Fireteam Zero
Fireteam Zero Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Artifact Debrief
DIVISION ZERO ARCHIVES - ZULU CLEARANCE - EYES ONLY ARTIFACT INCURSIONS - SUMMARY DATA
Artifact Definition
An Artifact in this context is defined as a physical object of unknown origin that has the ability to consume a human host and supplant his or her intellect with its own. Once in possession of a human host, the Artifact will begin to rapidly manufacture an army and expand its sphere of influence and expand its sphere of influence exponentially. A single, uncontrolled outbreak has the potential to overwhelm the planet within a four to six week timeframe.
Contact History
The first known outbreak occurred on September 21, 1914, just after the Battle of the Marne in World War 1. French infantry and British Expeditionary forces encountered thousands of "melting men" in both Allied and German Empire uniforms. These deadly creatures proved difficult to kill and quickly overran the combined forces in the field.
In a rare stroke of luck, a French artillery unit transporting three L13S 105mm artillery guns happened to spot and destroy a moving tower of eyes and limbs before their position was overrun. If they had not, it is presumed that the outbreak would have expanded beyond the point of containment within another twenty-four hours and humanity as we know it would no longer exist.
Division Zero analysts have made the following deductions and recommendations:
- While the origin of the Artifacts is still unknown, they appear to become active only where large-scale loss of life has occurred. It is believed that there is a critical threshold of bloodshed required to awaken them. It is unknown why historical battles have not resulted in prior Artifact incursions, but it is expected that the scale of bloodshed in this new world war will attract them in numbers not seen before in human history.
- The Artifact's host and army grow in size and power on an exponential curve. The sooner they are engaged, the easier they are to eliminate.
- The term "Zero Limit" has been coined by the analysts to describe the point at which no amount of manpower or war material is sufficient to stop an Artifact incursion. The Zero Limit for previously encountered Artifacts appears to be in the 14 to 28 day range from the moment of human host assimilation.
Defense Protocol
Premise One: It is not possible to create a standing force both powerful and mobile enough to defeat a late-stage Artifact incursion, especially in light of the limited availability of war resources.
Premise Two: A global intelligence gathering network is already in place and Artifact-related activity is readily identifiable due to its highly unusual nature.
Conclusion: Early detection within the first week of an outbreak will allow for a small, highly-specialized unit to locate and neutralize early-stage Artifact incursions during their initially vulnerable development cycle.
- Individual team members must be selected for competence and mental toughness, even at the expense of exemplary records.
- An expert in arcane lore must be embedded with the team.
- It is also recommended that a psychic from Division K be added to enhance field performance.
Artifact Fragments
It appears that fragments of a damaged Artifact or even some parts of an Artifact's host can contain significant residual power. While Division Zero's research into this phenomenon is limited, it is believed that other highly motivated groups could use them to devastating effect. The German Wunderwaffe program is of particular concern.
It is the opinion of this committee that Artifact fragments cannot be safely used or contained and it is strongly recommended that such research not be conducted by Allied forces.
Artifact Psychology and Goals
Unknown
Artifact Weaknesses
Unknown
Contents
- 5 Hero figures
- 5 Hero reference cards
- 2 Specialist figures
- 2 Specialist reference cards
- 64 Action cards
- 64 Upgrade cards
- 21 Objective cards
- 55 Recon cards
- 24 Focus cards
- 24 Twist cards
- 9 Monster reference cards
- 13 Children of Typhon miniatures
- 13 Fetch miniatures
- 13 Infested miniatures
- 8 Attack dice (6-sided, custom)
- 1 Activation die (6-sided, custom)
- 1 Spawn die (12-sided, standard)
- 1 Threat track
- 1 Lucky coin
- 12 Intel tokens
- 6 Power tokens
- 1 Threat token
- 1 Start player token
- 1 Exit point token
- 12 Spawn tokens
- 13 Special intel tokens
- 8 Sector tiles
Missions and Operations
Each game of Fireteam Zero plays out a single mission drawn from the Mission Briefing Book. These missions are grouped together into linked series called operations which are played out over multiple games. When playing through an operation, you will typically begin with the first mission of that operation and then (if successful) proceed on through each following mission in subsequent games.
It is also possible to simply play out a single mission without playing through the entire operation, if you prefer. When doing so, you may freely select any mission from any operation.
Note: In missions appearing later in an operation, the heroes will face tougher opposition than in earlier ones. Watch your back!
Setup
1. Determine Mission
The players collectively choose a mission to undertake and turn to its Mission Briefing in the Mission Briefing Book.
2. Select Heroes
The players select one player to take the Start Player Token, either by collective agreement or random selection. Then, starting with that player and proceeding clockwise, each player selects the hero they will play in the current mission and takes that hero's reference card.
