Steamwatchers: Peace With Wolves Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • Expansions
• Contents
• Diplomacy Module
  • Additional Setup
  • Diplomacy Rules
    • Trading Diplomacy Cards
    • Forming Alliances
    • Breaking Alliances
    • Playing Diplomacy Cards
  • Logistics Support
  • Tech Support
  • Military Assistance
• Vassal Clan Module
  • Special Setup
    • Primary Clan and Deployment
    • Vassal Clan and Deployment
  • Rules for Vassal Clans
    • General Concepts
    • Game Board, Clan Board and Hand
    • Conclave
    • Movements
    • Extermination
• Archon Cards
• Scenarios
  • 4 Rounds: The Convoy — Objective (Vassal Clan module)
  • 4 Rounds: Unseen Wires — Offensive (Vassal Clan module)
  • 4 Rounds: Any Port in a Storm — Conquest
  • 4 Rounds: Cruel Grip — Offensive

Introduction

The Diplomacy module can be used with 3 or more players. Players' hands are enhanced with Diplomacy cards. These are valuable bargaining chips, and in particular, they can be used to form alliances.

The Vassal Clan module is for 2 or 3 players. With this module, players have an additional clan, subservient to the one they control. Note: This module is incompatible with the Diplomacy module and the other Steamwatchers scenarios and expansions.

Lastly, Peace With Wolves includes 4 new scenarios and 6 new Archon cards.

Expansions

We do not recommend combining the various expansions until you are thoroughly familiar with each one separately.

Contents

• 21 Diplomacy cards
• 7 Vassal Clan cards
• 6 numbered Archon cards
• 3 Double Deployment cards
• 21 Treaty tokens
• 14 Tech Support miniature bases

Diplomacy Module

Players now have Diplomacy cards, which they add to their hand and will be able to trade with other players in exchange for benefits. This module places an emphasis on power-broking and bargaining between players. Allow an extra 30 minutes of game time. You can use this module with three or more players.

Additional Setup

Players add their clan's three Diplomacy cards to their hand. They also place their two Treaty tokens in their clan supply (or 3 tokens for a 5-player game).

Diplomacy Rules

Trading Diplomacy Cards

Before activating an Order token, a player may offer to swap one of their Diplomacy cards with another player. Players may offer as many of these trades as they like. Cards from all clans may be exchanged. The nature of the traded cards is public information.

Note: Players may also make informal promises regarding other aspects of the game (for example: "if you trade these cards with me, I'll attack the player who's threatening you").

Forming Alliances

Whenever Diplomacy cards are traded, the participating players may decide to enter into a non aggression pact, in which case, each gives the other one of their Treaty tokens. These tokens are placed on the respective clan boards of the two players, showing their alliance.

The two players are considered to be allies while these Treaty tokens remain on the clan boards.

If you have no more Treaty tokens, you cannot form additional alliances, but may still freely trade Diplomacy cards with other players.

Breaking Alliances

A player who moves their units into an area controlled by their ally breaks the alliance. The consequences of this betrayal are as follows:

• the aggressor places two of their units on the Death & Exile tile. These units may be taken from their clan supply and/or the game board;
• the 2 Treaty tokens representing the alliance are put back in the box.

Playing Diplomacy Cards

Players may play Diplomacy cards from their hand during Phase 3 – Order Activation. The active player can only play one Diplomacy card.

You can never play your own clan's Diplomacy cards.

Note: A player who activates multiple Order tokens in succession as the result of a game effect is still only allowed to play a single Diplomacy card.

Logistics Support and Tech Support cards must by played before the active player immediately before activating an Order token.

Military Assistance cards can only be played in combat, by the attacker and/or defender.

Logistics Support

Choose one of the following two options:

• Receive 2 pure algofuel and 1 contraband algofuel.

OR

• Place one of your Careeners' Contract tokens in a free contract space.
• Remove a Special Action token from your Clan board.

Card text: "Place a Careener's contract on a contract space, then remove a Special Action token from your clan board."

Tech Support

Designate up to 2 base soldiers in an area under your control. Place the played Tech Support card in front of you. Also place a Tech Support base of the color matching the card's clan under each of the designated soldiers. These soldiers gain +1 strength and the elite soldier special ability of the clan shown on the card. These effects last until the end of the round; put the played card and miniature bases back in the box during upkeep in phase 5 – Whiteout.

Tech Support cannot be used in an area containing units that are already receiving Tech Support from another card.

Card text: "Place a Tech Support base under 1 or 2 base soldiers in the same area. Until the end of the round, these soldiers have +1 and the following ability: Convert — Whenever you fight and win with a force that includes this type of soldier, replace one of the killed units with a base soldier from your supply."

Military Assistance

Unlike other Diplomacy cards, these cards are played and their effects resolved during combat. Immediately after the base strengths of the two opposing forces have been announced, the attacker may decide to play one Military Assistance card. The defender may then also choose to play one such card.

Choose one of the following two options:

• Gain 2 extra strength. OR
• The clan whose card you played provides combat support (with no need to spend an Order token). Add the army strength of an adjacent area controlled by the supporting clan to your extra strength. Players cannot use this card to force an opponent to support combat against their own units.

