Nova Aetas

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The year of our Lord, 1423, more than thousand years after the fall of the great Empire. A New Era has begun for Calradia. Scholars have found new ways to gather knowledge, Kings to gain and maintain power, merchants to become richer and influential. The once fearful Khergit Khanate is crumbling. And yet the kingdoms of Calradia are fighting each other, overlooking a greater danger lurking in the East. The Dark Ages have ended. It's time to enlighten all of us. The Rennaissance has begun! It's a time of rebirth. Classical sources teach us to optimize architecture, art, science, music and let us think out philosophical ideas, views and opinions...

Nova Aetas is a total conversion Game Mod for Mount & Blade: Warband set in the "native" setting of Calradia but further down the timeline. First developed in 2013 by modder Quintillius, it's best described as a Fan Sequel of sorts to the original game and is notable for the sheer scale of the project.

As Nova Aetas is set around Calradia's equivalent of The Renaissance, the world is decidedly more dynamic thanks to the introduction of technological advances, with some factions developing faster than others. While the game starts off somewhat more advanced than in the base game, over the course of time, the familiar medieval aesthetics and arms of the "vanilla" game slowly becoming more befitting the 16th Century, complete with firearms and more elaborate Bling of War. The mod also expands significantly on the map, introducing new factions and a even a New World analogue while reworking existing ones.

In addition to the Time Skip, the puts more emphasis on realism and immersion as well as more on the "civil" aspects of the world. These manifest in a number of improvements and mechanics implemented, which include building structures, expanded civic management and colonizing the New World. The military side of things has also been expounded upon, with much more varied units, more animations, generally more challenging combat and if one's inclined, join Crusades/Jihads (or launch one yourself).

The Steam Workshop version of the mod, currently at v.3.0.2, can be found here.

Tropes used in Nova Aetas include:

• Anachronism Stew: While the mod is set around The Renaissance, there are a variety of elements present from considerably earlier periods of history, such as the continuing presence of Norse paganism and a Mongol Invasion analogue.
• Boss in Mook Clothing: If you're unlucky, especially early on, you might be targeted by deserters, Cathars and Norse-inspired Sea Pirates, who are much more powerful and heavily armed than the usual looters or bandits.
• Early Game Hell: Although the mod is harder in general, it's considerably more difficult in the early game. Especially if you're unlucky to stumble upon heavily armored Cathars.
• Expanded Universe: Nova Aetas expands significantly on the world and Calradia's backstory.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: In addition to the "native" Calradia factions, the new ones introduced also have real world analogues in general:
  • The Kingdom of Noregr, which broke away from the original Nords, is basically Medieval Norway albeit following Norse paganism.
  • The Acztaoc Empire is a melange of Mayincatec influences, though primarily Aztec in inspiration.
  • The Merchant Republic of Zendar is blatantly Venice with a dash of Age of Exploration-era Portugal.
  • The Agonic Order are very much based on The Teutonic Knights, their Germanic most influence evident in their armor, ranks and names.
  • The Turguhn Horde are an amalgam of various periods of the Mongol khanates.
  • The Papal State, like its real life inspiration, is the center of the Catholic faith in Calradia, complete with a Pope and being based in the former heart of an empire.
  • The Mithradian Empire is essentially the Byzantine Empire, though it still follows Roman-era Mithraism.
  • The mod also highlights the Ancient Grome inspirations of the long-fallen Calradian Empire. As it's possible to recreate it however, retaining its blatantly Roman elements with some Renaissance touches.
• Fantasy Gun Control: Averted, especially over time. Guns and ammo are initially hard to come by. But eventually, muskets and pistol start contesting bows and crossbows on the battlefield.
• Game Mod: A rather extensive one for Warband.
• Meaningful Name: The title is Latin for "New Era."
• Medieval European Fantasy: Subverted and ultimately averted as time passes.
• Obvious Beta: The mod is still a work in progress, with a number of bugs left to iron out.
• Rouge Angles of Satin: There are a number of typos in the text, which could stem from English not necessarily being the modders' first language.
• Start My Own: In addition to starting your own kingdom/republic, it's also possible to set up your own colony on the New World, whether on behalf of the other factions or for yourself.
• Take a Third Option: With the introduction of republics like Zendar, you could establish one yourself, though some of your companions may not be happy with having no noble titles.
• Time Skip: The mod starts off over a hundred years after the "vanilla" game.