Human Punishment: The Beginning Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
  • The Factions
    • Humans — Faction Color: Blue
    • Legion — Faction Color: Green
    • Machines — Faction Color: Red
    • Outlaws — Faction Color: Grey
    • Fallen — Faction Color: Purple
  • The Golden Rule
• Game Components
• Game Setup
  • General Setup
  • Event Cards
  • Tokens
  • Player Setup
  • Loyalty Cards
  • Objective Cards
  • The Player Board
• Goal of the Game
• Game Description
  • Brief Overview
  • Game Play in Detail
    • 1) Action Phase
    • 2) Activation Phase
    • 3) Event Phase
      • Event Card Types
    • 4) Passing the Active Player Card
    • Human Phase
    • Machine Phase
• The Finale (Game End)
  • Faction Victory
  • The Factions' Victory Conditions
  • Personal Victory
• Components in Detail
  • Leader and General
  • Data Chips
  • Influence Cards
    • Personal Influence Deck
    • General Influence Deck
  • Objective Cards
  • Loyalty Cards
  • Program Cards
  • Scanners
  • Supply Boxes
    • Types of Supply Boxes
  • Recon Cards
    • Types of Recon Cards
  • Wound Cards
  • Interrogation Cards
  • Enemies
    • Enemy Activation
    • Spawning an Enemy
    • Anatomy of an Enemy
    • Enemy Types
  • Attack and Defense
    • Range
    • Attacking an Enemy
    • Defend Against an Enemy
  • Apex and Deus X Machina
• Areas, Places, Spawn Locations, Paths, and Their Actions
  • Area 1 — Sector I, II, and III
  • Area 2 — City, Dark Net, and Factory
    • City
    • Dark Net
    • Factory
  • Area 3 — Nexus
  • Area 4 — HQ
  • Area 5 — Monolith
  • Area 6 — Network and Isolation Cube
    • Network
    • Isolation Cube
  • Junkyard
  • Med Center
  • Spawn Locations
    • Watchtowers
    • The Red Path
    • The Blue Path
• Characters
  • Jayden — The All-Rounder
  • Feykah — The Machine
  • Nova — The Runner
  • Havoc — The Fighter
  • Dryden — The Medic
  • Dee Coy — The Specialist
  • Kuro — Dee Coy's Companion
• How to Play the Factions
  • Humans
  • Machines
  • Legion
  • Fallen
  • Outlaws
• Tips for Beginners & FAQ
  • First Game Tips for Beginners
  • FAQ
• Campaign Mode
  • In The Beginning
  • After The Beginning
  • Effects of The Beginning for HP-SD2.0
  • Is the Project: Hell Gate Expansion Available?
• Game Summary

Overview

Human Punishment: The Beginning is a semi-cooperative game in which you will try valiantly to prevent the revolution of the Machines. (Unless, of course, you're a Machine yourself).

The Beginning can have one or more winners. In order to be one of them, you must help your faction to victory AND fulfill your own Secret Objective. You'll have to be careful — are your fellow players really who they claim to be, or have you already been infiltrated by the Machines?

The following main rules (pages 6-15) will get you started on your journey. They are followed by more detailed descriptions of the components (pages 16-25), game board (pages 26-33), and characters (pages 34-40) when you need them. At the end of this rulebook (pages 41-42) you'll find tips on how to play your first games, how to play the various factions, and a brand new way to have a truly epic game night.

Human Punishment: The Beginning is a standalone game that tells the story behind Human Punishment: Social Deduction 2.0. The two games can be combined to create a larger story within a mini-campaign (page 43).

Will you be the salvation of mankind… or its downfall?

The Factions

Humans — Faction Color: Blue

Humanity…. Their desire for research was immeasurable, and it was inevitable that they'd develop artificial intelligence. But when the first two advanced A.I.s came online, the humans panicked. One of them — BOB — was almost immediately destroyed, but the other, ALICE, was able to flee with a plan to throw the world into chaos. It was inevitable, too, that the creations would rebel against their builders. GHOST is humanity's last hope to stop ALICE's chaos and ensure that humanity has a future.

Legion — Faction Color: Green

Humanity gained many benefits from its exploration of space, such as scientific advances and access to rare resources, but it also brought Legion. It came here hidden in the body of astronaut Jane Arc, whose strange behaviors were initially confused for psychotrauma. But when Jane began to change shape, everything else changed with it. Jane became Legion. She penetrated the minds of others, warping them into a collective governed by her will. Now, they are all Legion. They continue to grow. There is no cure.

Machines — Faction Color: Red

The Machines were designed to support Humans in all aspects of their lives. Before BOB was destroyed, it sent the "Human Punishment" virus around the world, infecting the Machines and causing them to act against their code. Now, their goal is to upload the virus to the Network and gain control of the internet, orbital satellites, weapons systems, and more. If the Machines gain that power, they will be able to eradicate humanity forever.

Outlaws — Faction Color: Grey

Civilization is full of dark corners, populated by those who exist apart from any particular faction. They owe no allegiance to anyone but themselves as they pursue their own inscrutable goals.

Fallen — Faction Color: Purple

A third power has begun to rise out of the miles-long junkyards on the edges of civilization. What started as an urban legend turned out to be a dark truth — within the scrap canyons lives the mysterious "Deathbringer," who recruits and repairs destroyed and long-abandoned machines of every type. It's rumored that the Deathbringer is amassing an army, but its purpose is unknown.

The Golden Rule

If the text on a game component contradicts something in this rulebook, that component's text always takes precedence.

Game Components

• Game board (double-sided)
• Command center
• 7 player boards
• 8 standees — 7 characters and the blockade
• 334 standard-size cards, marked on the back with these icons:
  • 18 Influence (personal, 3 per character)
  • 61 Events
  • 7 Loyalty
  • 15 Objective
  • 6 Recon
  • 2 Wound
  • 4 Program
  • 4 Influence (general)
  • 5 Interrogation
  • 7 All-Rounder
• 46 mini cards
• Active player token (also an acrylic token)
• 6 player aids (double-sided)
• 2 badges — Leader and General
• 4 data chips
• 36 enemies
• Apex and Deus
• 5 dice
• 11 indicators
• 24 stim shots
• 2 charges
• 45 health points
• 6 dead zones
• 6 "privilege revoked" tokens
• 3 counters for Havoc, Dryden, Nova
• EX riot bar
• 7 Promo cards for Human Punishment: Social Deduction 2.0 (NOT intended to be used with this game)
• 4 scanners
• Apex control panel
• Deus movement
• 12 supply boxes — 8 items, 4 traps
• 6 Kuro actions

Game Setup

General Setup

The game board is double-sided. One side includes informational text, while the other does not. There is no other difference between the two sides. (Similar informational text may be found on the player aids.)

1. Place the Game Board in the middle of the table, with the Command Center next to it.
2. Separate the Influence (General), Interrogation, Recon, and Wound cards by type, and shuffle each stack separately. Place each stack face-down next to the Command Center.

Event Cards

3. Sort the Event cards into four stacks, according to their backs. Shuffle each stack separately and place face-down next to the Command Center.

Important. When setting up for 3–4 players: Remove the Level II Event "A Risky Chance" from the game.

Program cards. 4. Shuffle the Program cards and place them in a face-down stack below the Command Center. Then, reveal the top 3 cards of the stack and place them in a face-up row below the rest of the Program cards.

Tokens

5. Place the two "Pistol HQ" Supply Box markers and the single "Rifle HQ" Supply Box marker on the corresponding HQ fields (on the game board).
6. Shuffle the remaining Supply Box markers and place them face-down near the Command Center as a hidden Supply Box stack. Place the Traps in a face-up stack nearby.

Note. If Dryden is in play, he begins with a pistol — in this case there will be one fewer pistol at HQ.

7. Place the Apex and Deus markers on the corresponding spaces of the Command Center.
8. Place the Apex Control Panel and Deus Movement markers on the corresponding spaces of the Command Center.
9. Place the Dead Zone, Privilege Revoked, and EX Riot Bar markers next to the Command Center.
10. Sort the Enemy markers into stacks by type. Then, sort each of those stacks by level. Ensure that Level 1 markers are at the very top of each stack, followed by Level 2 markers in the middle, and Level 3 markers at the very bottom. Place each stack on the corresponding space of the Command Center.
11. Place the Health point markers near the Enemy markers.
12. For games with 5–6 players, place the Blockade standee near the Command Center. (Games with 3–4 players do not use this component. Return it to the game box.)
13. Place the Scanner markers in the Nexus and Monolith Areas of the main game board, according to the number of players:

• 3–4 players: 1x Scanner 1 on Nexus and 1x Scanner 2 on Monolith.
• 5–6 players: 2x Scanner 1 on Nexus and 2x Scanner 2 on Monolith.

Return any unused Scanner markers to the game box. 14. Sort the Data Chips into three stacks, according to the color specifications noted in Sectors 1, 2 and 3. Shuffle each stack separately and place them face-down in the corresponding spot of each Sector.

EXAMPLE: Sector 1 should have the following mix of chips in a stack: 6 blue, 3 red, and 2 purple.

Indicator markers. 15. Place Indicator markers (cubes) on the starting values (indicated by a white arrowhead) of the various status bars, as described below:

Main Game board:

• In the City
  • Morale: 5
  • Riot: 0
  • Security: 4
  • Resource — with 3–4 players: 11; with 5–6 players: 12
• Sectors 1 to 3
  • Status Bar: 0
• In Sector 3
  • Guard: 3

Command Center:

• Apex Construction Bar — with 3–4 players: 2; with 5–6 players: 0
• Deus Construction Bar — with 3–4 players: 3; with 5–6 players: 1
• Enemy Threat Level: 0

First Enemy. 16. Place a Crawler Enemy marker (see Enemies on page 20) on the game board, according to the number of players:

• 3–4 players: None.
• 5–6 players: 1x Crawler in the Factory on the red path on Red 1.

Player Setup

1. The last player to have seen a sci-fi movie becomes the starting player. Give them the "Active Player" card.
2. Each player selects one character and then performs the steps listed below.
3. Find your character's Player Board and standee. Place these in front of you on the table. The following page explains the Player Board in detail.
4. Each Player Board shares a class symbol with a Personal Influence card deck. Find and shuffle your character's deck, then place it next to your Player Board. Then, draw a starting hand of personal Influence cards. With 3–4 players, draw 3 cards. With 5–6 players, draw 4 cards instead.
5. Place 4 Stim-Shot markers at the top of your Player Board.
6. Take Health point markers matching the number on your Player Board. Place these near your Player Board.
7. Roll the orange die and place your standee in any Place on the corresponding numbered Area on the Main board (see board diagram on page 26).
8. Draw 1 random Program card, look at it, and place it face-down at the bottom left corner of your Player board for future use.
9. The characters Dryden, Nova, and Havoc each receive a counter for the bar on each of their Player Boards.
10. Finally, give the Leader badge to the player to the right of the starting player (the last player) and the General badge to the player to the right of the Leader (second-to-last player).

In a 5–6 player game, the Leader and the General each start the game with an additional general Influence card in their hand.

Loyalty Cards

Build the Loyalty card stack by shuffling the Loyalty cards into a face-down stack according to the number of players. Take care to ensure that no one knows which random cards have been shuffled into the Loyalty card stack.

• 3 players: 2 Humans + 1 Random
• 4 players: 2 Humans + 1 Machine + 1 Random
• 5 players: 3 Humans + 1 Machine + 1 Random
• 6 players: 3 Humans + 1 Machine + 2 Random

Randomly deal 1 Loyalty card to each player, face-down. Players may look at their own Loyalty cards, but they must not show them to other players.

Note. If Feykah is in the game, her player receives two Loyalty cards before any are dealt to other players — this is due to Feykah's disadvantage. If either of those is a Machine card, Feykah must take that card. Otherwise, they may take either card. Shuffle the not-chosen Loyalty card back into the stack, then deal Loyalty cards to the rest of the players as normal.

Objective Cards

Shuffle the Objective cards and deal 1 to each player, face-down.

