Unsettled: Scientific Specializations Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Being Especially Specialist
• Quick Setup Overview
  • Setup
  • Considerations
• Unlocking Specialist Abilities
• Using Specialization Abilities
  • Important Notes
• Specialist Boards
  • "Harmonizer"
  • "Bioweaver"
  • "Gizmo"
  • "Chrononaut"
  • "Newton"
  • "Neuromancer"
  • "Holomancer"
  • "Terrapath"
• Clarifications
  • Bioweaver
  • Gizmo
  • Chrononaut
  • Harmonizer
  • Newton
  • Neuromancer
  • Holomancer
  • Terrapath
• Further Resources

Being Especially Specialist

This module introduces a series of dashboard extensions that provide you an excellent nickname and a pathway to 2 unique abilities related to your unique scientific specialization as an officer on this misbegotten scientific expedition.

At the start of the game these abilities are unavailable. You have the scientific background requisite to perform these skills, but you also need to gain understanding of how to do them in your current environment. In Unsettled®, this understanding of your current planet is represented by comprehension. As you gain the proper comprehension, you will unlock your specialization abilities. Once unlocked, you may perform these abilities once on each of your turns as a free action.

Quick Setup Overview

Setup

Each explorer randomly draws 2 specialization boards, looks at them, selects 1, returns the other to the game box, and then places their specialization board to the right of their dashboard.

Considerations

Unsettled® is a tightly balanced experience, and your chances of survival stand on a knife's edge. Specializations (and any other modular content) are interesting layers to add to the mix, but they open the door to a variety of potential pitfalls that make them less ideal content for new players. We strongly recommend that you save the introduction of modular content until you have firmly established your understanding of the game's systems and have a good feel for how the game moves. It is also not recommended to play with both the fascinations and specializations modules at the same time. But you do you.

Unlocking Specialist Abilities

When you gain a comprehension, you place it in one of the 4 comprehension slots on your dashboard. You may fill the slots in whatever order you wish.

When playing with the specialization module, some of these slots now align with specialist abilities. If a comprehension you place matches the comprehension depicted on the aligned space on the specialization board, you have unlocked the associated ability. To unlock specialist abilities:

→ When you gain comprehension, place them on your dashboard in such a way that they match the types indicated in the aligned space on the specialization board.

→ Abilities in this module are each unlocked by a single comprehension. Future specializations in other releases may take several.

→ If the comprehension unlocking an ability is ever removed by any means, you lose access to that ability until another matching comprehension is placed there.

→ Once placed, a comprehension cannot be moved to another slot.

Using Specialization Abilities

Once abilities have been unlocked, you may use them at any time on your turn as a free action. To use a specialization ability:

→ The ability must be unlocked by the proper comprehension.

→ Pay the cost associated with activating the ability. In most cases, the cost is decreasing any of your focus by 1.

→ Each ability may only be used once per turn. If you have two abilities unlocked you may use each of them once per each of your turns.

→ Remember: free actions may be performed at any time and interrupt (or "jump ahead") of other effects, allowing you to use these abilities as quick responses to events as you play.

Important Notes

→ Specialization abilities can only be used once on your turn, but you may use both abilities on your turn.

Specialist Boards

"Harmonizer"

Sociological Architect — Scientific Specialization

• Time-Out Chat: Remove a distress from another explorer if LUNA is on that explorer's node.
• Conferral Therapeutics: Observe the focus cube you rotated down to pay for this ability. Another explorer rotates their focus cube of that type to match yours.

Example: if you rotated from 3 to 2 on your robotics cube to pay for this ability, another explorer may rotate their robotics cube from [number missing from source text] to 2.

Abilities can be used once on your turn.

"Bioweaver"

Biotic Engineer — Scientific Specialization

• Bio-Cognitive Coupling: If you or another explorer within 1 node would gain a distress this turn, distribute [symbol missing from source text] between you.
• Synthetic Hyper-Adrenaline: Place [symbol missing from source text] from the supply into a local explorer's inventory. On their turn, that explorer may consume one of these materials to increase their movement by 1.

Abilities can be used once on your turn.

