Circadians: First Light – Specialists Expansion

Expansion for Circadians: First Light

Circadians: First Light – Specialists Expansion Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components

3 Ship Tiles
3 Farm Tiles
1 Temple Board
2 Faction Boards
2 Negotiations Board Extensions
1 Michela Swan Tile
1 Amos Tullan Tile
1 Charlene Fortin Board
4 Outpost Boards
1 Corey Ahrens Outpost Board
4 Incident Tokens
12 Leader Cards
26 Contract Cards
6 Scheme Cards
6 Event Cards
1 Conspire Board
8 Outpost Tiles
12 Specialists (3 per player)

Setup

Set up Circadians: First Light as outlined in the main rulebook, with the following additions:

Place the Negotiations Board Extensions at each side of the Negotiations Board with the appropriate sides faceup for the number of players in the game. Oxataya should be on the left and Ahzuri on the right.
Choose either side of the Oxataya and Ahzuri Faction Boards and slot them above the associated Negotiations Board Extension.
Place the 4 additional Incident Tokens into the holes on the left Negotiations Board Extension.
When setting up the Event Draw Pile, shuffle the 6 new Event Cards in with those from the base game.
Place the Temple Board nearby the other 6 Station Boards with the appropriate side faceup for the number of players in the game.
When setting up the Farm Tiles and Ship Tiles, shuffle the new Tiles in with those from the base game. After setup there will be 1 more Tile in each stack than when playing with just the base game.
When setting up the Contract Card Draw Pile, shuffle the 26 new Contract Cards in with those from the base game.
When setting up player areas, also give each player 1 Outpost Board, 2 Outposts Tiles and 3 Specialists in their chosen colour.
Each player places their Outpost Board to the left of their Research Base and Screen.
Each player places their 3 Specialists onto the indicated spaces of their Outpost Board.
Before dealing out 3 Leaders to each player to choose from, shuffle in the 12 new Leader Cards with those from the base game.
Of their 2 Outpost Tiles, players must select 1 to keep, placing it above their Outpost Board, and return the other to the box. Players may select their chosen Leader Card and Outpost Tile together at the same time.

Special setup rule: If Tariq is 1 of the Leaders being used, give the Radio (first player marker) to the player seated to his left.

Leaders

Amos must use 1 of his turns in the execute phase to harvest all his farms. This means that instead of sending out a Die, he flips over his Tile, harvesting all his Farms and also gaining an additional 3 Water. He does not harvest his Farms a second time during the Harvest Phase, but he does harvest from the Planet Board, then flips his Tile back to its other side. Amos also starts with 1 additional Die in his supply, and 2 fewer Algae.

Britta gains 1 Energy and 1 Algae during the Rest Phase for each Die she lacks from her limit. For example, if her Dice limit was 5, and she had 3 Dice in her supply, she would gain 2 Energy and 2 Algae.

Charlene may increase 1 Die by up to 2 pips or 2 Dice by 1 pip each in the Planning Phase. This is done privately behind her Screen. She also has a special Board that must be placed below the Mining Camp with the appropriate side faceup for the number of players. When Charlene (not other players) sends Dice to the Mining Camp, she gains Gems normally, and may also benefit from the abilities on her Board in the same column where she placed her Die (before or after gaining Gems). All abilities are optional. However, if she wishes to use the right-most ability to move her Harvester, she must also discard 2 Contract Cards. If playing solo, she may choose to use the optional alternative ability on her Board instead of the ability below where she placed her Die.

Corey gains 1 Gem if there are no Dice at his Outpost during the Harvest Phase. This means that no players would have sent Dice there during the Execute Phase. He also has his own unique Outpost Board. This should replace the standard Board for that player. There are a few minor changes to note on his Outpost Board. The most important change is that up to 2 Dice can be sent to his Outpost. In addition to that, any time a player (including Corey) sends a Die to his Outpost, that player immediately gains 1 Algae before resolving the Outpost Tile's ability.

Eden may discard 1 Contract Card to draw 2 new Contract Cards in the Planning Phase. This can only be done once per Round. In addition to this, she also starts with 1 more Gem, 2 more Energy, and 4 more Algae.

Garmon may always spend 6 Water in place of 1 Gem. He may do this any number of times. For example, he could spend 18 Water in place of spending 3 Gems when negotiating with Jrayek. He also gains 6 Water each Round during the Harvest Phase if he harvests no Water from the Planet or his Farms.