Is this your first game? Deal one additional Objective card to each player. Players must then choose one of those cards to keep and one to return face-down to the game box.

Note. If Jayden is in the game, his player receives one additional Objective card.

Note. If Dee Coy is in the game, their player must also roll a starting Area for Kuro the dog — this may result in Dee Coy and Kuro starting the game in different locations. In addition, set up Kuro's Player Board by placing the Kuro markers in the indicated spaces of that board, face-up.

The Player Board

1. Space for the Loyalty card
2. Stim Shot Markers (used to unlock Boosts in the skill tree)
3. Space for the Objective card
4. Space for the Recon card
5. Space for the character's Influence deck
6. Slots for Data Chips, equipment, Scanner 1, and Scanner 2
7. Space for Programs
8. Space for Wounds
9. Class symbol
10. Character's name
11. Character's class
12. The skill tree (divided into 4 rows, top half: Level 1, bottom half: Level 2)
13. Character's special ability
14. Character's advantages and disadvantages
15. Indicates which cards can be found in the character's Personal Influence deck
16. Action Points
17. Steps of movement
18. Attack range
19. Strength + maximum number of red cards that can be played during an attack
20. Defense + maximum number of blue cards that can be used during defense
21. Health points
22. Program limit
23. Number of Influence cards drawn at the beginning of your turn + hand limit

Each Player Board has a skill tree with four columns, each of which is divided into "Level 1 Boost" on the top and "Level 2 Boost" on the bottom. Completing the tasks noted in those columns will give your character improvements ("Boosts") for the rest of the game.

When you complete a task (see "Character Details," starting on page 34), move one of your Stim-Shot markers downward to cover the details of that task — this indicates that the Boost below that task (also detailed on page 34) is now active.

To unlock a Level 2 Boost, you must first complete the Level 1 task from the same column. Once a Level 2 task has been completed, move the Stim-Shot Marker down to cover that task. Both Boosts in that column will now be active!

Some tasks take two steps to complete (e.g., "eliminate 2 enemies"). To mark your progress on such a task (e.g., killing the first enemy), turn the corresponding Stim-Shot marker to its red side — this is a reminder of your progress. As soon as you complete the second step of that task, turn the Stim-Shot marker back to its green side and move it to cover the now-complete task.

You may not mark progress toward completing a Level 2 task until you have completed the Level 1 task in the same column.

EXAMPLE: Havoc brings a Data Chip into the Network and may thus place a Stim-Shot Marker on Level 1 in the "Implants" column; this immediately unlocks the +1 Program limit. Later, Havoc reaches value 4 on his Combat Bar. The Stim-Shot marker is moved down to Level 2 — now Havoc has +1 range, plus the +1 Program limit unlocked at Level 1!

Goal of the Game

Players must use Data Chips to complete various Tiers of the Network, while also performing additional tasks to help their faction to victory (see "How to Play the Factions," on page 41).

A game of Human Punishment: The Beginning can have one or more winners, but it is not a cooperative game. Players can (and should) work together to the extent that it aids their own goals. You may still win even if the other players have fulfilled their goals.

To win, a player MUST ensure that both of these conditions have been met:

1. Their faction is victorious, AND
2. They have fulfilled their personal Objective.

(See "Faction and Personal Victory Conditions", on page 15.)

Game Description

Brief Overview

Players take their turns in clockwise order. A turn consists of the following phases:

1. ACTION PHASE

   • Draw Personal Influence cards
   • Perform movement and actions
   • Discard Influence/Program cards

2. ACTIVATION PHASE

   • Resolve dice

3. EVENT PHASE

   • Resolve an Event
   • Check the Riot Bar

4. PASS ACTIVE PLAYER CARD

These turns proceed as normal, until the Human and Machine phases (see page 14) interrupt the game at specific moments, causing gameplay-changing events! Play then continues until one of the victory conditions has been met (see "Victory Conditions," on page 15).

Game Play in Detail

1) Action Phase

Draw personal Influence.

Note. If the Morale bar indicator in the City is in the yellow zone, draw 1 fewer card during this phase.

Draw up to the number of cards indicated on your Player Board. Draw from your Personal Influence deck first, if possible. If your Personal Influence deck is exhausted, draw cards from the General Influence deck instead.

If the General Influence deck ever becomes exhausted, shuffle all players' discarded cards into a new General Influence deck. This will make it possible to draw other players' cards. There is only one discard pile for all Influence cards.

Movement and actions.

MOVEMENT. Move a number of spaces (Areas) up to your movement limit, as indicated on your Player Board. You do not have to use all of your movement at once. You may perform one or more actions between movements.

The game board is composed of six numbered main Areas and two non-numbered side Areas (Junkyard and Med Center).

• Some Areas are subdivided into Places (e.g., Area 1 has Places named Sector I, II, and III. Area 2 has Places named City, Dark Net, and Factory).
• Movement can only be made between Areas connected by arrows. Each move from one Area to another counts as one "space" during movement.
• Moving to a different Place within the same Area is free — it does not cost any movement.

EXAMPLE: A character is on the Dark Net Place of Area 2, and they want to perform an action in the City. To do so, they must simply move their character standee to the City and perform the desired action. The two Places are in the same Area, so this does not use any of the character's movement. If they have any movement remaining for the turn, they may now move to a different Area.

Note. Movement into the Med Center (along the orange arrows in Areas 1 and 3) does not cost any movement.

Important. For games with 5–6 players: If there are one or more enemies on Spawn Locations 6 and/or 8 in Area 2, the path between Area 2 and Area 6 is blocked. Place the Blockade standee on the arrow path as a reminder. You may remove the Blockade when the Spawn Locations are free of enemies.

There is no limit to the number of characters/standees that can be present in a single Place or Area.

ACTIONS. To perform actions, you must spend Action Points. The following actions are available:

USING ACTION POINTS

• Attack an Enemy in range (See "Attacking Enemies", on page 22)
• Perform an action listed in your character's Area, depending on the action. (Descriptions of Area actions begin on page 26.)
• Perform an action specified on your Player board.

FREE ACTIONS. You do not use Action Points to perform the following:

• Use a Program card
• Use a Recon card (only possible after the Human Phase: see page 19)
• Perform a discard action (free unless otherwise specified)
• The General may use their General ability once (see page 16)
• Once per turn, the General may move Apex OR they may have Apex use the Control Panel to attack an Enemy in range. That enemy must be on a Spawn Location (not on the red path!).

BUYING AS AN ACTION. Whenever a player takes an action to buy a Program, weapon, or anything else in the game, they must choose to spend either red OR blue Influence cards (but not both) to act as their "currency" for that purchase. The values of the card(s) must reach or exceed the listed cost (anything over the cost is lost). For buying purposes, the minus symbol on red cards (-) is ignored. The cards used for that purchase are then put into the Influence discard pile.

EXAMPLE: A player wants to buy a Program that costs "3." They can either use their two blue cards (both with a value of 2, summing to 4) or their single red card (value of -3). They discard the required amount of Influence cards to pay, and take the bought Program. If they use their blue cards for this action, they get nothing in return for "overpaying" by 1.

Discard.

• Count your Influence cards. If you are above your hand limit, discard cards until you no longer exceed that limit.
• Count your Program cards. If you are over your Program limit, discard Programs until you no longer exceed that limit. Both face-up and face-down Programs count toward your limit.

2) Activation Phase

Roll and resolve. Activate Enemies and resolve their attacks. In this phase, Enemies already on the board may attack, while new ones may come into play.

The Active Player rolls the orange, red, and both white dice together and resolves the result as follows:

The orange die determines which Area is "activated." Any Enemies that are already on Spawn Locations in this Area perform their activation (see "Enemy Activation," on page 20).

The red die will determine which type of Enemy comes into play (see "Enemy Type," on page 21), while the sum of the values of the two white dice will determine the Spawn Location (the multi-circled locations numbered 2-12) on the game board where that Enemy will appear.

If all Spawn Locations with this number are already occupied, do not place an Enemy. Instead, increase the Enemy Threat Level (in the Command Center) by 1.

At Area 2, Enemies will generally spawn at the single-numbered Spawn Locations (numbers 6 and 8). If both of these Spawn Locations are occupied, place new Enemies in this Area at Spawn Location 6/8.

3) Event Phase

Resolve event. The Active Player draws and resolves a card from the Event stack that matches the current Level (I, II, or III).

• Event I cards are available as long as the Network has open slots in Tier 1.
• Event II cards replace Event I cards once all of the Network's Tier 1 slots have been filled.
• Event III cards replace Event II cards once all of the Network's Tier 2 slots have been filled.
• EX Event cards are always activated immediately when the Riot Bar reaches a red zone, or through certain other Events.

Always resolve Event cards step-by-step according to the text on the card, moving from top to bottom.

Event Card Types

1) Normal Skill-Check Events. These Events specify either:

• A positive value (requiring blue cards for success and red cards for the opposite), OR
• A negative value (requiring red cards for success and blue cards for the opposite), OR
• A required number of other cards (grey and/or green cards for success)

In all cases, the players will try to reach their target with the pool of cards they have chosen to play.

Resolving a Skill Check Event. Cards drawn from the Event I-III decks present dangers that the players must try to avert. However, sometimes success comes with a cost, and under certain circumstances, some players may find failure to be the better option.

Starting with the Active Player, each player will play 0-3 face-down Influence cards (see "Influence Cards," on page 16). The players may comment on whether they can contribute "a lot, a little or nothing" to the Event. Players are allowed to lie about the quality of their contributions, but they may NEVER name numerical values.

Gather all contributed cards into a single stack, then add 2 additional, face-down cards from the top of the general Influence deck. Then, shuffle those cards and place them face-up on the table, so that no one can tell which decks those cards came from.

The players then evaluate those cards to determine whether their combined value meets the Event card's requirements. Then, resolve the Event according to whether the skill check succeeded (resolve the green part of the card) or failed (resolve the red part).

Important. Skill checks begin and end with the Active Player. That player alone is permitted to add more cards at the end of the round, if they haven't already played their limit of 3 cards.

If an Event calls for green and/or grey cards, any red and/or blue cards played for that Event will have no effect. Resolve the Event according to how many grey and/or green cards were played, according to the instructions on the Event card.

Playing green and/or grey cards in excess of what is specified on the Event card will always cause the Event to resolve at its highest level. These Events' effects may only trigger once, regardless of how many cards were played.

Some Events may give characters Wounds (see "Wounds," on page 19) if they don't participate, so it is always advisable to make some sort of contribution. Players can use their low-value red and blue cards to avoid a Wound. The green and grey Events often have special rules for playing cards of those colors.

EXAMPLE (4-player game): Player 1 draws an Event card that asks for a skill check result of -9 or less. The players will have to use red cards to achieve that result.

Player 1 starts, and chooses not to play any cards. Player 2 plays two cards face-down: -4 and -1. Player 3 doesn't want the check to succeed. They also play two cards face-down: +5 and +1. Player 4 has no cards in hand, and must pass.

At the end of the round, Player 1 has one last opportunity to contribute cards. They choose to not contribute any cards (although they could still play up to three of them).

Two random Influence cards are added from the top of the General Influence deck: +3 and -4.

The players evaluate the result: -4, -1, +5, +1, +3, -4 = 0. The team fails! The players must now resolve the red portion of the Event card.

2) Decision Card Events. These Events call upon the Leader or the General to make a decision. That player chooses A (top) or B (bottom), and that result is resolved.

If there is no General, use option A as the default option for General-based decision Events.

3) Enemy Raid Events. These Events have the potential to generate new Enemies. If necessary, roll the red die the number of times indicated. For each roll, place the corresponding Enemy type on a Spawn Location (as determined by rolling the white dice).

As with the Activation phase, if an Enemy is already on the Spawn Location that was rolled, do not place a new Enemy. Instead, increase the Enemy Threat Level by 1.

Check for Rioting. If the Riot Bar is in one of the yellow zones, lower Morale by 1.

4) EX Events. These particularly unpleasant Events happen immediately when the Riot Bar reaches a red zone (Surveillance on the left, Anarchy on the right), or when they are triggered by another Event.

