Deep Space D-6: Armada Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Component Setup
  • Dual-layer Player Boards
  • Lead Player Badge
  • Other Component Notes
• Game Setup
• Object of the Game
• Playing the Game
  • Player Turn Order
• Planning Phase
  • Buying and Upgrading Ship Modules & Configuring
  • Hiring Heroic Crew Members
• Encounter Phase
  • Combat Encounters
  • Distress Beacon Events
• Resolution Phase
  • Hazards
  • Placing New Distress Beacons
  • Placing New Enemy Ships With Threat Detected Cards
• Additional Rules
  • Crew Dice Symbols
  • Combat Damage Types
  • Assigning Crew Dice (General)
  • Player Ships
• Enemy Ships
• Attacks and Damage
  • Player Ship Damage & Hull Breaches
  • Attack Characteristics
• Combat
  • Combat Rules
  • Crew Dice Assignment Guidelines (Combat)
  • Escaping Combat
  • Scrap Credits
• Events & Away Missions
  • Assigning Crew Dice (Away Missions)
  • Away Mission Rules
• Winning the Game
  • Critical Damage
  • Decoding the Final Encounter
• Player Ships
• Ship Modules
• Heroic Crew
  • Commanders
  • Tacticians
  • Engineers
  • Scientists
  • Medical Specialists
  • Other
• Enemy Ship Index
  • Federation
  • Junker
  • Mercenary
  • Xeno
• Teaming Up
  • Team Combat
  • Team Away Missions
• Special Away Missions
  • Decision Mission
  • Cargo Mission
  • Other Away Missions
• Final Encounters
  • Section 1: Lokust
  • Section 2: Ouroboros
  • Section 1: Artemis
  • Section 2: Artemis V2
  • Section 3: Oblivion Tower
• Variants
  • Modifying the Difficulty
  • Hardline Variant
  • Solo Play
  • This Is Not a Variant: Final Encounter 30-Section 1: Savior
• Glossary of Terms
• FAQ
• Quick Rules & Reference

Game Components

• 6 Player Boards
• 6 Starship Pawns
• 6 Planet Tiles
• 20 Basic Crew Dice
• 34 Hero Crew Dice
• 88 Station Modules
• 33 Shield Tokens
• 25 Fleet Token Pairs
• 60 Event Tokens
• 40 Credit Tokens
• 52 Event Cards
• 55 Enemy Ship Cards
• 30 Threat Detected Cards
• 34 Heroic Crew Cards
• 2 Enemy Dice
• 32 Mini Cards
• 8 Trackers Cubes
• 24 Timer Tokens
• 30 Damage Cubes
• 12 Offline Tokens
• 3 Final Encounter Cards
• 4 Final Encounter Tokens
• 1 Cloth Bag
• 1 Leader Player Badge

Component Setup

Before beginning your first game, you'll need to set up a few components:

Dual-layer Player Boards

Deep Space D-6: Armada contains 6 dual-layer player boards. All ships have a Shield and Hull meter that can be upgraded during the game. Set up each board by inserting the blank filler pieces found on the token sheets into the appropriate slots.

The tokens are labeled on their backsides but they are mostly identical except for the ships Hades and Dawn's Reach. The tokens also depend on player count.

To track Shield and Hull values, use the Shield and Hull tracker pieces. Slide the trackers left and right to indicate the current value of each meter. The arrow points to the current value.

Throughout the game, you'll upgrade your ship by adding new modules. When this happens, insert a module into your ship by placing it into 1 of the 6 recessed portions of the ship board. To remove a module, carefully lift out the module piece using the opening edge at the upper right corner.

Lead Player Badge

The Lead Player badge is given to the player currently in combat or in the role of Frontline during Team Combat. To assemble the Lead Player badge, stack the two badge parts on top of each other and bind them with an elastic band (not included).

Then, slide all 3 Tactic cards between the two parts. To retrieve these cards, push up on the cutout at the bottom of the badge and pull the cards out of the top.

Alternatively you can just use the front badge piece and keep the Tactic cards nearby.

Other Component Notes

There are 34 Heroic Crew dice which all share similar symbols. To make it easy to find a specific die, consider sorting the dice in the insert based on color or alphabetically. Each Hero die is unique. Make sure you check all sides and confirm the correct die before adding it to your crew!

The Event cards and corresponding Event tokens are not linear and are intentionally missing some numbers.

Number 9 is skipped in the Fleet tokens.

Game Setup

To set up your first game, follow these steps:

1. Place the planet tiles in the center of play area according to the diagram. Planets should be aligned based on the indicators shown on each planet tile.

2. Each player chooses a starship and takes the corresponding starship board and matching starship pawn. Place all the player pawns on the Terra planet location. Place the starship board in front of you.

3. Shuffle each of the different types of cards to create the 3 card decks: Hero, Enemy Ship, and Threat Detected. Do not shuffle the Event cards, instead keep them in numerical order. Place each deck above the main play area.

4. Take all Distress Beacon tokens* and place them in the drawstring bag (not pictured).

5. Take all the Fleet tokens, Shield tokens, Damage cubes, Offline tokens and Credit tokens, and place them near the play area for easy access for all players.

6. Give each player basic Crew dice and Credits.

   • For 1 player: 6 basic Crew and 2 Credits
   • For 2 players: 5 basic Crew and 2 Credits
   • For 3 players: 5 basic Crew and 2 Credits
   • For 4 players: 5 basic Crew and 0 Credits

7. Gather all the Station Module tiles and place them in an opaque container or the box lid (not pictured). Keep the Cargo modules separate from the other modules.

8. Place the special Distress Beacon token numbered 00 on the Terra planet location.

9. Leave the remaining components in the box, they will be used during different stages of the game.

You are now ready to play!

*The difficulty of Deep Space D-6: Armada can be modified by changing the setup. See Variants.

Object of the Game

Deep Space D-6: Armada is a cooperative game. All players are on the same team and win or lose the game together. The players' ultimate goal is to stop The Federation by discovering the source of its power and destroying it. You will do this by completing missions and collecting data tokens which will lead you to a final encounter.

Playing the Game

Deep Space D-6: Armada is played over a series of game rounds. Each round consists of three phases that are resolved in the following order:

1. Planning Phase: Players perform actions to travel between locations and prepare for upcoming tasks.
2. Encounter Phase: Players combat Enemy Fleets and/or complete Away Missions on their current location.
3. Resolution Phase: New events and Enemy Ships appear on the board. Hazard Effects are also activated.

After the Resolution Phase is complete, players begin a new round starting at the Planning Phase. Players continue playing in rounds until they have won or lost the game.

Player Turn Order

Players may decide their turn order for Phases 1 and 2, but each player must complete their turn before another player may take their turn.

In Phase 2, players in Team Combat or a Team Away Mission share the same turn. Thus, if you join a teammate in an objective, you will not get your own turn.

Planning Phase

During this phase, players can perform up to two actions.

• Travel
• Repair
• Trade
• Buy/Upgrade/Configure (Shipyard)
• Hire Crew (Waystation)

Players may perform the same action twice in one round. For example, a player may Repair as both actions. Players must complete all of their actions before another player may take their turn.

Travel - Move your ship pawn to a nearby planet location. Nearby planets are indicated by the arrow markers on the edge of each planet tile. The entire planet is considered a player's location.

Repair - Roll all available Crew dice. Recover 1 Hull for each Engineering result.

Trade - Give or trade Ship Modules, Heroes, or Credits with another player at the same location.

Buy/Configure - If a player is on a location with a Shipyard, they may purchase new Ship Modules. See Buying and Upgrading Ship Modules & Configuring below.

During this action, you can also configure your ship. Note: If you only want to configure your ship, you must still take the Buy/Configure action.

Hire Crew - If a player is on a location with a Waystation, they may hire Heroic Crew members. See Hiring Heroic Crew Members below.

Once all players have completed their Planning Phase actions, proceed to the Encounter Phase.

Buying and Upgrading Ship Modules & Configuring

Draw 3 random Station Modules from the box and spend Credits to purchase any number of them.

The back of a module (for buying) shows its Name, Description, Purchase Cost, Upgrade Cost, and Attack Characteristics. The front of a module (installed into ship) shows its Name, Attack Characteristics, and the Crew Requirements and Effect.