Hikaru may resolve a second Faction's ability when negotiating. He may do this before or after resolving the Faction ability from where he sent his Die. For example, if he sent a Die to negotiate with Leyrien, he could use their Faction ability, and also use the ability of Oxataya, in either order. He also starts the game with an additional 5 Water.

Luna gains 1 Gem when she negotiates with Ahzuri, and 3 Water when her opponents do. During setup she must move her Harvester 1 space on the Planet Board in any direction. Note that this may be done after the Contract Card draft.

Melvan's Specialist limit is increased to 2. This means that he may have up to 2 active Specialists in his supply. He also starts with 1 active Specialist. This may be any 1 of the 3 available Specialists. This Specialist counts as 1 of his starting Dice. Therefore, he will begin with 1 Specialist and 2 regular Dice in his supply. If he unlocks the ability where active Specialists no longer count towards his Dice limit, it applies to all of his active Specialists.

Michela's Dice limit is reduced by 2. This means that she will most commonly be limited to 3 Dice, but other effects may increase this. She may also benefit from an unclaimed Advancement each Harvest Phase (before or after harvesting). This means that she may resolve any 1 Advancement that does not have an Incident Token below it. She does not move an Incident Token when doing this. During setup, place her unique Tile to the right of the Negotiations Board. This provides 2 new Advancements for all players to benefit from. She also starts the game with 5 fewer Water.

Peyton (Peyton Lux): When sending Dice to the Market or Laboratory, Peyton may either draw 2 Contract Cards, or discard 1 Contract Card to gain 1 Gem. This may be done before or after resolving the Station's ability. She also gains 2 more Contract Cards from the top of the Draw Pile after all players have drafted their starting hand during setup.

Tariq (Tariq Azizi): Each Round Tariq may resolve the action of the first Die he sends from the Headquarters twice. If he has fulfilled Contract Cards that benefit from his action, they would also activate twice (once per action he resolves). For example, he could send a Die to the Laboratory, along with a matching Die and purchase 2 Farm Tiles. If he had the Ryh-zu Armour (gain Dice at the Laboratory), then he would also gain 2 Dice. As another example, he could send a Die to the Depository to fulfill a Contract and gain the delivery reward, then fulfill another Contract and gain the delivery reward again. If the first Contract Card he fulfilled was the Drop Ship (Gem discount when sending Dice from the Headquarters), he could benefit from this when fulfilling his second Contract Card. During setup, 1 of Tariq's Dice from his supply should be rolled and placed in the first space of the Headquarters, gaining the normal rewards.

Specialists

Specialists are a new type of Die that players can gain access to. They have some special rules that only apply to them, but can also be used like any other Die. There are a few key rules to remember:

When used in place of a regular Die, players may treat them as any value between 1-6.
Anything that would affect a regular Die may also affect a Specialist (such as the Drop Ship Contract Card).
Specialists count as Dice in a player's supply (they would score for the Sleep Capsules Contract Card, for example).
Gaining a regular Die by any means does not allows players to instead gain a Specialist. They can only be gained when explicitly specified.

Assigning Specialists in the Planning Phase

During the Planning Phase, players must assign any active Specialists they have to Garages and Farms, just as they would with regular Dice. Players may only ever have a single active Specialist (see page 8 for the definition of "active").

Note: Screens are not intended to cover Outposts. Dice and Specialists cannot be assigned to Outposts during this Phase.

Sending Specialists from Garages

Specialists sent from Garages follow all the same rules as regular Dice, with a few exceptions:

Specialists may be sent out in any order. This means they may be sent ahead of other Dice, or skipped to be placed later. When sending a Die from a Garage (or when sending their last Die in the Headquarters) to the Laboratory, players may send it alongside a Specialist, regardless of which Garage that Specialist came from.
Specialists may be sent to Farms on players' own Research Bases. Players must still pay any Algae costs associated with the Garage when doing this. Specialists sent to Farms still only activate during the Harvest Phase, as if they had been assigned there during the Planning Phase.
Specialists may be sent to Outposts belonging to any player. The effects of this will be explained in detail on page 9.

Sending Specialists from the Headquarters

Unlike when sending Specialists from Garages, all Specialists and Dice at the Headquarters must be sent out in the normal order (1st-4th). In other words, a player with a Die in 1st position and a Specialist in 3rd position does not have the choice to send out that Specialist before their regular Die. Other than that, Specialists follow all the same rules as when sent from Garages.