Important: Each hero has one of four roles, indicated on their reference card. If the Mission Briefing identifies a particular role as being required for that mission, someone must select the indicated hero or you will be unable to complete your mission!
Note: The core set includes two Leadership heroes (Abe and Maxine) who support the team with a balanced mix of abilities, a Close Combat hero (Shad) who excels at close quarters combat, a Marksmanship hero (Frank) who specializes at taking down targets at a distance, and a Demolitions hero (Don) who employs explosive ordnance to devastating effect. Note that only a single set of cards is provided for each role, however, so Abe and Maxine cannot participate in the same mission unless you have an extra set of cards.
Solitaire Game: Fireteam Zero is a squad-based game about a team of heroes working together to achieve a mission success, and many of their abilities are designed with this in mind. Consequently, if you are playing the game by yourself, you should select two heroes and play them both as if it were a two-player game.
3. Equip Heroes
Each player gathers the upgrade, action, and focus cards corresponding to their selected hero's role.
Each player selects any upgrade cards they are entitled to as specified by the Mission Briefing and shuffles them together with their action cards to form their action deck.
Note: Upgrade cards are marked with a star in the center and come in sets of four identical cards -- when you select an upgrade, shuffle all four cards of that type into your deck!
Each player selects any focus cards they are entitled to as specified by the Mission Briefing and places them face up on the table.
Note: Action cards (including upgrades) are the cards you'll play throughout the game to perform various actions. Focus cards remain in front of you for the entire mission and grant you special abilities!
Any remaining upgrade and focus cards will not be used in this mission and should be returned to the game box.
4. Prepare Game Board
Place the appropriate sector tiles into the proper configuration as described in the Mission Briefing.
- Place the 12 spawn tokens face up in the indicated locations in any order you choose.
- Place the exit point token in the indicated location, if one is specified.
- If the mission features a boss monster, place a power token where indicated to designate the location where it will later appear.
5. Prepare Threat Track
Place the Threat Track near the game board. Place the Threat Token on the first space of the track. Shuffle the appropriate twist cards specified by the Mission Briefing and place them face down near the Threat Track.
6. Gather Intel
Gather the monster reference cards and objective cards specified by the Mission Briefing and place them face up near the game board.
Note: Take note of the attribute printed on each monster's reference card. These are special rules unique to that monster which should be applied where appropriate.
Shuffle the event cards and draw the number specified by the Mission Briefing, returning the rest to the game box. Then, gather the discovery cards specified by the Mission Briefing and shuffle them together with the selected event cards to form the recon deck.
Note: The recon deck should always consist of exactly 12 cards!
7. Prepare the Lucky Coin
Place the Lucky Coin heads up near the game board.
8. Place Monsters
Gather the monster figures which make up the Spawn Pool as specified by the Mission Briefing. Roll the Spawn Die for each, placing that monster in the location which contains the corresponding spawn token.
Some missions may specify additional monsters to be placed in a Reserve Pool. These monster figures should be set aside for use later when needed to resolve special mission-specific effects.
9. Place Heroes
Place both specialist figures in the entry point indicated in the Mission Briefing, along with each player's hero figure.
Sequence of Play
Fireteam Zero is played out through a series of game rounds, each consisting of three phases resolved in the following order:
- The Tactics Phase, when the heroes draw new cards and have the option of playing a tactical response.
- The Hero Phase, when each player may move across the board and perform actions.
- The Threat Phase, when monsters move and attack, and new monsters enter the board. The Threat Track also advances during this phase, which can result in new game-changing disadvantages for the heroes.
Tactics Phase
During the Tactics Phase, perform the following steps in the order indicated. On the first round of the game, skip the first two steps and proceed directly to step 3.
1. Determine Start Player (skipped in first round)
The player who currently holds the Start Player Token passes it to the player to his left.
2. Play a Tactical Response (skipped in first round)
One player (and only one) may play a tactical response from his hand if he wishes (see "Tactical Response Cards"). If multiple players wish to play a tactical response and the group as a whole cannot agree on which of them will do so, the player who currently holds the Start Player Token has the final say.
A player whose hero has been knocked down (see "Knockdown") may not play a tactical response, nor can his hero be affected by such a card played by another player.
3. Draw Cards
Once any tactical response has been resolved (or a group decision has been made not to play one), each player who did not play a tactical response may draw sufficient action cards from his action deck to bring him up to his hand size (normally 5 cards). If anyone played a tactical response, that player does not draw any cards.
Note: Playing a tactical response can give you a powerful temporary advantage, but it also depletes your hand, making you more vulnerable to attack!
