Outlive: Underwater Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Adding the New Contents
• Underwater Base
• Setup
• Action Descriptions
  • X-Space Action (2 Collection Points)
  • X-Space Action (4 Collection Points)
  • Unlock Robot Action
  • Vegetable Action (2 Collection Points)
  • Robot Collect Action (1 Collection Point)
  • Scientist Action (1 Collection Point)
  • Repair Action (3 Collection Points)
• Explanations
  • Toolbox
  • Harpoon
  • Conrad Bordage (Diver, 34 years old)
  • Room Tile (Robot Strength: +1)
  • Swarm of Insects (Event, corner value 4)
  • Acid Rain (Event, corner value 3)
• Solo Mode
  • Setup
  • Horde Cards
  • Gameplay
    • Phase 1: Dawn
    • Phase 2: Day
  • The 4 Basic Rules of the Horde
    • Phase 3: Night
  • Horde Board Rules Summary
• End of the Game
• Tips

Contents

• 1 main board
• 4 Robot meeples
• 1 Leader card (Conrad Bordage, Diver, 34 years old)
• 1 Vegetable token
• 4 Equipment tiles
• 24 Scientist tokens
• 2 Event cards
• 2 Room tiles
• 1 Horde board
• 8 Horde cards

Your expansion contains a pair of alternative Rooms with a different cutout, to allow you to insert miniatures. Play with this pair of Rooms if you have the Kickstarter version of Outlive with miniatures. Otherwise, use the other pair of Rooms provided with this expansion. For the best game balance, do not play with both of these pairs of Rooms at the same time.

Your Underwater expansion also contains the components to play Outlive solo (see Solo Mode).

Adding the New Contents

Replace the main board from the base game with the one from Underwater. Add all of the other components from Underwater to the contents of the base game. In case you wish to sort out the components later, there is a little water-drop symbol on the Underwater components.

Underwater Base

Underwater adds a new Location to the main board: the Underwater Base. This is connected by a path to each of the 2 cities on the board: Silent Peak and Blackwood. Although the Base comprises 5 green frames, the entire Submarine Base [sic] counts as a single Location. When a Hero goes there, place it in the hexagonal central frame. The usual movement rules apply to moving to or from this Location.

Example: On her turn, Ariane chooses to move her Strength-4 Hero from the Forest to the Underwater Base.

Due to the instability of these locations, the clans have agreed to a tacit truce in this Location. Therefore, Pressure never applies in the Underwater Base, regardless of Equipment or Room special abilities.

This location offers a large selection of collection actions. You can spend a number of Collection Points here equal to the Strength of your Hero on this Location. You can spend the Collection Points on the actions described below.

Remember: Munitions only serve to reduce the Endurance of Wild Game, and to defend against Pressure. You cannot use Munitions to increase your Collection Points.

Setup

Set up as usual according to the Outlive rulebook. Then, place the Robot meeples on their locations on the main board (use only the colors of players in the game; return the unused colors to the box).

Place the Vegetable token on its location.

Create a reserve of Scientist tokens beside the board.

Example of a 3-player setup.

Action Descriptions

X-Space Action (2 Collection Points)

You can only use this action if the X space is empty. Spend 2 Collection Points to place your Hero on the X space. This enables you to reduce your Radioactivity gauge 1 step, then increase each opponent's gauge 1 step. You can continue to spend your Collection Points on this action, if you have any left, but you cannot place your Hero on another X spaces this turn.

X-Space Action (4 Collection Points)

You can only use this action if the X space is empty. Spend 4 Collection Points to place your Hero on the X space. This enables you to reduce your Radioactivity gauge 1 step, then increase each opponent's gauge 2 steps. You can continue to spend your Collection Points on this action, if you have any left, but you cannot place your Hero on another X spaces this turn.

Unlock Robot Action

You can only use this action if you have not yet unlocked your Robot. Spend 1 Collection Point, 1 Wood, 1 Metal, 1 Microchip and increase your Radioactivity Gauge 1 step to place the Robot meeple of your color in the central frame of the Underwater Base, in an Idle state (lying down). Your Robot is now considered like your 5th Hero, and can be used as soon as this turn. This is the only moment in which 2 of your Heroes can be in the same Location. From now on, your Robot must end all its moves on a location in which you do not already have a Hero. The Robot obeys the same movement rules as your other Heroes. Your Robot never suffers from nor applies Pressure, regardless of Equipment and Room special abilities. The Robot has a Strength of 2 for collecting.