"Gizmo"

Nano-Machinist — Scientific Specialization

• Nano-Nabbing: Nanites assemble into extra limbs for LUNA. Gain up to 3 materials on LUNA's node to the stockpile.
• Faux LUNA: Indicate a revealed node. Until your next turn, LUNA is considered present on both her node and that indicated node.

Scientific specialization abilities can be used once on your turn.

"Chrononaut"

Time Dilationist — Scientific Specialization

• Temporal Trailblazing: When you move this turn, ignore all node-edge symbols between 2 specific nodes this turn.
• F-T-L Foresight: Once you've placed and regrouped all your focus, you may place and then regroup 1 of them again (you do not need to REST again).

Abilities can be used once on your turn.

"Newton"

Gravity Technician — Scientific Specialization

• Micro Grav-Shift: This turn, you may freely move resources between your node and one adjacent node.
• Proportional Repulsion: Place another local explorer onto an adjacent node.

Abilities can be used once on your turn.

"Neuromancer"

[Board title and specialist subtitle are not present in the source text layer; only the abilities below were recovered.]

• Axon Allocation: Distribute [symbol missing from source text] to local explorers. If this causes you to gain a comprehension, you may choose any type.
• Neural Negotiation: This turn, local explorers may use resources of any type(s) to power their breakthroughs.

Abilities can be used once on your turn.

"Holomancer"

Photonic Engineer — Scientific Specialization

• Holo-Instruction: This turn, the entire crew has access to your comprehension as if you were present on their node.
• Laser Analysis: If you are within 1 movement of a structure, you may activate the ability of any structure, built or not.

Abilities can be used once on your turn.

"Terrapath"

Environmental Empath — Scientific Specialization

• Touch Everything: For each symbol you cross on node edges using movement or TRAVERSE actions this turn, gain [symbol missing from source text].
• Grabby Hands: This turn, instead of LUNA scanning her node for [symbol missing from source text] or [symbol missing from source text], you may scan your own node. Immediately gain whatever resources are discovered.

Abilities can be used once on your turn.

Clarifications

Bioweaver

• Bio-Cognitive Coupling: This can be used before or after the distress is gained, but must be on your turn.
• Synthetic Hyper-Adrenaline: The materials placed remain in inventory throughout the game until used. Each explorer may have no more than 2 of these in inventory.

Gizmo

• Nano-Nabbing: This action is separate from LUNA's scan ability.
• Faux-LUNA: LUNA can perform any of her abilities on one node or the other, but not both. Example: LUNA may scan for materials on one node, but may scan for materials on the other.

Chrononaut

• Temporal Trailblazing: This can only be used between the 2 nodes you designate when you activate the ability, but the effect persists for your entire turn.
• F-T-L Foresight: Use this ability only after you have placed and regrouped all of your focus cubes for the turn.

Harmonizer

• Time-Out Chat: So long as LUNA is local to the distressed explorer, your location doesn't matter.
• Conferral Therapeutics: Both focus cubes must share a type (awareness, wonder, or energy). So, if your awareness is at 2, and theirs is at 1, they may adjust their awareness to 2.

Newton

• Micro Grav-Shift: This applies to materials and data in either direction. You may move them any number of times for the duration of your turn.
• Proportional Repulsion: You may not place yourself onto an adjacent node — only another local explorer.

Neuromancer

• Axon Allocation: If this causes another explorer to gain comprehension, you/they may NOT choose any type. They gain whatever face their insight block is showing.
• Neural Negotiation: Basically, all resources are considered "wild" for breakthroughs this turn.

Holomancer

• Holo-Instruction: The entire crew has access to all of the comprehension you've gained (all 4 slots).
• Laser Analysis: For example, if you are within 1 movement of the RESEARCH HUT, but the LABORATORY has not been built, you may still use the lab's ability and convert materials to pip ups.

Terrapath

• Touch Everything: This does not apply to "place" effects, which ignore node-edge symbols.
• Grabby Hands: Using this ability precludes you from using LUNA's scan ability.

Further Resources

Every module and planet in Unsettled® has a database of how-to-play videos, a living FAQ, and an errata document on the publisher's website: orangenebula.com/unsettledDB