Steamwatchers: Spark of Hope Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Combining Expansions
• Contents
• Additional Setup
• Caravans - General Rules
  • Caravan Board
  • Combat Rules
• New Actions
  • Defense Basic Action: Buy/Upgrade Kits
  • Defense Basic Action: Operate Kits
• Order Token on the Caravan Board
• Tech Kits
  • Kit Effects
• Notes on Tech Kits
  • Starting Kit Rules: Heavy Carrier
  • Notes Relating to Other Tech Kits
• Compatibility with Fuel for War
• Scenarios
• Archon Cards
  • Icebreaker (SOH031)
  • Cracks in the Ice (SOH032)
  • Into the Crater (SOH033)
  • Colonizing Expedition (SOH034)
  • The Devourer (SOH035)
  • Unrelenting Blizzard (SOH036)
• Mobile Bases — Expansion (4 Rounds)
  • Setup
  • Special Rules
• Birthplace — Conquest (4 Rounds)
  • Setup
  • Special Rules

Introduction

The Spark of Hope expansion introduces greater flexibility. Caravans let you issue an extra order, not to mention acquiring some of the technological wizardry supplied by the Careeners in the form of a wide range of add-on kits.

Lastly, Spark of Hope includes 2 new scenarios and 6 new Archon cards.

Combining Expansions

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

Contents

• 5 caravan boards
• 21 trucks
• 6 numbered Archon cards
• 26 tech kits (basic side and advanced side)
• This rulebook

Additional Setup

When collecting your clan's components, also take your caravan board and related miniatures. Place your caravan board next to your clan board. Deploy your caravan at the same time as your other units (see Caravans - General Rules).

Place the various tech kits (basic side up) within reach of all players. These kits are part of the general supply; the number of kits will vary according to the number of players (see table below). Each player collects a Heavy Carrier kit and places it, basic side up, in the first slot on their caravan board.

Kit name	2-3 players	4-5 players
Biomass Generator	2	3
Amphibious Modules	2	3
Hydraulic Support Tripods	2	2
Sensor Array	1	2
Recycling Station	1	2
Magnetic Cannons	1	2
Combat Simulator	1	2
EMP Fields	1	2
Experimental Greenhouse

The rulebook shows an example kit setup for a 2-3 player game as an illustration; the illustration is not reproduced here.

Caravans - General Rules

A caravan is a unit that has a companion board with a space for a dedicated Order token. It is made up of three trucks that can each be equipped with a tech kit.

Caravans obey the following rules:

• You cannot divide a caravan's trucks across more than one area.
• The caravan counts towards area capacity based on the number of trucks in it. For example, if it has 3 trucks, it counts as 3 units for area capacity purposes.
• It cannot be removed from the game board when you apply a Death & Exile effect.
• When attacking or providing support, it has 1 strength; when defending, it receives a +3 bonus (giving it a defense strength of 4).
• It does not need to be supplied.
• Caravans can move up to 2 plains areas or 1 mountain area.
• They cannot use the Forced March special action, or use seafaring to move or flee.

Note: The Catabatians' caravan gains the Snowcoaster clan ability.

Caravan Board

The caravan board has kit slots and an Order token space. Its printed special features read: "No Forced March or seafaring movements — No need to be supplied — +3 in defense."

The caravan board illustrations also print the following unit and clan ability texts:

• Skybreaker (unit): Suppressing fire — Skybreakers may provide support at a range of up to two areas (through mountains or plains).
• Booby-trapped beacons (clan ability): Whenever an opponent destroys one of your booby-trapped beacons, they lose one of the units they moved into that area. Your opponent chooses which unit to destroy, and returns it to their clan supply.

Combat Rules

Caravans obey the standard Steamwatchers combat rules, apart from a few extra requirements in the Consequences for the loser section.

Whenever a caravan is involved in combat and its owner is defeated:

• Where applicable, the Order token on the caravan board remains on it.
• One of the losses incurred must be a truck from the caravan. If the caravan was fighting alone, two of its trucks are destroyed.
• Fleeing caravans obey the rules described in Consequences for the loser.