Vegetable Action (2 Collection Points)

You can only use this action if the Vegetable token is present on the board. Spend 2 Collection Points to claim the Vegetable token. You can use this token in step 2 of the Night phase to completely feed one Room, or in step 4 to recruit 1 Survivor. In each Dawn phase, the Vegetable token must return to the board, whether it was used or not.

Example: Benoit must feed the Survivors in his Airlock and in 2 Rooms. He discards 1 Water for the Airlock, 1 Water and 1 Meat or [sic] the Room on the left, and the Vegetable to feed all the Survivors in the Room on the right.

Robot Collect Action (1 Collection Point)

Spend 1 Collection Point to make your Robot take a Collect action on its current location, with a Strength of 1. You can only use this action if your Robot is already Activated (standing). You cannot reuse this action this turn.

Scientist Action (1 Collection Point)

Spend 1 Collection Point to collect a Scientist token. Immediately place this Scientist token on a free space of your Airlock or one of your Built Rooms. You cannot reuse this action this turn. The Scientists are considered Survivors. As such, each one is worth 1 SP at the end of the game. In addition, each Scientist can double the point earned by 1 complete Equipment symbol at the end of the game. Simply count your Scientists, and count the number of Equipment symbols you completed; add the smaller value to your final score.

Example: At the end of the game, Christopher has 4 Scientists, and his Equipment has allowed him to form 2 complete Symbols. His Scientists are considered Survivors, thus earning him 4 SP according to the usual rules. The Scientists' ability adds 2 SP (the smaller of 4 and 2) to his final score.

Repair Action (3 Collection Points)

Spend 3 Collection Points. Immediately repair a broken Equipment in your possession without paying its repair cost. You cannot reuse this action this turn.

Explanations

Toolbox

Once repaired, this Equipment grants 1 additional Collection Point to your Hero in the Underwater Base.

Harpoon

Once repaired, this Equipment lets you collect a free Meat when one of your Heroes is in the Underwater Base.

Conrad Bordage (Diver, 34 years old)

During setup, place your Heroes on the Dam, Silent Peak, and the Fairgrounds. You start the game with a Scientist, which you place in your Airlock or your Built Room, in addition to your usual 4 Survivors. Also collect a Water token and the Toolbox Equipment (broken).

Room Tile (Robot Strength: +1)

As soon as this Room is completely filled with Survivors and/or Scientists, your Robot has a Strength of 3, instead of 2 (from now on, it can be placed on the Cargo Ship, without needing to use the Grappling Hook Equipment).

Swarm of Insects (Event, corner value 4)

Card text: Remove the visible Wild Game tile with the greatest Endurance from the board.

Cost (icons on the card): 2 Munitions, 1 Wood, 1 Metal, 2 Microchips.

Look at the Wild Game tiles visible atop the 3 stacks; remove the one with the highest Endurance. If several are tied, the first player chooses which of them is removed.

Acid Rain (Event, corner value 3)

Card text: Remove 1 Water token from the Dam and flip the Anti-Radiation Algae token to its unavailable side.

Cost (icons on the card): 2 Wood, 2 Metal, 1 Microchip.

At the end of Phase 1: Dawn, remove 1 Water from the Dam Location, and flip the Anti-Radiation Algae token to its unavailable side.

Solo Mode

In the Great Outdoors lives a group of strange survivors: the Horde. These are survivors that are very different from the others. They are some of those rare people whose genes have mutated. This allows them to live in the open air, without any fear of radiation. They have strength and endurance superior to other humans, but their caloric needs are lower. Despite this, nobody wants them. What little humanity and empathy we still have seems to dry up around them. So we keep our distance from the Horde, and avoid crossing their path…

When you play in Solo mode, you play against the Horde. The rules below will show you how to manage them and calculate their Survival Points.

The Horde does not need Shelter: They live in their camp in the Great Outdoors. They are, however, terrified of the water, and can never visit the Underwater Base. At the beginning of each of their turns, they draw a Horde card that indicates in which Location one of their Idle Heroes will try to go. If this move is not possible, the card indicates other Locations in decreasing priority. So, you will never know where the Horde will be next. Therefore, you should focus on your own priorities so you never run out of Resources, or find succumb to the Pressure of the Horde.

As a human player, you follow the normal rules of the game.

Setup

As a human player, do the normal setup for yourself.

Shuffle the 8 Horde cards to form a face-down deck in front of you.

Do not place the Horde's Heroes on the main board during setup. They will arrive during the first turn, on the Locations indicated by the Horde card they draw. For subsequent turns, the Horde will move from Location to Location according the normal movement rules.

