MERCS: Recon – Counter Threat Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Terms and Dice
• Building Set-up
  • 1. Setting up the building
  • 2. Setting up the player board
  • 3. Setting up the OpFor
• Playing the Game
• 1 Agent Phase
  • A. Draw Agent Movement Card
  • B. Move agents
  • Stairs and Elevators
  • Draw Event Card
  • Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend
• 2 OpFor Phase
  • A. OpFor Order
• 3 MERCS Phase
  • A. Player Order
  • B. Player Actions
• 4 Refresh Phase
  • A. Reset Priority
  • B. Resupply CP
  • C. Increase the Security Level
  • D. Status Effects
  • E. End of Game
• Combat
  • Attack
  • Excessive Force
  • Defense
  • Collateral Targets
  • Combat Example
  • Collateral Damage Discs
  • Death
  • Area-of-Effect (AoE) Weapons
  • Tile Overflow
  • Capture
  • Interrogate
  • Status Conditions
• Actions
  • Normal Actions
  • Movement Actions
  • Attack Actions - Ranged (see Combat)
  • Attack Actions - Melee (see Combat)
  • Attack Actions - Reserve
  • Combined Actions
  • Reserve Action Example
  • Attack & Move Example
  • Duck & Cover Example
• Reserve Actions (Detail)
• Combined Actions (Detail)
  • Attack & Move
  • Duck & Cover
• Breach & Clear
  • Breach and Clear Tile
  • Setup
  • Non-Objective Associated Breach
  • Actions within the B&C
  • Victory
  • Defeat
  • Aftermath
  • Breach & Clear Example
• Quick Reference

Game Components

• 10 MERCS plastic miniatures
• 5 SecFor II and 5 SecFor III plastic miniatures
• 10 player boards
• 25 player counters
• 12 agent movement cards
• 12 event cards
• 10 mission cards
• 4 Security Force reference cards
• 3 employee reference cards
• 29 building tiles
• 12 puzzle frames
• 1 double-sided Breach & Clear tile
• 14 double-sided Collateral Damage Discs
• 11 double-sided Security Force tokens
• 11 double-sided OpFor tokens: 11 Workers, 4 Technician, 3 Scientists, 4 Administrator
• 1 Extraction point token
• 8 blue agent discs, 8 red agent discs, 8 black agent discs
• 1 security level increase token
• 2 extra door tokens
• 6 objective markers
• 36 OpFor blood drop counters
• 6 double-sided status effect tokens
• 5 employee KIA tokens
• 5 excessive force tokens
• 5 turn order tokens
• 3 breach & clear counters
• 1 security level counter

Each player receives: 1 MERC plastic miniature, 1 matching MegaCon player board, 5 counters of one color.

Token Limits: There are no limits to the amount of employee, security force, and status effect tokens, or collateral damage discs (CDD).

Terms and Dice

Area: An "area" is a half orange/half white circle on each room tile that segments the playing surface. Areas are used to guide agents around the building, and are used with miniature movement and attack range. Icons on the areas also provide information of the area's figure capacity, any extra armor value provided, and the area's durability.

• Capacity: The number of agent, OpFor, and MERCS an area can hold. If an area is at capacity it cannot be moved through.
• Armor Value: The amount of extra armor provided to all who occupy the area.
• Durability: The amount of damage an area can take before placing a CDD.

Any area that has a name is considered a special area.

Dice: Bursts = Success. Shields = Soak. Blanks = Miss.

• Collateral Damage d8 - referred to as CDd8
• Light Damage d8 - referred to as LDd8
• Heavy Damage d8 - referred to as HDd8

Mission Card: Name, Objective, Special Rules, Breach & Clear OpFor placement (see the Breach & Clear section), Resolution.

Building Set-up

The building consists of a series of hallways and room tiles. There are numerous building configurations that can be constructed. Each row and column of the building will be eight areas in length. The play area consists of 29 building tiles and 12 frame pieces.

1. Setting up the building

Draw a mission card. If it calls for a special room, add it to the building during setup.

Players can create a custom layout, or use one of the suggested layouts at www.megacongames.com. The orange and white area circles do NOT need to face a uniform direction. Only three rules need to be followed during construction:

1. The corner tiles MUST be placed in the corners of the building with the hallway facing inward. This includes the R&D or Conference tile.
2. All rooms MUST have an entry point (door) and be within one area (diagonally or orthogonally) to a hallway.
3. Every building MUST have the elevator/entrance tile and both stair tiles.

Next, place the frame around the completed building, making sure that the burst images on the frame are on opposite sides of the building. If the frame is constructed correctly, the security level track will be on the opposite side of the frame as the reinforcement track.

Place the security level counter on the "0" location on the security level track.

Place agent discs. Regardless of how the building is set up there are specific locations with agent placement indicators. Place agent discs onto these locations, making sure to match color.

Reference the mission card and place any required locations or miniatures. If there are unknown objective locations, randomly place the objective tokens face down in any of the named areas. Any objective tokens remaining after mission setup may now be placed in any available special area.

Check the mission card for the starting position of the MERCS.

2. Setting up the player board

Each player receives a MERC miniature and a matching player board. The miniature matches the image on the left side of the player board. Each player receives 5 counters in the color of their choice.

Player board parts: 1 Starting Priority, 2 Counters, 3 Command Point track, 4 Attack dice pool, 5 Blood track, 6 Attack track, 7 Personal abilities, 8 Corporate abilities, 9 Interrogation, 10 Armor.

Place a counter on the darker circle on the command point track and the attack track.

Place a counter on the blood track. Unless stated otherwise by the mission, the counter is placed as far to the right as possible. This represents the MERC's maximum health.

Command Points (CP): This resource is spent to activate abilities and actions for the MERC the player is controlling. Players can perform as many actions as their CP allow. Actions can be performed multiple times unless stated otherwise.

Additionally, each player places one of his counters on the priority track. The counter is placed on the number equal to his or her MERC's starting priority.

Each player receives a turn order token at this time based off his or her MERC's priority. MERCS take turns in order from 1-5. The highest priority receives the number 1 turn order token. The 2nd highest receives the number 2 token and so on. In case of ties, the players choose. These tokens change hands each Refresh phase based off the changed priority.

The last counter is used to keep track of reserve actions. This is placed near the player's board to be used when the player uses a reserve action. When a player uses a reserve action, the reserve action token placed on the player board indicates which action was selected.

3. Setting up the OpFor

OpFor stands for Opposing Force. This is the element in the game that opposes the players' MERCS. The OpFor is made up of various miniatures, tokens, and decks.

Separate the cards into the agent movement deck and the event deck. Each deck consists of 12 cards. Place these decks next to the play area face down. All decks are reshuffled when exhausted.

Off to the side of the table, place all the OpFor: employee tokens, security force I tokens, and security force II and III miniatures. The opposing MERCS provided in this set double as security force IV miniatures. Lay out the reference cards associated with employee tokens and each SecFor.

To finish setup, place the various damage dice (d8) in groups based off of color.

Playing the Game

The game is played over a number of game rounds consisting of 4 phases. Some phases have various steps and sub-steps.

