NOVA 2

GO NOVA

Celebrating the 5 year anniversary of its release, NOVA is back and better than ever with NOVA 2.

It's time to go NOVA!

What is NOVA?

NOVA is a action-packed scifi TTRPG. Set in a world where the sun exploded, you pilot badass mechs, diving out into the dangerous Dusk to fight off the many threats that lay in wait.

Originally released in 2021, NOVA was nominated for the Best Rules ENNIE, using the LUMEN system created by Gila RPGs. The rules are quick to learn, and get you to the table right away, fighting off apocalypse chasing Hellions, alien Corvid, or illusive lunar cultists. 

The LUMEN system has you rolling pools of d6 outside of combat, and managing your suite of unique mech powers in combat. No rolling to hit here! You are going to do the cool thing.

Now, 5 years later, I'm ready to release the new and improved version of this game.

NOVA 2E is the second edition of the game. It improves the rules from before, while also adding a ton of new material to the game.

What's new with NOVA 2? Here are the highlights:

• General rules updating and cleaning up
• Two new enemy factions: the void born forces of Zed, and the fungal collective known as the Spore
• Three new Sparks: Weaver, Knight, and Quake
• Spark customization revamped, giving even more build control to the players
• Previous edition Sparks have expanded power and mod lists
• Titles can be earned to highlight your pilot's playstyle
• Improved and expanded mission generation rules for the GM
• Enemy factions expanded with more lore, advice, unique rules, and more
• Massive combat improvements such as visualizing the fight, speeding up drops, enemy actions, and more
• More lore and setting information

If you want to see how the customization of the Sparks works in this second edition, I made a video overviewing the process! 

Pledge Tiers

Ready to make your pledge and help blow up the sun a second time? Here's what you get.

I'm keeping things simple this campaign, with just a few tiers to choose from.

Voyager: You're here to scout things out, keep an eye on the campaign, and get access to the updates.

Retail: If you own a store and want to stock NOVA 2, pledge at this level! I'll reach out after the campaign to coordinate your wholesale order.

Digital Edition: This gets you the PDF version of the game, distributed via itch.io.

Print Edition: This gets you the printed book copy of NOVA 2, as well as the PDF copy. The book will be full-color, half letter sized pages, perfect bound. This tier is available to US backers only (see shipping below for why).

Sun Shard: You're a bright light in a dark world. This tier is the same as the Print Edition, but is here for anyone that's feeling particularly generous.

Stretch Goals

Stretch goals are tricky! They are exciting, but they can really slow down the fulfillment of a campaign.

I've decided to include a few stretch goals, because there are ideas I have that I'm particularly excited about possibly adding to the game. However, all of these will be released only as digital/PDF expansions to the game, given to all backers at the Digital Edition and above.

I'm choosing to do this rather than add to the printed book because that will slow down the timeline for getting the book finished, and it will make the book bigger. Bigger book means higher cost, and more expensive shipping. That's no good!

That said, here are the current stretch goals:

Embers Faction: $12,500

A new enemy faction steps out into the Dusk. Embers are disgraced or rogue Spark pilots. They've stolen some of the tech from their suits and snuck out into the Dusk. These are elite enemies, incredibly dangerous as they wield the same sun-powered technology that the players do.

Here is some concept art that Galen made for these enemies.

New Spark: $14,000

I have a handful of Spark ideas I'm brewing on, so if we get to this stretch goal I'll run a poll to see which one you want the most! 

Obron Setting Book: $18,000

A big book of lore for Obron, the world that NOVA takes place on! This will expand a ton on the setting information that is provided in the book. Deep dives into factions and history, some short stories, and a whole lot more. 

Shipping & Fulfillment

I handle all of the shipping and fulfillment for my games. Because of that, I've had to make the very hard decision to not ship NOVA 2 anywhere outside of the US.

Global shipping prices and policies are constantly in flux, and it is impossible to predict the state of things halfway through 2027.

I'm really bummed about it, but I hope you understand! If you are outside the US and really want a physical copy, I recommend finding a retailer near you that would be interested in stocking NOVA 2. I can try to organize an order with them so you can get a copy that way.

For US backers, shipping is estimated to be about $7-8. Your shipping information and funds will be collected using the Kickstarter pledge manager after the campaign, closer to fulfillment.

Timeline

How is this all going to come together?

As of today, most of the game is written! The core rules are there, many of the Sparks and enemy factions have been updated. There is still a bit of writing to do, which I'll get started on as soon as we hit the funding goal.

Galen has already gotten started on a lot of the art, and is waiting for me to say "go" on the rest of it. I'll set him loose once we fund.

The text and art will come together pretty quickly after that. Then it is off to Will Jobst to handle the editing, and back to me to finalize text and layout.

I've given myself a July 2027 fulfillment goal to provide plenty of room for this game to come together. While it is entirely possible that it gets finished and in your hands before then, it's always best to fulfill early or on time instead of late.

The Team

Spencer Campbell: Writer & Designer. Spencer is an award winning RPG designer publishing under the name Gila RPGs. Some of his best known games include Slayers, RUNE, NOVA, and the LUMEN system. Find him on Bluesky, and check out all his work at gilarpgs.com.

Galen Pejeau: Illustrator. An illustrator and occasional designer, Galen is the creator of Crash//Cart and the upcoming Solarcrawl, co-creator of Stoneburner, Fealty, and illustrator for such indie darlings as Slugblaster, DUSK, HUNT, Substratum Protocol, and Ironsworn: Starforged. You can find his work at nightjargames.itch.io.

Will Jobst: Editor. Will is an award-winning game designer, publisher, and editor, who has editing games big and small, with authors from all around the world. You can find Will's work at goodluckpress.co.

Lone Archivist: Logo & Graphic Design Artist. Lone Archivist is a games and graphic designer based out of Southern California. He’s published Primeval, What We Give To Alien Gods, and the upcoming In Other Waters: Tidebreak. He’s also contributed graphic design to Orbital Blues, Hull Breach, and the DIE RPG. When not working on games, Lone can be found crate-digging for vinyl or adding more books to the TBR list.

Shout Outs

I have a lot of friends who are also funding incredible indie TTRPG projects! I've grabbed the links to a few that I think you should check out:

Dead Net

Created by A Couple of Drakes, Dead Net is a hack of one of their previous games, Dead Belt. Dead Belt is one of my favorite solo games, so a hacking themed version of it is music to my ears.

Hope Diest Last

Hope Dies Last is a collection of new Daggerheart material by Mike Underwood and Infinite Citadel. I've worked alongside Mike in the past on Daggerheart projects, and I can't think of anyone that understands that system better. Check it out if you need more hope and DH in your life!