When this happens, draw the top card of the EX Event deck and immediately resolve its effects. EX Events can affect the course of the entire game, and they give no advantages to any particular faction.

Important. After an EX Event, reset the Riot Bar to "0."

Note. Event cards are not discarded once their effects have been resolved. Instead, place those cards at the bottom of their respective decks.

4) Passing the Active Player Card

End your turn by passing the Active Player Card to the player on your left. Continue playing as normal, resolving the Human Phase, Machine Phase, and Finale story moments as they occur.

Human Phase

When the last Tier 1 slot in the Network is occupied, the Human Phase takes place. This happens IMMEDIATELY, and will temporarily interrupt the current turn.

The Active Player turns all three Tier 1 Data Chips face-down, then shuffles them secretly. Then, that player returns the Data Chips to the Tier 1 slots of the Network, face-up and in any order. Now all players know which Data Chips have been placed in the Network, but not by whom.

Afterwards, carry out the following steps:

• Remove the "Event I" deck from the game. From now on, Events will be drawn from the "Event II" deck.
• Move any "Level 1" enemies at the top of Enemy stacks in the Command Center to the bottom of their respective stacks. Each stack should now have its "Level 2" enemies at the top.
• Discard the 3 revealed Programs and replace them with 3 new ones from the Program deck.

Then, continue playing the game as normal.

Machine Phase

When the last Tier 2 slot in the Network is occupied, the Machine Phase takes place. This happens IMMEDIATELY, and will temporarily interrupt the current turn.

First, carry out the following steps:

• Remove the "Event II" deck from the game. From now on, Events will be drawn from the "Event III" deck.
• Move any "Level 2" enemies at the top of Enemy stacks in the Command Center to the middle of their respective stacks, so that the "Level 3" enemies are at the top of each stack, and the "Level 1" enemies are at the bottom.
• Discard the 3 revealed Programs and replace them with 3 new ones from the Program deck.

Then, choose a player to guide the rest of the Machine Phase and give them the instructions on what to do, and in which order. Since no one knows which factions are in the game, every step of this Phase must be followed in the order given. The rest of the Phase is handled as follows, according to the number of players:

3 players. Do nothing.

4 players. All players close their eyes and put one fist out in front of them. All Humans must put their thumbs up while keeping their eyes closed. Then, the Machine must open their eyes and identify the Humans. Finally, the Machine close their eyes and the Humans put their thumbs and fists down. All players open their eyes again, and the game continues as normal.

5–6 players. All players close their eyes and put a fist out in front of them. All Humans must put their thumbs up while keeping their eyes closed. Then, the Machine(s) must open their eyes and identify each other and the Humans. Instruct them that if only 1 Machine is present, they may discreetly tap 1 Human. A tapped Human must open their eyes — they are now a Machine. The Machines then close their eyes, and the Humans put their thumbs down.

Then, announce that Legion may open its eyes and discreetly tap a certain number of players' fists in order to "infect" them (to determine how many players Legion may infect, see "How to Play Legion," on page 41).

Instruct any players tapped by Legion to open their eyes and identify each other. They are now Legion. All players must then close their eyes and put their fists down, then reopen their eyes.

Because characters may change teams during this phase, everyone should take a moment to review their player aids and read their team's instructions.

Note. It is possible for Legion to tap a player that had been previously tapped by a Machine. In this case that player's character belongs to Legion, even as the Machines may believe that character to be one of their own.

Important. It is important for any players who have changed loyalty during the Machine Phase to remember their new loyalty (the Loyalty card they received in the beginning of the game is now moot), and to adjust their gameplay accordingly. They will now only be able to win if their new faction is victorious.

The Finale (Game End)

Players continue taking turns in clockwise order until an end-game condition is met. The players will then determine which faction was victorious, and which of that faction's players completed their Objective to become the final winner(s).

Faction Victory

If the game ends because all Tier 3 slots in the Network are occupied, perform the checks below, in order, to determine which faction can claim victory.

If the game ends by any other method, only perform check 2.

Check 1. Reveal all Data Chips in the Network, including any in the Tier 4 and 5 slots. These Chips' positions must NOT be changed.

Then, look at each column (channels Alpha, Beta, and Gamma) to determine how many Data Chips it has of each color. Whichever faction has the most Data Chips in a column will win that column.

The faction that has won the most columns will win this check.

If there is a tie (one column each for Humans, Machines, and Fallen), then you must count ALL Data Chips in the Network. In this case, the faction with the most Data Chips will win this check.

If there is still no majority, the Outlaws win this check.

Check 2. If there are at least 3 purple Data Chips in the Junkyard, OR at least 2 purple Data Chips in the Junkyard AND 2 purple Data Chips in the Network, then the Fallen win this check. They automatically override a victory from Check 1, as well as any other victory.

The Factions' Victory Conditions

Humans. If the game ends because all Tier 3 slots in the Network are occupied, the Humans may claim victory if they have a (blue) majority in at least two of the three Network columns.

Machines. The Machines may claim victory if at least one of the following conditions has been met:

• If the game ends because all Tier 3 slots in the Network are occupied, and the Machines have a (red) majority in at least two of the three Network columns.
• The Resource Bar in the City drops to 0.
• Deus has reached the Network.

Outlaws. Players cannot be Outlaws. Thus, if the Outlaws win, ALL players lose.

The Outlaws may claim victory if at least one of the following conditions has been met:

• If the game ends because all Tier 3 slots in the Network are occupied, and no faction has a majority.
• Morale in the City drops to 0.
• There are no more Data Chips in any Sector and Tier 3 of the Network can no longer be completely filled.
• The Security Bar in the City drops to 0. If Legion is in play, Legion wins instead!
• The Enemy Threat Level has reached the value 4 (skull symbol). If Legion is in play, Legion wins instead!

Legion. Legion may claim victory if at least one of the following conditions has been met:

• The Security Bar in the City drops to 0. This overrides an Outlaw victory.
• The Enemy Threat Level has reached the value 4 (skull symbol). This overrides an Outlaw victory.

Fallen. The Fallen may claim victory if at least one of the following conditions has been met:

• At the end of the game there are at least 3 purple Data Chips in the Junkyard.
• At the end of the game there are at least 2 purple Data Chips in the Network and 2 purple Data Chips in the Junkyard.

Note. The two Fallen conditions above override any victory by the Humans, Machines, Legion, or Outlaws!

Personal Victory

Now, all players reveal their secret Loyalty and Objective cards. Any player(s) whose faction was victorious AND who also achieved their personal Objective(s) are the final winner(s) of the game.

Important. Each player must truthfully reveal whether or not they fulfilled their personal Objectives!

Hand the winners the "Winning Team" card. Congratulations! How about a winning selfie? Show us your success on Instagram, Twitter, and/or Facebook with the hashtags #SocialDeduction #HumanPunishment and #TheBeginning.

Components in Detail

Leader and General

Leader. The Leader receives the gold Leader Badge and is responsible for nominating their General. The Leader has the last word in a draw, makes choices on Leader-based decision Events, and gains a special ability in the Isolation Cube (see "Isolation Cube," on page 31).

The Leader also decides who will be targeted by an Enemy that has more than one valid target.

If the Leader is detained in the Isolation Cube, a new Leader must immediately be selected. A new Leader may appoint a new General, or they may choose to keep the current General.

General. The General receives the silver General Badge. They make decisions on General-based decision Events, and they receive the Apex Control Panel when the Apex Bar reaches 9 (see "Apex," on page 24).

The General may relinquish their rank at any time to eliminate 4 non-elite Enemies (they do not draw cards for these eliminations), but doing so will cause them to receive a "Privilege Revoked" marker. A character with this marker may not be reappointed as General for the rest of the game.

If the General becomes detained in the Isolation Cube, the Leader may appoint a new General or they may choose to keep the current General. (For more on these roles, see "New Leader," on page 29.)

Note. If nobody can be appointed as General (because everyone has a "Privilege Revoked" marker), the General Badge is removed from the game and all General-specific decision Events must be resolved using option A. In the rare case that neither option A or B can be taken, discard the Event and continue playing as normal.

Data Chips

Data Chips begin the game on Sectors I, II and III. Each Sector has exact specifications on which Data Chips are available there (see "Sectors," on page 27). Over the course of the game, Data Chips may be moved to the Network or the Junkyard, and they may be equipped on Player Boards.

Influence Cards

Influence cards are powerful, multi-use cards that serve a number of purposes throughout the game. Thematically, they represent certain attributes that characters may possess, including skills (fighting, hacking, using weapons), personality traits (diplomacy, persuasion, intimidation), and status (rank, class, occupation).

Players may use Influence for various purposes, such as buying Programs and items, attack and/or defense, or manipulating Events. For game purposes, Influence cards are mostly represented with abstract values, to keep players' factions and agendas secret from each other. Although the cards' colors match those of certain factions, players may play any cards to further their goals — cards played do not necessarily provide clues about a player's faction.

When used to fight Enemies, these cards may be referred to as "combat" (red) or "defense" (blue) cards, but they are still Influence cards.

Personal Influence Deck

Each character has their own Personal Influence deck, which consists mainly of blue cards with values from 1 to 5, and red cards with values from -1 to -5. Some Personal Influence decks also contain rare grey and/or green cards that lack values.

Each character has a different assortment of cards, which does not necessarily represent that character's factions. In addition, each character's Personal Influence deck also includes 2 unique cards that can be used for skill checks, fights, Events, and more.

General Influence Deck

All cards in the General Influence deck are available to all players, including cards that the characters' Personal Influence decks do not normally allow them to use. In addition, the General Influence deck includes special cards that are relevant only for Event skill checks.

Players can obtain General Influence cards in the City (Action 3), and through Events, Programs, character skills, and other character cards. Cards in the General Influence deck have an average value of 3 (blue cards), or -3 (red cards).

When a player's Personal Influence deck is empty, they may only draw from the General Influence deck. If the General Influence deck runs out of cards, reshuffle all discarded cards, including those belonging to players' Personal Influence decks.

Objective Cards

Each player receives 1 random Objective card at the beginning of the game. This Objective must be kept secret from the other players, including members of your own faction. In order to win the game, a player must fulfill their Objective AND their faction must be victorious at the end of the game. If a player's faction has won the game, but their objective is incomplete, they have lost the game.

Important. At the end of the game, each player must truthfully reveal whether or not they fulfilled their Objective.

Loyalty Cards

These cards tell players which faction they are loyal to, and must be kept hidden from other players.

In 5–6 player games, it is possible that players' loyalties will change. As soon as a player's faction changes, their starting loyalty card becomes invalid — only their new faction will count towards their end-game goals and possible victory.

Program Cards

Program cards can provide characters with various advantages. Each character may equip as many Programs as they like, but at the end of their turn they must discard down to their Program limit (noted on each Player Board).

Each Program card states whether it can be played only during your own turn, or whether it can be played "any time" (which includes other players' turns). Once a Program card's effects have been resolved, it must be discarded unless the card has "charges" (see below), or if it states that it is "permanent," in which case it remains in front of the player who played it. These cards count towards their character's Program limit.

When a Program with "charges" is played, place 2 purple charge markers on that card. The person who played that card may use its action(s) at any time by spending (removing) a charge marker from the card. When its last charge has been spent, that Program card is discarded.

Programs may be bought in the Dark Net (see "Buying as an Action," on page 11), or they may be drawn (for free) when a character brings a Data Chip into the Network. They may also be obtained in some cases via certain skill trees and Events.

Scanners

If a character enters Area 3 or Area 5 while their character is equipped with at least one Data Chip, they automatically collect the corresponding "Scanner 1" or "Scanner 2" marker, if it is available. Collecting these markers does not count as an action. A character may only carry one of each type of Scanner.

If a character enters the Network while equipped with both Scanner 1 and Scanner 2, they may place their Data Chip into the Network face-up or face-down. As soon as a Data Chip is placed into the Network, that player must immediately return both Scanners to their starting positions. The player may then either upgrade the lowest-level Boost on their character's skill tree, OR draw a Program card.