1. Agent Phase
   • A. Draw agent movement card
   • B. Move agent discs. After all agents have moved, if an agent ends in LoS of a MERC, then draw an event card to reveal OpFor.
     • i. Draw event card if necessary. Convert agents to OpFor based off security level.
2. OpFor Phase
   • A. OpFor activate in order: i. Security Force IV; ii. Security Force III; iii. Security Force II; iv. Security Force I; v. Employees
3. MERCS Phase
   • A. Player actions in player order
     • i. Draw event card if MERC ends in LoS of an agent.
     • ii. Adjust security level track when necessary based off immediate increase rules (see the MERCS Phase section).
4. Refresh Phase
   • A. Reset Priority
     • i. Exchange turn order tokens based off new priority.
   • B. Resupply Command Points
   • C. Increase the Security Level
   • D. Manage Status Effects
   • E. Check for victory

1 Agent Phase

A. Draw Agent Movement Card

The first thing that happens in the Agent phase is the players draw an agent movement card. Each card is unique in content, but is read and functions identically. An agent movement card begins with a conditional movement statement, proceeds to the movement directives, then finishes up with a conditional security level statement that could add agents or OpFor reinforcements.

Agent Movement Card: Each movement card is structured the same and should be dealt with from top to bottom.

• Conditional Statement: If the conditions are satisfied, then the statement is activated.
• Agent Movement: This section details how the various colored agent tokens move around the building.
• Security Level Penalty: If the building is at or above the required security level stated on the card, then the penalty is activated.
• Movement Ring: The ring on each area has a white half and an orange half.

B. Move agents

After the card is drawn, each agent is moved orthagonally according to that card's directives. If an agent moves, the directive will explain how many areas to move and which direction. If directed to move "to" a specific area, location, or target, then the agent disc moves any amount of areas to reach the directive. The direction is usually white or orange, referring to the outside ring.

Agents do not leave a closed room to enter an area with MERCS. In situations such as this, the agent remains stationary. Each agent disc occupies one space in an area.

• Example 1: The movement card states blue moves 1 area on white. There is only one door so the agent must exit to the hallway on the right.
• Example 2: The movement card states blue moves 1 area on white. However, a MERC occupies the area the agent would move into. The agent remains stationary.

Tiebreaker Bursts: In situations where an agent has two options when moving in a direction, roll a LDd8 and refer to the frame. If the result is a burst, the agent moves on the correct color in the direction of the side with a burst. If the result is a blank, the agent moves on the correct color in the direction of the side that has no image. Bursts and blanks on the frame determine movement when an agent has two options.

• Example 3: The movement card states blue moves 1 area on white. The blue agent has two options, up or to the right. A player rolls a LDd8 and the result is a burst. He references the bursts on the frame surrounding the office. The burst is on the right side so the agent moves to the hallway on the right.

What is an agent? An agent is an unknown entity. It is a heat signature communicated to the team from a distant, ever-watchful satellite. Agents can be simple employees or security forces: the players won't know until the agent and the MERCS share line-of-sight. When an agent moves into LoS, it stops. Any further movement within a directive is ignored.

Line-of-Sight (LoS): The capacity for one individual to see another is called line-of-sight.

In MERCS Recon, LoS is explicitly determined by areas. For LoS to exist between two individuals, the two areas they are standing in must be completely visible to one another. The ability for two miniatures (or a miniature and a token) to draw a line to each other has no merit.

In addition, walls and doors block LoS. When determining distance between two areas, the players can only count areas that can be moved through, except when using the scanner to reveal a location.

• Example 1: The movement card states blue moves 1 area on white. There is only one door so the agent must exit to the hallway on the right. The agent and the MERC's area are not completely visible so an OpFor is not revealed.
• Example 2: The agent exits to the hallway on the right. The agent and the MERC's area are completely visible. When the event card is drawn, the agent will be revealed.

Stairs and Elevators

Stairs: These tiles have no area limits and cannot be destroyed.

Elevators: These tiles cannot be accessed by agents or OpFor.

Draw Event Card

After all agents have moved, if one or more agents are in LoS of a MERC, then an event card is drawn and used for all agents in LoS. Reference the event card and convert agent discs with the OpFor called for on the card. In the Agent phase, all agents in LoS are replaced using one event card.

Each event card has a security level indicator and an agent conversion directive. After all agents have moved, the event card is drawn. Players reference the current security level and replace the agent token with the appropriate OpFor. Example: the security level is 1, so the agent becomes a single worker.

Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend

Workers move 2 areas and have 1 blood. These employees are automatically interrogated when captured but provide no special information.

Employees (both workers and specials) ARE considered OpFor. They do not attack MERCS unless directed by a card, but they do count towards the miniature total when referencing the security track.

Employees have some special rules that should be followed in order:

1. Employees will COWER if there are more MERCS in LoS than the total number of OpFor in LoS.
2. Employees will not move INTO an area with a MERC. If an employee is already in the same area as a MERC, and not cowering, then the employee will move out.
3. Employees attempt to move towards the stairs, although the second rule in this list may force the employee to flee elsewhere. If they reach the stairs, then they are immediately removed from the building and added to the casualty pool.
4. When an employee is on the run, he will attempt to get out of LoS wherever possible, including entering any room.
5. Killing any kind of employee earns the attacking MERC an employee KIA penalty token.

Cower: If an employee is cowering, he will not move during the OpFor phase. Cowering is checked at the beginning of the round. Employees do not Cower if during the OpFor phase, through employee movement, they become less than the number of MERCS. It is checked only at the beginning of the OpFor phase. (An employee will either cower or move freely.)

OpFor: The OpFor are anything in the building other than agents and MERCS. An OpFor could be an employee or security force.

2 OpFor Phase

The OpFor are anything in the building other than agents and MERCS. An OpFor could be an employee or security force. There are multiple levels of security force and many types of employees. OpFor are not unique. There can be as many of each type in the building as called for. Each type has a reference card that details movement, abilities, attack directives, rewards for interrogation, and blood drops to track damage.

SecFor Card: Name, Movement, Blood, Armor Value, Weapon & Range, Attack Dice, Lockdown Mode.

Employee Card & token:

• Primary Intel: This is the first piece of intel provided by the employee. If there is no objective to reveal then move to the secondary intel.
• Interrogation threshold: This is the number of successes needed for the employee to share intel with the MERCS.
• Secondary intel: If there is no primary intel to provide, then the employee provides the secondary intel.

A. OpFor Order

OpFor move and attack in a specific order:

1. Security Force IV
2. Security Force III
3. Security Force II
4. Security Force I
5. Employees

OpFor are treated as individuals. They move orthagonally and attack separately. If they can attack, the card also communicates what tactics they use and what dice are rolled.

Combat for the OpFor is handled the same as it is for the players, except for target selection. OpFor select the target in range (weapon + movement) highest on the priority track. The OpFor attacks the highest priority target in range. If they need to move to get in range of a high priority target, they will. In cases where there are multiple MERCS in an area with the same priority, the OpFor's target is determined by the potential target with the highest starting priority.

The attacking dice pool is created the same way as it is for MERCS, and the MERCS get a chance to soak any successes. See the Combat section.

Priority: This term refers to two facets of a MERC: how soon in a round a MERC acts, and who the OpFor attacks when there are several choices.

Example 1: The security force I will attack the CCC Leader because his priority is the highest of all MERCS in his LoS, even though the Incinerator and the Breacher are in his area.

