NATURE INCARNATE Expansion!

[MindWanderer]

They have one guy whose job is to dream big, and four more people to drag him back down to earth!

[fjur]

Lure of the Deep Wilderness’s Lair Aspect saying “(You can reposition [Incarna] by adding it with your second Growth option instead of adding .)” made me realise that any Incarna Spirit can do that (hence it being reminder text, not rule text) because the core game’s rules state that, when adding via Growth, instead of adding it from your Spirit panel, you can move already on the Island. And Incarna count as on the Island.

I completely forgot about this rule, likely because it is pretty much never a good thing to use, except when one’s tracks are entirely empty. (I think) I’ve never even used this rule, as I’ve never been in that situation.

This rule is definitely more relevant for Incarna Spirits, and it gives each of them a smidge more mobility than I initially thought.

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I wonder if any of the three Spirits who severed the voice of Calls All Living Things to Die — thus creating Wandering Voice Keens Delirium — are ones we already know, or if any of them will be released in future expansions.

All in all, Wandering Voice seems pretty nifty, in both theme and mechanics. As a second Spirit, I think it goes without saying that it and Grinning Trickster Stirs Up Trouble would make a good team.

[TakeWalker]

I’m honestly low-key hyped about Voice. I want to know what this strife-and-push game feels like in action.

[Trajector]

Does it go without saying that Incarna count as ? I didn’t see that anywhere in the rules first explaining Incarna or on Keen’s panel, but the update mentions the effect

[Rabit]

Take a look at the video that shows the different Incarna tokens. The icons they count as are shown on the tokens, themselves.

[fjur]

To elaborate on @Rabit’s excellent answer:

• The Incarna of Behemoth, Towering Roots, and Thunderspeaker’s Warrior Aspect count only as .
• Breath of Darkness’s Incarna counts as /.
• The Incarna of Wandering Voice and Lure’s Lair Aspect count as /.

How many would Voice’s and Lure’s Incarna count as, though? (For effects like Manifest Incarnation, which seems like an appropriate power for an Incarna Spirit.) 1, 2, or 3?

Also, since we haven’t seen the Empowered sides of any of the Incarna, I wonder if they might have different icons?

It makes sense that no Incarna count as //, as those tokens have to remove themselves for their effects to activate. Thunderspeaker’s Incarna could’ve counted as , but there were probably mechanical issues with that.

[liarliar]

Yeah, I really like Wandering Voice - particularly the idea that, to get the most out of preventing a Ravage, you would have to dart in to spread strife, then dart away to ensure the Dahan will actually fight back! Sounds really tough and I’m not sure I’m good enough at the game to pull it off, but I would love to try.

[Trajector]

Thanks @Rabit and @fjur! The “how many ” question is interesting – I could see things coming up like an Event that calls for some amount of destruction, and choosing the Incarna to get 2 if you already have something lined up on the slow phase or the next Growth to get it back.

If I recall correctly, all of the icons printed on Incarna tokens must be optional, right? That is, for any given decision it is player’s choice whether the icon counts or not? Otherwise Breath of Darkness will be really susceptible to those Events that move and destroy .

[MindWanderer]

They count as 1 , same as River’s in Wetlands. If they count as , they must also count as . Otherwise, they can count as some, all, or none of the icons on them (but they can’t change what they count as in the middle of an action).

[fjur]

Now they’re just teasing us! : D

It looks like the Enticing and Violence Aspects will emphasize the two different halves of Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares’ nature. Or, alternatively, Violence just might replace To Dream a Thousand Deaths, but that’d be pretty radical and seems unlikely. I recall Bringer’s lore mentioning that it’s a lot more terrifying these days than it usually is, so it’ll be nice to see its softer side with Enticing.

I look forward to seeing how A Spread of Rampant Green will use with Tangles. Heart of the Wildfire’s Transforming also looks intriguing. It’ll be neat to see an Aspect that shifts Wildfire’s focus from destruction to change.

