Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic Dominion Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Special Ships
  • Flagship Variant
  • Salvage Vessel Variant
  • Double Ship Variant
• Using this Expansion
• New Rule: Cosmic Quakes
• New Components
  • Hazard Token
  • Ship Markers
  • Joker Tokens
• Reward Deck Variant
  • Setup
  • Gameplay
• Reward Deck Contents
  • Intimidate Cards
  • Variable Attack Cards
  • Unique Negotiate Cards
  • Retreat Cards
  • Rift Cards
  • Kicker Cards
  • Other Reward Cards
• Notes on This Transcription

Special Ships

During game setup, if playing with special ships each player places his or her colored ship marker on one of his or her normal ships, faceup, to create a special ship. All players should agree on what the special ships represent, using one of the variants listed below, along with the following general rules for special ships:

• Using your special ship's game effects requires having control of that ship (not in the warp, not captured, etc.).
• If a variant provides a special action, the ship's owner may activate this single-use effect by flipping the ship marker facedown. The owner may then "recharge" the special action for re-use by turning the marker faceup again whenever the special ship is retrieved from the warp, or if the owner does not have a second encounter on his or her turn.
• If a special ship is captured or removed from the game, when its owner retrieves a different ship from the warp during his or her own regroup phase, that player may place his or her ship marker on it, faceup, to create a replacement special ship.

Flagship Variant

When a main player or ally has his or her flagship in an encounter, after encounter cards are revealed he or she may add an extra +3 to his or her side's total.

Hyperspace drive special action: A player's flagship may interrupt play to move to one of his or her colonies, to one of his or her tech cards being researched, or into an encounter in which he or she is involved (ignoring hyperspace gate limits).

Salvage Vessel Variant

When a main player or ally has his or her salvage vessel in an encounter, after winning the encounter he or she may either receive two rewards, or draw two tech cards from the tech deck (if in use) and choose one to keep. This is in addition to any other benefits received for winning.

Tractor beam special action: A player's salvage vessel may interrupt play to retrieve one card from the discard pile.

Double Ship Variant

When playing with three or four players, each player may create a second special ship using a ship marker of an unused color. Players should agree on whether everyone will have two special ships of the same kind, or of two different kinds (agreeing also on which one is represented by the unused color). Normally a player may not send both of his or her special ships into an encounter, although game effects such as Amoeba's power or a flagship's hyperspace drive special action may allow it.

Using this Expansion

This section describes how to incorporate the Cosmic Dominion expansion into the Cosmic Encounter base game.

Prior to game setup, follow the steps listed below.

1. Alien Sheets: Add the new alien sheets to the stack of available alien sheets.
2. Flare Cards: Shuffle the new flare cards into the existing deck of flare cards.
3. Reward Cards: Return the reward cards to the game box unless using the Reward Deck variant.

New Rule: Cosmic Quakes

If a player must draw a card from the cosmic deck and both the cosmic deck and discard pile are empty, then a cosmic quake occurs! All players discard their hands and shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck. Then, deal eight cards to each player.

New Components

All cards from this expansion are marked with the Cosmic Dominion expansion symbol to distinguish these cards from those in the base game.

Cosmic Dominion should contain these components:

• 30 Alien Sheets
• 32 Reward Cards
• 30 Flare Cards
• 1 Cruise Liner Token
• 9 Joker Tokens
• 1 Hazard Token
• 2 Yin-Yang Tokens
• 8 Ship Markers

Hazard Token

The hazard token is a convenient way to keep track of when a hazard warning is in effect. To use the token, turn up its yellow side at the start of each encounter, and turn up its red side whenever a destiny card with a hazard warning is drawn.

Ship Markers

Ship markers fit on top of normal ships to create "special ships" that can be used in a multitude of game variants. Each marker has a front and a back, with some variants instructing a player when to flip it over. As part of the fan-designed focus of Cosmic Dominion, a special ship marker variants forum has been set up at www.FantasyFlightGames.com. Check out the variants listed there, experiment with creating your own, and post to tell us about your creative inventions!

Joker Tokens

The Joker alien sheet (text transcribed from the sheet printed in the rules sheet's component graphic).

Game Setup: Take the nine joker tokens (six different attacks, a regular negotiate, a morph, and a retreat) and place them faceup on this sheet.

You have the power of Wild Cards. Attack 08 cards are initially "wild." At the start of your turn, you may name any other attack card to become the new wild card instead.

