Since time untold, Spirits have existed on the Island. There are Spirits whose names are known by the local Dahan people; Spirits of growth and fire, of strength and river. But these are not the only Spirits… Legends whispered on the rarest of days tell stories of Spirits from the deepest, furthest reaches of the land. Powerful forces of nature that have not been witnessed in ages.
When white-sailed ships reach our coastal waters, when would-be colonizers step foot onto the unblighted shores, when they raise blade and plow to claim the land with greed and hunger, nature stirs. When Invaders strike out at the heart of the Island, they draw the attention of Spirits of myth and legend and face power unimaginable.
This time, they learn to fear Nature Incarnate.
Nature Incarnate includes:
Spirit - Dances Up Earthquakes: A traveling Spirit of movement and movement’s deep power, circling a bright leap of flame, dancing atop dark mysteries of night and earth. It roams the island as its visions and will to motion bid, dancing with and among whomever it finds. The Dahan learned long ago that if the land-dancer was aware of them, village-wrecking earthquakes became much rarer…
Spirit - Ember-Eyed Behemoth: Amidst the boggier jungles, one might find a rocky, tree-covered hill rising upwards from the dank and the damp. One might climb it, or camp upon it. But do not settle there, nor quarry that stone, for the hill is a Spirit, immense and incarnate. If you bother it, fire will kindle in its eyes, and it will rise and smash its way across the landscape.
Spirit - Towering Roots of the Jungle: A massive, sprawling tree, mighty and ancient. It predates the Dahan, but its history has entwined with theirs ever since they arrived. It protected the land from any accidental damage done by the Dahan, and the Dahan from Spirits that wished them ill. Now, the threat of the Invaders and their heedless destruction has motivated it to grow and change in a new way…
Spirit - Wandering Voice Keens Delirium: Ages ago, a great and respected Spirit devastated a portion of the island with a vast swath of death. Matters would have gone even worse but for three Spirits who cleverly sundered the great Spirit’s voice and bound it to wander, never returning to its owner. Now, it only occasionally brings death with its song, more usually causing derangement, obsession and folly in those it touches.
Adversary - Habsburg Mining Expedition
Aspect - Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares (Violence)
Aspect - Keeper of the Forbidden Wilds (Spreading Hostility)
Aspect - Ocean's Hungry Grasp (Deeps)
Aspect - River Surges in Sunlight (Haven)
Aspect - Serpent Slumbering Beneath the Island (Locus)
Aspect - Shadows Flicker Like Flame (Dark Fire)
Aspect - Sharp Fangs Behind the Leaves (Unconstrained)
Aspect - Shifting Memory of Ages (Mentor)
Aspect - A Spread of Rampant Green (Regrowth)
Aspect - Thunderspeaker (Tactician)
12 new Major Power Cards
9 new Event Cards, 9 new Fear Cards and 8 new Blight Cards for added game-to-game variety.
Much more content coming in phases to follow! See below for details.
Neither Branch & Claw nor Jagged Earth are required in order to purchase & play Nature Incarnate. However:
Branch & Claw or Jagged Earth are required in order to play with the Event Deck.
Aspects for Spirits from other expansions require those expansions.
Further content will be released in 4 phases (contents & order subject to change based on development). No additional purchases will be required; when the game is updated with each phase, you will gain access to the new content with your existing purchase of Nature Incarnate.
"Smothered and Surrounded"
Spirit: Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine
Aspect: Sharp Fangs Behind the Leaves (Encircle)
Aspect: Shroud of Silent Mist (Stranded)
Aspect: A Spread of Rampant Green (Tangles)
"Relentless Focus"
Spirit: Relentless Gaze of the Sun
Aspect: Shifting Memory of Ages (Intensify)
Aspect: Thunderspeaker (Warrior)
Scenario: Surges of Colonization
"Brought Together"
Spirit: Hearth-Vigil
Aspect: Lure of the Deep Wilderness (Lair)
Aspect: Vital Strength of the Earth (Nourishing)
Aspect: Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares (Enticing)
"Transformations"
Spirit: Wounded Waters Bleeding
Aspect: Heart of the Wildfire (Transforming)
Aspect: Lightning's Swift Strike (Sparking)
Scenario: Destiny Unfolds
The Spirit-seekers tell us that most Invaders are quite bad at seeing Spirits.
They see a leaf vibrating with joy in its new-sprung life, and assume it is the breeze that moves it. They look straight at a swift strike of lightning and perceive nothing but a bright flash. They stand amidst the rushing water of a river, its Spirit entwined around their very legs, and think the Dahan speak of something not truly there.
We know from the Dahan that Spirits in other lands are weaker, less visible, much easier to confuse with false-Spirits that exist only in the viewer’s imagination, so it makes sense that the Invaders have had less chance to practice. But many of them dismiss even the possibility that we are real. When you refuse to believe something exists, it is much harder to see.
Not all Spirits are so subtle, though. A handful even have Incarna, tangled concentrations of self which bring madness, or death, or a rigidly enforced sanctuary. Others bring cataclysms, inexorable or sudden.
The Invaders will have less trouble seeing those.
