Shadowrun: Sprawl Ops – Co-Op Expansion Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective of the Game
  • The Black Lodge
• Contents
• Event Card
• Black Lodge Plot Mission Card
• Agent Tokens
• Locations
  • Black Lodge Plot Missions
  • Recon
  • Interrogate
• Setup
  • Special Agent Token Table
• How to Play the Game
  • 2. Attempt Black Lodge Plot Missions Phase
  • 5. Black Lodge Phase
    • Gain Influence
    • Event Deck
    • Icons for Agent Placement
• Dealing with Agents
• Winning & Losing the Game

Objective of the Game

When using the Co-Op Expansion, the usual Shadowrun: Sprawl Ops gameplay occurs: players take turns placing runners in various locations on the gameboard; they acquire Gear, Upgrades, and Loot from those locations; they then roll six-sided dice to complete various Stages of a Mission without having too many of their runners injured, in the hopes of a nuyen payout that'll purchase more Gear and Upgrades to let them tackle ever tougher Missions; and so on.

In addition to all of that, this expansion introduces new elements of fun and intrigue to the game. First, the Black Lodge gameboard completely replaces the Final Mission location on the standard gameboard. Each game, the Black Lodge will have different Plot Missions the players must discover and then defeat.

At the end of every round, an Event card is revealed, which will place facedown Agent tokens on the gameboard. When a runner is placed on a location with an Agent token, they'll need to confront that Agent before they can interact with the location. All Agents on the gameboard also increase the Black Lodge's influence. The players will interrogate defeated Agents to reveal the Black Lodge Plot Mission cards, which will enable the players to tackle and ultimately defeat the Black Lodge's machinations.

When all the Black Lodge Plot Missions have been defeated, the players win the game! However, if the Black Lodge's Influence rises high enough so that they may execute their plans, or if you need to add a new Agent token to the gameboard and there are none left, all the players lose!

The Black Lodge

You've heard of the power behind the throne? The Black Lodge is the power behind that power. Intensely secretive and immensely powerful, the Lodge has agents working in megacorporations and governments across the world, for ultimate purposes only the Lodge's leadership understands. They pull the strings and watch their puppets dance, and when the rest of the world finally hears the tune they've been moving to, it won't be good—the only question is how big the ensuing disaster will be.

Contents

In conjunction with the base game, the Co-Op Expansion contains everything you need to play a cooperative game of Shadowrun: Sprawl Ops.

• Black Lodge Gameboard
• Rulebook
• 8 Event cards
• 12 Black Lodge Plot Mission cards
• 16 Field Agent tokens
• 20 Special Agent tokens
• 1 Black Lodge Influence token
• 6 Plot Progress tokens

Event Card

Event cards place Agent tokens in various locations on the gameboard.

Rules: When the card is revealed, read this rule aloud and apply its effects.

Add Agent Tokens: After applying the rules text, a number of Agent tokens based on the number of players is then added to the indicated locations.

The Undercover card, for example, reads: "Place this Event card on [Upgrade icon]. Agents here cannot be affected by the Recon action this turn." Its Add Agents table lists 1 player: 2 Agents at the Upgrade location; 2 players: 1 Agent at the Task location (three-bar icon); 3 players: 1 Agent at the Missions location; 4 players: 1 Agent at the Gear Shop location; 5 players: 1 Agent at the Fence location; 6 players: 1 Agent at the Socialite Bar location.

The Turncoat card reads: "Gain 1 runner from [Recruiter icon] at no cost."

Black Lodge Plot Mission Card

Each Black Lodge Plot Mission card is a special type of Mission representing the extensive machinations of this secretive group; each card displays the details players will need to complete it.

Stages: Each row of icons is known as a Stage and represents a series of icons that corresponds to the various dice icons (i.e., runner dice). Players must roll matching dice icons to clear each Stage.

Reward: If all Stages of a Plot Mission are cleared, the Mission is completed, and the indicated reward, in the upper right-hand corner, is applied.

Flavor Text: The flavor text immerses players in the Shadowrun universe but has no gameplay effects.

Card Backs: The card backs display a hint of the most prominent role icons that will need to be cleared on the Stages of this Plot Mission. Additionally, players must visit the Interrogate location on the Black Lodge gameboard and match role icons from defeated Agent tokens to reveal these Plot Mission cards (see the Black Lodge Plot Missions and Interrogate locations, below and on p. 5).