After encounter cards are revealed, for each one that matches the current wild card, use this power. Place one faceup joker token from this sheet on the wild card to change it into the card indicated by that token. After the outcome is determined, return the used joker token(s) to this sheet, facedown. When you remove the last faceup joker token from this sheet, immediately turn the used ones here faceup for re-use.

The fun-loving Jokers enjoy humiliating the conceited, mocking the powers that be, and causing general chaos. They seek not to rule, but to satirize the universe.

The Joker sheet is printed with the timing labels As Any Player and Mandatory.

Reward Deck Variant

In this variant, defensive allies may draw from a special, slightly more powerful deck of cards when receiving defender rewards. This variant makes use of the reward deck.

Setup

Set up the Cosmic Encounter game as normal, performing the following additional step during Step 5.

5a. Shuffle the reward deck and place it near the warp. If you have reward cards from both Cosmic Dominion and Cosmic Incursion, shuffle them together into a single 64-card reward deck, or use either deck by itself.

Gameplay

This variant uses all of the standard rules and victory conditions, with the exception of the following rules.

• When a player receives cards as defender rewards, he or she may draw some or all of the cards from the reward deck.
• Discarded reward cards go to a special reward deck discard pile. Not all game effects that target the regular discard pile, or the cards in it, will apply to the reward deck discard pile. If an effect targets a card just before, while, or just after it is discarded (such as the Clone, the Fido, or the Vulch), then that effect does work on cards headed to either discard pile. However, something happening later that is not specifically responding to the discarding process (such as Delta Scanners or Space Junk) does not affect the reward deck discard pile; it is too late!
• When the reward deck runs out, shuffle its discard pile to make a new reward deck. If the reward deck discard pile is also empty, then no further reward cards can be drawn until at least one reward card is discarded. The reward deck never causes a cosmic quake.
• When selecting cards at random from a hand with both cosmic and reward cards, a player is allowed to choose which card backs he or she is targeting. In other words, "at random" means "without seeing the faces of the cards."

Reward Deck Contents

Several new types of cards are introduced in the reward deck, and are described below.

Intimidate Cards

Intimidate cards are new non-encounter cards that often turn into encounter cards. During any encounter, each player in the game may play one intimidate card facedown on the table, any time before the planning phase, announcing that it is an intimidate card.

• When a main player plays an intimidate card, it will automatically become his or her encounter card when cards are selected in the planning phase. (Because that main player has essentially "pre-played" an encounter card, he or she will not be subject to restrictions on card selection by game effects such as Loser, Magician, Oracle, Super Philanthropist, and Visionary, and does not have to draw a new hand or end his or her turn because of running out of encounter cards.)
• When a non-main player plays an intimidate card, he or she is advertising it for potential use by main players who might invite him or her to ally. After encounter cards are selected but before they are revealed, each main player may choose one intimidate card played by one of his or her allies to replace his or her encounter card (regardless of how that card was selected). This choice is made "blind," without first seeing the intimidate card; the ally can make statements (true or false) about the card, but may not show it.

When a player reveals an intimidate card as his or her encounter card, it becomes an attack card if the opposing player reveals an attack card. If the opposing player reveals anything else, the intimidate becomes a negotiate card. An intimidate card modifies itself before other game effects occur.

Intimidate cards on the table are not part of a player's hand. Those that end up not being used, as well as encounter cards that get replaced by intimidate cards, are not revealed. Instead, they return to their owners' hands as soon as it is clear that they are not being used.

Variable Attack Cards

Each attack card in Cosmic Dominion has two different values. The larger number printed in black is the normal, standard value. However, during an encounter in which a hazard warning is in effect (that is, a destiny card was drawn that had a hazard warning on it), when a variable attack card is revealed its value is immediately transposed to become the smaller number printed in white. A variable attack card modifies itself before other game effects occur, and the modification is only for that encounter.

Example card: an Attack card printed "12/21", with the text "Becomes 21 when revealed if any destiny card(s) with a hazard warning were drawn this encounter. Opposed by Attack: Higher total wins. Opposed by Negotiate: Wins, but opponent collects compensation."

Unique Negotiate Cards

The negotiate cards introduced in the reward deck still count as negotiate cards, but have unique game effects described on each card.

Example card: Negotiate (Epic Oratory). Opposed by Attack: Loses, but either collects double compensation or prevents your ships from going to the warp (your choice). Opposed by Negotiate: Players have one minute to make a deal (up to two colonies per player may be gained) or lose three ships to the warp.

