Hostage Negotiator: Career

Hostage Negotiator: Career Rulebook

Table of Contents

Summary of Play

In Career, you will be playing out not just the negotiations, which are still a major part of the campaign, but also the career and personal events that happen between the negotiations. You will have to make decisions that will impact your career and personal stress levels. You'll earn promotions and rewards as you get better at your job, gaining new tools to use in the negotiations. With good decisions, some clever negotiating, and a bit of luck, you might just retire honorably after a solid 10 year career!

Components

3 x Career Sheets (front and back). Also may be downloaded from VanRyderGames.com
48 Large Career Event Cards
24 Large Personal Event Cards
16 Campaign Abductor Cards
21 Stressor Cards
8 Trait Cards
15 Reward Cards
5 Rank Cards
1 Merit marker (star)
1 Career Stress marker (badge)
1 Personal Stress marker (heart)
1 Red Viewer
3 Special boxes (do not open until instructed!) – D1, D2, and D3
4 Special envelopes (do not open until instructed!) – C1, C2, C3, C4
1 Career Finale Envelope (do not open until instructed!)

Setup

Take one of the Career Sheets and write your name on the business card with a pencil (not included). If you are out of sheets you can print more at VanRyderGames.com.
Place the Merit, Career Stress (CS), and Personal Stress (PS) markers on their respective shaded starting spaces on the Career Sheet.
Mark an "x" in the box under "Officer" on the Rank track and take the Officer Rank card. Reveal the Officer card and follow the instructions on it.
Place your chosen deck of Conversation Cards to the side for now.
Place the Crime Wave board on the table and set the dice to the side.
Take all 35 hostage pieces from Hostage Negotiator and Crime Wave and create a Career Hostage Pool.

Note: You can leave the Threat marker, Conversation marker, Alert markers, Terror cards, and any other Hostage Negotiator components in the Crime Wave box for now. You will retrieve these later during the game when a hostage negotiation occurs.
Separate the Career Cards by Year and create the Career Event deck by taking one random Career card from each year and stacking them in order and face down with Year 1 on top and Year 10 on bottom. You should put away the other Career Cards, but be aware you MAY occasionally have to discard a Career Card and draw another one from that same year.
Take the Arkayne, Edward, Donna, Lijah, and Seavers Campaign Abductor cards and shuffle them to create the Campaign Abductor Deck. Place the Campaign Abductor deck to the right of the Career deck. Set the other Campaign Abductor cards aside for now.
Shuffle the deck of Personal Cards and place them to the right of the Campaign Abductor deck. This is the Personal Event deck.
Place the Trait Cards, Reward Cards, and Stressor Cards to the side. They do not need to be shuffled.

A Year in the Life of a Negotiator

A year consists of the following 4 phases. Each phase will be described in greater details on the following pages after we show you how to resolve Event Cards.

STRESSOR EVENT – If there are no Active Stressor cards, ignore this step. Otherwise, shuffle the Active Stressor Deck, then draw and resolve a Stressor Card.
CAREER EVENT – draw and resolve a Career Card including the Crisis, which will indicate if you will have a negotiation.
HOSTAGE NEGOTIATION – Resolve a negotiation (some years you may not have one!)
PERSONAL EVENT – draw and resolve a Personal Card and then apply the impacts of your negotiation result.

How to Resolve Event Cards (Stressor, Career, Personal)

A big part of HN: Career is resolving the various Event Cards. They all have a very similar structure and are resolved the same way.

Example event card callouts (the Career Event card shown in the manual; both the Stressor and Personal Event cards will look very similar):

Story Moment
Choice One
Choice Two
Red Viewer, used to reveal the resolution
Crisis Impact
Card Identifier

Each Event Card will present you with a story moment and give you two choices of what you can do or say. Read the story and then decide which of the choices you want to pick. Then use the Red Viewer to reveal the resolution of the event and the impacts. Adjust any stats and resolve any effects accordingly. Also, gain any cards specified.

Any time you see in the text, you should replace it with your current Rank (i.e. Officer, Detective, etc) when reading the card.

