Pulp City
Pulp City Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Getting Started with Pulp City!
- Chapter 1: Heroes and Villains
- Chapter 2: The Game & Action Points System
- Chapter 3: Actions
- Chapter 4: Movement Actions
- Chapter 5: Combat Actions
- Chapter 6: Conditions
- Chapter 7: Supreme Powers
- Chapter 8: Skills
- Chapter 9: Battle for Pulp City
- Chapter 10: The Resource Pool
- Chapter 10 (continued): Minions
- Chapter 10 (continued): Creating Your Own Minions
- Universal Resources
- Generic Devices
- Generic Artifacts
- Generic Misc
- Chapter 11: Encounters, Plots & Agendas
- Citizens
- Agendas
- Glossary
- Errata
- Chapter XX: Effects Redux (2019 official update)
- Chapter 1: Pulp City SE Core Rules Update (2022 official update)
- Chapter XX: Pulp City Optional Rules (2021 official update)
Getting Started with Pulp City!
Pulp City is a skirmish miniature game where super powered Heroes and Villains fight for the fate of Pulp City. These rules will help you recreate conflicts as small as 2 models a side as well as epic Supreme Team clashes.
If you are familiar with miniature games, Pulp City offers you a great chance to test your strategic skills by managing a team of beings with super powers. The rules always favor a player who thinks three steps ahead and manages his resources best. This is a game of Supreme personalities, so if you like playing a unique force with no rank-and-file troopers, Pulp City is for you.
If you are not familiar with miniature games, Pulp City's rules are simple and easy to learn. You will be able to master the basic rules after your first game.
What You Need to Play the Game
- An opponent who is a good sport.
- Pulp City Supreme miniatures from the starter boxes or any expansion pack (at least 2 per side) along with their corresponding Supreme cards.
- 3 or more six-sided dice (also referred to as a D6). There are times when you are required to roll a D3. Simply roll a D6 and apply the following results. 1-2 is considered a 1, a 2-3 is considered a 2 and a 5-6 is considered a 3. (Printed as shown. The Power-Up section in Chapter 5 gives the conversion as 1-2 = 1, 3-4 = 2, 5-6 = 3; that is the mapping that covers all six faces, so it is the one this file treats as the working conversion.)
- A tape measure (inches).
- A Playing Field - A 2' x 2' table with some scenery to represent Pulp City or other game locations is good for small Encounters.
- Some glass beads or coins to keep track of Action Points.
Bring on the Supreme Teams and let the battle commence!
Chapter 1: Heroes and Villains
This chapter will describe everything you need to know about the Supremes of Pulp City. Heroes and Villains are called Supremes to distinguish them from us mere humans.
The Supreme Card
Every Supreme comes with a special card or cards describing that Supreme's stats and rules. A Supreme's card includes the following information.
- Name: What this Supreme is called.
- Faction: Whether the Supreme is a Hero, a Villain, or both.
- Origins: The source of this Supreme's powers: Science, Nature or Mystery.
- Level: How powerful this Supreme is. From a lowly level 1 to a level 3 leader.
- Traits: The basic stats of this Supreme. There are 3 pairs of Traits: Strength & Defense; Energy & Agility; Mind & Spirit.
- Sub-Faction: The team this Supreme belongs to if any. Some special rules refer to Supremes of specific sub-factions.
- Skills: Abilities that a Supreme always has (see the chapter on Skills).
- Damage: The number of Damage Points this Supreme can take before becoming Incapacitated or in some cases Eliminated.
- Exclusive Action: A set of Actions that define this Supreme and can only be used by this Supreme by spending Action Points.
- Team Power: This Supreme's special rule that either builds up synergies within the team or its limits.
- Action Points Allowance: The maximum number of Action Points a Supreme may use in a Game Round.
Traits
Each Supreme is defined by six Traits. Traits are usually inborn but some of them are trained and honed through blood, sweat and tears.
Traits range in value from 0 to 10.
- 0: A Supreme does not possess that Trait for various reasons.
- 1-2: Traits developed at this level reflect the average human being.
- 3: Traits at this level reflect a skilled human being. For example a professional athlete will muster Strength of 3.
- 4-5: Now we are talking Traits at a Supreme level!
- 6-7: Call the Channel 4 News Team - One in a million will possess this kind of power!
- 8-9: Team leaders would be happy to possess at least one Trait at this level.
- 10: Followers of Darwin - run, creationist - pray!
Strength: Strength defines how hard and precise your Supreme can hit or how much he can lift. Beings with high Strength are usually warrior-like bruisers who hit first and ask questions later.
Defense: Whether it's supernatural resilience or amazing luck in absorbing enemy blows, Defense shows how skilled your miniature is at staying alive! Beings with high Defense wear heavy armor or rely on the otherworldly help to protect them from oncoming blows, or are just lucky enough to be born with bulletproof skin.
Energy: Energy is the unique ability to manipulate various kinds of energy, whether of cosmic origins or elemental sources. Sometimes just the clever use of guns and modern weapons may be enough to combat other Supremes. Beings with high Energy are powerhouses with a lot of Ranged Combat attacks.
Agility: Agility is speed and acrobatics combined. Beings with high Agility run at the speed of light and can dodge bullets.
Mind: Mind is the power of thought manifest! Mental powers that can level buildings or calm raging psychopaths are all possible. Beings with high Mind usually sport some unusual psychic powers.
Spirit: Spirit is the undying will to live. It also reflects resilience to psychic attacks and to mind control. Beings with high Spirit draw upon their religious or philosophic convictions and usually support their team members more indirectly than others.
Trump Traits
While most Supremes are smarter, stronger and more agile than humans, the key to their domination is their superiority in specific fields. Even Jacks-of-all-trades Supremes see that specialization means survival in the world of never-ending conflict.
Supremes possess one or more Trump Traits. These Traits are marked in red on their reference cards.
When making an Opposed Roll with a Trump Trait, the model may call on the power of the Trump Roll. Once per Game Round a Supreme can use a Trump Roll. First the Attacker, then the Defender, must declare the use of the Trump Roll. When using a Trump Roll the Supreme can roll one extra D6, choosing the highest one (usually out of two, but some Supremes have the ability to roll more).
If your Supreme has 2 or more Trump Traits, he or she gets a Trump Roll for each separate Trump Trait. For instance, Guerilla whose Trump Traits are Strength and Agility gets two Trump Rolls in any Round, one for Strength Opposed Roll, the other for Agility Opposed Roll.
For easy reference a used Trump Roll may be marked on the model's card by placing a token next to the Trait, or marked in some other manner that will help you remember.
Origins
The manifestation of supernatural powers is usually unpredictable and wild. On discovering the slumbering power in their children most parents panic. Only some seek out professional help. Research shows that only 21% of enhanced humans decide to use their powers for the cause of good or evil, most resort to feeding their greed or survival instinct and hide behind the mask of ordinary life.
Where do the powers come from? There can be no one answer since some powers seem to be inherited while others appear after traumatic events. Recent studies have shown that for some of them a common background may be outlined.
Each Hero and Villain comes with an Origin of his or her power. Scientists have managed to group the three most common sources, though there may be others.
- Science: Some Supremes are born where science collides with their ordinary human lives. Radiation, chemicals or toxic fumes alter the bodies and minds and push evolution toward a new frontier. Others use high-tech gadgetry to augment themselves to superhuman levels.
- Nature: Children born to minor deities of Nature or dabbling with ancient druidic powers, become Supremes of Nature that mimic the raging powers of the elements or of wild animals. Other Supremes seem to be born with these powers as if gifted by Gaia herself. Even a high tech society like Pulp City is helpless against the unchained fury of Nature.
- Mystery: The occult, divine interventions, pacts with demons or opening portals to Necroplane - these events grant common people powers beyond imagination. These powers usually come with the highest price to pay.
The Origins Triad
The Origins Triad illustrates the supremacy of certain Origins above others.
As a game effect, whenever a tie on Opposed Rolls comes up, a superior Origin is victorious and is considered to have bested their opponent's score by 1 point. If the Origins are the same, consider the attacker's Action a failure. The prevailing Supreme is determined by his/her Origin according to the following order:
- Mystery is stronger than Nature. The roots of magic are based in the ancient Nature worshiping cults. New generations of occult practitioners harness the destructive powers of Nature with mystical verses or demon granted powers. Nature and all her wonders will bow to an incantation strong enough.
- Nature is stronger than Science. Multiple cases of broken dams, villages swept by avalanches or thunderstorms plunging cities into darkness show that Science has a very limited power over Nature.
- Science is stronger than Mystery. The recent incursion of the Necroplane into Pulp City is a clear proof that Science mercilessly pushes Mystery back into the realm of children's stories. The new electronic equipment and plasma weapons are capable of interfering with magic and incorporeal beings. Sad but true - the great mysteries of old get conquered one by one.
Team Composition
For game play purposes, you have to decide whether you want to play the good guys (Heroes) or the bad guys (Villains). Simple isn't it?
Some Supremes have both Hero and Villain icons on their cards. This means that this Supreme can join either a Hero or a Villain team.
Other Supremes possess a skill called Greed. These sell-swords fight on the side that offers more gain in a given time.
Each Encounter has a level that defines the number and strength of your team. It also gives you the idea how long the game will take. Before the game, agree with your opponent on the Encounter Level. This can be as low as 3 (imagine a Hero duo chasing two dangerous Villains) to as high as 24 (imagine a massive invasion that rallies very unlikely allies).
The Encounter Level defines how many Supreme Levels you can recruit. As you have already seen on the Supreme card, each miniature has a Supreme Level of 1, 2 or 3. Level 1s are either Supreme rookies or humans with some powers that mark them as special. Level 2s are the backbone of your team, sometimes jacks-of-all-trades, most often specialized brawlers, telekinetics or blasters. Level 3s are always leaders of factions, Supreme authorities or arbiters.
A Level 3 Supreme, usually a team leader of heroic proportions or a villainous mastermind, represents a power to be reckoned with. They stand out from Level 1 and 2 characters because of their awesome Team Power. Therefore you may only have one Level 3 miniature for every complete 12 Levels of an Encounter.
Each Supreme may be recruited only once per Team. Nothing stands in the way of both opposing Teams having the same Supremes. The clash will decide who was the real deal and who was just an impostor.
To select the team mates, add up their Levels to equal the total Encounter Level following these two rules:
- In each Supreme Team there must be an equal number of Level 1 and Level 2 Supremes.
- If it is not possible because of the Encounter's Level (Level 4, 5, etc.), you may not have more than one additional Level 1 character than the total of Level 2 characters OR more than one additional Level 2 character than the total number of Level 1 characters.
Examples of Team Composition
Straight out of the Heroes starter box, a team of three Level 2 Heroes (Solar, Iron Train and Ace of Wraiths) and two Level 1 (Red Riding Hoodoo and Androida) is a perfect example of a healthy mix of 8 Supreme Levels. Adding in another Level 1 Hero to expand your team, and then a Level 3 Hero for a total of 12 Levels would be a great way expand your heroes or villains selection.
- Small Street Brawls:
- Encounter Level 3: one Lvl 1 and one Lvl 2
- Encounter Level 4: two Lvl 1 and one Lvl 2
- Encounter Level 5: one Lvl 1 and two Lvl 2
- Encounter Level 6: two Lvl 1 and two Lvl 2
- Typical Skirmish:
- Encounter Level 7: three Lvl 1 and two Lvl 2
- Encounter Level 8: two Lvl 1 and three Lvl 2
- Encounter Level 9: three Lvl 1 and three Lvl 2
- Encounter Level 10: four Lvl 1 and three Lvl 2
- Encounter Level 11: three Lvl 1 and four Lvl 2
- Major Team Clash:
- Encounter Level 12: three Lvl 1, three Lvl 2 and one Lvl 3 OR four Lvl 1 and four Lvl 2
Chapter 2: The Game & Action Points System
This chapter describes the flow of the Game Round and the basics of managing Action Points - the driving force behind your Supremes.
The Game Sequence
Your Supreme Team faces its opponent in a dynamic battle where a blow is traded for a blow. To reflect this, Pulp City uses interchanging activations. This allows you to almost instantly react to the enemy's Actions.
Every Encounter consists of a number of Game Rounds that follow the sequence:
- ACTION POOL calculation
- EFFECTS
- STARTING ROLL
- GAME TURNS
- END OF THE GAME ROUND
Action Pool
Imagine that the Action Pool represents your Team's motivation, determination and the will to act. The better organized your Supremes are, the better leader, the bigger the Action Pool is. Thus your Team has more acting potential.
The Action Pool decides how much can be done in one Round. The outcome of previous Rounds affects the current size of the Action Pool.
When your model Activates in a Game Turn, Action Points are spent from the Action Pool. The more sophisticated and complicated the Action is, the higher its cost. For instance, walking a short distance might cost a mere Action Point, while calling on a meteor swarm in the act of the elemental command may cost half a dozen Action Points.
Any Hero or Villain on your side may use the Action Points from your pool; up to their individual limit (Action Points Allowance).
Calculating Your Action Pool
For each Supreme Level in your team (of models still on the field and not Incapacitated) take 2 Action Points. Add an extra 2, plus any modifications that come from skills, actions or any other game effects.
Two Heroes and Villains players decide to play a small skirmish between Supreme duos thus they agree on Encounter Level 3. A Hero player fields Ace of Wraiths (Level 2) and Androida (Level 1). His starting Action Pool is 3 Levels x 2 + 2 Action Points. Ace and Androida have 8 Action Points to use in the first Round.
The calculation is done as the very first step every Game Round (with some rare effects happening before).
The easiest way to mark the flow of Action Points from the Pool is to use tokens which are moved from the Pool next to your Supreme cards. Whenever a Supreme takes an Action, the cost of it (in tokens) is taken from the Pool and placed next to the miniature's card. You can always mark the current state of the Action Pool on a multi sided die.
Modifying AP Allowance: Certain game effects will modify your Supreme's AP (Action Points) while all of these effects stack, there is a limit. No Supreme may have its AP value increased by more points than his or her current Supreme Level. Apebot may benefit from Fix: Energy Transfer (+2 AP) but since its Supreme Level is 2, Rook's Assist (+1 AP) would not affect it anymore.
Pulp City Math
Sometimes various modifiers will affect one roll or one Supreme. In order to determine the proper effect first (multiply or divide), second (add or subtract).
For instance, if Gentleman would benefit from +1 Energy from Weapon Crate resource and double Energy from Snipe, you would first multiply and then add +1.
A model may benefit from maximum +3 positive modifier granted to the Opposed Roll by a sum of two or more Actions.
A model may still add a higher bonus to the Opposed Roll if it is granted by a single Action.
In addition, a model may not suffer more than -3 penalty to Opposed Rolls, unless a single Action would result in a higher penalty, in which case just apply the highest penalty.
Do not count the Skill and/or Condition modifiers when calculating the maximum bonus allowed.
Effects
Right after you have learned how many Action Points will be at your disposal, it is time for good or bad news. All of the harmful and beneficial effects that result from the Actions that took place in previous Rounds, skills possessed by a model, or Team Powers, will happen NOW.
All effects are simultaneous. Even if a model that is the source of the effect suffers Damage that would take it out of the game, both effects are still applied.
Father Oak has 1 Damage remaining. He is also suffering from Aftershocks 1, and benefiting from Regeneration 1. Because both effects are simultaneous Father Oak will remain in play with 1 Damage left.
There are not many game effects that carry over to the next Round so there will be times when your Team can jump right to the Starting Roll and Game Turns phases.
Starting Roll is your introduction to the one of the game's most vital mechanics, the Opposed Roll.
Opposed Rolls
An Opposed Roll involves two models that test their Traits against each other. Whenever an Opposed Roll is called for, each model involved rolls a D6 and adds the score to the Trait assigned to the Action or situation (like in the case of the Starting Roll). The model with the higher total wins the Opposed Roll.
