Helionox: Chronicles Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Episode 1 - Setup
  • Table setup
  • Opponent Cards
  • Events Setup
  • Market Setup
  • Player Setup
• Game Overview
• Round Structure - Summary of Phases
  • Start of Round Phase (Draw, Thaw, Ready, Reset)
  • Main Phase
  • Actions
  • Categories of Game Assets
  • End of Round Phase
    • Trigger Event Step
    • Score Step
    • Clean up Step
• Game End and Scoring
• Episode 1 Keywords and Mechanics
• Episode 1: Harbinger
• Episode 2: Setup
  • Table Setup
  • Events Setup
  • Market Setup
  • Player Setup
  • Pre-game Deckbuilding
  • Episode 2 Keywords and Mechanics
• Episode 2: Perdition
• Episode 3: Setup
  • Table Setup
  • Events Setup
  • Market Setup
  • Player Setup
  • Episode 3 Keywords and Mechanics
• Episode 3: Protocol
• Episode 4: Setup
  • Table Setup
  • Events Setup
  • Market Setup
  • Player Setup
  • Episode 4 Keywords and Mechanics
• Episode 4: Conglomerate
• Episode 5: Setup
  • Table Setup
  • Events Setup
  • Market Setup
  • Player Setup
  • Episode 5 Keywords and Mechanics
• Episode 5: Machinations

Object of the Game

Helionox: Chronicles is broken into 5 Episodes that form the core campaign mode of the game. Each teaches different game concepts while unlocking a variety of components which can be all be used to play Eternal Mode once the campaign is completed.

In the game itself, players take on the roles of Architects, leaders in the fight against tyranny and the tireless quest to save humanity from impending disaster. Players cooperate to gain Influence, a measurement used to show current control of the solar system. A variety of clandestine organizations composed of wealthy and ruthless political, religious, and corporate entities will also vie for Influence. Like the Architects, these organizations have realized the need to prepare for the future. Unlike the Architects, they will stop at nothing to seize control of the system and bring about a new Aristocracy. These enemy organizations will take several forms and use different names throughout the campaign. Your mission is to gain more Influence than these organizations or the free people of the solar system will surely suffer at the hands of a ruthless autocratic leadership.

Episode 1 - Setup

Table setup

Place the Sol hex in the center of the table. Place the Episode 1 Opponent card into its position on the Sol hex. Arrange these 4 Hexes around Sol:

• Mercury, Old Word, Luna, Mars

Place the Card Organizer to the left of the hexes.

Place the Score Area Organizer to the right of the hexes.

Supply Tokens. Place keys, fuel, cryo, Influence, infamy, Defense and Devastation tokens near the game area.

Location cards: Place the Location cards from Episode 1 (found on lower right corner of the Location card) on the game board hexes matching the location icon from the card to the location icon on the hex.

• Shrines of the Borealis (Mercury), Supreme Hippodrome (Earth - Old World), Aitken Launch Hub (Moon - Luna), Hale Crater HQ (Mars)

Opponent Cards

The Episode number and the name of each Episode's Opponent is at the top of each card. This is followed by a brief description of the Episode's goal which is always to score more Influence than your Opponent but may include other win conditions. Next you will see any special rules that apply for this Episode only. On the right side of the card is the basic setup for the Episode broken into player counts. The setup area shows how to create the Event deck for each player count and is followed by a set of numbers. Coming eventually: In the full release of this game these cards will have "Eternal Mode" versions on the back of each card, making them playable outside of "Campaign Mode".

Events Setup

Events are tiered for ease of setup. Tiers are indicated in the upper right corner of each Event card: Core Events are indicated by the word "Core" in the upper right corner while Tier 1 and Tier 2 Events are indicated with a "T1" and "T2" in the upper right corner respectively. The Event deck setup information is always shown on the Opponent cards and also shown here for ease of use. Episode 1 Event decks are set up for 5 rounds for all player counts.

• Solo: Shuffle (12) T1 Events together to form the Event Deck.
• 2P: Shuffle (14) T1 Events and (10) Core Events together to form the Event Deck.
• 3P and 4P: Shuffle (10) Tier 1 Events and (14) Core Events together to form the Event Deck.

Market Setup

The United Factions Market (also known as the UFM or simply the Market). For this Episode, the market consists of 4 decks: Prime Assets, and 2 unique Faction Market decks: Use only cards from only these 2 Market Factions marked with a "1" in the lower right corner (Episode first appearance number):

• Colonial Fleet (Eagle icon)
• Fortress Authority (Tower icon)

Shuffle the two faction decks separately and place them face down in their spots above the card organizer. Turn the top card of each stack over. Place all Prime Assets face up in their spot above the card organizer as well.

