The MASQUE!

Hi all! Today we finish our focus on the different program types in Aetherium with an in-depth look at one of the Nanomei's avatars, the elusive Masque.

Avatars are the third category of programs in Aetherium. They are the digital manifestations of the most skilled, powerful, talented, and well-equipped users in the world. Users who can manifest as avatars are a rare and talented breed of individual and, as such, the least common program in the game. A collectives is always lead by an avatar program. They are the most powerful pieces in the game, with a wide variety of abilities. Much like functions, there is a tool for every situation. Unlike all of the other programs in the game, avatars represent unique, one of a kind programs. It is perhaps best to think of them as named or special characters. 

The Masque is the most mysterious of the Nanomei's avatars. He simply seems to have conjured into existence ever since the inception of the Nanomei. From the very outset, he has been spotted lurking and leading from the shadows. No one knows his true identity or what his true motivations are. All people can say for sure is that he seems to be able to be in several places at once and is one of the most cunning opponents they have ever faced. Even other members of the Nanomei leadership know little about this ghost, but when he appears alongside Nanomei forces, he is the ultimate assassin.

In the game, the Masque is a damage-dealing powerhouse for the Nanomei. If we take a look at his data card we will see that being an avatar, the Masque has a CS value of 6, and his OC value of 3 means he can be pushed well beyond the capacity of most programs, allowing him to perform many actions in a single activation.

The Masque is a melee monster, and lacks any sort of ranged attack. While his attack profile has the challenging “crash” target symbol, you can see that his damage has the potential to spike very high. When combined with the disruption ability “backstab,” the Masque could do a potential maximum of 12 damage in a single strike! This can absolutely cripple (if not delete outright) just about any program in the game. 

Being a sneaky roguish type, both the “backstab” ability and one of his .EXEs, “skulk,” require the Masque to be in the back arc of his target. If he can manage it, watch out! The “skulk” .EXE allows the Masque to roll 2 extra dice instead of the usual 1, and with the possibility of 5 dice, the chance of rolling that sweet spot for damage is a very real threat! And when his capable CS and OC values are not enough to get behind an opponent, the .EXE “dopplewalk” allows the Masque to swap spaces with a friendly model within 7 squares. While your forces are engaged with the enemy, the Masque can appear around the back, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. 

His safeguard “shifting shadows” allows the Masque to transfer damage received to friendly models within 3 squares; so as long as you have troops to spare, you can keep him in the fight. His final trick “truly anonymous” is a once per game .EXE that triggers when he is deleted. If you have other programs still in play, you can choose to completely delete that program instead, and the Masque returns with a full stability grid!

As you can see, avatars bring a whole host of wild and wonderful powers to the Aetherium, and with multiple avatars for each faction to choose from, your possibilities are profound!

And there we have the basic introduction to the program types in the game.

Thank you again for your support and enthusiasm. See you tomorrow for the final moments of this kickstarter campaign! Glorious!