The Captain Is Dead: Episode III – Lockdown Expansion Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Pawn Stickers
  • Other Components
• Setup
• Concealment Level
• Player Elimination
  • If a character dies...
  • Then...
  • If they die again...
  • If they die a third time...
• Alarms
• Grenades and Scent Bombs
• Ship Control
• Contraband
• Aliens
• How Aliens Work
• New Systems
• New Roles
• Starting The Game
• Continuing Play
• Winning The Game
• Losing The Game
• Example Of Play
• Track Text on the Ship Control and Concealment Level Cards
  • Ship Control Track
  • Concealment Level Track

Components

Components you should have received with your copy of The Captain Is Dead – Lockdown:

• 20 Yellow Alerts
• 19 Orange Alerts
• 5 Red Alerts
• 3 Honeypot Cubes
• 22 Pawns
• 44 Pawn Stickers
• 9 System Cards
• 8 Veteran Cards
• 8 Upgrade Cards
• 8 Contraband Cards
• 2 Yellow Status Clips
• 50 Skill Cards
• 1 Ship Control
• 1 Concealment Level
• 21 Role Cards
• 9 Battle Plans
• 4 Alien Reference Cards
• 11 Tool Cards
• This Manual

Pawn Stickers

Peel the 44 pawn stickers from the sticker sheets received and apply them to the front and back of the pawns. The hostile aliens go on the black pawns, and each of the crew stickers go on the pawn that matches the color of their uniform.

Other Components

Episode 3: Lockdown is an expansion. As such it requires some of the components from Episode 1. You'll need the game board, hostile alien pawns, player pawns, and you'll also want the Episode 1 manual to refer to as most of the rules remain the same. All the other components from Episode 1 can remain in the box.

Setup

Place the game board in the middle of the table. This is your ship, and it is the only thing between you and the vacuum of space.

Place the 9 system cards on their designated spots on the game board. The "Locked" side should be face-up. "External Sensors" are now "Surveillance Scanners" and "Torpedo Tube" is now "Grenade Locker," matching the icons.

Set the Grenade cards over the Manufacture 1 Torpedo spot.

The system upgrade cards should be placed near the Science Lab. They'll come into play later. The "Inactive" side should be face-up.

Shuffle the three Alert decks individually. Place them face-down on the indicated space on the game board connected to the Surveillance Scanners, with red on bottom, then orange, and yellow on top.

Shuffle the deck of Battle Plans and place them face-down in the indicated space on the game board connected to the Captain's Journal.

Place a yellow status clip on the Concealment Level at 100%. Cover the Shields with the Concealment Level card.

Place a yellow status clip on the Ship Control at the position labeled "Normal". If you're feeling meager and weak, go ahead and bump it down to "Novice". If you're feeling strong, bump it up to "Veteran". Cover the Jump Core with the Ship Control card.

Place the scent bombs and honey pots to the side of the board. Sort the hostile alien pawns by icon and set them along side the board. Set out the Alien reference cards within reach of all players.

Shuffle the skill deck. Deal out 5 skill cards to each player, and 2 skill cards to the cargo pod. Place the remaining skill deck face up in the "Discarded Skills" location.

Deal each player a Veteran Ability card. Place remaining Veteran abilities in the box as they will not be needed for the rest of the game.

Randomly distribute one of the colored pawns to each player. Place the remaining pawns in the box.

Give each player the role cards and other pawns that match the color pawn they received. Before beginning the game, each player will need to choose which role they want to be.

Each player must discard 1 skill card to the cargo pod; place the tools in the Cargo Pod as well.

Place each character pawn in its start position. The Hologram starts in the Computer Core, The Sympathizer starts in the War Room. All other characters start in the Infirmary.

Resolve five Alert cards.

Concealment Level

This system replaces Shields. Any time an alarm sounds, reduce the Concealment Level 10%. Alarms are sounded for each alien that is killed; whenever a player is found in a room that is not their start location, and escorted to their start location; whenever a system is hacked; whenever an alert is overridden; whenever repairing a system affected by a honeypot; and whenever a system is relocked.

If the Concealment level is at SET TO KILL characters will be killed and removed from the game when they are in an alien's presence during "Perform hostile alien actions." All characters can be killed, even if they would be prevented from being injured. When everyone dies, you lose.

Player Elimination

This episode features a controversial mechanic known as player elimination. Characters will die during the course of the game. This happens when the Concealment Level is at SET TO KILL. Then the aliens will instantly and permanently kill any player in their location (Hologram, Sympathizer, and Crewman included).

The game is designed so that players should not start dying until near the end of the game. Unfortunately for you, this is not always the case. We have developed the following set of rules that you can use should this situation arise. The use of these rules is optional. We only recommend using them if someone dies early in the game. It's up to your group to decide what early means to you.

