Planet Apocalypse: The Void Pack Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Maps
  • The Launch Site Map
    • Setup
    • Banned Legions
    • Hero Movement
    • Lord Segment
    • Minions Move Segment
  • The Moon Base Map
    • Setup
    • Recruit Segment
    • When Heroes Move
    • When Enemies Move
    • Lord Segment
    • Invasion Tokens Spawn
• Legions
  • Pandemonium
  • Styx
• Regions and Troopers
  • Region Cards
  • Trooper Notes
• Gifts
• Heroes
  • Dorothy Hall (hero sheet)
  • Moose Kowalski (hero sheet)
• Fourth Circle Demons
  • The Secutor
  • The Magdalene
  • The Mandrake
• Lords
  • Lord Tarasque
  • Stheno
• Frequently Asked Questions
  • General Game Rules
  • Gifts
  • Heroes
  • Enemies

Components

The Void Pack contains the following components (as shown on the rulebook's Void Pack component page, page 8):

• 2 Hero sheets
• Maps: Moon Base, Launch Site
• 2 Heroes (L to R: Moose, Dorothy Hall)
• 2 Legion cards (Pandemonium, Styx)
• 3 Region Cards (Space, USA, Texas)
• 48 Trooper cards (8 Astronaut, 8 Cosmonaut, 4 Navy SEALs, 6 National Guard, 4 Texas Rangers, 4 US Marines, 6 Evangelicals, 8 Gang)
• 10 Gift cards
• 2 Lord cards
• 3 Fourth Circle cards (1 per minion)
• 1 Fourth Circle minion (Secutor)
• 1 Fourth Circle minion (Magdalene)
• 1 Fourth Circle minion (Mandrake)
• 1 Lord (Tarasque)
• 1 Lord (Stheno)

The hero sheet page also prints these player-count limits: "Do not use Dorothy in a 2-player game." and "Do not use Moose in a 5-player game."

Maps

The Launch Site Map

"It is by its promise of a sense of power that evil often attracts the weak." — Eric Hoffer

The Launch Site layout. The numbered areas are critical to understanding this map.

The Launch Site map has a ring of 6 areas, numbered 1-6, encircling the central Lord's location. The Lord does not move on this map, nor does he extend his Shadow. This is cold comfort, as it turns out. Area 1 is the start area.

Setup

Heroes begin at the start. This is also where they can recruit new troopers.

When selecting your region, replace the cost 3 and cost 4 troopers with Cosmonauts and Astronauts. The cost 1, 2, and 5 troopers don't change (in Russia, the cost 2, 5, and 6 troopers remain instead.)

Banned Legions

If the Styx or Acheron legion is drawn, discard it and draw a new one.

Hero Movement

A hero can only move to the Lord's area from an area completely empty of minions.

Lord Segment

When the Lord counter hits 1:

1. Discard and replace all gifts.
2. Spawn a Fourth Circle demon in the Lord's area.
3. Score doom equal to the highest-numbered area that contains any minions. For example, if areas 1, 5, and 6 have no minions, and areas 2, 3, and 4 contain minions, then score 4 doom (because area 4 is the highest-numbered area with minions). Please note that doom is scored in the Lord segment, BEFORE minions move or exit the central Lord's area.

John Dark's Tip: You need to predict where demons are going to be, and target them in advance, balancing this with the random movement of newly-spawned invasion tokens. At least the Lord is easy to reach.

Minions Move Segment

A band of enemies that exits the Lord's area rolls 1d6 to determine which area they enter. Once in the outer ring, minions move clockwise.

The Moon Base Map

"If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning." — C. S. Lewis

The Moon Base map is in the Void expansion. This map has two Gates, and two paths leading away from the Gates, labeled the White Railgun and the Blue Railgun, plus two starts, which are called airlocks. There are some important exceptions to the rules.

The Moon Base map's layout. Note that it has two starts as well as two Gates.