Card text: "Play this card in combat to receive one of the following effects: +2 extra strength. OR An adjacent area controlled by the Rhein-Stamm provides combat support with no need to spend an Order token."

Note: The special ability of Rhône Conglomerate elite soldiers extends the range of the support provided by Military Assistance.

Note: The DDOS Archon cards (BASE003, BASE004) prevent combat support, disabling this card's second effect.

Vassal Clan Module

This module can be played with 2 or 3 players, and extends the game length by around 40 minutes.

Special Setup

Primary Clan and Deployment

Randomly determine who will play first. This player gathers the clan boards and this expansion pack's 3 Double Deployment cards.

The first player chooses:

• a clan board, determining the primary clan that they will play during the game. Next, they place their Ambassador token on a free space on the Title Claim track;
• a Double Deployment card, immediately deploying their starting forces to one of the two deployment areas on the chosen card.

Lastly, they pass the remaining clan boards and Double Deployment cards to the player to their left, who chooses in the same fashion, and so on until all players have picked a primary clan, a title and a Double Deployment card.

Vassal Clan and Deployment

The player who deployed their primary clan last takes the Vassal Clan deck, removes the clans already chosen and then selects their vassal clan by picking one of the remaining cards.

They then deploy their vassal clan's starting forces to the second area shown on their Double Deployment card. Next, they collect the vassal clan supply shown on the card and add it to their primary clan's supply, putting the rest of the vassal clan's components back in the box.

They place their vassal clan's Ambassador token on a free space on the Title Claim track.

Lastly, they pass the remaining Vassal Clan cards to the player to their left, who chooses in the same fashion, and so on until all players have deployed their vassal clan and claimed a title.

The Vassal Clan card diagram is labelled "Vassal clan's supply", "Vassal clan's starting forces", "Algofuel stock expansion" and "Ability granted by the vassal clan". The sample card in the rules is the Rhône Conglomerate vassal clan, whose granted ability reads:

"The primary clan's beacons are booby-trapped. Whenever an opposing player destroys a booby-trapped beacon, they lose one of the units they moved into that area. The opponent chooses which unit to destroy, and returns it to their clan supply."

Rules for Vassal Clans

The Vassal Clan module lets you manage two clans. Vassal clans behave like primary clans, but with the following rule changes.

General Concepts

Areas: A primary clan and its vassal clan cannot both have units in the same area.

Vassal units: Destroyed units of vassal clans are removed from play and put back in the box.

Vassal elite units: Elite units have 2 strength but no special ability.

Buildings: Vassal clans can never construct buildings.

Beacons: A vassal clan cannot destroy its primary clan's beacons.

Support: Primary clans and their vassal clans may provide combat support for each other.

Order tokens: The primary clan and vassal clan each have their own Order tokens. During phase 2 – Order Planning, these tokens are placed in their respective controlled areas.

Vassal clan special actions: Vassal clans can never perform special actions.

Contracts: Vassal clans do not have their own Careeners' contracts, but treat those of their primary clan as their own when seafaring.

Game Board, Clan Board and Hand

The primary clan and its vassal clan share the same Geothermal Resources and Incubation tracks, algofuel stocks, hand of cards and Conclave title special abilities.

Geothermal Resources track: Vassal clans do not have a Geothermal Resources Level marker. During phase 5 – Whiteout, when determining GEO levels, add the vassal clan's GEO to that of the primary clan.

Incubation track: Vassal clans do not have an Incubation track and Incubation marker. Whenever a vassal clan is supposed to increase its incubation level, move the Incubation marker on the primary clan's track instead. Note that only units from the primary clan can be placed on the Death & Exile tile.

Supply track: Vassal clans do not have a Supply track and Supply marker. Their units do not have to be supplied at the end of each round. They cannot be removed as a means of regulating the number of units of the primary clan.

Algofuel stocks: Vassal clans can be used to conserve the primary clan's algofuel stocks. Whenever you spend algofuel for your primary clan or vassal clan, you may use barrels from your clan board and/or Vassal Clan card, as you prefer. When refilling algofuel stocks during phase 5 – Whiteout, also place the relevant barrels on the dedicated spaces on your Vassal Clan card.

Hand: The primary clan and vassal clan share a single hand of cards.

Conclave

The effects associated with Conclave titles are shared by a player's two clans, except for the following details:

Archon: 'when-played' effects ([when-played icon]) only affect primary clans. If a vassal clan takes the Archon title, it immediately transfers it to its primary clan.

Primus: if a vassal clan takes the Primus title, its primary clan will be able to place its own Ambassador in the dedicated space (and vice versa). This action also enables the primary clan to recruit a base soldier.

Movements

Forced march by the primary clan: A primary clan may Forced March through an area controlled by its vassal clan.

Extermination

If a vassal clan is wiped out, its primary clan loses the related benefits: remove the Ambassador token from the Conclave track and put the Vassal card back in the box.

A player who loses their primary clan is eliminated and must remove all components relating to their two clans from the board and put them back in the box.

