Aeronautica Imperialis

Last updated

Aeronautica Imperialis is the name of two tabletop miniature wargames set within the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The games depict aerial warfare between different factions in the setting, either as one-off battles or as part of a larger narrative campaign. The first edition was released in January 2007 by Forge World, [1] a division of the British gaming company Games Workshop. The second edition, a relaunch via Games Workshop, was released in August 2019 with a different ruleset and new, larger models. [2]

Contents

The game was later scheduled to be rereleased alongside Adeptus Titanicus and Legions Imperialis in December 2023 focused exclusively on the Horus Heresy era.

Aeronautica Imperialis (Games Workshop)

Aeronautica Imperialis
Designers Games Workshop, Warwick Kinrade
Publishers Games Workshop Ltd.
Publication2019
Years active2019-present
Players2
Setup time5 minutes
Playing time45-90 minutes
Chance Dice rolling
Website aeronautica-imperialis.com

Aeronautica Imperialis was redesigned and released under the Games Workshop brand in August 2019. Starter sets include two small squadrons of opposing forces (initially Imperium vs Orks, a later set added Imperium vs T'au), a basic rulebook, a game mat and various tokens. Additional aircraft are available, with the majority released in plastic under the Games Workshop brand and a small number of specialist aircraft available in resin from Forge World. Supplements are themed around a fictional in-universe campaign, with rules to add more aircraft to the game and a set of missions to enable recreation of key battles of the conflict.

Gameplay

The game is played on a mat with hex-shaped cells, removing the need for tape measures. Players alternate moving models and shooting, as opposed to taking complete turns; this simulates the simultaneous nature of a dogfight. Tactical decisions include selecting aircraft speed and altitude, hidden selection of aircraft manoeuvres to keep the opponent guessing, the advantageous 'tailing' position (where an aircraft gains an extra round of shooting if it is in another's rear arc) and avoidance (or intentional use) of spins and stalls. [3]

Scale

The refreshed model line-up is scaled to 8mm 'Heroic', matching the scale of the prior Adeptus Titanicus game. The models are approximately 1/4 the size of their Warhammer 40,000 equivalents.

Factions

Supplements

Supplements for Aeronautica Imperialis are released in the form of "Campaign Books", which incorporate new or updated rules, extra aircraft and narrative missions to allow themed campaign play. They are usually released to coincide with a starter set (containing two small factions, a game mat and tokens), though additional aircraft are sometimes released with rules included in their box.

Aeronautica Imperialis (Forge World)

Aeronautica Imperialis
Aero-Imp-Cover.jpg
Cover of the original Aeronautica Imperialis rulebook
Designers Forge World and others
Publishers Games Workshop
Publication2007
Players2+
Setup time5 – 30 minutes
Playing time30 minutes – 3 hours
Chance Dice rolling
Website forgeworld.co.uk

Aeronautica Imperialis was released as a specialist game by Forgeworld, with all aircraft designed and produced by them in resin.

Gameplay

The game was played on a free-form basis similar to the Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game, with models not constrained to cells. Aircraft could change speed and altitude, and perform a variety of manoeuvres. The Aeronautica Imperialis rulebook contains not only rules for the games, but also two sheets of cards which are used to make special manoeuvres. [12] Other content in the rulebook is background material on the individual aircraft, along with full colour plates and suggestions for painting. At the end of the book, there is a "campaign" section with scenarios for players to recreate.

Scale

The models were produced at 6mm scale, matching the existing Epic miniature scale.

Factions

Supplements

The Forgeworld book "Imperial Armour: Aeronautica" is not related to the Aeronautica Imperialis game; instead it contains rules to enable use of Forgeworld aircraft in Warhammer 40,000. [14]

Companion novels

Aeronautica Imperialis has a strong tie with the Black Library book Double Eagle by Dan Abnett. [15] This deals with the air war occurring during the Sabbat Worlds Campaign (the setting for Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts novel series). It has a Battle of Britain flavour; many of the concepts elucidated in the Aeronautica rules can be seen in Abnett's writing.

Related Research Articles

<i>Warhammer 40,000</i> Miniature wargame

Warhammer 40,000 is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, and the 10th and current edition was released in June 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Games Workshop</span> British maker of miniature wargames

Games Workshop Group is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000.

Space Marine (<i>Warhammer 40,000</i>) Fictional futuristic supersoldiers

In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Space Marines, also known as the Adeptus Astartes, are superhuman warrior-monks who fight for the Imperium of Man. They wear mechanised suits of armour and have modified genomes that grant them superhuman strength and endurance. Some Space Marines have betrayed the Imperium and serve the Gods of Chaos, and are thus known as Chaos Space Marines.

Battlefleet Gothic is a naval miniature wargame that was produced by Games Workshop from 1999 to 2013 with Andy Chambers as the primary developer. A spin-off of the science-fantasy setting of Warhammer 40,000, the game has players command fleets of large spaceships belonging to one of several spaceborne factions. Although the wargame's miniatures and rulebooks are no longer supported by Games Workshop, two video game adaptations have been made since its cancellation in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epic (game)</span> Tabletop wargame

Epic is a series of tabletop wargames set in the fictional Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 universes. Whereas Warhammer 40,000 involves small battles between forces of a few squads of troops and two or three vehicles, Epic features battles between armies consisting of dozens of tanks and hundreds of soldiers. Due to the comparatively larger size of the battles, Epic miniatures are smaller than those in Warhammer 40,000, with a typical human being represented with a 6mm high figure, as opposed to the 28mm minis used in Warhammer 40,000. Since being first released in 1988 as Adeptus Titanicus, it has gone through various editions with varying names.