Setup

Start with an invasion token in each space on the White Railgun, except the airlock. Start with two invasion tokens in each space on the Blue Railgun, including the airlock.

There are two Gates on the map: White Gate and Blue Gate. Place the Demon Lord in the White Railgun Gate area.

Heroes start in the White Airlock.

The Blue Gate produces 2 invasion markers each time the Lord's cycle triggers. A hero can move directly from the Blue Gate area to the White Gate area (this enters Hell Time of course.).

Recruit Segment

Only space troopers (Cosmonauts and Astronauts) are available to recruit. A hero can discard their entire recruit die roll in exchange for 1 courage.

Space Troopers. Space troopers have a special ability costing 1 courage. Any hero can spend this courage, and does not need to be in the space troopers' area when doing so.

An ambush Astronaut can move to any area when 1 courage is spent. The hero spending the courage can choose to move only part of the ambush when doing this. If moved to an area containing Cosmonauts, the latter are discarded. Remember, the limit is still only 4 troopers per area.

When Heroes Move

Heroes can move between airlocks as if adjacent. Airlocks aren't adjacent for any other purpose.

When Enemies Move

Enemies are always either on the White Railgun or the Blue Railgun. White Railgun enemies move and spawn normally, and head down the White Railgun toward the White Airlock.

Blue Railgun enemies only spawn and move when the Lord marker hits 1—but two tokens spawn. They still attack normally, every minions attack segment, if heroes are in their area. They move down the Blue Railgun towards the Blue Airlock. Minions can exit from either airlock start area and score doom in the usual fashion.

Lord Segment

When the Lord counter hits 1:

1. Discard and replace all gifts.
2. Move the Lord into the next White Railgun area, and place his Shadow there.
3. Spawn a Fourth Circle demon in the Lord's area. It advances down the White path in the ensuing minions move segment.
4. Advance Blue path enemies and invasion tokens. This is the only time Blue path enemies move.
5. Spawn two Blue path invasion tokens in the Blue Gate area.

John Dark's Tip: On this map, it's possible for an invasion token to exit. Watch out, because this is a big doom loss.

Invasion Tokens Spawn

On this map, invasion tokens spawn from Gates, not directly from the Lord.

When two invasion tokens are revealed, resolve each token separately. However, the enemies that appear group together normally. Example: On the first turn of the game, a hero moves to the Blue Airlock. The two invasion tokens resolve, rolling 4 despair dice each. The first token has a First Circle demon (and a larva). The second token has a First and a Second Circle demon, plus two larvae. The end result is three larvae, two First Circle demons, and one Second Circle demon in the area. The larvae and First Circle demons then group.

John Dark's Tip: The Blue path is generally not as threatening because of its slow rate of advance, but you do need to send a hero or two there once in a while to clear out enemies. Placing troopers there can be useful—they can shoot up the Blue path enemies for several turns in a row, earning courage and thinning the horde.

Legions

The Void Pack adds two legions, Pandemonium and Styx. The base rulebook's legion rules apply to them: "At any given time, exactly one legion is in effect." (page 22) and "The legion never affects the Demon Lord." (page 23)

Pandemonium

The printed text on the Pandemonium legion card is not legible on the component page (page 8), so it is not transcribed. The rulebook body states the following about Pandemonium:

• "They do not benefit from the current demonic legion abilities (exception: Hades, which mentions larvae by name). For instance, if Pandemonium is the legion, larvae do not attack outside their area." (page 22)
• "For example, when Pandemonium is in effect, the larvae do NOT cast spells." (page 22)
• "Usually, only enemies in areas that contain heroes need their attacks resolved. However, demons in the Pandemonium legion and some special-case demons (such as the Hellhound) can attack even when no hero is in their area." (page 37, Special Cases)

Styx

FLIGHT: Demons move 2 areas per turn instead of 1. (Printed on the Styx legion card, page 8.)