If a character dies...

Take their character card, pawn, veteran ability, tools, skill cards, and contraband and put them back in the box.

Then...

If it comes to a player's turn who's character is dead and the Concealment Level is no longer at SET TO KILL, then the player may spawn one of the other two remaining characters of their color in the Infirmary. They start with no skills, no veteran ability, no tools, nothing. But they are back in the game and can help the remaining players strive for victory.

If they die again...

Repeat the process except they have no choice but to use the final remaining character of their color.

If they die a third time...

Perhaps they should choose another line of work. Starship Officer is not a role well suited to their constitution. Their game is over.

Alarms

Any action that includes a bell icon triggers an alarm and reduces the Concealment level by one. Any system that is used, repaired, unlocked, or hacked in a location with a honey pot triggers an alarm.

Alarms can be suppressed via the Alarm Suppressor tool, ship upgrades, character and veteran abilities, and Battle Plans. Any suppressed alarm does not affect the Concealment Level.

Grenades and Scent Bombs

Grenades and Scent Bombs are objects that are included in your hand size, just like tools. Grenades and Scent bombs are deployed through a door from an adjacent space.

Grenades kill all the aliens in the room they are deployed into. Each alien death triggers an alarm. Scent Bombs attract all aliens within two spaces to the room into which it was deployed. Once used, Grenade and Scent Bomb cards are removed from game.

Ship Control

This system replaces the Jump Core. Set your difficulty level and repair Ship Control to win. Raise one level if repaired or if there are no aliens on the ship at any time. If Ship Control is raised by removing all of the aliens, immediately draw and resolve an Alert. This Alert does not supplant the end of turn Alert.

Contraband

When you trigger an alarm by performing an action during your turn (alarms triggered by Alerts don't count), if you do not currently have any contraband, you'll get a piece of contraband.

It will give you a special ability that you can use (generally outside of your normal turn). If you talk about or reveal your contraband, you lose it. Once you have used your contraband, you'll also lose it.

Contraband does not count toward your hand size. Contraband that is used or lost is removed from game.

Aliens

Episode 3 introduces more of the alien culture than ever before. In addition to the Infantry that you've seen before, you'll learn alien language, and see 4 new classes of aliens.

• Infantry – These are the same low level grunts you faced in the first two episodes. They'll escort you back to the Infirmary if they find you, but they have no special abilities.
• Patrol – These aliens roam the ship looking for trouble. If they find you, they'll beat you senseless and then return you to the Infirmary.
• Lieutenant – These aliens are the enforcers. They'd just as soon kill you as look at you, but they'll hold off while until their Commanders tell them to kill. They are doubly tough, and will bloody you if they find you away from your start location.
• Hacker – These aliens are as smart as they are devious. Any attempt to regain control of the ship will be met with swift lockdowns by these guys.
• Commander – These aliens always come with an entourage, making them tricky to kill. In addition, they don't tolerate disobedience, and will instruct their minions to set their weapons to kill if you annoy them too much.

How Aliens Work

There are 5 Alien ranks: Infantry, Patrol, Lieutenant, Hacker, and Commander. Aliens can be killed by using 1 action except Lieutenant aliens who require 2 actions to kill.

You must kill aliens in their rank order, starting with Infantry, then moving on to Patrol, and so on.

PERFORM HOSTILE ALIEN ACTIONS happens at the end of all alerts. Follow each step in this process:

If an alien finds a character in any location other than their start location:

1. Move the Concealment level down one for each player in the room. The Sympathizer does not trigger an alarm. Hologram only triggers alarm if not in Computer Core.
2. If a Patrol or Lieutenant alien is present in a player's location, all players present are injured. Hologram and Sympathizer are unaffected.
3. The lowest ranking alien goes with all characters in that room to the Infirmary. Hologram and Sympathizer are not moved.
4. Patrol aliens move one space on their patrol path indicated on the back of the alien reference card. If Patrol aliens are not on their path, they do not move. If a Patrol alien enters a room containing a character, repeat the above sequence.
5. If a Hacker alien is present, all systems in that location are locked.

If the game asks for an alien that is not available off board, use an alien of the next higher rank. If all four Commander aliens are on the ship, immediately move the Concealment Level to SET TO KILL.

Alien special abilities and the Patrol alien movement are noted on the Alien Reference Cards.

New Systems

There are four new systems in this expansion, each replacing a system on the board. Refer to the Episode 1 rulebook for more information on the previously existing systems.

• Grenade Locker – Replaces Torpedo Tube. Use the Grenade Locker to acquire a grenade. There are only 3 grenades, and grenades are not reused.
• Surveillance Scanners – Replaces External Scanners. Allows you to see what bad stuff is coming before it arrives so that you can plan accordingly.
• Ship Control – Replaces Jump Core. Gaining control of your ship is how you win. There is nothing more important than Ship Control.
• Concealment Level – Replaces Shields. If the concealment Level goes down to SET TO KILL, the aliens will begin to kill you. When every member of the crew is dead, you lose.

