High Frontier 4 All: Tools 1
High Frontier 4 All: Tools 1 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
B. Setup
B1. Core Game / Core + Module 0
This setup may be used for any game that does not include Futures.
a. After choosing a Crew side (C2), each player receives one of the Stacks listed below.
- Newer players first choose a Stack in reverse player order.
- Experienced players then receive a Stack at random from those remaining.
- Experienced players may, in clout order (starting with A and proceeding downward), exchange their Stack for a random Stack from those remaining. Their initial stack goes back into the set of remaining Stacks.
b. Cards from remaining Stacks are replaced in the patent decks (which are then shuffled).
- If using the Jump Start patent cards provided in Tools 1, remove the patent cards with the same names as those in chosen stacks from the Core patent decks. (There should only be one of each patent in the game.)
c. These rocket Stacks start boosted in LEO; place all cards in the owner's LEO Stack.
d. Remove 1 Seniority Disk from the solar cycle.
e. Players receive starting Aqua as normal.
f. For the Event Roll after the first Turn of the game, re-roll if the Pad Explosion / Space Debris event is indicated (repeat re-roll if necessary until a different event is rolled).
- Be sure to point out to new players the effect of this event, and that they have 2 more Turns before it could happen again!
IMPORTANT: The Stacks provided in this variant are functional but not necessarily efficient. There is still a great deal of opportunity to improve them via research auctions. Do not ignore the patent decks!
B2. Any Game using Module 0, 1, & 2, with Futures
For those who want to experience all the interactions of the Futures game, there is a setup which accelerates the early game, giving each player an Anchored Bernal, a Colonist, and a Factory as a starting point.
EASILY MISSED: You may take Bernal profits (2B3d), starting on your first Turn. [B2c]
ALTERNATE SETUP: For a less random setup, you may use the rules Alternate Factory/Colonist Auction (B3). [B2e]
EASILY MISSED: Each exomigration places a delegate in the political assembly, then performs a vote tally (O3a). [B2f]
a. After choosing a Crew side (C2), each player receives one of the Stacks listed below.
- Newer players first choose a Stack in reverse player order.
- Experienced players then receive a Stack at random from those remaining.
- Experienced players may, in clout order, exchange their Stack for a random Stack from those remaining. Their initial Stack goes back into the set of remaining Stacks.
b. Cards from remaining Stacks are replaced in the patent decks (which are then shuffled).
- If using the Jump Start patent cards provided in Tools 1, remove the patent cards with the same names as those in chosen stacks from the Core patent decks. (There should only be one of each patent in the game.)
c. Each player is dealt 2 Bernals at random.
d. Players receive starting Aqua as normal.
e. Each player receives a Claim and Factory at one of the following Sites randomly (one player per Site):
- Fortuna (8:30, )
- Lutetia (8:30, )
- Hygiea (8:50, )
- Badenia (9:00, )
- Hertha (10:50, )
- Vesta (12:20, )
f. In Clout order, each player Anchors one of their Bernals in an open Home Orbit and Discards the other Bernal.
- This causes immediate exomigration, which each player should resolve as they place their Bernal.
g. Each player's Crew and rocket Stack starts at their Home Bernal.
h. Remove 2 Seniority Disks from the solar cycle.
B3. Alternate Factory/Colonist Auction (Module 2; optional, replaces B2e)
If players prefer, they may auction starting Sites and Colonists, using the following process.
a. Draw 6 Human Colonists from the Colonist queue and place them where all players can see them. (If Robots are drawn, place them with the next Human Colonist drawn.)
EASILY MISSED: If playing with Module 4, draw from the earthborn queue (which will have no robots). [B3a]
b. Among players who have won the fewest items, the player with the best Clout (closest to A) is the active player.
c. The active player nominates an available Site from the list above, or a Human Colonist from those remaining on display, to auction.
- Players bid with any amount of their starting Aqua.
- Players who have received a Site cannot nominate Sites or bid in Site auctions.
- Players who have received a Colonist cannot nominate Colonists or bid in Colonist auctions.
