We've learned a ton about Brotherhood of Venice since our last article, but perhaps one of the most intriguing things is how the series is handing its expansions. Predictably, some of the units seen at Spiel showed up in an upcoming expansion titled Roma.
However, far more interesting in my opinion is the newly announced Modern Day expansion!
Seeing how popular the game is via its Kickstarter campaign, and knowing how I'm always looking for more of the games that I love, I can't help but wonder what might come next for this title.
Here are just a couple of thoughts on how Brotherhood of Venice might continue to expand as a epic tabletop game.
Continuing the Renaissance Line
Given how the base game is clearly based on Assassin's Creed II's aesthetics while Roma seems to be more based on Brotherhood, I can't help but think that the most logical place to go next would be something based on Assassin's Creed Revelations, rounding out the Ezio trilogy across three boxes. The setting would offer some unique opportunities, including Janissaries and maybe cave missions in Cappadocia, or even a trip to the infamous Masyaf fortress.
The great thing about this era, though, is that the lore has really fleshed it out on a pretty global scale. While the crumbling of Constantinople would be a fascinating setting, the era also could include Aguilar and Maria's missions in Spain during the Inquisition, or Shao Jun's tribulations in China. Even the new Assassin's Creed Rebellion mobile game (not to be confused with the board game idea I threw together a year ago) shows how willing the franchise is to be open and creative with this time period.
The biggest problem that I see with this is compatibility with existing products. While the Venetian tiles and guards included in the base game would mostly probably work well with the Roma expansion, a vastly different setting would clash a little more. It might be weird, for instance, seeing Venetian crossbowmen defending Galata Tower, or the Papal Guard assaulting an Assassin HQ in China. Assassin's Creed unfortunately doesn't quite have the flexibility that properties like Star Wars or Descent might, in that many of the features will be heavily regional.
That's not to say that nothing would be compatible, however. Obviously the Assassin heroes could be globe-trotting, and some enemies (the Followers of Romulus come to mind) could be very effective in adding to the "global conspiracy" feel by popping up in countries you wouldn't initially expect.
More Modern Day!
The announcement of the Tokyo XXI expansion was as exciting as it was surprising. Still, it would be great to have even more MD content, since there are just a few guard types so far, and I'd imagine the historical components may not overlap.
The Modern Day period has been slowly built up across multiple media sources, including games, comics, and books, so there's plenty to draw on here. Perhaps most importantly, a more modern setting wouldn't necessarily have the regional specificity issues that the Renaissance era might. It would be easy enough to set one mission in Tokyo, the next in London, then hop on over to New York City for a true modern globe-trotting adventure, without having glaring issues with how the guards and city structures are all relatively similar. Not to say that there are no differences between the cities, but they're a lot more similar than they were six hundred years ago.
Overall, Modern Day fans are very passionate, and the chance at playing full story campaign in that setting is extremely exciting for us. The more the better!
Other Eras?
If Brotherhood of Venice is willing to branch out into Modern Day, I don't see why they couldn't also eventually try other historical eras, too. It's basically become mantra for me, the idea that the series' greatest strength is the potential to tell stories across any time in history while still connecting to the overarching narrative.
I've talked a lot about compatibility of components already, and again I still agree that it might look odd seeing Borgia Horsemen storming Bunker Hill, or Venetian Brutes boarding a Spanish frigate while assault rifle-wielding Assassins defend it. However, that in mind, many elements of the franchise are pretty timeless. Many of the heroes would probably still work pretty well- even while many Assassins wear robes that reflect the times that they're in, the classic white garb hasn't really necessarily gone away, either. And their weapons of choice haven't changed a ton over the years, as well.
Perhaps some cards and units could be "time locked", with markings designating what eras they'd be appropriate in. I wrote an article last year about how Imperial Assault implemented "time periods", and while that game enforced them pretty loosely, perhaps Brotherhood of Venice could be more strict.
Or, maybe just leave it up to the players? The recent Grecian-themed event for Rebellion shows that the franchise may be willing to fudge timelines quite a bit in the name of fun.
And to be honest, that's pretty much what Imperial Assault already did. While they started the game with the Time Period rule, it hasn't been specified in a release in years now. Fantasy Flight Games presumably realized that many players are more interested in fun than canon. Sometimes you just want to see Luke Skywalker fight Darth Maul on Hoth, and I'd imagine some players would love to see Ezio Auditore help Assassins hold off Haytham Kenway in revolutionary era France.
Maybe, just maybe, the idea of tailoring the game to however players want, even if it involves weird chronological inconsistencies, could make Brotherhood of Venice an Assassin's Creed fan's dream come true.
Way down the line, of course. The base game doesn't come out for another year and a half, so obviously I'm getting way ahead of myself.
Either, the Kickstarter campaign is still going on for a few more days. Don't miss out on supporting this promising title!
- Thomas
Comments
Post a Comment