New Roles

There are three new roles in this expansion. Refer to the Episode 1 rulebook for more information on the previously existing characters. All of the other roles have expanded abilities, so be sure to take a close look at the character cards. The three new roles are:

• Hacker – The Hacker is good with systems; alarms won't be ringing when she's bringing a system online. Has 1 engineering and 1 science discount, 4 actions, and a hand size of 6.
• Sympathizer – This alien is willing to help you out, but won't kill any of its kind. Other aliens don't see the Sympathizer as a threat, and so will not escort or harm the sympathizer. As such he is unaffected by other aliens entirely. He has 2 alien language discounts, 4 actions, and a hand size of 6.
• Spy – The Spy is ready for this mission with the tools she needs to get the job done. Has 1 alien language discount, 4 actions, and a hand size of 7.

Starting The Game

Now the first player will take their first turn. They may continue until they have spent all their actions, or they choose not to spend any additional actions.

When you have completed your turn, draw an Alert, read it aloud, and do what it says on the card.

Continuing Play

Play now passes to the next rank and so on, each spending their actions to the best of their abilities, and each ending their turn by drawing and resolving an Alert.

Winning The Game

This is a cooperative game. You win or lose as a team.

To win, you must elevate the Ship Control to WIN! status.

Losing The Game

When the Concealment Level is at SET TO KILL and a character is discovered during Perform Hostile Alien Actions, that character is immediately killed. When the last player's character has been killed, the game is lost.

In addition, should you reach the end of the Alert deck without setting Ship Control to WIN! the hostile aliens will dermine [sic: printed as "dermine"] this ship isn't worth the trouble and destroy it along with all the characters still on board.

Example Of Play

You've been playing for a few rounds, and the action is getting intense. The ship is full of aliens, but you've acquired a useful hand of cards: a scent bomb, the rifle tool, and a command skill. It is your turn, and you've got four actions to help your crew gain control of your ship. You are in the hallway between the CPU Core and the Bridge, ready to make your move.

For your first action, you deploy a scent bomb into the CPU Core, using your Scent Bomb card. The four aliens on the ship are drawn to it. They are in such a hurry, the alien that passes you in the hallway doesn't even notice you wedged into the corner.

For your second action, you walk right into the CPU Core with the Rifle you picked up in the Cargo Bay on your last turn.

For your third action, you kill every single alien in the room with that rifle. It is a bloodbath, but your brave action brings Ship Control up one level, from Coward to Pointless. However, you must now deal with the consequences of your action. Four alarms sound and Concealment Level goes down one level for each of those 4 aliens you just wasted.

Gaining control of the ship via the Bonus Condition means you have to draw an Alert. You draw "Bridge Investigation" and an Alien Lieutenant appears in the Bridge and discovers the Tactical Officer. An alarm sounds and Concealment Level goes down by one. The Alien Lieutenant injures her and escorts her to the Infirmary. This is bad, but you only have one action left.

For your fourth action, you decide to move from the CPU Core to the War Room, intending to use your command skill card to get your hands on a battle plan on your next turn.

You've used up your actions, so it is time to draw your end of turn Alert. You draw "Patrol." Two Alien Patrol appear in the Bridge Hallway. Luckily, no one is there, but these are Patrol Aliens. They don't just sit still and wait for the action to come to them. When you PERFORM HOSTILE ALIEN ACTIONS, they both move into the War Room and find you there. An alarm sounds and Concealment Level goes down by one. One of them injures you and escorts you to the Infirmary while the other stays behind, ready to continue its patrol on subsequent turns.

Track Text on the Ship Control and Concealment Level Cards

These track labels and conditions are printed on the Ship Control and Concealment Level cards. They are reproduced here from the printed card text.

Ship Control Track

From the top of the track down: WIN!, Pointless, Coward, Novice, Normal, Veteran, Expert, Hardcore, Insane.

• Win Condition: Get Ship Control to "Win!"
• Bonus Condition: If there are no aliens on the ship at any time, move Ship Control one step closer to "Win!" Immediately draw and resolve an alert (in addition to the normal end of turn alert).
• Lose Condition: All players are dead.

Concealment Level Track

From the top of the track down: 100%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, 10%, 1%, SET TO KILL.

• Set to Kill: Regardless of location or role, if a hostile alien is in a location with one or more players those players are removed from game during "perform hostile alien actions".
• The Concealment Level goes down 10% when:
  • a system is hacked;
  • a player is escorted;
  • an alien is killed;
  • a system is re-locked;
  • using or repairing a system affected by a honeypot;
  • an alert is overridden.