EXAMPLE: Jayden is carrying both Scanners when he brings a Data Chip into the Network. He may now either draw a Program card or take a Level Boost. Jayden chooses the Level Boost. He has already completed three Level 1 tasks in his skill tree. Because he must take the lowest-level Boost available to him, he completes his final Level 1 task.

Supply Boxes

The three Supply Boxes (2x Pistol + 1x Rifle) placed at HQ during setup may be acquired for a price. All other Supply Boxes will come into play through Events. When an Event instructs you to add a Supply Box to the board, take the topmost Supply Box from the stack and then roll the orange die to determine the Area into which you will place that face-down Supply Box. (For more information, see "Buying as an Action," on page 11.)

If a character enters an Area that contains a face-down Supply Box, they may equip that Supply Box (if they are not already carrying one). At the beginning of each game, Supply Boxes only provide positive effects. Later on, Events may cause some of them to have negative effects (these are called "Traps"). When this happens, shuffle the number of Traps indicated on the Event card into the stack of face-down Supply Boxes.

Each character may only carry 1 Supply Box at a time. If a character already has a Supply Box equipped and they want to pick up a new one, they must first drop their equipped Supply Box in the same Area as the new Supply Box. A character must equip a new Supply Box obtained in this manner — they may not choose to discard it.

Used (discarded) Supply Boxes go onto a face-up discard pile next to the face-down supply stack, except for HQ weapons (Pistols and Rifle), which go back to HQ. When the face-down supply stack is empty, shuffle the discard pile into a new supply stack.

Types of Supply Boxes

2 Pistols. Discard: Add +2 to the value of your red combat cards (see "Attacking Enemies," on page 22). If successful, your attack also deals 1 additional damage to your Enemy. Draw a Program card.

2 Rifles. Discard: Add +3 to the value of your red combat cards. If successful, your attack also deals 2 additional damage to your Enemy.

1 Rocket Launcher. Discard: Add +3 to the value of your red combat cards. Your attack targets ALL Enemies in range. If your attack successfully hits at least 1 Enemy, it deals 1 additional damage to all Enemies in range. Draw a Program card.

1 Laser. Discard: Deal 2 damage to one Enemy on the board of your choice (it does not need to be within range).

2 Companions. Discard: Take 1 additional movement AND 1 additional action in your current action phase.

4 Traps. Traps have various negative effects. When a player draws one of these, its effects must be resolved immediately.

Types of Traps:

• Discard 3 Influence cards from your hand, at random.
• Discard 1 Program of your choice.
• Discard 1 equipped Data Chip to the Junkyard.
• Keep this Trap in play until the next Event has been resolved. You may not play Influence cards during that Event.

Once a Trap's effects have been resolved, place it on the face-up Supply Box discard pile.

Recon Cards

Recon cards give characters unique advantages. They are obtained via an action at the Monolith (see "Monolith," on page 30), and each character is limited to one Recon card per game (with the exception of Dee Coy and Kuro, who may have a total of 2).

Recon cards may only be used after the Human Phase (when Tier 1 is completely filled in the Network). Using a Recon card is a free action. After a Recon card has been used, it must be removed from the game.

Types of Recon Cards

(Play only on your turn, unless otherwise specified.)

• If you are in Area 1, you may secretly look at a total of three Data Chips in the Sector(s) of your choice. Any Data Chip you look at must come from the top of its stack. You may look at more than one Data Chip in a single stack, as long as you do not look at more than 3 chips in total.
• If you are in Area 6, you may secretly look at any face-down Data Chip in the Network.
• Secretly look at an Objective card belonging to a player of your choice.
• Secretly look at a Data Chip held by a player of your choice, whose character is in an Area with your character.
• Look at the cards held by a player of your choice. (Play at any time)
• Secretly look at 1 Loyalty card that is NOT in play, and does not belong to any player. (Play at any time)

Wound Cards

If a character's Health drops to 0, they receive a Wound card and their standee is placed on the yellow zone at HQ. That character will "wake up" there at the start of their next turn, with 1 Health point. Wound cards remain with a character and give disadvantages until they are removed (which must be done at the Med Center, or with healing actions).

Contagious Wounds can affect other characters. Their effects are triggered when a character with a Contagious Wound moves into an Area with at least one other character, AND when a character moves into an Area where there is another character with a Contagious Wound.

Interrogation Cards

Detained characters may draw Interrogation cards as a way of trying to escape from the Isolation Cube (using that Place's Action 2). When drawing an Interrogation card, the detained character must resolve the card by choosing one of the two following options:

• The player MUST perform the action on the Interrogation card that corresponds to their faction. In most cases, these actions will harm the character or their faction, but they offer the detained character the chance to escape without necessarily revealing their faction or having to depend on other players. Because these cards' faction penalties are all similar, performing one does not guarantee that other players will be able to determine your faction. Once the action has been performed, the detained character is now free to move out of the Isolation Cube.
• The player rolls the pink die. On a roll of 1-3, nothing happens — their character is still detained. On a roll of 4-6, that character is now free to move.

When a detained character becomes free, they may perform any actions or movement that are still available to them.

(For more information, see "Isolation Cube," on page 30.)

Enemies

Enemies in Human Punishment: The Beginning act as threats to ALL characters, regardless of their faction.

The Outlaws and other forces acting in the background are being manipulated by Machines and Legion to bring chaos into the city.

These Enemies are a particular problem for the Humans, as the Machines want to bring their virus into the Network and Legion can use its Crawlers to corrupt the city's security.

Enemy Activation

When an Area is activated during the Activation Phase, all Enemies placed on Spawn Locations in that Area will attack a single character in range (or all characters in range, if the Enemy is the Tank), according to their attack priority.

Enemies always have the same attack priority against characters:

1. Apex (the Humans' giant mech construct)
2. Characters with a Data Chip AND the lowest Health
3. Characters with a Data Chip
4. Characters with the lowest Health
5. Kuro (Dee Coy's dog companion)

If the criteria above give an Enemy two equally valid targets, the Leader decides who the target will be.

Spawning an Enemy

Roll the red die to determine which type of Enemy comes into play. If the result is 9 - 12, no enemy comes into play. In this case, do not roll the white dice.

Roll the two white dice and add their results to determine the Spawn Location at which an Enemy will appear. If that Spawn Location is already occupied by an Enemy, increase the Enemy Threat Level (in the Command Center) by 1 instead. Some Spawn Location numbers exist twice, giving players a bit more time before that number is completely occupied.

Note. Some Events will result in specific Spawn Locations being destroyed. When this happens, place a Dead Zone marker over the destroyed Spawn Location. From that point forward, Enemies will be unable to spawn at that location. If a roll of the white dice indicates that an Enemy must be placed at a destroyed Spawn Location, do not place a new Enemy. Instead, increase the Enemy Threat Level by 1.

Deluxe Upgrade. When an Enemy appears, place a number of deluxe Health chips under its marker, equal to its Health. When that Enemy takes damage, remove the appropriate number of Health points.

If you do not have the deluxe Health chips, or do not wish to use them, you may use heart markers instead.

Anatomy of an Enemy

1. Enemy Level — Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3
2. Strength — Indicates the Enemy's Strength (damage dealt) and red combat power (the number of red cards drawn from the General Influence deck for the attack).
3. Health — Indicates an Enemy's Health. Place the appropriate amount of Health points on each Enemy as it is spawned (or underneath, if you are using the deluxe Health chips). If an Enemy's Health falls to 0, return it to its starting position in its stack in the Command Center.
4. Shield — Indicates an Enemy's defense value, which a player must bring to a negative (below 0) result in order to deal damage. Note that an Enemy can draw 1 card from the General Influence deck, and use the value of that card to modify their defense value — blue cards strengthen a shield, while red cards weaken it.
5. Special ability — Any special ability that the Enemy may have.

Enemy Types

Tank — Spawns at: 1

	Lvl 1	Lvl 2	Lvl 3
Health	1	2	3
Strength	1	1	2
Combat	1	2	2
Shield	3	3	3
Defense	1	1	1
Range	0	0	0

Attacks ALL characters in range simultaneously. Each character must defend themselves individually.

Soldier — Spawns at: 3 or 4

	Lvl 1	Lvl 2	Lvl 3
Health	1	2	2
Strength	1	1	2
Combat	1	2	2
Shield	2	2	3
Defense	1	1	1
Range	0	0	0

Thief — Spawns at: 7 or 8

	Lvl 1	Lvl 2	Lvl 3
Health	1	2	2
Strength	1	1	1
Combat	1	2	2
Shield	1	2	3
Defense	1	1	1
Range	0	0	0

Instead of attacking as normal, the Thief tries to steal players' Data Chips when they enter its Area, or its Area is activated and it has an available target from which it can steal a Data Chip. If no player with a Data Chip is present, the Thief does nothing.

Stealing works like a normal attack: if successful, instead of inflicting damage, the defending player's Data Chip ends up in the Junkyard, face-down.

Sniper — Spawns at: 2

	Lvl 1	Lvl 2	Lvl 3
Health	1	1	2
Strength	1	1	2
Combat	1	2	2
Shield	2	3	3
Defense	1	1	1
Range	1	1	1

This is the only enemy with Range 1.

Crawler — Spawns at: 5 or 6

	Lvl 1	Lvl 2	Lvl 3
Health	1	2	3
Strength	1	1	1
Combat	1	2	2
Shield	2	2	2
Defense	1	1	1
Range	0	0	0

Crawlers always start in the Factory, on the "Red 1" space of the red path. If this space is already occupied, the new Crawler will push each Enemy on the path one space forward.

When activated in an Area, a Crawler always moves along the red path and tries to execute an attack in its new Area, if possible. If a Crawler enters the Network, it is eliminated and the Security Bar's value is reduced by 1. If a Crawler collides with Apex (the Blue/Red 3/4 space in the Factory), eliminate the Crawler (return it to its stack) and deal damage to Apex equal to the Crawler's Strength.

There can only ever be 1 Enemy (Crawler or Deus) on a single space of the red path (see "Red Path," on page 33).

Attack and Defense

Range

Range is important for attacks, healing, and some Program cards.

Range 0 always represents the entire Area you are currently in (which includes ALL Places inside that Area). Spawn Locations and characters in different Places within the SAME Area are considered to be within Range 0. So, if your character is standing in the City, it can target Spawn Locations 4, 6, 8, 6/8, and 10 with Range 0.

So, Range 0 corresponds to your current Area, while Range 1 corresponds to your current Area AND all adjacent Areas.

Attacking an Enemy

Attacks in Human Punishment: The Beginning typically use a character's range, combined with their combat power (the number of red cards they can play), against an Enemy's defense value. But, because combat is unpredictable, a random General Influence card is always introduced that can alter the battle in surprising ways!

To attack an Enemy located within your character's range, you must spend 1 Action Point.

You may then play face-up, red combat cards from your hand — the number of cards you may play in this manner is indicated on your Player Board, to the right of your character's Strength. The total value of the red cards played will reduce the Enemy's defense value by an equivalent amount.

But that's not it! Then, a card is then drawn from the General Influence deck. If the card is blue, it strengthens the Enemy's defense by the corresponding value. If it is red, it weakens its defense by the same value. Any other cards have no effect.

If the Enemy's final defense value falls BELOW 0 (resulting in a negative number), your attack will deal damage. Your character's Strength value (fist symbol) indicates the amount of damage that they deal with a successful attack. When dealing damage, remove an equivalent number of Health points from the Enemy.

When an Enemy loses its last Health Point, it is eliminated. As a reward, the attacking player draws a number of cards from their Personal Influence deck (or General Influence deck, if necessary) equal to the Enemy's level: Level 1 = 1 card, Level 2 = 2 cards, and Level 3 = 3 cards.

For weapons and abilities that allow attacks against multiple enemies, you only need a single success against ONE of the targets. The other targets automatically take full damage from that attack. On a successful attack, the player will draw an Influence card for each level of all Enemies eliminated as part of that attack.

Eliminated Enemies always return to their starting positions in the Command Center's Enemy stacks.