A player whose hero has been knocked down (see "Knockdown") may draw cards normally.
If your action deck becomes depleted, immediately reshuffle your discard pile to form a new deck.
Note: If a card effect instructs you to draw cards, you may do so even if it takes you over your normal hand size! You simply won't draw any cards during the Tactics Phase if you are already at (or over) this number.
Hero Phase
During the Hero Phase, each player acts in turn beginning with the player who currently holds the Start Player Token and proceeding clockwise around the table. On your turn, you may normally move your hero a distance equal to his speed and perform one action. Both moving and performing an action are optional, and you may perform your action either before or after moving, or even in the middle of movement.
If your hero has been knocked down (see "Knockdown"), you must choose at the start of your turn whether to leave him down and skip your turn or stand him up and take your turn normally.
Moving
When a hero moves, he moves from one adjacent location to another up to a distance equal to his speed. Your hero normally has a speed of two, meaning he may move a total distance of two spaces from his starting location.
Note: Note that locations are considered adjacent even if they only touch diagonally!
If a location is identified as difficult terrain, it costs a hero two moves to enter instead of just one. Both moves must be spent at the same time; you can't move halfway into a difficult location on one turn and then move the rest of the way on the next. Monsters are unaffected by difficult terrain and may move into such locations freely.
If a location is identified as impassible terrain, a hero may not enter it at all. Even monsters cannot enter impassible locations.
Guarding Specialists
When you move your hero out of a location containing one or more specialist figures, you may choose to bring any or all of those specialists along with you if you wish. If yours is the only hero in that location, you must bring any specialists with you -- you may never choose to leave them without a hero to guard them!
Important: This restriction applies even if your movement is involuntary. If a monster or event forces you to move to a different location, any specialists you are guarding must come with you unless there is another hero there to take charge of them.
Note: The specialist figures represent non-combatant mission specialists who accompany the team and must be protected (see "Specialists").
Fleeing
You may not normally move your hero out of a location which contains more monsters than active heroes. This restriction applies only to normal movement, deriving from your speed and made during your own turn, however -- any special one-time moves such as those granted by an event, a reaction, or a tactical response are not restricted by the presence of monsters.
Note: Note that the specialists are not considered "heroes" and do not count toward this comparison!
Performing Actions
You may normally perform only one action per turn. The two standard types of action available to you each turn are attacking and searching, but mission objectives will frequently provide additional possibilities. Certain focus cards might also grant you the ability to perform special actions unique to your hero.
Attacking
You may attack a monster by playing one or more cards and combining them as a single attack action. Each card played in this fashion must conform to two restrictions:
- All cards played must share the same attack type.
- The target must be within each card's attack range.
First, add together the attack strength of each card played to determine the total attack strength of the attack and roll that number of attack dice. Each hit symbol rolled which matches the attack type of the attack inflicts one damage upon the monster.
Important: Regardless of an attack's total attack strength, you may never roll more than 8 attack dice! Any attack strength in excess of 8 is therefore wasted.
Example: Frank plays Hydrostatic Shock and rolls 3 attack dice with an attack type of bullet. He rolls 3 bullet hits and inflicts 3 damage on his target.
Then, determine whether the amount of damage you've inflicted is sufficient to kill the monster. Each monster's reference card indicates its health as well as its resistance to each attack type (see "Resistance"). To kill the monster, you must inflict damage equal to or greater than its health after subtracting for any resistance.
Example: Frank's 3 bullet hits are just enough to overcome the corrupted animal's resistance and kill it. Had he rolled only 2 hits, he would not have inflicted enough damage to kill it after subtracting for its resistance.
All damage required to kill a monster must be inflicted in a single attack; any damage insufficient to kill it is lost and has no effect after that attack is resolved. If a monster is killed, remove it from the board and return it to the Spawn Pool (see "Spawn Pool") or Reserve Pool (see "Reserve Pool") as appropriate.
Note: Boss monsters are more difficult to kill and must be injured before they can be defeated (see "Boss Fights").
Resistance
Each monster's reference card indicates how much damage it resists when taking damage of a particular attack type. Any damage inflicted upon a monster is reduced by its resistance to that attack type.
Example: The corrupted animal requires 3 damage to kill using a brawl or bullet attack due to its 1 resistance to those attack types, but only 2 damage to kill using a bomb attack as it has no resistance to that type.
Some effects allow an attack to bypass a monster's resistance, meaning its resistance is ignored entirely.
Bonus Hits
Some cards provide bonus hits, which are added to any hits rolled on your attack dice. There is no limit to the total number of bonus hits which may be added to an attack.