Sending Specialists to the Headquarters

Specialists sent to the Headquarters function just like any other Dice being sent there.

Sending Specialists to the Station Boards

Specialists sent to these Boards may be treated as any value from 1-6.

Sending Specialists to the Negotiations Board

Specialists sent here do not have a value, and therefore do not contribute to any of the 6 Advancements or 6 Setbacks from the base game. There are, however, 2 new Advancements and 2 new Setbacks specific to Specialists.

The first 2 Specialists sent to the Negotiations Board gain an Advancement.
If a player places a Specialist in a column where there is already 1 or more Specialists, they will need to resolve 1 of these Setbacks.

Sending Specialists to the Depository

Specialists sent to the Depository may be treated as any value from 1-6, and therefore placed onto any available space.

Harvesting Farms with Specialists

Specialists on Farms should always be treated as value-6.

Rest Phase

All Specialists on the 7 Station Boards (this includes the new Temple Board) and any sent to Outposts are returned to players' supplies just like regular Dice. By default, Specialists count towards each player's Dice limit. This includes any Specialists at the Headquarters. If players need to return Dice to get below their limit, they always return regular Dice.

Gaining Specialists

There are a number of ways for players to gain Specialists. Any time players gain a Specialist they must carry out the following steps, depending on which situation applies. If they already have 3 Specialists, gaining more has no effect.

If they do not have an active Specialist, take any 1 of the 3 Specialists placed on their Outpost during setup, and replace any 1 regular Die in their supply with that Specialist. The regular Die being replaced is returned to the reserve. Note that replacing a regular Die with a Specialist at a Station Board or the Headquarters has no immediate benefit.
If they already have an active Specialist, move any 1 of the 3 Specialists placed on their Outpost during setup, to 1 of the lock spaces at the bottom-left of their Outpost Board.

Unlocking Specialists

As described above, Specialists can sometimes be moved to lock spaces. If a player takes an action which would see an active Specialist leave their supply (such as sending a Specialist to the Negotiations Board or Depository), this would immediately unlock 1 Specialist from a lock space. If they do not have any Specialists on a lock space, this has no effect.

When unlocking a Specialist in this way, players must replace any 1 regular Die in their supply with that Specialist. The regular Die being replaced is returned to the reserve.

"Active" Terminology

Specialists are considered "active" only when they are in a player's supply. Specialists and regular Dice are only considered to be in a player's supply while on their Research Base, at the Headquarters, or at any of the Station Boards. Specialists on Outposts Boards are not considered active, except for those sent there during the Execute Phase.

While replacing regular Dice with Specialists at Research Bases is often more beneficial, players can still replace them at the Headquarters or at Station Boards if they wish.

Outposts

Using Outposts

Players may send Specialists to any player's Outpost, including their own. To do so, they must place their Specialist onto the top Die space showing the Outpost icon, granted that it is available (not already blocked by another Specialist).

They must then carry out the action shown on the Outpost Tile above. If their Specialist was sent to an opponent's Outpost, that player also gains a benefit. This is 1 Contract Card and 2 Water, but may be improved (see below). Players do not get this extra benefit when using their own Outposts. Specialists sent to Outposts are always returned during each Rest Phase (they are not spent).

Oxataya Faction Ability

There is a new Faction ability that allows players to use an unoccupied Outpost without sending a Specialist. While a Specialist is not placed, if the owner of the chosen Outpost is an opponent, they still gain the rewards as if someone had used their Outpost.

Specialist Abilities

As players gain Specialists, they unlock additional benefits for their active Specialists and their Outposts. These benefits become immediately available regardless of whether a Specialist was added to their supply, or moved to a lock space. These abilities are:

Any time an opponent uses an Outpost, the owner gains either 2 Algae or 1 Energy, in addition to the usual 1 Contract Card and 2 Water. This is also worth 2 points at the game's end.
Active Specialists do not count towards the owner's Dice limit.
Spend 1 fewer Algae when sending out Specialists from Garages. This can be from the cost of the Garage, or another part of the action.

If the 2nd and 3rd Specialist are unlocked, they are worth 5 points at the game's end. If only 1 of them is unlocked, no points are gained.

Outpost Tiles

The Outpost Tiles are not individually named in the rulebook. They are listed here in the order printed, each with its icons rendered as words.