Install Ship Modules by inserting the tile in any available station on your ship board. All starships begin with starting weapons and systems. Covering a starting station with a module will make those modules unusable.

A starship is limited to six modules. However, modules can be purchased even if you do not plan to use them right away. For example, you may give one to another player later.

For more detailed information about each of the Ship Modules and their effects, see Ship Modules.

Upgrades: If a module has an upgrade cost, the module may be purchased for the reduced value if you already own the previous module (one that shares the same name). When upgrading, you must discard the previous module after buying the upgraded version.

Configure: Swap out or move any modules in your possession. It can sometimes be beneficial to change modules based on different upcoming encounters.

Note: Buying and Configuring can both be performed in the same action and do not require two separate actions.

After this action is complete, return any modules you did not buy.

Hiring Heroic Crew Members

Draw 3 random Hero cards and spend Credits to hire any number of them.

A Hero card shows the Hire Cost, Portrait and Name, Traits, Character Info, Special Ability, and Dice Symbols.

Every Hero unit has a matching Hero die. The faces of the die are displayed at the bottom of each Hero's card. When you acquire a new Crew member, add the corresponding die to your ship's Crew. Keep the Hero card next to your player board.

Heroic Crew have special abilities that range from improving your dice mitigation to increasing your Credit income. Heroes also have traits that may impact certain events. It is best to diversify your Crew with various types of Heroes.

There is no limit to the number of Crew you can have.

For more detailed information about each of the Crew members and their abilities, see Heroic Crew.

After this action is complete, return any Heroes you did not buy and reshuffle the Hero deck.

Encounter Phase

During this phase, players resolve tokens on their location. Fleet tokens are resolved with a Combat Encounter, while Distress Beacon tokens are resolved with an Away Mission.

Fleet tokens are not optional and must be resolved if a player's ship is on the same location as a Fleet token at the start of Phase 2.

Fleet tokens must be resolved before a Distress Beacon can be resolved. If there are multiple Fleet tokens, they may be resolved in any order (player chooses). If there are no Fleet tokens on the location, or all Fleet tokens have been successfully resolved, they may then resolve a Distress Beacon token if any are present.

Combat Encounters

If a player is on a space with a Fleet token, they must resolve a Combat Encounter with the matching Fleet number. Combat is described in detail in the Combat section.

Distress Beacon Events

If a player is on a space with a Distress Beacon token, they may resolve the Event with the matching number. Resolving Events are described in detail in the Events & Away Missions section.

If there are multiple Distress Beacon tokens, the player may only resolve one per round (player's choice).

However, Prime Distress Beacons must be resolved before normal Distress Beacons on any location can be resolved.

Prime Missions are of the utmost importance to the Armada. They have galaxy-wide priority!

(Normal Distress Beacons show a number on a triangular token, e.g. 2; Prime Distress Beacons show a higher number on a distinct token, e.g. 16.)

Once all players have completed their Encounter Phase, proceed to the Resolution Phase.

Resolution Phase

During this phase, perform the following actions:

1. Draw Distress Beacon tokens
2. Draw Threat Detected cards
3. Activate Hazard Effects

Place new Distress Beacons and Enemy Ships based on the chart below.

Players	Beacons	Threat Detected Cards
1 - 2	1	2
3 - 4	2	2

Hazards

Once the Distress Beacons and Enemy Ships are placed, any component with a Hazard indicator (a yellow and black striped bar) on it must be activated.

Note that Hazards are activated after new Beacons are placed, so it is possible for a new Event to immediately impact your game at the end of a round. Don't let this catch you off guard!

Immediately resolve any and all text shown in the yellow Hazard Effect box, for example "Draw a Threat Detected card."

Some Hazards don't have an immediate effect and instead bring attention to a new on-going effect, for example "Players may not recruit Heroes."

These on-going effects last until the Event is completed and the Event card is removed from play.

Once all steps of the Resolution Phase are complete, begin a new round with all players returning to a new Planning Phase.

Continue playing, round after round, until either all players are destroyed or the Final Encounter is defeated. See Winning the Game.

Placing New Distress Beacons

Distress Beacons represent missions that players must endeavor to accomplish.

To place a Distress Beacon, randomly draw a Distress Beacon token from the drawbag then search the Event deck for the Event card with the corresponding number.

Read aloud the mission text written on the back of the card, then place the Distress Beacon token on the planet indicated on the upper left of the Event card.

Next, flip the card over and place it aside. Event cards remain face-up for all players to look at and plan for.

If at any time a game round ends with 6 or more Distress Beacon tokens on a single location, the planet is lost to The Federation and the players lose the game.

Placing New Enemy Ships With Threat Detected Cards

The Federation and its allies have deployed various hostile ships to hinder your progress. These enemy ships fight in fleets that grow in size through reinforcements every round.

To place Enemy Ships, draw a Threat Detected card. There are 2 main types of Threat Detected cards: New Fleet and Reinforcements.

For New Fleets, draw Enemy Ship cards face-down equal to the value shown. Then take a pair of Fleet tokens, place one on the planet indicated on the top left of the card, and place the other on top of the Enemy Ship cards in a pile.

For Reinforcements, draw Enemy Ship cards face-down equal to the value shown. Then add those cards to preexisting Fleet piles as instructed. If there are no Fleets already there, treat the card like a New Fleet type, using the bottom text. Discard any Threat Detected cards to a discard pile once they are resolved.

All Enemy Ship cards remain face-down until revealed in an Encounter. Once any ships are revealed, they remain face-up, but any new ships that are added are placed face-down.

When you draw the Scramble Threat Detected card, shuffle it and all previously discarded cards back into the Threat Detected deck, then draw another card.

Additional Rules

There are a couple of mechanics to go over before learning about combat. In general, all player actions in combat are dictated by their dice. Players perform combat by placing dice on various starship modules to produce different effects--from attacking enemy ships directly, to recharging your shields.

Crew Dice Symbols

In Deep Space D-6: Armada, your dice are your Crew. When used in Away Missions or Combat, their symbols correspond to actions you may perform. The following are the most common uses for each symbol.

• Tactical - Used for firing weapons, offensive ship abilities and combat-focused Away Missions.
• Engineering - Repairs your ship Hull, fixes stations that go offline, and used in Away Missions that require technical skills like construction and technology.
• Science - Recharges shields, operates specialty stations, and used in Away Missions associated with science and exploration.
• Medical - Returns units from the Infirmary and provides rerolls in Away Missions.
• Command - The Command symbol is treated as a 'wildcard' and may be used as any other basic symbol during combat and Away Missions. It is only found on Heroic crew.
• Blank - All basic Crew dice have 2 blank sides. Blank sides do nothing.

Combat Damage Types

All weapons have 3 possible types of damage: Energy, Kinetic, and Ion.

• Energy weapons must hit Shields before they can damage the Hull.
• Kinetic weapons ignore Shields and do damage directly to the Hull.
• Ion weapons can only hit Shields. They have no effect on a target's Hull.

Assigning Crew Dice (General)

To assign a Crew die, place a die with the matching symbol directly on top of the component to indicate it has been assigned. (This applies to both Ship Modules and Away Mission cards.)

Once Crew dice are assigned they can no longer be used or manipulated until they are gathered or returned to the available dice pool.

If a symbol is surrounded by a box, it has a maximum number of dice that can be assigned to it, based on the size of the box. A box around one symbol is Max 1 Die; a box around two symbols is Max 2 Dice.

If a component has a box without a symbol in it, any Crew symbol (including a blank side) can be assigned to it.

Note: The color of the symbol does not matter. For the basic Crew dice, their symbols are colored for quick assessment while all Hero dice have white symbols.

Player Ships

Your ship is home to your crew and a highly customizable tool in defeating The Federation. Treat it well. The player board tracks the ship's condition and organizes its station modules.

1. Shield Track - Shows your current and maximum Shield value. Shields absorb most attacks and can be recharged in Combat.

2. Hull Track - Shows your current and maximum Hull value. If at any time your Hull is reduced to 0, your ship will enter the Critical Damage state. See Winning the Game.

3. Ship Stations 1, 3, and 5 (Port) and

4. Ship Stations 2, 4, and 6 (Starboard) - Ship stations house the Ship Modules for which you can assign your Crew dice to perform actions. Each ship comes with different starting modules pre-installed.