Example: Shad plays Dual Pistols and rolls 2 attack dice with an attack type of bullet. He rolls 3 bullet hits which, added to the 2 bonus hits provided by his card, give him a total of 5 hits!
Boss Fights
Boss monsters are quite a bit tougher than minions and elites, and are not killed as easily as their lesser brethren. Inflicting damage upon a boss equal to or greater than its health doesn't actually kill it outright as it would a weaker monster, it merely injures it.
When a boss monster enters play, a number of power tokens are placed on its reference card as indicated on the card (usually 1 token for each hero in the game). Whenever an attack inflicts sufficient damage to injure a boss monster, remove one power token from its reference card. This represents the Artifact expending power to keep the Boss alive.
When the last token is removed, the boss monster has been defeated. Remove it from the board, but do not return it to the Spawn Pool (see "Spawn Pool").
Note: Defeating a boss monster almost always completes a mission objective, and usually results in immediate victory!
Terrain Effects
If a location is identified as cover terrain, any ranged attack targeting that location has its attack strength reduced by one die, to a minimum of zero. Attacks originating in the same location are not affected. Monsters and heroes both benefit from cover terrain.
If a location is identified as elevated terrain, any ranged attack originating in that location has its attack strength increased by one die if targeting a non-elevated location. Attacks targeting the same location (or any other elevated location) are not affected. Monsters and heroes both benefit from elevated terrain.
Explosives
Any hits inflicted with an attack type of bomb are applied to every figure in the target's location, both active heroes and monsters -- including the attacker!
Note: The specialists never take damage!
Special Attacks
Sometimes a specific mission or card effect may require you to attack things other than monsters, such as mission objectives or even your allies! You may do so by performing a normal attack action against your target as if it were a monster. Any damage you inflict upon another hero is resolved as if it had been inflicted by an attacking monster. When attacking something else, whatever instructed you to make the attack will explain how to resolve its effect on the target.
Henry
If Henry's specialist figure is in your location or any adjacent location when you perform an attack action, you may reroll one of your attack dice after rolling for your attack.
Searching
If your hero occupies a location containing a face up spawn token and no monsters, you may use your action to search that location. When you do so, turn the token face down to indicate that it has been searched and draw a card from the recon deck to determine what you find, resolving the card's effects immediately.
Completing Objectives
Mission objectives frequently require that the heroes search for discovery cards found in the recon deck. When found, these cards usually instruct you to place intel tokens on the related objective card (either immediately, or after performing some specified task) to indicate progress toward completing that objective. Once the indicated number of tokens has been placed on an objective card, that objective is complete.
Example: The heroes have already found one of the two discovery cards required to complete the Repair the Ferry objective. When they discover the Ferry Fuel card, they will place the second intel token on it and complete that objective!
Ambush!
If a recon card indicates that you are ambushed by a monster, spawn that monster in your location and activate it immediately. Take that monster from the Spawn Pool if possible. If this is not possible because all eligible monsters are already on the board, take one of those instead, selecting the one furthest away from your location.
Reactions may not be played in response to an ambush (see "Reactions").
Patty
If Patty's specialist figure is in your location or any adjacent location, you may search as a free action. These searches are resolved in the normal manner but do not count as your action for the turn, leaving you free to perform another action as well.
Threat Phase
During the Threat Phase, perform the following steps in the order indicated.
1. Advance the Threat Token
Advance the Threat Token one space along the Threat Track. If it reaches a space indicating that a new twist card should be drawn, draw and reveal a card from the twist deck, placing it face up on the Threat Track in the spot provided. Each twist card added to the Threat Track introduces a new rule which goes into effect immediately, making things more difficult for the heroes.
If the Threat Token reaches the last space on the Threat Track, it moves no further and no further twist cards are drawn. This means a maximum of four twist cards will ever be drawn in any one mission.
2. Activate Monsters
Activate each monster in turn, beginning with any minions before activating any elite monsters, and saving the boss (if there is one) for last. Within each type, you may activate the individual monsters in any order you choose. When a monster is activated, it moves and attacks in the following sequence:
I - Monster Movement
If there is already an active hero in the monster's current location, the monster does not move. Otherwise, it moves a distance up to its speed toward the closest active hero, moving from one adjacent location to another in the same manner as a hero. If it must choose between equidistant heroes, it moves toward the one earliest in turn order.
Monsters are unaffected by difficult terrain, but may never enter an impassible location.
II - The Activation Die
Roll the Activation Die to determine whether the monster gains any additional movement or utilizes its special ability.
- Blank: No effect.
- Move Symbol: The monster immediately moves one additional location using the normal rules for monster movement.
- Special Symbol: Consult the monster's reference card and resolve its special ability.