It appears that — in addition to the Horizons Spirits — there are only nine Spirits that will still not have Aspects, and they’re all from Jagged Earth or Promo Pack 2:

• Moderate Complexity: Unyielding Defience, Grinning Trickster, Many Minds, Volcano
• High Complexity: Vengeance, Downpour
• Very High Complexity: Starlight, Fractured Days, Finder

[Godai]

So I never got answered my one question… what’s up with the dinosaur?

I mean, that’s a dinosaur on the right, right?

[MindWanderer]

@Godai

I mean, that’s a dinosaur on the right, right?

It’s Devouring Teeth Lurk Underfoot. It’s not in this expansion, it just happens to have art on a card in this expansion. Kind of unfortunate to have it be so visible in the ad.

[fjur]

Now there needs to be a dinosaur Spirit. : D

Unrelatedly, Eric and Ted and the rest of the Team have really outdone themselves with Wounded Waters Bleeding. I love it when they manage to weave a Spirit’s story into its panel, like how they did with Starlight Seeks Its Form and Relentless Gaze of the Sun, and Waters is an excellent specimen of doing so. Its Healing Cards look like they’re essentially Aspects that get added mid-game. The Spirit’s mechanics look like they perfectly emulate desperately trying to survive, especially the Presence Track. Plus, the idea that its name is tied to its Healing Cards like that is genius. And the fact that it starts with more than most, as well as its non-renewable starting energy both contribute to the feeling that this Spirit is currently much weaker than usual.

@TakeWalker

Wracked Waters Bleeding

@TakeWalker, you were real close!

[TakeWalker]

Wow, no one else came up with “Bleeding”? I thought someone had! Yay me.

[fjur]

I thought of “Bloodied,” but I don’t think anyone else got “Bleeding.” (On this forum, at least. I don’t know about elsewhere.)

Which Aspect do y’all think that that newly-revealed seventh Incarna will be used by?

[TakeWalker]

People in the thread were thinking it might be Lure. I certainly can’t come up with a better idea myself, unless it’s one of the Fangs Aspects.

[fjur]

Serpent, Rampant Green, and Vital Strength also seem to be candidates suggested by folks in the update’s comments.

[TakeWalker]

oh yeah, Serpent was actually what I was thinking too many Aspects to remember

[fjur]

Okay, all eight Nature Incarnate Spirits have now officially been revealed! Now it’s time to categorise them!

By Complexity

• Moderate:
  • Ember-Eyed Behemoth*
  • Hearth-Vigil
  • Towering Roots of the Jungle*
• High:
  • Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine*
  • Relentless Gaze of the Sun
  • Wandering Voice Keens Delirium*
  • Wounded Waters Bleeding
• Very High:
  • Dances Up Earthquakes

By Focus
I’ve sorted the Spirits into categories based on which of the five focus areas is highest for that Spirit. Two of the areas are tied for highest in regards to Hearth-Vigil, hence it being in two categories.

• Offense:
  • Ember-Eyed Behemoth*
  • Relentless Gaze of the Sun
  • Dances Up Earthquakes
• Control:
  • Wander Voice Keens Delirium*
  • Wounded Waters Bleeding†
• Fear:
  • Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine*
• Defense:
  • Hearth-Vigil
  • Towering Roots of the Jungle*
• Utility:
  • Hearth-Vigil

By Tokens

• Wilds:
  • Ember-Eyed Behemoth*
  • Towering Roots of the Jungle*
• Disease:
  • Wounded Waters Bleeding
• Strife:
  • Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine*
  • Wandering Voice Keens Delirium*‡
• Beasts:
  • Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine*
  • Wounded Waters Bleeding‡
• Badlands:
  • Ember-Eyed Behemoth*
  • Relentless Gaze of the Sun

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*Incarna Spirit
†Can change radically over the course of the game
‡Primary user of the token. (Who counts as a “primary user” of a token is, of course, largely subjective. Basically, I mean a Spirit whose schtick somehow revolves around a token. For example, Keeper of Forbidden Wilds is a primary user of . It has several effects that add or care about . Meanwhile, Volcano Looming High is merely an incidental user of . Volcano only has a single Unique Power that can add . [Volcano is also an incidental user of — in my opinion — for the same reasons as for .] I think a good metric for determining this kind of thing is wether the Spirit has the token on its panel or not. Of course, again, this is quite subjective.)