Player Setup

Command Center. Choose a player board (which all work the same way for this Episode). Think of your player board as your ship, a kind of mobile "command center". It helps track things you can do on your turn.

Cred/Def Markers. At the top of your Command Center you can track Cred and Defense. Place a yellow token and a white token on the 0 of Security Tracker. These tokens track your Cred and Defense (together called Securities) for each round. These are held and used during a round, but unused Securities are lost at the start of the next round.

Buildings. On your Command Center there are areas for 3 building types. Place buildings into the Key Complex and Fuel Terminal slots (there are only 2 building types in the base game).

Architects. Choose 1 Architect and place your chosen Architect to one side of your player board opposite your deck. It is never shuffled into your deck. Before the game begins, look at the upper left corner of your chosen Architect. This will show you an Architect's starting location and give you a set of one time bonuses.

Each players chooses between these 4 Architects:

• Commodore Fontaine - starts on Luna w/ a Key Complex
• Amnon, Cyber Regent - Starts on Mercury w/ 1 Cred
• Admiral Atsuko Mai - Starts on Mars w/ a Fuel Terminal
• Feint, the Strategist - Starts on Earth with 1 Cred and 1 Defense

Starting Decks - Each player takes these 10 cards in their chosen player color: Material Asset (6), Sentinel Prototype (2), Sentinel (1), Strategic Asset (1)

Shuffle your deck and place it to one side of your player board.

Game Overview

Episode 1 is an introduction to the gameplay of Helinox: Chronicles and is shorter than a usual game and is played in only 5 rounds. Choose a starting player. This player will start each round of the game. Finally players perform the Start of Round Phase. This happens at the beginning of each round. During each round, players take turns, until all players pass.

Round Structure - Summary of Phases

Rounds are performed in 3 Phases (Start, Main, End). Each Phase is broken into steps.

Start of Round Phase (Draw, Thaw, Ready, Reset)

ALL PLAYERS SIMULTANEOUSLY:

1. Draw Cards, then Discard cards if necessary.
   • In 1 and 2 player games, players draw 5 cards and then discard down to 5.
   • In 3 and 4 player games, players draw 3 cards and then discard down to 3.
2. Thaw 1 Cryo
3. Ready all exhausted buildings
4. Reset Game Boards. Cred & Defense tracks are reset to 0 on your Command Center (player board). Any keys on Location hexes are returned to the supply - then:

RESET EVENTS:

4. Reset Events - Place Events at their corresponding location (match Location icon on an Event to its corresponding Location on the game board).
   • Place 2 Events if playing solo
   • Place 4 Events if playing multiplayer

NOTE: It may help to remember - Draw, Thaw, Ready, Reset

Main Phase

THE GREAT COUNCIL - All players MAY simultaneously play any number of Plan cards from their hand and gain the corresponding Securities (Cred and Defense) and any other benefits. A dark blue arrow icon will appear in the upper left corner of all Plan cards (near the card's type).

Plan cards may be played at any time which includes before the Rounds and Players Turns begin. These do not require an Action to play. In multiplayer, this is a good time to examine what other players have available on their player boards (Command Centers). It is generally a good idea to add up the total Defense (though more may be gained later in the round) and do a bit of planning about which Events to try and Overcome as a team.

The Main Phase is broken into Rounds. Each Round is completed when all players have taken a turn. A Turn is completed when a player has completed a specified number of Actions. The number of Actions is determined by the player count.

• Solo and 2P - 3 Actions per player per Round.
• 3P and 4P - 2 Actions per player per Round.

Players take turns completing the specified number of Actions. To complete an Action, choose 1 Action area. These are marked in yellow along the top of your Command Center.

• Place your player pawn on the chosen action and then pay the cost (if any) of the action.
• After paying the cost, take the corresponding action.
• When a player has completed their Actions for a turn, their turn is over.
• When all players have completed their turns, the Round is over.

At the end of the Round, ALL players roll BOTH Devastation dice. For the Market Die, If a Faction icon is rolled, Devastate that Faction Market. If the Infamy icon is rolled, gain Infamy. For the Location Die, Add 1 Devastation to each Location rolled with an Event at the Location (do not add Devastation to Locations with no Events). Locations will only receive 1 Devastation per roll no matter how many events are at the Location. If a Faction or Location is rolled that is not in play, nothing happens.

