Android: Netrunner – Terminal Directive
Android: Netrunner – Terminal Directive Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 163 Regular Cards: All cards in the "Open Now" packs of Terminal Directive are legal for regular social and tournament play.
- 4 Secret Card and Sticker Packs: These packs contain all of the cards and stickers required to play through the campaign. There is 1 pack of stickers and 1 pack of cards for each side, red for the Runner and blue for the Corp. It is important that players do not look at them until instructed.
- 12 Closed File Stickers: A player uses these stickers to cover up completed tasks, when instructed to do so.
- 6 Runner Stickers
- 6 Corp Stickers
- 2 Personal Access Devices: Each player has a personal access device, or PAD, that contains all of their campaign information. Throughout the campaign, new stickers will be added to the open slots on his or her PAD or overwrite previous stickers. Only the stickers on a PAD that are currently visible affect the game.
- 1 Runner PAD
- 1 Corp PAD
PAD Anatomy: A PAD has the following areas.
- Objective: The objective area at the top of the PAD.
- Ethos Effects: Slots A through F along the left side of the PAD.
- Cautions: Shown in the lower Ethos slots (E and F) of the PAD.
- Tasks: Slots G through K in the lower right of the PAD.
Do Not Open: The secret packs are printed "Do Not Open Secret Packs – Until Instructed Otherwise."
Campaign Setup
To begin a campaign, you and your opponent each choose a side, Runner (Red) or Corp (Blue). You will play this side for the duration of the campaign.
Then each player follows these instructions:
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Select one of the identity cards in Terminal Directive. It is recommended to build your deck using the player cards in this box and the contents of one copy of the Android: Netrunner Core Set. As a variant, you and your opponent may agree to use a larger card pool, but both players ideally should have access to the same card pool if you do so.
When deckbuilding, the Corp player must choose three fewer cards and six fewer agenda points than normally required. The Corp player will receive three agendas, each worth two agenda points, at the start of the first game of Terminal Directive. These cards must be included in the Corp player's deck for campaign play.
The Runner player may choose three fewer cards to include in his or her deck than normally required. The Runner player will receive three resource cards at the start of the first game of Terminal Directive. These cards must be included in the Runner player's deck for campaign play.
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Take the PAD that corresponds to the side you have built a deck for.
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Open your secret card and sticker packs. Take the set 1 cards and sticker sheets and set them aside. These will be the cards and sticker sheets behind the number 1 dividers. Return the rest of the cards and stickers to the box.
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Each player reveals the cards and sticker sheets in set 1. Each type of card and sticker is explained in detail on the following pages. When you are given a choice, be advised that your decisions have irreversible consequences—any new cards or effects that you do not select are destroyed (torn in half or otherwise rendered unplayable).
You are now ready to begin playing the campaign.
Numbered Divider Cards: Shown in the rulebook as the numbered divider cards that separate the sets within the secret packs.
Sets
A set refers to the cards and sticker sheets behind a specific number. When you are directed to reveal a set you will take all cards and stickers that are behind the matching numbered dividers, stopping when you reach the next divider. Not every set will contain both cards and stickers.
Information Cards
Each set you reveal has a double-sided information card that reveals details relevant to your investigation and directions on what to do with the contents. Read this card before continuing to examine the rest of the set.
The front side of the card with italicized text advances the story. Each player may choose to read this story information secretly, which can be desirable if they wish to play the campaign again as the opposite side. The reverse side of the card contains instructions and game information. This text should be read aloud.
Objectives
Objectives are stickers with goals that will directly advance your investigation, getting you closer to locating the killer. Objective stickers are placed on the objective space on your PAD.
Once you accomplish an objective, you will reveal the set indicated in its text. Within that set is a new objective sticker which is placed directly on top of your last objective, overwriting the completed objective with the one for the next stage of the investigation. Any time an objective is covered by a new one, the old one no longer has any effect.
Tasks
Tasks are stickers that contain optional goals that will give you special benefits over the course of the campaign. It is possible to play through the campaign without ever accomplishing any of these tasks, but they should not be dismissed lightly. When you get a new task, place it in the specified space on your PAD.
Each task states what is required to complete it. When successfully completed, the task triggers an effect or requires you to reveal a new set.
Tasks with Card Counts. A few tasks require you to include specific campaign cards in your deck. The sticker indicates the required quantity of that card in the left-most of a series of numbered hexes. If a copy of that card is destroyed for any reason, mark off the left-most hex on that effect to accurately reflect the updated quantity of that card.
Example: Charlie places three copies of Shadow Team in his deck between games. Later, he is instructed to destroy a copy of Shadow Team, so he destroys that card and then marks off the left-most hex. The effect now instructs him to include two copies.
The Shadow Team task sticker reads: "Start each game with 3 / 2 / 1 / 0 copies of Shadow Team in your deck. When a copy is destroyed, update this effect."
Close this file. When you complete a task, you will be instructed to "close this file". To close a file, place one of the closed file stickers over it. Any time a task is covered by another sticker, it no longer has any effect.
Progress
Most tasks and objectives take multiple turns or even several games to complete. Such stickers state the requirement for progress and have a progress bar with which to record your progress. Each time you add progress to a task, mark off one hex in the progress bar; when the bar is full, the task is complete. You can mark off more than one hex at one time.
Example: If a Corp effect trashes 2 Runner cards, Joan marks off two hexes in the progress bar. When all four are marked off, the task is completed, and Joan will immediately complete that task.