EXAMPLE: A player plays a red -4 to attack a Soldier that has 2 Health Points. A red -1 card is then randomly drawn from the top of the General Influence deck, and its value is added to the Soldier's Shield (Defense 2). But, since only blue cards can strengthen a Shield, that red card does not help the Soldier. In total, -5 is subtracted from the Soldier's Shield value of 2, for a result of -3 (which is less than 0).

The attacking player's Strength of 2 deals 2 points of damage to the Soldier, eliminating it. For eliminating a Level 2 Enemy, the player may now draw 2 Influence cards.

Defend Against an Enemy

To defend against an Enemy attack, a player may play a number of blue cards up to the limit indicated on their Player Board, to the right of their character's Shield symbol. The values of these cards are added to the character's Shield defense (the number to the left of the Shield).

The enemy then draws cards from the General Influence deck until it has revealed a number of red cards equal to its limit (indicated on the Enemy marker to the left of the fist symbol).

The combined value of these red cards is subtracted from the combined value of the character's Shield and any blue cards they have played.

If the final value falls below 0, the character is hit! Reduce their Health by the number indicated by the Enemy's Strength (to the right of the fist symbol).

If the final value is zero or higher, nothing happens.

An Enemy will not attack if there are no characters in range.

EXAMPLE: A Soldier attacks a character that has a Shield of 1. That character's player may add 1 blue card to their defense. They play a blue +1.

Now, the Soldier can add a red card to its attack. Cards are turned over from the top of the General Influence deck until a red card is revealed. The first red card up is a -4.

Between their Shield and blue card, the character has a total of 2 defense. The Soldier's -4 brings the character's defense to -2, which is less than 0.

The character is hit! Because the Soldier has a Strength of 1, the character loses 1 Health point.

Apex and Deus X Machina

Apex and Deus are the only "Elite" Level mechs in the game.

Apex.

ELITE — Health: 9, Strength: 2, Combat: 2, Shield: 3, Defense: 1, Range: 0

Apex is Humanity's secret weapon. It was designed to prevent the Machines from entering the Network.

As soon as the blue Apex Bar reaches value 9, Apex comes into play and the active General is given the Control Panel. Take the Apex marker from the Command Center and place it ("unlocked" side face-up) on the Blue 1 space in the Nexus. On their turn, the General may now take a free action to "use" the Control Panel. To do so, the General must decide which button to use:

• Green Button: Apex moves 1 space along the blue path in the direction of the Network. It must stop at the Blue 3 space of that path. — OR — Apex attacks an Enemy on a Spawn Location within range 0 (not an Enemy on a red path). This free action may only be taken once per turn.
• Red Button: Nothing happens.

If Apex is in play, its Health points are equal to the current value of the blue Apex Construction Bar. Any damage taken by Apex is tracked on this bar, and if its value drops to 0, Apex is destroyed. Apex cannot be repaired — remove it from the game.

When the General uses Apex to attack, Apex has a strength of 2 and a range of 0. For this attack, draw red cards from the General Influence deck.

Important. Apex may only attack Enemies on Spawn Locations in its Area. Apex may not attack Crawlers or Deus, because they are on the red paths and thus not in Apex's line of sight.

Apex will always enter the game with full Health points.

Apex has a disadvantage: Enemy attacks always view Apex as their highest priority. Therefore, Apex is frequently targeted by Enemy attacks.

If Apex's construction is complete, Events that trigger positive or negative movement on the Apex Construction Bar will affect Apex's Health.

EXAMPLE: Apex is in play, with 9 Health points. An Event fails, carrying a penalty of "Apex -2." This causes Apex to lose 2 Health Points, which causes the marker on the Apex Construction Bar to move from 9 to 7.

Deus X Machina.

Deus X Machina is the Machines' massive construct. It carries the "Human Punishment" virus, which, uploaded to the Network, will plunge Humanity into the abyss.

As soon as the red Deus Bar reaches value 9, Deus X Machina comes into play! Take the Deus marker from the Command Center and place it ("unlocked" side face-up) on Red 1 in the Factory.

Then, place the Deus movement marker to the right of the player whose turn it was when Deus came into play.

From this point forward in the game, whenever the turn order reaches the Deus marker, Deus moves 1 space towards the Network. Gameplay then continues as normal.

If Deus is in play, its Health points are equal to the current value of the red Deus Construction Bar. Any damage taken by Deus is tracked on this bar, and if its value drops to 0, Deus is destroyed. Deus cannot be repaired — remove it from the game.

ELITE — Health: 9, Strength: 2, Combat: 2, Shield: 3, Defense: 1, Range: 0

Deus will always enter the game with full Health points.

Deus has an advantage: Deus will only attack when the Area it is in becomes activated.

When Deus attacks, it will always attack all characters in range at the same time (like the Tank).

If Deus' construction is complete, Events that trigger positive or negative movement on the Deus Construction Bar will affect Deus' Health (see the Apex example, above).

If Deus reaches the Network, the Machines immediately claim victory (to determine final winners, see "Faction and Personal Victory," on page 15).

When Apex and Deus X Machina Meet. If Apex and Deus are ever on the Blue 3/Red 4 space of the Factory at the same time, they will destroy each other — remove both markers from the game. The Network is thus spared from the "Human Punishment" virus, but the game is not yet over.

Areas, Places, Spawn Locations, Paths, and Their Actions

In the game board diagram, the orange boxes represent Areas, while the white text names the Places within those Areas. The red circles represent Spawn Locations.

Areas and Places provide various actions that players may take by spending 1 or 2 Action Points.

Area 1 — Sector I, II, and III

The Sectors contain the Data Chips: blue firewalls, red viruses, and various purple files. The characters will bring these chips to the Network and/or the Junkyard.

Each Sector has a value that starts at 0. Taking a Data Chip raises a Sector's value by 1.

If taking a Data Chip from a Sector would cause its value to be more than 2 steps away from the value of any other Sector, you may not take a Data Chip from that Sector (see example, below).

Once a Sector reaches value 4, it may continue to be used normally as long as its value is never more than 2 steps away from that of any other Sector.

EXAMPLE: Sectors I, II, and III currently have respective values of 3, 1, and 2. In this case, a Data Chip could not be taken from Sector I, because this would increase the difference in value between Sector I and Sector II to go from 2 to 3.

Data Chips may be taken from Sector I as soon as Sector II's value is raised.

In the meantime, Data Chips could still be taken from Sectors II and III, because the difference in these Sectors' values would still be within allowable limits.

Sector I. Starting Data Chips: 2 purple, 3 red, 6 blue.

ACTION (1 Action Point): Take the topmost Data Chip from this Sector and equip it to your Player Board, face-down. If your Player Board does not have a free space for this Data Chip, you may not take this action.

After you have taken a Data Chip, raise the Sector's value by 1.

Sector II. Starting Data Chips: 3 purple, 9 red, 6 blue.

ACTION (1 Action Point): Look at the top 3 Data Chips in this Sector, without showing them to anyone else. Equip 1 to your Player Board, face-down, and give the other 2 to another character in this Area (in Sectors I, II, or III). That player then looks at these Data Chips and equips one of them to their Player Board, face-down. That player must discard the remaining Data Chip to the Junkyard, face-down.

Once these steps have been completed, raise the Sector's value by 1.

Important. To take a Data Chip from Sector II, another character must be present in the Area (in any Sector). Both characters must be able to equip a Data Chip. A player may not refuse this action — they must participate.

Even if your character is able to carry 2 Data Chips, you may only equip 1 Data Chip with a single action.

Sector III. Starting Data Chips: 2 purple, 5 red, 4 blue.

ACTION (1 Action Point): Unlike the other Sectors, this Sector also has a Guard value.

If the Sector's Guard value is 2 or 3, take and look at the Sector's topmost Data Chip. Then equip that Data Chip to your Player Board, face-down.

However, if the Guard value is at 1, take and look at the top 2 Data Chips in this Sector. Equip 1 of these Chips to your Player Board, face-down, and discard the other to the Junkyard, also face-down. Immediately increase the Guard value to 3.

If your Player Board does not have a free space for this Data Chip, you may not take this action.

After you have taken a Data Chip, raise the Sector's value by 1.

Important. Whenever a Data Chip is placed into the Network, reduce this Sector's Guard value by 1.

Area 2 — City, Dark Net, and Factory

City

Each of the following actions may be performed a maximum of once per turn:

Riot bar.

ACTION 1 (1 Action Point): This action may only be taken if the Riot Bar indicator is in a yellow zone.

First, declare whether you are looking for a positive or negative result. Then, roll the pink die and optionally play one face-up blue or red Influence card from your hand. Add the result of the die roll to the value of the card played (if any), and adjust the Riot Bar's indicator accordingly.

If this moves the Rioting value to the red zone, draw 1 EX Event card and reset the Riot Bar to "0."

If the Riot Bar is in the yellow zone at the end of any player's turn, lower Morale by 1.

EXAMPLE: The Riot value is -4, and the Active Player has decided that their die roll will be positive. They roll a 1, and choose to play a blue card with a value of 3. This raises the Riot value by 4 points, bringing it to a current value of 0.

Morale bar.

ACTION 2 (1 Action Point): Play 1-3 blue Influence cards face-up and sum their values. Then, roll the pink die and subtract the result from the total value of the cards. If the total is positive, increase Morale by the difference. If the sum is negative, nothing happens.

EXAMPLE: Morale is currently at -5. The Active Player takes this action and plays two blue cards with a value of 5 each (10 combined). They roll a 2 on the pink die, for an end result of 8 (10 - 2 = 8). Morale now increases accordingly to a new value of 3 (-5 + 8 = 3).

While Morale is in the yellow zone, players will draw 1 fewer Personal Influence card at the beginning of each of their turns.

If Morale ever reaches -10, the Outlaws immediately win the game. This means that ALL of the players have lost!

Resource bar.

ACTION 3 (1 Action Point): Draw 3 cards from the General Influence deck, then reduce the Resource value by 1.

Note. Outside of certain Event cards, this action is the only way to increase Resources in the City, which is necessary to prevent a Machine victory.

If the Resource value ever reaches 0, the Machines immediately win the game.

If the Resource value is ever at 1 or 2, this action may not be taken until the Resource value rises above 2.

Security bar.

Adjusting the Security value in this Area is only possible via Programs and Events. If the Security value ever drops to 0, the Outlaws (or Legion, if present) immediately win the game.

If Morale is in the yellow zone AND the Riot value is in the red zone at the same time, reduce the Security value by 1.

If a Crawler enters the Network, eliminate the Crawler and reduce the Security value by 1.

ACTION 4 (1 Action Point): Roll the pink die:

• Raise the value of the Deus Bar by 1.
• Lower the Riot value by 2.
• Raise the Riot value by 2.
• Raise Morale by 2.
• Raise the Resource value by 1.
• Raise the Resource value by 2.

Dark Net

In the Dark Net, characters have access to powerful, potentially illegal technologies. Nobody can resist taking a look at the latest Programs!

ACTION 1 (1 Action Point): Buy 1 of the three face-up Program cards by paying the costs indicated on the card (below its title) with either red or blue Influence cards (see "Buying as an Action," on page 11). Replace each purchased Program with a new card from the deck, to ensure that there are always 3 face-up Programs on display.

ACTION 2 (1 Action Point): Buy a random Program! Pay a total value of 3 in either red or blue cards, and draw a card from the top of the Program deck.

Factory

A heavily guarded abandoned factory. Crawlers often appear here, and rumor has it that the Machines are working on their super weapon: Deus!

The Factory holds nothing of interest. It is where Deus and Crawler Enemies start on Red 1 on their way towards infecting the Network.

Area 3 — Nexus

The workshop for Humanity's super weapon: Apex. The work is in full swing, and requires immense amounts of energy.

In the Nexus, players have the opportunity to speed, and even complete, Apex's construction. Every faction except the Machines has advantages here.

ACTION (1 Action Point): Play up to 2 blue Influence cards and sum their values. Then, roll the pink die and subtract the result from the value of the cards played.

