Nova Aetas

The year of our Lord, 1423, more than a 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 change, ultimately becoming more befitting the 16th-17th Centuries, 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 mod 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.5.0, can be found here.

Tropes used in Nova Aetas include:

• Aerith and Bob: Names are now a more evident mix of "vanilla" Calradia ones and those of the cultures they're inspired by. With the Nords and Noregr having more obviously Scandinavian-based names for instance, while the Sarranids have even more Arabic-tinged ones.
• Anachronism Stew: While the mod is not only heavily inspired by The Renaissance but also the 17th Century, 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.
• Awesome but Impractical:
  • More pronounced than in "vanilla," with high-tier units and fancy equipment generally being rather costly a unless you have the means and funds to support them all.
  • Field artillery, introduced in v.4.0, is powerful. But are also expensive, require specialized cannoneers and need the right ammo.
• Boss in Mook Clothing: If you're unlucky, especially early on, you might be targeted by deserters, Cathars and "Viking" Sea Pirates, who are much more powerful and heavily armed than the usual looters or bandits.
• BFG: As of v.4.0, you can now deploy field artillery, but doing so is something of a large investment.
• Continuity Nod: There are various references to the "vanilla" game scattered throughout the mod.
  • Zendar was mentioned in "vanilla" as being a once great city brought to ruin. By Nova Aetas, it's not only since been repopulated by Intrepid Merchants, but is a functioning independent city-state.
  • Uxkhal meanwhile was destroyed during a war between the Kingdom of Rhodoks and Kingdom of Swadia not long after the "vanilla" era. The ruins however can still be explored, close to a new Swadian city.
  • Swadia and Rhodoks are still at each other's throats, much like in "vanilla."
• Defector From Decadence: The Kingdom of Noregr seems to consider itself as this, declaring independence from the Nordic Union (aka, the Nords of "vanilla") over religion among other things.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: Even more emphasized here, whether in general or among the various factions.
• Early Game Hell: Although the mod is harder in general, the early game is decidedly more difficult. Especially if you're unlucky to stumble upon heavily armored Cathars.
• Expanded Universe: Nova Aetas expands significantly on the world and Calradia's backstory.
• Fantastic Catholicism: A literal example. Not only is Catholicism present, however, but there are also Orthodox and Protestant sects as well.
• 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 is very much based on The Teutonic Knights, their Germanic influence most evident in its knights' armor, ranks and names.
  • The Turguhn Horde are an amalgam of various periods of the Mongol khanates, even compared to the already-Mongol inspired Khergits.
  • 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, being a remnant of the old Calradian Empire and complete with its own schism from the Pope.
  • The mod also highlights the Ancient Grome inspirations of the long-fallen Calradian Empire. It's also 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 pistols start contesting bows and crossbows on the battlefield.
• Fashions Never Change: Averted. Over the course of the game, fashions and armor visibly change to reflect the times, with the most technologically advanced factions eventually resembling 17th Century Europeans.
• The Fundamentalist:
  • The roving bands of renegade Cathars haunting parts of Calradia.
  • Potentially, you. Especially if you really build up your piety and join the Papal State or Agonic Order.
• Game Mod: A rather extensive one for Warband.
• Guns Are Worthless: Averted. They're very powerful, but access to them and their ammo is initially both expensive and hard to come by. In addition, especially if your character's not experienced enough with firearms, the relatively long reload time can make you vulnerable.
• Infinity Minus One Sword: If you have enough money and are lucky enough to encounter a firearms merchant (relatively) early on, it's possible to equip your character with guns and ammo when most everyone else still lack them. This is averted later on, however, as armor and weapons advance.
• Intrepid Merchant: The ones who rebuilt Zendar. Also you potentially, if you're wealthy and influential enough to deal with the various guilds.
• Lower Deck Episode: Of sorts. You can choose to enlist in a faction's military, which has you start off as a recruit just like the soldiers fighting and dying in your party. It's also possible to rise up the ranks should you stay around for long enough.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The relics that can be found or purchased, which range from sacred crosses to Mjonir, arguably count as this.
• Meaningful Name: The title is Latin for "New Era."
• Medieval European Fantasy: Subverted and ultimately averted as time passes.
• Moral Event Horizon: In-verse, killing captive lords and royals is considered virtually beyond the pale.
• Multinational Team: Like in "vanilla," you can recruit soldiers from the various factions into your party/army. However, soldiers hailing from religions or realms hostile to one another don't tend to work well, which would make managing morale harder.
• NGO Superpower:
  • The Agonic Order starts off with little more than a network of beacons and castles, answering to no one but the Pope. But at the same time, they're on the cusp of following down the same path as The Teutonic Knights in real life and thus can potentially become an actual state.
  • You can become one as well, whether as a mercenary, an Intrepid Merchant with a lot of properties and connections or by simply being an independent warlord.
• Obvious Beta: The mod is still a work in progress, with a number of bugs left to iron out.
• Rags to Riches: The mod introduces social ladder mechanics working in conjunction with your prestige. Meaning that it's possible to literally rise up from a lowly "freeman" from the hills to becoming a monarch in your own right.
• Random Event: Such instances can sometimes happen to your character, which can result in bonuses (like beneficial traits or more renown) or penalties.
• Reality Ensues:
  • The presence of a social status mechanic means that unless you've managed to go up in the world (such as being part of the gentry if not nobility), all the renown in the battlefield won't mean much if you're still seen as a peasant.
  • A solid hit from a firearm can kill even heavily-armored foes in one shot, especially if your aim and skills are firm enough.
  • Unlike "vanilla," being a noble or even a ruling royal does not exempt one from being killed, especially if imprisoned. Although doing so generally lowers your standing and even your troops' morale.
• Recycled Soundtrack: Some of the new tracks recognizably hail from a number of sources, including Medieval II: Total War and Rise of Legends.
• The Remnant: The Papal State and Mithradian Empire seem to view themselves as this to the old Calradian Empire, mirroring the historic relationship between Ancient Rome and both the Papacy (in the West) and Byzantine Empire (in the East).
• 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.
• Scenery Porn: Castles, palaces and cities (including places of worship) are a sight to behold and generally look grander than the medieval trappings of "vanilla." And as of v.5.0, the graphics have been substantially updated to really drive the point home.
• 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.
• Tournament Arc: The various tournaments you can participate in, which unlike "vanilla" look much more like European jousting arenas.
• The Theocracy: The Papal State. To a degree, both the Mithradian Empire and Agonic Order as well.
• Time Skip: The mod starts off over a hundred years after the "vanilla" game.
• Vestigial Empire:
  • The Khergit Khanate has seen better days, but still remains a major adversary when pushed.
  • The island-based Mithradian Empire apparently sees itself as a direct remnant of the fallen Calradian Empire.