If a Player chose the Pass action this Round, that player does not Roll the Devastation dice any more for the rest of the Phase (including the end of the Round in which they chose to Pass). Rounds continue until all Players have taken the Pass Action.

Actions

There are 8 actions available. Most actions have an associated cost:

1. Activate Architect - {Cost}: Place Cryo Counters on your Architect. Choose an ability on your Architect and place Cryo Counters on your Architect equal to the number on the chosen ability then gain that ability. You may never add Cryo Counters to an Architect that already has counters on it.

2. Use Defense - {Cost}: Spend accrued Defense. Spend any amount of Defense to place Defense tokens on any number of Events at your Location. If you place Defense tokens equal to the Defense cost of an Event, that Event is Overcome. Place any Overcome Events under the Scored Player Events area. Defense Tokens on Events that are not Overcome will stay on Events until the end of the round allowing other players a chance to Overcome the Event on a later turn during the same round. Players may also choose to use accrued Defense to defend the Faction Market. Place Defense tokens on a Faction Market equal to the chosen spent amount. Defense tokens may be placed on the Market from any Location. Defense may only be placed on a Market with no Devastation. Accrued Defense may be split in any way between Events and Market Defense.

3. Clear Devastation - {Cost}: Spend accrued Cred and / or Defense Spend any amount of Cred and/or Marks to Clear Devastation at your current Location. Spend your Cred or Faction Marks to Clear Devastation at your Location or any Market. For Market Devastation, Marks must match a Faction in order to Clear Devastation.

4. Buy Cards and/or Buildings - {Cost}: Spend accrued Cred Buy any number of cards from the Market by spending Cred equal to the cost shown in the upper right corner of the card. When purchased, cards are placed on top of your deck. Only the top card of any Market may be purchased. Remember, Prime Assets and Reserved cards are Market cards. Additionally, you may spend Cred to place 1 or 2 Buildings at your Location for a cost of 1 Cred each. Buildings are placed from your Command Center onto your Location in the Exhausted position. Place the building into an available building slot on the corner of the hex where you are seated at the table. Each player may only have up to 1 of each Building type at each Location. Buildings may not be placed at a Devastated Location using this Action.

Categories of Game Assets

Throughout a turn you will be collecting a variety of powerful game assets for use later in the round or even later in the game. For Episode 1, these game assets fall into 2 categories:

1. Securities = Cred and Defense. Securities are tracked by moving a token up and down on the numbers shown on the Security Tracker on the left side of your Command Center (yellow token for Cred, Gray token for Defense). Securities always reset to 0 at the beginning of a round.
2. Resources = Keys, Fuel Cells. Resources are tracked by collecting cubes from the general supply and they are placed directly onto your Command Center. You are limited to 2 of each Resource. Resources stay on your Command Center until spent.

End of Round Phase

Trigger Event Step

• Trigger the effects of ALL events still in play. If any of these abilities cannot be activated, or have no effect, nothing happens. These effects will continue to trigger each round that they remain in play.
• Remove Defense tokens from Events still in play. Events require full defense cost to Overcome.

Score Step

The Opponent will always score a number of Events and Market cards from the Faction Market. The opponent never scores from the Reserve stack. The Opponent will take cards with Infamy before taking cards with 0 Influence.

Solo: The Opponent scores (1) Event and (1) Faction Market card.

• The Opponent scores the (1) highest Influence Event remaining in play. The Player decides among Events tied for highest Influence.
• The Opponent scores the (1) highest Influence card available in the Faction Market. Defended Markets are never scored (if all Faction Markets are Defended, the Opponent scores no Market cards). The Player decides among the cards tied for highest Influence.

Multi player: The Opponent scores (2) Events and (4) Faction Market cards.

• The Opponent scores the (2) highest Influence Events remaining in play. The Players decide among events tied for highest Influence.
• The Opponent scores all (4) cards in the Faction markets. Defended Markets are never scored (if all Faction Markets are Defended, the Opponent scores no Market cards).

Clean up Step

Players put all cards in play into their discard stacks.

Game End and Scoring

The game ends at the conclusion of the End of Round phase after the event deck is exhausted. Use the scorepad to add together the following.

THE OPPONENT SCORES

• Influence listed on each Event in the Opponent's Scored Events area.
• Influence listed on each Faction card in the Opponent's Scored Faction cards area.
  • Opponents never score cards from the Reserve stack.
  • Opponents do not gain infamy.
  • If playing Veteran difficulty: The Opponent gains Influence for any Infamy listed on cards in the Opponent's Scored Faction cards area.