3 MERCS Phase

MERCS are controlled by players and those players determine what their MERC's are going to do. However, MERCS Recon has a structured round. Players must take turns based off of player order tokens. This order changes during the game. In addition, if a MERC's reserve action was not activated during the OpFor phase it is removed from their player board at the start of the MERCS phase.

Players activate during the MERCS phase based off turn order tokens. MERCS take turns in order from 1-5. A MERCS priority fluctuates during the game in the Refresh phase based on the amount of actions he is taking and innocent employees killed. For more information on how the priority track changes refer to the Refresh Phase section. MERCS with the same priority decide in what order they will act.

A. Player Order

Each player is assigned a priority that is associated with their character. This number represents where the MERCS begin on the priority track. The priority track is located on the frame.

B. Player Actions

Players must spend CP to perform any action. The table below summarizes the actions the MERCS can take and the associated command point cost. For a detailed explanation of each action, see the Actions section. When a MERC decides on an action, he pays the CP cost then performs the action. Unless stated otherwise, there is no limit to the number of times an action can be selected, paid for, and performed. In MERCS Recon, a player completes his entire turn before the next person can act. Each player must complete a turn, although no action is required, except passing. When all MERCS have passed, the round proceeds to the next phase.

Weapons target 1 area only, unless stated otherwise. When dealing with weapon ranges, weapons are able to attack in the same area and any area in between out to the maximum range of the weapon.

Command Point Actions

CP	Name	Description
1	Initiative	Can only be selected if the MERC did not attack or hustle. Returns 2 CP in the Refresh phase.
3	Reload	Place the attack counter at the MERC's maximum allowed attack capacity. Attacks cannot be performed after a reload.
3	Interact	Can use a location for its secondary purpose.
1	Use Kit	Allows a MERC to use a piece of equipment in his or her possession.
1	Capture	Non-violent removal of an employee. Must have majority control of an area. Targets are NOT added to the casualty pool.
3	Interrogate	Allows a MERC to reveal one of the secondary objective locations per the rules on the employee card.

Movement - MERCS cannot move into a room with an agent, OpFor, or objective. See Breach & Clear.

CP	Name	Description
Normal, 1/area	Move	A MERC moves one area orthagonally per CP spent.
3	Hustle	A MERC moves four areas orthagonally, but cannot perform ANY attack actions.

Ranged Combat

CP	Name	Description
Variable	Focused	An attack at weapon range that converts all the CDd8 into LDd8.
Variable	Sweeping	An attack at weapon range that uses the weapon's standard dice pool.
1	Throw	An attack that is thrown to an area. It will be overthrown one area in the direction of the throw if no burst is rolled.

Melee Combat

CP	Name	Description
Variable	Focused	An attack in the same area that uses the weapon's standard dice pool.
Variable	Sweeping	An attack in the same area that converts all the LDd8 to CDd8.
Variable	Assault	A stronger and more expensive focused attack.

Reserve Action - Allows a MERC to perform ONE reaction attack if OpFor appear in LoS (in the direction the MERC is facing).

CP	Name	Description
1	Spray & Pray	A single attack that initiates upon the appearance or before the activation of OpFor: security forces AND employees.
2	Selective	A single attack that initiates upon the appearance or before the activation of security forces ONLY.

Combined Action - Combined actions show the total CP that must be spent between all MERCS involved in the action.

CP	Name	Description
2 MERCS = 3	Attack & Move	Allows MERCS to act simultaneously. One member moves three areas orthagonally. The other member must perform one sweeping attack.
2 MERCS = 2	Duck & Cover	This is a purely defensive combined action. The "ducking" MERC with the highest priority reduces his priority by 3. The "covering" MERC increases his priority by 1. Additionally, the "ducking" MERC receives one bonus soak d8 during the next OpFor phase (see the OpFor phase combat section).
3 MERCS = 7	Breach & Clear	Initiates a Breach & Clear action. Relocate to the B&C tile. Each member receives one attack (cheapest) at no CP cost. Additional actions may be taken in priority order after the initial breach.

Immediate Consequences

• Draw event card (if necessary) - If a player moves into LoS of one or more agents, then that player's turn is interrupted immediately and an event card is drawn to reveal what OpFor appears.
• Adjust security level track (if necessary) - If a player's action, the placement of a collateral damage disc, or OpFor miniatures being placed in the building trips one of the automatic security level track triggers, then the track is changed immediately.

Immediate Conditions: The security track can be increased during the OpFor phase and/or the MERCS phase if any immediate conditions are met. If any of the immediate conditions are met, then raise the security counter to the lowest number of the next highest security level immediately. This effect is ignored once the security level counter has moved to the reinforcement track.

• When MERCS complete an objective
• When MERCS kill 3 or more employees in a round
• When there are 8 or more OpFor in the building
• When placing 1/3/9/27 CDDisc

4 Refresh Phase

The Refresh phase is where any bookkeeping takes place. During this phase, the players check for game end criteria, reset priority, resupply MERCS with command points, and roll to increase the security level track based off the casualty pool.

A. Reset Priority

In the Refresh phase, before the resupply step, the priority track is adjusted. A MERC's priority counter increases or decreases based off that MERC's command point track counter's location. This number is located in the smaller bubble on the lower right quadrant of the command point circle. Additionally, if the MERCS have earned an employee KIA token or an excessive force token, those penalties are added at this time and the tokens are removed from the player boards.

If a MERC kills at least one employee, then he earns an employee killed-in-action (KIA) token. This token increases his priority by one in the first step (reset priority) of the Refresh phase. Only one employee KIA token may be earned per MERC per round.

Example: The CCC Leader used 4 CP this round. It is the first round, so his priority counter still rests on 3. In the reset priority step of the Refresh phase, the CCC Leader references the number in the small bubble below his current resting CP total of 2. The +1 means the CCC Leader's priority increases one number, from 3 to 4. In the next round, the CCC Leader is more cautious, spending only one CP in the round. In the Refresh phase, he would reduce his priority 3 (CP total 5, -3).

After each player has their new priority for the next round, exchange turn order tokens to represent the new turn order. The highest priority receives the number 1 turn order token. The 2nd highest receives the number 2 token and so on. In case of ties, the players choose. This turn order remains the same throughout the next round, regardless of the duck & cover combined action.

B. Resupply CP

In this step of the Refresh phase, all MERCS add CP back. Each MERC receives four CP back minus any blood penalty. In addition, the initiative action directly increases the standard resupply.

Resupply CP = 4 - Blood Penalty + Initiative action (if taken)

To mark a MERC's resupply, simply slide the CP counter right on the track as many spaces as CP added.

Example: After his priority is reset, the Leader gains back 4 CP minus any existing blood penalty. If the Leader had taken the initiative action, then he would have added an additional CP to his total. In this case, he has not been hurt and did not take the initiative action, so recovers 4 CP to bring his total back to 6.

Blood Penalties: The CCC Leader was severely wounded during this round. Since his vitality counter has moved to the left of one of the blood penalties, he no longer receives his full CP during the Resupply CP step. These blood penalties are not cumulative. In this example the CCC Leader only receives 3 CP during the Resupply step. If the CCC Leader suffers 3 more damage, he will only receive 2 CP during the Resupply CP step.