Note: a caravan equipped with the Amphibious Modules kit may use a contract while fleeing, applying the usual seafaring rules. (Transcribed as printed; the booklet reads "use a contract" here.)

The destroyed truck's miniature is placed ( ) in one of its owner's kit slots. That slot is no longer available. If there was a kit in the condemned slot, put it back in the box ( ).

If a caravan's last remaining truck is destroyed (either in combat or because it is unable to flee), the caravan is disabled until the end of the game. Its owner puts the caravan board back in the box, together with the corresponding trucks and kits.

New Actions

Defense Basic Action: Buy/Upgrade Kits

Now, when you activate a Defense token on the game board or your caravan board, you may perform the Buy/Upgrade Kit basic action.

This action grants 1 purchase credit per haven under your control. You may spend any or all of your credits to buy or upgrade tech kits.

Buying a kit: For 1 credit, you may buy a tech kit from the general supply. Place the new kit, basic side up, in a slot on your caravan board. If there was already a kit in the chosen slot, remove it and put it back in the box.

You are not allowed to buy a kit that you already own, or buy two of the same kit. You cannot install a kit in a slot that contains a destroyed truck.

Upgrading a kit: For 1 credit, you may upgrade a kit on your caravan board. Flip the selected kit to show its ADVANCED side. You are not allowed to buy and immediately upgrade a kit in the same action.

Example: Greg controls 2 havens. He therefore has 2 credits for the Buy/Upgrade Kit action. He decides to spend one credit to buy a Biomass Generator kit. Then he uses his second credit to upgrade his Heavy Carrier kit.

Defense Basic Action: Operate Kits

Whenever you activate a Defense or Decoy token on your caravan board, you may perform the Operate Kits basic action.

You can use this action to trigger the Operate effects of any or all kits installed on your caravan board, one after the other in any order you choose. Fully resolve the Operate effect of one kit before moving on to the next.

Order Token on the Caravan Board

When placing Order tokens (Phase 2 - Order Planning), players may put an Order token on the matching space on their caravan board. On revealing the Order tokens, do not put this token back in the clan supply, even if it is a Decoy token.

In phase 3 - Order Activation, the Order token on the caravan board is subject to the usual rules, with the following exceptions:

• If it is a Move token: you may activate the token to perform a Move action that only involves the caravan.
• If it is a Defense token: the token grants the caravan 1 strength while on the caravan board.
• When you activate the token, choose between:
  • perform a defense basic or special action in the area containing the caravan;
  • buy and/or upgrade tech kits;
  • resolve the Operate effect of all kits installed on your caravan board.
• If it is a Decoy token: when activating this token, your only option is to apply the Operate effect of all kits installed on your caravan board.
• Support: you cannot use the Order token on your caravan board to provide combat support. If you want your caravan to provide support, you must spend the Order token located in the area containing the caravan.

Tech Kits

Tech kits provide two types of effects:

• Passive: passive effects do not have to be activated and their use is unlimited.
• Operate: triggered by activating the caravan board. Operate effects can only be used once per round.

Every tech kit, on both sides, also carries this printed text:

• Exhaust - Perform a Mobilize action costing 1 algofuel without spending a Special Action token.
• Passive - Mobilize actions cost no algofuel (except for Exhaust effects). All Mobilize actions let you recruit 1 extra base soldier.

Kit Effects

The kit-specific text on the basic side of each kit is listed first. Where the booklet prints an advanced side, it is listed after the basic side.

• Heavy Carrier (starting kit)
  • Basic: Passive - This kit can hold up to 3 base soldiers.
  • Advanced: Passive - This kit can hold up to 5 units and 2 buildings.
• Biomass Generator
  • Basic: Operate - Receive 2 contraband algofuel.
  • Advanced: Operate - Receive 1 contraband algofuel and 1 pure algofuel.
• Amphibious Modules
  • Basic: Passive - The caravan may perform seafaring movements.
• Hydraulic Support Tripods
  • Basic: Passive - The caravan can provide combat support (alone) without spending an Order token. When travelling through plains, its movement range is only one area rather than two.
• Sensor Array
  • Basic: Passive - Whenever you are a Watcher, draw and play an additional card.