In addition to this, if one model forces the Opposed Roll on the enemy model (sometimes, by accident even a friendly one), this is a Combat Action. In this case, winning the Opposed Roll is one thing, but besting your opponent by as many points as possible is the key.
All Combat Actions, unless stated otherwise, deal Damage in case of the initiating model's success.
Let's take a look at the example:
Gentleman spends 3 Action Points from the Action Pool to use his trademark Point Blank at the onrushing Androida.
Point Blank (SBL2 Energy vs. Agility /AP 3): In attempt to free himself of all surrounding enemies, Gentleman fires his gun in a salvo at point blank. This attack doesn't affect friendly models.
He rolls D6 and adds the result of 5 to his Energy Trait of 4 (5+4=9). Androida, a speedster great at dodging bullets, rolls her Agility Trait of 5 and adds 2 from the roll. With her final result of 7, Gentleman manages to inflict 2 points of Damage.
As seen in the example, if the attacker's final result is more than defender's, the Action succeeds and the difference between those two results is the Damage applied to the defender.
If the attacker's final result is less than defender's (if for instance Gentleman rolled 2 instead of 5), the Action fails.
If the attacker's final result equal to that of the defender's, resort to the Origins Triad to find out if the Action succeeds or fails.
When the smoke clears, Iron Train rams into Guerilla, steel versus muscle. Having run out of other more elaborate Actions this Round, he decides to use Strike on the big ape. As this is a really meaningful Strike that can stop the ape rampage, Iron Train decides to use his Trump Roll and rolls 2 dice instead of 1. Hefty Strength of Iron Train (5) gets added to the highest roll of 4! The Guerilla's Defense score of 5 gets added to a roll of 4. We have a draw! In this case, we compare combatants Origins. Iron Train's Origin is Science, Guerilla's Origin - Nature. Since Nature prevails over Science, the big ape manages to dodge the iron blow.
Starting Rolls
This is the time in the game of Pulp City when having a good, smart Team leader is of the utmost importance. A Team of three brawlers will suffer from a nasty surprise if your Supremes are led by a big brain who acts swiftly and enables his or her Team to first fire a salvo or two.
The Starting Roll is the first Opposed Roll you will make in your Pulp City game.
Both players select one model, preferably the one with the highest Mind Trait in their Teams, and roll D6, adding the Trait's value and any modifications such as Power-Up (Chapter 5), Trump Rolls, and Tactical Genius (Chapter 7).
The Supreme with lower Mind value selected for the Starting Roll has to declare use of Power-Up and/or Tactical Genius first. In case of two opposing Supremes with the same Trait value, roll a dice, loser has to declare the use first.
The winner of the roll decides which Team will Activate first. In some cases it is better to let your opponent take the first Turn, then again there are times when you will be desperate to go first and execute your plan.
This is not a Combat Action, so no Damage is dealt.
If the Starting Roll was won by a difference of 5 or more, the winner has triggered a Master Plan. The winner may choose one of the Master Plans below. Some models may come with their own Master Plans and may choose from those as well.
Starting Roll is also used to deploy your team on the table (consult Chapter 11: Encounters, Plots & Agendas).
Master Plan
If your Team triggers a Master Plan, it may choose one of the options before the Game Round starts.
- Master Plan Domination: Add +1 Action Point to the Team's Pool.
- Master Plan Act Fast: One friendly Supreme may spend Action Points to instantly perform a Universal Movement Action. This movement counts towards the limit of Movement Actions allowed for this Supreme.
- Master Plan Power Surge: Add 1 Power-Up die to the Team's Power-Up Pool.
Game Turns
You have just won your first Starting Roll and it is the time to let your Supremes do what they are best at. You have decided to Activate your first model.
Each Round, both players Activate their models alternately until all of their Action Pools are empty or when both of them decide to end the Round.
In your Activation, one of your models uses one of their available Actions (see Chapter 3: Actions). For an Action to take place, the Activating model must be able to use it and pay its appropriate cost.
After the Action is completed and all its effects take place, the Turn passes to your opponent. The opponent Activates one of his models, and the Turn comes back to you. You may Activate the same model several times in a row if you wish. The only restriction is the Action Points Allowance.
Whenever it comes to your Turn, you may announce that you are done for the Round and until the end of this Round only the other player may Activate models. You may not change your mind after declaring you are done!
If at the end of any of your Activations, your Action Pool runs dry, the Round ends for you. You then have to wait for the other player to complete their Activations.
When both you and your opponent are finished, it is the End of the Game Round. You can proceed to the next Round and repeat the entire sequence.
Chapter 3: Actions
This chapter describes some of the Actions that your Team will be able to perform to control the Round flow. Many more Actions are described in following Chapters.
Since now you know how the Game Round flows and how your Supremes generate Action Points, it is the time to learn how to spend these on Actions. There are two groups of Actions: UNIVERSAL and EXCLUSIVE.
Universal Actions are Actions that are available to any Supreme. These will include such things as changing the model's position on the battlefield (Move* Action) or attacking the enemy with a basic punch (Strike Action). Most of the Universal Actions are printed in the following pages.
Exclusive Actions are what makes every Supreme special. Each Supreme card has the description of several, usually 4, Exclusive Actions. These Exclusive Actions may only be used by the model to whom the card is assigned.
No matter which group the Action belongs to, they all follow the golden rule of the Pulp City Action System:
No model may perform the same Action more than once in a Game Round.
There are some exceptions to this rule but we'll get to them later.
Combining Actions
To represent the dynamic reality of Supreme confrontations, your Heroes or Villains will sometimes be able to perform more than one Action.
For instance, you can easily imagine the nefarious Dr. Tenebrous flying towards the scared group of citizens and blasting them with his accursed Soul Shredders at the same time.
Only Actions marked with an asterisk (*) may be combined with any other Actions. A model upon its activation may perform 2 consecutive Actions if at least one of them is marked with *.
You must always announce both of the Actions in order and pay their cost in Action Points before you perform the first one.
Acting fast comes at price so even if after the first Action you decide not to perform the second Action, the APs are lost!
Example: Ace of Wraiths decides to shoot at a Villain while falling back. He aims Soulshot (Action) at Gentleman and then, after the Action is resolved, Moves 4 inches away. Both Actions are done in a single activation after paying the total AP cost of both.*
Tactical Actions
Tactical Actions are additional options for controlling the Round's flow.
Pass (Mind /AP 1): In some situations it might be wiser to wait and see what your opponent does before acting yourself. You may always choose to pass your Action and do nothing.
Since abusing Pass becomes an expensive habit, try avoiding it. Passes may be repeated and are not miniature specific so the Action Points cost is not assigned to any particular model.
Hold (Mind /AP 1 for each Supreme Level):* Hold* is an Action that may be used passively until certain conditions are met. Pay the Action Points cost for Hold* (equal to the Supreme's Level) plus the Action Point cost for any other Action.
The second Action is not performed immediately but may be performed in one of the named conditions:
- When your opponent declares a Movement Action with any of his models.
- At any point of the enemy model's Movement Action. The Action is interrupted and may be completed after the Held* Action is completed. A Held* Action may not be interrupted that way.
- When an enemy model completes a Movement Action.
Unused Hold* Actions expire by the end of the Game Round or when the Supreme using the Holding* Action decides to perform any other Action or gets Knocked Down.
If two players still Hold* Actions when the last one claims he/she is finished this Round, the player who called the end of the Game Round first has to use up or call off his Held* Action first. The Hold* Action may be repeated any number of times in a given Game Round.
A miniature may Hold* only one Action at a time.
Models Immune/Mind may still use Hold*.
Sgt. Bale pays 4 AP to Hold Balefire (2 AP as he is Level 2 and 2 AP for Balefire). He will be able to launch fiery bullets when one of the three situations takes place: his archenemy declares a Movement Action (possibly leaving the range), or at any point of Hellsmith's Charge against one of the friendly models, or when the enemy completes his Movement. If Bale Held* the basic Strike, he could for instance wait till Hellsmith completes the first part of the Combined Actions sequence (Move*+Strike) and Strike the Forgotten before he gets the chance to smash Bale.*
Chapter 4: Movement Actions
This chapter describes various types of Movement actions available to a Supreme.
A model may perform only 2 Movement Actions per Game Round.
Universal Movement Actions
Any Supreme is able to perform Universal Movement Actions. The description of an Action must clearly state that this is a Movement Action.
Some Actions that actually move a model are not Movement Actions. These may be performed even if there are restrictions regarding Movement.
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Move (Agility /AP 1):* Movement Action. The model may move up to 4 inches. This Action may be performed twice in a Round.
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Run (Agility /AP 2):* Movement Action, counts as two Movement Actions. The model may move up to 9 inches. Run may be combined with another Action that does not require an Opposed Roll. When using Run*, double any Blitzer X bonus. Run* may not be used when in Base to Base with a hostile model.
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Charge (Agility /AP 1):* Movement Action, must be combined with a Close Combat Action. A Charging model may move up to 6 inches. Measure the distance. If the movement would take the model into Base to Base with the target, move the model and perform the Close Combat Action against the original target. The Opposed Roll benefits from a +1 bonus. The Charged model may not leave Base to Base with the Charging model until the end of the Game Round. Charge* may not be used when in Base to Base with a hostile model.
If the move would not take the Charging model into Base to Base with the original target, the Charge has failed, model moves only 4 inches. The cost for the Close Combat Action must be paid nevertheless.
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Jump (Agility /AP 2):* Movement Action. The model may jump horizontally or vertically. The jump's length (in case of the horizontal) or height (in case of the vertical) is equal to Supreme's half Strength value, rounded up. If the jump is vertical, the model may land within 1 inch of its starting location (to represent landing on the rooftop or a vehicle).
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Get up (Agility /AP 1):* Movement Action. Cancel the Knocked Down Condition. Get up* may be performed twice per Round.
Measurements in Pulp City
All measurements in Pulp City are done after declaring the Action that will be performed and then measured on the ground level.
Even if the performing model and the target model are at different altitudes (for instance, one is standing on the rooftop, the other on the street level), the distance between them is measured on the ground.
When measuring ranges always measure from the edge of a model's base to the nearest edge of the target's base.
As long as any part of the target's base is in range the attack is considered to be in range.
Advanced Movement Actions
Since you already know that all Supremes are allowed up to two Movement Actions in a Game Round, it's time to learn about Advanced forms of movement.
Jump*, Blink, Wall Crawler and other game effects provide a chance to perform some of the most spectacular moves! Imagine Tangent jumping off the deck of the Ulthar battle barge right after planting explosive charges. Her combat boots barely make it to the edge of the rooftop as, for a moment, she balances over the 300-foot drop. How about Chimp Chi who scrambles up the vertical wall of the National Bank as bullets fly?
Sometimes these Actions or Skills will put your Supreme in an arguable position. Unlike in comic books where heroes can hold on to the buildings edge with one hand, your models need a steady platform to put their base on.
As a rule of thumb, at any time, a Supreme needs to make sure that at least one edge of its base makes it safely to a solid surface. Place the whole base on the steady surface, making as little extra movement as possible. If your opponent claims that there is a better, more movement-efficient way, let him place your miniature.
Twilight decides to Blink to the rooftop that's some distance away. She uses the Run Action that after measuring; only a tenth of an inch lands on the building. Twilight's controller places her so that the entire base is on the steady surface.*
Chimp Chi is crawling up the wall of a Little Asia movie theatre, the movement takes him up 8 inches thanks to his Wall Crawler Skill. His base is barely touching the small footing, but his controller can put the whole base on the balcony.
Flight
The pinnacle of all Supreme powers, Flight presents Supremes with endless possibilities. Flight does pose some challenges as staying in the air while your enemies fling grenades or charged lightning bolts at you may not be easy. The following rules apply to Supremes that have the Flight skill.
The mastery of the Flight skill is described with the number that follows it.
A Supreme with Flight 1 probably just got his power suit and the first attempts to hover end with painful landings. Boreas, whose Flight skill is 5, is skilled in dodging anti-aircraft missiles while in the air.
A Supreme with Flight has access to the following Universal Actions and may be affected by certain Conditions:
Up, up and away!* (Agility /AP 1)
This is the basic Action that takes your Supreme off the ground. Performing this Action is considered leaving Base to Base (and is subject to all regular restrictions for leaving Base to Base), so may result in free Strikes.
Any Movement Actions (until the Land Action is used or the Supreme gets Shot Down) are not restricted by obstacles, the model may pass over other models, ignore all Difficult and Impassable terrain and may end its movement over any of these without suffering ill consequences. For convenience, place the model on ground level or on any scenery piece where it ends its movement. The model may not end its Movement over another model.
Upon the completion of any Movement Action other than Get Up*, mark the altitude your Supreme is at with Flight Counters, up to the model's Flight Skill value.
The current number of Flight Counters value doesn't really describe how high your Supreme is. No smart Hero or Villain will just hover above waiting to be shot down. Think of Flight Counters as a measure of the Supreme's relative speed and maneuvering abilities.
In this way it does describe the difficulty that other models will have in taking it down! Models with 2 or more Flight Counters are immune to all Close Combat Actions from all ground-bound models. They are still vulnerable to Ranged Combat Actions. (See Targeting Flight Models)
Upon successfully completing Up, up and away*, models are Immune/Free Strikes and benefit from Blitzer 1 (or +1 to their current Blitzer Skill value). They add +1 to Defense, Agility, Strength when making Opposed Rolls against models with fewer Flight Counters (that includes all models with no Flight Skill).
Up, up and away* lasts as long as the model possesses at least one Flight Counter.
Shot Down (Condition)
Whenever a Supreme with any Flight Counters suffers Damage, compare the Damage suffered to the Defense value. If the Defense value is equal to or higher than the Damage, nothing happens. If the Defense value is lower than the Damage, the Supreme plummets to the ground and suffers an Opposed Roll with Strength 2 + the current number of the Flight Counters against the Supreme's basic Defense with no bonuses. The miniature is Knocked Down, discard all Flight Counters.
A model with any Flight Counters that suffers Knock Down is instantly Shot Down.
Mourn (Flight 3) takes to the sky. After completing his Move Action, Mourn places 2 Flight Counters next to his card. Later on he suffers 5 Damage Points from a powerful shot. Since his Defense 3 is less than the Damage he suffered a crash landing is inevitable. He plummets to the ground and suffers an Opposed Roll with the Strength equal to 2 + the current amount of Flight Counters (2) (2+2=4). Mourn is also Knocked Down even if no Damage is suffered from the fall.*
Targeting Flight Models
When targeting Flight models with a Ranged Combat Action or when measuring if the model will be affected by any friendly or hostile effects two requirements must be fulfilled.
- The RNG of the Action is equal to or greater than the number of Flight Counters on the target model.
- The RNG of the Action is equal to or greater than the Ground Distance between the acting model and the target model with Flight. Ground Distance is measured from the base of the acting model to the base of the Flying model as if they both stood on ground level.
If both requirements are met the Flying model is considered to be in RNG.
Mourn flies with 3 Flight Counters. Any Ranged Combat with RNG of 3 or more may target him. If he wanted to benefit from Hellsmith's Action that mentions friendly models within 2 inches, he wouldn't be eligible no matter where his actual positioning on the field would be. A Blast 2 Action triggered by a model that is within even 1 inch of Mourn on the ground still won't affect him.
Flight & Close Combat
Flight & Close Combat Against Models on the Ground
Models with Flight Counters may freely attack models on ground level without having to land.
A Flying model that performed a Close Combat Action against any model on the ground level decreases its Flight Counters number to 1.
A Flying model performing a Close Combat Action against a model on ground level must first reduce the current number of Flight Counters on the Flying model to 1. After this is done and any effects that occur because of this reduction is resolved, the Flying model may finish performing its Close Combat Action against the target model.
Models with Reach X skill treat their Close Combat Actions as Ranged Actions with the RNG equal to the Reach value when attacking Flying models or models on ground level.