A player resolving this must move their Harvester 1 space backwards on the Planet Board (closer to the centre). After doing so, they gain the resources from their Harvester's current position on the Planet Board, plus an additional 2 Energy. They cannot use this Outpost if their Harvester is already at the centre of the Planet Board.
A player resolving this may peek at any 1 Gem Cache, then must move their Harvester 1 space in any direction on the Planet Board.
A player resolving this immediately takes 1 Die of their colour from the reserve, rolls it, and places it on the first available space at the Headquarters. This is treated just like sending a Die there normally, meaning that they will get 2 Contract Cards or 5 Water. They cannot use this Outpost if the Headquarters is already full.
A player resolving this must spend 5 Water. After doing so they gain 1 Ship Tile from the top of any stack for free, and gain 1 Algae.
A player resolving this must discard 1 Contract Card from their hand and spend 1 Energy. After doing so they gain 1 Farm Tile from the top of any stack for free.
A player resolving this must fulfill an end-game-focused (red flag) Contract Card. When doing so, they may spend up to 1 fewer Gem and up to 2 fewer Water.
A player resolving this must fulfill an in-game-focused (blue circular arrow) Contract Card. When doing so, they may spend up to 1 fewer Energy, up to 2 fewer Algae, and up to 3 fewer Water.
A player resolving this must spend 2 Algae. After doing so, they draw 2 Contract Cards into their hand and gain 2 Gems into their supply.

Temple and Tiles

Temple

Sending Dice to the Temple allows players to gain Specialists and other benefits. Dice sent here may be placed onto any 1 of the available spaces. The value of the Die governs which of the 3 possible actions they resolve. The cost for this action is 1 Gem or 10 Water. The 3 possible actions are:

1: Gain 1 Specialist and optionally fulfill any 1 Contract Card, paying its full costs.
2-3: Gain 1 Specialist and draw 3 Contract Cards to hand.
4-6: Gain 1 Specialist and 1 Die.

Farm Tiles

Passively produces 1 Contract Card, and is worth 1 point at the end of the game.
Requires a 6 to gain 1 Specialist.

Ship Tiles

Sending Dice from this Garage allows players to make 1 Trade using the options shown on the Market Board. This trade may be done either before sending the Die, or after resolving its action.
Dice sent from this Garage may be sent to Outposts. This is the only way that regular Dice may be sent to Outposts. This follows all the same rules as when a Specialist is sent to an Outpost.

Resolving New Advancement Rewards and Setback Punishments

There are 2 new rewards added to the right side of the Negotiations Board. The first is to draw 2 Contract Cards. The second is to gain a Specialist. There are also 2 new punishments added to the right side of the Negotiations Board. The first rewards all other players with 1 Gem (solo mode: you lose 2 Algae and 1 Energy). The second rewards all other players with 5 Water (solo mode: you lose 5 Water). For Lysias, "all other players" also includes himself when resolving these punishments.

End of Game Scoring

In addition to the scoring areas outlined in the main rulebook, players also score their Outposts: 2 points if they unlocked their top Specialist. 5 points if they unlocked both their bottom Specialists (7 points if they unlocked all 3).

Negotiating with Ahzuri

There are now 2 new Factions for players to negotiate with. Oxataya simply require players to spend Water, whereas Ahzuri are more unique. To negotiate with Ahzuri, players must meet the requirements shown on the specific space where they wish to place their Die. To be clear, these requirements must be met before sending a Die. These requirements are:

Have 4 or more fulfilled Contracts.
Have 4 or more Dice (may include Specialists) on the Negotiations Board.
Have their Harvester on a Gem Cache.
Have 4 Ship Tiles or 3 Farm Tiles.
Have 3 Specialists at the Negotiations Board or Depository (in any combination across 1 or both areas).

Negotiating with Ahzuri (Changes for Solo)

The requirements for negotiating with Ahzuri in the solo mode are:

Having 4 or more Dice (may include Specialists) on the Negotiations Board.
Having 4 or more fulfilled Contracts (or 4 Dice at the Depository for the AI).
Having 3 Ship Tiles or 3 Farm Tiles (or all 3 Progress Tiles for the AI).
Having 3 Specialists at the Negotiations Board or Depository (in any combination across 1 or both areas).

Solo Setup

Set up the solo mode for Circadians: First Light as outlined in the main rulebook, with the following additions:

After selecting an AI opponent, place their matching Outpost Board to the left of their Board.
Randomly deal 1 Outpost Tile for the AI and place it above their Outpost Board. This can be done before you select your Leader and Outpost Tile.
Place the Conspire Board to the right of the AI Board.
Place 1 Specialist of the AI's colour on the indicated space of their Outpost Board, and their other 2 Specialists on the indicated spaces of the Conspire Board.
Shuffle the 6 new Scheme Cards into the Scheme Card Draw Pile.