<i>Gorkamorka</i> Tabletop skirmish wargame

Gorkamorka is a tabletop skirmish wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is set on the desert world of Angelis in the Warhammer 40,000 setting, and prominently features Orks.

Battle for Armageddon is a strategic boardgame produced by Games Workshop. Unlike the many Games Workshop games that use miniatures, this is a more traditional counter and board game.

Inquisitor was a tabletop miniatures game based in Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe. Whereas the main line of Warhammer 40K games is based on squad based tactical warfare, Inquisitor focused on a small group of player characters akin to many role-playing games. Inquisitor miniatures are no longer produced by Games Workshop but, whilst they were, the game had its own website and 54 mm scale models were available as "Specialist Games" from the Games Workshop catalogue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Library</span>

The Black Library is a division of Games Workshop which is devoted to publishing novels and audiobooks set in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Warhammer Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40,000 fictional universes. Some of Black Library's best known titles include the Gaunt's Ghosts and Eisenhorn series of novels by Dan Abnett and the Gotrek and Felix series by William King and Nathan Long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codex (Warhammer 40,000)</span> Warhammer 40,000 rules supplement

A codex, in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop wargame, is a rules supplement containing information concerning a particular army, environment, or worldwide campaign.

<i>Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Winter Assault</i> 2005 video game

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Winter Assault is the first expansion to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War for the PC developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ. Based on Games Workshop's tabletop wargame, Warhammer 40,000, Dawn of War: Winter Assault was released on September 23, 2005. Some time after its initial release, Winter Assault and Dawn of War were coupled together in a double pack which featured some art on a fold out cover, an Ork with a flamethrower, or a group of Imperial Guard tanks lined up for attack. Though Winter Assault required the base game to play, its follow-up expansions, Dark Crusade and Soulstorm were stand-alone, not requiring the base game.

Adeptus Titanicus is a tabletop science fiction mecha game published by Games Workshop (GW) in 1988 for use with the rules of Warhammer 40,000. Several revised and expanded editions were released from 1994 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial Armour</span>

Imperial Armour is a series of rules supplements to the Warhammer 40,000 table-top game, along with an associated range of vehicle-size resin model kits. Both are produced by Forge World, a subsidiary company of Games Workshop.

<i>Horus Heresy</i> (card game) Collectible trading card game

Horus Heresy is an out-of-print collectible card game originally produced in 2003 by Sabertooth Games. The game is set in the Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe developed by parent company Games Workshop. It attempts to recreate the struggle between the Loyalist forces of the Emperor of Mankind and the Traitor forces of Warmaster Horus, during the civil war known as the Horus Heresy. The game's development and sale by the publisher were discontinued in 2008, following financial difficulties at the parent company.

Warhammer 40,000 comics are spin-offs and tie-ins based in the Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe. Over the years these have been published by different sources. Originally appearing in Inferno! and Warhammer Monthly, the initial series of stories have been released as trade paperbacks by Black Library, who have also released original graphic novels and shorter prestige format comics.

<i>Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm</i> 2008 video game

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm is the third expansion to the real-time strategy video game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, developed by Iron Lore Entertainment. Like its predecessors, Soulstorm is based on Games Workshop's tabletop wargame Warhammer 40,000, and introduces a multitude of new features to the Dawn of War series, including two new playable factions in the form of the Imperial Sisters of Battle and the Dark Eldar. It is a stand-alone game and does not need the original Dawn of War disc to run, but players must have the prior games installed and valid cd-keys in order to play as anything but the two new factions online.

The Horus Heresy is an ongoing series of science fantasy set in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 setting of tabletop miniatures wargame company Games Workshop. Penned by several authors, the series takes place during the Horus Heresy, a fictional galaxy-spanning civil war occurring 10,000 years before the far future of Warhammer 40,000. The war is described as a major contributing factor to the game's dystopian environment.

<i>Rogue Trader</i> (role-playing game) Tabletop role-playing game

Rogue Trader is a Science-fiction role-playing game published in 2009 that uses the Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay system.

<i>Battlefleet Gothic: Armada</i> 2016 video game

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is a real-time tactics video game developed by Tindalos Interactive and published by Focus Home Interactive. It is set in the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, and is specifically an adaptation of the miniature wargame Battlefleet Gothic by Games Workshop.

References

  1. Forge World Aeronautica Imperialis Game Rulebook. Nottingham: Forge World, Games Workshop. 2007. ISBN   9781841548296.
  2. "Aeronautica Imperialis launch announcement". Warhammer Community.
  3. "How to play (video)". YouTube. Warhammer. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  4. "The Adeptus Custodes Join the Aeronautica Imperialis Air War in a Flash of Gold and Crimson". Warhammer Community. Games Workshop. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  5. "The Necrons are Bringing 60 Million Years' Worth of Air Superiority to Aeronautica Imperialis". Warhammer Community. Games Workshop. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  6. Rynn's World Air War Campaign Book. Nottingham: Games Workshop. 2019. ISBN   9781785818738.
  7. "Rynn's World Air War announcement page". Warhammer Community. Games Workshop.
  8. Taros Air War Campaign Book. Nottingham: Games Workshop. 2020. ISBN   9781788269476.
  9. "Taros Air War announcement page". Warhammer Community. Games Workshop.
  10. The Horus Heresy. Nottingham: Games Workshop. 2022. ISBN   9781839065163.
  11. "The Horus Heresy announcement page". Warhammer Community.
  12. "Cards". Archived from the original on 9 January 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  13. Tactica Aeronautica. Nottingham: Forgeworld. 2007. ISBN   9781841548876.
  14. Imperial Armour: Aeronautica. Nottingham: Forgeworld. 2012. ISBN   9781907964954.
  15. Abnett, Dan (2004). Double eagle. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN   1-84416-089-0.