- The auction is conducted as per a research auction (the active player winning ties; Marketeer faction privilege does not apply) except that all Aqua is paid to the Pool.
d. The winner of a Site auction places a Claim and a Factory at the nominated Site.
e. The winner of a Colonist auction places the Colonist with their stack.
- If there are Robot Colonists with the Human, they go to the winner's hand.
f. Repeat 5b through 5e until each player has a single Site and Colonist. (This means that if a player nominates a Site/Colonist but loses the auction, they will nominate again.)
- Note that the last player to receive a Site/Colonist will get it for free.
g. Return Colonists not auctioned to the Colonist queue and shuffle it.
C. Jump Start Stacks
The remainder of this document is a listing of the eight starting Stacks, with commentary on each. Players may read the commentary before or after choosing a Stack. These pages may be used to review each Stack, or the relevant patent cards may be pulled from each deck.
Transcriber's note: the starting-value line under each Stack heading collects the printed stat box (Dry Mass, Net Thrust, Lowest Rad-Hard, Fuel Consumption, ISRU with the robonaut type in brackets) into one line; the values are as printed.
C1. Every Half Step Counts
Great movement, fewer good prospecting options. Take this if: you want to be able to fly farther and faster than (most) anyone else. Don't take this if: you are worried about searching the map for Sites you are able to prospect.
Dry Mass 9 · Net Thrust 6 · Lowest Rad-Hard 1 · Fuel Consumption 1.5 · ISRU (Buggy) 3
EASILY MISSED: The reactor is an H spectral type, so it's unlikely to be ET produced in a Core Game (Luna is the only likely H site to be industrialized). [C1d]
DONT FORGET: The radiator should start on its heavy side, so it can support both the reactor and the generator.
a. Thrust: 6. The base thrust is 4, and the required reactor gives +3 for 7. At Mass 9, there is a -1 modifier so net thrust is 6. (With more cargo it could drop to 5 if Wet Mass reaches the tug class; afterburning in either case gives a +1.) 6 thrust is enough to get safely through the Van Allen belts around Earth (the Belt Roll= 1d6 minus 6, so the highest possible result is 0). It's enough to land on asteroids up to Size 5 (Size 6 with an afterburn).
b. Fuel Consumption: 1.5. Base fuel consumption is 3, multiplied by ½ for the required reactor resulting in 1.5. (This is a really good reactor!) With a fractional fuel consumption, move partway along the black line, rounding up at the end of the Turn. With this thruster, 1 Burn will cost 2 steps (1.5 rounded up); 2 will cost 3 steps; 3 will cost 5 steps (4.5 rounded up); etc.
c. Robonaut: ISRU 3 Buggy. ISRU 3 is not great; it limits your choices for prospecting to Hydration 3 and 4 Sites (those with 3 or 4 water drops). However, the buggy icon gives you a re-roll on smaller Sites, or lets you prospect multiple Sites (on Mars or Mercury for example). There are fewer Sites you can prospect but you have a better chance at succeeding when you do.
d. Black-Sides. The Black-Side of the robonaut, Electrophoretic Sandworm, is a ISRU 1 buggy with no support requirements. This opens up a lot of prospecting opportunities. The Black-Side of the refinery, Biophytolytic Algal Farm, also has no support requirements, and gives a bonus to Size Rolls on D Sites. The thruster Black-Side, Vortex Nozzle, has the same thrust and better fuel consumption, but requires one more therm of cooling.
e. Stack Improvements. A generator which does not require a stationary reactor would allow the thruster to remain Operational after industrializing. (As is, industrialization requires Decommissioning the robonaut, refinery, generator, and reactor.) The thruster is hard to improve on, so the other area to focus on is matching Spectral Types for the refinery and robonaut so they can be ET produced at the same Factory.
C2. WHAM...WHAM...WHAM
Tremendous movement, limited prospecting. Take this if: you like high thrust and can resist the urge to go to smaller Sites. Don't take this if: you are worried about failing to prospect, or if you don't like the environmental implications of a rocket that flies by throwing atomic bombs out the back!