Example: The corrupted human rolls 2 attack dice when it attacks. If a special result is rolled when activating it, however, it inflicts 1 additional damage... assuming it finds a target!
III - Monster Attacks
After moving, a monster will always attack an active hero within range of its attack if it is capable of doing so. If it must choose between targets at different ranges, it will always choose the closest. If it must choose between targets at the same range, it will always choose the one earliest in turn order (but see "Taking One for the Team" below).
Roll a number of attack dice equal to the monster's attack strength. Each hit symbol rolled which matches the monster's attack type results in one hit upon the target hero, who must discard one action card of his choice for each such hit. If he does not have enough cards in hand to discard the required number, he is knocked down (see "Knockdown").
Example: The corrupted human rolls 2 attack dice with an attack type of brawl. It rolls 2 brawl hits, forcing its target to discard 2 cards.
Taking One for the Team
When a hero is targeted for an attack, any other active hero in the same location may voluntarily intercede, becoming the new target for the attack. This decision must be made before rolling for damage.
Note: Of course, this isn't much help when you're dealing with a bomb attack!
Explosives
As with attacks by heroes, any damage inflicted by a monster using a bomb attack is applied to every active hero in the target's location. Unlike hero attacks, monster attacks do not damage other monsters in the same location as their target!
Knockdown
If a hero is ever required to discard a greater number of cards than he currently has in hand, he discards his entire hand and is knocked down. Tip his hero figure onto its side until his next turn. Each time a hero is knocked down, the Lucky Coin is flipped tails up. If the Lucky Coin is already tails up, the players immediately fail the mission and lose the game!
If your hero has been knocked down, he is not considered an active hero. You may not play cards for any reason (including as a reaction), nor may your hero be damaged by any effect. When you begin your next turn you may choose to remain down and skip your turn or stand up and take your turn normally. Monsters will ignore a knocked down hero for purposes of movement and attack.
Note: Playing possum to avoid a second knockdown can sometimes be the difference between victory and defeat!
Unprotected Specialists
If the last active hero in a specialist's location is knocked down, the Threat Token is advanced one additional space along the Threat Track. If this causes a new twist card to be drawn, draw it immediately.
Note: Note that if your hero is the sole guard for both of the specialists, the Threat Token is advanced twice if you are knocked down!
3. Spawn Monsters (skipped if Boss in play)
Roll the Spawn Die for each available monster in the Spawn Pool, beginning with any minions before proceeding to any elite monsters. Add each monster figure to the location which contains the spawn token corresponding to the number rolled unless it is secured (see "Securing Spawn Points").
Securing Spawn Points
Any location containing at least one active hero and no monsters is secured against monster spawning (you may wish to place your hero figure on top of the spawn token as a reminder of this). If a secured location is rolled when rolling the Spawn Die to spawn a monster, roll again until an unsecured location is rolled.
Note: Secure those spawn points to avoid nasty surprises, soldier!
Boss Fights
If the mission features a boss monster, monsters will stop spawning once the boss monster enters play. For as long as the boss monster remains on the board, the Spawn Monsters step of the Threat Phase is skipped.
If the boss monster is defeated, monsters will resume spawning as normal if any objectives remain yet to be completed.
Mission Accomplished?
The heroes complete their mission and win the game immediately once they have achieved all the objectives specified for the mission in the Mission Briefing Book and reached the designated Exit Point with all heroes. If the mission does not designate an Exit Point, the heroes win immediately upon completing all of their objectives.
Note: If the mission designates an Exit Point, all heroes must reach it to complete the mission -- Fireteam Zero leaves no man behind!
The heroes fail the mission and lose immediately if a hero is ever knocked down while the Lucky Coin is tails up.
Additional Rules
Action Cards
Each of a hero's action cards features an attack section at the top of the card which is used when playing those cards as an attack action during the Hero Phase (see "Attacking"). In addition, each card has one of two other ways it can be played: either as a tactical response or as a reaction.
A player whose hero has been knocked down may not play cards for any reason, including as a tactical response or a reaction.
Tactical Response Cards
Tactical responses are played during the Tactics Phase (see "Play a Tactical Response"). They can have powerful effects that span the entire board, at the cost of denying the hero that plays one the opportunity to refill his hand for a turn.
Reaction Cards
Reactions can be played at any time, when the triggering event specified by the card occurs. There are only three restrictions on a player's ability to play a reaction:
- Each player may only play one reaction in response to a single triggering event.
- The target of the reaction (as specified by the card) must be within the indicated range.
- Reactions may not be played in response to an ambush.
Intel Tokens
Intel tokens serve a number of purposes in the game. These uses most commonly include:
- Being placed on objective cards to track progress toward completing an objective.