The example sticker reads: "Progress – Trash 1 Runner card. [four hexes] When complete, reveal set 6."
Updating Text
Some information cards or tasks instruct you to update your PAD or a campaign card with a sticker that replaces the text box, unlocking new abilities. When you update your PAD or a campaign card, place the sticker on the corresponding slot or card as instructed. The old text no longer has any effect. Because the stickers increase the thickness of updated cards, it is recommended that you sleeve your deck.
Card Upgrade Sticker: The example shows an Investigator Inez Delgado resource card with a sticker placed over its text box.
Campaign Cards
Campaign cards are special cards in some of the sets that are only legal when you are playing the campaign format. All campaign cards bear a yellow version of the set symbol.
Changing your deck
If you gain one or more campaign cards in the middle of a game, you will usually set them aside until the current game is complete. You can then add them to your deck in between games. You may also change the player cards in your deck, but you may only do so between games, and you may not change your identity.
Ethos Effects
Ethos effects are stickers that give you special abilities for the rest of the campaign. When you get a new ethos effect, place it in the specified space on your PAD. There are two types of ethos effects, and each time you get one you must choose between them:
- Protector
- Predator
These types do not correspond with good and evil. Instead, your ethos is based on whether your instincts lead you to evade attacks and make counterstrikes (Protector) or to seize the initiative and force your opponent to adapt to you (Predator). You are never forced to follow a single path. Any choice between Predator and Protector is a new opportunity to refine your ethos.
Dominant Ethos. Whichever icon appears most frequently on your PAD reflects your dominant ethos, which gives you access to different options over the course of the campaign. If your PAD shows the same number of both ethos symbols, your dominant ethos is the symbol in slot A; as the first choice you made, this reflects your instincts.
Cautions
Cautions are stickers that are similar to tasks, but their consequences are more harmful to you. When you get a caution sticker, place it in the specified space on the bottom of your PAD. Cautions can be overwritten by new ethos effects as instructed.
When the effect on a caution is triggered, it is resolved immediately. It is up to each player to decide whether each action is worth the risk of triggering his or her cautions.
Rules Clarification
Cards that are "put into play" or that "start in play" are not considered to have been played or installed. They become active as soon as the effect that puts them into play resolves.
Winning a Campaign
The length of a campaign varies depending on how quickly each player advances their side of the story. It is unlikely that a campaign can be completed in one sitting.
You and your opponent should continue to play games of Terminal Directive until one player solves the mystery and receives the instruction, "You have won the campaign."
Sample Campaign Deck Lists
The printed sample deck lists give one starting deck for each of the four sample identities. Cards marked with an asterisk (*) are Android: Netrunner Core Set cards.
Ayla "Bios" Rahim
- Identity: 1x Ayla "Bios" Rahim
- Events: 2x Careful Planning; 2x Deep Data Mining; 3x Diesel*; 3x Modded*; 3x Process Automation; 3x Special Order*; 1x Stimhack*; 3x Sure Gamble*
- Hardware: 2x The Personal Touch*; 2x Ubax
- Programs: 3x Datasucker*; 3x Dhegdeer; 3x Magnum Opus*; 2x Adept; 2x Gordian Blade*; 1x Mammon
- Resources: 2x Biometric Spoofing; 2x Dean Lister
Steve Cambridge
- Identity: 1x Steve Cambridge
- Events: 2x Account Siphon*; 1x Brute Force Hack; 3x Easy Mark*; 3x Forged Activation Orders*; 3x Process Automation; 2x Spear Phishing; 1x Special Order*; 3x Sure Gamble*
- Hardware: 1x Akamatsu Mem Chip*; 2x Polyhistor
- Programs: 2x Aurora*; 2x Femme Fatale*; 2x Gordian Blade*; 2x Mammon; 1x Sneakdoor Beta*
- Resources: 3x Armitage Codebusting*; 2x Bank Job*; 2x Biometric Spoofing; 2x Charlatan; 2x Dean Lister; 2x Laguna Velasco District
Seidr Laboratories
- Identity: 1x Seidr Laboratories
- Agendas: 3x Accelerated Beta Test*; 3x Successful Field Test; 1x Elective Upgrade
- Assets: 3x Adonis Campaign*; 3x Marilyn Campaign; 1x Aggressive Secretary*; 1x Snare!*
- Upgrades: 2x Mason Bellamy; 1x Black Level Clearance; 1x SanSan City Grid*
- Operations: 3x Hedge Fund*; 3x IPO; 2x Archived Memories*; 2x Biotic Labor*
- Ice: 1x Heimdall 1.0*; 2x Viktor 1.0*; 3x Ichi 1.0*; 1x Enigma*; 2x Tapestry; 2x Eli 2.0; 1x Roto Turret*; 2x Tollbooth*; 2x Wall of Static*; 1x Hortum
Skorpios Defense Systems
- Identity: 1x Skorpios Defense Systems
- Agendas: 3x Armored Servers; 2x Graft
- Assets: 2x Adonis Campaign*; 3x Snare!; 2x Mr. Stone; 1x Melange Mining Corp; 2x PAD Campaign*; 1x SanSan City Grid*
- Upgrades: 2x K. P. Lynn
- Operations: 2x Bean Stalk Royalties*; 3x Hedge Fund*; 2x Scorched Earth*; 2x Hunter Seeker; 2x IPO
- Ice: 1x Ice Wall*; 2x Bloodletter; 1x Colossus; 1x Hailstorm; 2x Hortum; 1x Enigma*; 1x Wall of Static*; 1x Data Raven*