The game can commence. Like a normal game, it lasts 6 turns, during each of which you alternate between your Heroes and the Horde's Heroes.

The Horde starts the game with 4 Survivors, 2 Water, 1 Munition and 3 random Equipment (broken). Place the Survivors and Resources on the Horde board in the corresponding spaces, and the broken Equipment face up to the left of the Horde board.

The Horde board's spaces are labelled Setup 1 to Setup 4. Setup 1 is the top-right space (Munition), Setup 2 is the top-left space (Water), Setup 3 is the broken Equipment area on the left edge (Max 4), and Setup 4 is the large lower space (Survivors). The board's right edge is labelled Fixed Equipment; the printed setup gives no step for it.

The Horde has Heroes of the following Strengths, depending on the difficulty level you choose:

• Normal: 3 / 3 / 4 / 5
• Difficult: 3 / 4 / 4 / 5
• Nightmare: 3 / 4 / 5 / 5

For the Horde's Hero pawns, simply use Heroes that are not your color.

Horde Cards

Each Horde card is titled "Horde's Priority" and lists the 8 Locations in priority order, numbered 1 to 8. Each line shows a Location, then its Primary Objective and, after a slash, its Secondary Objective. The printed diagram labels the card as follows: "Priority of this Horde Hero destination", "Location", and "Primary Objective / Secondary Objective".

The Horde card shown in the printed diagram (p. 6) is the same card as the top card of the stack illustrated on p. 2. In that card, the order is:

1. Cargo Ship: Canned Goods + Survivor
2. Fairgrounds: Microchip / Meat
3. Forest: Wood / Meat
4. Hunting Ground: Meat / Microchip, Wood, Metal (listed together, with no operator printed)
5. Dam: Water
6. Military Base: Anti-Radiation Algae / Munitions
7. City: Equipment tile / Search tiles (the second icon is a stack of Search tiles)
8. Mine: Metal / Meat

The Example on p. 7 uses a second card, shown in full in the printed "Horde's Priority" card:

1. Forest: Wood / Meat
2. Hunting Ground: Meat / Microchip, Wood, Metal (listed together, with no operator printed)
3. Dam: Water
4. Military Base: Anti-Radiation Algae / Munitions
5. City: Equipment tile / Search tiles
6. Mine: Metal / Meat
7. Cargo Ship: Canned Goods + Survivor
8. Fairgrounds: Microchip / Meat

The printed rulebook does not reproduce the other six Horde cards in full. The stack illustration on p. 2 shows only the eighth line of each of those cards. Their full priority orders are not in this text, so use the physical Horde cards for them.

Gameplay

Phase 1: Dawn

Replenish the board as if it were a normal 2-player game.

Phase 2: Day

The Horde always goes first.

Each time the Horde must move a Hero, draw a Horde card. Whenever the Horde deck is empty (at the start of turns 3 and 5), reshuffle the 8 discarded Horde cards to form a new deck.

Move an Idle Hero to the first Location indicated on the card, respecting the movement rules.

If there are several possible Locations and/or several Heroes that can reach them, choose the weakest Hero capable of taking the action, and move it to the nearest accessible corresponding Location.

If the Location is inaccessible (to far [sic], or already occupied by a Horde Hero) or if there are no no longer [sic] any of the Primary Objective or Secondary Objective, move on to the next accessible Location, following the Priority Order on the card.

Example: It is the Horde's turn to move. You draw a Horde card, and it indicates the Forest as the 1st choice; but the Forest is too far for the Horde's Idle Heroes. The 2nd choice indicates a Hunting Location, but the only one accessible (the Mine) is already occupied by a Hero. The 3rd choice indicates the Dam, and this is the first move actually possible. The Horde thus moves its Idle Hero 4 to the Dam. If there had been no Water at the Dam, you would have needed to look at the next choice on the Horde card.

When it arrives in a Location, the Horde Hero applies Pressure to your Hero (if there is one there) according to the normal rules.

Then, it receives the Resource, Equipment, or Wild Game it seeks, like a normal player, even using any Repaired Equipment Bonuses the Horde has (remember: the Bonus is only applicable once per turn).

The Hero always collects the Primary Objective if it can, and to the maximum of its Actions. It collects the Secondary Objective if/when there are no more Primary Objectives left, using the rest of its Actions.