- Being placed on discovery cards to track progress toward resolving an encounter.
- Being placed on the board to represent things with which the heroes might interact.
Placing Intel Tokens on the Board
Any time you need to place intel tokens on the board to represent several different things at the same time, you can use the letters on the backs of the tokens to differentiate them. If you need help keeping track of which tokens go with which discovery card or objective, you can place a matching token on the corresponding card to help keep them straight.
Special Intel Tokens
Some missions may instruct you to place specific named tokens on the board, such as a Fire token or the Tanker Alpha token. Such instructions refer to special dedicated intel tokens provided to represent those things.
Objective Cards
Each mission features a number of objectives which must be completed in order to successfully finish the mission. These objectives come in the form of specific objective cards unique to that mission. Each objective card describes what must be accomplished in order to complete that objective.
Many objective cards indicate that a certain number of intel tokens must be placed on them in order to complete that objective. In some cases, the card itself may specify what must be done to place an intel token on it; in others, the heroes must search to find the required discovery cards which will supply those tokens (see "Recon Cards").
Some objective cards additionally indicate that the heroes may flip the Lucky Coin back to heads up once the objective has been completed. If it is already heads up when such an objective is completed, it simply remains heads up.
Example: The Repair the Ferry objective is complete once two intel tokens have been placed on it, at which point the heroes may flip the Lucky Coin back to heads if it is not already there.
Recon Cards
When a hero performs a search action, a card is drawn from the recon deck to determine the results of that search. This deck is constructed at the start of each mission from a mix of discovery and event cards.
Discovery Cards
Discovery cards represent the specific things the heroes are searching for in order to complete their mission objectives. You won't use all of them in every mission; each Mission Briefing specifies exactly which ones should be used in that mission.
Each discovery card in a mission is linked to one of that mission's objective cards. Most of them indicate that an intel token should be placed on this objective either as soon as the card is found or once some specified condition has been fulfilled.
Example: When the Ferry Fuel card is discovered, the heroes may place one intel token on the Repair the Ferry objective card.
Event Cards
Event cards represent things not directly related to the team's mission objectives which they might nevertheless stumble upon as they search the area. Some may be beneficial to the heroes, others...not so much. You won't use all of them in every mission; each Mission Briefing specifies how many random event cards should be used in that mission.
Specialists
The specialist figures represent non-combatant mission specialists who accompany the team and help them achieve their mission objectives. They cannot perform actions themselves, and can only move by accompanying a moving hero (see "Guarding Specialists"). Although they can never be targeted by an attack, their protection is still a priority as leaving one unprotected increases the threat level faced by the heroes (see "Unprotected Specialists").
Psychic Specialist: Patty
Division Zero Briefing: Patrick "Cake" Wolinsky Field Classification: Supernatural Locator, Remote Viewer
Analyst Notes: It's not a hoax. Fifty yards away, he doesn't know you're there. Closer than that, he can read the serial numbers off the money in your wallet... through twenty feet of steel and concrete. Recommend the testing facility be emptied of classified information immediately.
Remote Viewing -- It does not cost an action to search a spawn point.
If Patty's specialist figure is in your location or any adjacent location, you may perform search actions as a free action. These searches are resolved in the normal manner but do not count as your action for the turn, leaving you free to perform another action as well.
Lore Specialist: Henry
Division Zero Briefing: Henry "Professor" Monroe Field Classification: Occult Expert, Ritual Practitioner
Analyst Notes: Does he know his stuff? Hell, he corrected half the test material. But he wants no part of this. He demanded to be sent to the 366th Infantry instead. When the test administrator said no, he said something that didn't register on the recorder and the lights went out in the building. It's been a week and we still can't get them back on.
Find Weakness -- Allies may re-roll one attack die in combat.
If Henry's specialist figure is in your location or any adjacent location when you perform an attack action, you may reroll one of your attack dice after rolling for your attack.
The Lucky Coin
The Lucky Coin is a talisman of good fortune for the heroes. It is always heads up at the start of a mission, and is flipped tails up whenever a hero is knocked down. If a hero is ever knocked down when the Lucky Coin is already tails up, the heroes immediately fail the mission and lose the game! Fortunately, many mission objectives and even some events can flip the Lucky Coin back to heads up. If it is already heads up when such an objective is completed, it simply remains heads up.
The Spawn Pool
Each mission specifies a particular mix of monster figures which make up the Spawn Pool for that mission, representing the supply of monsters available to oppose the heroes. Any monsters placed on the board during Setup are taken from the Spawn Pool unless otherwise specified. Monsters which are killed are returned to the Spawn Pool, where they become available to return to the board during the Threat Phase (see "Spawn Monsters").