Dry Mass 12 · Net Thrust 8 · Lowest Rad-Hard 1 · Fuel Consumption 2 · ISRU (Missile) 3
TIP: The Black-Side of the reactor is powerful but has a lot of restrictions – note the text in the upper left corner about Colocated cards when it is turned on. [C2d]
a. Thrust: 8. The base thrust is 2, and the required reactor gives +7 for 9. At Mass 12, there is a -1 modifier so net thrust is 8. (With more cargo it could drop to 7 if Wet Mass reaches the tug class; afterburning in either case gives a +1.) 8 thrust is more than enough to ignore Belt Rolls, even with a radiator with rad-hardness 1, and to land on all but the largest Sites. (Conveniently, the robonaut provides a slightly higher thrust but with far worse fuel consumption.)
b. Fuel Consumption: 2. Base fuel consumption is 2, unmodified by the required reactor. This is pretty good fuel consumption; 2 is on the border between good and not so good. With the high Mass of this Stack, fuel consumption is very important.
c. Robonaut: ISRU 3 Missile. ISRU 3 is not great, meaning you need to carefully choose where you go. The fact that it is a missile means you need to be careful on smaller Sites. You don't get a re-roll (like a buggy) and can't prospect multiple Sites at one (like a raygun). Stick to larger Sites (which you can easily land on) and a high chance of success.
d. Black-Sides. The Black-Side of the thruster is strictly better; it loses Mass, gains thrust and rad-hardness, and it accepts more reactor types as support. The robonaut becomes an ISRU 2 missile, and has no support requirements, making it easier to industrialize. The refinery also loses supports on the Black-Side – and its Ability is to grant -1 ISRU to collocated cards, which can be very useful.
e. Stack Improvements. The Project Orion reactor is powerful but very heavy. If at all possible, do not Decommission it when industrializing as it will cost a lot of Aqua to re-boost. Getting a second burst plasma reactor is one way to do this, as both the robonaut and refinery only require a reactor for support. A different robonaut and refinery would be another option.
C3. Next is the C
High potential but high risk; plan carefully! Take this if: you like to plan ahead (this stack really gets going after its first Factory). Don't take this if: you don't want to plan ahead too far and/or don't want to worry about having a few key Size Rolls that can mess you up.
Dry Mass 9 · Net Thrust 6 · Lowest Rad-Hard 4 · Fuel Consumption 2 · ISRU (Missile) 2
a. Thrust: 6. The base thrust is 4, and the reactor (required because the generator used by the thruster requires a reactor) gives +3 for 7. At Mass 9, there is a -1 modifier so net thrust is 6. (With more cargo it could drop to 5 if Wet Mass reaches the tug class; note that this thruster cannot afterburn.) 6 thrust is enough to get safely through the Van Allen belts around Earth (the Belt Roll would be a 1d6 minus 6, so the highest possible result is 0). It's enough to land on asteroids up to Size 5. Note that this Stack has the Magnetocaloric Refrigerator, a radiator which requires a generator. It is specifically allowed to cool the generator which is powering it – which happens in this Stack.
b. Fuel Consumption: 2. Base fuel consumption is 2, unmodified by the required reactor. This is pretty good fuel consumption; 2 is on the border between good and not so good. With the high mass of this Stack, fuel consumption is very important.
c. Robonaut: ISRU 2 Missile. ISRU 2 is good, letting you prospect a wide variety of Sites. The fact that it is a missile means you need to be careful on smaller Sites. You don't get a re-roll (like a buggy) and can't prospect multiple Sites at one (like a raygun). Stick to larger Sites, which you can more easily land on.
d. Black-Sides. The Black-Side of the robonaut is an ISRU 1 buggy, one of the best robonauts in the game. It lets you prospect almost any Site, and as a buggy can re-roll on smaller Sites (or prospect via buggy roads). This and two other cards in the Stack are Spectral Type C, so you should strongly consider going to a C Site for your first Factory. The Black-Side of the generator no longer requires supports, which means the reactor bonus for your thruster would no longer apply.
e. Stack Improvements. Both the robonaut and the refinery require only an electric generator. If you can bring a second generator, you can industrialize without making your thruster non-Operational. There are no refineries of Spectral Type C, so if you want to have your robonaut and refinery the same Spectral Type, D is your best choice.