THE PLAYERS SCORE

• Influence listed on each scored Event in the Players' Scored Events area.
• Influence listed on each card in all players' decks.
• Influence scored during the course of the Game.
• Gain 1 Infamy for each Devastated Location and 1 Infamy for each Devastated Market.
• Gain Infamy for Infamy listed on cards in all players decks.
• Then subtract Infamy from your total Influence value.

If the PLAYERS final Influence score is higher than The OPPONENT, PLAYERS win! Move on to the next Episode of the Campaign. If not, PLAYERS lose, humanity hangs in the balance, can you defeat the opponent on your next attempt? Retry the Episode.

Episode 1 Keywords and Mechanics

These words will appear on various cards throughout the game. This is what happens when you play or use a card with these words:

• (*) - An asterisk in the Influence area counts as 1 Influence if you have a matching pair (cards named the same). Example: A Prime Asset can only be paired with another Prime Asset. if you have 2 Prime Assets in your deck at the end of the game they are worth 1 Influence each. A Third Prime Asset does not add more Influence, but a fourth Prime Asset would mean the second pair is worth 1 Influence for each card as well.
• Clear - Remove Devastation from a legal target (usually this is your current location or from any Market deck).
• Cred - Gain Cred usable for the rest of this Main Phase. This is shown by increasing the value marked by the yellow token on the Securities Tracker on your Command Center.
• Defense - Gain Defense usable for the rest of this Main Phase. This is shown by increasing the value marked by the gray token on the Securities Tracker on your Command Center.
• Devastation (Location) - When the Location Devastation Die is rolled add a devastation token to the rolled Location to show that it is Devastated. A Location may hold any number of Devastation tokens. Events may also add Devastation to specific targets. You cannot use Key Access at a Devastated Location. You cannot use an action to place or use Buildings at a Devastated Location. However, card abilities always trump Devastation. Example: if a card says "Key Complex" you may place the Key Complex even at a Devastated Location.
• Devastation (Faction Market) - When the Market Devastation Die is rolled add a devastation token to the rolled Market to show that it is Devastated. Each Faction Market may only hold 1 Devastation token. If an already Devastated Market is targeted by Devastation, instead, the Opponent immediately scores the card in the already Devastated Market. If a Market is targeted by Devastation but has a Defense token, the Defense token is removed but Devastation is not placed. Events may also add Devastation to specific targets.
• Draw - Draw cards from your deck equal to the number listed on the draw ability.

Episode 1: Harbinger

A Peace Summit at the Supreme Hippodrome on Earth called The Council of Worlds is disrupted by a deadly terrorist attack. Terminus, a heretofore unknown group of religious cultists and political extremists, takes credit for the terrorist strike and uses the moment to reveal a fanatical prophecy. This prophecy predicts the end of the world in a fiery solar cataclysm they call the Helionox. The ripple effect of the terrorist attack erodes the little remaining confidence people had in the InterWorld Government, an interplanetary federation attempting to govern worlds as far away as the moons of Jupiter. Various splinter factions take governance into their own hands while the InterWorld scrambles to unite the planets with the declaration of the opening of the Unite Factions Market or UFM for short. Few believe the mad ramblings of prophecy from a cult terrorist organization but acclaimed solar scientist Amnon, the Cyber Regent of Mercury, adds some modicum of veracity to the claim.

You are now ready for Episode 1. Your goal is to gain Influence by supporting the UFM and attempting to Overcome Events set in place by the Terminus cult (the current opponent). At the end of each round, the cult will score the highest Influence Events and cards in the Market. If Terminus gains too much Influence, they seize control of the government and the solar system slowly spirals into a new dark age. You lose - replay this episode. If you have more Influence than Terminus at Game End, the worlds marvel at your leadership. You win - move on to the next Episode.

Episode 2: Setup

All rules remain the same for each episode but new components and options are added. All cards show an episode number in the lower right corner of the card. This is the episode these cards are introduced. Most Event, Market, and Architect cards are added to an available pool and are used in any episode after they are introduced. Locations and Starting Decks will change based on the episode so watch for instructions in these areas.

Table Setup

Place the Sol hex in the center of the table. Place the Episode 2 Opponent card into its position on the Sol hex. Arrange these 4 Hexes around Sol:

• Mercury, Old Word, Luna, Mars

Place the Card Organizer to the left of the hexes. Place the Score Area Organizer to the right of the hexes.