Reserve Pool
Some missions may specify additional monsters to be placed in a Reserve Pool during Setup. These monsters may be spawned under specific circumstances defined by the mission (often as the result of a discovery card) but are not considered part of the mission's Spawn Pool. Monsters in the Reserve Pool are spawned only when specifically indicated, not as part of the normal spawning of monsters during the Threat Phase, and should be returned to the Reserve Pool (not the Spawn Pool) when they leave play.
If you are instructed to add a monster from the Reserve Pool to the Spawn Pool, that monster becomes part of the Spawn Pool for the remainder of the mission, spawning normally during the Threat Phase and being returned to the Spawn Pool if killed.
Game Terms
- Action: An activity performed by a hero during the Hero Phase such as attack or search. A hero may normally perform only 1 action per turn.
- Action Card: A card from a player's action deck which is held in hand until played. Upgrade cards are a special type of action card.
- Action Deck: An individual player's deck of action cards.
- Activate: The process of resolving a monster's movement and attack.
- Activation Die: The 6-sided die rolled while activating each monster to determine its behavior.
- Active Hero: A hero who is not currently knocked down.
- Ally: Any hero other than your own.
- Ambush: The spawning and immediate activation of a monster in a hero's location. Reactions may not be played in response to an ambush.
- Attack Action: An action in which one or more action cards are played as an attack against a monster.
- Attack Dice: The 6-sided dice rolled when resolving an attack.
- Attack Range: The maximum range for a particular attack.
- Attack Strength: The number of attack dice rolled when resolving an attack.
- Attack Type: The type of damage (brawl, bullet, or bomb) inflicted by an attack.
- Attribute: A permanent effect unique to each type of monster.
- Battlefield: The entire game board for a mission.
- Bomb: An attack type representing explosive attacks which damage all heroes (and, for hero attacks only, all monsters) in the affected location.
- Boss: The classification of the most powerful monsters, typically encountered only in the final mission of an operation.
- Brawl: An attack type representing powerful physical attacks, typically in close combat.
- Bullet: An attack type representing precision, high-energy attacks, typically firearms.
- Discovery Card: A type of recon card representing encounters necessary for the completion of mission objectives.
- Elite: The classification of the strongest varieties of monsters other than bosses.
- Entry Point: The location where the heroes begin a mission.
- Event Card: A type of recon card representing random events encountered when searching.
- Exit Point: The location which the heroes must reach to complete a mission.
- Figure: The physical game piece representing a hero, specialist, or monster.
- Fleeing: The process of moving a hero out of a location which contains a monster using normal movement.
- Focus Card: A card placed permanently face up in front of a player to indicate a special ability.
- Free Action: An action performed by a hero during the Hero Phase which does not count against the number of actions they are allowed to perform (normally 1).
- Guard: A hero occupying a location which contains a specialist figure.
- Hand: The action cards in a player's hand which are available to be played. Each player normally has a hand size of 5 cards, although this is not a strict limit.
- Health: The amount of damage necessary to kill a monster (or, in the case of a boss monster, injure it).
- Hero: The character played by a particular player, represented on the board by a hero figure.
- Hero Reference Card: The card describing a particular hero's abilities.
- Hero Phase: The portion of the game round when heroes move and perform actions.
- Hit: A successful result rolled on an attack die, inflicting 1 damage.
- Injury: The effect upon a boss monster when it takes damage which would otherwise kill it, causing it to instead lose a power token.
- Intel Tokens: Tokens used to track various pieces of information related to completing objectives.
- Knocked Down Hero: A hero who has been temporarily incapacitated.
- Location: An individual section of the board in which figures and tokens may be placed.
- Lucky Coin: The double-sided token used to track how close the heroes are to failing their mission.
- Minion: The classification of the weakest varieties of monsters.
- Mission: A single game, during which the heroes attempt to complete a series of objectives.
- Mission Briefing: The section of the Mission Briefing Book detailing the specifics of each mission.
- Mission Briefing Book: The book containing descriptions of each mission and operation.
- Monster: A hostile creature represented on the board by a monster figure.
- Monster Reference Card: The card describing a particular type of monster's abilities.
- Move: The process by which a figure is moved from one location to another.
- Objective Card: A card describing one of the objectives the heroes must complete to succeed at their mission.
- Operation: A linked series of missions.
- Power Tokens: Tokens used to indicate where a boss monster will eventually be spawned, and to track injuries inflicted upon it once it does so.
- Range: The distance from one location to another in terms of the number of locations one would have to enter to get from one to the other (ignoring terrain).
- Ranged Attack: An attack against a target in a different location.
- Reaction: An action card played for its reaction effect.
- Recon Card: A card drawn from the recon deck when resolving a search.