C4. Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me
Low thrust, good prospecting, solar modifiers for movement. Take this if: you want lots of prospecting options and less prospecting risk. Don't take this if: you are worried about solar modifiers (or forget them), or don't have a good Crew thruster.
Dry Mass 10 · Net Thrust (Solar) 4 · Lowest Rad-Hard 2 · Fuel Consumption 2 · ISRU (Raygun) 2
EASILY MISSED: The thruster requires 2 therms and the robonaut 1; the therms can be reused across movement and operations, so a 2 therm radiator is sufficient. [C4a]
DONT FORGET: The radiator should start on its heavy side, so it can support both the reactor and the generator.
a. Thrust: 4. The base thrust is 3, and the reactor (required because the generator required by the thruster requires a reactor itself) gives +2 for 5, and adds the solar modifier. At Mass 10, there is a -1 modifier making net thrust 4. (With more cargo it could drop to 3 if Wet Mass reaches the tug class; afterburning in either case gives a +1.) 4 thrust means that you cannot land on larger Sites without using your Crew thruster. The solar modifier means that as you get farther away from the Sun, your thrust will go down even more. 4 thrust is just enough to pass Belt Rolls (except during season Red).
b. Fuel Consumption: 2. Base fuel consumption is 2, unmodified by supports. This is pretty good fuel consumption; 2 is on the border between good and not so good. With the high Mass of this Stack, fuel consumption is very important.
c. Robonaut: ISRU 2 Raygun. ISRU 2 is good, letting you prospect a wide variety of Sites. A raygun lets you prospect multiple Adjacent Sites (with no atmosphere) in one Operation. This can greatly reduce risk – if you can make several rolls at once, the chance of success somewhere goes way up. This is good because your low thrust will keep you from landing on larger Sites. (Do not forget that Hazards and lander burns are skipped when checking Adjacency.)
d. Black-Sides. The refinery Black-Side, Termite Nest, has the best refinery Ability in the game. You can claim Busted Sites of Size 2 or higher without a prospect roll. If such Sites exist, don't forget to use this Ability if you have it! The radiator also improves on the Black-Side. Otherwise, the generator and reactor can both be improved to increase your thrust (though the Black-Side of the reactor requires more cooling). The thruster itself is also good on the Black-Side; it loses a point of thrust but the fuel consumption is much better.
e. Stack Improvements. If you can get a burst plasma or stationary reactor, you can industrialize without making your thruster non-Operational. If that reactor does not have the solar modifier, it may make your thrust more efficient in more distant Heliocentric Zones.
C5. Thrust isn't Everything
Low but efficient thrust, good prospecting, but needs a good Crew thruster. Take this if: you like low fuel consumption and have a good Crew thruster. Don't take this if: you don't have a good Crew thruster or if moving slowly bothers you.
Dry Mass 11 · Net Thrust 2 · Lowest Rad-Hard 4 · Fuel Consumption 1 · ISRU (Raygun) 2
a. Thrust: 2. The base thrust is 3, with no modifiers for supports. At Mass 11, there is a -1 modifier so net thrust is 2. (With more cargo it could drop to 1 if Wet Mass reaches the tug class; afterburning in either case gives a +1.) 2 thrust is…not great. Fortunately, all the cards have a high rad-hardness so it's enough to make Belt Rolls. Landing on Sites is extremely difficult – even with afterburning, anything larger than Size 2 requires an alternative thruster.
b. Fuel Consumption: 1. Base fuel consumption is 1, unmodified by the required reactor. This is really good fuel consumption – you can make your fuel last longer than any other Stack in this variant. You can't get anywhere fast, but you can go much farther.
c. Robonaut: ISRU 2 Raygun. ISRU 2 is good, letting you prospect a wide variety of Sites. A raygun lets you prospect multiple Adjacent Sites (with no atmosphere) in one Operation. This can greatly reduce risk – if you can make several rolls at once, the chance of success goes way up. This is good because your low thrust will keep you from landing on all but the smallest Sites. (Do not forget that Hazards and lander burns are skipped when checking Adjacency.)
d. Black-Sides. Many of the Black-Side cards in this Stack are not so good. The thruster becomes a dirt thruster, but gains the solar modifier. The electric generator gains a reactor support requirement. The raygun becomes ISRU 1, but is only a missile and requires more cooling. Definitely plan to check the patent decks for better cards to produce at your Factory.
e. Stack Improvements. The robonaut requiring a pulse generator is problematic for industrialization. Consider getting a second robonaut. You don't have to industrialize with the robonaut you prospect with – and industrialization doesn't care about ISRU values. A robonaut of Spectral Type V would also match the type of your refinery.