Example: "Get in here now, !" yelled the Chief.

Adjusting Stats

Increase (+) or Decrease (-) a stat. Merit, Career Stress (CS), and Personal Stress (PS) can all be impacted by events. Note increasing or decreasing a stat can be favorable or unfavorable depending on the stat. You typically want your Stress levels low and your Merit level high. Stats can never go above the maximum or below the minimum numbers on your sheet. Sometimes you will make checks against your stats. This will be explained later on page 9.

Gaining Cards

When you are instructed to gain a card, do the following based on type:

STRESSOR – Shuffle all of the Stressors of the indicated type and add one facedown to the Active Stressor Deck.
TRAIT – Find the indicated Trait Card in the Trait Deck. Take it and reveal it. Some Trait cards are permanent, while others may be discarded for some effect.
REWARD – Shuffle all of the Rewards of the indicated type and take one and reveal it. Some Reward cards are permanent, while others may be discarded for some effect.

Crisis and Negotiation Impacts

After resolving the story event and resolution, flip the card upside down (rotate it 180 degrees) and resolve the Crisis (Career Card) or Negotiation Impacts (Personal Card). The Crisis will usually result in drawing a Campaign Abductor card to reveal which Abductor has taken hostages. Negotiation Impacts will list stat adjustments and other effects based on your success or failure in that Year's negotiation (if one occurred).

Game Phases Explained in Detail

Phase 1 – Stressor Event

During the campaign you will likely GAIN some Stressor Cards and add them to the Active Stressor Deck, which is placed to the left of the Career Event Deck (see Stressors below). If there is at least 1 card in the Active Stressor Deck, draw one at random and resolve it. Otherwise, you may skip this phase.

Phase 2 – Career Event

You must draw one Career Card and resolve it. Each card will have a story event and a choice. Once you have made your choice, use the Red Viewer to reveal the resolution for the choice you made. Then, resolve the "Crisis" section on the bottom of the card.

Phase 3 – Hostage Negotiation

Most, but not all, Career Cards will require you to draw a Campaign Abductor card. This indicates that a Hostage Negotiation will occur. If that happens, the player will draw a card from the Campaign Abductor Deck (unless instructed otherwise) and then set up and play a game of Hostage Negotiator, as you normally would, against the Abductor indicated. Sometimes effects from Event cards will impact the setup or rules of the negotiation, so make sure you apply those effects.

When setting up for the negotiation, use the Hostage pieces from the Career Hostage Pool (it starts with all 35 hostage pieces!). If you are unable to complete setup because the Career Hostage Pool does not have enough hostage pieces as required by the current Abductor, your career ends and you retire in shame.

After the negotiation, do the following:

Remove the Campaign Abductor card from the game unless the Abductor escaped, in which case it should be shuffled back into the Campaign Abductor Deck.
Record the results of the negotiation on the campaign sheet. Abductor, W/L, the Abductor's fate, and how many hostages were saved and killed.
Remove 1 Hostage piece from the Career Hostage Pool for each hostage that was killed (you begin your Career with 35).

If there is no negotiation as indicated in the Crisis section of the Career Event card, the Hostage Negotiation phase is skipped.

Example: finishing a negotiation

After successfully catching Arkayne, you fill out your Career Sheet with the relevant details. You saved 4 hostages and lost 3, so you make a note of that.
Because he was captured, you remove Arkayne's Campaign Abductor card from the game.
Finally, you place 4 Hostage pieces back into your Hostage Pool and you remove the 3 that were killed from the game.

Phase 4 – Personal Event

After the Career Event and Hostage Negotiation (if one occurred), the player resolves a Personal Event. Each card will have a story event and a choice. Once you have made your choice, use the Red Viewer to reveal the resolution for the choice you made. Then, resolve the "Negotiation Impacts" section on the bottom of the card. The player should adjust their stats and apply any other effects based on the result of this year's negotiation. You could get promoted, adjust your stress levels, and more.