C. Increase the Security Level

In every Refresh phase, the security level has a chance of increasing. It increases one number per burst rolled via the dice pool created by casualties. Only one security level can be advanced per Refresh phase.

Casualty Pool: The casualty pool is made up of OpFor placed in the casualty pool area on the frame.

Match up any miniature in the casualty pool with their respective d8 into a security level dice pool. Roll all the dice at the same time. Any attack bursts rolled increase the counter one step on the chart: one number per burst. Casualties are removed from the pool after the roll.

• Employee: CDd8
• Security Level I and II: LDd8
• Security Level III / IV: HDd8

Example: Last round was an effective one for the MERCS. They were able to kill 1 SecFor II, 1 SecFor I, and limited civilian casualties to a single employee. All three wait in the casualty pool (on the frame) until the third step of the Refresh phase. The security level counter is currently sitting on number 0. The players roll: 1 LDd8 (SecFor II), 1 LDd8 (SecFor I), 1 CDd8 (employee). The result of the roll is 3 bursts. The security counter is increased from 0 to 2, but stops there regardless of the amount of bursts rolled, because ONLY ONE SECURITY LEVEL CAN BE ADVANCED PER REFRESH PHASE.

Reinforcement Track: When the security level track counter hits 10, then that counter is moved to the other side of the frame and placed on the reinforcement track at the "0" location. In addition, place the security level increase token in the casualty pool. The presence of this token eliminates the need to roll for a security level increase in the Refresh phase. For every Security Level IV miniature that appears increase the counter on this track by 1. When the reinforcement track hits "10", then the MERCS have taken too long and could lose in step four of the Refresh phase.

Once the security level counter moves over to the reinforcement track, it cannot be returned. The MERCS no longer have the ability to lower the security level.

D. Status Effects

In this step of the Refresh phase, players deal with any existing status effects. If there are no status effects in play, then this step can be skipped.

• Cower: Cleared
• Suppressed: Cleared
• Blinded: Cleared
• Pinned: Cleared if an Engineer is in the same area as pinned target or after 2 Refresh phases.
• Burning: If an OpFor or agent is trapped in an area with this condition move it to the casualty pool at this time. Fire might spread to orthogonally adjacent areas (even through walls). Roll 1 CDd8 per area adjacent. If the result is a burst, the burning condition spreads to that area. Then, add 1 permanent damage to this area. The burning condition is cleared now if the burning condition has damaged an area enough for a CDD to be placed. Clear the condition and any tracked damage, then place the required CDD.

E. End of Game

Winning

1. The game ends when the MERCS have completed the mission.
2. If both victory and defeat conditions occur in the same game round, then the MERCS win.

Defeat

1. If the reinforcement track reaches 10, the MERCS lose.
2. If the MERCS destroy any objective through the B&C, so the mission cannot be continued, they lose.
3. If all the MERCS die, or enough die that the mission cannot be completed, they lose.

Combat

Combat is a central theme in MERCS Recon. The ability to subdue the enemy and establish control in the tight corridors is paramount. There are two types of attacks: ranged and melee. They function the same except during reserve actions.

Attack

When a MERC attacks, spend the CP associated with the attack, and move the attack counter the required number to the left. If the attack counter is on zero the MERC cannot attack and must reload.

Attackers can only select a target who is in LoS and in weapon range. Line-of-sight is established by the area circles. The complete area circle of the attacker must be able to see the complete area circle of the target or the attack cannot take place.

Once LoS has been established, combat consists of two rolls: the attacking roll and the soak roll.

The attack dice pool is created by selecting what attack is being used, then collecting the d8 associated with the attack. Special rules may convert a specific type of d8 within the attacking dice pool into another. Once all conversions have been made the attacker rolls.

Attack roll: This roll determines if the attacker hits and how much potential Blood is taken. The first thing a player needs to do is decide HOW he wants to attack: sweeping or focused. Sweeping attacks are less expensive in terms of CP, but can cause collateral damage. Focused attacks are more expensive, but limit the amount of collateral damage.

• Heavy Damage d8 (HDd8) - These red damage dice have the most percentage for bursts. They have the same potential for success as the LDd8, but have two sides with double bursts.
• Light Damage d8 (LDd8) - These yellow damage dice have a 50% chance for success. They are the most common type of attack dice in the game.
• Collateral Damage d8 (CDd8) - These black damage dice have a lower chance of success than the other two type of d8s, but affect the entire area and all other targets present (friend or foe). Rolled CDd8 do NOT affect the attacker. When rolling CDd8 for damage, players should only count the bursts, not the shields.

(Dice affect either a single target or multiple targets, as shown on the dice.)

Excessive Force

If a MERC uses more than one attack in a round (reserve actions outside of a MERC's turn count towards this), then he gets an excessive force token. This token is to remind the player to add +1 to his priority in the Refresh phase. MERCS who fire weapons that require multiple attacks also receive this token.

Defense

Soak roll: This roll determines how many of the attacker's hits are mitigated, or soaked.

Soak d8 - These are the same dice as the collateral damage d8. When rolling CDd8 for soaking damage, players should only count the shields, not the bursts.

Armor value is the capacity for a target to resist damage. Armor is a measure of how much protection a target has available. This is measured in a roll called the soak roll. This dice pool is created by counting the total amount of armor available to the target. Armor is provided by the target's armor value, any personal or corporate abilities that apply, targets in LoS, and the area's armor value (which changes with collateral damage discs).

Collateral Targets

If there are any collateral targets in the areas in between the attacker (OpFor or MERC) and the intended target, then 1 soak d8 is rolled per collateral target (Soak d8 added this way cannot exceed bursts rolled during the attack.) Shields rolled count as damage to the collateral target that cannot be soaked. For each shield rolled 1 burst is removed from the attack roll. Damage is applied to a single collateral target before moving to any additional collateral targets in the following order: Employees, SecFor 1, 2, 3, 4, MERC.

Combat Example

The CCC Leader is going to use a sweeping attack to try to take out a couple SecFor I. Making things more difficult is the female employee between the Leader and his intended targets. The Leader lowers his CP by 1 and his attack counter by 1. He selects one of the SecFor as the primary target and gathers up the attack dice: 1 HDd8, 3 LDd8, and 1 CDd8. He rolls and gets 1 burst on the HDd8 and 1 burst on the CDd8.

His sweeping attack has the potential to do 2 damage to his primary target and 1 damage to the other SecFor I in the area. SecFor I have no armor and the area does not provide any additional armor yet, because collateral damage discs are placed at the end of an attack. However, the employee between the attacker and the target could "get in the way."

The intended target rolls first. He picks up 1 soak d8. If the result is a shield, then a damage is applied to the employee (collateral target) instead of the SecFor I (intended target). He rolls a blank. This means the SecFor I selected as the intended target receives 2 blood in damage and is dead. He is removed from the building and placed in the casualty pool on the frame.

The second SecFor I still receives a soak roll because the collateral target is still alive. If the intended target's soak roll would have rolled a shield, then the employee would be dead and the second SecFor wouldn't have received a soak roll. The collateral target rolls a CDd8 and gets a shield result. The employee receives 1 damage, killing her. He places an employee KIA token on his player board.

After all targets have received damage, because the area only has one blood, the collateral damage causes a CDD to be placed over the area where the single SecFor I remains alive and unharmed.