Location cards: Place the Location cards from Episode 2 on the game board hexes matching the location icon from the card to the location icon on the hex:

• Calores Montes, Supreme Hippodrome, Aitken Launch Hub, Hale Crater HQ

Events Setup

In Episode 2 you will use the standard number of events for your player count. Though more Events will be added to the available pool of Events, Event decks will be set up as follows for the rest of the Campaign. Tier 2 (T2) and Catastrophic Events (X) are now included in the Event deck as well.

• Solo - 18 total Events (9 round game)

• 2 Player - 28 total Events (7 round game)

• 3 and 4 Player - 24 total Events (6 round game)

• Solo: Shuffle (7) T1 Events and (7) Core Events with (1) Catastrophic Event. Then add (3) more T1 Events to the top.

• 2P: Shuffle (15) Core Events with (2) Catastrophic events. Then add (11) more Core Events on top.

• 3P and 4P: Shuffle (5) Core Events and (8) T2 Events with (3) Catastrophic events. Then add (8) more Core Events on top.

Market Setup

Each Episode you will add new cards to the Market. Add the Episode 2 cards to all Market cards from Episode 1 - this includes 2 new factions:

• Colonial Fleet (Eagle icon)
• Fortress Authority (Tower icon)
• BioCom (Hex icon)
• Cyber Sanctus (Broken Circle icon)

Shuffle each Faction Market Deck separately and place in separate face down stacks. Turn the top card of each stack over.

Player Setup

All aspects of Player setup are the same as Episode 1 with a few additional choices:

Architects - Add 3 new Architects to the pool of Architects to choose from then each player chooses and Architect:

• Jetta, Tech Engineer - Starts on Earth w/ a Fuel Cell
• Zoe Draper, Fire Team Leader- Starts on Mars w/ a Key
• Elias, the Prophet - Starts on Earth w/ an extra card

Pre-game Deckbuilding

Starting Decks - Players take all Episode 1 and Episode 2 Alpha cards. For the rest of the Campaign and in Eternal mode, players will build custom decks before for each game following these rules:

• Cards may be chosen from Alpha cards only. Alphas cards say the word Alpha under the name and, instead of a Cred icon, have a Build Point Icon in the upper right corner.
• The number indicated on this icon is the number of Build Points this card uses.
• Players have 8 Build Points to use in building their deck.
• For Episode 2, chosen cards must be from your player color.
• Players must start with exactly 10 cards in their deck.
• Return unused cards to the box.

Episode 2 Keywords and Mechanics

Each Episode will add components, abilities, and mechanics into the game. This episode adds two new card mechanics:

• Consume - Remove a card from your Hand, Discard, or from the Market and place it face up in the Consumed stack. The Consumed stack is not part of the Market.
• Infamy - Gain the indicated amount of Infamy when playing this card.
• Prime Asset - Targets a Prime Asset in the Market. Generally this works in conjunction with a keyword ability like /to Deck/ or /to Hand/.
• Market Fortress (<=4) - Targets a Fortress card in the Market costing 4 or less.
• Market Tech (<=4) - Targets a Tech card in the Market costing 4 or less.
• Thaw - Remove Cryo Counter(s) from your Architect.
• To Deck - Puts a card on top of your deck.
• To Hand - Puts a card into your hand.

Episode 2: Perdition

You find yourself among a loose knit group of people, who the populace is heralding as the Architects of the future. These so-called Architects use advanced cryo technology to slow their life functions and nudge their far thinking agendas between sleep cycles. But to what end?

Mercury, established over 100 Old World years ago as a penal colony has slowly become an outpost of research and development. Outside of the watchful eye of the InterWorld Council, corporate, political, and underworld syndicates have been engaging in ethnically ambiguous experimentation. Meanwhile, a mass coronal event threatens the demise of Mercury, and all life, knowledge, and infrastructure residing there. The InterWorld Council seems bent on convincing the worlds that this is all a hoax put in place by the Terminus cult to spur on their fanatic Helionox agenda. There is scientific evidence indicating the heat shields of Mercury can easily withstand the coming coronal event and extreme propaganda casting doubt on any evidence to the contrary. Elias, an enigmatic prophet rising from the ashes of the Terminus cult, predicts the Mercury events as the harbinger of interplanetary destruction. Many Mercurian scientists back his claims and some of the Architects decide to take action. If the heat shields crack, the death toll would be catastrophic but will anyone listen as you attempt to evacuate the planet?