Important Campaign Rules and Concepts

Stress Levels and Stress Checks

In Career, you will be tracking two types of stress: Career and Personal. You may be asked to make a check against either. To do this, simply roll 1 die and compare the result to your Stress Level. If the result is higher than your Stress level, you succeed the check. If it is equal or lower, you fail. Your stress levels can never go above 5 or lower than 1. As such, it is always possible to succeed or fail a Stress Check.

Example: Stress Check

A card requires you to make a Career Stress check. Your Career Stress level is 3. You roll a die and the result is a 3. You have failed the Stress check and must apply the indicated effects on the card. If you had rolled a 4, 5, or 6 you would have passed the check.

Merit Level, Merit Checks, and Promotion

You will be tracking your merit level throughout the campaign. This represents your progression in your current rank. Winning negotiations and story choices can help increase your merit level and lead to promotion!

Merit checks are like Stress Checks with a few differences. Usually, this involves rolling to see if you get promoted. If a card calls for you to check or roll for Promotion AND you meet or exceed the merit level minimum on that card (or if no minimum is listed), you will make a Merit Check. Roll 1 die and if the result is lower than your current Merit level than you have been promoted! Note that, unlike with Stress Checks, it is possible to automatically fail a Merit Check (i.e. when your Merit Level is 1).

Note: You can also be promoted by getting Promotion Reward cards!

Note: You cannot be promoted if you are already at the highest Rank (Captain), although increasing your Merit level could still be important for the Finale!

When you are promoted, increase your Rank on your Career Sheet by erasing the mark on the current one and marking the new one, take the new rank card and return the previous one to the box. Resolve the text on the new rank card. Then, reduce your Merit level by the number of your new rank.

Example: Merit Check

It is the end of Year 3, and you are applying the negotiation impacts at the bottom of the Personal Event card, one of which says "If your Merit is 4+, roll for promotion."

Your Merit level is 4, so you get to make a Merit check to see if you've been promoted! You roll the die and the result is a 1. You've been promoted!

You were an Officer, so you raise your rank by one, becoming a Detective. Mark the box with an 'x' on your Career Sheet and take the Detective Rank card.

Apply the effect on the card and return the Officer Rank card to the box.

Finally, reduce your Merit level by 2, moving your Merit marker down from the '4' to the '2,' since the rank level of Detective is 2.

Stressors, Traits, and Rewards

There are many event cards that will have you gain other cards associated with what happened. You may gain (and sometimes lose) Stressors, Traits, and Rewards that affect your career or personal life.

Stressors

If you gain a Stressor, find the associated Stressor cards with the name of the indicated stressor on the card back, shuffle them, then take one at random and without looking at it, add the card to the Active Stressor Deck with any others you have already gained and not yet resolved. The Active Stressor deck is placed to the left of the Career Deck. If there are no cards in the Active Stressor Deck yet, begin a new one.

If you lose a Stressor, you MUST find ONE Stressor card of the indicated type in your Active Stressor Deck and remove it back to the general supply of Stressor Cards.

Note: You CAN have more than one Stressor Card of the same type if you gain the same Stressor again. If you gain a Stressor and there are no cards of that type left, simply ignore it.

Traits

How you choose to play and the decisions you make will define your traits as a negotiator and as a person. Some events may result in you taking a Trait card.

If you gain a Trait, take the associated Trait Card. You may look at it and follow the instructions on the card. If you already have a Trait, you may not gain it again (you may gain a trait you had and discarded previously though). Some traits remain with you for the remainder of the campaign, while others must be discarded when used as the text on the card will indicate.

Rewards

If you gain a Reward, take one of the specifically named Reward Cards at random (most reward cards have more than one card of each). You may look at it and follow the instructions on the card. If there are no cards left of the indicated type, you do not get anything.

Example: You are resolving a Career Event Card and the card tells you to Gain Reward: Promotion. You find the three Reward Cards labeled "Promotion," shuffle them together, and take 1 of them. You then turn the card over and do what it says. Return the remaining "Promotion" Reward Cards to the Reward Deck.

Campaign Abductors

As your career progresses, more Campaign Abductor Cards will be added to the Campaign Abductor Deck. Some Career Cards indicate that you should add more Campaign Abductor Cards to the Campaign Abductor Deck.