C6. Flying Dirty
Dirt thruster, great prospecting, but needs a good Crew thruster. Take this if: you don't want to waste time refueling, and/or if you want to be able to prospect nearly anywhere. Don't take this if: you don't see a way to get to a Site quickly to get dirt fuel, or if you don't have a good Crew thruster.
Dry Mass 13 · Net Thrust 3 · Lowest Rad-Hard 3 · Fuel Consumption 3 · ISRU (Raygun) 1
a. Thrust: 3. The base thrust is 4, with no support modifiers. At Mass 13, there is a -1 modifier so net thrust is 3. (With more cargo it could drop to 2 if Wet Mass reaches the tug class; note that this thruster cannot afterburn.) 3 thrust is low. Fortunately, all the cards have a high rad-hardness so 3 is enough to make Belt Rolls. Landing on Sites is extremely difficult – anything larger than Size 2 requires an alternative thruster (such as a Crew thruster).
b. Fuel Consumption: 3. Base fuel consumption is 3, unmodified by supports. This is not great fuel consumption – except that it's a dirt thruster. Once you get to a Site, you can refuel as much as you want for a free action (assuming you have a card with ISRU, or a Factory is present). This means you can bootstrap your way across the solar system very easily.
c. Robonaut: ISRU 1 Raygun. ISRU 1 is the best value for white-side cards in the game, and Raygun lets you prospect multiple Adjacent Sites (as long as they do not have atmospheres). This is the best robonaut card to start with. You can prospect places that no one else can at the start of the game. Take advantage of that flexibility.
d. Black-Sides. The Black-Side of the generator, Diamonoid Electrodynamic Tether, is one of the best generators in the game. It provides both types of generator with no further supports required; it will power the Mass Driver thruster by itself, for example. The robonaut, unfortunately, gets worse on the Black-Side, although it does get a good dirt thruster. Note that while the reactor looks nice on the Black-Side, it's Spectral Type H and unlikely to be built.
e. Stack Improvements. The fact that the robonaut requires a pulse generator is the largest issue with this Stack. Getting a second generator, or a robonaut with different support requirements, can help with industrialization. Secondly, there are generator/reactor combinations which can increase the thrust and decrease the fuel consumption of the Mass Driver; these can be very powerful if you get them running.
C7. Who Needs Thrusters?
Low thrust, poor prospecting, but has some tricks up its sleeve. Take this if: you like using your robonaut as a thruster, or if you see a use for the secondary generator's Ability. Don't take this if: you are concerned about finding somewhere to prospect or about missing a Size Roll.
Dry Mass 9 · Net Thrust 4 · Lowest Rad-Hard 5 · Fuel Consumption 2 · ISRU (Missile) 3
TIP: Despite its restrictions, the Magnetoshell Plasma Parachute should still be used in your Stack since the Stack can safely enter Aerobrake Hazards. [C7d]
TIP: The Black-Side of the refinery, Femtochemistry, doubles site refuel Operations, which can be a significant benefit and is the best refinery Ability in the game. [C7e]
DONT FORGET: The radiator should start on its heavy side, so it can support both the reactor and the generator.
a. Thrust: 4. This Stack uses the robonaut thruster. The base thrust is 5, with no modifiers for supports. At Mass 9, there is a -1 modifier so net thrust is 4. (With more cargo it could drop to 3 if Wet Mass reaches the tug class; afterburning in either case gives a +1.) The second generator is not used by default; if it were used instead, its -2 thrust modifier would apply. With the high radiation hardness values in this Stack, 4 thrust is more than enough to deal with Belt Rolls, even during season red. However, it does limit what Sites the Stack can land on.