Close Combat Between Flying Models
Models with fewer Flight Counters may not attack models with more Flight Counters using Close Combat Actions.
Models with an equal amount of Flight Counters may freely engage each other in Close Combat.
Models with more Flight Counters may attack models with less Flight Counters in Close Combat. After resolving the Opposed Roll, lower the number of Flight Counters to match that of the target to a minimum of 1.
Boreas is after Harrier who stole its Chalice of the Winds. They are both Up up and away when the chase starts. At the beginning of his Activation, Boreas declares the use of Charge* and Strike against Harrier, who has 3 Flight Counters after completing her Move*. Boreas soars and at the end of his Move* places 5 Flight Counters. It Strikes with a +2 bonus (+1 for Charge, +1 for more Flight Counters), poor Harrier is Shot Down after having suffered 6 points of Damage (more that her Defense) and suffers the Opposed Roll with the Strength of 5 (2+ the number of the Counters at the moment she suffered Damage). She is Knocked Down and clinging to her last Damage point. During her Activation, she uses Get Up* and since she already used up the second Movement Action, she can only pray that the wind demon doesn't finish her off.*
Flight Indoors
Models benefiting from Flight have trouble with low ceilings. While it's possible to use your Flight inside it's not very effective. Whenever a model ends its turn inside a building or under an enclosure 3" or less in height it suffers from the Indoor penalty. Things like bridges, underpasses, awnings etc.
While Indoors a model may only have 1 Flight Counter. That model is also considered to have a Flight Skill 1 for purposes of determining being Shot Down.
Flying while Indoors negates the usual +1 to Defense, Agility, Strength when making Opposed Rolls.
Chapter 5: Combat Actions
While some Supremes are good diplomats and negotiators, most of them know a lot about multiple ways of dealing hurt to other Supremes!
Damage Dealing
Any Action that pits one Trait vs. another Trait deals Damage, unless mentioned otherwise. A notable exception is the Starting Roll. Any Action that potentially deals Damage is a Combat Action.
Power-Up
Some rolls are more important to your Supreme than others. When making Opposed Rolls using a Trump Trait you may Power-Up that Roll. It doesn't have to be a Trump Roll. Before making an Opposed Roll, first the Attacker, then the Defender, may declare they are Powering-Up their Roll. This can be done after the normal declaration of Actions during a turn.
The model pays 1 AP and takes a Power-Up Die (D3) from your Power-Up Pool. The value of the Roll is added to the total of the Opposed Roll. Remember when using a D6 to roll a D3 the results of 1-2 are considered to be 1, 3-4 are 2, and 5-6 are 3.
The Power-Up Pool: Each Supreme Team starts an Encounter with a Power-Up Pool equal to the Encounter Level. For example if the Encounter Level being played is 6, each Team will have a pool of 6 D3 to use to Power-Up.
These dice may be used by any friendly model as long as the above conditions are met. Each Opposed Roll may benefit from only one Power-Up. The Power-Up Pool doesn't normally replenish itself throughout the Encounter, so once the dice are gone, your Supremes may not Power-Up in the normal way.
Some Actions will grant your models situational Power-Ups.
For instance, Sgt. Bale's Balefire Exclusive Action Powers-Up whenever a 6 is rolled. These Power-Ups are free, they never use the dice from the Power-Up Pool and cost no AP (unless noted).
Super Damage
Super Damage effects happen when a model suffers 10 or more points of Damage resulting from one Action. Some Actions may specifically result in Super Damage effects even if less Damage was dealt. In these cases the Action would be listed as having Super Damage X, where X is the minimum amount of Damage required to trigger the Super Damage.
The model affected by Super Damage is moved 5 inches directly away from the source of the Damage and stops only when it comes in the contact with another model or scenery. This move is not affected by Difficult Terrain. At the end of the movement, this model is Knocked Down.
Universal Combat Actions
Strike is the most basic example of a Combat Action.
- Strike (Strength vs. Defense /AP 1): Supremes may perform Strike several times in a Game Round. The maximum number is equal to their Level. Roll D6 and add the model's Strength score. The target gets to roll D6 and add its Defense roll. Apply 1 point of Damage for every point over the Opposed Roll score.
In order to perform a successful Strike (or any Close Combat Action), the attacking model must be in Base to Base Condition with the enemy model (See Chapter 6: Conditions.)
Free Strikes
A free STRIKE is always an out-of-sequence STRIKE that happens usually as a reaction to a hostile model leaving close combat range, but can occur in other situations.
Free strikes never count towards the model's allowance of STRIKE actions and never costs AP.
Ranged Combat Actions
There are no Universal Ranged Combat Actions. Each Supreme possesses a totally different array of ranged aggression!
The description of a Ranged Combat Action is similar to the Close Combat Action. It does include two extra factors:
- Type of Attack: Projectiles, Blasts, Self Blasts, Rays, and Auras.
- Range (RNG): Maximum distance in inches of this attack.
Line of Sight
Most Ranged Combat attacks require a Line of Sight (LoS). To establish LoS, draw a straight line from the middle of the attacking model's base to any part of the target miniature other than flowing capes or raised weaponry. If the attacking model "sees" the entire enemy model, the LoS is clear. If cover obstructs 50% of the model, apply In Cover penalty (Chapter 6: Conditions). If the attacking model cannot trace a line to any part of the target model, there is no LoS.
Trait Range
Some Actions refer to Trait Range. For instance, Command X description says: a Supreme may issue an order to a Minion resource within its double Mind range. The range is always measured in inches with a value of the respective Trait. To be in range of a model means that at least a part of the base is within the given distance in inches.
A model's facing direction doesn't matter, though for a realistic effect players are encouraged to turn their models in the right direction when performing the Ranged Combat attack.
Ranged Combat Actions and Models in Base to Base
Whenever you are targeting an enemy that is in Base to Base with your friendly model, there is a risk of hitting the wrong target. In such a situation, whenever a Projectile Range Combat Action rolls a 1, your opponent chooses the new target; they must be in Base to Base with the original target. Make a new Opposed Roll, this time ignore 1 in regards to choosing a different target.
Targeting Pulp Monsters and models on bases bigger than 40mm and/or benefitting from the Gigantic skill doesn't follow this rule - Ranged Combat in these cases is never randomized.
Projectiles (Pr): Whether bullets or mind commands, projectiles are aimed to deal a lot of hurt to a specific target.
- Targets: 1.
- LoS: yes.
- Range: stated in the description.
- Using in Base to Base with enemy models: Yes, Projectiles suffer -1 to the Opposed Roll when used in Base to Base. When in Base to Base with enemy targeting models that are not in Base to Base with the attacker, apply a further -1.
Example: Ka-Boom (Pr Energy vs. Agility /RNG 6/AP 2): The recoil of the gun sends Xenobi directly away from the target. Xenobi travels a number of inches equal to the number rolled or until he comes into contact with any obstacle or model.
Automatic Success
Being a Supreme in Pulp City is not that easy, but your drive and determination to live to see another day is sometimes stronger than the odds.
Whenever a Supreme performs a Combat Action against another Supreme, rolling a 6 means an automatic success and guarantees that at least 1 point of Damage is inflicted.
Whenever a Supreme defends against a Combat Action initiated by another model, rolling a 6 means that the Damage suffered may not take the defender below 1 point of Damage unless he or she already was at 1 point of Damage.
Example: a devious Hellspin from Hellsmith would inflict 6 points of Damage on Androida, but she rolls a 6 on her Opposed Roll. Being already at 3 points of Damage, she suffers only 2 points, leaving her clinging to the last one.
The automatic success rule does not apply if defender is already at 1 point of Damage (so 6 won't save it from being Incapacitated when Damage is suffered, nor will the 6 of the attacker cause it to automatically become Incapacitated). In case of two sides rolling 6's, resolve the Opposed Roll normally.
Types of Attack
Ray (R)
Rays are powerful bursts of energy or mind power. Draw a straight line as wide as the attacker's base to a point located as far as the Range limit of the attack. You can't make the attack shorter than the limit. Make an Opposed Roll against all models in the area, starting with the closest ones.
Targets: 1+. LoS: Yes, to the original target. Range: The length is stated in the Action's description, the width is determined by the base size of a Supreme using the Ray. Using in Base to Base with enemy models: Yes, Mind based suffers -1 to the roll.
Example: Earth's Uprising (R Mind vs. Agility /RNG 4/AP 3): Tree roots erupt from bellow the ground throwing to the ground all those in their path. Father Oak makes an Opposed Roll vs. anyone caught by the Ray (exception to the Ray rule). Anyone that fails the roll is Knocked Down and suffers Damage.
Blast (BIX)
Blasts are your typical explosive manifestations of super powers. Energy travels to a designated target and explodes. Resolve the Opposed Roll with the primary target first. Unless the roll is 1 (see below), proceed with the Opposed Rolls against any model caught fully in the Blast, the Blaster's controller determines in which order the Opposed Rolls are resolved beyond the original target. Models that are touched by the Blast but their base is not fully covered, suffer the Opposed Roll at half of the Trait's value (rounded up).
Blasts are tricky to use. On a natural roll of 1 against the original designated target, your opponent has an option of immediately redirecting its point of explosion up to 2 inches in any direction. Blasts are always immune to their own Blasts. Models using Mind based [the remainder of this sentence is not legible in the source scan; see the printed rulebook page 36]
If a Blast attack is out of range of its intended target the Blast will still occur. In this case mark a spot at the limit of the Blast's Range. Your opponent can now move the blast marker up to 2 inches as if you had rolled a 1 on the initial attack.
Targets: 1. LoS: yes. Range: Range to the primary target is determined by the Action's description. The radius of the Blast is always mentioned next to the description (example: BI2 means that a 2 inch radius round template is placed centrally on the initial target). Using in Base to Base with enemy models: yes; Blasts suffer -1 to the Opposed Roll when used in Base to Base. When targeting models that are not in Base to Base with the attacker apply a further -1 penalty.
Example: Throw Then Think (Bl2 Energy vs. Agility /RNG 6/AP 2): If Dr. Red rolls 5 or 6 on the Opposed Roll, increase Bl2 to Bl3. If the roll is 6, any models wounded suffer 3 extra points of Damage. Any explosive tokens in the Blast detonate as well.
Aura (AuX)
Auras are pulsating halos of powers, usually granting beneficial effects to members of the team or hurting their enemies.
Auras that don't require an Opposed Roll and don't directly deal Damage are not Combat Actions. An Aura moves with the owner.
A model may have only one active Aura at a time, though it may benefit from several Auras from different sources.
If the Aura is a Combat Action, models moving into or within the Aura or coming into the Aura's area of effect when its source moves, suffer an Opposed Roll. A model may only suffer once a Round from the harmful effects of a specific Aura - only one Opposed Roll is required.
Targets: Self. LoS: no. Range: 0, radius always mentioned next to the description (example: Au1 means an Aura that affects all friendly and/or enemy models even partially within 1 inch of the Aura model). Using in Base to Base with enemy models: yes.
Example: Apocalypse (AU3 Energy vs. Defense /AP 5): Any model caught in the Aura or moving into the Aura suffers an Opposed Roll. Apocalypse lasts until Nuke moves or is Knocked Down.
Self Blasts (SBIX)
Some blasts originate directly from the model itself. The model is immune to its effects and since it is the origin of the Self Blast, there is no risk of the Self Blast being redirected or being a dud. Make an Opposed Roll against every model even partially within the radius. The Self Blaster's controller determines the order in which the Opposed Rolls are resolved.
Targets: Self. LoS: no. Range: 0, radius always mentioned next to the description (example: SBI1 means a Self Blast that affects all models even partially within 1 inch of the Self Blasting model). Using in Base to Base with enemy models: yes.
Example: Earthquake (SBI3 Strength vs. Agility /AP 3): Hellsmith strikes the ground with his mighty hammer. All models make an Opposed Roll but suffer no Damage. All those that failed their Opposed Roll are Knocked Down.
Chapter 6: Conditions
This chapter describes all the Conditions your Supremes will find themselves in during the Encounter.
Conditions are various effects a model may be under at a given time. Some are useful and some not so much. At any given time, a miniature may be affected by several different Conditions at once, so remember to keep track of them.
Involuntary Movements: Whenever a model is forced to move by a game effect like a friendly or hostile Action, it is immune to the ill effects of moving out of the Base to Base, unless mentioned in the Effects description.
Base to Base
A model is in Base to Base when it is touching an enemy or friendly model's base or a piece of scenery.
Whenever in Base to Base, if a Supreme or Minion wants to move away from an enemy model, declare what Actions it will use and pay their AP cost. The enemy then performs one free Strike Combat Action against target's Agility or Strength (whichever higher) instead of Defense. The attacker adds +1 to the Opposed Roll for each of its allied models in Base to Base with the defender. Note that the attacker only gets to make one free Strike regardless of the number of models currently in Base to Base. For this reason, it is usually best to choose the model with the highest Strength value.
If the defender wins, it may freely perform all declared Actions. If the attacker wins, apply Damage. If that Damage was higher than the defender's Strength, it stays in Base to Base and instantly ends its Activation. If the Damage was lower than the defender's Strength, complete the Activation normally.
Some Actions state they may not be performed in Base to Base. This applies only to being in Base to Base with a hostile model, it doesn't apply to friendly models nor scenery.
Incapacitated
Heroes don't simply die! Battered and broken, they remain on the battlefield. When a Supreme suffers enough Damage to drop to 0 or less, it becomes Incapacitated. From this point on, it can't use any Actions or any Skills and stops generating Action Points for the Action Pool. Place a token to mark that the model is Incapacitated.
Treat the model as Knocked Down for purposes of movement and LoS. The miniature may not take any Objectives and if it carried any Objective items, these are immediately placed next to it and may be picked up by other models. Specific Actions or Resources are needed to remove the Incapacitated Condition; regular healing is of no use until the Condition is removed. When a model recovers from the Incapacitated Condition, immediately stand it back up. It may be Activated as normal from now on.
Eliminated
Certain attacks are very powerful and vile. When the Action/Skill that causes the Supreme to become Eliminated is resolved, the model is removed from the gaming table and cannot return. If it carried any Objective or Burdening items, these are immediately placed where the model stood.
Knocked Down
The model is Knocked Down and it cannot perform any Actions except for Get Up*. All effects bound to it (Auras, Team Powers, etc.) still apply.
It makes all Opposed Rolls at a -2 penalty.
Being in Base to Base with a Knocked Down model is great for the hostile models: while they can still direct their attacks against it, they are always free to move away with no consequences at all!
Knocked Down models do not provide In Cover; they don't block LoS and can be "moved over" if there is enough movement to fully move past the Knocked Down model.
It is suggested you mark the Knocked Down model with a token to remind you of its Condition.
Falling
A model plunging from a height is considered to be Falling. Some Actions may result in a model falling down. Falling for all Supreme and Minion models from 3 inches or less is safe. Otherwise calculate the distance in inches - this is the Falling Strength. Make the Defense or Agility Opposed Roll against the Falling Strength. If any Damage is suffered, the model is Knocked Down.
Models with Flight, Levitate, Thick Bones and Wall Crawler skills don't suffer Damage from Falling unless they are Shot Down.
Truly only the frailest of Supremes will ever suffer Damage from Falling. A Supreme (and only a Supreme, Minions lack the courage!) may voluntarily Fall from any height by using any Movement Action.
If the model Falls on any other model, it suffers an Opposed Roll with Strength equal to the Falling model's Defense against its Defense. The intentional Falling may not be combined with any other Actions. The Falling model suffers all of the consequences mentioned above.
After the Opposed Roll, place the fallen model in Base to Base with the scenery it fell from and any models landed on.
In Cover
Miniatures In Cover have a better chance of surviving attacks.
The cover bonus is always applied when the cover is located between the defending miniature and the source of the attack (hence, the source of a Blast attack is the primary target not the attacker).