Filled with rage, the Leader decides to empty his clip into the remaining SecFor I. He lowers his CP by 2 and lowers his attack by 1. He also adds an excessive force token to his player board because he attacked more than one time this round.

Collateral Damage Discs

When damage is done to an area from collateral damage dice, the players should refer to the blood of the area that just received damage. If the collateral damage from a single attack meets or exceeds the blood of an area (or collateral damage disc already present), then the area/disc is replaced. Collateral damage discs are placed after all targets have received damage.

Collateral damage discs are ranked by level of damage. This is communicated in the art, but is also referenced by the number in the lower right quadrant, next to the blood icon. An area with no disc is replaced with a CDD with the number 1, then 2, followed by 3. The higher the number on the disc the higher the damage level in the area. If any agent discs, OpFor, or MERCS are in an area when it converts to level 3 they are killed. In addition, if a CDD is at level 3 it cannot be moved through since the area is at capacity (0).

The security level for the building is immediately increased when placing the 1st, 3rd, 9th, and 27th collateral damage disc.

(Each disc shows Armor Value, Capacity, Durability and CDD Level.)

Death

When an OpFor receives damage equal to or greater than their blood value, then the OpFor is dead and is removed from the building and placed in the casualty pool.

A MERC, on the other hand, can take a large amount of damage before becoming incapacitated. If a MERC's health moves to the left of the blood/down spot on the blood track, then the MERC is incapacitated. Incapacitated MERCs still occupy one space and their priority is reduced to one. OpFor do not target incapacitated MERCS regardless of priority. Moreover, an incapacitated MERC can still be saved by Medkit. However, they can still receive collateral damage and be killed. Incapacitated MERCS cannot perform actions. Their priority is reduced to 1.

A MERC is not considered to be dead until he takes the last point of blood on the blood track. A dead MERC is removed from the building. A dead MERC cannot be revived.

Area-of-Effect (AoE) Weapons

There are several weapons that affect entire areas and everyone within these areas. Most of the time, these weapons do a predetermined amount of damage in addition to the damage dice rolled. This automatic damage is denoted with a number in front of the blood drop and the words "Auto Collateral". This means that everyone in the area, including the attacker, receives damage equal to the Auto Collateral. Any damage dice rolled in addition to the Auto Collateral only affect other targets. Targets still have a chance to perform a soak roll to mitigate as much as they can, however, in almost all cases the area will be damaged.

If a heavy weapon uses multiple attacks to fire the MERC receives an excessive force token.

Tile Overflow

If for any reason an action causes an area to become over capacity, agent discs, OpFor, and MERCS are placed in the closest legal areas possible in whichever order the players choose.

Capture

MERCS should try to capture employees. Capturing an employee removes the employee from the building, but does not add the employee to the casualty pool. It is a safe way to reduce the number of OpFor in the building without suffering employee KIA penalties.

To capture an employee, the MERCS need majority in the area and the capturing MERC needs to spend 1 CP. A single MERC can only capture one employee in a single MERC phase. Regular workers are removed from the building. Special employees are placed on the MERC's player board if they are going to be interrogated. MERCS with an employee token (or miniature) on their player boards cannot move until the employee is interrogated.

Interrogate

Special employees know something. A MERC with an employee token (or miniature) on their board may choose to interrogate the employee. Each MERC has an interrogation dice pool. Reference and roll the dice pool. If the number of bursts meets or exceeds the interrogation threshold of the special employee, then he or she sings like a canary. Refer to the token or employee card to determine what the successful interrogation provides.

If the interrogation failed, or if the MERC chooses, the special employee is removed from the player board and the building per a standard capture.

Status Conditions

Status conditions are effects that are applied to a situation beyond the typical damage. They all have unique rules that affect gameplay in different ways.

Every status condition except cower is atypical and require specific MERCS to be in play. Reference the MERC's player board for more details on the attack.

• Cower: This condition is only for employees in the OpFor phase. If there are more MERCS in line-of-sight than OpFor, then the employee is considered to be cowering. Cowering employees cannot act and do not move until the number of MERCS in LoS is equal to or less than the number of OpFor.
• Suppressed: This condition is similar to the cower status condition, but is only for SecFor and can only be applied by a MERCS attack. Any SecFor suppressed cannot act and do not move until the condition is cleared.
• Blinded: This condition affects areas in a building. OpFor who are blinded lose their two highest attack dice for their next attack. Additionally, they can be captured without majority for 1 CP. The Blinded status effect is cleared in the next round's refresh phase.
• Pinned: OpFor who are pinned cannot move. Additionally, pinned employees can be captured without majority control in an area. Pinned OpFor are unpinned in the Refresh phase after two rounds.
• Smoke: Prevents LoS through, and into the target area. If you are within the target area all LoS is prevented. The smoke status effect is cleared at the start of the MERCS phase of the next round.
• Burning: This condition affects areas in a building. The burning condition causes the area to deteriorate slowly. It causes 1 permanent damage in the area until the area needs to be replaced by the next level of CDD. Once a new CDD has been placed because of the burning condition, it is discarded, but only after it has a chance to spread. The burning condition may spread to orthogonally adjacent areas (even through walls.) Roll 1 CDd8 per area adjacent to the burning area in the Refresh phase. If the result is a burst, the burning condition spreads to that area.

If an area is burning, OpFor ranked lower than SecFor III will not enter. If any agent discs or OpFor are trapped in an area with the burning condition they are moved to the casualty pool.

Actions

Normal Actions

• Initiative: Can only be selected if the MERCS did not attack or hustle. Returns 2 CP in the resupply step of the Refresh phase. This action is taken if the MERC needs a little bump in the resupply step. It basically allows the MERCS to get back two CP for the price of one, but only if the MERC does not attack or use the hustle action.
• Reload: Place the attack counter at the MERC's maximum allowed attack capacity. Reloading a weapon prevents the MERC from attacking any more in the same round the weapon was reloaded, so it is best to reload a weapon at the end of a round as opposed to the beginning of the next.
• Interact: Can use a location for its secondary purpose. There are many locations that can assist the MERCS team, but only if a squad mate interacts with it. If a MERC interacts with a location, refer to the effects on the back of the rulebook (quick reference).
• Use Kit: Allows MERCS to use a piece of equipment in their possession. Some things in a MERC's inventory (called kit) have to be used. In these cases, the MERC must spend CP to use it.
• Capture: Non-violent removal of an employee. Must have majority control of an area. Targets are NOT added to the casualty pool. If a MERC spends the CP required to capture an employee and meets all the criteria, then the employee is removed from the building. If the employee can be interrogated then the employee may be placed on the capturing MERCS's player board.
• Interrogate: Allows MERCS to reveal one of the Secondary Objective locations per the rules on the employee card. A MERC that has captured an employee can interrogate him or her. The interrogation must take place before the capturing MERC may move. The MERC rolls his interrogation dice and only has one chance to succeed. Employees that can be interrogated have an interrogation threshold. If the MERC meets or exceeds the target's interrogation threshold, then the employee spills his secret (refer to the employee's reference card for details). If the MERC fails to meet the threshold, then the employee doesn't reveal anything. In either case, the employee is removed from the player's board.

