A few weeks ago, I started seeing advertisements for an upcoming Kickstarter campaign featuring an expansion to the ONUS! System that covers the conquest of Britannia with Roman Emperor Claudius, Vespasian, Macro and Cato that also is based on the Simon Scarrow series of books called Under the Eagle. The game is called ONUS! Under the Eagle and is not a miniatures game but is using a similar style system but with cardboard formation counters rather than plastic miniatures. It looked intriguing and I reached out to the designer Luis Álvaro Hernández to see if he could share some background on the design.

If you are interested in ONUS! Under the Eagle, you can order a copy on the Kickstarter page at the following link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dracoideas/under-the-eagle

Grant: What historical event does ONUS! Under the Eagle cover?

Luis: The expansion takes place during the period of history covered by the first 3 books of the British writer Simon Scarrow called Under the Eagle, at the time of Emperor Claudius and his conquest of Britannia around the year 46 AD.

Grant: What was the inspiration for this expansion?

Luis: During the Kickstarter campaign for the game ONUS! Traianus in 2022, I was lucky enough to get in touch with Simon, whose books my wife and I are big fans of.

So we proposed “why not bring the action of the books to the ‘ONUS!’ system?” and I started working on the expansion.

Grant: How important was it to you to translate the Simon Scarrow Eagle Series novels into this game?

Luis: They are very entertaining books, in addition to having a great historical setting and are just perfect to expand upon what we have built in ONUS!. You could almost say it was meant to be. The expansion includes rules for adding characters, like the book’s protagonists, Macro and Cato, to army units in ONUS!

The expansion also includes the scenarios of the most important battles that occur in the first 3 books, as well as some optional rules such as fires, stockades, etc.

Although it is not necessary to have read the books to enjoy the expansion, when you play it you will want to read them!

In addition, the game system “ONUS!” allows us to represent battles at different game scales, in which the units represent contubernium of about 10 soldiers, a century (80 soldiers) or even a cohort (480 soldiers).

Grant: What from the Roman conquest of Britannia did you feel the need to model?

Luis: The idea behind the expansion’s scenarios is that readers can play on one side or the other in the combat described in the book. To add these char4acters and their units to the game will add great depth to the system and also provide additional gaming opportunities.

First and foremost, the skill and tactics of the Roman Legions are interesting to include in the system as they have changed over the period of the Empire and improved. The other interesting part is to try to quantify the relative combat values and advantages of different Britannic Tribes into the game and system.

The ONUS! Core includes solitaire rules, so you can also play alone.

Grant: What new factions and characters are included in the game?

Luis: We will meet Germanic peoples, Celts and, of course, different units of Imperial Rome.

We can also play with generals and characters such as Caratacus, Vespasian, Vitellius, Claudius, Macro, Cato or the imperial secretary Narcissus.

Grant: What are the different unit types available to these factions? What special abilities or tactics does each use?

Luis: Some of these units, like the druids, are new designs created for the expansion.

The “ONUS!” equips units with abilities that create armies with their own personalities, in combination with the characters and events on the action cards. Both the Germanic and Celtic peoples appear in the “ONUS! Traianus” box, but in the expansion you will find the commanders from the books, as well as characters and certain units, such as Escorted Chariots that are exclusive to the expansion.

Grant: What is the anatomy of the new counters? Can you show us a few examples?

Luis: All cards follow the same format as ONUS! cards so that players can start playing immediately.

Grant: What new terrain introduced from the Isle of Britannia?

Luis: Walls and gates representing defensive ramparts, as well as fire rules, are included in a simplified version of the Terrain and Fortress expansion rules.

Players who do not have this expansion will be able to add the stockade to their ONUS! games!

Grant: How many scenarios are included in the expansion?

Luis: In the Kickstarter campaign, as a gift to backers, we will include an exclusive scenario, based on the prologue of the first book, in which, in the time of Julius Caesar, a mysterious chariot is buried in Britannia before leaving the island.

During the campaign, we are sure that the scenarios that we have planned as Stretch Goals will be unlocked, for a total of 9 (8+1 extra). But, unfortunately you will have to wait!

Grant: What do you feel the game models well?

Luis: It is fought as if we were in Antiquity, similar to a combat system with miniatures, but represented by cards and without the need to paint and transport them.

In addition, the “ONUS!” system incorporates characters and generals, as well as action cards to represent battle orders, the ability to activate armies and events, which add a lot of realistic and narrative content to each game, making each game unique.

The system is very complete and covers ancient battlefield situations, formations, envelopes, leaders, different unit capabilities (lancers, skirmishers, etc.).

Grant: What has been the experience of your playtesters?

Luis: Perhaps the most complex part of making a wargame of this type is balancing the scenarios, in order to maintain the challenge on both sides. Infinite possibilities occur in battle and we have to anticipate that the game will be balanced, although very asymmetrical.

We were lucky to have several collaborators for playtesting, so it was possible to test each scenario many times for the final configuration.

It’s a slow process, but fun!

They have helped us a lot with testing, to balance scenarios, to make the system simpler without losing depth. Each playtester has their own background, some are miniatures players, others are approaching board games for the first time, all of them allow us to see the game from different perspectives.

Grant: What are you most pleased about with the design?

Luis: I think players will feel like they are in the middle of the battles from the books, like Macro, Cato or the game’s generals, in first person. They will visualize the scenes and feel like the main characters.

Grant: What stretch goals are available for the campaign?

Luis: Our policy regarding the Stretch Goals of the campaigns is to reveal them little by little, to maintain the excitement, that is why we cannot give you a list, but we can say that there will be surprises.

Grant: When do you feel the game will be fulfilled and delivered?

Luis: We’ve been working on the expansion for quite some time, so we expect it to ship to backers in February or March 2024.

Grant: What other designs are you contemplating or already working on?

Luis: We currently have another crowdfunding campaign underway for the third game in the SCOPE series on Gamefound called SCOPE Panzer.

We are also about to receive the 3rd Edition of one of our classics: 2GM Tactics Deluxe.

We also offer a pre-order programs on our various designs called Draco’s 300 and you see what other projects we have there: https://dracoideas.com/editorial/en/preorders/

Thank you so much for your time and for your quick responses to our questions Luis. I think that the game looks really interesting and covers a period of history that I have liked gaming. I wish you luck on the Kickstarter campaign.

If you are interested in ONUS! Under the Eagle, you can order a copy on the Kickstarter page at the following link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dracoideas/under-the-eagle

-Grant