5. Storage - It is recommended to place your Heroic Crew cards, Credits, and unused modules in this area.

6. Infirmary Station - The Infirmary is a special station found on all player ships. Various things like Enemy Ship attacks or Hazard Effects will disable your Crew and force them into the Infirmary. When an effect calls for a unit to be sent to the Infirmary, you must choose one of your Crew dice and place it in the Infirmary area. Crew dice in the Infirmary are considered unavailable and cannot be assigned until they are returned.

   To return Crew from the Infirmary, assign a Medical result to this station, then move all Crew out of the Infirmary. Crew dice returned from the Infirmary are not available until the next round.

7. Crew Section - Place all available Crew dice here. During the Encounter Phase, use this area to sort your Crew dice after a roll and keep track of unassigned units.

For more detailed information about each ship and their specialties see Player Ships.

Enemy Ships

Enemy Ships come in all shapes and sizes. There are 3 types of ships: offensive, defensive, and utility, denoted by the colored background.

Additionally, each ship belongs to one of four factions which suggests the type of combat they exhibit. See the Enemy Ship Index.

An Enemy Ship card shows its Name, Hull Value, Shield Value, Enemy Actions, and Faction and Scrap Value.

During the Enemy's Combat turn, you will roll a single Enemy Action die and resolve any attacks and abilities that match the result.

Ex: If you roll a result matching both of the Siren's attacks, the Siren will perform both attacks.

When fighting a Fleet of multiple Enemy Ships, you only roll a single Enemy Action die for the whole Fleet.

In the example on the page, a certain roll would result in attacks from the Falcon and Siren. The Qube would not attack.

When multiple ships attack, they attack in unison. However, when attack order matters (Ex: Determining whether your Shields will deplete before an Ion attack), resolve the cards from left to right, and abilities from top to bottom.

Some Enemy Ships, like the Qube, have passive abilities that trigger during certain conditions. Please pay special attention to these abilities during and after the Enemy Action step.

At the beginning of Combat, Enemy Ships with Shields start Combat with Shield tokens equal to the Shield value.

As an Enemy Ship takes damage, place Damage cubes on the Shield tokens. Once all the Shield tokens are full, or if an attack ignores shields, place Damage cubes directly on the card instead.

An Enemy Ship cannot receive more Damage cubes than their Shield + Hull value. For attacks that would go over this value, only place Damage cubes up to the maximum value.

Important: In Combat, Enemy Ships are not immediately destroyed when they receive enough Damage cubes to match their Hull value.

Because you check if an Enemy Ship is destroyed during step 3 of Combat, they will still be able to perform actions in step 2, even if they have enough Damage cubes to be destroyed.

When an Enemy Ship is destroyed, discard the card into a discard pile. When the Enemy Ship deck is depleted, reshuffle all discarded cards and create a new Enemy Ship deck.

Attacks and Damage

Player Ship Damage & Hull Breaches

When you take damage from an Enemy Ship, move your ship's Shield and/or Hull trackers based on the damage type.

If your Hull reaches 0, your ship enters a Critical Damage state and has limited actions (see Winning the Game).

Some Enemy Actions also cause Hull Breaches. If your ship is hit with an attack that has the Breach Damage icon, you must resolve a Hull Breach.

Hull Breach - Roll an Enemy Action die and place an Offline token on the ship station that corresponds to the result (the die faces show Station Numbers, e.g. Station Number 2, Station Number 4).

Additionally, if there were any Crew dice assigned to the station when the Hull Breach occurred, immediately send those units to the Infirmary.

A station with a Hull Breach token on it can no longer be activated and Crew dice cannot be assigned to it.

The Offline token may be removed by assigning an Engineering result to the token during the Crew Assignment step of Combat.

A station cannot have more than 1 Offline token at a time. If a station would receive another Offline token, or the station is empty, instead ignore the effect.

All Offline tokens are removed at the end of Combat.

Attack Characteristics

Some Station Modules have unique attack characteristics. Modules and Enemy Actions with these icons follow special rules.

• Quickstrike - Deals damage immediately. If a Quickstrike attack causes you to place Damage cubes equal to or greater than the target's Hull, the target is destroyed immediately. You do not have to wait until step 3 of Combat to determine if it is destroyed. This prevents a target from retaliating.
• Multi-target - Damage can be split among multiple targets. Normally, a weapon can only target one Enemy Ship at a time. With a Multi-target attack, you can divide the damage however you'd like among multiple targets. Ex: The Lotus Mk II does 2 damage. You can apply 1 damage to two different targets.
• Direct - Damage can be aimed at specific enemies and ignores Protect. Attacks with this icon may ignore the Protect ability found on some Enemy Ships.
• Area Attack - Damage is applied to all Enemy Ships in a Fleet. This does not ignore Protect. An Area Attack on a Fleet with a Protect Enemy Ship only hits the ship with Protect (it does not combine the total damage you would have done to all ships, just one instance of damage to the ship with Protect).
• Breach Damage - (Enemy Ships only) Damage from these attacks can result in a Hull Breach.

Combat

Combat Rules

There's no way to avoid it, combat is a necessity of war and often the only way for the unheard to have a voice.

At the start of Combat, reveal and lay out all Enemy Ships that compose the Fleet next to your starship board. Place Shield tokens on each Enemy Threat equal to their Shield value.

Combat is resolved over a series of rounds in the following order:

1. Crew Assignment & Player Actions - Roll all available Crew dice and assign them to stations resolving actions immediately as the dice are assigned. If you have any rerolls, use them here before assigning. Continue assigning until all your dice are assigned or you decide to stop.
2. Enemy Action - Roll an Enemy Action die and perform Enemy Actions for any ship with a matching die result. When an Enemy Ship attacks, the player's ship takes damage based on the type of damage received. Move the Hull and/or Shield trackers according to damage received.
3. Destroy Enemy Ships - If an Enemy Ship has Damage cubes on their card equal to their Hull value, the Enemy Ship is destroyed. Remove the threat from Combat. This unit is no longer active in Combat and does not resolve any further dice activations. Set the discarded card aside.
4. Gather Available Crew or Attempt Escape - Retrieve all Crew dice that are not in the Infirmary or Locked. Or attempt to Escape Combat (see Escaping Combat).

Repeat steps 1-4 until all Enemy Ships in the Fleet are destroyed (Victory), or the Hull of the player's starship is reduced to 0 (Defeat).

Victory - At the end of Combat, gain Scrap Credits (see Scrap Credits). Then, return your starship's Shields back to their maximum value. Your starship's Hull remains the same value it was at the end of the encounter. If there are any Crew dice in the Infirmary, return them now. You may proceed to the next Combat Encounter or Distress Beacon token on your location if one is available. Otherwise, your Encounter Phase turn ends.

Defeat - If your starship's Hull is reduced to 0, Combat immediately ends. Move your starship pawn to any nearby planet and flip it upside down showing the Critical Damage side. Any Enemy Ships that were not destroyed are returned to their Fleet fully repaired. Return all Crew dice from the Infirmary. You may not attempt another Combat Encounter or Distress Beacon token. Your Encounter Phase turn ends.

A starship in the Critical Damage state cannot enter Combat or attempt an Away Mission. You must use the Repair action to recover your Hull. Once your Hull returns to its max value, flip the pawn back to its normal side (see Winning the Game).

Crew Dice Assignment Guidelines (Combat)

To perform an action, assign one or more Crew dice to a Ship Module and apply the effect.

This Lotus module requires 1 Tactical to activate. Once activated, it will produce 1 energy damage. Pick an Enemy Ship target and apply the 1 energy damage.

Modules without symbols do not need to be activated and instead have on-going effects that can trigger under certain conditions.

• Some modules have multiple symbols. All symbols must be met in order to activate the module -- this can be accomplished by assigning multiple dice, dice with multiple symbols on a side, or a combination of both. A Crew die with multiple symbols can fulfill multiple requirements, but a single die cannot fulfill multiple stations simultaneously. Ex: A die with a double Tactical result can fire the Lotus two times, but it cannot fire two separate Lotus modules.
• Because you can assign all your dice before an Enemy Action, it is up to you to determine the best order of attacks and abilities.
• Modules can activate any number of times in a round as long as you have the required dice to assign.
• It is possible to have a turn in which you cannot assign some or any of your dice. You may also choose not to assign any dice.
• If you are unable to assign any Crew and have no dice to gather at step 4 (Ex: Due to all units being sent to the Infirmary), Combat is considered a Defeat.