Archon Cards

If you are playing with the Peace With Wolves expansion: when forming the Archon deck, randomly remove 6 Archon cards from the core game and replace them with the 6 cards from the expansion. Then shuffle the deck.

If you want to play a game of Steamwatchers without the Peace With Wolves expansion, you are still free to include the expansion's Archon cards with those of the core game, as they are fully compatible.

Scenarios

Two of the scenarios in this expansion can only be played with the Vassal Clan module (see p. 9, 10). The scenarios included with the core game are compatible with the Diplomacy module but not the Vassal Clan module.

The scenarios in this expansion are not compatible with the rules introduced in the other expansions.

4 Rounds: The Convoy — Objective (Vassal Clan module)

The clans are preparing for a particularly harsh winter. The sensor systems set up by the Menrâu and Catabatians are forecasting months of uninterrupted blizzards. Hunkering down together in their shelters, the clans put their resentment and infighting behind them. They set about reorganizing their provisions, sending out caravans of food and technological components. But this is Europa, and the faintest scent of meat on the wind is enough to attract scavengers from miles around...

Setup

• Initial steam columns: 3.
• After deploying their primary clan, players place the clan's Target Area token in an area under its control. The zone containing this token is the clan's storage depot.

Special rules

• At the end of game: If a primary clan's storage depot is controlled by two or more of its vassal clan's units, that area grants the player an additional 3 GEO.

4 Rounds: Unseen Wires — Offensive (Vassal Clan module)

In an inexplicable act of generosity, the Collective has gifted some fascinating instruments that reveal the existence of hitherto unknown power sources. These devices crackle when oriented in the right direction. This invisible new energy is not derived from algofuel or from geothermal activity. Its source is guarded by the Undersun monks, a declining order further weakened by the schism that spawned the Highglimmer Apostles. The clans, keenly interested in this new means of powering vehicles, machinery and computers, are soon heading towards the dying brotherhood's main sanctuaries.

Setup

• Initial steam columns: 3.
• Before forming the initial columns, remove the Catalunya, Elsass and Mistreana Steam Column cards and place a Target Area token (neutral side up) in each of these three areas. The areas containing these tokens are the Undersun sanctuaries.

Special rules

• The winner is determined by the number of victory points (VP), not the GEO level (updated throughout the game).
• Keep count of your accumulated victory points by placing and moving your clan's Target Area token above the GEO track (counting the '0-1' space as '1').
• At the start of each phase 1 – Conclave, players score 1 VP per Undersun sanctuary under their control. In the endgame, before determining the winner, each Undersun sanctuary scores an additional 2 VP for the player that controls it.
• The player with the most victory points wins the game. In the event of a tie, the tied player with the most GEO wins. If there is still a tie, the tied player whose primary clan is first on the Title Claim track wins.

4 Rounds: Any Port in a Storm — Conquest

After a particularly long, harsh whiteout, the clans have assembled. At your request, their ambassadors gather in the Conclave glasshouse. Everyone seems tired and downtrodden. Standing amid the lush vegetation, you give the clans some bad news: the Careeners have requisitioned a large quantity of algofuel, leaving the Conclave unable to provide additional supplies. More than ever, the clans will need to work together. As one, the ambassadors solemnly agree.

Deep down, you know this truce will not last long: Gehrart's crusade cannot be forestalled, the Free Fleet will not delay its quest, and the Western Alliance is intent on securing a foothold in the region… Be that as it may, you hope that peace - even as fragile and fleeting as the thaw - will inspire the clans to combine their resources and build a brighter future… You struggle in vain to suppress your doubts.

Setup

• Initial steam columns: 3.
• Players take 2 barrels of pure algofuel from the general supply and place them (together or separately) in their respective deployment areas.

Special rules

• At any time, players may spend a barrel of algofuel in an area that they control. Barrels used in this way are returned to the general supply. Unused barrels remain in the area, and are unaffected by combat, movements and upkeep requirements.
• Additionally, when you play with the Diplomacy module, the second special ability associated with the Primus title is different. Instead of recruiting an extra base soldier, the Primus has the ability to peacefully end an alliance with another player, in which case, the 2 Treaty tokens are simply put back in the box, with no other consequences.
• At the end of game: Players receive an additional 1 GEO per barrel of algofuel in areas under their control.

4 Rounds: Cruel Grip — Offensive

You are sending the Conclave's latest meteorological data to the clans. They're not going to like what they see: a period of severe winter weather is on the cards… But the clans still have to farm their algae and travel to collect the resources essential to their survival and, where possible, expansion. A week after your initial message, new observations force you to contact the clans again: Europa's geothermal and seismic activity appears to be waning, and the steam columns are starting to subside. You desperately hope this change is only temporary. If the situation were to persist, the clans could well disappear from the frozen face of the Earth...

Setup

• Initial steam columns: 1 per player.
• Players may choose a free area adjacent to one of their three deployment areas, and treat it as part of their starting territory for deployment purposes.
• Players deploy an additional 2 elite soldiers and a farm, but remove one level from their initial steam column.

Special rules

• Combat losses must be assigned to elite soldiers first.
• Columns always appear with one less level than shown on the card, subject to a minimum of one level.