There are three types of cover, each granting a bonus to the Opposed Roll:
- Soft (+1): other models in the way, wood, scrubs, streetlights etc.
- Hard (+2): metal, cars, brick walls, armored doors
- Rock! (+3): Concrete bunker, alien spaceship
There is no In Cover bonus against Mind based attacks.
Burdened
Some Agendas and Actions may put a model in a Burdened Condition. Sometimes this may be voluntary (like picking up an Objective) or forced (like an effect of a hostile Action).
In any Round a model is Burdened, it may only make one Movement Action. If it became Burdened already after performing one or two Movement Actions this Round, it may not move again until the end of the Round.
It may not place any Flight Counters on itself (the model is considered to have Landed upon becoming Burdened).
The model cannot become Burdened voluntarily again, and any further hostile Burden Actions don't worsen the Condition.
A Burdened model cannot Manipulate terrain features.
A model may decide to stop being Burdened during any Activation for free if it got Burdened voluntarily and not as a result of a hostile Action. If the Burden is dropped, it may be picked up by any other model. Incapacitated, Eliminated, Knocked Down Supremes drop their Burden immediately.
Chapter 7: Supreme Powers
In this chapter you will learn more about what makes a Supreme, supreme. These are the essentials that complement the Actions it performs, such as Trump Rolls and Trump Trait benefits.
Trump Trait Benefits
As you have already learned, Trump Traits provide you with the essential Trump Rolls that can turn the tide of the battle. They also allow you to Power-Up for even higher Opposed Roll totals.
For instance, Iron Train can hold on to his vital Strength Trump Roll to make sure the Opposed Roll against Papa Zombie is a killer hit.
But that is not all. Trump Traits offer a selection of powers that may be used by Supremes as many times as they want!
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Strength Trump Trait - Scenery Manipulation: For some Heroes and Villains the chance of throwing heavy objects at each other is what drew them to the Supreme world. Smacking your opponent with street lights or throwing a truck are effective ways to solve arguments. Chapter 9 gives more insight on the interaction with environment and plenty of ways of hurting your opponents.
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Agility Trump Trait - Super Reflexes: Whenever the Supreme performs a Universal Movement Action, he or she may pay extra AP (up to its Supreme Level) and gain or increase their Blitzer skill by that many points. Supremes with Super Reflexes do not treat Get Up* as a Movement Action.
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Defense Trump Trait - Hold Ground: Supremes that are the masters of defense are extremely good at holding ground and ensuring the safety of their friends and vital objectives. Whenever the model is forced to move because of a friendly, hostile, or neutral Action or effect (such as Super Damage or Actions like Iron Train's Free Ride), its controller may decide to leave the model in place. Additionally, a model may spend a Power-Up Dice from the team's Power-Up Pool to instantly cancel Knock Down Condition that affects the Supreme. This does not cost any AP. If you don't decide to cancel the effect, the model is Knocked Down as normal.
Note that Knock Down is not a Movement.
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Mind Trump Trait - Tactical Genius: Add +X to the Starting Roll. Announce how many points you want to add prior to the roll. Pay X AP. These points count towards the Supreme's AP Allowance this Round.
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Spirit Trump Trait - Strong Will: When a Supreme falls under enemy blows, sometimes their strong will lets them stay conscious and support their teammates. Whenever the model is Incapacitated, it generates Action Points for the Action Pool in the following Game Round.
Chapter 8: Skills
Unlike Actions, the Skills are always "on", whether Supreme likes it or not. Supremes never pay for their Activation. Skills may grant your models resistance against Actions or Conditions, or they may add some Exclusive Actions (which may have an associated AP cost) among others.
Some skills come in a Skill (X) format, where X is a numeric value. The power of the skill is defined on a Supreme or a Resource card.
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Absorb (X): The Supreme suffers X Damage points less from every Strength based attack. This cannot reduce Damage to less than 1 point.
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Aftershocks (X): When a model with Aftershocks deals Damage make a note on the damaged model's card. In the Effects phase of the next Game Round (and only that Round), apply X Damage. Aftershocks do not stack; a model may suffer only one Aftershock a Game Round, always the one with the highest value.
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Air: see: Elements.
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Annoying: This model ignores the binding effect from Charge* when wanting to leave Base to Base Condition in the same Round that they were Charged. The model is always Immune/Free Strikes.
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Armored: This model may use Defense rating instead of Agility when defending against Energy and Strength attacks. In such cases, a Defense Trump Roll or Power-Up may not be used.
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Barricade: The In Cover Condition granted by a model with Barricade to others is always +2 instead of the regular +1 modification on the Opposed Roll.
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Blend (X): Add X to your Agility Opposed Rolls when defending against hostile Ranged Combat Actions while in Base to Base with a piece of scenery. The scenery must be larger than the model and wider than its base. A model does not benefit from Blend if it is in Base to Base with an enemy model.
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Blink: On any Movement Action, this model bypasses walls and obstacles, and may move in any direction (including vertically). Place the model anywhere within its movement limit, making sure its base has enough space.
Chapter 9: Battle for Pulp City
Pulp City is a living organism where your Supremes will have a chance to interact with it in more than one way. Next Chapters will provide you with a lot of information about the districts of the metropolis and its denizens, as well as of plenty exotic places of interest. While This Chapter will show you how the game rules let the Heroes and Villains wage the battle on the streets.
Terrain & Scenery
The battlefield where your Encounters will take place is not just a nice addition to your Supreme miniatures. In Pulp City the streets are full of lethal weapons and every building might be a deadly trap for your foes.
Before you ask, yes, every bit of scenery you place on the table may be destroyed or used against your enemies.
Difficult & Impassable Terrain
Come on! This is a superhero game so only those unlucky few will suffer penalties from Difficult and Impassable terrain. Feel free to discuss and name parts of your table that will follow these rules with your opponent before the game starts.
Difficult Terrain is an area of the gaming table that may cause some trouble to the foot-slogging Supremes. Thick jungle, shallow water or the destroyed building will not stop Supremes like Iron Train but it may slow them down.
As a rule of thumb, every inch of a Movement Action that your Supreme takes through Difficult terrain allows half an inch of movement. This penalty only applies while in Difficult Terrain.
This penalty doesn't apply to Actions that cause your model to move involuntarily. When angry Apebot throws Androida no rough surface will slow her fall.
Your Supremes will encounter Impassable terrain for various reasons.
Impassable Terrain is something that prohibits normal movement. The thick walls of a bunker may need to be destroyed before your Team can move inside. A quantum rift is a rip in the timeline and no sane Supreme would try to cross it.
No normal Movement is possible through Impassable terrain. Certain skills may come in handy for getting around Impassable terrain: Blink, if your Supreme can finish its Movement Action completely past the Impassable feature; Flight and Levitation can be used in cases where you and your opponent agree.
Dangerous Difficult Terrain
Some Difficult terrain can be Dangerous as well. Dangerous Terrain may cause Damage to any model entering it based on an Opposed Roll. It is nigh on impossible to name all of the dangers that may contribute to your Supreme's downfall, but the following guidelines come handy when deciding the outcome of these.
Supremes may voluntarily move into Dangerous Difficult terrain. If the type of terrain requires an Opposed Roll against the potential danger, the first check is made when the Supreme enters the terrain, voluntarily or not, and further checks occur in the Effects phase of every following Round while in the terrain. The Opposed Roll uses the Supreme's Defense against the Strength or Energy sources.
Unless the Action's description mentions otherwise, consult the types below.
- Energy Type Dangerous Terrain: Pools of burning lava, nuclear wastes, burning buildings, minefields, ice-storms, exploding fungi or Necroplane death-rays.
- Strength Type Dangerous Terrain: graveyard with rising zeds, Ulthar Sagittarius spike traps, swarms of giant ants, meteor fall, walls of blades.
Supremes with Levitation (unless Knocked Down) or any Flight Counters, are always safe from the hazards of Dangerous terrain even if they end up there involuntarily.
Water
Your Supremes will often fight for their lives on the decks of ships, in the harbor of Pulp City, or Kodo Island shores.
As much as shallow water may be a minor nuisance for most Supremes (Difficult terrain), the depths of the ocean may be as dangerous as the Ulthar invasion for a heavily armored Supreme.
As mentioned above, a model suffers an Opposed Roll when it first enters the water; and in each subsequent Effects phase. For these rolls use the model's own Defense against Strength as it tries to counter their own mass and the weight of any protective gear as the model tries to stay above the surface (the Supreme may modify the Roll in any regularly available way). If the Roll fails, the model suffers Damage and may not activate this Round. Models with no Strength Trait are treated as if having 0 value.
In addition to Flying and Levitating Supremes, those with the Water or Gigantic Skills treat water as a regular terrain. Mechanical (as they don't need to breathe and may walk on the bottom) and Non Living models treat it as a Difficult terrain.
Interacting with the Environment
Throughout their battles, your Supremes will learn a lot of dirty tricks that will catch their opponents unaware. Villains will soon find out that sometimes it is easier to destroy a building than walk around it. Heroes will discover the benefit of using a lamp-post to bash in alien heads. All scenery belongs to one of the following categories: Buildings or Moveable Scenery.
Models vs. Scenery
Not only is scenery nice to look at and can enhance your gaming experience. Scenery adds a significant value to game play. Buildings, street lamps and trees all play a vital role in fulfilling Agendas. Some pieces of scenery may also be a part of Exclusive Actions.
All scenery can be damaged just like Supremes. Scenery is vulnerable to all Strength and Energy Damage. To establish its Defense (working both against Strength and Energy attacks), follow these guidelines:
- Wood: Defense 5
- Brick/Concrete: Defense 6
- Steel and Glass: Defense 7
- Steel/Iron: Defense 8
- Alien Alloy: Defense 9
Scenery does not get to roll the die - the Defense value is fixed for each scenery piece and is opposed by the attacking model's active Trait and the die roll.
Hellsmith (Strength 6) strikes a wooden door that is in his way, he rolls a D6 and adds the roll's value to the active Trait. A 4 rolled plus 6 from the Trait is 10 that opposes the fixed value of 5, dealing 5 points of Damage with the hit.
To calculate the number of Damage points that a piece of scenery has, multiply its width by its length in inches and add its height. If the scenery suffers enough Damage to become Eliminated, remove it from the game. Models on top of destroyed buildings suffer Falling Damage. All Blasts targeting scenery must be centered on it.
A two-story apartment building is approximately 4 inches long and 3 inches wide. It is 5 inches high. It's a typical red brick house. For game-play purposes, the building would have Defense of 6 and 12 (3+4+5) Damage points. Models on the roof would suffer a Strength 5 Opposed Roll when it was destroyed. Models caught inside the building would suffer a Strength 7 Opposed Roll. Alternatively, you may agree before the game on the Defense and Damage of each of the buildings on the board.
Models inside destroyed buildings suffer a Strength vs. Defense Opposed Roll where the Strength value is equal to the Defense of the destroyed building.
Going Inside Buildings
Unless your scenery is detailed inside and follows regular restrictions for moving, models may move inside buildings by declaring a Movement Action while in Base to Base with a door/window or any other eligible entry point. The move may be used to move vertically or horizontally (or any sum of these two) inside as we assume there are staircases and elevators inside. If the distance is enough to move up to an exit point, the model emerges and ends the activation in Base to Base with the exit point.
Sgt. Bale wants to make it to the rooftop of the 4 inch tall Mayan temple ruins that have a centrally placed trapdoor on the top. He runs towards the door. In the next Activation, he uses Move to get inside, covers 2 inches horizontally to be right below the trapdoor and 2 inches to move vertically. He needs another Movement Action to cover the remaining 2 inches up and ends his Activation at the top, in Base to Base with the trapdoor.*
Scenery Manipulation
Unless one or more of your Supremes possesses a Strength Trump Trait, you may not want to read this section! Only models with Strength Trump Trait may Manipulate Scenery. Only Moveable Scenery may be Manipulated.
Multiple Exclusive Actions create opportunities for your Supremes to resolve the conflicts in a truly superhuman way!
Amongst the most popular ways of settling animosities is picking up different objects and throwing them at each other. Imagine Heavy Metal brawlers hurling cars at the grimm that emerge from the subway tunnels. Imagine Necroplane Supremes clearing the rubble that blocks the way to the interplanar gate!
These Actions all require your models to be able to Manipulate scenery pieces.
Below you will find three size categories of items that may be Manipulated by models if they possess the required Trait value.
- Rank 1: Small Sized Objects May be Manipulated by models with Strength 1-4: Street lamps, bikes, trash cans, shopping carts, street signs, small traffic lights.
- Rank 2: Medium Sized Objects May be Manipulated by models with Strength 5-8: Cars, phone booths, motor bikes, small boats, everything up to the size of a van.
- Rank 3: Large Sized Objects May be Manipulated by models with Strength 9-10: Helicopters, fighter planes, trucks, alien flying saucers, tanks.
Each item may be manipulated only a certain number of times, after which it is destroyed and removed from the table. The number of Manipulations is equal to its Rank. Small objects may be used only once as they smash on impact. Medium objects may be used twice (flip the object after the first use to mark its exploitation). Large objects may be used up to three times.
Scenery Manipulation Actions
There are two ways of Manipulating scenery with Universal Actions useable only by Supremes with Strength Trump Trait.
- Throw (Pr Strength vs. Agility /RNG Special/AP 1 per Rank of the Object): Counts as a Strike Action; toss an object in Base to Base at a target within RNG equal to your Strength + 2 inches. If the object used was Rank 2 or Rank 3, turn the Projectile into a Blast with radius equal to the object's Rank centered on the target model. After resolving Damage, if the object is not destroyed, center the object at the point of impact of the Blast. Each player then moves all of his surviving models from under the object by the shortest route so that they still are in Base to Base with the object, starting with the player who initiated Throw.
- Smash (Strength vs. Defense /AP 1 per Rank of the Object): Counts as a Strike Action; this Action benefits from Reach equal to the Rank of the Object and benefits from +1 to the Opposed Roll. The Manipulated object must be in Base to Base with the Supreme using Smash. If Smash is combined with a Movement Action, the object must have been in Base to Base with the Smashing Supreme at some point of the move. In any case, do not move the terrain piece unless it is destroyed.
Both Throw and Smash benefit from Super Damage 7.
Chapter 10: The Resource Pool
In this Chapter you will learn how to support your team with all things not-Supreme: from experimental ray-guns to crazy cultists - Resources.
Resource Pool
Now that you have recruited your Supremes, it's time to choose their toys.
Even the most powerful Heroes and Villains will have to resort to using the various goods and contacts Pulp City has to offer.
The Resource Pool is equal to the Encounter's Level. It is separate from the Supreme Levels Pool.
While some Resources are specifically assigned to a particular Supreme (Ace of Wraith's Hellstromm gun or Hoodoo's Zombie Wolf), many of them are bought as an upgrade to the whole Team's performance.
A Supreme may have as many Resource Levels equal to its own Supreme Level. The cost of each Resource is subtracted from the Resource Pool of the team. Some resources are character specific and may be used only by the model that they come with.
As a rule of thumb, a Resource that mentions only named users is considered an Exclusive Resource.
Hellsmith's Hell Hammer is considered an Exclusive Resource as only he may bear it, the same with Glove (Dr. Red & Virus only), while the A.R.C. only Weapon Crate is not Exclusive as many Supremes may benefit from it.
Just like with Supreme, there may be only one copy of a Resource in each team.
Resources come in several forms, and some of them may belong to more than one category: Weapons, Devices, Artifacts, Minions and Misc.
Weapons, Devices, Artifacts, & Misc.
Resources belonging to these categories follow similar rules.
They will usually influence your Team's performance in one of two ways:
- By granting modifiers to Traits, bonus Skills etc.
- By granting access to the Exclusive Actions printed on the back of the card.