All Crew dice assigned to a Station Module or Tactic card are gathered during step 4 of Combat.

Escaping Combat

If for whatever reason you need to escape Combat, you may attempt an escape during step 4. Retrieve the Tactic: Escape card from the Lead Player badge and roll all available Crew dice.

Assign Crew to the card as you would a Ship Module. You may choose to escape by assigning 2 Engineering or assigning any available unit and setting your Hull to 1.

It is possible to assign 1 Engineering during your first escape attempt; continue your turn without that unit, and then assign the remaining Engineering in the next escape attempt.

If your attempt is a success, proceed to the Defeat outcome of Combat but do not enter the Critical Damage state. Do not collect any Scrap Credits.

Scrap Credits

At the end of Combat, if you end in Victory, you will gain Credits based on the enemies destroyed.

The bottom of each Enemy Ship shows the Faction and the Scrap Value (white dots).

At the end of Combat, gain Credits equal to the single most dots per faction in a Fleet.

Ex: Destroying the 3 ships shown (one Mercenary, two Federation, each with 1 dot) will give you 2 Credits. 1 for the Mercenary faction, and 1 for the Federation faction.

Ex: Destroying 5 Federation ships, each with 1 dot, will only net you 1 Credit.

You will not gain any Credits for destroyed ships if your Combat ends in defeat.

Events & Away Missions

Each Distress Beacon token is linked to an Event that is resolved by completing an Away Mission. Like Combat, you must assign your Crew dice to matching symbols on the card to complete each mission.

Assigning Crew Dice (Away Missions)

It's not always best to assign every possible Crew die on every turn. Sometimes it is wise to save dice and especially medics for harder sections!

Away Mission card parts (back and front):

1. Event Number - The numerical designation of the Event.

2. Hazard Indicator - Away Missions with a Hazard indicator will activate the text shown in the Hazard Effect box (see below) during the Resolution Phase.

3. Hazard Effect Box - During the Resolution Phase, all Hazard Effects must be resolved. Resolve all effects simultaneously, but in instances where order is important, start with the largest Event Number and continue in descending order.

   Some Hazard Effects are not immediate and instead continually impact the game as an on-going effect. (Ex: Event 15's Hazard Effect prevents all players from recruiting Heroes.) On-going effects remain active until their card is removed by resolving the Away Mission.

4. Sequence - If this icon appears on an Away Mission, each Section row must be completed from top to bottom. You may not assign dice to a Section unless the row before it is complete.

   After a Section is complete, you must stop Crew Assignment and Try Again for the next Sections.

5. Mission Sections - To complete an Away Mission, the player(s) must assign their Crew dice to the matching symbols in each Mission Section.

   Sections vary in size and represent the maximum number of dice that can be assigned to it (Max 1 Die, Max 2 Dice).

6. Success Rewards - The rewards the player(s) gain if they successfully resolve the card.

   • Credits: For each of these icons, gain one Credit.

Note: Hull damage from a failed Away Mission can put your ship in the Critical Damage state.

Some Away Missions are special and follow slightly different rules. See Special Away Missions.

Crew Requirements are the symbols shown in each Mission Section.

Away Mission Rules

Distress Beacons tokens are resolved by attempting Away Missions. An Away Mission is completed when all the crew symbols on the card have been met. Medics grant valuable rerolls and increase your chances of success.

To begin an Away Mission, place the Event card matching the Distress Beacon number next to your starship.

Away Missions are resolved over a series of rounds in the following order:

1. Crew Assignment - Roll all available Crew dice and assign them to the Away Mission Sections. Continue assigning until all your Crew dice are assigned or you decide to stop.
2. Resolve Mission - Check for mission success. If all Crew requirements have been met, proceed to the Success outcome.
3. Try Again - If the Crew requirements have not been met, you may attempt the mission again:
   • If a Mission Section was completed or if a Medical symbol was rolled and not assigned, return to step 1.
   • If no Medical symbols are available, place one available Crew die in the Infirmary (making it unavailable) then return to step 1.
   • If you run out of Crew before all requirements are met, proceed to the Failure outcome.

Note: Unlike in Combat, you cannot assign Crew to the Infirmary to retrieve units from the Infirmary.

Repeat steps 1-3 until the mission is a Success or Failure.

Success - Once the player has met all the requirements of an Away Mission, perform the following steps:

1. Receive the rewards shown in the Success portion.
2. Return all Crew dice back to your starship (including any in the Infirmary).
3. Discard the completed Away Mission.
4. End your turn.

Failure - If a player is unable to or chooses not to complete the Away Mission, perform the following steps:

1. Resolve the Failure portion of the Away Mission.
2. Return all Crew back to your starship (including any in the Infirmary).
3. End your turn.

The Event card is not discarded and remains in play for players to attempt again later.

Important: Only one Away Mission may be attempted in each Encounter Phase per player/team.

Winning the Game

As players complete Away Missions, they will obtain Data tokens. Once players have collected 4 Data tokens a Final Encounter is revealed.

Data tokens come in three colors (green, red, orange/yellow-red) and each shows a pattern and a letter (A, B, Y, X).

When the 4th Data token is acquired, return to this section and discover the Final Encounter. The Final Encounter will enter the game as outlined in each encounter's section.

Players immediately win the game if they defeat the Final Encounter.

The players lose the game if any of the following occur at the start of a game round:

• All player starships are in a Critical Damage state.
• There are 6 or more Distress Beacon tokens at a single location.

Critical Damage

If at any time your ship's Hull is reduced to 0, your ship immediately enters the Critical Damage state. Flip your player pawn over to indicate this state.

While your ship is in the Critical Damage state, you cannot enter Combat or attempt an Away Mission. All Planning Phase actions are unaffected.

To remove the Critical Damage state, a starship must be repaired using the Repair action during the Planning Phase. Once a starship recovers Hull equal to its maximum Hull value, flip the token back to the normal side and proceed with play as normal.

Decoding the Final Encounter

To determine the Final Encounter, follow the statements from top to bottom until the first true statement. Data tokens are identified by color, pattern and letter.

If you have	Result
green Data token with a "
blue Data token with a "-" pattern and blue Data token "X"	go to section 2: Ouroboros
red Data token with a dot pattern and red Data token "B", and 3 or 4 players	go to section 1: Artemis
red Data token with a dot pattern and red Data token "B", and 1 or 2 players	go to section 2: Artemis V2
orange Data token with a diagonal-line pattern and orange Data token "Y", and 2 or more players	go to section 3: Oblivion Tower
any other combination, and 3 or 4 players	go to Savior (Final Encounter 30-Section 1)
any other combination, and 1 or 2 players	go to section 2: Ouroboros

Player Ships

There are 6 different ships to choose from. Each ship offers unique skills and abilities.

Pathfinder - The Pathfinder is among the fastest ships in the galaxy. The signature Galeforce Thrusters allow it to perform a Travel action for free during the Planning Phase. Additionally the Pathfinder's starting weapon has the Quickstrike characteristic, making it ideal for finishing off enemies before they have a chance to attack.

Hades Mk II - Throughout the galaxy, Hades is known as The Last Argument of Kings. What diplomacy can't complete the Hades finishes. With the largest Hull value, it can shrug off damage and fire back with its linked weapons. The Twin Link System maximizes your damage output by letting you share your Tactical Crew between two weapon stations.

Twin Link: If you assign Crew dice to Station 1, you may treat Station 2 as if it were also assigned those Crew die.

Harmony - Leaving a trail of negative and ultraviolet light in its wake, the Harmony is a dazzling ship to behold and inspires hope in those who witness it in action. With its Polarity Drive, the Harmony can phase shift into different states of matter, and alternates between defending from Energy or Kinetic damage. The Polarity Drive has a Crew limit of 1 (it cannot be activated twice in the same round to protect from both types of damage).