Movement Actions

• Move: MERCS move one orthagonal area per CP spent. MERCS cannot move into a room with an agent, OpFor, or objective. See Breach & Clear. This is the MERCS' standard movement.
• Hustle: MERCS move four areas, but cannot perform any attack actions. This has a slightly better cost per area ratio, but limits the MERCS' actions.

Weapons target 1 area only, unless stated otherwise. When dealing with weapon ranges, weapons are able to attack in the same area and any area in between out to the maximum range of the weapon.

Attack Actions - Ranged (see Combat)

• Focused: An attack at weapon range that focuses the dice pool. This is an attack that has a specific target. The dice associated with each player's weapon are predetermined. This action can be taken multiple times in a round, as long as the MERC has not exhausted his ammo in the attack track. Each attack lowers the attack counter by one unless a weapon specifically states otherwise.
• Sweeping: An attack at weapon range that uses the weapon's standard dice pool. This is a cheaper, but less careful attack. The dice associated with each player's weapon are predetermined. This action can be taken multiple times in a round, as long as the MERC has not exhausted his ammo in the attack track. Each attack lowers the attack counter by one.
• Throw: An attack that is thrown to an area. A thrown object can be located to any area within the thrower's range. However, in some cases the object being thrown (grenades, for example) can be overthrown. Roll the dice associated with the thrower's grenade. Any success (burst) represents a thrown weapon that was on target. If no successes (bursts) are present, the object goes one area further in the same direction as the throw, if possible. If the target area is enclosed by walls, the object cannot be overthrown so it automatically hits.

Attack Actions - Melee (see Combat)

• Focused: An attack in the same area that uses the weapon's standard dice pool. This is an attack that has a specific target. For the melee attacker this is the standard, cheaper attack. The dice associated with each player's weapon are predetermined. This action can be taken multiple times in a round. Melee attacks do not require ammo from the attack track. However, almost all melee attacks must come from the same area as the target.
• Sweeping: An attack in the same area that converts all the LDd8 to CDd8. This attack is more expensive. This attack targets each OpFor in the area. The dice associated with each player's weapon are predetermined. This action can be taken multiple times in a round. Melee attacks do not use an ammo from the attack track. However, almost all melee attacks must come from the same area as the target.
• Assault: An attack in the same area that is more expensive and stronger than a Focused attack. This attack has a specific target, but can be performed multiple times.

Attack Actions - Reserve

Reserve Actions: Allows the MERCS to perform a SINGLE reaction attack if OpFor appear, are revealed, move into LoS and range or before they attack. Reaction attacks cannot be performed if the MERC has no ammo on the attack track.

When a player decides to take a reserve action, he must also pick a direction: orange or white. He can only take reaction attacks in the direction that he is facing. When a direction is selected, make sure the miniature in the building is facing the same direction to avoid confusion.

• Spray & Pray: A single attack that initiates upon the appearance of security forces AND employees. This is the cheaper and less careful of the reserve actions. Reserve actions take place ONCE only. When the reserve action is activated move the ammo counter on the attack track one to the left unless a weapon specifically states otherwise. If a player kills an employee with a reserve action, make sure to give that player an employee KIA token. This token raises the player's priority by one in the Refresh phase.
• Selective: A single attack that initiates upon the appearance of security forces ONLY. Using this reserve action allows the player to choose who he attacks. The player can even choose not to attack an area that OpFor has moved into if it contains both employees and OpFor. Reserve actions take place ONCE only. When the reserve action is activated move the ammo counter on the attack track one to the left.

Combined Actions

• Attack & Move: Allows MERCS to act simultaneously. One member moves three areas. The other member must perform one sweeping attack.
• Duck & Cover: Allows the two MERCS involved in the action to manipulate their location on the priority track.
• Breach & Clear: Initiates a Breach & Clear action. Relocate all MERCS involved to the B&C tile. Players may choose whatever B&C tile they own to represent the B&C. However, all B&C tiles have special rules that must be followed, so players should choose wisely.

Reserve Action Example

The CCC Gunner, suspecting the red agent token in the office near him might move into LoS the next round, ended his activation by going on a spray & pray reserve action. During the Agent phase, the movement card directs the red agent to move into LoS of the Gunner. After all the other agents have moved, a single event card is drawn for all the agents that are in LoS. Being security level 2, the red agent is converted into 2 workers. Ouch!

Whether he wants to or not, the Gunner MUST attack the 2 innocent employees that have just appeared in LoS, because he is on a Spray & Pray reserve action. If he would have been on a selective reserve action, he could decide to fire or not. He gathers his dice based off the spray & pray dice pool, and reluctantly attacks. He rolls 3 successes, including 1 collateral damage.

Both workers are killed AND the area takes enough collateral damage to warrant a collateral damage disc to be placed. Additionally, the Gunner takes an employee KIA token and places it on his player board.

Attack & Move Example

The CCC Leader is facing 2 SecFor III, and needs some backup. The closest assist is the CCC Demo three areas away. The Demo has a total of 4 CP to use this round. The Demo can absolutely reach the Leader and help attack the OpFor during his own turn, but he could only manage one attack and completely deplete his command points.

The Leader suggests using an attack & move combined action to help the Demo get over to him easier. The Leader uses 2 CP and gets to attack, which is what he was going to do anyway. The Demo spends only 1 CP, and gets to move 3 areas, taking him into the same area as the Leader with more CP to spend on attacks.

The Leader must attack with a sweeping attack. He collects his dice and rolls. He scores 2 success, but no collateral damage. He lowers his attack counter one. The SecFor III rolls his 1 armor and gets a shield, so only takes 1 blood. After the attack is resolved, the Demo moves 3 areas into the same area as the Leader.

Not quite comfortable with the situation, the Leader spends another CP to go on a spray & pray reserve action. This way, if the Demo is able to take care of it, they are ready for the next round. If the Demo fails to kill both of the SecFor III, the Leader will have an opportunity to take them out before they attack.

On the Demo's turn, he spends 1 CP to throw a frag grenade. He rolls a burst, so the grenade stays in the target area. It causes 3 auto collateral damage to both SecFor III and the area, in addition to any successes rolled on the CDd8. He rolls 2 more bursts bringing his total damage to 5. There is no way the SecFor can soak that much damage, so they are moved to the casualty pool. The amount of collateral damage also forces the players to place a CDD in the area where the grenade went off.

Duck & Cover Example

The Demo still has a couple CP left. He could pass, having done quite a bit, but he knows his priority will continue to rise. He doesn't really want to be the focus of an entire OpFor army. He asks if the Leader wants to do a duck & cover combined action. The Leader has fairly low priority and has been careful with his CP, so agrees.

It doesn't matter if the Leader's turn is finished: combined actions allow players to perform actions outside their turns. The Leader's turn is still over. Neither he nor the Demo will get to activate again based off their new priority location. The turn order tokens dictate turn order within a round, and are redistributed in the Refresh phase.

Both the Leader and the Demo spend 1 CP. The Leader increases his priority by 1. The Demo decreases his priority by 3. Afterwards, the Demo passes.

The Leader and the Demo were able to do much more together through combined actions than they would have if they would have acted independently of each other. Combined actions allow players to do more if used wisely.

Reserve Actions (Detail)

Reserve actions allow MERCS to escape the confines of their phase. Reserve actions are taken and paid for during the MERCS phase, but activate during the OpFor phase. A MERC who has taken a reserve action can attack the OpFor that has appeared or moved into range or before the target gets to attack.