You are now ready for Episode 2. You must preserve as many people and critical assets from Mercury as possible while gaining more Influence than the InterWorld Council. If the InterWorld has more Influence they convince much of the bulk of the population to stay on Mercury. You lose - replay this episode. If you have more Influence than the Council the Architects garner vast support and save as many lives and infrastructure as possible. You win - move on to the next Episode.

Episode 3: Setup

Though many lives are saved, many more perish in heat and radiation of the catastrophic events of Mercury. These events, known as the Perdition, completely annihilate the heat shields - rendering the world uninhabitable. Put the Mercury hex and all Mercury Locations and Events back in the box. Also put 1 Material Asset per player back in the box. These will not be used for the rest of the campaign.

Table Setup

Place the Episode 3 Opponent card into its position on the Sol hex. Arrange these 5 Hexes around Sol:

• Old Word, Luna, Mars, Ceres, and Europa (Earth, Moon, Mars, Ceres, Europa)

Place the Card Organizer to the left of the hexes. Place the Score Area Organizer to the right of the hexes.

Location cards: Place the Location cards from Episode 3 on the game board hexes matching the location icon from the card to the location icon on the hex:

• Supreme Hippodrome, Aitken Launch Hub, Hale Crater HQ, Geshtin Quarry (Ceres), Exodus Subsurface Facility (Europa)

Place The Archivist on the table, ready side up (see Keywords and Mechanics for details).

Events Setup

In Episode 3 you will use the standard number of events for your player count. Starting in Episode 3, Events may offer a bonus effect in addition to end game Influence. If an Event shows a Faction Mark next to the Influence icon, you will also gain the Faction Mark if you Overcome the Event. Add all Episode 3 Events to the pool of available event before creating the Event deck.

• Solo - 18 total Events (9 round game)

• 2 Player - 28 total Events (7 round game)

• 3 and 4 Player - 24 total Events (6 round game)

• Solo: Shuffle (7) T1 Events and (7) Core Events with (1) Catastrophic Event. Then add (3) more T1 Events to the top.

• 2P: Shuffle (15) Core Events with (2) Catastrophic events. Then add (11) more Core Events on top.

• 3P and 4P: Shuffle (5) Core Events and (8) T2 Events with (3) Catastrophic events. Then add (8) more Core Events on top.

Market Setup

Add the Episode 3 cards to the cards from Episodes 1-2. Shuffle each Faction Market separately and turn over the top card of each deck.

Player Setup

Architects - If you ever choose an Architect whose starting Location is not in the game, the chosen Architect may start at any Location.

Add 3 new Architects to the available pool:

• Chain, the First Born - Starts on Luna w/ a Fortress Mark and a Fuel Cell
• Tiberius, Fleet Captain - Starts on Mars w/ 2 Fleet Marks
• Veil, Adapted Survivor - Starts on Mercury w/ 1 Cyber Mark. Since Mercury is not in Episode 3, a player choosing Veil may choose any Starting Location.

Starting Decks - Add the Episode 3 Faction Alphas to the pool of available pre-game deckbuilding cards. These cards may be used by any player in addition to the player color cards. Players may draft, conspire, or generally use any desired method to choose cards from the available pool of Faction Alpha cards. All other pre-game deckbuilding rules are the same:

• Cards may be chosen from Alpha cards only. Alpha cards say the word Alpha under the name and, instead of a Cred icon, have a Build Point Icon in the upper right corner.
• The number indicated on this icon is the number of Build Points this card uses.
• Chosen cards must be from your player color or a Faction Alpha card.
• Players have 8 Build Points to use in building their deck.
• Players must start with exactly 10 cards in their deck.
• Return unused cards to the box.

Episode 3 Keywords and Mechanics

• The Archivist - Starting in Episode 3, players gain access to the Archivist. This is token (not a Keyword). As a free action, once per round, the starting player may decide to exhaust the Archivist and place a card from the Market into the Reserve. Like the keyword /Reserve/, the Archivist ignores devastation. Flip the Archivist to its Ready side during the Ready step.
• Reserve - Place a card from the Market face up into the Reserve stack. The Reserve is considered a Market Deck. The top card of the Reserve stack may be purchased with Cred and / or Marks or be otherwise obtained by methods used to obtain other Market cards. When the keyword /Reserve/ appears on a card, it ignores Devastation. Cards in the Reserve stack are never scored by the Opponent.
• Market Operative (<=4) - Targets any Operative card in the Market costing 4 or less. Some cards are considered both Tech and Operative and may be targeted by anything that targets either type.
• Marks - In addition to Securities and Resources, Marks are a third type of game asset tracked by collecting tokens from the general supply and placed in your player area near your Command Center. You may have any number of Marks. Marks are always for a specific Faction. When choosing the buy action, Marks can be spent as 1 Cred each for Market cards from that Mark's matching Faction deck. When choosing the Clear Devastation action Marks can be spent to Clear Devastation from that Mark's Faction Market deck.