The rulebook body states the following about Styx:

• "When Styx is in effect, the larvae still only move 1 area, not two." (page 22)
• "Legion abilities do not apply to invasion tokens. For example, a Styx demon moves 2 areas, while an invasion token still only moves 1." (page 23)
• "So at the end of the enemy phase, on most maps the Fourth Circle demon is in an area just in front of the Lord (or two areas, if Styx is the legion)." (page 24)
• "On-Map Minions and Invasion Tokens Move: Move all invasion tokens and revealed minions one area toward the start. Exception: Styx demons move two areas." (page 37, Minions Move Segment)
• Styx is barred on the Launch Site map (see Banned Legions above).

Cross-reference, not a Void rule: the Dragon Guts map in the Dragon Pack (page 48) also reads "If the Styx or Acheron legion is drawn, discard it and draw a new one." It is transcribed in the Dragon Pack rulebook.

Regions and Troopers

The rulebook's general Regions section (page 29) says of the US region: "The US is unique, because you get choices for your troopers."

Region Cards

The three Void region cards are Space, USA and Texas (page 8). The Space and Texas card faces are not legible on the component page. The USA card shows the following text, with some lines hidden:

• START: "Choose which troopers you want per cost category. (So if you take Marines, you don't get Army.)"
• Cost 5: Navy Seal or Special Forces
• Cost 4: US Marines or Army
• Cost 3: National Guard or Police
• Cost 2: partly hidden; the visible text begins "Evangelical…"
• Cost 1: not legible

The Launch Site map's setup text, "When selecting your region, replace the cost 3 and cost 4 troopers with Cosmonauts and Astronauts," is transcribed in the Launch Site section above. The page does not name the region it refers to.

Trooper Notes

• Astronauts and Cosmonauts are the space troopers. Their rules are in the Moon Base section above (Recruit Segment and Space Troopers).
• Texas Ranger (Ambush side, page 8): "Lower despair track by 1 when Texas Ranger dies (to min 1)."
• The remaining Void trooper cards (Navy SEALs, National Guard, US Marines, Evangelicals, Gang and the Patrol faces) are not legible on the component page, so their absorb, ambush, trait and cost values are not transcribed. The general rules for troopers apply to all of them as described in the base rulebook.

Gifts

The Void Pack contains ten Gift cards (page 8). The only one whose text is partly visible is the Four Leaf Clover card, and only fragments can be read ("…earned gift", "…now cost", "…courage", "…renew costs", "…age for the"). That text is not transcribed. The gift rules that refer to the Mandrake are in the Frequently Asked Questions below.

Heroes

Dorothy Hall (hero sheet)

Do not use Dorothy in a 2-player game.

Spunky (start ability): Anytime during the team action phase, choose up to two other heroes in your area to each gain 1 courage (if only 1 other hero is present, they get 1 courage).

Winsome: When an enemy group attacks you, you can transfer some or all damage in excess of 1 to one other hero in your area.

Inner Strength: You can help a hero more than once, paying 1 courage each time.

Unsophisticated (weakness): While the pool contains courage you can only spend courage from it, except for the renew team action. When it is empty, you can use your own courage.

Ability track, as printed on the sheet:

• First track, from START: Add a 1d6 token to your attack box. Then: Add +1 to your cap and current health, then acquire ability: Winsome. Then: Raise 1 die token in your attack box by a step.
• Second track, from START: Add +1 to your cap and current health. Then: Add +1 to your cap and current health, then acquire ability: Inner Strength. Then: Divide 5 luck among the other heroes.
• Costs printed beside the arrows: 5, 6 and 8 on the first track, and 4, 6 and 6 on the second. The sheet's resolution does not make clear which cost belongs to which step, so the numbers are listed rather than attached to steps.

Moose Kowalski (hero sheet)

Do not use Moose in a 5-player game.

Moose's hero sheet lies almost entirely under Dorothy's sheet in the component art, and its ability text is not legible, so it is not transcribed. The Frequently Asked Questions below refer to his Charge ability and to a cost 12 gift slot on his sheet.