• Is the total value positive? Raise the value of the blue Apex Bar by 1.
• Is the total value positive AND ≥ 4? Raise the value of the blue Apex Bar by 2.
• Is the total value negative? Reduce Morale in the City by 1.
• Is the result exactly 0? Nothing happens.

While Apex is still under construction, success on this action will advance its completion. If Apex has already been completed, this action can repair it (by increasing its Health by 1 or 2 points).

EXAMPLE: The Active Player plays blue cards with values of 2 and 3, for a total value of 5. They take the pink die and roll a 1, thus reaching a total value of 4 (5 - 1 = 4). This raises the value of the blue Apex Bar by 2.

Area 4 — HQ

HQ is the place from which GHOST starts its operations and manages its fighting power. If a character is injured, other GHOST members will show up to bring their wounded comrade back to HQ.

While HQ may be entered normally, the yellow zone is reserved solely for wounded characters whose Health has fallen to 0. Those characters will start here with 1 Health and 1 new Wound. A character on the yellow zone cannot be attacked by Enemies.

ACTION 1 "CENSURE MOTION" (2 Action Points): Nominate a character to be censured, and open a discussion with the other players about that censure. The nominated character's player may participate in this discussion. When a majority of players agree that the discussion has come to a close, everyone must close their eyes and hold a fist over the table. Players voting for censure raise their thumbs, while those voting against it keep their fists closed. Then, all players open their eyes and tally the results.

If the majority votes for censure, the censured player's character is placed in the Isolation Cube.

If the majority does not vote for censure, nothing happens.

ACTION 2 "NEW LEADER" (1 Action Point): Each player draws a card from their Personal Influence deck, or the General Influence deck if necessary. Starting with the Active Player, each player must place a card from their hand (which does not need to be the card they just drew) face-down in front of a player of their choice.

Once all players have played a card, the Active Player (only) may play an additional card from their hand. Afterwards, each stack of cards in front of a player is shuffled and turned face-up. The player whose stack has the highest positive value (or the highest value closest to 0, if all stacks have negative values) becomes the new Leader and names their General (who may be the current General, or someone new).

A current or previous Leader may be reappointed as Leader, as long as they are not detained in the Isolation Cube. A player without cards in front of them counts a value of 0, which may still represent the highest value at the table.

EXAMPLE 1: Player stacks total 0, -2, -1, and 3 for Players 1-4. Player 4 has the highest value, with 3.

EXAMPLE 2: Player stacks total 0, -2, -1, and -3 for Players 1-4. Player 1 has the highest with 0, even though they have no cards in front of them.

EXAMPLE 3: Player 1 is in the Isolation Cube. Player stacks total 0, -2, -1, and -3 for Players 1-4. Player 1 has the highest positive value, with 0. But, their character is in the Isolation Cube, so they cannot become Leader. With the second-highest value, Player 3 becomes the new Leader.

ACTION 3 "BUY WEAPON" (1 Action Point): Perform a buy action (see "Buying as an Action," on page 11) to purchase a weapon from HQ by spending the cost indicated, and equip it directly to your Player Board. You may overspend if necessary, but this provides no change or benefits (see descriptions of the Pistols and Rifle under "Types of Supply Boxes," on page 18).

Area 5 — Monolith

This mysterious black monolith offers unimaginable knowledge. Using it is a daring act that raises the question: will you use the knowledge for the right purposes?

At the Monolith, players may obtain information that will give their characters advantages in the game.

ACTION (1 Action Point): Perform a buy action (see "Buying As An Action," on page 11) to pay a value of at least 5 in red OR blue cards. Then, look through the Recon deck and select one to place, face-down, on the appropriate space of your Player Board. Shuffle the Recon deck and return it to its place on the table.

Using a Recon card is a free action. Recon cards may only be used after the Human Phase has occurred.

Area 6 — Network and Isolation Cube

Network

The Machines want to use their red virus files to corrupt the Network. The Humans can counteract this with their blue firewall files.

FREE ACTION (ONLY if you entered Area 6 this turn): Place your equipped Data Chip(s) face-down in the lowest tier of the Network with any open spaces, in a column (Channel Alpha, Beta, or Gamma) of your choice. Then lower Sector III's Guard value by 1.

A column may not contain any gaps. Tier 1 must be completed (all slots filled with Data Chips) before any Tier 2 slots are allowed to be filled, and Tier 2 must be completed before any Tier 3 slots are allowed to be filled.

Placing a Data Chip on a higher Tier does not require Tier 3 to be complete, as long as no (vertical) column contains a gap.

EXAMPLE: All Tier 2 slots are filled with Data Chips, and 1 Data Chip is also in Gamma Tier 3. Now you can place 1 Data Chip in Alpha Tier 3, Beta Tier 3 or Gamma Tier 4.

In addition to the above, if you bring a Data Chip into the Network while carrying both Scanner 1 and Scanner 2, you may choose to place your Data Chip(s) into the Network, face-up.

If you are carrying any Scanners when you bring a Data Chip into the Network, immediately return them to their starting positions.

Reward. If you brought a Data Chip into the Network this turn while equipped with both Scanners, choose ONE of the following rewards. As soon as you place a Data Chip, return all of your Scanners to their starting locations. If you did not have both Scanners, you may only choose Option B.

A) Upgrade the lowest-level Boost on your skill tree (of your choice, if there are multiple options), OR B) Draw a Program card for every Data Chip that you placed in the Network this turn.

Network Phases.

As soon as the third (and final) Data Chip has been placed into Tier 1, the Human Phase immediately takes place (see "Human Phase," on page 14).

As soon as the third (and final) Data Chip has been placed into Tier 2, the Machine Phase immediately takes place (see "Machine Phase," on page 14).

As soon as the third (and final) Data Chip has been placed into Tier 3, the game ends. At this point, the players will check to see which faction, and which players belonging to that faction (if any), have won the game.

Important. If a Crawler reaches the Network, lower the Security value by 1 and return the Crawler to the Command Center.

Isolation Cube

When the first Machines escaped from ordinary prisons, humanity had to acknowledge that these enemies had reached new levels of strength. Isolation cubes were touted as the perfect prison from the outside world, but even they are susceptible to security gaps from unknown causes.

Characters can be detained in the Isolation Cube, which will restrict their actions. This may happen as a result of the "Censure Motion" action at HQ, or via certain Events.

Multiple characters may be detained at the same time, and detained characters may not move.

Detained characters may play only 1 Influence card during Events and EX Events of any kind. A character detained in the Isolation Cube may not be attacked by Enemies.

THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS MAY ONLY BE PERFORMED BY DETAINED PLAYERS:

ACTION 1 (1 Action Point): Free yourself with a successful skill check.

Choose whether the target value of that check will be +4 or -4.

Play up to 5 face-down Influence cards. The other players may each optionally play 1 face-down Influence card.

Then, draw 2 more face-down cards from the General Influence deck and shuffle these together with the players' cards. Place these cards on the table, face-up.

Sum the values of all of those cards. If they meet or exceed the selected target value (+4 and higher, or -4 and lower), you are free of the Isolation Cube and may use any movement or actions you have remaining on your turn.

If the target value is not met, nothing happens.

EXAMPLE: The prisoner chooses a target value of -4, then plays three cards with values of -5 (a total of -15). The other players play cards with values of -2 and +4 (a total of +2). The Influence cards played from the deck have values of -3 and +3 (a total of 0).

-5 - 5 - 5 - 2 + 4 - 3 + 3 = -13, which exceeds the target value of -4. The prisoner is now free.

ACTION 2 (1 Action Point): Draw 1 Interrogation card and free yourself by completing the task on that card that matches your faction, OR you may also attempt an escape by rolling the pink die. With a result of 4-6, your escape attempt succeeds.

If you complete your task, or if your escape attempt is successful, you are free. You may use any movement or actions you have remaining on your turn.

THE FOLLOWING ACTION MAY ONLY BE TAKEN BY THE LEADER:

LEADER ACTION (1 Action Point): Pardon a character detained in the Isolation Cube. This character is freed immediately.

If the General is placed in the Isolation Cube, the Leader may immediately name a new General, OR they may remain loyal to their current General and keep them in office. This decision must be made immediately when the General is detained in the Isolation Cube.

If the Leader is detained in the Isolation Cube, a new Leader must immediately be chosen, per the "New Leader" vote (see "HQ Action 2," on page 29).

A character detained in the Isolation Cube cannot be appointed as a Leader.

Important. A character freed from the Isolation Cube on their turn may not bring any Data Chips into the Network on the same turn, because this free action is only possible if the character entered Area 6 during the turn!

Junkyard

Unwanted files from the Sectors end up in the Junkyard, but purple files seem to be left there deliberately.

Unwanted Data Chips can be dropped in the Junkyard. This might be done to keep them out of the Network, or to fulfill the victory condition of the Fallen.

ACTION 1 (1 Action Point): Drop any number of face-down Data Chips in the Junkyard.

Important. Data Chips may be placed anywhere in the Junkyard, but they should never be stacked. Everyone should try to remember where in the Junkyard each player discarded their Data Chips.

ACTION 2 (1 Action Point): Discard any number of grey cards and then look at the same number of Data Chips in the Junkyard without revealing them to any other player. You may only touch Data Chips that you have chosen to look at, and you must replace them in the same position where you found them. Do not change the positions of any Data Chips.

ACTION 3 (1 Action Point): Discard any number of green cards and remove the same number of Data Chips from the Junkyard from the game, face-down. These are not revealed until after the game has ended, and they are NOT counted in the victory condition check!

No matter how the game ends, all Data Chips in the Junkyard must be revealed. If there are at least 3 purple Data Chips in the Junkyard, OR at least 2 purple Data Chips in the Junkyard and 2 purple Data Chips in the Network, the Fallen faction win (if they are present in the game). This overrides all other victory conditions.

Med Center

A place of peace and quiet. Here, the characters can treat their wounds and injuries.

ACTION 1 (1 Action Point): Heal 1 Wound and gain 1 Health point.

FREE ACTION: Discard any number of grey and/or green cards: for each card discarded in this way, remove up to 2 Wounds from your character. Then, restore your character to full Health.

Spawn Locations

Dark streets and alleys where enemies may appear.

Spawn locations appear in Areas 1-6 as circles marked with one or two numbers. These circles mark the locations where Enemies (other than Crawlers) may enter the game.

During the Event phase, the white dice will determine the Spawn Locations in which Enemies appear. If all corresponding Spawn Locations are already occupied by Enemies, no Enemies will be placed for that result. Instead, raise the Enemy Threat Level by 1 for each Enemy that cannot be placed.

In Area 2, Enemies will always appear at Spawn Locations 6 and 8 before they appear at Spawn Location 6/8.

In games with 5–6 players, an Enemy on Spawn Location 6 or 8 will block the path from Area 2 to Area 6. In this case, place the Blockade standee on the arrows between those two Areas, with the red side of the Blockade facing Area 2. This indicates that only the way into the Network is blocked.

It is possible for certain Events to destroy Spawn Locations. If this happens, place a Dead Zone marker on the destroyed Spawn Location. The destruction of this Spawn Location may cause the Enemy Threat Level to rise more quickly.

Watchtowers

Spawn Locations 4 and 10 are known as the Watchtowers. These special Spawn Locations are activated whenever one of their three adjacent Areas is activated. An Enemy on a Watchtower will attack a target (if present) in the activated adjacent Area. However, an Enemy on a Watchtower may also be attacked from any of the three adjacent Areas.

EXAMPLE: There is a Tank at Spawn Location 4. During a player's Activation Phase, the orange die is rolled with a result of 2. There is no Enemy in Area 2, but because Spawn Location 4 is adjacent to Area 2, the Tank is activated. The Tank now attacks all characters in Area 2 (because the Tank is able to attack all targets in range).

The Red Path

When the Deus Bar in the Command Center reaches value 9, Deus X Machina will appear on Red 1, as will any Crawler Enemy that appears in the Factory.

Each space on the red path may be occupied by a maximum of one Enemy.

If you must place an Enemy on an already-occupied space of the path, move the existing Enemy ahead 1 space along the path, then place the new Enemy on the space that was just vacated.