Marks are Faction based and are spent as 1 Cred each for Market cards of a specific Faction. Example: when choosing the Buy Cards action, a Fleet Mark may only be used for 1 Cred to buy Fleet cards.

Marks can also be spent to Clear Devastation from any Location or from a specific Faction Market deck. Example: when choosing the Clear Devastation action, a Fleet Mark may only be used to clear devastation on the Fleet Market deck or your current Location.

The addition of Marks into the game affects 2 of the base game actions. Marks can be used when choosing either of the actions listed below:

3. Clear Devastation - {Cost}: Spend accrued Cred / Defense and / or Faction tokens. Spend any amount of Cred and / or Defense to Clear Devastation at your current Location or from any Market Deck. For Market Devastation you may spend matching Faction Marks instead or in addition to Cred / Defense. Example: The Fleet Market has 2 Devastation. You may play 1 Defense and 1 Fleet Faction Mark to remove both Devastation (you may not use other Faction Marks to clear Fleet Market Devastation). You cannot use actions to Commit Keys at a Devastated Location. You cannot use an action to place or use Buildings at a Devastated Location. However, card abilities always trump Devastation. Example: if a card says "Key Complex" you may place the Key Complex even at a Devastated Location.

4. Buy Cards - {Cost}: Spend accrued Cred and / or Faction Marks. Buy any number of cards from the Market by spending Cred and / or Faction Marks equal to the cost shown in the upper right corner of the card. Each Faction token is equal to 1 Cred when purchasing a card from the corresponding Faction. When purchased, cards are placed on top of your deck. Only the top card of any Market may be purchased. Remember, Prime Assets and Reserved cards are Market cards. Faction Marks may not be used for Prime Assets but may be used for Reserved cards if matching the Faction type. Cards may never be purchased from a Devastated Market deck using this action.

• Market Tech (<= 4) - Targets any Tech in the Market costing 4 or less. Some cards are considered both Tech and Operative and may be targeted by anything that targets either type.
• Purge - Remove an Event from the game without scoring it or gaining any benefits. Place it in the Purge stack.
• X - On an Event this refers to the number of players in the current game. On Architects, it refers to the amount of Cryo needed to use an ability.

Episode 3: Protocol

In the wake of the mass coronal event that devastates Mercury, the Helionox becomes widely accepted as a series of catastrophic solar events taking place over the next one and half thousand years and likely ending in complete solar annihilation. As plans shift with an eye to the future, new governments form and an interplanetary stimulus package, known as the Mercury Protocol, leads to massive building projects across the system. At first, the Mercurian refugees are the prime beneficiaries with new settlements established on Ceres and Europa but over the years, sentiment towards the Mercurians shifts. Illegal weapons and enhancements flood the market while Cyber colony rebellions become the norm in some areas. Piracy and corruption hit an all time high and the fledgling governments need scapegoats. Enter, the Enforcers - a mercenary organization of enhanced human / cyber hybrids hired to enforce and enact the new edicts of the Mercury Protocol.

In Episode 3, you must prepare for increasingly catastrophic events, clearing devastation in order to effectively utilize locations, and secure a diverse portfolio of player assets. The Enforcers work against your efforts by rounding up anything resembling Mercurian Tech or Operatives. You must gain more Influence than the Enforcers or risk further loss of life and tech that could help find solutions to the Helionox.

Episode 4: Setup

Table Setup

Place the Episode 4 Opponent card into its position on the Sol hex. Arrange these 5 Hexes around Sol:

• Old Word, Luna, Mars, Ceres, and Europa (Earth, Moon, Mars, Ceres, Europa)

Place the Card Organizer to the left of the hexes. Place the Score Area Organizer to the right of the hexes.

Location cards: Place the Location cards from Episode 4 on the game board hexes matching the location icon from the card to the location icon on the hex:

• Old World Haven, Tycho Naval Base, Noctis Ghost Dunes, Geshtin Quarry, Exodus Subsurface

Events Setup

• Solo - 18 total Events (9 round game)

• 2 Player - 28 total Events (7 round game)

• 3 and 4 Player - 24 total Events (6 round game)

• Solo: Shuffle (7) T1 Events and (7) Core Events with (1) Catastrophic Event. Then add (3) more T1 Events to the top.