Usually any bonus or access to new Actions is granted only to the bearer of the Resource. In some cases the Resource may be called upon by other Supremes.
The usual limitations apply; Resource-granted bonuses may require activation by either announcing the use of an Action or by just spending Action Points. Resources may not be used by Knocked Down or Incapacitated models.
If a game effect destroys or temporarily disables access to the Resource (like Twilight's Shadow Theft Action), all bonuses instantly cease to function or apply.
Personal Resources may never be traded during the Encounter.
- Weapons: Only Supremes with Weapon Master skill may use universal Weapons. They represent the arsenal that is carried to the battle. Weapon Master is not required to use Exclusive Weapons (for instance Ace of Wraiths may use Hellstromm even though he doesn't have Weapon Master).
- Devices: Only Supremes of Science Origin may use Devices. They may carry Personal Devices and use Actions on both personal and Team's Devices.
- Artifacts: Magical talismans, intelligent swords and demonic familiars support certain Supremes. Most of them are character specific and unique. Only Supremes of Nature and Mystery Origins may use Artifacts.
- Misc: This category and may be used by all Supremes and gathers things ranging from fire hydrants to climbing ropes. It also includes random events that may come to aid of any teams.
Chapter 10 (continued): Minions
Generally Minions are living (or sometimes even dead or mechanical!) creatures that come to the aid of the Supremes. They are recruited by paying the printed value with Resource points.
Exclusive Minions
Exclusive Minions are Minion Resources that must be assigned to specific Supremes. The Minion's card will state whether it may be used only by a particular Supreme.
The card for Zombie Wolf has the text "Exclusive/Red Riding Hoodoo". Zombie Wolf may therefore be purchased only if Red Riding Hoodoo is in your Supreme team and it must be assigned to her.
Being assigned to a particular Supreme has two implications for Exclusive Minions: The Supreme to which they are assigned becomes the Minion's Commanding Supreme (see below) and if the Commanding Supreme is Eliminated the Exclusive Minion is also Eliminated.
Non-Exclusive Minions
Non-Exclusive Minions are Minion Resources that are not assigned to any particular Supreme. If the Minion's card does not have the Exclusive wording on it then the Minions it describes are Non-Exclusive Minions. Like Exclusive Minions they have Commanding Supremes (see next page).
For example, the card for Sentry Bots does not contain any Exclusive wording. They are not assigned to a particular Supreme.
Not being assigned to a particular Supreme has one major implication for Non-Exclusive Minions: every Supreme in the Minion's team is considered a Commanding Supreme (see next page) for the Minion.
Character Minions
Some Minions have gained renown matching that of Supremes. For instance, June Summers, Channel 4 reporter, is an excellent example of a brave woman that is often seen where Supremes clash. Character Minions do not need a Commanding Supreme to Activate, instead they Activate like regular Supremes.
Minions & Opposed Rolls
Minions may be targeted by any attacks and have Traits to use in Opposed Rolls. However, Minions typically have fewer Traits than a Supreme. A Minion's Defense is used to defend against all Opposed Rolls. Minions also have Damage boxes like a Supreme, although most Minions will be Eliminated after taking a single point of Damage.
If a Minion ties a Supreme in an Opposed Roll, the Supreme is considered to have won the roll by 1 point. If a Minion ties with another Minion or Citizen, the defender is considered to have won the roll by one point.
Minions may never take Objectives, or voluntarily become Burdened with the objectives.
Command Range
A Supreme has a Command Range equal to twice its Energy Trait.
Commanding Supremes
Minions are foot soldiers in battles between Supremes and they require those Supremes to lead them into the fray. In order for a Minion to perform Actions, it must be within a Commanding Supreme's Command Range. For Exclusive Minions, the Commanding Supreme is the Supreme to which the Minion is assigned. For Non-Exclusive Minions, each Supreme on the Minion's team is considered a Commanding Supreme.
Non-Exclusive Mechanical Minions are always considered to be in the Command Range of any Science Origin Supreme with the Cyberhead skill that is included in the Minion's team.
Activating Minions & Performing Actions
Like the Supremes that lead them, Minions must Activate during a game round in order to perform Actions. When a Commanding Supreme on your team is Activated you may choose to also declare the Activation of Minions in addition to all other Actions the Supreme will perform. During this Activation, the Activating Commanding Supreme becomes the Minion(s) only Commanding Supreme.
The Commanding Supreme doesn't have to use any of his Actions and may Activate only to Command the Minions. The following rules hold for all Minions:
- Minions may not Activate unless a Commanding Supreme for that Minion Activates.
- Commanding Minions is NOT an Action, nevertheless, a Supreme must be able to Activate in order to Command.
- A Commanding Supreme may only Command one card of Minions in each Activation.
- Determine which Minions may take Actions by measuring the Commanding Supreme's Command Range.
- All Minions on a card must complete their Activations individually and consecutively.
- All Minions on a card must complete their Activations before or after the Commanding Supreme completes its Activation.
- Action Points spent for Minion Actions are not placed on a Supreme's card. They are simply removed from the pool and set aside.
- Minions may normally combine Actions per basic rules and restrictions.
Gentleman Activates along with some Hired Guns. The Hired Guns card represents four Hired Guns models so each Minion must Activate. Gentleman's player announces that he will Activate the Minions first. Gentleman measures his Command Range to determine which models may take Actions. It turns out that Hired Gun #3 is out of range and therefore it cannot perform Actions during its Activation. The player could have decided to Activate Gentleman first and use Move to potentially have the third Minion in range.*
Performing Actions
At the end of the previous example, the player was about to Activate his Hired Guns. But what Actions can a Minion perform and how do its Actions affect the Action Pool?
Minions have access to a number of Actions including a few Universal Actions and any Exclusive Actions listed on their card. All Universal Movement and Combat Actions are granted to Minions. Note that in order to perform a Strike, the Minion must possess the Strength trait.
When a Minion (and all the other Minions on its card) is Activated the player declares all Actions the Minions will perform, pays the AP cost of all declared Actions, and then proceeds with performing those Actions. Actions need to be paid for only once for all Minions on a card, unless the card specifies otherwise.
Continuing the previous example, the player wants each Hired Gun to combine Move with the Gun Shots Action printed on the card. The player pays 1 AP for the Move* Action. This will allow both Hired Guns 1 and 2 to perform Move*. The Gun Shots Action on the Minion's card reads as follows:*
- Gun Shots (Pr Energy vs. Agility / RNG 6 / AP 1): The Action's description specifies that Gun Shots cost 1 AP.
The player now must Move Hired Gun #1 and take a Gun Shot. The player must then Move* Hired Gun #2 and take a Gun Shot with that model. Hired Gun #3 is still out of Gentleman's Command Range and cannot perform any Actions. Hired Gun #4 is already Eliminated. Once the Hired Guns have completed their Activations, the player Activates Gentleman.*
Chapter 10 (continued): Creating Your Own Minions
Minions play an important part in the game of Pulp City. There are a great deal of interesting Minions to support your Supremes, but there will be times when you will feel like adding some variety to surprise your opponent, perhaps with ninja monkey squads or take on a hobby project of building the unstoppable army of Mysterious Man's dinomutants.
The following rules will help you in fleshing out your force in just a few minutes.
To create a Minion, follow these steps.
- Step 1: Choose the Level and Type of the Minion: Brawler, Blaster, or Support.
- Step 2: Determine the number of Minions on the card.
- Step 3: Choose any Type-Specific upgrades and Generic upgrades.
Step 2 details
In Step 2, choose the number of models on the card. The more models, the weaker and less specialized they are, so they will have less Minion Power Points (MPP) to spend on upgrades.
- Level 2 card with one model has 7 MPP
- Level 2 card with two models has 5 MPP
- Level 1 card with one model has 3 MPP
- Level 1 card with two models has 2 MPP
- Level 1 card with three models has 1 MPP
Minion Power Points are spent to purchase additional Exclusive Actions, and/or increase Traits. Some powers replace other powers, and in these cases you must purchase BOTH actions. Any remaining Power Points can be spent to increase Traits (one Minion Power Point for one Trait point) in any way the player chooses. No modification may take a Level 1 custom-build Minion beyond the Traits value of 3 each, while custom-build Level 2 Minions may have their Traits no higher than 4 each.
All Level 1 Minions begin with a single point of Damage. Level 2 Minions begin with 3 points of Damage. Damage can be increase by certain Generic Upgrades.
All minions can benefit from Generic Upgrade options. The Power Point Cost is listed in parenthesis. If the cost listed is negative it adds a Power Point to the total you have to spend. All upgrades affect all models on the card and the cost is paid for the card, not a single model. Thus all models on the card share the same profile.
All Minion Resources begin with Defense of 2, Brawlers with Strength of 2, while Blasters and Support with Energy of 2.
Minion Types
The Type of Minion defines its role on the battlefield.
- Brawlers rely on strength or martial skill to pummel opponents in close combat. Some prefer brute force; others act with stealth and trickery. But all want just one thing, the up-close kill.
- Blasters use long ranged attacks to damage the foe at a distance. Often slower than the Brawler they make up for it with devastating firepower.
- Support Minions aid their teams with healing or defensive powers or operate as spies and saboteurs. While they themselves don't deal much damage they will often sacrifice themselves for the good of the team. Each Type of Minion starts with a basic power, and the choice of various skills at no cost. Each Type of Minion can purchase additional powers from a list of powers.
Type: Brawler
- Bonus: Deadly Rush. Brawlers are in a hurry to close with the enemy. In their first Activation in any Round, all Brawler Minions may be moved 2" directly towards the nearest enemy model. If multiple models are equally close, Commanding Supreme may choose which model the Minion rushes.
- Choose One Free Upgrade: Blitzer 1; Deflect 1; Wall Crawler; Levitate; Fury 1; Blend 2.
- Strong Creature. The minion is possessed of incredible strength. As such these minions are capable of being Burdened by objectives or other moveable items.
- Pack Tactics. Minions with this power are pack hunters expert at working together to bring down tough opponents. Whenever making a Close Combat attack against an enemy model, add +1 to the Opposed Roll for each extra Minion of the same type in Base to Base with the enemy model.
Brawler Specific Actions and Upgrades (1 Minion Power Point to purchase each):
- Martial Arts Display (Strength /AP 1): Citizens and/or Non-Exclusive Minions in Base to Base may not be Activated or moved until the next game Round.
- Tackle (Strength vs. Defense /AP 2): Movement Action. The model moves up to 4 inches and then makes the Opposed Roll. If the target suffers Damage higher than its Strength value, it is Knocked Down.
- Hurl Weapon (Pr Strength vs. Agility /RNG 4/AP 1)
- Surprise Stab (Strength vs. Defense /AP 1): If Surprise Stab is announced as combined with Charge* and the target cannot trace a clear LoS to the attacking Minion (the target would either have no LoS to the Minion or the Minion would benefit from In Cover when defending against the target's Ranged Combat Actions), add +3 to the Opposed Roll.
Type: Blaster
- Bonus: Firepower. Blaster start with Firepower, listed below.
- Firepower (Pr Energy vs. Agility /RNG 6/AP 1)
- Choose One Upgrade: Fire; Water; Earth; Air; Levitation; Deflect 1.
Blaster Specific Actions and Upgrades (1 Minion Power Point to purchase each):
- Ray (R Energy vs. Agility /RNG 4/ AP 1 per Model): Replaces the Firepower.
- Blast (Bl2 Energy vs. Agility /RNG 4/AP 1 per Model): Replaces the Firepower.
- Target Acquired (Pr Energy vs. Agility /RNG 6 /AP 1): The Minions single out a target for extermination. All friendly models add +1 to all Ranged Combat Opposed Rolls against the target until the end of the Game Round for each Minion that wins the Target Acquired Opposed Roll. This Action causes no Damage.
- Smoke Cloud (Au1 Energy /AP 1 per Model): Minions deploy a Smoke Cloud that blocks all LOS until the end of the Game Round.
- Long Shot: Increase the range of the Firepower by 2. You CAN combine this power with Ray, Blast and Target Acquired.
- Flight: Replace the Levitate skill with the Flight 2 skill.
Type: Support
- Bonus: Protectors (Hero Minions): When a Minion or Citizen in Base to Base with this Minion model would be Eliminated, you may Eliminate the Support Minion instead.
- Bonus: Anarchists (Villain Minions): Support Minions grant a cumulative +1 bonus to the Opposed Roll of any friendly model in Base to Base with them and initiating a Combat Action against a scenery piece.
- Choose One Upgrade: Fire; Water; Earth; Air; Levitation; Blitzer 1; Wall Crawler.
Support Specific Actions and Upgrades (1 Minion Power Point to purchase each):
- Body Guard (Au 2 Defense /AP 2): Whenever a friendly Supreme in the Aura would be Incapacitated, Eliminate the Support Minion instead. The Supreme remains on the table with 1 Damage left. Any Supreme may only benefit from Body Guard once in a Round. Body Guard lasts until the end of the Round.
- Shield Generator (Au 1 Defense /AP 1): Friendly models in the Aura benefit from Deflect 1. Shield Generator lasts until the end of the Round.
- Target Acquired (Pr Energy vs. Agility / RNG 6 /AP 1): The Minions single out a target for extermination. All friendly models add +1 to all Ranged Combat Opposed Rolls against the target until the end of the Game Round for each Minion that wins the Target Acquired Opposed Roll. This Action causes no Damage.
- Sacrifice (Energy /AP 0): Eliminate any number of Minions on that card. Add 1 AP to the Action Pool for each Minion Eliminated this way. Hero Commanding Supremes may only command this Action to Mechanical Minions.
- Smoke Cloud (Au1 Energy /AP 1 per Model): Minions deploy a Smoke Cloud that blocks all LOS until the end of the Game Round.
- More than Punching Bags: For every 2 friendly Minions with More than Punching Bags, add 1 AP to your Action Pool during the calculation. Only one Minion Resource Card in your Team may possess this upgrade.
Generic Upgrades
(Minion Power Points to purchase each in parenthesis):
- Hard to Kill (2): Any time a Minion with Hard to Kill is Eliminated roll a D6. On a 5 or 6, the Minion remains in play with 1 Damage point remaining.
- Infection (2): Any Non-Exclusive Minions or Citizens Eliminated by this Minion in Base to Base become a Minion identical to this one. The new Minion is added to the card and Activates with the rest of the Minions on the card.
- Auto Destruct (2): When the Auto Destruct Minion is Eliminated by receiving Damage from an enemy model, it explodes with a SBL2. The Energy value of the SBI equals the models Energy or Strength.
- Big (1): The Minions on this card are large models and should be mounted on 40mm base. In addition they gain an additional point of Damage.
- Mechanical (0): Minions gain the Mechanical skill.
- Non Living (0): Minions gain the Non Living skill.
- E.T. (0): Minions gain the E.T. skill.
- Survival (1 per Minion on the card, may be taken up to 3 times): Each Minion on the card benefits from 2 extra Damage points.
- Advanced Scout (1): Minion models with this skill may begin the game up to 4" beyond the normal deployment zone.
Example Minion Cards
The following sample cards are reproduced from the printed examples and are illustrations of the Minion rules above.
- Ninja Raptors - Level 2 / 2 per card. Strength 4, Defense 2. Damage 3 (each Ninja Raptor). Blend 2, Deadly Rush, Surprise Stab, Solo, Advanced Scout.
- Pack of Mutant Dogs - Level 1 / 3 per card. Strength 2, Defense 2. Damage 1 (each Dog). Deadly Rush, Pack Tactics, Blitzer 1.
- Pterodon X - Level 2. Energy 4, Defense 2. Damage 6. Flight 2, Blast, Big, Survival. Dino Blast (Bl2 Energy vs. Agility /RNG 6/AP 1).
Universal Resources
Many Resources come in Expansion Packs with your Supremes, but below you will find some of the most universal Resources to flesh out your team. Even though they are presented as a list, in all respects, each of them is considered to be a separate Resource card. Each card may be purchased only once.