Solo Gameplay

Rules Overview

All solo rules from the main rulebook still apply. There are some new key rules to follow:

Any time you send a Specialist to the AI's Outpost, they gain 1 Gem.
Any time the AI sends a Specialist to your Outpost, you gain the printed rewards, just as in the multiplayer game.
When the AI gains a Specialist, it is immediately moved to a lock space on their Conspire Board. It only enters their supply during the Conspire Phase if they have no other active Specialist.
The AI has 2 new Phases to carry out each Round: Exploit and Conspire.

Exploit

Immediately after resolving any Dice at the Headquarters, the AI will exploit if they have an active Specialist. After this, continue with the Execute Phase for the AI, as outlined in the main rulebook. Skip the Exploit Phase if the AI has no active Specialist.

To resolve the Exploit Phase for the AI, roll a random Die from the reserve and check its result. Based on this result, the AI will do 1 of 3 actions, as outlined on their Outpost Board:

1: Send the AI's active Specialist to their own Outpost, spend 1 Gem from their supply, and unlock their next available Progress Tile. If they do not have a gem to spend, or if their Outpost Board is already occupied, instead act as if you had rolled a 2-3, and carry out that action.
2-3: Send the AI's active Specialist to your Outpost and add 2 Gems to their supply. You gain all benefits from your Outpost Board as well (just like when an opponent uses your Outpost in the multiplayer game). If the Dice space on your Outpost is already occupied, instead act as if you had rolled a 4-6, and carry out that action.
4-6: Reveal the top Scheme Card from their Draw Pile and place it in the Specialist Card slot below their Outpost Board. Send out the AI's active Specialist using the directions on the Scheme Card, just as you would any regular Die during their Execute Phase. The value of this Specialist is set by the value shown at the top of the Scheme Card. This Scheme Card does not count towards the number of Scheme Cards they will reveal during their Execute Phase.

Conspire

This new Phase should be carried out only after both you and the AI have finished the Rest Phase.

The first part allows the AI to negotiate with Ahzuri. This only needs to be done if they meet 1 or more of the requirements needed to negotiate. If they are able to negotiate with Ahzuri, roll and send 1 Die of their colour from the reserve to the top-most space below Ahzuri that they qualify for.

The second part only needs to be done if they have a Specialist waiting on a lock space, with no active Specialists in their supply. The position of Specialists along the top of their Board does not matter. Just be sure to always fill Dice spaces from left-to-right, sliding Dice to the left if ever needed.

Specialist Abilities (AI)

As the AI gains Specialists, they will unlock additional benefits. These must be unlocked in order (1 star, 2 stars, 3 stars). These benefits become immediately available regardless of whether a Specialist was added to their supply, or moved to a lock space. These abilities are:

From now on, if the AI has an active Specialist, they will resolve the Exploit Phase.
The AI gains 1 additional Gem when you use their Outpost. This is also worth the printed points at the game's end.
This is worth the printed points at the game's end.

Scoring

In addition to the scoring areas outlined in the main rulebook, the AI also scores any points from their Specialists, as outlined above.

Contract Cards

The 26 new Contract Cards are listed below by name, with their printed text.

Ahzuri Shrine: Gain 1 Specialist (end game).
Ahzuri Staff: Gain 2 points per Die you have placed in Ahzuri's column of the Negotiations Board.
Aqua Lung: Pay 5 fewer Water when sending Dice to the Temple.
Drop Ship: Pay 1 fewer Gem for your action when sending Dice from the Headquarters.
Eido Cloak: Gain 1 Gem when sending Dice to the Academy.
Eido Quarterstaff: Gain 1 Gem when sending Dice to the Foundry.
Eido Tattoo Kit: Gain 1 Gem when sending Dice to the Control Room.
Khyzera Coin: Gain 2 points for each Specialist you have at the Negotiations Board or Depository.
Khyzera Wreath: Gain 2 points for each pair of 1 Ship Tile and 1 Farm Tile you have.
Leyrien Canoe: Gain 2 Algae when using any player's Outpost.
Moontide Pin: Gain 1 point per Specialist you have gained throughout the game.
Old Map: Move your Harvester up to 2 spaces on the Planet Board (end game).
Oxataya Armour: Gain 1 Die when negotiating with Oxataya.