AG-01 - The AG-01 represents an age when starships were primarily designed for exploration and discovery. Before The Federation deeply regulated starship construction, the AG-01, with its "switch blade modular design," was a stalwart symbol of the advances in science and technology. While today it shows its age, one can argue that newer isn't always better and the Universal Starship makes a fantastic thesis.

To use the Stasis Beam, place the assigned die on an Enemy Ship's action. Any action in Stasis will not activate during the Enemy's Combat turn. Stasis cannot disable on-going abilities like Protect. Stasis has a Max Crew limit of 1.

Dawn's Reach - Eons ago during the Endless Conflict, one ship made it out completely unscathed. Dawn's Reach is named after the blinding light emitted by its shield array. The Infinity Aegis is a unique Shield Module that can never go offline and recharges faster as more Crew are assigned to it. With the largest Shield value of all the ships, the Dawn's Reach makes for the best frontline ally.

Pale Valkyrie - The Pale Valkyrie is a prototype long-range weapons platform developed by Pale Valkyrie Weaponscience Industries. This sniper-class starship excels at long-range engagements while staying out of reach of enemy retaliation.

Shadow Strike allows the Pale Valkyrie to join Team Combat with another player from a nearby planet; however, it can only contribute using the module in Station 1. While doing this, the Pale Valkyrie ignores all damage and cannot enter the Frontline.

Ship Modules

Ship Modules allow you to outfit your ship with new abilities, both offensive and defensive. A module can be activated any number of times, as long as you have the available Crew dice. Stations without Crew symbols do not need to be activated and Crew cannot be assigned to them. The following is an overview of each of the modules.

Note: Unless directly stated otherwise, modules are only used in Combat.

AI Cores: During the Crew assignment phase of Combat and Away Missions, you may reroll any number of Crew as many times as the indicated value (1x - 3x). You must complete rerolls before you assign any Crew.

Alyssum Thrusters: You may move up to 2 locations with a single Travel action during the Planning Phase. This is treated as one complete action, so you may not perform actions in between the moves.

Aster Drones: Drone stations are special stations that allow you to "lock" a Crew die onto the station. During step 4 of Combat, dice on drone stations do not have to be gathered. Instead, they will repeat their function at the end of step 1 as if they were assigned again. Drone stations have a max assignment of 1 Crew.

Barriers: Barriers increase the rate at which a Shield can be recharged. Barrier Type X increases a ship's maximum Shield capacity. When a Type X is equipped, remove the Filler token on your ship's Shield track. When a Barrier module goes offline in Combat, it can no longer be activated, but the max capacity does not decrease.

Blossom Energy Beam: Damage is determined at the point of activation. Thus, to gain the additional damage, relevant Crew must be assigned in the same action. Using the Blossom multiple times in the same round does not grant additional damage for Crew used in previous activations.

Cereus Plating: Plating increases a ship's maximum Hull capacity. When Cereus is equipped, remove the Filler token on your ship's Hull track. This station ignores Hull breaches and cannot go offline -- ignore the effect.

Dendron Plating: Plating increases a ship's maximum Hull capacity. When Dendron is equipped, remove the Filler token on your ship's Hull track. During step 2 of Combat, if your ship loses any amount of Hull, gain 1 Shield for each instance, after taking the damage. Ex: Your ship without Shields is hit twice for 2 and 3 damage. Lower your Hull by 5, then gain 2 Shield.

When Dendron Plating goes offline in Combat, the effect no longer works (do not gain Shield in the same instance the station goes offline), but your Hull's max capacity does not decrease.

Drosera Attractor Beam: While equipped, you gain 1 bonus CR for each successful Away Mission and/or Combat Encounter.

Edelweiss Minelayer: During Phase 3, if reinforcements spawn on your current planet location, immediately place 1 Damage cube on each new Enemy Ship. These ships begin their next round of Combat with this damage.

Ferox Shield Transfer: Only usable in Team Combat. A shield can never exceed its maximum capacity.

Gerbera Missiles: Gerberas cost Credits for each activation.

Hellebore Ion Bombs: Causes Ion damage to all Enemy Ships in a Fleet.

Iris Scanners: Once per game round on your turn, you may reveal a Fleet by turning over all Enemy cards of a single Fleet. Keep these cards face-up. The upgraded scanners let you look at the next Threat Detected card. Return the card face-up to the top of the deck afterwards.

Kira Matrix: During Away Missions, you may lock Crew dice during step 1 before attempting a reroll. This is helpful for missions which require a specific set of Crew to complete a section. Ex: A mission requires 2 Science but you only rolled 1. Place the 1 Science Crew on the Kira Matrix and continue with your reroll attempts without having to reroll the locked Crew die.

Lagrange Saber: The Saber starts off as a weak weapon usable only by Medical Crew, but the upgraded form is very deadly. It can only be used once per Combat round, even if a single unit has multiple Medical results.

Larkspur Burner: When activated, the Larkspur does 2 damage to any Enemy Ship that has Hull damage. You can simplify this by looking at which ships have Damage cubes already on them. This attack is considered a Direct Hit and ignores Enemy Ships with Protect.

Lilac Healing Ray: The Lilac returns all units from the Infirmary. This station can be used on an ally while in Team Combat, making it good for supporting a ship on the Frontline.

Lotus Pulse Laser: A simple and reliable weapon which can eventually hit multiple targets.

Lupin Teleporter: Only usable in Team Combat. When activated, you may send any of your Crew dice to another player's ship. This Crew temporarily becomes part of that player's Crew, granting them any Heroic abilities or effects they might have.

The sent Crew remains in the state in which they were sent. Ex: You send over 2 available Crew and 1 from your Infirmary. The 2 available arrive ready to be assigned, while the other 1 arrives in the other ship's Infirmary to be healed by them.

A Lupin can also be used to pull or retrieve Crew from an ally (with permission of course). When activated multiple times in a round, you can perform unique combos like sending a Heroic Engineer to repair an ally's stations, then bringing them back. Each activation is one-way, meaning you cannot send and receive units, only send or receive.

At the end of a Combat Encounter, all Crew dice return to their original owners.

Magnolia Signal Jammers: The Jammer prevents Hazard Effects from occurring on your planet location during the Resolution Phase. Note that the Magnolia only blocks Hazard Effects from Event cards on your planet, not effects from other beacons that would apply to your location.

However, version 2 of the Magnolia stops all reinforcements (Hazard Effects and Threat Detected cards) that would spawn Enemy Ships on your location. You would still receive damage from a Hazard Effect originating on another planet that says "all player ships" take damage.

Nepentes Ion Cannon: A popular weapon among bounty hunters looking to disable ships.

Nightshade Cloaking Unit: For each activation, place a token on the module. At 4 you may ignore all damage during the next Enemy Action (Hull Breach effects are not ignored). Once all Enemy Actions are resolved, remove all tokens from this station.

Orchid Missiles: Orchids hit all Enemy Ships in a Fleet but are countered well by Enemy Ships with Protect.

Raflesia Beam Gatling: This weapon has two different activations. When activated with one type of unit, add a token. When activated by another type of unit, deal damage equal to the number of tokens. The tokens are not removed, thus making this weapon grow stronger the longer it is used. After Combat or if this module goes offline, remove all tokens.

Sakura Micro Missiles: This module is ideal for quickly eliminating problematic threats.

Senna Anti-Ordnance: When activated, your ship ignores all damage and effects from Enemy Ship attacks that do a particular type of damage during the following Enemy Action. Ex: An Enemy Ship does 2 damage of that type and causes a Hull Breach; ignore the damage and Hull Breach.

Spindle Cannon: You may only gain Shield if the Spindle Cannon does Ion Damage. Ex: Using the Spindle on an Enemy Ship with no Shields will not give you Shield in return.

Stargazer Countermeasure System: When activated, all instances of a particular damage type are reduced to 1 during the following Enemy Action. Ex: 3 Enemy Ships hit for 4 Energy damage each. You would only take a total of 3 Energy damage -- one for each attack.

Titan Arum Ram: The Titan Ram does not require Crew to activate and may be activated at any time during step 1 of Combat. Choose a number of Hull to lose, then do that much damage to a target. You may choose as much Hull as you currently have. If this action would bring your ship to 0 Hull, your ship enters the Critical Damage state.

