Patronage (fan expansion for Race for the Galaxy)
Patronage (fan expansion for Race for the Galaxy) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Patronage is an unofficial, stand-alone expansion for the Race for the Galaxy base game.
The archive contains 60 cards. All developments of 1 to 5 cost should be duplicated, for a total of 72 additional cards.
Patronage also includes eight Galactic Agendas (and one blank) which create new strategic possibilities. You will need 20-30 tokens to represent Favor (see below).
For those players who enjoy using Goals (from the first official expansion arc), three additional goals are provided which work well with this set. Be sure to remove goals pertaining to Prestige or Takeovers.
Game Rules
Setup
Before each game, select two Agendas at random. Place two Favor tokens per player on each Agenda. Place the remaining Favor tokens near the VP pool.
Deal out start worlds using the 'one red, one blue' method from the official expansions.
Agendas
An Agenda is considered "Active" until there are no more Favor tokens remaining on that Agenda. Agendas with no tokens are "Complete".
The top half of the Agenda shows the Agenda key, which indicates what type of card must be placed to gain Favor. When a player places a card (or reveals a start world) that matches one or both keys of an active Agenda, he takes 1 Favor token from the Agenda.
If multiple players place applicable cards in the same phase, and there aren't enough tokens left on an Agenda for every player who earned one, take additional tokens from the supply so that each player who earned a token receives one.
When an Agenda is complete, players no longer earn Favor when placing a matching card. Instead, the special ability (shown on the bottom half of the Agenda) becomes available to use. Special abilities let players spend Favor for different benefits.
To use an Agenda's special ability, a player must have at least one card in their tableau that matches one of that Agenda's keys. Then the player simply spends a Favor token in the appropriate phase to gain the printed benefit.
A player may spend as much Favor as desired in order to gain the benefit multiple times. Persistent effects, like the additional Military from the Galactic Vigilance agenda, are cumulative.
You don't have to spend Favor if you don't want to.
As a reminder, the Agenda must be complete before its special ability can be used.
Agendas in Detail
The key and phase icons on each Agenda card are images in the source PDF; the text below names the cards that match each Agenda.
Arms of the Imperium
Gain a Favor token after placing a Rebel world or an Imperium card. Once complete, if you have at least one Rebel world or Imperium card in your tableau, you may spend Favor tokens in Phase IV as if they were Rare elements (brown) goods. You still need the consume powers to consume them. You may sell a Favor token in place of a Rare elements good if you selected Consume: Trade.
Established Power
Gain a Favor token after placing a development that provides Military or a grey non-military world. Once complete, as long as you have a matching card in your tableau, you may spend as many Favor tokens as you like in phase III, gaining -2 settle cost and -2 Military (cumulative) per token spent, until the end of the phase. You can use the reduced Military to settle Peaceful worlds you normally wouldn't be able to place.
Galactic Enrichment
Gain a Favor token after placing a windfall world. Once complete, if you have at least one windfall world in your tableau, you may spend Favor tokens in phase IV to gain 1 VP and 1 card apiece. These VPs may not be doubled.
Galactic Vigilance
Gain a Favor token after placing a card with a "Draw more cards" Explore (i.e. eyeball) power or an Alien card. Only gain 1 token if the card is an Alien card with an Explore "+?" power. Note that "mix-and-match" explore powers do not count.
Once complete, if you have a matching card in your tableau, you may spend any number of Favor tokens in phase III to gain +2 Military (cumulative) per token spent, until the end of the phase.
Uplift Prophecy
Gain a Favor token after placing a card with an "Intel" power or an Uplift card. (Count all Uplift cards, not just chromosome worlds.) Once complete, as long as you have a matching card in your tableau, you may spend Favor tokens in phase I to draw 5 cards and keep 1, for each token spent.
You can use this ability while resolving your regular Explore action to keep 1 additional card (in this case, ignore the +5 draw).
Omens of War
Gain a Favor token after placing a brown (Rare Elements) world or a card with a "discard VP" power. Once complete, if you have at least one matching card in your tableau, you may spend any number of Favor tokens in Phase III; For each Favor token spent, gain +1 Military (cumulative) and draw 1 card.
Pan Galactic Senate
Gain a Favor token after placing a non-Military green (Genes) world or any card that provides negative Military. Once complete, as long as you have a matching card in your tableau, you may spend as many Favor tokens as you like in phase II, gaining 1 VP from the pool and -1 develop cost (cumulative) per token spent. The discount lasts until the end of the phase.
Planetary Surplus
Gain a Favor token after placing a card with a Trade ($) power, or a "discard from tableau" power. Once complete, if you have at least one matching card in your tableau, you may spend Favor tokens in phase V to gain 3 cards apiece.
Favor
Besides being earned through Agendas, some cards (Terraforming Specialists, Peaceful Alien Emissary, etc.) have powers that let you gain Favor tokens (depicted on the cards as a septagonal galaxy swirl). Favor tokens are essentially VPs that don't come out of the limited supply.
- You gain Favor when you match the key of an active (i.e. incomplete) Agenda.
- If a card power grants Favor, take it out of the supply, not off of an active Agenda.
Favor tokens count as VP chips. In consequence:
- Favor held at the end of the game are worth 1 VP apiece.
- Galactic Renaissance scores for VP chips plus Favor.
- "Spend VP" powers can be activated by discarding Favor.
- Galactic Standard of Living (Goal) could be awarded due to Favor gain.
VP chips don't count as Favor. Favor doesn't come from the VP pool.
- Favor won't trigger game end.
Peaceful Worlds
Patronage introduces a new type of world, Peaceful worlds, which can only be placed by players with negative (or zero, in one case) Military. Peaceful worlds have blue defense values instead of red ones.
A player cannot settle a Peaceful world unless his total military (including specialized military) is equal to or lower than the defense of the world. For example, Peaceful Uplift Architects has a defense of -2, requiring a total Military of -2 or below to place it.
Despite the inverted placement requirements, Peaceful worlds count as Military worlds, with the additional exception that they cannot be placed using pay-for-military powers such as Contact Specialist.
In consequence:
- 6-cost developments which score for Military worlds also score for Peaceful worlds.
- Peaceful worlds are not Non-military worlds and cannot be placed with Colony Ship, Galactic Alliance, Imperium Rule, etc.
Any card referring to a "red circle" (Military world) is also referring to a "blue circle", keeping in mind the placement exceptions. For example, if you have Terraforming Robots in your tableau, you'd draw an extra card after placing a Peaceful world, just like any other.
Spend VP Powers
As mentioned above, some powers let you discard VPs for benefits, such as card draws or a reduced settle cost.
- VPs spent return to the pool (they are not removed from the game).
- Favor spent (as VP) return to the supply. They have no effect on Agendas or the VP pool.
- If a player has both Favor and VP, they choose which one to spend when using an applicable power.
Intel Powers
Intel powers all share the same backdrop icon, a pair of shadowy pawns.
Intel powers generally let you "leech" off of other people's actions. For example, Research Intelligence has a phase II power described on the card as "-1 cost to place (developments) if an opponent selected Develop."
If you and an opponent both select the same action, the Intel bonus and your regular action selection bonus stack.
The 6-cost development Core Intelligence scores extra points for Intel cards.
Optional Goals
The following three goals may be used with this set, for players who enjoy Goals from the first official expansion arc.
- Established Power: First to three grey non-military worlds in tableau.
- Cultural Exchange: First to two cards with Intel powers in tableau.
- Economic Leader: Most cards with Trade powers in tableau (3+). Includes any power in phase ($) but not Black Market Trading World.