- Recon Deck: The deck from which recon cards are drawn when resolving a search.
- Reserve Pool: A set of monster figures not included in a mission's Spawn Pool but available to be spawned as needed by certain mission-specific effects.
- Resistance: The amount subtracted from any damage inflicted upon a monster, based on its attack type.
- Role: The unique skillset (close combat, demolitions, leadership, or marksmanship) possessed by a particular hero, which determines which set of action, upgrade, and focus cards they use.
- Round: A segment of the game consisting of a Tactics Phase, Hero Phase, and Threat Phase.
- Search Action: An action in which a location containing a face up spawn token is searched in order to draw a recon card.
- Sector: An individual game board tile.
- Secured Spawn Point: A spawn point containing an active hero and no monsters.
- Spawn: The process of bringing a new monster figure onto the board.
- Spawn Die: The 12-sided die rolled to determine where a monster will spawn.
- Spawn Point: A location containing a spawn token.
- Spawn Pool: The set of monster figures available to be spawned repeatedly onto the board in a particular mission.
- Spawn Tokens: The numbered, double-sided tokens which determine where monsters will spawn and track locations which have been searched.
- Special Ability: A special monster effect triggered by the activation die.
- Specialist: A figure not belonging to any specific player which confers advantages to nearby heroes.
- Specialist Reference Card: The card describing the game effects of a particular specialist.
- Speed: The distance a hero or monster may move each turn. Heroes normally have a speed of 2.
- Start Player Token: The token used to designate the current start player.
- Tactical Response: An action card played for its tactical response effect.
- Tactics Phase: The portion of a game round when tactical responses are played.
- Terrain: Special game effects tied to specific locations on the board.
- Threat Phase: The portion of a game round when monsters move and attack.
- Threat Token: The token which is moved along the threat track in order to introduce new twist cards into the game.
- Threat Track: The track along which the threat token is moved in order to introduce new twist cards into the game.
- Turn: A segment of the Hero Phase during which a single player resolves their hero's actions.
- Twist Card: A card drawn from the twist deck when triggered by the threat track.
- Twist Deck: The deck from which twist cards are drawn when triggered by the threat track.
- Unblockable Damage: Damage which cannot be reduced or prevented by any means.
- Upgrade Card: A special type of action card gained in sets of four during the later missions of an operation.
A game by Mike Langlois & Christian Leonhard. Art by Loïc Muzy. Layout by Olivier Trocklé & Christian Grussi. Technical proofreading by Grégory Privat.
Special thanks to all of the Kickstarter backers for making this game possible! Not just for the funding needed to manufacture it, but also for the amazing outpouring of support, advice, and feedback. We quite literally could not have done it without you! Additional thanks go to Phillip Barrett for his help on this rulebook and the missions, Rafael Cordero for being our Chief Ambassador to the world at large, and Eddy "Cipher" Hamilton, our Lead Playtester! And an extra special shout out to the gang in the Kickstarter comments for keeping us on our toes and cheering us on!
© 2015 Emergent Games -- www.emergent-games.com © 2015 Play & Win -- www.playandwingames.com
Quick Reference
Terrain Effects
- Difficult: Costs a hero two moves to enter instead of just one. Monsters are unaffected by difficult locations and may move into them freely!
- Impassible: A hero may not enter it at all. Even monsters cannot enter impassible locations.
- Elevated: Any ranged attack originating in a location identified as elevated terrain has its attack strength increased by one die if targeting a non-elevated location. Attacks targeting the same location (or any other elevated location) are not affected.
- Cover: Any ranged attack targeting a location identified as cover terrain has its attack strength reduced by one die, to a minimum of zero. Attacks originating in the same location are not affected.
Sequence of Play
Tactics Phase
- Determine Start Player (skipped on first round) -- Pass the start player token to the left.
- Play a Tactical Response (optional, skipped on first round) -- One player may play a tactical response.
- Draw Action Cards -- Draw up to hand size (normally 5) if you didn't play a tactical response.
Hero Phase
In clockwise order, each player may move and perform one of the following actions:
- Attack a monster
- Search a spawn point
- Any action provided by an objective or focus card
Threat Phase
- Advance the Threat Token -- Advance the threat track by one and reveal a new twist card if indicated.
- Activate Monsters -- Activate each monster in turn, beginning with minions and ending with the boss.
- I. Move Monster -- Monster moves its speed toward nearest hero.
- II. Roll the Activation Die -- Monster might get an extra move or trigger its special ability.
- III. Resolve Monster's Attack -- If a hero is knocked down, flip the coin and advance the threat track.
- Spawn Monsters (skipped if Boss in play) -- Respawn any dead monsters.