Reserve actions allow MERCS to attack once. Reserve actions are pre-emptive attacks. If a reserve action is not used during the OpFor phase, then it is removed.

• Spray & Pray: The Spray & Pray reserve action is a must action. Regardless of who appears, security forces or employees, the MERC on this reserve action must attack.
• Selective: The Selective reserve action is a may action. Regardless of who appears, the MERC on this reserve action can choose if he attacks. He can choose to not attack the first potential target in order to attack a later target (if the situation develops). However, if he chooses to pass on a target, he cannot come back later (for instance, if another target doesn't develop) and attack the target he passed on.
• Melee: Melee reserve actions are special. Players with melee characters should refer to the player board for specifics. However, all melee reserve actions are must actions. Additionally, they often have some type of movement associated with them. For this reason, melee reserve actions should be taken more cautiously than ranged reserve actions. It is easy to get too aggressive and find yourself in the middle of a pack of angry SecFor.

Combined Actions (Detail)

Typically, players cannot act together. One player must complete his turn and pass before the next player can act. However, there are a few actions that can be performed simultaneously. These "combined actions" have member requirements and higher CP costs (though those costs are shared by all team members).

Attack & Move

Two MERCS must spend a total of 3 CP (each MERC involved in the action must spend at least 1 CP). The participating members must be within 3 areas of each other.

This combined action allows a MERC with a lower priority to move at the same time another MERC is attacking. The Attack & Move combined action is not limited to a specific circumstance, order, or location. It can be used to move into a better position or to avoid friendly fire, before the attack takes place. Participants of the combined action can fire then move, or move then fire.

Duck & Cover

Two MERCS must spend a total of 2 CP (each member must spend at least 1 CP). The participating members must be within 2 areas of each other.

This is a purely defensive combined action. The D&C combined action lowers one MERC's priority while raising another's. The "ducking" MERC's priority is reduced by 3. The "covering" MERC increases his priority by 1. Additionally, the "ducking" MERC receives one bonus soak d8 during the next OpFor phase.

Breach & Clear

A Breach & Clear happens when the MERCS must enter a room with an objective, agent, or OpFor. Three MERCS must spend a total of 7 CP (each member must spend at least 1 CP). The participating members must be in the same area as the door being breached. Any MERCS or OpFor orthogonally adjacent to the MERCS breaching are pulled into the B&C event.

Example: The 3 breaching MERCS must spend a combined 7 CP because they are together in the same tile. An employee adjacent to the breaching MERCS is added to the B&C. A SecFor 1 in the room being breached is also added to the B&C. Another MERC does not have to spend any CP; he is adjacent to the breaching MERCS and is pulled into the B&C event. A worker who is not adjacent to the breaching MERCS is not pulled into the B&C event. Unaffected MERCS stay out.

Breach and Clear Tile

1. Damage Track: This track counts OpFor and MERCS damage. Place the MERCS Counter and OpFor Counter on the 0 value at the start of a B&C.
2. Damage threshold: Potential damage each MERC receives at the end of a B&C.
3. Objective position: Place the objective token identified on the mission card for the associated B&C.
4. Melee requirements: How many bursts are needed for a successful attack.
5. OpFor positions: OpFor are placed based off of the requirements for the B&C on the mission card. Each circle's color represents the dice color added to the OpFor attack dice pool: black = CDd8, yellow = LDd8, and red = HDd8. The number below each circle is the value of the position. OpFor locations can be single numbers, colors, and/or part of a grouping. B&C tiles vary in location colors and values. Follow the directive based off of your B&C tile.
6. Collateral Track: This track counts collateral damage. Place the Collateral Counter on the 0 value at the beginning of a B&C. If the first value is reached add a CDD to the B&C room. If the second value is reached the objective is destroyed, and the MERCS lose.
7. Special Rules: If a B&C tile has special rules they can be found here.
8. MERCS starting positions: MERCS are placed in order based off of Priority.

Setup

The B&C combined action is further emphasized as it takes place on a unique tile with special rules. Players may choose whatever B&C tile they own to represent the B&C. In B&C situations, MERCS are limited to their cheapest CP attack and any B&C actions associated with their weapons.

A B&C encounter takes place over one round. Game play in the building is "paused" until the B&C is resolved. Place the MERCS into the circles on the B&C tile labeled M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5 based off of priority. The highest priority MERC involved in the B&C should be placed in M1. The lowest priority MERCS should be placed in the "M" location equal to number of MERCS in the B&C event. If priority is tied among two or more MERCS, then the players with the same priority decide which M# location they fill.

Place the OpFor in the defending positions based off the mission card or the non-objective based setup below. Mission cards inform players where to place OpFor based off numbers or circle color.

OpFor placed in a B&C can be any miniature the players wish because stats are not used in a B&C. However, it is suggested that the miniatures reflect the severity of the B&C event. Additionally, just like MERCS, OpFor from adjacent areas to the breaching MERCS outside the B&C room are pulled into the B&C. Agents inside the breached room are converted to employees: one employee per agent present. OpFor in the room are added to the B&C. OpFor added in this way are placed in the highest open defending positions. If there are no positions available, then the MERCS immediately take 1 blood per OpFor and agent unable to be placed. This damage cannot be soaked.

Non-Objective Associated Breach

If the MERCS cause a B&C by entering a room with an agent or OpFor, but the B&C is NOT associated with an objective, then the B&C is populated with a STANDARD setup. Place an OpFor on the lowest black and the two highest yellow.

Any agents or OpFor in the room are placed in addition to the standard setup, per B&C rules. Don't forget to add the agent or OpFor from the room (and any adjacent areas to breaching MERCS).

Actions within the B&C

The B&C combined action takes place on a unique tile with special rules. Remember, B&C events happen over one round, so each MERC will only receive one activation. In B&C situations, MERCS start with two choices: attack or take cover.

MERCS do NOT use CP in B&C situations. The CP spent to enter the B&C covers all MERCS attacks. However, MERCS may spend CP to perform Corporate Abilities during a B&C. The MERC choosing to do this must have CP to spend.

Cover: If a MERC takes cover, there must be an open yellow cover location with no OpFor present. This uses the MERCS activation during the B&C. MERCS may take cover even if there is an OpFor adjacent to the open cover location. If a MERC takes cover, then all other MERCS that attack after cover is taken, gain a LDd8. This effect is cumulative. Additionally, in the B&C event's resolution, MERCS who have taken cover receive one less damage than shown on the damage tracker.

Attack: If a MERC attacks, he is limited to his cheapest CP attack which does not cost additional CP. MERCS must have at least one available attack to cause damage in a B&C. Excessive force and employee KIA tokens are NOT earned during a B&C. However, having an attack is not required to enter a B&C, because the MERC can take cover, providing an additional LDd8 to his fellow MERCS. Ranged attacks and melee attacks have different effects in a B&C event.

MERCS may instead use their Breach & Clear special ability to modify or replace their existing attack. Each B&C ability has specific rules covered on each MERCS player board.