Generic Minions
- Hired Guns (4 per card), Level 1. Energy 3, Defense 2. Damage 1 (each Gun). Shoot (Pr/RNG 6/Energy vs. Agility /AP 2).
- Pulp City Cops (2 per card), Level 1 / Heroes Only. Energy 3, Defense 2. Damage 1 (each Cop).
- Serve & Protect (Defense /AP 1): For each Cop Activated you may instantly Move* up to 2 Citizens for free.
- Covering Fire (Pr Energy vs. Agility /RNG 6/AP 2): Additionally, all friendly Minions and Citizens within 6 inches of the Cop benefit from +1 to their Defense until the end of the Round.
- Duty: Whenever any friendly Minion or Citizen within 2 inches of a Cop would suffer enough Damage to be Eliminated, you may transfer all Damage to the Cop.
- Corrupted Cops (2 per card), Level 1 / Villains Only. Energy 3, Defense 2. Damage 1 (each Cop).
- Corrupt (Agility /AP 1): One enemy non-Exclusive non-Character Minion in Base to Base may not be Commanded until the end of the Round.
- Random Fire (Pr Energy vs. Agility /RNG 6/AP 2): Additionally, all enemy Minions and Citizens within 6 inches of the Cop suffer from -1 to their Defense until the end of the Round.
- Human Shields: Whenever any Corrupted Cop would suffer enough Damage to be Eliminated, you may transfer all Damage to any Citizen within 2 inches of that Corrupted Cop.
Character Minion: June Summers
Channel 4 Reporter, Level 1 / Character Minion. Defense 4. Damage 3.
- Streetsmart (Mind /AP 1): Add +1 to your next Starting Roll.
June Summers is an experienced war reporter. After 4 years in Afghanistan and Iraq, she is finally back in Pulp City! She specializes in stories on Supremes and you can see her quite often running alongside Heroes and Villains alike, hunting for a good story. Your team may score up to 3 Agenda Points (AGP) in any Encounter thanks to:
- Broadcasting Live: If by the end of the Encounter, June Summers is in Base to Base with an Agenda Building, Agenda Token or inside Agenda Area that scores positive AGP for your team, gain 1 AGP.
- Bloody Good Story: If June Summers is within 6 inches of an enemy Supreme when it becomes Incapacitated or Eliminated, gain 1 AGP.
- Titans Clash: Whenever June Summers has LoS to a Supreme whose Opposed Roll resulted in both Opponents rolling 6 (just the basic Roll, not the Power-Up die), gain 1 AGP.
Generic Devices
-
Pulse Emitter - Level 1 / Personal / One use per Encounter. A Supreme carrying the Pulse Emitter gains access to the following Action:
- Zzzap (Sbl3 / Energy vs. Agility /AP 1): Only Mechanical models are affected by this Action. Any Mechanical model caught in the blast must make an Opposed Roll vs. Energy 6. Models suffering any Damage reduce their AP allowance by 1 for each Damage Point suffered for the rest of the Game Round and may not Run* or Charge*.
Any Devices caught in Zzzap cannot be used until the end of the Game Round.
-
Personal Forcefield - Level 2 / Personal. Supreme carrying the Personal Forcefield gains access to following Actions:
- Personal Shield (Defense /AP 2): The Supreme benefits from Absorb 2 until the end of Game Round.
- Wall of Force (Defense /AP X): Place a Wall of Force that is X inches long with one of its ends within 4 inches of the Supreme. No model may pass through the Wall until the end of the Game Round upon which it disappears. The Wall is considered to be 10 inches high and 0 inches thick. The Wall is Defense 10 and Damage 10, the Damage suffered is not carried over to subsequent Rounds. If the Wall gets destroyed, the Personal Forcefield is destroyed as well. Wall of Force cannot be used in two consecutive Rounds.
-
Spare Parts - Level 1 / Personal / One use per Encounter. The Supreme carrying the Spare Parts gains access to a following Action:
- Repair (Energy /AP 1): Remove 3 Damage points from a Mechanical Supreme in Base to Base (including yourself) or remove the Incapacitated Condition from a Mechanical Supreme in Base to Base. That Supreme is no longer Incapacitated and has 1 Damage point.
Generic Artifacts
- Path of Destiny - Level 1 / Personal / One use per Encounter. This Supreme has been marked out for some vital action, even if on the surface it at first seems inconsequential - it is all part of a grander plan. Sacrifice this Resource at any point to allow your Supreme to reroll all of the dice they use for an Opposed Roll (including the Power-Up Die).
- Nature's Boon - Level 2 / Personal / One use per Encounter. The battlefield is home to a an area of great natural affinity. Play this Resource to designate one scenery item or area of terrain (no larger than 6 inches by 6 inches) representing nature as a place of power. Any Nature Supremes add +2 to all of their Opposed Rolls when in Base to Base or within the designated area. This bonus lasts until the end of the Round.
- Blessing of Hermes - Level 1 / Personal / One use per Encounter. The gift of Hermes is speed and sure footing. Sacrifice this Resource to gain the ability to perform a third Movement Action this Round. This move must be paid for with AP as normal. In addition the model using the Blessing of Hermes gains Immovable until the end of the Game Round.
Generic Misc
- First Aid Kit - Level 1 / Personal / One use per Encounter. The Supreme carrying the First Aid Kit gains access to a following Action:
- Heal (Energy /AP 1): Remove 3 Damage points from a Living Supreme in Base to Base (including yourself) or remove the Incapacitated Condition from a Living Supreme in Base to Base. That Supreme is no longer Incapacitated and has 1 Damage point.
- Heroic Call - Level 1 / Heroes Only / One use per Encounter. Once per Encounter, Heroes may choose to use Heroic Call. Upon the Activation of any of your Heroes (but before performing any Actions), declare the use of Heroic Call and choose one of the options.
- Adrenaline Burst: Heal one Damage point on every friendly model (excluding Incapacitated ones).
- Battlefield Control: Upon ending the associated Activation, you may Activate an additional Supreme. When both Activations are over, declare it's your opponent's turn.
- Last Resort: Inflict X Damage on the Activating Hero. Add X Action Points to the Action Pool.
- Unsettled Debt - Level 1 / Villains Only / One use per Encounter. A Citizen suddenly pulls out a powerful gun and settles an old score. Upon the Activation of one of your Villains (but before performing any Action), declare the use of Unsettled Debt. One Citizen makes an Opposed Roll Energy 6 vs. Agility against any enemy model in its LoS and within 6 inches.
- Manholes - Level 1. Before the Deployment Roll, right after all Agenda related items are placed, place two 30 mm round Manhole Tokens anywhere on the board, as long as they are outside of both deployment zones, on ground level and up to 8 inches apart. Any Supreme (that is not Burdened and not Knocked Down) on a 30 mm base that is within 1 inch from one of the Tokens may use the following Action:
Chapter 11: Encounters, Plots & Agendas
Pulp City is a game of conflict among Supremes. Each Supreme has powers and abilities that allow you to shape the conflict and create unique and interesting games. Encounters in Pulp City always serve a purpose; because of this, Pulp City can be played a number of ways. If you want a quick game or are just learning the rules you can play a simple Smackdown! Once you've mastered the basics or just want a more customized game, choose one of the more advanced plotlines.
Getting ready for a Pulp City Encounter
To play a game, proceed with the following in order:
- Choose your Team, both Supremes and Resources
- Choose the Plot
- (Optionally) Choose Agendas
- Set up the playing area including all Plot and Agenda related items (scenery and Tokens)
- Make a Starting Roll in order to deploy the teams
- (Optionally) Deploy Citizens
- Deploy Teams
- Proceed with the First Round's Starting Roll.
Deploying Supremes and Minions
Before both sides place their models on the table, make a Starting Roll following standard rules with one exception: there is no Master Plan possible.
The winner of the roll decides which player will deploy the first Supreme.
Players take alternating turns deploying their miniatures. Once a player deployed all of his Supremes, he proceeds with Minions, placing all of his Minions belonging to one Resource card.
Exclusive Minions are deployed at the same time as their Commanding Supreme.
Winning a Pulp City Encounter
Below you will find a plenty of ways to make your Pulp City games enjoyable.
No matter which one you choose, most Encounters will have a winner and loser. In some rare cases the game will end up in a tie.
Through accomplishing various goals of the Plots and Agendas, your team will score or lose Agenda Points (AGP). The Encounter is over either when the time has run out (usually after the 6th Round) or when one Team's Supremes are either all Eliminated or Incapacitated. If the latter happens, finish the current Round and end the Encounter.
However the Encounter ends, all sides calculate their Agenda Points. The team that scored the most is the winner.
Plots & Agendas
The core of the Pulp City Encounter mechanics is the synergy between Plots and Agendas.
Plots are archetypal stories that spur the imagination of every comic book fan. Times and heroes change but the basic conflict principles remain the same throughout the ages. You will find that the fury that drives the ancient warrior Achilles is the same emotion that makes Guerilla spin his minigun.
Plots are the framework of your Encounter, something that either you choose to play with your opponent, or that you can randomly decide which one will become the canvas for your game.
But what makes these games truly unique and unpredictable are the Agendas, small stories that either spice up the main plot line or support it with surprising twists. They may be thought of as sub-plots like in any good comic book or adventure story. Agendas are always yours - you pursue them and become either triumphant or you fail. Of course your opponent will do a lot to stand in your way.
Pulp City Plots
Plots are the heart and soul of a game of Pulp City. A game of Pulp City is like a high-octane action movie, but even an action movie needs a Plot. Plots set the stage for the action and determine the conditions for which Team wins the day. Supremes can wallop each other all day but that can get boring quickly. Plots provide a framework for creating the story behind the action and violence.
Typically Heroes and Villains battle each other over the fate of Pulp City. In the dark shadows of Pulp City it's all too common to see violence between rival Villain groups spill out into the streets. Sometimes clashing egos or differing political agendas can cause even the most noble of Heroes to fight amongst themselves.
Once the players have selected the Teams they would like to play you can roll randomly to determine what the Plot will be. If you and your opponent both agree on a specific Plot you can skip this step. Once you've determined the Plot you can proceed as normal. Keep in mind that many Plots have special rules or resources that you should be aware of.
D6 Roll - Plot
- Smackdown!
- Destroy or Defend
- Escape
- Invasion
- Quest
- Take and Hold
All Plots may be played on a gaming table of almost any size. Since most of the Plots are symmetrical (having the same conditions for both teams involved), we suggest deployment zones of 6 inches from the table edge and that the distance between deployment zones be 18". This may be changed if both players agree.
Plot 1: Smackdown!
Goal: Eliminate all resistance.
Ends: After the 6th Round or when all Teams but one are either fully Eliminated or Incapacitated.
It's the oldest story in the world. When words fail and diplomacy is no longer an option, violence erupts.
Agenda Points: A Smackdown! is a simple battle where the Supremes are simply trying to wipe the other team out. At the end of the Encounter each Team scores 1 AGP for each enemy Supreme Level currently Eliminated or Incapacitated.
If there were more than 2 teams involved, each team gets AGP only for those Eliminations and Incapacitations they personally dealt.
Plot 2: Destroy or Defend
Goal: Destroy the objective or defend it.
Ends: After the 6th Round.
Mankind's greatest accomplishments are arguably its buildings and monuments. Buildings are symbols of our civilization, culture, and sophistication. What better way to spread panic and sow unrest than to knock them down?
Villains are attempting to spread panic and anarchy throughout the city by knocking down as many buildings as possible. Heroes are trying to protect the homes and businesses of the Pulp citizenry.
Sometimes two groups of Villains will attempt to out-do each other in a contest of Anarchy. The winner will be decided by how much destruction can be wrought on the city.
Heroes too may be forced to knock down a building. Sometimes it's in preparation for an impending invasion. Other times Heroes race to knock down unsafe buildings before they can collapse. More often though, Heroes knock down buildings housing weapons that may threaten the populace of Pulp City.
Extra Rules: Each player may place a single building on the table outside of all deployment zones. Place a third Building in the center of the table. For this Plot a Building is at least 3 inches by 3 inches and made of a material based on the encounter size:
- 3-6 Brick/Concrete: Defense 7, Damage 15
- 7-9 Steel and Glass: Defense 8, Damage 20
- 10+ Steel and Iron: Defense 9, Damage 25
Plot Buildings must be at least 8 inches apart from each other.
Choose or randomly decide who will be the Destroyer and who will be the Defender.
Agenda Points: The Destroyer Team gains 3 AGP for each Building destroyed. Additionally Destroyer teams score 1 AGP for any Building damaged but to less than 50 %, or 2 AGP for any Building damaged by 50% or more.
The Defender Team gains 1 AGP for each Building still standing but damaged by 50% or more, 2 AGP for each Building still standing but damaged by less than 50% or 3 AGP if the Building is unharmed.
These are not cumulative so Destroyers or Defenders can each claim only one AGP value per building.
Plot 3: Escape
Goal: Escape your pursuers or intercept the escapees.
Ends: After the 6th Round or when the last On the Run model on the table either successfully uses the Escape Action or becomes Incapacitated or Eliminated.
When the going gets rough sometimes you need to fall back and re-group. Sometimes the fate of the world hangs on making sure you are in the right place at the right time. In short, sometimes fighting isn't as important as being someplace else in a hurry.
Villains could be breaking out of jail. They could be fleeing the scene of a crime or they might be attempting to get to the mystical nexus before the stars are right. They might also be ambushing gullible Heroes on their way to their HQ.
Heroes could be racing to the site of an accident, or trying to stop some disaster before it tears up the city. They could also be trying to rally after their latest brush with the forces of evil.
In Escape, one player (On the Run) is attempting to escape to the table edge opposite to their own deployment zone. The other player (Intercepting) is trying to defend his own deployment zone while attempting to Incapacitate or Eliminate as many enemy Supremes as possible.
Extra Rules: For this plot, always use the suggested values for deployment (6 inch zones and 18 inches between the zones). Choose amongst yourselves or make an Opposed Mind vs. Mind roll to determine who will be Intercepting and who will be On the Run.
No model in the On the Run team may use any Skill, ability or Team Power that would allow it to begin the game outside of the normal deployment zone.
On the Run Supremes have access to the Escape Action:
- Escape (Agility /AP 1): Movement Action. Use Escape while in Base to Base with the Table's Edge fully located in your opponent's deployment zone to leave the battle (directly across from yours). Remove the model from the table and score AGP equal to the level of the model using this action.
Agenda Points: The On the Run team scores AGP equal to the level of each Supreme that successfully uses the Escape Action.
Interceptors score AGP at the end of the Encounter equal to the level of any Supremes Incapacitated or Eliminated or still on the table outside of their (Interceptor) deployment zone. Interceptors score ½ an AGP for each Level of every On the Run Supreme Eliminated or Incapacitated or still inside their (Interceptor) deployment zone.
Plot 4: Invasion
Goal: Defend the city and show your supremacy.
Ends: After the 6th Round.
Not every battle to be fought is Supreme on Supreme. On occasion the Supremes of Pulp City must defend it from invading armies. Sometimes Mysterious Man opens his cages and releases an army of mutants on the city. At other times Dr. Tenebrous has raised an army of the dead to ravage the city as a precursor to yet another Necroplane attack. Other times it could be robots or even a time portal letting in a horde of bloodthirsty barbarians.
When war hits the streets even the bitterest of enemies can unite. It's said that war makes strange bedfellows. This has been proven again and again in Pulp City. Even the most diabolical of Villains will save the city rather than see someone else rule it. Of course when rivals team up treachery is to be expected.
Whatever the situation the Supremes of Pulp City stand ready to defend the city. The question of the day is which team is more deserving of praise at the end of the day?
Extra Rules:
The Enemy: Before the game you and your opponent may agree upon or randomly determine who or what is attacking the city. Agree on a specific invader or roll a D6 and consult the chart to see what will be attacking.