Valerian Mass Stabilizers: While equipped, you may ignore any damage caused by 2 of a particular damage type.

Zephyranthes Relay: When activated, you may reroll any Enemy Action die result during the Enemy Action step. This can be an activation or a Hull Breach location. It is possible to activate this module and not use the reroll. In this situation, the effect is lost and the Credit is not refunded.

Heroic Crew

Your starting crew members have a limited set of actions, while Heroic crew can often do more per turn. As you recruit more Heroic crew, you'll gain access to special abilities -- not all of which are beneficial!

A Hero's ability is always available, even if they are in the Infirmary. In Team Combat and Team Away Missions, a Hero's ability may only affect their own crew.

Note: The term 'crew' and 'unit' are used interchangeably.

Commanders

Commanders are versatile and are considered the most powerful units as they fill a variety of roles.

• Genevieve the Red: Combat only. Parley can be used any number of times in a round as long as you have the Crew.
• Hercule of Orion: Survive Mode functionally guarantees Hercule and his Crew can escape Combat as long as the correct Crew dice are available.
• Kilroy: A powerful leader that comes at a cost. Indivisible prevents you from assigning large numbers of units to a single station.
• Leo Ranger: Rally applies to any Enemy Ship, even ones destroyed by an ally in Team Combat. However, the affected unit can only be from Leo Ranger's Crew.
• Lt. Sonia Clarke: Inspire is activated after any rerolls gained from A.I. Core Modules. The basic units are only rerolled once. Any units that remain blank after the reroll cannot be rerolled again.
• Samantha Azaran: Payout grants bonus Credits as soon as the ship is destroyed. These Credits are not lost even if you end up losing the Combat Encounter.
• Zero: If you fail an Away Mission with a penalty, you may skip drawing a Threat Detected card.

Tacticians

Tacticians excel at ship-to-ship combat. Their abilities are geared toward gaining strategic advantages.

• Kisaragi Atsuta: Lock On lets you carry the result of a single unit through to the following Combat round.
• Kilig Havok: Havok may ignore the Sequence requirement of Away Missions.
• Lazerball: Because he is sent to the Infirmary at the end of a Combat round, he cannot be returned from the Infirmary in the same round he was sent.
• Ophainim: When a Hull Breach occurs, you may reroll the location result once. You must keep the new result.
• Solus: Black Market reduces the cost of Ship Modules and upgrades by 1 Credit, to a minimum of 1.
• Sekani: A unit sent to the Infirmary through any action (from an attack or self-inflicted), will cause your ship to gain 1 Shield.
• Violet Kashi: When performing the Buy action, you may sell Ship Modules for their full purchase cost. These Credits must be spent in the same action and cannot be saved for later.

Engineers

Engineers keep your starship in its best condition by performing repairs and activating support modules.

• K-D3-N: Synapse works in Combat and Away Missions. After rolling for step 1, if you are unable to assign any Crew, you may reroll all units one time. You may not activate this ability if another Heroic ability causes you to be unable to assign any units.
• Kirie: The final Hull repair value is based on the conclusion of the rerolls, not after each individual reroll.
• RX-11 Custom: If a station has Crew assigned to it when a Hull Breach occurs, do not place an Offline token. However, those units are still sent to the Infirmary.
• Yokai: All Offline tokens throughout your ship are removed when any Offline token is resolved.
• ZZ-22: You may take the Configure action on locations without a Shipyard.

Scientists

Scientists are responsible for recharging shields and are the only ones who can operate more advanced modules.

• Gus: As a pacifist, Gus prioritizes his crew members and will always try to save them if he shows a Medical result.
• Dr. Karla Moeller: You may continue to reroll all Science results until none appear.
• Pathos: When a particular result appears, immediately perform the effect, even if another effect would change it. This effect may trigger multiple times per round.
• Piotr Orlov: Rerolls gained from Stimulus can stack with other rerolls. The effect is lost when the Fleet becomes fewer than 5 after Enemy Ships are destroyed.
• Rome: Relay lets you resolve another Distress Beacon token after completing one on the same location. You may not attempt to complete one if you fail a mission.

Medical Specialists

Medical units ensure your crew are healthy while increasing your success rate on away missions.

• Jaszzk-Rit: Whenever a unit is returned from the Infirmary, they may be immediately reassigned after one reroll.
• Kino: If all but one of your Crew is in the Infirmary, you may change that one unit to any side.
• Rigsystem Generation 2: Sections must still be completed in sequence.
• Sisi Gao: You do not have to complete Prime Away Missions before attempting regular Away Missions.
• V41-K: This effect also stops you from intentionally sending units to the Infirmary with abilities like Parley. It does not stop Lazerball's All In.

Other

The galaxy is filled with all types of beings. These units have a wide range of complex abilities and traits.

• E.V.A.: A player with E.V.A. and Iris Scanners may only look at 1 card in total.
• Kyuu: Orate reduces the cost of recruiting by 1 Credit, to a minimum of 1.
• Grok Grok: This effect may trigger multiple times per round. The damage is not blocked by Shields.
• Rose Palroy: You may assign Rose to another unit that is already assigned. That unit may be assigned again (Rose is considered assigned to the same station as the unit she is paired with).
• Setsuna: Choose any available unit and copy the exact die face. Setsuna is treated like an exact copy until she is used again.

Enemy Ship Index

There are 3 types of enemy ships: attack, support, and utility. Attack ships deal direct damage to your ship. Support ships help attack ships by keeping them protected or boosting their attacks. Meanwhile, utility ships attempt to inhibit your combat output through hull breaches and by disabling crew.

All ships belong to 1 of 4 factions which specialize in different styles of combat.

Federation

Federation ships run the widest gamut of ship types. They synergize with each other, so it's best to break their lines.

• Bulkfrog: This sturdy bombing ship is designed to disable Crew members.
• Crusher Drill 9000: A construction ship weaponized by The Federation.
• Cyclone: A unique ship that flips around, changing its attack type. It always starts 'upright' with the green half on top. Only activate the bottom half of the card.
• DecaBuilder: A massive mobile shipyard that can repair ships in its Fleet. Ships can never exceed their Hull value.
• Kabuto: Check for Shields at the start of the Enemy Action step of Combat. This effect can occur repeatedly if the Shields get recharged.
• Kuwagata: Counts itself when determining the damage of its second attack. Ex: If Kuwagata is in a Fleet with 3 other ships, it will do a total of 4 damage.
• Sentinel: A mass-produced scouting ship. While they are not the most dangerous, their numbers are high.
• Oni: An experimental ship that uses paralysis rays to render Crew incapacitated.
• Osiris: Builds up great energy from its solar panels before unleashing a devastating blast. There is no limit to the Timer tokens it can gain, but they are removed at the end of Combat.
• Qube Type: Destroy: At the end of step 2 of Combat, any player ship that lost Hull (not Shields) for any reason, will suffer a Hull Breach.
• Qube Type: Save: At the end of step 2 of Combat, any Enemy Ship that did not activate, will recover 1 Hull. This includes ships that did not activate due to Stasis.

Junker

Junker ships focus on kinetic attacks, seeking to create hull breaches and tear ships apart from within.

• Kannon: A fast ship that fires sharp, impaling spines.
• Klinge: The blade on the fore pierces Shields with ease. The second ability has no damage type and therefore cannot be ignored and is not treated as an instance of damage by defensive modules. If hit by this, resolve two separate Hull Breaches.
• Todesritter: Its arms can dismantle a ship in just a few minutes.

Mercenary

Mercenary ships are hired by The Federation to capture dissenters. They specialize in disabling crew.

• Falcon: Falcon pilots are often methodical in their execution.
• Hawk: If you see this ship, it is usually a sign that more are to come.
• Owl: The supersonic wave emitted by its weapons can knock out an entire Fleet's Shield systems.
• Swan: The sharp edges of its wings are often the last thing a Captain sees before their ship is seized.

Xeno

Xeno ships are a mysterious hybrid of mechanical and organic components. Though little is known about them, they appear to be under the control of The Federation. Their armor and parts are considered extremely valuable on the Dark Market.