Agent Tokens

Agent tokens represent the Black Lodge's influence slowly taking over the sprawl. While the backs of all Agent tokens are all identical, there are two types of tokens, with two different faces:

• Field Agent: This token includes a single role icon.
• Special Agent: This token includes two role icons.

Locations

Like the regular Shadowrun: Sprawl Ops gameboards, each location on the Black Lodge gameboard displays the actions a runner can take when placed there.

Action: Via text and icons, each location provides a brief reminder of the actions that can be taken there. The full rules for all three locations start below.

Black Lodge Plot Missions

Runner Limits: 1 per player

Action: This location does not have an immediate effect. Rather, it reserves a spot for the player to attempt a face-up Black Lodge Plot Mission; an attempt against a facedown Mission cannot be made. The first player to place a runner here selects which of the remaining Black Lodge Plot Missions they will run against during the Attempt Black Lodge Plot Missions phase, with the following two outcomes:

• Success: If the player is successful, they complete the Mission and pay out any rewards (some only to the player that completed that Mission, others to all players), just as with a standard Mission. If the Mission they complete was the final Black Lodge Plot Mission, the players immediately win the game!

• Failure: Unlike standard Missions, if the player fails, any cleared Stages remain cleared for future turns and rounds; place a Progress token on the last cleared Stage. The next player with a runner on the reserved spot can then decide to attempt the same Mission, or they may choose a different face-up Black Lodge Plot Mission.

• Run Mission This Round: Yes

• Recovering Runners: No

• Face Bonus: None

Recon

Runner Limits: Unlimited

Action: Immediately reveal all facedown Agents in one location, then move 1 Agent from that location to any other location; this cannot be on the Black Lodge gameboard.

• Run Mission This Round: Yes
• Recovering Runners: Yes
• Face Bonus: None

Interrogate

Runner Limits: Unlimited

Action: Immediately place any Agent tokens you've acquired on any unrevealed Black Lodge Plot Missions, attempting to match each Agent's role icons on the card backs.

Once a Black Lodge Plot Mission has Agent tokens with role icons matching all of the icons on that card, immediately do the following:

• Place Field Agents back in the game box; they are not used for the rest of the game.
• Return Special Agents facedown to their pool, and shuffle them.
• Reveal that Black Lodge Plot Mission card.

Two additional rules apply here:

• Any 2 identical role icons on Agents can substitute for any other role icon. (Unused symbols on any Agent tokens are ignored.)

• Agent tokens are not placed onto Black Lodge Plot Missions once all of the Missions are revealed; at that point, defeated Special Agents cannot be returned to their pool. This means that after the last Black Lodge Plot Mission is revealed, the players have a limited time to complete all remaining Plot Missions before the Agent pool runs out and they lose the game!

• Run Mission This Round: Yes

• Recovering Runners: Yes

• Face Bonus: None

Setup

Place the Black Lodge gameboard at the top of the playing area, above the Gear cards. Place the Black Lodge Influence token on the 0 space of the Influence Track.

Note: In solo play, gameboard locations that have a limitation of "# players –1" can be used once.

Shuffle the Black Lodge Plot Mission Deck, then deal out a number of cards equal to the number of players, and place them facedown along the top of the Black Lodge gameboard, as indicated; the fronts are not revealed at this time. Return the remaining cards to the box without looking at them; they will not be used this game.

Shuffle the Event Deck and place it next to the gameboard in the indicated location.

Place all Field Agent tokens facedown and shuffle them into the Field Agent Pool, beside the gameboard, as indicated.

Then place all Special Agent tokens facedown and shuffle them into their own Special Agent Pool, also beside the gameboard. Then remove a number of Special Agent tokens, as indicated in the table below, and place them back in the box without looking at them; they will not be used this game.

Special Agent Token Table

• 1 Player: Remove 15 tokens
• 2 Players: Remove 12 tokens
• 3 Players: Remove 9 tokens
• 4 Players: Remove 6 tokens
• 5 Players: Remove 3 tokens
• 6 Players: Remove 0 tokens

How to Play the Game

The Co-Op Expansion adds a new phase to the end of each Shadowrun: Sprawl Ops round and replaces the Final Mission phase with the Attempt Black Lodge Plot Missions phase.