Ranged: Ranged attacks add damage to the damage track. MERCS' successes are tracked on the damage track (the outside of the B&C tile) using the MERCS counter. Bursts are considered to be successes. MERCS' damage builds with each MERCS ranged attack. When the MERCS counter is equal to or higher than a defender location, the OpFor in that location is removed (and that d8 is removed from the OpFor attacking dice pool). OpFor killed in a B&C are not added to the casualty pool.

Additionally, MERCS collateral damage is added to both the damage track AND the collateral damage track. This special track informs the MERCS when they need to add a CDD to the building and if the objective is destroyed causing the MERCS to lose.

Melee: Melee attacks do NOT add damage to the damage track. Melee attackers select a target by location, then roll his or her attack dice. If the roll has equal to or higher successes (bursts) than the location rating, then that target is removed. Damage is not added to the damage track, but the OpFor attack dice pool is reduced by the level of d8 associated with the location cleared.

Each MERC succeeding at taking a yellow or higher location also grants the cover bonus to the remaining attacking MERCS. This cover bonus is cumulative if more than one MERC gains cover.

Melee dice results requirements: Black = 1 success; Yellow = 2 successes; Red = 3 successes.

OpFor Counterattack: In-between each MERC's activation, the OpFor roll their complete attack dice pool. This dice pool is populated by locations inhabited by OpFor. OpFor successes are tracked on the damage track using the OpFor counter. Bursts are considered to be successes, though OpFor collateral damage is NOT added to the damage of the room. Each location represents a type of damage d8. As long as an OpFor is present in a location, then the OpFor receive that d8 in counter-attack.

Victory

The winner of a B&C event is the team (MERCS or OpFor) that has the most successes at the end of the event. If the MERCS have equal to or higher successes than the OpFor at the end of the B&C (and they haven't destroyed the objective), then the MERCS win the encounter.

Defeat

If the MERCS have fewer successes than the OpFor at the end of the B&C, then they lose the B&C event and those MERCS involved are killed.

The MERCS also lose if they destroy the objective unless stated otherwise by a mission. This happens if the counter on the collateral damage track hits the objective destroyed value for the mission or 10 on typical B&C events.

Aftermath

Remove all the MERCS and OpFor from the B&C tile. If the building on the main structure needs a CDD added, then place a CDD in the area. MERCS who paid CP for the B&C action are placed in the room. MERCS who were pulled into the B&C event are placed in the area outside the room.

Any OpFor remaining are removed from the building, but NOT added to the casualty pool.

Additionally, the final location of the OpFor counter on the damage track communicates how much damage each MERCS must soak or take as damage. This damage is resolved after the tile is finished. If a MERC took cover during the B&C, he would receive one less blood.

Any MERCS that are killed in a B&C are removed from the game.

Breach & Clear Example

KemVar is in the first B&C event of their mission card. There are 4 KemVar MERCS involved in this B&C with the following priority: Leader 6, Heavy 5, Shock Trooper 4, Assassin 2. The Leader is placed on M1. The Heavy is placed on M2. The Shock Trooper is placed on M3, and the Assassin in M4.

The players reference the mission card drawn at the beginning during setup. It tells them that an OpFor is placed "on all positions 12". This means that they will place a miniature on all the circles, regardless of color, 12 and below. In this case, it means on the black circles 2 and 4, AND the yellow circles 6, 8, 10, and 12. This is the B&C tile, correctly set up with the MERCS and OpFor. The MERCS, OpFor, and collateral damage counters are in their starting positions at 0.

Leader's sweeping attack: The Leader goes first. His sweeping attack results in 3 successes. Move the MERCS damage counter to 3. This meets or exceeds the value associated with the OpFor on the black 2 position, so this OpFor is considered killed and removed immediately.

OpFor attack (end of activation 1): Originally their attack dice pool consisted of 2 CDd8, 4 LDd8, and 1 HDd8 (from the Administrator). However, because the Leader did enough damage to remove the OpFor in the black 2 position, the OpFor dice pool is down 1 CDd8. Additionally, corporate abilities may affect the B&C event, especially KemVar's Active Camo. Active Camo in this case converts the Administrator's 1 HDd8 to 1 LDd8 and removes one LDd8. After all the changes, the OpFor rolls 1 CDd8 and 4 LDd8. They roll 2 successes.

Heavy's B&C attack: Next up is the KemVar Heavy. He does a lot of collateral damage, but doesn't have to worry about destroying the objective, so decides to use his Breach & Clear ability. His total dice pool is 7 CDd8 and 1 Auto Collateral damage. He rolls 3 successes and brings his total, with his auto collateral damage, to 4. This increases the total damage done to the OpFor on the damage track to 7, and forces the removal of the black 4 and the yellow 6. The collateral damage counter is also increased to 4.

OpFor attack (end of activation 2): The OpFor is now in major trouble. Only two MERCS in and their dice pool is down to 3 LDd8: 3 LDd8 for 8, 10, and 12. The Administrator's HDd8 is converted and removed for KemVar's active camo. They roll, and get 1 burst, which increases their damage counter from 2 to 3.

Shock Trooper's B&C attack: The Shock Trooper performs her special B&C attack on the 12. This is unique to her. She does not need to roll any attack dice to succeed at this. She pushes the OpFor 12 to the already passed 2 black location. This causes his immediate removal. OpFor only roll 2 LDd8 now, but manages one success (end of activation 3).

Assassin's B&C attack: The Assassin rolls his dice pool of 2 HDd8 and 2 LDd8. He scores 3 successes, easily killing the OpFor in the 10 spot with a melee attack. There are only two OpFor now. However, the Administrator won't get to add her dice to the attack because of KemVar's active camo. This leaves just 1 LDd8. The SecFor I misses, and KemVar wins the B&C.

Aftermath: KemVar did not cause enough collateral damage to place a CDD in the office. They remove their miniatures from the B&C, and place the Leader, Heavy, and Shock Trooper in the office they just breached. The Assassin is placed outside the office in the hallway.

The final total for the OpFor was 4, just barely enough to cause 1 blood. Each KemVar present in the B&C now makes a soak roll to negate the single blood of damage caused by the B&C. However, the Shock Trooper and the Assassin both ended up in cover (yellow positions), so they don't even need to make a soak roll. Their cover reduces the potential 1 damage to 0.

The Leader rolls his soak but doesn't get any shields, so marks a damage on his blood track. The Heavy, on the other hand, rolls a shield so successfully mitigates the damage.

Finally, the players immediately increase the security level because they successfully completed a secondary objective. They also refer to the mission card to set up the next step of the mission.

Quick Reference

Revealed Objectives: If the MERCS have revealed a non-objective location and no agents or OpFor are present in the room, then no B&C is required to enter the area.

Interact effects of locations:

• Server: The MERC that interacts with this location may reveal one hidden location anywhere in the building.
• Power Core: The MERC that interacts with this location performs the Reload action for free, restores 2 immediately, and can act again.
• Robot Arm: The MERC that interacts with this location and any MERC in the same area as this location restores 2 blood immediately.
• Safe: In the next B&C, if the MERC that interacted with the safe is present, OpFor are forced to reroll successes from one attack once.
• Open Terminal: No employee KIA or excessive force tokens are earned for the remainder of the phase for all MERCS.
• Weapon Rack: In the next B&C, any one MERC in an M position may reroll all his misses.

The Quick Reference page also repeats the Game Round outline and the Command Point Actions table given above.