Notes on Tech Kits

Starting Kit Rules: Heavy Carrier

On activating a Move token placed either in the area containing the caravan or on the caravan board, you may collect any units present in the same area or in an adjacent area that you control. Place these units on the Heavy Carrier kit on your caravan board. Then choose one of the following:

• immediately deploy any or all of the carried units into the area containing the caravan or an adjacent area (whether under your control or not), then perform a Move action with your caravan;
• move the caravan, then deploy any or all carried units into the area containing the caravan or an adjacent area (whether under your control or not);
• keep the carried units on your Heavy Carrier kit. You will be able to deploy these units the next time you activate a Move token in the area containing the caravan or on the caravan board.

Deploying units into an area controlled by an opponent automatically initiates combat.

Carried units do not need to be supplied (in phase 5 - Whiteout). Carried units and buildings do not count towards area capacity, and do not contribute their strength in combat. Any carried units are returned to the clan supply if the Heavy Carrier kit is destroyed in combat or replaced by a newly purchased tech kit. You are not allowed to choose carried units when required to destroy units as a result of defeat in combat or a Death & Exile effect.

ADVANCED: buildings carried by the caravan are inactive. They are loaded onto the Heavy Carrier kit and then deployed in an area like units.

Example: Johnny (Menrâu) wants to attack the Burgundie and Elsass areas, which are controlled by Stephanie (Rhein-Stamm).

1. He activates his Move token in Occitania Bassa. His Heavy Carrier kit lets him collect 3 base soldiers stationed in Catalunya and place them on the Heavy Carrier kit on his caravan board.
2. He then moves his caravan, escorted by 2 base soldiers, into Burgundie.
3. Johnny decides to disembark the carried units in Elsass, which will trigger a second combat. He chooses the order in which to resolve the two combats.

(The booklet marks the Catalunya and combat-order steps with small icons, which are not reproduced here.)

Notes Relating to Other Tech Kits

Sensor Array

• ADVANCED: The effects of both Archon cards apply for this round.

EMP Fields

• ADVANCED: When the Archon is revealed, you must immediately inform the other players whether or not the card's effects will apply to you. You may choose to ignore Archon card effects.
• Note: If two players have installed this kit, they must state their choice in the order shown by the Conclave track.

If you choose not to be affected by the effects of the revealed card, you will be unaffected by all of its effects. If the revealed card instructs the Archon to apply an effect to a player, the Archon cannot pick you.

Combat Simulator

You perform the Mobilize special action in the area containing your caravan. You may therefore place the mobilized units in that area and/or any adjacent areas that you control.

Recycling Station

When moving your Incubation marker down on the track, do not trigger the effects of the spaces that it enters.

Hydraulic Support Tripods

This support only involves the caravan. Do not count any support from other units present in the same area. Remember, the +3 defense bonus is not applied for support.

Note: in combat, players cannot double their caravan's support strength by spending an Order token in addition to using the effect of the Hydraulic Support Tripods kit.

Compatibility with Fuel for War

This section contains a few notes on compatibility between the Fuel for War and Spark of Hope expansions.

• Scrambler Drones (Rhône Conglomerate), Stationary Windtrap (Rhein-Stamm), Forecast Pad (Menrâu): The order space on the caravan board cannot be chosen or affected by the effects of these Gear cards.
• Raid Signal (Free Fleet): Only caravans equipped with the Amphibious Modules kit can benefit from the Raid Signal effect.
• Sled Shock Troops (Rhein-Stamm): Only a caravan equipped with the Amphibious Modules kit can apply the effects of the Sled Shock Troops kit. It may also apply the effects of the Hydraulic Support Tripods kit, if installed.

Scenarios

With the exception of Fires of the Old World, the scenarios included in the core game are compatible with the rules in this expansion.

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

Archon Cards

If you are playing with the Spark of Hope 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 Spark of Hope expansion, you are still free to include the expansion's Archon cards with those of the core game, as they are fully compatible.

Card text is given as printed. Each card's number is shown in its footer.

