Ex illis tour

New to Ex illis and you want to know what it’s all about?
Here’s a few articles to get you started.

Ex illis is a miniature game like no other. Instead of playing with dice, rulers, and thick rulebooks, you'll use software on your iPod touch, Mac, PC or laptop to resolve battles. This combination of miniatures and software makes Ex illis a deep gameplay experience that's very easy to learn, yet a real challenge to master!

How does it work?
You play the game on a large battlefield divided into 'zones'. The units move on the battlefield from zone to zone. On a unit's turn, you choose between the various actions available to your unit in the gaming software, such as attacking, charging or casting a spell. The software then shows the miniatures fighting, blocking and evading hits, so you can see what happened during the turn.

The physical battlefield gives the players all the game's macro information, while the software shows only one zone at a time, but in more detail (hit points left, status effects, etc). This means you'll do all of your tactical thinking by looking at the battlefield, and you'll feel like you're right in the thick of the action as your troops exchange blows with the enemy.

Depth
A major advantage of combining software with miniature games is the increased depth of gameplay mechanics. Because computers are so good at remembering vast amounts of data and crunching difficult algorithms, you'll experience in Ex illis a level of realism and complexity that was simply not possible before!

Accessibility
Another great thing with Ex illis is that you can start playing right away, without having to go through hours of reading rulebooks. The game coaches you through your first few battles, and makes it easier to setup a game with one of your friends, even if they've never played a wargame before. Of course, this doesn't mean the game is simple or shallow! The gameplay works on many different levels, and veterans will discover more advanced and intricate systems as they get more and more familiar with the game.

Leveling
Ever wished your miniatures could earn experience with each passing battle, gain new levels, unlock new skills and abilities, and equip themselves with better weapons and armour? In Ex illis, each of your miniatures has a unique 'life' on our servers, which keep track of their progress automatically. It's up to you to decide how to develop your units so they best fit into your army. This means there's always something to look forward to, and the games you're playing with your friends in the beginning will be quite different from the ones you'll play when both your armies have reached level 60!


This fall, Bastion will launch a complete starter kit for Ex illis.

This starter kit contains everything you need to start playing: 54 miniatures which to be divided into two armies or kept all for yourself, a gaming board, an introduction booklet and, of course, the gaming software. These highly-detailed miniatures are cast in quality hard plastic, sculpted using new techniques to reach a higher level of realism and are delivered to you on their original sprue, unpainted and unassembled, to ensure the integrity of the piece during transport.

The units present in the starter kit are:

The Decurion: an 8-foot tall, hard-hitting angelic hero clad in heavy armour. Capable of both offensive and defensive spells, he’s a well-rounded hero suited for many different tasks. The Billmen: a rough-and-tough mercenary unit armed with large poleaxes. While they are not the best in prolonged fights, they are well-equipped to deal with armoured units like knights. The Hobelars: a fast-cavalry unit, well-versed in hit-and-runs, counter-charges and false-retreats. They are excellent for taking out archers or mages lurking behind the main line. The Ympes: a tricky unit of very offensive casters. These small demons are difficult to catch but quite fragile should they get hit by an attack. The Longbowmen: an elite archery unit, capable of shooting either quickly or accurately. Just be sure to watch their fatigue level to keep them effective.
The Marrenne: a fairy hero with strong indirect magic. She constantly regenerates her retinue and is well-equipped to deal with both very strong and very weak enemies. The Vileins: a cheap peasant infantry. You’ll be glad when they take damage instead of your more expensive units. With proper leadership, they can even pack a surprising punch! The Franc Chevalers: an elite unit of heavy cavalry with a devastating charge. Just make sure you don’t waste this precious weapon on the wrong target... The Soffrances: two large monsters filled with dark essences. They are very resilient, drain the life of everyone near them, and inspire tourments in both friend and foe. The Arbalestiers: a ranged unit with decent accuracy and damage for a cheap price. While almost immune to enemy fire, they fatigue quickly while moving and are very slow to reload.

INTEGRAL Edition
This special edition replaces the plasticized cardboard game-board with a fully-modular plastic board, made from the same highly-detailed hard plastic as our figurines. This top-quality gaming board is ideal for hobby enthusiasts who enjoy playing their games on beautiful battlefields. The 20 unique tiles allow you to play on the standard 5 x 4 field, or create battlefields of various sizes for your own custom games and scenarios. And of course, you can always combine multiple boards to play truly massive games!