Clarifications on the Horde actions

• The Location is the priority for the move. Even if the Primary Objective is exhausted, as long as the Secondary Objective is still available, the Hero moves to the Location.
• A Horde Hero always uses as many of its Actions as it can. If it has any Actions remaining after collecting its Primary Objective, and it can collect any of its Secondary Objective, it does.
• If the Horde must choose between the two Cities, they choose the one that provides broken Equipment that has symbols that would complete the symbols on their repaired or broken Objects. If the Hero arrives at a City, and there is no more Equipment available there, or the Horde already has its maximum of 4 broken Objects, or it still has actions left after collecting Equipment, it takes as many Search tiles as it can with the rest of its actions.
• If the Horde must choose between several Hunting Locations, they move their weakest Hero to the Location with the highest-Endurance Wild Game that it can hunt, using any or all of their Munitions.

The 4 Basic Rules of the Horde

The Horde functions differently than the other clans, and here are the 4 immutable rules that govern it:

• 1/ The Horde never pays the activation cost of the Dam (radioactive Water is no problem for them).
• 2/ The Horde immediately exchanges the Algae from the Military Base and each anti-radiation pill found in the Cities for a new Survivor (the pills allow the Horde to keep its newborns alive).
• 3/ The Horde can never have more than 4 broken Equipment. As soon as the limit of 4 is reached, the Horde will favor Search tiles over Equipment tiles in the Cities.
• 4/ The Horde never suffers from Pressure, but they will apply Pressure to you.

Phase 3: Night

The Horde has a different Night phase from you. During this phase, they perform the following steps in order (they always do everything to the maximum of their abilities):

1/ Overcome Events: They always favor the one worth the most points. The Horde is always the 1st player.

2/ Feed Survivors: They discard 1 Supply per 2 Survivors, rounded down. If they do not have enough Supplies, they discard 1 Survivor token per missing Supply.

3/ Recruit New Survivors: They discard 1 Supply to recruit 1 new Survivor. They repeat this operation until they are out of Supplies or they have 7 new Survivors, whichever comes first.

4/ Repair Equipment: They favor reconstructing the symbols.

Unlike you, the Horde can store unlimited Supplies.

At the end of the 6th turn, the game ends, and the clan who obtained the most Survival Points is declared the victor. Your point scale is the same as for a normal game.

Horde Board Rules Summary

The Horde board repeats the rules in brief. Its printed text is transcribed here as it appears.

Day: On the Horde's turn, draw the top card of the Horde Deck and move one of the Horde's inactive Heroes to the first Location indicated on the card. If no inactive Heroes can reach that Location, the player must send them to the second Location indicated on the card and so on until a Location can be reached.

Note:

• The Horde is always the first player.
• The Horde cannot be pressured, but puts Pressure on other players.
• The Horde never pays Microchips at the Dam.
• The Horde uses neither Anti-Radiation pills nor Anti-Radiation Algae, but gains new Survivors instead.
• The Horde cannot possess more than 4 broken Equipment tiles at the same time.

Night:

• The Horde doesn't act during steps 3 to 5 of the Night phase.
• Resolve Events (starting with the Event with the most SP – the Horde is always the first player).
• Feed Survivors: 1 Supply token for every 2 Survivors (rounded down).
• Recruit new Survivors: 1 Supply token for each Survivor (with a maximum of 7 per Night phase).
• Fix Equipment (starting with those that allow the Horde to complete symbols).

Survival Points (SP) Count:

• SP from resolved Events.
• 1 SP per Fixed Equipment + 1 SP per completed symbol.
• 2 SPs per Survivor in the Horde's Tribe.

Printed discrepancy: this summary says the Horde does not act during steps 3 to 5 of the Night phase. The Phase 3: Night section above lists four steps for the Horde and says it does everything to the maximum of its abilities. Both are transcribed as printed.

End of the Game

The Horde has their own point scale. They obtain Survival Points according to:

• Events they have overcome: Count their points normally.
• Equipment repaired: Count their points normally.
• Equipment Symbols reconstructed: Count their points normally.
• Survivors present in their camp: Each Survivor is worth 2 Survival Points.

Will you be able to defeat the Horde?

Example: The Horde scores 27 SP:

• 8 Survivors in their camp = 16 SP
• 1 Event worth 3 SP overcome = 3 SP
• 6 Equipment repaired = 6 SP
• 2 Equipment symbols reconstructed = 2 SP

Tips

Because the Horde is always 1st player, they always have initiative to overcome Events. Keep an eye on the Events you wish to overcome, and deprive the Horde of as many of the Resources required for those as you can.

The Horde will score many points from their Survivors. Try to deprive them of as many Supplies as you can, so as to minimize their ability to recruit new Survivors.