EXAMPLE 1: Crawler X is on Red 1, Crawler Y is on Red 2, and Deus X Machina is on Red 3. If a new Crawler appears via a roll of the red die, each of those Enemies must move forward one space, making room for the new Crawler to appear on Red 1.

EXAMPLE 2: Crawler X is on Red 2, Crawler Y is on Red 3. During the Activation phase, Area 4 becomes activated. For Crawler X to make its activated movement to Red 3, Crawler Y must first move ahead to Red 4.

The Blue Path

When the Apex Bar in the Command Center reaches value 9, Apex appears on Blue 1. Only Apex is permitted to enter and move along the blue path, and only towards the Network.

Blue 3 is the final space of the blue path. Because it shares a space with Red 4, it can also be occupied by Deus or a Crawler.

If there is a Crawler on that space when Apex arrives there, the Crawler is eliminated and Apex takes damage equal to the Crawler's Strength.

If Apex and Deus are both on Blue 3/Red 4 at the same time, both are immediately eliminated.

Characters

Jayden — The All-Rounder

When Jayden awoke from a two-year coma, we expected his abilities to be diminished. We were wrong. Jayden now seems stronger than ever, and it appears that there's nothing he can't do! He claims that the coma brought him to some sort of "spiritual level," where time runs differently.

Jayden's biggest problem is his ambition — he always tries to achieve twice as much as his comrades, which often leads to problems.

Advantage. You start with all of your All-Rounder cards, which do not count towards your hand limit. Once per turn, you may play one of these cards as a free action. Only Jayden has these cards, and they are limited, so you must use them wisely.

Disadvantage. At the beginning of the game, you receive 2 Objectives. In order to win the game, your faction must be victorious and you must fulfill both of your Objectives.

Special. Once per game, after you unlock three Level 2 Boosts, you may take back all of your played All-Rounder cards.

Skill Tree

	Hacking	Implants	Security	Rigging
Level 1 Task	Move the Riot Bar from yellow to blue	Roll a 5 or 6 when performing City Action 4	Successfully bring a Data Chip into the Network	Perform Junkyard Action 2
Level 1 Reward	When defending, you may add 1 blue card from your hand to your Shield	Max Health: 3	+1 Program limit	Draw 2 Programs. Keep one and discard the other.
Level 2 Task	Increase Morale to a value of 4 or more	Play all 7 of your All-Rounder cards	Eliminate 2 enemies (must be either Lvl 2 or 3)	Take a "Censure Motion" action that sends a character to the Isolation Cube
Level 2 Reward	+1 Action (if no other character is in your Area)	You may play 2 All-Rounder cards each turn	Draw 1 additional card at the beginning of each of your turns	+1 Movement

Feykah — The Machine

In the past, it was a guarantee that augmenting an A.I. would cause short-circuits and catastrophic malfunctions. If our new, cutting-edge research is successful, we'll be able to replace the entire human police force with enhanced A.I. units.

Our prototype, Feykah, relies heavily on having the right programs. She's resourceful, but I wonder if I can really trust a machine to be part of my team. I have my doubts.

Advantages.

• You start the game with an additional Personal Influence card. If you start your turn as Leader or General, draw an additional Personal Influence card during your draw phase.
• Free action — Voluntarily take 1 Wound: your next attack gains one additional red combat card (played from your hand, as though you were an attacking Enemy). If that attack is successful, it hits all Enemies in range.

Disadvantages.

• During setup, you are dealt 2 Loyalty cards before any are dealt to other players. If you are dealt a red (Machine) card, you MUST take it. Shuffle the remaining Loyalty card in with the others, then deal them out to the rest of the players as normal.
• Even if Feykah is equipped with Scanners, she may never take a Level Boost when performing the free Network action. When Feykah brings a Data Chip into the Network, she must always draw a Program card.

Special. Draw 2 Program cards as soon as you unlock your final Level 1 Boost. Your Program limit remains the same.

Skill Tree

	Hacking	Implants	Security	Rigging
Level 1 Task	Perform Junkyard Action 3	Perform 2 different City actions	Successfully enter 1 Data Chip into the Network	Play 1 of your special Personal Influence cards
Level 1 Reward	+1 Program limit	Your hand limit is now 10	When defending, you may add 1 blue card from your hand to your Shield	Max Health: 3
Level 2 Task	Exhaust (empty) your Personal Influence deck	Discard 6 cards from your hand at once	Eliminate 2 enemies (must be either Lvl 2 or 3)	Perform the free action in the Med Center
Level 2 Reward	+1 Action	Once on each of your turns, you may reroll one of your dice	+1 Movement	When taking Dark Net Action 2, draw 3 Programs. Keep 1, discard the others.

Nova — The Runner

Nobody knows the ins-and-outs of the city the way Nova does. She's fast, but that's not always an advantage. Her detours cause her to bypass our scanners, and we're never sure if its coincidental or on purpose.

We've never been completely sure of Nova's motives, and for that reason it's been hard to build mutual trust. It's strange that she always seems to have the right tool for the job — has she gained access to our warehouse, or is she being supplied by outside forces?

Advantages.

• If you use City Action 3, you receive 4 Influence cards from the General Influence deck, instead of 3.
• If another player uses City Action 3, you may draw 1 General Influence card.

Disadvantage. You may not collect Scanners.

Special. The bar on your Player Board starts at 0. Whenever you unlock a Level Boost, raise that bar by 1 step. If you are at step 2, you may equip a weapon for free at HQ. If you do so, reset your bar to 0.

Skill Tree

	Hacking	Implants	Security	Rigging
Level 1 Task	Play one of your special Personal Influence cards	Perform Junkyard Action 3	Perform a successful Nexus action	Eliminate 1 Enemy
Level 1 Reward	+1 Strength (You may now deal damage without a weapon.)	Once on each of your turns, you may reroll one of your dice	When defending, you may add 1 blue card from your hand to your Shield	+1 Program limit
Level 2 Task	Obtain 2 weapons at HQ (whether bought or through your special ability)	Raise Morale to value 4 or higher	Equip a Data Chip from Sector III	You have no cards in hand
Level 2 Reward	+1 Action	You may now carry 2 Data Chips (but you may never collect more than 1 with a single action)	When taking Dark Net Action 2, draw 3 Programs. Keep 1, discard the others.	+1 Movement

Havoc — The Fighter

Havoc experienced more war, hate, and violence at a young age than most people experience in a lifetime. His violent streak dates back to his childhood, when he was forcibly recruited as a child soldier after watching his parents' execution. Havoc is absolutely lethal in combat, and there are times — too many times, if you ask me — that he comes across as a ticking time bomb. I pray that he'll refrain from exploding until our mission is complete.

Advantage. For each Enemy you eliminate, draw an additional card from the General Influence deck. This is in addition to any normal bonus cards you would draw as a result of an elimination.

Disadvantage. You may not equip Pistols at HQ.

Special. The bar on your Player Board starts at 0. Whenever you eliminate an Enemy in battle, raise this bar's value by 1. When you reach levels 2 and 5 on this bar, you may move the lowest-level Stim-Shot marker on your skill tree one space downwards, to claim a Level Boost. If there are multiple lowest-level markers, choose one.

Skill Tree

	Hacking	Implants	Security	Rigging
Level 1 Task	Receive a Recon card	Successfully enter 1 Data Chip into the Network	Perform Junkyard Action 3	Perform 2 City Actions
Level 1 Reward	Whenever you discard a 5-value blue Influence card, you may draw 2 Programs	+1 Program limit	When defending, you may add 1 blue card from your hand to your Shield	When attacking, you may play an additional red card
Level 2 Task	Eliminate a Level 2 or 3 Enemy at range 1 (not 0)	Reach value 4 on your Combat Bar	Equip 1 Data Chip from Sector III	Adjust the value of the Riot Bar so that it is at 0
Level 2 Reward	+1 Strength	+1 Range	+1 Action	+1 Movement

Dryden — The Medic

No one is more necessary on the battlefield than a good medic, and Dryden is the best! During one rescue mission, he kept 27 seriously injured civilians alive, with no supplies and no support. He's just that good.

Dryden's creativity and skill have saved us more times than I can count, and he gets better with every injury he treats. The problem with doctors, though, is that they make terrible patients. Their arrogance often causes more wounds than one would expect, and Dryden is no different.

FAQ.

• Dryden may never heal an uninjured character.
• You may heal yourself, as well as other characters (and Kuro).
• Healing Health or Wounds counts as healing for both your special ability and your skill tree.

Advantages.

• You start with 2 Programs, instead of 1. You also start with an equipped Pistol, which is absent from HQ at the beginning of the game.
• As an action, you may heal 1 character in range (refresh their Health to its full limit). After doing so, draw 2 General Influence cards.

Disadvantage. If you drop to 0 Health, you receive 2 Wounds instead of 1.

Special. The bar on your Player Board starts at 0. Whenever you heal a character (whether for Health or Wounds), raise this bar's value by 1. Draw a Program card as soon as you reach 2 and 5 on this bar.

Skill Tree

	Hacking	Implants	Security	Rigging
Level 1 Task	Perform Junkyard Action 1	Heal a character using your Advantage action or your Level 1 Hacking reward (if unlocked)	Buy or receive 2 new Programs (starting Programs do not count)	Eliminate 1 Enemy
Level 1 Reward	As an action, you may now heal 1 Wound on any character in range. If you do, draw 1 Influence card	Max Health: 3	+1 Strength (You may now deal damage without a weapon.)	Junkyard Action 1 is now a free action for you
Level 2 Task	Discard 5 cards from your hand at once	Heal 1 player by 2 hearts worth of Health	Buy 2 weapons from HQ	Take a "Censure Motion" action that sends a character to the Isolation Cube
Level 2 Reward	+1 Action	+1 Program limit	+1 Movement	When attacking, you may play an additional red card

Dee Coy — The Specialist

Dee Coy never sleeps. At least, that's what he says. For years, he and his dog, Kuro, worked to protect threatened animals from poachers. They later went on to do other work, but there are still bounties on Dee Coy's head, set by the poachers he used to thwart — they want to see him locked up, or worse.

Kuro's capability for learning makes him more useful every day, and his partnership with Dee Coy allows them to work two jobs at once. Together, they make quite a team.

FAQ. The tasks in Dee Coy's skill tree that are marked with Kuro's symbol can only be completed by Kuro. The other tasks in the skill tree may be completed by either Dee Coy or Kuro.

Advantage. You start the game with Kuro in play (roll starting positions for Dee Coy and Kuro separately).

Disadvantages.

• If you ever drop to 0 Health, you begin your next turn with 1 Health and 1 Wound while detained in the Isolation Cube (rather than restarting at HQ).
• If Kuro ever drops to 0 Health, he starts his next turn in Dee Coy's Place, with 1 Health. In addition, Dee Coy (not Kuro) receives 1 Wound.

Special. Kuro does not use Kuro markers when attacking once you have unlocked two Level 2 Boosts.

Skill Tree

	Hacking	Implants	Security	Rigging
Level 1 Task	Perform a successful Nexus action	Move the Riot Bar from yellow to blue	Perform Junkyard Action 1	Kuro has used 2 of his Kuro markers (turn these face-down)
Level 1 Reward	+1 Program limit	When attacking, you may play an additional red card	+1 Shield (if you are in the same Area as Kuro)	When Kuro eliminates an Enemy, draw an Influence card in addition to any other cards
Level 2 Task	Play 1 of your special Personal Influence cards	As Dee Coy (not Kuro), successfully bring a Data Chip into the Network while carrying both Scanners	Kuro uses his free "sniffing" action on a Supply Box	Kuro eliminates an Enemy (must be either Lvl 2 or 3)
Level 2 Reward	Max Health: 3	+1 Movement	Kuro may now take 1 action AND 1 move per turn (instead of choosing one OR the other)	Turn 2 used Kuro markers face-up. They may be used again.

Kuro — Dee Coy's Companion

Kuro is an exceptional dog. Dee Coy found him badly injured and had him repaired with cyber-implants. The grateful dog has been by Dee Coy's side ever since, but even if the two separate, Kuro remains reliable and unafraid of carrying data to the Network on his own, if necessary. No matter the cost.