Icebreaker (SOH031)

When triggering combat after a seafaring movement, gain 1 extra strength. If you have the Archon title, gain 2 extra strength instead.

Cracks in the Ice (SOH032)

Straits can no longer be crossed by moving on land.

The Archon is unaffected by this card.

Into the Crater (SOH033)

Players cannot cross the Crater ice floe area.

The Legate is unaffected by this card.

Colonizing Expedition (SOH034)

In the order shown by the Conclave and Title Claim tracks, players may remove a turret that they control and redeploy it to another area under their control. The Archon may take this turret from an area controlled by another clan.

The Devourer (SOH035)

In the order shown by the Conclave and Title Claim tracks, players may place a Quarantine token on their algofuel stock to receive 3 barrels of pure algofuel. The Archon receives 2 pure algofuel instead, with no need to place a Quarantine token.

Unrelenting Blizzard (SOH036)

Players cannot perform the Forced March special action.

The Archon is unaffected by this card.

Mobile Bases — Expansion (4 Rounds)

Setup

Initial steam columns: 3.

During deployment, players place their 2 farms and their starting turret on the caravan board rather than in their deployment areas.

Special Rules

Buildings placed on the caravan board (rather than the Heavy Carrier kit) are mobile buildings. They are operational:

• Each mobile farm grants 1 GEO in Phase 5 - Whiteout;
• The mobile turret grants 2 extra strength in defense.

Such buildings do not count towards the area capacity limit. They are not treated as units carried by a Heavy Carrier kit, and cannot therefore be unloaded.

Whenever one of the caravan's trucks is destroyed in combat, the winner collects the truck and places it by their clan board. The defeated player must remove a mobile building from their caravan board and place it in one of their kit slots. If the slot contained a tech kit, put it back in the box. The defeated player loses the benefit of the destroyed building.

Players are not allowed to construct buildings in areas containing a caravan.

At the end of game: each recovered enemy truck grants 1 GEO.

Birthplace — Conquest (4 Rounds)

The roaming clans have stumbled on a peculiar Catabatian refuge which soon came to be known as 'the Birthplace'. This inhabited hideaway is energy self-sufficient and bustling with robots. Some Catabatians believe it to be a shelter dug by Zeus himself: a kind of 'promised land' under construction, pending the thaw. Others view it as a betrayal of the artificial intelligence that has governed the people for centuries. The clan is riven by debate on many issues, and these controversies have led large numbers of bots to migrate to other shelters, or even other clans. Disregarding your warnings, the clans are converging on the refuge and its technological marvels, and will stop at nothing to get what they have come for... Things would be simpler if the defense protocols were not as deadly as the Bane.

Setup

Initial steam columns: 4.

Before placing the initial steam columns, remove the Catabatia card from the Steam Column deck and put it back in the box. Place a Target Area token (neutral side up) in Catabia. This area is now known as the Birthplace.

• Players may not select the Catabatians as their clan.
• Players may not select the Deployment 2 card (Tirol / Catabatia / Dalmacija).
• During deployment, players begin with a one-level steam column instead of the usual three-level column.

Special Rules

When the Birthplace is not controlled by a clan: treat it as a neutral area that can be attacked. The Birthplace will not allocate algofuel to combat and has a final combat strength of 12. Players cannot provide combat support to the Birthplace.

When the Birthplace is controlled by a clan:

• The Birthplace grants the occupying clan 1 extra strength in defense.
• Players cannot provide combat support to or from the Birthplace. No buildings can be constructed in the Birthplace.
• During phase 5 - Whiteout, the clan that controls the Birthplace adds 2 additional GEO to its GEO level, and may choose one of the following three free actions:
  • perform a Mobilize special action in the Birthplace or an adjacent area that it controls. This action can be performed without spending a Special Action token or algofuel;
  • build a turret in an area adjacent to the Birthplace that it controls;
  • upgrade all basic tech kits on its caravan board.

At the end of game: if GEO scores are tied and one of the tied players controls the Birthplace, that player cannot claim victory. If there is still a tie, the player with the fewest Quarantine tokens on their clan board wins. If the score remains tied, the first tied player on the Conclave track is declared the winner.