• 2P: Shuffle (15) Core Events with (2) Catastrophic events. Then add (11) more Core Events on top.

• 3P and 4P: Shuffle (5) Core Events and (8) T2 Events with (3) Catastrophic events. Then add (8) more Core Events on top.

Market Setup

Add the Episode 4 cards to all Market cards from Episodes 1-3.

Player Setup

All aspects of Player setup are the same as Episode 1 with a few additional choices:

Architects - Add 4 new Architects to the available pool (three are listed in the source):

• Aellae, Replicant Designer - Starts on Ceres with 2 Cyber Marks
• Nyah, the Archivist - Starts on Ceres with 2 Bio Marks
• Host R1V3R - Starts on Europa with a Cyber Mark, and a Bio Mark

Add Episode 4 Faction Alphas to the pool of available pre-game deckbuilding cards. All rules for pre-game deckbuilding remain the same as in Episode 3.

Episode 4 Keywords and Mechanics

• Consumed card - Target any card in the Consumed stack.
• Discard 1: - Discard a card from your hand as a cost of gaining the benefit listed below the Discard ability (after the colon).
• Reserved card - Target the card on top of the Reserve stack. Generally this works in conjunction with a keyword ability like /to Deck/ or /to Hand/ allowing you to put a card from the Reserve into your hand or deck.

Episode 4: Conglomerate

As the regimes topple and the Enforcers fade into the background of history, several corporations rise to power. The largest conglomerate of the system, called Omegatron, will stop at nothing to corner the Market and seize control of all interplanetary industry.

You must score more Influence than Omegatron corporation who completely makes Economic Events more difficult to Overcome.

Episode 5: Setup

Table Setup

Place the Episode 5 Opponent card into its position on the Sol hex. Arrange these 5 Hexes around Sol:

• Old Word, Luna, Mars, Ceres, and Europa (Earth, Moon, Mars, Ceres, Europa)

Place the Card Organizer to the left of the hexes. Place the Score Area Organizer to the right of the hexes.

Location cards: Place the Location cards from Episode 2 [sic, as printed] on the game board hexes matching the location icon from the card to the location icon on the hex:

• Old World Haven, Tycho Naval Base, Noctis Ghost Dunes, Dantu Mining Colony, Anwnn Temple

Events Setup

In Episode 5 you will use the standard number of events for your player count.

• Solo - 18 total Events (9 round game)

• 2 Player - 28 total Events (7 round game)

• 3 and 4 Player - 24 total Events (6 round game)

• Solo: Shuffle (7) T1 Events and (7) Core Events with (1) Catastrophic Event. Then add (3) more T1 Events to the top.

• 2P: Shuffle (15) Core Events with (2) Catastrophic events. Then add (11) more Core Events on top.

• 3P and 4P: Shuffle (5) Core Events and (8) T2 Events with (3) Catastrophic events. Then add (8) more Core Events on top.

Market Setup

Add the Episode 5 cards to all Market cards from Episodes 1-4.

Player Setup

All aspects of Player setup are the same as Episode 1 with a few additional choices:

Architects - Add 2 new Architects to the available pool

• Scion, AI Prime - Starts on Europa with a Bio Mark and Cyber Mark
• Pleida, the Chronicler - Starts on Ceres with a Key Complex

Starting Decks - Add Episode 5 Faction Alphas to the pool of available pre-game deckbuilding cards. All rules for pre-game deckbuilding remain the same as in Episode 3.

Episode 5 Keywords and Mechanics

• Gravshot - When the Gravshot ability is triggered, you may move immediately to a location with an Icon listed on your current Location. The Gravshot Location icons appear next to the Gravshot Icon on each Location card.
• Unite: - If you have a card of the matching faction type in play OR if you play a matching faction type later in the round, gain the ability listed below the Unite ability (after the colon:).

Episode 5: Machinations

The decades crawl inexorably towards the system's imminent demise and even as the influence of the Architects rises, another power makes itself known. This power seems to have been pulling the strings all along - a Shadow Syndicate, working tirelessly to bring about an autocratic interplanetary aristocracy led by a monstrous tyrant known only as Cassius, the Syndicate Lord.

Lead the people to freedom by building up your defense and gaining more influence than the Shadow Syndicate.