10,000 AN

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10,000 AN

Manufacturer	Tactical Depot
Years	1651 AN–present
Players	2+
Setup time	5–20+ minutes
Play time	30–180+ minutes
Random chance	Medium (dice rolling)
Skills	Strategic thinking, arithmetic, miniature painting
Website	@@co/tacticaldepot/games/10k

10,000 AN, sometimes referred to colloquially as 10k, is a miniature wargame produced by Tactical Depot. It is the most popular miniature wargame on Micras, especially in the Shirithian successor states. The first edition of the rulebook was published in 1651 AN, and the current seventh (or Auric, alluding to the game's golden anniversary) edition was released in 1700 AN.

As in other miniature wargames, players enact battles using miniature models of warriors and fighting vehicles. The playing area is a tabletop model of a battlefield, comprising models of buildings, hills, trees, and other terrain features. Each player takes turns to move their model warriors around the battlefield and fighting their opponent's warriors. These fights are resolved using dice and simple arithmetic.

10,000 AN is set in the distant future, where a stagnant human civilization is beset by hostile aliens and supernatural creatures. The models in the game are a mixture of humans, aliens, and supernatural monsters, wielding futuristic weaponry and supernatural powers. The fictional setting of the game has been developed through a large body of novels, published by Tactical Depot's publishing subsidiary, Dispatch Books. 10,000 AN took its name from 0 AN, which is a medieval fantasy wargame also produced by Tactical Depot. 10,000 AN was initially conceived as a science fiction counterpart to 0 AN, and while they are not connected to each other in a shared universe, their settings share similar themes.

10,000 AN has spawned a number of spin-off tabletop games. These include Footfall, which is about combat within the narrow corridors of derelict spacecraft, and Danger Close, which simulates spaceship combat. Video game spin-offs have also been released.

Factions

Throughout its history, 10,000 AN has published rules for several factions, and mentioned countless others in its lore; these are the major playable factions in the current Auric edition of the game.

The Republic

The primary human polity in the fictional universe of 10,000 AN is the Republic, a corrupt oligarchic dictatorship that jealously guards its primacy among the nations of humankind.

GIs

The primary military arm of the Republic, consisting mainly of cloned, genetically-modified super-soldiers in distinctive power armor.

National Guard

The secondary military arm of the Republic, consisting of a standing army of regular humans.

Rogue Troopers

Pirates, whether exiled from human militaries or less often otherwise, that prey on human and xen (alien) shipping.

Inquisition

A caste of political officers attached to units of GIs and other human militaries to ensure strict adherence to Republican doctrine and propaganda.

Judges

Those few humans with psychic potential are taken by the Republic and genetically modified to act as its hanging judiciary, laying bare the guilt in criminals' minds.

Aontú

An elf-like race known for their immortality, haughty demeanor, and psychic prowess. Until recently with the construction of the Arthách Tír (“nation-ships”) that now ply distant stars, they rarely ventured beyond their allegedly-paradisical homeworlds, considering the other races sinfully unclean.

Sláine

An underground-dwelling offshoot of the Aontú that focus on physical strength over psychic powers, to the point of ongoing speciation.

Casuals

A faction of the Gergasi, a race of brutish ogre-like aliens, and sworn enemies of the Ultras.

Ultras

A faction of the Gergasi, a race of brutish ogre-like aliens, and sworn enemies of the Casuals.

Kappa

A race of communally-minded, turtle-like aliens who only recently advanced from their industrial revolution to a tech level commensurate with other races'. Their most notable feature is that their shells repel psychic powers.

Suseka

A race of ravenously expansionistic, naga-like aliens.

Nakhevari League

A race of stout, dwarf-like human offshoots.