1. Place Runners Phase
2. Attempt Black Lodge Plot Missions Phase
3. Run Missions Phase
4. Upkeep Phase
5. Black Lodge Phase

The other phases remain unchanged for the Co-Op Expansion, so only the modified and new phases are described below.

2. Attempt Black Lodge Plot Missions Phase

If the players have at least one revealed Black Lodge Plot Mission available (see Interrogate location, p. 5), they may attempt to complete one of those unique Missions (see Black Lodge Plot Missions location, p. 4).

5. Black Lodge Phase

During the Black Lodge phase, the following rules are applied, in the following order:

Gain Influence

The Black Lodge gains influence based on the number of Agents on the board, whether they're face-up or not. Count the total Agents on the gameboard and divide in half (round up). Move the token on the Influence Track by that amount. For example, if seven Agents are on the gameboard at the end of the round, the Influence token would move up by 4.

Losing: If the Influence token ever reaches Takeover on the Influence Track, the players lose the game (see Winning & Losing the Game, p. 8).

Event Deck

Draw an Event card and apply its effects; some effects are instant, while others last the whole next round.

Then place new Agents onto indicated locations, based on the number of players; i.e., add tokens for each row on the card, up to the number of players. For example, in a four player game, if the players revealed the Undercover Event card, they would place the following tokens facedown, in the following locations: 2 Agents at the Upgrade location, 1 Agent at the Task location (three-bar icon), 1 Agent at the Missions location, and finally 1 Agent at the Gear Shop location.

Remember there are two types of Agents, Field and Special (see Agent Tokens, p. 4):

• Turn 1 & 2 Agents: The first two turns, place Field Agents only. (If there are any remaining Field Agents in that pool at the end of round 2, place those tokens back in the box; they will not be used for the rest of this game.)
• Turn 3+ Agents: For the rest of the game, always place Special Agents only.

See Dealing with Agents, page 8, for how to remove and then utilize Agent tokens.

If the Event Deck runs out, reshuffle to form a new Event Deck.

Losing: If players need to add a new Special Agent token to the gameboard and there are none in the supply, the players lose the game (see Winning & Losing the Game, p. 8).

Icons for Agent Placement

There are multiple gameboards, with multiple location names, available for Sprawl Ops play. As such, instead of using a series of confusing names for the placement of Agents, each location includes an icon—in the bottom, right-hand corner—corresponding to icons on the Event cards. In this fashion, regardless of which gameboard you're using, the Agent tokens can easily be placed.

The location icons are:

• Armed Medical Response (purple cross)
• Recruiter (three figures)
• Fence (orange arrows)
• Socialite Bar (teal ring)
• Freelancer Bar (grey blob)
• Task (orange half-circle)
• Gear Shop (green stacks)
• Task (pink bars)
• Missions (blue paper plane)
• Upgrade (maroon chevrons)

Dealing with Agents

When placing a runner on a location containing one or more Agents, all facedown Agents are immediately revealed. The player then decides whether to engage the Agents present; if they choose to engage, they will engage all of them.

Engaging Agents is nearly identical to rolling against a single Stage of a Mission: as usual, the assigned runner must use their own dice pool, and any successes that match corresponding role icons on the Agents defeat those Agents. For Special Agents, a runner must clear both of the icons to defeat it.

For each Agent defeated, the player takes that Agent token as Intel and places it beside their Runner board. After three rolls, any remaining undefeated Agents are left on that location.

Runners can become injured by engaging Agents, just like a Mission attempt. However, as with performing Tasks, runners cannot be killed here.

There are two different ways to use this location:

• Using the Location: Agents Engaged: If the runner engaged the Agents, and all of the Agents are defeated, the runner may use that location, whether or not they are injured in the process.

• Using the Location: Agents Not Engaged: If there are Agents still on a location—either because the runner didn't engage them or didn't defeat all of them—the runner can still use the location. However, the runner gains a Recovery token if they do, meaning they will not be available for Missions this round.

• Recovering Runners: Recovering runners cannot engage Agents, but can still use a location with agents. However, in this instance, they would then become injured.

Injured Runners: Injured runners cannot engage Agents or use a location with Agents.

Winning & Losing the Game

When all the Black Lodge Plot Missions have been revealed and completed, the players win the game!

However, if either of the following situations occur during the Black Lodge phase, the players immediately lose:

• The Influence token reaches the Takeover space of the Influence Tracker.
• Players need to add a new Special Agent token to the gameboard but there are none in the pool.