because almost every unit has had some sort of change made to it - listing every single adjustment would make this writeup prohibitively long.
One of our primary goals for Second Edition has been making the game faster, cleaner, and generally more accessible. To that end, we’ve removed or streamlined certain aspects that tended to require a lot of book-keeping or just made matches needlessly slow. We know change can be hard, but we genuinely believe that these decisions will ultimately make for quicker and easier gameplay.
General:
Renamed Unit types as follows:
Sergeant → Deputy
Troops → Core
Elites → Specialists
Fast Attack → Scouts
Heavy Support → Heavy
Carrier → Transport
Removed the Flyer Unit type. Units that were formerly under this category have been moved into other Unit types on a case-by-case basis.
Completely remade Unit Cards in a new format that’s easier to read.
Point values of all Units have been adjusted globally to make for smaller, more focused lists. To this end, some Unit quantity ranges have been reduced as well.
Most weapon effects and some Unit abilities now operate on a keyword-like system, saving space and making certain common abilities easier to recognize across Units and Factions.
All Units now have two Command Points each, which refresh at the beginning of each Round and are spent to move, attack, or perform other actions.
Added a new system for Panic. Tying into Morale, Panic is applied and tracked via tokens and can give more interesting results than simply removing members of a Unit as in First Edition; instead, when a Unit is Panicked, a d3 is rolled with one of the following results: freeze (the Unit loses one Command Point on that Round), fight (the Unit attacks the nearest enemy Unit within its range), or flight (the Unit moves as far as it can toward the nearest edge of the field).
Faction-specific rules have been streamlined across the board. Warlord Traits and Command Point Stratagems have been removed, as they tended to be overly-situational and time-consuming to read and use during a match.
Instead of individual tables of powers for each Faction, most (with a few exceptions) have been fused into a single Universal Powers List.
Certain Factions have had Units removed or added. A Unit being removed does not necessarily mean that it’s gone for good: while a few were cut for redundancy or balancing reasons, there are some that we just want to spend additional time reworking. Those that we know for sure will be returning in the future are marked accordingly.
Subfactions have been removed from the game. We intend to do something new with the characters therein later on in the future.
Faction: Bohrok Swarm:
It Must Be Cleaned no longer requires a roll, instead costing Command Points.
In Service of the Queens now grants Units a free Move if they spend all their Command Points for the Round on Move actions.
Elemental Empowerment has been significantly streamlined, offering specific, keyworded abilities.
Faction: Xian Corporate Alliance:
Overcharged has been removed for balance purposes.
Atmos Suit units have been reworked into the A1 Atmos Tower Pattern, A2 Atmos Chariot Pattern, and A3 Atmos Empress Pattern.
Removed the following Units: Foreman, Nynrah Ghosts (returning in a later update), Ash Bear Armored War Caravan
Added the following Units: Civil Security Combat Medic (Deputy), Civil Security Tactical Designator (Deputy)
Faction: Toa Heroes
1st Edition’s Kanohi list has been folded into the Universal Powers List. Elemental Powers remain separate, and they have been adjusted for balance.
Toa Heroes and Matoran Guard can now mutually cross-list (up to half the army’s points cost) via one of the Turaga’s abilities.
Tahu Mata/Tahu Nuva and Jaller Inika/Jaller Mahri are now separate Units, respectively.
Removed the following Units: Combat Engineer, Sniper, Captain of the Guard, Beastmaster/associated Rahi (returning in a later update), Toa Team Leader, Matoran Militia, Matoran Combat Armorer
Added the following Units: Toa Elementalist Cadre (Core), Toa Rangers (Core)
Faction: Brotherhood of Makuta
1st Edition’s Kraata Powers have been folded into the Universal Powers List. Makuta Powers remain separate, and they have been adjusted for balance.
Living Antidermis and Noble Sons rules have been removed, mainly for balance purposes - they were pushing Makuta units into being just a little more powerful than we wanted them to be.
Brotherhood of Makuta armies can now take Visorak Horde units via one of Makuta Chirox’s abilities.
Faction: Metru Nui Loyalists
Soulless Efficiency has effectively been replaced by the generic Arsenal rule; all standard Vahki units now have Arsenal.
Enforced Obedience has been simplified to no longer require a separate roll, instead keying off of the new Panic system.
The Toa Mangai have been upgraded to Dreadnought status.
Removed the following Units: Krekka and Nidhiki (returning in a later update), Rahaga Elder (returning in a later update), Keetongu (retuning in a later update), Vahki Squad Leader, Toa Team Leader
Faction: Skakdi Raiders
Skakdi Powers have been folded into the Universal Powers List.
Bloodthirsty is a new ability that ensures that friendly Panicked Units always fight instead of fleeing or freezing.
Nektann Droid units have been reworked into Nektann Droids, Guardian Nektann, and Destroyer Nektann.
Removed the following Units: Game Hunter, War Bard, Death Runner, Kinloka Handler (returning in a later update)
Faction: Visorak Horde
Their Number Is Legion now restores a flat 3 models to a unit rather than having to roll a d6.
Strength of the Horde now passively adds to the Morale stat at all times based on how many friendly Core or Commander units are within 6”.
Removed the following Units: Subspecies Dignitary
Faction: League of Six Kingdoms
Units with Kayi Powers now use the Universal Powers List.
Kingdom Tactics have been significantly streamlined, with most offering specific, keyworded abilities.
Removed the following Units: Unrivaled Lieutenant
Faction: Matoran Guard
Captain’s Orders have been significantly streamlined, with most offering specific, keyworded abilities.
One Among Many is a new ability that can protect infantry Commanders from ranged attacks while they are near another infantry Unit.
Matoran Guard and Toa Heroes can now mutually cross-list (up to half the army’s points cost) via one of the Turaga’s abilities.
Removed the following Units: Ancient Ussal (returning in a later update), Matoran Technician, Koro’s Champion, Dikapi Sniper
Added the following Units: Matoro (Commander), Hornblower (Deputy)