D6 Attackers
- Zombies (Zombie/Super Zombie)
- Mutants (Mutant/Super Mutant)
- Robots (Sentry Bot/Advanced Sentry Bot)
- Alien Warrior (Ulthar Grunt/Ulthar Elite)
- Criminal Thugs (Hired Guns/Kingpin)
- Soldiers (Soldier/Special Ops)
(Alternatively, you may utilize the Minion creation rules to use any agreed upon Level 1 or Level 2 Minions.)
Invasion: Before the Encounter begins each player chooses three Invasion Entry Points on their opponent's side of the table and not within 6 inches of any other Invasion Point, alternating placement. Each Invasion Point is represented by a round 40 mm Token. In the Effects Phase of any Round, each player, starting with the one who lost the Starting Roll this Round, rolls a D6 and consults the table below.
- Nothing happens.
- Deploy 1 card of Level 1 Invader Minions fully within 3 inches from one of the Invasion Points.
- Deploy 1 card of Level 2 Invader Minions fully within 3 inches from one of the Invasion Points.
- Deploy 1 card of Level 1 Invader Minions fully within 3 inches from one of the Invasion Points, and roll again.
- Deploy 1 card of Level 2 Invader Minions fully within 3 inches from one of the Invasion Points, and roll again.
- Deploy 1 card each of Level 1 & Level 2 Invader Minions fully within 3 inches from one of the Invasion Points; in addition, until the end of the Round all Invaders add +1 to all Opposed Rolls (this bonus doesn't stack with any subsequent '6' rolls).
Each of the Invasion Points may be used to summon Invader Minions only once in a Round - after the 6th is used in a given Round, do not roll again even if prompted by the results roll.
Before the Teams act in the Round, Activate all Invader Minion cards. The Starting Roll winner Activates all Invader Minions on the opposing player's half of the table. Then the loser of the Starting Roll Activates the remaining Invader Minions. If models belonging to the same card are on different sides; activate them separately.
Activating the Invaders: Models with Ranged Combat Actions will use them against the closest non-Invader model (that means Citizens as well) preferring the models that are not In Cover. If no such target is in range, the controlling player is forced to move the model at full speed towards the eligible target and use the Ranged Combat Action.
Models with Close Combat Actions will move either use their Combat Action against the closest eligible non-Invader target, or move at full speed towards the closest target and possibly use the Close Combat Action.
Agenda Points: Gain 1 AGP for each Level 2 Minion Eliminated by your team and ½ AGP for each Level 1 Minion Eliminated by your Team.
Plot 5: Quest
Goal: Gain control of a very important item.
Ends: After the 6th Round.
Something of value is lost on the streets of Pulp City. Maybe it fell to earth from the heavens. Maybe retreating invaders left it behind. Maybe it was placed in the open for the amusement of Mysterious Man. Wherever this object is, victory goes the team in possession of it.
The Object itself could be almost anything. Possibilities include radioactive material, a secret formula, scientific data or plans for a doomsday weapon. On the other hand it could be something more arcane like ancient spells, magical amulets, or maps to hidden cities under the earth.
Extra Rules: Place a round 30 mm Quest Token in the center of the table or as close as possible as agreed by both players; this must not be in Impassable terrain obviously. Nothing prevents you from placing it atop a building, or other structure.
Agenda Points: The team who has a model Burdened with the Quest Token at the end of the Encounter gains 5 AGP. The team gains 7 AGP instead if they are Burdened with the Quest Token and the model is in their own deployment zone at the end of the Encounter. If the Quest Token is not Burdening a model, a team earns 1 AGP if it's on their half of the board, and 3 AGP if it's in their deployment zone.
Plot 6: Take and Hold
Goal: Gain control of the territory.
Ends: After the 6th Round.
Land is arguably the most valuable resource. Heroes and Villains alike feel the need to expand territory and set up shop in new locations. For Heroes this may be about Marketing and Public Relations, cleaning up bad neighborhoods for the greater good. Other times it's about protecting the world from dark magic or dangerous technology hidden behind a peaceful façade.
Villains are always seeking an edge in their plans for world domination. Sometimes this is a slum rife with new customers or new recruits. Sometimes gaining turf allows access to hidden magic, dark portals or forgotten laboratories. Sometimes all the Villains need is an out of the way place to construct a new lair.
Whatever the reasons, what is important is a careful survey of potential new territory. Rival Factions race to explore the limits of this valuable area and try and keep their rivals out.
Extra Rules: This plot may be played in one (or both) of two ways:
King of the Hill: Trace the line that divides the table into two player sides. Place one round 30 mm Token 1/3 of the distance along the line and from one neutral edge, and another one 2/3 of the distance along the same line (the Tokens create invisible lines that divide the table into 3 equal zones). Those are the power spots that your team will try to control.
King of the Block: Divide the table into quarters. Each of the quarter holds its own strategic value.
Note that you can play both types of the game at the same time!
Agenda Points:
King of the Hill: At the end of each Game Round, the team with more Supreme Levels (excluding Incapacitated models) in Base to Base with each power spot gains 1 AGP for controlling it. In the case of draw, neither team scores.
King of the Block: At the end of the Encounter, each team gets 3 AGP for controlling (occupied by more non-Incapacitated Supreme models) each quarter. A model located in more than one quarter counts for the purposes of this calculation as being only in one (where most of its base is, if this still doesn't solve the issue, controlling player has to make the call).
Citizens
When Heroes and Villains clash, there is usually no time to evacuate the citizens of Pulp City. Brave folks of the city have witnessed Supreme violence multiple times and know what to expect. Even if an Encounter takes place in the desert rise East of the city, there is a chance a group of boy scouts will be caught accidentally in the conflict. Maybe Heavy Metal's fan club will carelessly follow their idols into the eye of the Necroplane storm? There are always explanations as to why Citizens are in the midst of a Supreme battle.
In game terms, Citizens are represented by special Citizen Tokens or by regular miniatures on 30 mm bases. Citizens may be targeted by any Action that mentions targeting models or enemy models. They are considered to have Defense 1 and Damage 1.
If one of the players wants to play the Encounter with Citizens on the board, Citizens will be deployed after the table is set but before any Supremes are placed.
The number of Citizens is always equal to the Level of the Encounter. To deploy the Citizens, the winner of the Starting Roll places the Citizen Clock in the middle of the table (as represented on the picture).
It is up to the winning player how the hours are placed. Then the player rolls D6 or 2D6 (player choice) and moves the first Citizen from the center of the clock directly in the direction of 12 O'clock. The loser of the Starting Roll does the same with the second Citizen, sending it in the direction of 2 O'Clock. Players continue sending Citizens in the direction of consecutive following even hours until there are no Citizens left. Once all even hours have been used, the seventh Citizen (if there is one) is sent in the direction of 1 O'Clock, then the eighth toward 3 O'Clock and so on.
If there are more than 12 Citizens, repeat the entire procedure until all Citizens have been deployed.
Citizens may be placed higher than ground level if the Citizen Clock sent them to a location occupied by a scenery piece. If a Citizen would have ended up placed in Dangerous or Impassable Terrain, move it out using the shortest possible route.
At the beginning of each Round, just before the Starting Roll, Citizens get their chance to act. They either make a 4 inch Move or stay in place. To represent the Citizen's self-preservation instinct, following rules apply:
- If within the Command Range of a Hero (but not Hero/Villain), the controller of that Hero may move some or all Citizens up to 4 inches in any direction. If two opposing Heroes have the same Citizen in their Command Range, the Citizen will be controlled by the Hero with higher Agility value; in case of a tie, the Hero with higher Level; in case of a further tie, the Hero closest to the Citizen.
- If not within the Command Range of a Hero, a Citizen moves 4 inches directly towards the closest table edge while avoiding Dangerous Terrain, and making sure it doesn't end up closer to any Supreme or Minion than it began. If it is not possible, the Citizen remains in place.
Citizens will never voluntarily walk into Dangerous Terrain, move off the edge of a rooftop or end up in a situation that forces an Opposed Roll.
Once a Citizen is in Base to Base with a table edge, remove it from the game. For the purposes of any Agendas, it is considered Saved.
Both Heroes and Villains have their special way of affecting Citizens during the Game Round. All Supremes gain access to following Universal Actions:
- Terrorize (Villains Only) (Agility /AP 2): D6 Closest Citizens move 4 inches directly away from the Supreme.
- Beacon of Hope (Heroes Only) (Agility /AP 2): D6 Closest Citizens move 4 inches directly towards the Supreme.
Terrorize and Beacon of Hope may be used by each team only once in a Game Round.
Citizens moved through use of these Actions will not endanger themselves by moving into any area with harmful game effects.
Agendas
Agendas are small missions that a Supreme Team will undertake during a battle. After deciding which Plot will serve as the framework for the Encounter, players choose whatever Agenda's they think they can accomplish during the course of a game. Most Agenda's can be accomplished by a single Supreme. This is not to say the entire team can't help, but it shouldn't be necessary.
Agenda's are not undertaken without risk. Each Agenda has a built in failure condition. If you fail the Agenda you lose points and run the risk of losing the game. Because of this it's important to take on only Agendas you think your team can handle.
When playing an Encounter, right after choosing a Plot, your Team may also choose Agendas. This is optional. You may choose from 0 to up to 1 per every 3 incomplete Levels of the Encounter. Opposing Teams may therefore have different numbers of Agendas in the same game.
Example: Heroes and Villains players are playing a level 8 Encounter. They may choose no Agendas, but can't choose more than 3.
Finally it's important to note that the Agendas you choose are secret. You don't have to tell your opponent what it is you are trying to accomplish. Agendas are printed in the back of the book and can be photocopied and cut out to make this easier. Simply place your chosen Agenda cards face down on the table in front of you.
Basic Agenda Rules
These rules govern use and placement of Tokens, Agenda related models, Citizens and Buildings that are Agenda objectives.
All Agenda-related objects are placed on the table before the teams are placed. If both sides have Agenda objects, then the one with more deploys the first one, followed by the opponent placing his first. Sides keep switching until all objects have been placed.
Often times Agenda's will require a specific piece of terrain, token or a Citizen to be placed on the table. This will often give your opponent a clue about the agenda you are pursuing. This is perfectly acceptable. Agendas requiring obvious objectives are designed to be easier to accomplish than Agendas that are more covert.
As soon as an Agenda is completed, whether successfully or not, reveal the Agenda Card. AGP are scored or lost as soon as the Agenda is completed, of failed.
Agenda Tokens
Any time a Token is called for, a standard 30mm base or an object or roughly the same size can represent it. An appropriate object should be mounted on a base where possible as this will add consistency to your tabletop.
Models placed in a deployment zone can be placed anywhere fully within the deployment zone. Tokens that are placed outside of the deployment zones can be placed anywhere fully outside of all deployment zones.
Tokens placed on either the enemy or friendly half of the table, are to be placed fully outside of deployment zones. Place tokens completely within the area between the deployment zone and the middle of the table. Agenda Tokens may not be destroyed, Damaged or Manipulated unless mentioned otherwise.
Agenda Citizens
Citizens placed as part of an Agenda (referred to as Agenda Citizens) are placed in addition to the normal number of Citizen placed. Citizens included as part of an Agenda may not be moved by either player and may not be affected by any Action or game effect other than the specific Action provided in the Agenda description. Once the Agenda Citizen has been successfully targeted by the related Action, they become a regular Citizen (that may for instance become the target of Protect Civilians or Terror Tactics Agendas), and is subject then to all Citizen rules. Each Agenda Citizen may be the goal of only one Agenda.
Agenda Buildings
Agenda Buildings are always considered to be at least 3 inches in each dimension. When an Agenda calls for Agenda Area, it is marked by a 3 inches by 3 inches fragment of the table on ground level.
Both Agenda Buildings and Areas have to be fully out of both Teams' deployment zones (unless clearly stated by the Agenda). Each of the items may be the target of one of your Agendas, but your enemy may pick the same building as you did for his own Agenda!
Unless otherwise indicated, any Agenda may be chosen by any Supreme Team.
If Agenda calls for an All (insert the type here) Team, then all of its Supremes must fulfill the criteria.
Earth Day calls for All Nature Origins Team. Only a team with all Supremes with Nature Origin may take this Agenda.
Each Agenda consists of: Goal, Gain, Lose (conditions for scoring or losing AGP) and Reveal (when the Agenda becomes open to the other player. If Reveal states 'No', then the Agenda is revealed at the end of the Encounter, or when completed or failed).
Agenda Cards
This One Must Survive
- Goal: Choose one of your Supremes. This model must be protected at all costs.
- Gain: You gain (4 minus Supreme's Level) AGP if at the end of the Encounter this model is neither Incapacitated nor Eliminated. For instance, Level 1 Supreme will yield 3 AGP while Level 3 Supreme only 1.
- Lose: You will lose 2 AGP if this model ends the Encounter being Eliminated or Incapacitated.
- Reveal: No.
Revenge
- Goal: One of your opponent's Supremes must pay for his or her past crimes. Nominate one enemy Supreme to be the target of your revenge.
- Gain: If that model has been Eliminated or Incapacitated at the end of the Encounter, earn AGP equal to the Supreme level of the model.
- Lose: You will lose a number of AGP equal to the model's Level if it ends the Encounter being neither Eliminated nor Incapacitated.
- Reveal: When the target is Eliminated or Incapacitated.
Double Agent
- Goal: One of the Enemy Supremes is a double agent passing you vital information. You must not harm this valuable spy. Nominate one enemy Supreme.
- Gain: If that model has been neither Eliminated nor Incapacitated at the end of the Encounter, earn 2 AGP. Earn 1 extra AGP if the model is not Damaged.
- Lose: You will lose 2 AGP if this model ends the Encounter Eliminated or Incapacitated.
- Reveal: No.
The Hand Off
- Goal: One of the Citizens is holding important information that you must retrieve. All friendly Supremes gain the Secret Sign Action:
- Secret Sign (Mind /1 AP): While in Base to Base with a Citizen model, roll a D6. If the result is a 6, the Action is successful - the Citizen has passed the information. Otherwise the Citizen is spooked and may immediately be moved 2 inches by your opponent. Each Citizen may be the target of Secret Sign only once in an Encounter even if both parties have the same Agenda. If Secret Sign has been unsuccessful prior to reaching the last available Citizen, then use of the Action on the remaining Citizen is considered to be automatically successful without the need to roll D6.
- Gain: Score 2 AGP for finding the information.
- Lose: Lose 2 AGP if the information is not found.
- Reveal: When Secret Sign is first used.
Incriminating Evidence
- Goal: One of your opponent's Supremes has some incriminating evidence that could land one of your Team members in hot water. Choose the friendly Supreme that is being blackmailed (referred to as the Victim). Then your opponent picks one of his Supremes as the holder of the information or lets you pick one (referred to as the Blackmailer). The Victim is at -1 to all attacks against the Blackmailer until the evidence is destroyed. In order to destroy the evidence, the Victim must perform a successful Destroy Evidence.
- Destroy Evidence (Strength vs. Defense /AP 1): This Action deals no Damage, and can only be used in Base to Base with the Blackmailer.
- Gain: 1 AGP if the evidence is destroyed while you chose the Blackmailer OR 2 AGP if the evidence is destroyed while your opponent chose the Blackmailer.
- Lose: 2 AGP if the evidence has not been destroyed.
- Reveal: When Victim is chosen.
Protect Civilians (Heroes Only)
- Goal: Supreme matters should not endanger innocent humans. Heroes have to clear the area and lead Citizens to safety.
- Gain: ½ AGP for each Saved Citizen.
- Lose: ½ AGP for each Eliminated Citizen.
- Reveal: No.