Fourth Circle Demons

The Secutor

From the Secutor's Fourth Circle card, as printed.

When the Secutor spawns: One ambush trooper in every area is killed. This can even kill a BMP.

Battle Rage: The Secutor's damage cannot be absorbed by troopers.

Fourth Circle. This demon has 4 health, adds 4 doom when it exits, and provides 4 courage when it dies.

Toughness 2+2. Attack 4d12.

The Magdalene

The Magdalene's Fourth Circle card is partly hidden behind the Secutor card on the component page. Its ability text is not legible, so it is not transcribed.

The Mandrake

The Mandrake's Fourth Circle card shows toughness 2+2 and attack 4d10. Its ability text is partly hidden behind the Secutor card, and what can be read is only fragments, so it is not transcribed. The Frequently Asked Questions below state two of its rules.

Lords

Lord Tarasque

Code name: Pelage. Identified as Angelo Drago.

Toughness 6. Attack 6d10 plus: Each hero on fire takes 1 damage when Tarasque attacks.

Spines: If a hero inflicts 2+ damage on Tarasque, that hero suffers 1 damage (a hero can voluntarily reduce damage inflicted to avoid this).

Extinguish: A hero can give up their attack in Hell Time to discard a fire marker from any hero.

Menace: All heroes are set on fire.

Reward: Each time a hero takes damage from fire in this battle, they gain 1 courage.

Stheno

The Stheno lord card is not legible on the component page (only the figure is shown and the card behind Tarasque's shows only its track), so its text is not transcribed. The Frequently Asked Questions below refer to her Petrifaction effect and to the banishing of Stheno.

Frequently Asked Questions

The questions below are the ones in the rulebook's Frequently Asked Questions (pages 53–55) that concern the Void Pack's rules or its characters. Questions about other packs and the base game are not included. Where the printed text is ambiguous from the page layout, the questions are paired with their answers as printed on the same page.

General Game Rules

Q. Does an ambush HAVE to fire? For example if it contains Gang members? A. No. The captain chooses whether or not it fires. Unless the Mandrake is in play, in which case it MUST fire if any heroes are in the area.

Q. When using the Astronaut special ability (from the Void expansion), what happens if I move an Astronaut ambush to an area that already contains an ambush? A. If the target area contains non-Astronauts, they are discarded. If it contains Astronauts, then combine the two ambushes, and discard any Astronauts beyond 4. You cannot use the Astronaut ability to move into an area containing the Lord's Shadow.

Gifts

Q. Am I ever required to use a particular gift? A. No. For example, you won't want to use Lieutenant while the Mandrake is in play.

Heroes

Q. If all Dorothy does is help or first aid (in a demon-infested area), does she need to take the 1 courage required from the pool? A. Yes. Of course, if she uses luck to substitute for courage, it can come from her luck pool instead.

Q. If Moose uses his move to discard a stun, can he benefit from his Charge ability? A. Of course not!

Enemies

Q. Do Invasion tokens benefit from legion abilities—such as Styx? A. No. Demons never use special abilities while "inside" an invasion token. Use this fact strategically, as when placing ambushes (which reveal invasion tokens).

Q. When the Mandrake is in play, can I use an ambush trooper to absorb damage from its own Ambush? A. Yes.

Q. When Stheno is banished, heroes return to their original toughness, applying gifts that affect toughness. What about toughness enhancements printed on a hero sheet (for example, Moose's cost 12 gift slot)? Do these count? A. Yes. These would count as part of your earned gifts.

Q. What happens if we run out of toughness markers to track Stheno's Petrifaction effect? Or Cthon's attack counters? Or other such items? A. Use any marker to substitute, or write the current total down.

Note: the question names "Cthon", as printed. The Dragon Pack lord is spelled Chthon.

Q. If Dorothy Hall is battling Stheno, and transfers some of her damage to another hero, does fossilization affect her because this damage was absorbed by someone else? A. No, because it was still absorbed by a hero, not a trooper.