When you have a negotiation with an Abductor, the associated Campaign Abductor card is removed from the game UNLESS the Abductor Escaped. If the Abductor Escaped, shuffle the Campaign Abductor card back into the Campaign Abductor Deck.

Saving Your Progress

You will most likely want to play through 2 or 3 years in each session. At some point you will want to save your progress. If possible, we recommend saving the Campaign at the end of a year after resolving the Personal Card. Saving your progress is very easy.

Write down all of your Active Stressors, Traits, and Rewards on your Career Sheet. It is recommended to put these, as well as your Rank card, in a bag for quick retrieval the next time you play.

Circle or otherwise note your current Stress Levels and Merit Level so you can return the markers to them when you continue.

Keep the Career Hostage Pool hostage pieces in a separate bag and note how many there are as a reminder.

When you return to the game, simply reset everything based on the information on your Career Sheet.

The manual shows an example of a Career Sheet saved in mid-progress (the sheet image is not reproduced here). Its example note reads: "This is an example of how you would fill out your Career Sheet when saving a campaign in mid-progress. Note that the player has lost 12 hostages already. Since their Hostage Pool began with 35 hostages, they now only have 23 left to complete their career with."

Ending the Campaign

You should have 35 Hostage pieces when you begin the game (15 from Hostage Negotiator and 20 from Crime Wave). After each negotiation you will record how many Hostages were saved and how many were killed. For each Hostage killed, remove a Hostage piece from the overall pool of 35. If at any point during your Career you do not have enough Hostage Pieces an Abductor requires during set-up, you retire in shame and your Career has ended. The pain of all the lives lost is just too much for you to continue as a negotiator. (You may ignore this rule, if a premature end to the campaign bothers you.)

Otherwise, you will play through 10 full years and the Finale will be triggered when instructed.

Key Rules and Reminders That Can Greatly Impact the Campaign

If you lose because the Terror Deck ran out, an Abductor Escaped, or due to an Abductor's special rules (i.e. Edward or Lt. Jackson) the Abductor ALWAYS KILLS ALL REMAINING HOSTAGES before escaping. This means any hostages left in the pool should be treated as killed for tracking your results and the Abductor escapes (exceptions below).
Edward, The Cult of Automa, and Lieutenant Jackson do not escape and instead should be treated as eliminated (due to suicide).
Remember to remove Abductor specific Terror, Demand, and Conversation cards between negotiations. However, you can (and we recommend it) leave in expansion cards that are NOT Abductor specific.
Anytime you need to roll dice, you may choose which dice you want to roll, but remember you will never roll more than 5 dice for a Threat Roll.
If unsure about a rule issue or timing issue, decide based on what you think would happen thematically.
A note about resetting Advanced Skills upon completion of the campaign: You can put each advanced skill back in any of the associated boxes or envelopes. The system randomizes them automatically so you do not have to keep track of which envelope or box they came from initially.
We highly recommend leaving the used Career and Personal cards separate when your campaign is finished. This way you can set up the next campaign with the remaining unused cards which will guarantee that a much different story unfolds!
If you see this icon (a circular reroll arrow), it means you can reroll ONE die of your choice.

Optional Rules and Ways to Vary Your Campaign

These are some additional rules you can use to spice up the campaign or change it to your personal preference. Use one, none, or all as you see fit.

Start with ALL Campaign Abductors except Valerie Stone in the Campaign Abductor Deck. This could make your campaign harder.
If any Stress Level would move beyond the maximum, remove one hostage from the Career Hostage Pool for each point beyond the max. This will make your campaign harder.
If you get a Merit increase when you are at the maximum, you MAY immediately increase your Rank. If you do, reset the Merit Level back to 1. This could make your campaign easier or harder.
Instead of the Campaign Abductor Deck, if you own the custom meeples you can put the meeples in a bag and draw one out instead of using the Campaign Abductor Deck. This has no effect on the difficulty of the campaign.
If you own Negotiator Cards, you may gain one at Random when you are promoted and/or when you gain a reward but there are none left of that type. This will make your campaign easier.