b. Fuel Consumption: 2. Base fuel consumption is 4, multiplied by ½ for the reactor (required to support the generator). This is pretty good fuel consumption; 2 is on the border between good and not so good. With the high Mass of this Stack, fuel consumption is very important.
c. Robonaut: ISRU 3 Missile. ISRU 3 is not great, and the missile platform does not grant any special prospecting bonuses (providing the thruster instead). There are fewer Sites (3 or 4 Hydration only) which this robonaut can prospect, so choose your destination carefully.
d. Second Generator. This generator (the Magnetoshell Plasma Parachute) could support the robonaut, but the thrust penalty would apply (and the fuel consumption would be worse). It cannot support the refinery as it has a restriction against being used for industrialization. However…it also grants its Stack the Ability to enter Aerobrake Hazards safely. This can be useful!
e. Black-Sides. The Black-Side of the robonaut, MITEE Arcjet, is an ISRU 1 missile with a 4 thrust, 2 fuel consumption thruster – a significant improvement. The primary generator loses its support requirements, which helps with mass but means you lose the fuel consumption improvement of the reactor.
f. Stack Improvements. Industrializing with this Stack effectively removes the thruster as well as the robonaut and refinery, making it likely that you will need to re-boost everything from LEO rather than continue from the Factory location. Replacing the high Mass items (the radiator and refinery) with lighter components would help.
C8. Stupid Solar Sail Tricks
Requires understanding of solar sails and multiple Stacks; trickiest of the Stacks. Take this if: you have a Crew with high thrust (solar sails are not as good with landing/liftoff). Powersat is also helpful. Don't take this if: you are not comfortable with solar sails and/or Stack manipulation, or your Crew has low thrust (or none). If you are new to High Frontier, be careful about taking this Stack - it's the hardest of these to use successfully.
Dry Mass 5 · Net Thrust 0 · Lowest Rad-Hard 1 · Fuel Consumption 0 · ISRU (Buggy) 2
EASILY MISSED: The thruster is immune to Belt & CME Rolls (though other cards in the Stack are not), and it is Decommissioned if you pass through an Aerobrake Hazard Space. [C8a]
EASILY MISSED: The thruster receives a Bonus Pivot due to the ballerina icon on it. [C8a]
TIP: The Black-Side refinery, Ilmenite Semiconductor Film, grants Powersat if you use it to industrialize a non-Atmospheric Site of size 8+. This can be useful but is more of an opportunistic Ability than one to center strategy around. [C8d]
a. Thrust: 0*. With the entire Stack, this thruster cannot pass through any Burns. (The solar sail does not require any supports so it does not get penalties from the reactor or generator.)
*If you split the Stack and take only the robonaut and your Crew, the resulting Stack is Mass 2 and so gets a +1 net thrust. (Making a second trip with the refinery will add time, but at least you are not spending fuel.)
b. Fuel Consumption: 0. No fuel requirement is the best part of a solar sail!
c. Robonaut: ISRU 2 Buggy. This is one of the best robonauts. The low ISRU gives you a lot of options. The buggy re-roll greatly increases your odds on smaller Sites, or you can go to Mars and claim all three Sites. Its reactor requirement can be a challenge as exotic x reactors are rare, but that problem is already solved for this Stack.
d. Black-Sides. Getting the Electric Sail gives you a lot more movement options. The robonaut becomes an ISRU 0 missile, which is a mixed blessing as you lose the buggy re-roll. It does gain a reasonable thruster.
e. Stack Improvements. A robonaut of Spectral Type C or V will make ET production more efficient (C to match the thruster, or V to match the refinery).
D. Quick Reference
The Quick Reference (printed pages 22–23) is a full-colour layout of the cards for all eight Stacks above, grouped under their Stack names, with lines showing support connections between cards. The printed text of each card is on the card itself and is not reproduced in this rulebook. The readable callouts on the layouts are "Heavy side!", marking the Radiator (which should start on its heavy side, as noted in the Stack commentary), and "Not in support chain!", shown on the Who Needs Thrusters layout.