Aether Nexus vs Salvage Union
Compare Aether Nexus and Salvage Union side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Aether Nexus | Salvage Union | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Sci-Fi, Post-Apocalyptic |
| Tags | Mecha, Tactical, Collaborative | Mecha, Resource Management, Base-Building, Character Building, Exploration, Sandbox, Tactical, Survival, Narrative, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 under an aspect (Stone, Flux, Aether, or Hearth) to succeed on tests. Favor and hindrance work like advantage/disadvantage (roll 2d20, pick better or worse). Knights pilot Apparatus (mechs) with resource dice: Armor Die reduces damage, Damage Die deals it, and Nexus Die represents the bond with allies: rolling max on the Nexus Die triggers a powerful Nexus Surge but downgrades the die. Battles play out on a span-based battlefield with tactical positioning. | For a pilot's risky action, roll an unmodified d20: 20 succeeds with a bonus, 11–19 succeeds, 6–10 presents a Tough Choice, 2–5 fails with a setback, and 1 brings a severe consequence. The Mediator frames costs and consequences from the situation. |
| Dice | d20 + d4–d12 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Availability | Paid | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | Proprietary | Salvage Union Open Game Licence 1.0b |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Absolute Tabletop | Leyline Press |
| Year | 2025 | 2023 |
| Languages | English | English, Italian |
| Best For | Groups who want a fantasy mecha experience: knight pilots bonded to towering Apparatus through a shared Nexus, battling Oghdra horrors across the floating Fragments of a shattered world called Eskhara. | Groups who enjoy building custom mechs, scavenging parts, and managing a shared stockpile of scrap to maintain and improve their equipment and mobile settlement. |
| Highlights | Fills a fantasy-mecha niche with detailed lore, 10 playable kin and 16 Apparatus frames offer character variety, Nexus Die creates risk-reward tension, span-based combat is tactical without requiring a grid, built on The Black Hack's proven core | Recovered scrap funds mech construction and crawler upkeep, linking equipment choices to the community's survival. Swappable mech components let players build for jobs such as hauling or hacking. Players choose setbacks when NPC actions fail, giving the table authority over consequences beyond its own characters. |
| Considerations | Tightly bound to the Eskhara setting: hard to use outside it, moderate complexity with many subsystems (conditions, augments, boons, arsenal points), requires investment to learn unique terminology, combat-focused sessions may overshadow exploration and social play | Players track separate pilot and mech resources, including Ability Points and Heat. Unpaid crawler upkeep normally prompts a deterioration roll, making regular salvage income an ongoing pressure. Encounters follow the world's circumstances rather than guaranteed balance, making reconnaissance and retreat consequential choices. |