Note: If a Negotiate (Faulty Translator) and a Negotiate (Crooked Deal) found in Cosmic Incursion are revealed in the same encounter, and the players fail to make a deal, both cards will take effect (causing one player to lose three ships and the other player to lose one).

Retreat Cards

Retreat is a new type of encounter card that represents completely avoiding conflict. When a retreat and an attack card are revealed by opposing players, the retreating player automatically loses the encounter, but the ships on his or her side live to fight another day. When a retreat and anything else are revealed by opposing players, the retreat turns into a regular negotiate card, and both players attempt to deal. A retreat card modifies itself before other game effects occur.

Example card: Retreat. Opposed by Attack: You lose the encounter, but all players on your side return their ships to any of their colonies, instead of the warp. If you are the defense, your ships remain on the planet. Opposed by anything else: Becomes a Negotiate (players attempt to deal).

Rift Cards

The rift cards in Cosmic Dominion are similar to those found in Cosmic Incursion, but with a wider variety of uses. Rifts have two effects. First, a player may play a rift to receive a benefit of ships, cards, or a colony as stated on the card. Additionally, if a rift card is taken from a player's hand and kept, either as compensation or as the result of another game effect, the rift detonates, causing the thieving player to lose ships, cards, or a colony as stated on the card. After detonating, a rift is discarded.

Example card: Rift. Play at the start of one of your encounters and choose any player (even yourself). That player establishes one colony on any planet that has no colonies, using any number of his or her ships from other colonies. If another player takes this card from you, he or she abandons one colony of his or her choice (returning those ships to his or her other colonies), then discards this card. Offense Only.

Kicker Cards

The kickers in Cosmic Dominion work like those found in Cosmic Incursion, with the exception that each one also has game text giving it a unique twist. Kicker cards are played facedown during the planning phase before encounter cards are selected (limit one kicker per main player), with the player announcing that he or she is playing a kicker. They are revealed when encounter cards are revealed. Kickers are not affected by game effects that target a player's encounter card.

A kicker's effect depends on what types of encounter cards are revealed during the encounter.

• Attack: If a player reveals an attack card, its value is multiplied by his or her kicker. For instance, a player with 12 ships on his or her side that has revealed an attack 10 and a kicker x2 has a total of 32 ((2×10)+12). This takes effect after any self-modifying cards (such as morphs or intimidates) change their card types, but before other game effects.
• Negotiate (vs. Attack): If a player reveals a negotiate card and collects compensation, it is multiplied by his or her kicker's value. For instance, a player who would normally receive 3 cards as compensation would receive 6 cards as compensation if he or she had revealed a kicker x2.
• Negotiate (vs. Negotiate): After a failed deal, the number of ships lost to the warp by the opposing player is multiplied by the kicker's value. For instance, if a player revealed a kicker x2 before a failed deal, that player would lose the usual 3 ships to the warp, but his or her opponent would lose 6 ships to the warp!

The new kickers in Cosmic Dominion have additional effects depending upon their unique game text, but each kicker uses the multiplying rules listed above unless the card states otherwise.

Example card: Kicker x2 (Jamming Signal). Play facedown before encounter cards are selected. All other revealed kickers are canceled. No reinforcements may be played. Main Player Only.

Note: The rules for kickers, rifts, and reward deck gameplay are updated versions of those found in the Cosmic Incursion rulebook. Players should use these rules in place of those found in Cosmic Incursion.

Other Reward Cards

The reward deck also includes two reinforcement cards, several new artifact cards, and another morph. The morph card works the same as the morph cards in previous expansions: if both players in an encounter reveal a morph card at the same time, both sides lose.

Notes on This Transcription

• The rules sheet does not explain the Cruise Liner Token or the Yin-Yang Tokens; they are listed in the components only, so no rules for them are given here.
• The printed Variable Attack example card reads "12/21", with the larger number (21) being the hazard value, which is the reverse of the general rule above (larger black number is normal). The text is transcribed as printed; the card's own text ("Becomes 21 when revealed...") governs that card.
• Alien powers and flare card text are printed on the alien sheets and flare cards themselves, not on this rules sheet, so they are not reproduced here beyond the Joker sheet shown in the component graphic.
• The reinforcement cards, artifact cards, and extra morph in the reward deck are named only generically on the rules sheet; their individual text is not reproduced.