• Gallant: Though they appear to listlessly float in space, they are quick to arm and defend their designated territories.
• Lancer Grand: Its outer shell is covered in hidden pores that allow it to attack multiple targets at once.
• Mirage: The Mirage is able to create Shields for all ships in its Fleet including itself. It can create Shields for ships that do not have any starting Shields, and there is no limit to the number of Shields it can create. Because all Shields reset at the end of Combat, these Shields do not carry over between game rounds.

Teaming Up

Sometimes a Fleet or Away Mission challenge is too great to handle alone. If 2 or more players are in the same location during the Encounter Phase, they may choose to resolve tokens as a team.

Team Combat

Before beginning Team Combat, designate one of the players as the Frontline. Give this player the Lead Player badge. The Frontline player receives all damage from the Enemy Fleet and is treated as the primary target for all Enemy Ship attacks.

Combat as a team is the same as regular Combat with the following changes to the steps:

All participating players can contribute attacks and effects.

• Step 1: All players roll all their available Crew dice and take turns assigning them to their own stations in any order they decide, again resolving actions immediately.
• Step 2: Only the Frontline player will take damage from attacking Enemy Ships (unless the attacks have the Area Attack characteristic, in which case all players will take the damage).
• Steps 3 and 4 are unchanged.

A player in the Frontline may swap positions with another player. To do this, during step 1 of Combat, retrieve the Tactic: Swap card from the Lead Player badge and treat the card like a Ship Module. To perform this action, both players must assign Crew dice to the appropriate section. If successful, the Frontline player gives the Lead Player badge to the player they swapped with. This player becomes the new Frontline.

To escape Team Combat, any player can complete the Tactic: Escape card and all team members must escape. If a player's Hull is reduced to 0, they immediately leave Combat and resolve the Defeat outcome (see Combat). If this player was the Frontline, they must pass the Lead Player badge to another player. All other players remain in Combat.

At the end of a successful Team Combat Encounter, the players decide how to split the Scrap Credits.

Team Away Missions

Away Missions as a team are the same as regular Away Missions with the following changes to the steps:

All participating players can contribute Crew dice to the Away Mission Sections.

• Step 1: All players roll all their available Crew dice and take turns assigning them to the Away Mission Sections.
• Step 2: Unchanged.
• Step 3: The Try Again rules apply to an individual player's Crew and not to all the players collectively. Ex: A player cannot set aside 1 of their Crew dice to allow another player to roll again.

If the Team Away Mission is a success, players decide how to split the rewards.

If the Team Away Mission is a failure, all participating players will receive the Hull damage equally.

Other icons are resolved once, like normal.

Note: Each player's Crew dice are treated as a separate Crew for Heroic abilities and Ship Modules. A player may not use their own Heroic abilities or Ship Modules on another player's Crew.

If multiple players contribute to completing a Mission Section, they all count as having completed the section and do not have to set aside a die to Try Again.

Special Away Missions

Some Away Missions have unique rules that are resolved a little differently.

Decision Mission

You only have to resolve 1 grouping. Whichever group you choose has no bearing on the Success or Failure, but the different requirements will be easier or harder depending on the specific Crew you have.

Cargo Mission

Cargo missions do not have an immediate Success or Failure after the Encounter Phase. When you attempt a Cargo mission, you must acquire and equip an appropriate Cargo Module onto your ship -- equip this module by taking a free Configure action after the Encounter Phase. Then place the Event card next to your starship board to indicate that it is an on-going mission.

Once the Cargo is lost after completing or failing the mission, you will not get another free Configure action.

Note: A Cargo mission that is also a Prime Away Mission only needs to have the Cargo Module be picked up to satisfy the Prime requirement. Players may continue to attempt regular missions while a Prime Cargo mission is underway.

Other Away Missions

• #14 - Heroic abilities and Ship Modules that offer mitigation may be used for this mission.
• #20 - If there is a tie, all players collectively decide between the tied players.
• #49 - If this mission fails in any way, all players lose a turn on the very next round. Skip the next Planning Phase and proceed directly to the Encounter and Resolution phases.
• #52 - You must spend 1 Credit per participating team member in order to attempt this mission.

Final Encounters

Section 1: Lokust

Retrieve the Final Encounter card Lokust Mothership, its matching token, and the Lokust Drone mini-cards from the game box.

Place the token on Kagawa. Resolving this token will engage in Combat with the Lokust Mothership.

The Lokust Mothership is a special Enemy Ship that summons its own reinforcements to create a Fleet. The Lokust Drones are a new Enemy Ship type. When the Lokust Mothership's Hazard Effect is triggered, add randomly drawn Lokust Drone cards to the Lokust Mothership's Fleet and nearby Fleets as instructed.

The Lokust Drones gain the Protect ability when in the same Fleet as the Lokust Mothership.

If the Mothership escapes Combat, or the players Escape Combat, its Shields will recharge, but it keeps any Damage cubes already on it.

Immediately resolve Combat as Victory, meaning you may resolve other tokens. Then remove all tokens from the Mothership card.

Players immediately win the game if the Mothership is destroyed.

• The Lokust Mothership token does not prevent players from resolving Distress Beacon tokens.
• Resolving the Lokust Mothership token during the Encounter Phase is optional.
• The Lokust Mothership is a special Fleet and only Lokust Drones can be added to it.

Section 2: Ouroboros

Retrieve the Final Encounter card Ouroboros Mk. III and its matching token from the game box.

Place the token on Zenith One. Resolving this token will engage in Combat with the Ouroboros.

The Ouroboros is a special Enemy Ship composed of multiple separate parts. When applying damage to the Ouroboros, treat each section as its own Enemy Ship (the Shields are shared across all sections). Collectively, all sections compose the 20 Hull points of the Ouroboros. You must decide which section to target with your attacks.

As you do damage to each section, place the Damage cubes along the track in the order shown by the arrow indicators. Damage cubes are only placed on spaces with an outline. Once a Damage cube covers a die symbol, this is considered a Critically Damaged section, and that symbol will no longer activate that section.

If players Escape Combat, the Ouroboros Shields will recharge, but it keeps any Damage cubes already on it. It will remove all Damage cubes on Critically Damaged sections when its Hazard Effect triggers.

Note: Attacks that increase damage based on "each" Damage cube refer to Damage cubes on that section (not Damage cubes on the entire Ouroboros card).

Players immediately win the game if the Ouroboros Mk. III is destroyed.

• The Ouroboros token does not prevent players from resolving Distress Beacon tokens.
• Resolving the Ouroboros token during the Encounter Phase is optional.
• The Ouroboros is not a Fleet and Enemy Ships are not added to it during the Resolution Phase.

Section 1: Artemis

Retrieve the Final Encounter card Artemis Space Station, its matching token, the Event 99 card, and its corresponding Distress Beacon token from the game box.

Place the token next to Invictus. This token is treated as a planet location and follows all rules for travel. Player ships on this location may resolve this token like a Combat Encounter.

Place the Distress Beacon for Event 99 on Titan VI.

The Artemis Space Station is a hybrid Combat and Away Mission Encounter that requires multiple players to work together by splitting their forces.

In order to damage the Artemis, players must first resolve Mission 99. However, because Mission 99 is recreated at the end of every game round, the only way to attack the Artemis is to resolve Mission 99 in the same encounter round as you plan to engage in Combat with the Artemis.

The player(s) on Titan VI should resolve their encounters first. If they are successful, the player(s) on Artemis will be able to damage it. If the player(s) at Titan VI fail, the player(s) on Artemis must still engage in Combat.

Players immediately win the game if the Artemis Space Station is destroyed.

Note: The Artemis' special shield cannot be put into Stasis or otherwise disabled through any other method other than completing Mission 99.

Section 2: Artemis V2

Retrieve the Final Encounter card Artemis Space Station V2, and its matching token from the game box.

Place the token next to Invictus. This token is treated as a planet location and follows all rules for travel. Player ships on this location may resolve this token like a Combat Encounter.

The Artemis Space Station is a special Enemy Ship Encounter that will attack entire planets once enough time has passed.

When its Hazard Effect triggers, place a token on its card. When there are 5 tokens on the card, Destroy a planet.

To Destroy a planet, draw a Threat Detected card, then place an Offline token on the planet shown in the upper left of the card (if this planet is already destroyed, continue drawing until a planet can be destroyed). Discard the card.