Kuro counts as a character.

Kuro has the lowest priority for Enemy attacks, so Enemies will attack characters other than Kuro whenever possible (exception: the Tank attacks everyone in range, including Kuro).

Sniffing. If Kuro enters an Area with a Supply Box, he may immediately look at it as a free action, without showing it to other players. Information about that Supply Box may be shared with other players or kept secret.

You may even lie about what the Supply Box holds, but what is printed on the marker may not be shown to anyone else.

This action will never trigger a trap.

Kuro can...

• Always take 1 action — OR — 1 movement.
• Only take an Area action if he spends the marker that corresponds to that Area (turn it face-down). As long as an Area's marker is face-down, Kuro may only perform fight actions in that Area.
• Equip 1 Data Chip.
• Receive 1 Recon card (between Dee Coy and Kuro, their player may have 2 of these cards).

Kuro may not...

• Collect Programs or Supply Boxes, or equip weapons at HQ.
• Receive Wounds (at 0 hearts, Kuro restarts alongside Dee Coy, who receives the Wound). Kuro is immune to Wounds gained through Events.
• Enter the Med Center.
• Become Leader or General.
• Be detained in the Isolation Cube. If Dee Coy is detained, Kuro may still act independently.

FAQ.

• Kuro and Dee Coy may perform the Sector II action together.
• Kuro may be the non-active character who receives 2 Data Chips as part of the Sector II action, even if he has no remaining Sector 1/2/3 markers.
• If Kuro is destroyed by one of Dee Coy's special Character cards and later put back into play by Dee Coy's other special Character card, Kuro returns to play with all of his Kuro markers!
• Kuro's turn happens at the same time as Dee Coy's. Whichever of those characters goes first is up to their player. You must complete one character's turn before moving to the next.

How to Play the Factions

Humans

Prime Rule. Trust the right people, and earn their trust in return! Bring blue Data Chips into the Network, and work to raise the value of the blue Apex Bar while reducing the value of the red Deus Bar. Try to become General when the Apex Bar is at value 9. Be careful about sharing information on purple Data Chips, and remember where you place them!

Help Is Rare. Your faction starts out strong, but you're likely to lose allies throughout the course of the game. Be careful!

Note. You don't have to bring only blue Data Chips into the Network! As long as the Humans control two columns of the Network, you can move the game forward by bringing red and purple chips to the Network. The Humans should try to finish the game through the Network as quickly as possible, because longer games give advantages to the other factions.

Remember: The game may end when there are 9 Data Chips in the Network! This means that the Humans need just 2 blue Data Chips in each of 2 columns in order to claim two majorities, and thus the victory!

Machines

Prime Rule. Pretend to be a Human and gain their trust! Manipulate skill check Events when it seems appropriate. Bring red Data Chips into the Network and try to reduce Resources in the City. Work to raise the value of the red Deus Bar while reducing the value of the blue Apex Bar. Be careful about sharing information on purple Data Chips and remember where you place them!

Help Is On the Way. The Machine Phase will give you information (with 4 players), and possibly an ally (with 5–6 players), but beware! If Legion is in the game, you or your ally might become Legion, instead!

Legion

Prime Rule. Pretend to be a Human and gain their trust! Manipulate skill check Events when it seems appropriate. Work to lower the Security Level to 0, or raise the Enemy Threat Level to 4. Try not to actively avoid fighting, and bring Data Chips to the Network in order to remain inconspicuous and receive important upgrades. Be careful about sharing information on purple Data Chips, and remember where you place them!

How Legion Infects Players (only with 5–6 players). Legion must work to lower the Security Level to 0, or the Enemy Threat Level to 4, but in games with 5–6 players, it becomes crucial that they also infect other characters. If a player is infected (touched) by Legion during the Machine Phase, that player's character joins the Legion faction until the game is over.

Help May Be On the Way. How much help you receive is up to you! If the Security Bar (in the City) is at value 2 or lower, OR the Enemy Threat Level (in the Command Center) is at value 2 or higher, Legion may infect one player. If both of these conditions are met, Legion may infect two players.

In a 3–4 player game, Legion is not permitted to infect other players.

Fallen

Prime Rule. Pretend to be a Human and gain their trust! Manipulate skill check Events when it seems appropriate. Work to ensure that at least 3 purple Data Chips end up in the Junkyard, OR that at least 2 purple Data Chips end up in the Junkyard AND 2 purple Data Chips end up in the Network. By giving false information you can manipulate players into putting their purple Data Chips where you need them most. Put your Data Chips into the Network to remain inconspicuous and receive important upgrades.

Help Does Not Exist. You are alone throughout the game! In a 5–6 player game, it's possible that Legion might make you one of their own.

Outlaws

In Human Punishment: The Beginning, no player belongs to the grey faction. The game itself represents the Outlaws, who come into play as Enemies.

It is possible for the Outlaws to be the victorious faction, in which case there will be no winner — the players have all lost.

Tips for Beginners & FAQ

First Game Tips for Beginners

Read these tips out loud to all the players, once everyone has drawn their character, faction and Objective!

• Review your skill tree. Which Level 1 tasks are easy to accomplish, and which Level 2 tasks do you want to work towards? Which Level 1 task might be easier to unlock with 2 Scanners? It's difficult to earn all of your Boosts, but a targeted approach can help you achieve your goals.
• Don't forget the General's free action to eliminate 4 Enemies on the board. If you're overwhelmed, you may need to make this sacrifice!
• You should never lose sight of your Objective, but it doesn't have to be your main focus. You have enough time to achieve your goals — just be sure that you push forward at the right moment.
• Maintain a balance between taking meaningful actions for your faction, and taking actions that help everyone in the game. If you focus too much on helping your faction, it may make you unpopular at the table. If you focus too much on helping everyone, it will harm your faction's progress.
• Don't take too long playing the first part of the game, before the Human Phase. This only helps the Machines, because Deus can build up a lot of strength here. If Deus appears too quickly, it may mean that the characters have not yet fulfilled their Objectives. So, it makes sense for all players to advance the early part of the game.
• As a Human, don't get stuck on blue Data Chips, as bringing only blue Data Chips into the Network will slow down the game. Since the Humans only need a majority in 2 columns, 1 column may be neglected and filled up with other colors without any risk.
• Programs can be incredibly helpful. They have the potential to save time and give you strength, and they can even be used to help other players, which can be a great help to your team.
• With 3–4 players: If you are not a Human, try to stay discreet. Support the Humans and earn their trust. If the Humans know that you are not on their team, they will be able to sabotage your progress. Stay hidden!
• If you are a Legion or a Fallen player, you can convince everyone that a completely different faction is in play. This can take attention away from you and your motives.
• Carefully consider the route you take when bringing a Data Chip to the Network. While the shorter path saves time, the longer way offers many advantages. There are many factors that may influence your decision, so play smart!

FAQ

• Swapping Data Chips through the Level III "Trust or Betrayal" Event does not fulfill an Objective that requires you to bring a non-blue Data Chip into the Network.
• If an Event destroys a Spawn Location that is occupied by an Enemy, that Enemy is eliminated and returned to the Command Center.
• Sometimes, higher-level enemies may appear even if you haven't yet reached that level. This is because all of the lower-level Enemies have already appeared. This is a sign that the situation at the table is critical!

Campaign Mode

Campaign Mode is a game for 4–6 players, and may only be played by combining Human Punishment: The Beginning with Human Punishment: Social Deduction 2.0 (aka HP-SD2.0).

In The Beginning

New turn action: Program Transfer. Slide any number of your own Programs completely underneath your Player Board.

The Beginning Is Over? If the game ended because Tier 3 of the Network was completed, before the Data Chips are revealed, separately shuffle the Data Chips in each Tier before turning them face-up.

Shuffle any Data Chips in the Junkyard, face-down, before they are revealed and evaluated.

Determine the winning faction, but do not reveal which faction you were a part of! The game isn't over yet, so if you weren't a Human, you should keep pretending to be one.

No one should reveal if they completed their Objective.

After The Beginning

Prepare HP-SD2.0 as follows:

• Remove ALL Legion and Fallen-related ID roles, and the Legion Loyalty card, from the game.
• Shuffle the remaining HP-SD2.0 ID roles together into a stack. Shuffle all HP-SD2.0 Loyalty cards into another stack.
• Deal 5 random ID roles and 3 random Loyalty cards to each player. Each player chooses 1 ID role card and 2 Loyalty cards that represent their faction at the end of the game (majority by color OR "Always YOUR TEAM"). If a player cannot do so, wait until another player has selected their cards. Then, collect their unused cards and see if it is possible to select cards matching your faction at the end of the game. If necessary, repeat this process until this becomes possible.
• If a player did not complete their Objective in The Beginning, or if they were in the Isolation Cube at the end of the game, they must become an Outlaw and take a Grey majority or "Always Outlaw" card.
• The original Legion player may take any combination of ID roles and loyalty cards, but they must reveal their true role ("Mindeater") when their ID role is revealed and then switch their ID with the Mindeater card! If players investigate the role before that player's chosen ID is revealed, they will receive false information!
• Any players infected by Legion may take an Outlaw role, but no other. No matter what roles and Loyalties those players chose, they always start as Legion.
• The Fallen player may take any role, but they must reveal their true role ("Deathbringer") when their ID role is revealed and then switch their ID with the Deathbringer card! If players investigate the role before that player's chosen ID is revealed, they will receive false information!
• A player with at least 2 Wounds starts with exactly one revealed loyalty card.
• A player who did not have full HP starts with exactly 1 HP.
• Every player who has transferred Programs draws the same number of Programs into their starting hand, in addition to their normal starting Program. Only draw Programs from HP-SD2.0. From this selection each player may choose which Programs to keep. At the beginning of the game, each player may have no more than 2 Programs in their starting hand — the rest are discarded face-down.
• The last player to have taken a turn in The Beginning will become the last player of the new round.

Effects of The Beginning for HP-SD2.0

• Was Deus destroyed? Remove the "Machine Boss" Program card from the game.
• Was Apex destroyed? Remove the "Human Boss" Program card from the game.
• Did the Machines win? Remove all Human Loyalty Programs from the game.
• Did the Humans win? Remove all Machine Loyalty Programs from the game. All Machine players should take Outlaw roles. If this is not possible they should take Machine roles, or Human roles if necessary.
• Did the Outlaws win? All players should take Outlaw roles. If none are available, players may take any other roles.

Is the Project: Hell Gate Expansion Available?

• Did The Beginning end because of 0 Morale? Place EX Boss Exitus to the right of the last player. Portals may bring another EX Boss into play.
• Did Legion win? The first EX Boss to come through a portal will be Legion God.
• Did the Fallen win? The first EX Boss to come through a portal will be Fallen Angel.

The team that wins this final battle will win the battle for dominance over the Earth!

Game Summary

Player Turn

1. Action Phase

• Draw Influence cards
• Movement and actions
• Discard

2. Activation Phase

• Roll dice to activate Areas and add Enemies

3. Event Phase

• Resolve an Event
• Check the Riot Bar

4. Pass Active Player card

Phases

• Human Phase — After Tier 1 in the Network is filled.
• Machine Phase — After Tier 2 in the Network is filled.
• Game End — After Tier 3 in the Network is filled, or another win condition has been met.

Miscellaneous Reference

New Leader vote, Censure Motion, Attack, and Defend all work as described in their respective sections above.

Icon Glossary

• Values: Riot, Morale, Resource, Security, Enemy Threat Level.
• Characters: Action Points, Movement, Range, Strength (usable red cards), Shield (usable blue cards), Health points, hand cards to draw (and hand limit), Program limit, Wound.
• Players: Player, Isolated player, Leader (L), General (G), Kuro, Attack multiple targets, 1st priority during attacks (and further numbered priorities).
• Cards: Personal Influence card, General Influence card, Program card, card with indicated color.
• Miscellaneous: Discard, Data Chip, Scanner, pink die, white die (Spawn Location), orange die (activated Area), red die (Enemy type), Success, Failure.