A destroyed planet is still treated as a travel location, but players can no longer use the Shipyard and/or Waystation. Additionally, all tokens are removed, and no further tokens can be placed. If a token would be placed on a destroyed planet, skip it instead.

Players immediately win the game if the Artemis Space Station V2 is destroyed.

Section 3: Oblivion Tower

Retrieve the Final Encounter card Oblivion Tower and its matching token from the game box.

Place the token on Invictus. This token is treated as a Distress Beacon token and follows all Distress Beacon token rules.

Oblivion Tower is a Special Away Mission and follows the rules for resolving Away Missions.

When rolling all available Crew dice in step 1 of this Away Mission, you must immediately remove any basic Crew dice that show a blank result. This does not count as setting aside a unit for a reroll.

Note: The Hazard Effect is applied to all player ships at every location.

Players immediately win the game if the Oblivion Tower Away Mission is a Success.

Variants

Modifying the Difficulty

The difficulty and length of Deep Space D-6: Armada can be modified by changing a few simple things:

• To make the game easier, increase the number of Don't Panic Distress Beacon tokens. Decrease them to make it more difficult.
• To make the game easier, increase the number of starting Credits. Decrease them to make it more difficult.
• To make the game shorter, decrease the number of Data tokens required to trigger the end game from 4 to 3.

Hardline Variant

Separate out all the Upgraded versions of each Ship Module from the draw pile. You may directly buy upgrades for your modules using the Buy action.

Solo Play

Playing Deep Space D-6: Armada as a solitaire game requires the following changes:

• Begin the game with 6 basic Crew dice, 2 starting Credits, and the Tactic: Rebuild card.
• Use the reverse sides of the planet tiles that do not contain travel indicators.
• All planets in solo play are considered nearby, allowing you to travel to any location from any location.
• When your ship enters a Critical Damage state, the game ends as a loss. However, you may use the single-use Tactic: Rebuild card to fully repair your ship and continue playing the game.
• Remove the following modules from the game: Lupin Teleporter, Alyssum Thrusters, Ferox Shield Transfer, and 2 of each: Barrier Type V3, Barrier Type X, and Cereus Plating.
• It is not recommended to use the Pale Valkyrie starship when playing solo.

This Is Not a Variant: Final Encounter 30-Section 1: Savior

Retrieve the Final Encounter card The Galactic Savior.

Give the card to whichever player has the Hero card Zero. If no one has Zero, give it to the player with the most Credits (in the case of a tie, include the values of the tied players' Modules and Heroes). This player becomes The Galactic Savior and has access to 4 special Ship Modules that are treated as an extension of their ship.

The Galactic Savior is a unique Final Encounter scenario in which one of the players becomes the antagonist.

The Galactic Savior's ship pawn is now treated as a token that can be resolved during the Encounter Phase. Resolving this token will engage in Combat with the Galactic Savior.

From now on, the Galactic Savior goes first every round during the Planning Phase. If the Galactic Savior is on a location with another player's ship at the end of the Planning Phase, they may engage in Combat with them.

The game proceeds as normal with a few rule changes:

• If a player enters the Critical Damage state, they are removed from the game.
• In Combat between players, whoever initiated goes first, completing step 1 of Combat. Then the other player takes their step 1 in place of step 2 (Enemy Action).
• Either player can attempt to Escape Combat.
• The Savior cannot resolve Fleet or Distress Beacon tokens.
• The Savior's ship counts as a Fleet when determining whether an Away Mission can be resolved.

Note: For the Allium Ablative Armor, assign dice to the card and remove a die whenever you are attacked. This is not reactive, and the dice must be assigned before you are attacked.

Players immediately win the game if the Galactic Savior's ship becomes critically damaged.

The Galactic Savior immediately wins if all other players' ships become critically damaged.

Glossary of Terms

• Ally - Any other player ship in Team Combat.
• Backline - A designation given to a ship in Team Combat. Backline ships do not take damage from enemy attacks in Team Combat. See Teaming Up.
• Critical Damage - When your ship's Hull is reduced to 0, flip your player pawn over. A ship in this state has limited actions (see Winning the Game).
• Frontline - A designation given to a ship in Team Combat. Frontline ships will receive all the damage from Enemy Ship actions in Team Combat. All other ships are considered the Backline. See Teaming Up.
• Hull Breach - See Attacks and Damage.
• Immediately - Do no take any other action until an immediate action is resolved.
• Mitigation - Manipulation of dice results, such as rerolls and Heroic abilities.
• Nearby - Any planet listed on your current location's planet indicators. Ex: Luna's only nearby planet is Terra.
• Offline - A ship station with an Offline token cannot be activated until the token is removed. It is not possible to use AG-01's Configure ability while you have a station with an Offline token.
• Protect - An Enemy Ship with the Protect ability must be destroyed before other ships in its Fleet can be attacked. Protect does not apply to other ships with the Protect ability in the same Fleet.
• Unit - Refers to Crew dice.

FAQ

Q: Can you upgrade a module from tier 1 directly to tier 3? For example from Lotus directly to Lotus Mk III. A: Yes, and you only pay the listed upgrade cost on the tier 3 item.

Q: What is the order of resolution for conflicting Hazard Effects? A: Resolve the Hazard Effects based on the Event card number from highest to lowest.

Q: Can you assign Crew dice to a station and not activate it? A: No. Dice are gathered at the end of each round so they would be retrieved.

Q: What if a failed Event spawns a new Fleet on my location? A: You do not have to resolve the new Fleet in that round.

Q: What if we run out of Event cards? A: Events are not refilled. Continue playing the game but stop drawing Distress Beacon tokens. Instead, draw and resolve a Threat Detected card whenever you would place a Distress Beacon token.

Q: Do the components have limitations? A: The number of Credits is a finite number. If there are no more available Credits, you cannot obtain any more Credits. If you run out of Enemy Ship cards, shuffle all the cards and create a new deck. Damage cubes, Shield, Timer, and Offline tokens are not limited. If you run out, please use a proxy.

Q: Can any symbol be used when completing Away Missions that require a Command symbol? A: No, Command dice requirements require the Command symbol. The Command symbol only acts as a wild when it is rolled and used for assignment.

For more questions visit: www.TauLeaderGames.com/Armada-FAQ

Quick Rules & Reference

Round overview

• Planning: Perform two Planning actions.
• Encounter: Engage Fleets and Distress Beacons.
• Resolution: Draw new Event and Threat Detected cards. Activate Hazard Effects.

Planning Phase Actions (any two actions):

• Travel - Move to a nearby planet.
• Repair - Roll Crew dice, recover 1 Hull per Engineering result.
• Trade - Give resources to another player on the same location.
• Buy/Configure - At a Shipyard, purchase and Configure Ship Modules.
• Hire Crew - At a Waystation, hire Heroic Crew members.

Combat

1. Crew Assignment - Roll all available Crew dice and assign them to stations. Perform actions immediately.
2. Enemy Action - Roll an Enemy Combat die and perform Enemy Actions for any ship with a matching die result.
3. Destroy Enemy Ships - If an Enemy Ship has Damage cubes equal to their Hull value, that unit is destroyed. Remove the ship from Combat.
4. Gather Crew and return to step 1, or attempt Escape.

Away Missions

1. Crew Assignment - Roll all available Crew and assign them to Away Mission Sections.
2. If the mission is not a Success, set aside a Crew die to reroll and assign again. If a Medical result was rolled and not assigned, you may reroll for free (do not set aside a Crew die).
3. If the mission is a Success, collect any Rewards: gain the number of Credits shown; gain a Data token.
4. If the mission is a Failure, resolve any Penalties: draw a Threat Detected card; receive the shown value in Hull damage.

Damage Types

• Energy weapons must hit Shields before they can damage the Hull.
• Kinetic weapons ignore Shields.
• Ion weapons only hit Shields.

Attack Characteristics

• Quickstrike - Can destroy a target immediately.
• Multi-target - Damage may be split.
• Direct Hit - Ignores the Protect attribute.
• Area Attack - Damages all Enemy Ships in a Fleet.
• Hull Breach - Causes Hull Breaches.

Tokens: Distress Beacon (e.g. 2), Prime Distress Beacon (e.g. 16), Fleet Marker, Shield Token, Timer Token, Offline Token.