Trapped on High (Heroes Only)
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Goal: This Agenda may be taken up to 3 times. A Citizen is trapped on a ledge, balanced on a teetering car or maybe in the midst of a minefield. Whatever the situation it will take speed and agility to bring the Citizen to safety. Place a single Agenda Citizen model on an Agenda Building (without revealing the Agenda), not accessible by ground movement. Supremes with Flight or Wall Crawler may be able to reach the Citizen swiftly but getting them down is another matter entirely. While in Base to Base with the Agenda Citizen a Hero may become Burdened with the Citizen (temporarily remove the model). In order to perform any Movement Action while Burdened in this way, the Supreme will need to roll Agility vs. a target number of 8 in order to climb down the Agenda Building and save the Citizen.
If you fail the roll, the Supreme pays the AP for the Action and its activation ends. If you roll a natural 1, the Supreme drops the Agenda Citizen (consider it to be Eliminated).
If successful, perform the Movement Action normally. Whenever the Burdened Supreme is out of the Agenda Building, the Agenda is completed, and the Agenda Citizen becomes a regular Citizen. If any Action or game effect forces the Supreme to lose Agenda Burden, the Agenda fails as if a 1 was rolled.
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Gain: 2 AGP for rescuing the Citizen.
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Lose: 2 AGP for failing to rescue the Citizen.
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Reveal: When attempting to Burden a Supreme with the Agenda Citizen.
Trapped in Wreckage (Heroes Only)
- Goal: This Agenda may be taken up to 3 times. A Citizen is trapped under rubble or inside a damaged vehicle and must be broken free in order to be saved. Place an Agenda Citizen in an Agenda Area (for dramatic effect you may place a car model in the area). Freeing the trapped fellow requires a successful Strength roll against a target number of 10. Each attempt to break the Agenda Citizen free is considered a Strike Action. If you roll a 1 on your attack die, you injure the Citizen and they are Eliminated.
- Gain: 2 AGP for rescuing the Citizen.
- Lose: 2 AGP for failing to rescue the Citizen.
- Reveal: When attempting to free the Citizen with a Strike.
Trapped by Elements (Heroes Only)
- Goal: This Agenda may be taken up to 3 times. Citizens are trapped in a burning building, or surrounded by toxic sludge; maybe downed power lines have them stuck in their cars. Whatever the situation is, some brave hero will have to carry them out. Nominate an Agenda Area that is treated as Dangerous Difficult Terrain and place the Agenda Citizen centrally in it. Any model moving in or through, or beginning its Activation in the Agenda Area, suffers an Energy 5 vs. Defense Opposed Roll. While in Base to Base with the Agenda Citizen, a Hero may become Burdened with the Citizen (temporarily remove the model). In order to save the Citizen, the Burdened Hero must end its Activation outside of Agenda Area.
- Gain: 2 AGP for rescuing the Citizen.
- Lose: 2 AGP for failing to rescue the Citizen.
- Reveal: When attempting to Burden a Supreme with the Agenda Citizen.
Terror Tactics (Villains Only)
- Goal: You can build up your bad reputation by spreading terror among the Citizens.
- Gain: ½ AGP for each Citizen Eliminated by your Supremes and Minions.
- Lose: ½ AGP for each Saved Citizen.
- Reveal: No.
Razing Laser (Villains Only)
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Goal: You've managed to steal, build or repair a powerful industrial laser and now is the time to test its performance. Place a Laser Agenda Token in your deployment zone. The Laser Agenda Token can be picked up by a model moving into Base to Base with it. This powerful laser gives any model Burdened with it access to:
- Laser Raze (Energy vs. Defense /RNG 4/AP 2): This Action may target only scenery and buildings. It benefits from Ram 3 Skill.
On a roll of 1, the laser malfunctions. Remove the Laser Agenda Token from the game.
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Gain: 2 AGP for destroying a single Agenda Building and inflicting at least 1 Damage Point with Laser Raze on it.
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Lose: 2 AGP for failing to fulfill the above condition. Lose an extra 1 AGP if at the end of the Encounter if an enemy model is Burdened with the Laser Agenda Token.
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Reveal: When deploying the Laser Agenda Token.
Editor's note: the printed book uses the heading "The Hand Off" for two different Agendas. The first is the Citizen Secret Sign Agenda above; the second, below, is transcribed under the same printed heading.
The Hand Off (second printed Agenda)
- Goal: Your leader has a bad habit of talking before the battle is won. Usually he picks the worst timing! Whenever your team earns the Master Plan, instead of choosing other options, the model winning the Starting Roll may use the Soliloquy Action in this Round:
- Soliloquy (Aura 4 / Energy /AP 3): You taunt your enemies with your master plan for world conquest and domination. Soliloquy lasts for the rest of the Round and may be used only once in an Encounter by each Team.
- Gain: 1 AGP for performing the Soliloquy. Extra (2 + Supreme's Level, Minions are treated as Level 0 for this purpose) AGP if your Team Incapacitates or Eliminates an enemy model in the Aura of Soliloquy.
- Lose: 1 AGP for failing to successfully perform the Soliloquy. 4 AGP if a model in the Aura of your Soliloquy Eliminates or Incapacitates the Supreme who performed the Soliloquy.
- Reveal: When you choose access to Soliloquy as your Master Plan.
Robbery (Villains Only)
- Goal: Money makes the world go round. Your plan is to get your hands on some of that green. Place an armored car or bank vault (referred to as the Vault) in an Agenda Area fully on your opponent's half of the table. Your goal is to get the money out by destroying the Vault, and make off with the loot. It is considered to be Movable Scenery of Rank 2 that can be manipulated as normal. Unlike normal Movable Scenery the Vault is not removed after being Manipulated for the second time. It is simply left where it is, and can't be Manipulated again. It has Defense 9 and Damage 10. You may make an Opposed Roll against the Vault every time it is Manipulated. Once the Vault is destroyed place a Loot Agenda Token in its place.
- Gain: 1 AGP for destroying the Vault. Gain an extra 1 AGP if a friendly model is Burdened with the Loot Agenda Token at the end of the Encounter.
- Lose: 1 AGP if a friendly model is not Burdened with Loot Agenda Token at the end of the Encounter. Extra 1 AGP if an enemy model is Burdened with the Loot Agenda Token at the end of the Encounter.
- Reveal: When the Vault is deployed.
Earth Day (All Nature Teams Only)
- Goal: Time to show Mother Nature that her children still care. Nominate an Agenda Area on the opponent's side of the board that must be cleansed; this can be within your opponent's deployment zone. Any Supreme in Base to Base with the terrain may use:
- Cleanse (Agility or Energy /AP 2): Movement Action. Make an Opposed Roll versus a static target number of 7. The amount by which you exceed the target number is the amount of Damage you have Cleansed.
- Gain: 2 AGP when you have used Cleanse to remove at least 10 Damage points from the Agenda Area.
- Lose: 2 AGP if the Agenda Area has been Cleansed for less than 10 Damage Points at the end of the Encounter.
- Reveal: When Cleanse is used for the first time in the Encounter.
Ritual (All Mind Teams Only)
- Goal: The stars are right and powerful enchantments must be cast. Place a Ritual Agenda Token on the opponent's half of the board. Any Supremes in Base to Base with it may use:
- Ritual (Mind /AP 3): A model performing the Ritual may not Activate again this Round. In a subsequent Round the model must perform the Ritual again to conclude the ceremony. At the end of the round the Ritual was repeated, if a Supreme performing Ritual has not been Eliminated, Incapacitated or moved in any way, the Ritual succeeds.
- Gain: 2 AGP if the Ritual was completed.
- Lose: 2 AGP if the Ritual was not completed.
- Reveal: When Ritual is used for the first time in the Encounter.
Jury Rig (All Science Teams Only)
- Goal: Sometimes you just need to scrounge some parts for your latest project. Nominate up to 5 Agenda Buildings and/or Agenda Areas with a vehicle in it. When any of your Supremes is in Base to Base with any of those vehicles or Agenda Buildings, they may attempt to scrounge for parts.
- Scrounge (Mind /AP 2): Movement Action. Counts as Manipulation but Supremes with any Trump Trait may use Scrounge. Each Agenda Building or vehicle may be Scrounged only once.
- Gain: 2 AGP for successfully Scrounging three separate objects located fully outside of your deployment zone.
- Lose: 2 AGP if the above condition had not been fulfilled.
- Reveal: When Scrounge is used for the first time in the Encounter.
Primate in Peril (All A.R.C. Teams Only)
- Goal: A fellow simian is in trouble and you will see him free no matter the cost. Place a vehicle centrally in an Agenda Area fully on your opponent's half of the table. Your goal is to free the primate from it and lead it to safety. The vehicle is a Moveable Medium Size scenic-piece with Defense 8 and Damage 6. Once it is destroyed in any way, place the Simian Agenda Token in its place. The Agenda Simian has Defense 4 and Damage 3. This Agenda Simian may be commanded like a normal Minion controlled by your Team. A friendly A.R.C. Supreme in Base to Base with the Simian Agenda Token treats Power-Up dice as D6 instead of the usual D3.
- Gain: 2 AGP if the Simian Agenda Token is in your deployment zone when the Encounter ends.
- Lose: 2 AGP if the vehicle is not destroyed at the end of the Encounter or if the Simian Agenda Token was Eliminated.
- Reveal: When the Simian Agenda Token is placed.
Sample of Power (All Coven Teams Only)
-
Goal: The Saints are always seeking strange and unusual powers and technology. Collecting samples from your enemies will earn you favor in the organization. Each time one of your Supremes successfully deals at least 3 points of Damage to an enemy Supreme by using a Close Combat Action, they may collect a Sample. Reduce the damage dealt to your opponent to 1 and gain a Sample.
Each enemy model may be the source of only one Sample in the Encounter. If the Action described any special effects, these don't take place. Supremes that collected the Samples must end the Encounter neither Incapacitated or Eliminated to be considered in possession of Samples.
Coven Supremes possessing 2 or more Samples benefit from their AP value being raised by 1 until the end of the Encounter.
-
Gain: 2 AGP for possessing 3 or more Samples at the end of Encounter OR 1 AGP for possessing 2 Samples at the end of the Encounter.
-
Lose: 2 AGP for possessing less than 2 Samples at the end of the Encounter.
-
Reveal: When a Sample is collected for the first time in the Encounter.
Blood for the Gods (All Forgotten Teams Only)
- Goal: Sometimes a sacrifice of blood is the only way to wake the slumber of ancient powers. Place an Artifact Agenda Token on the board, outside of all deployment zones. When a Living Supreme is Incapacitated or Eliminated within 3 inches of the token, you have completed a Sacrifice. Every time a Sacrifice is completed, place a Power-Up dice in your Power-Up Pool.
- Gain: 2 AGP if the first Sacrificed model was an enemy Supreme. Gain 1 AGP if the first Sacrificed model was a friendly Supreme.
- Lose: 2 AGP if no friendly Supreme nor enemy Supreme were Sacrificed.
- Reveal: When the first Sacrifice in the Encounter is completed.
Close the Rift (All Blood Watch Teams Only)
- Goal: A dangerous mix of energy threatens to open a portal into the Necroplane, or maybe someplace worse. You must Seal this rift at all costs. Place two Rift Agenda Tokens 3 inches from each other, both in the enemy's deployment zone. The straight line (30mm wide) between them represents the Rift. It is an Impassable Non-Moveable scenery piece. Any friendly Supreme in Base to Base with the Rift can attempt to Seal the rift With the following Action:
- Seal (Agility /AP 1): Move both Rift Agenda Tokens ½ inch directly towards each other. It is Sealed when both Tokens are in Base to Base with each other.
Each model coming into or beginning its activation in Base to Base with the unsealed Rift has to roll D6 and instantly apply the effects.
- 1: Eliminate the model.
- 2: The model may not activate until the end of the Round.
- 3-5: Nothing happens.
- 6-7: If the model belongs to Blood Watch, its team receives one Power-Up Die. Each team may receive only one Power-Up Die this way in each Round.
Blood Watch models in Base to Base with Rift add +1 to all of their Rolls (including the one for the above table).
- Gain: 2 AGP for Sealing the Rift.
- Lose: 2 AGP if the Rift is not Sealed at the end of the Encounter.
- Reveal: When the Rift Agenda Tokens are placed.
Soul Fuel (All Necroplane Teams Only)
- Goal: Life force feeds the engines of the Necroplane - your demonic servants must claim it to continue your existence. Place a Dangerous Difficult terrain Agenda Area on the table outside of any deployment zone. This will be the area of operation of a powerful, life sucking Death Beam fired from a Harvester ship. Any Living model entering the Agenda Area or beginning its Activation in it is subject to a Energy 5 vs. Defense Opposed Roll.
Any Living enemy Supreme, Minion or Citizen Incapacitated or Eliminated while even partially within the Agenda Area is counted as Harvested. Each time an enemy model is Harvested, nominate one friendly Necroplane Supreme and remove D6 points of Damage from it. All Necroplane models are completely Immune to all ill-effects of this Agenda related Death Beam.
Your Supremes have access to a new Master Plan:
- Death Beam Control: Move the Death Beam template D3 inches in any direction.
Your Supremes also have access to a new Action:
-
Send Coordinates to the Harvester Ship (Mind /AP 6): Move the Death Beam template D3 inches in any direction.
-
Gain: 5 AGP for Harvesting at least 5 models. Gain 3 AGP for Harvesting at least 3 models.
-
Lose: 3 AGP if 2 or fewer models have been Harvested.
-
Reveal: When the Death Beam Agenda Area is placed.
Reconstruction (All Heavy Metal Teams Only)
- Goal: Heavy Metal has a civic obligation to keep Pulp City looking its best. That often means propping up damaged buildings and other structures. Choose an Agenda building that must be fixed. The building starts with only half its normal Damage. Your Team gains:
- Fix Building (Mind, Strength or Agility vs. Building's Defense /AP 2): The amount you win the Opposed Roll by is the amount of Damage repaired on the target Agenda Building.
Massive support from the City's dwellers grants Heavy Metal Supremes a helping hand.
Each time Fix Building is used successfully for 3 or more points of Damage repaired, take out 1 AP from the opposing team's Action Pool for this Round.
- Gain: 2 AGP if the Agenda Building is fully repaired (no Damage) at the end of the Encounter. Gain 1 AGP if you've successfully Fixed Building at least once and it's still standing at the end of the Encounter.
- Lose: 2 AGP if the Agenda Building has been destroyed.
- Reveal: When Fix Building is used for the first time in the Encounter.
Glossary
- Action (Page 23): An Action represents what a model is able to do in its Activation (see: Activation). It declares the Action, announces its potential targets and pays respective AP cost (see: Action Points). Actions are divided into two groups: Universal (available, with some restrictions, to every model) and Exclusive (reserved for the model on whose card the Action is printed).
- Actions, Combat (Page 34): Actions (see: Actions) that are used by models to attack and potentially Damage (see: Damage) other models. Close Combat Actions deal Damage to models in Base to Base (see: Base to Base) or within Reach distance; Ranged Actions (PR for Projectiles, R for Rays, Bl for Blasts, SBI for Self Blasts, and Au for Auras) are able to target models within the Range (see: RNG).
- Actions, Combined (Page 23): Actions (see: Actions) marked with *; they may be combined with any other Action (with some restrictions) to form a model's Activation (see: Activation).
- Actions, Movement (Page 27): Actions (see: Actions) that are used by models to move around the battlefield and change their positioning. As a general rule, a model may perform only two Movement Actions in a Game Round (see: Game Round).
- Actions, Tactical (Page 24): Actions (see: Actions) that are used by models and Teams to exert some control over the flow of the Game Round.
- Action Points (Page 17): Action Points are what any model uses to pay for the Actions (see: Actions) they carry out, and other in-game benefits. Action Points come from the shared Team's Action Pool (see: Action Pool). A Supreme may spend Action Points each Round (see: Game Round) up to their Action Points Allowance, printed on its card.
- Action Pool (Page 17): Renewing source of Action Points (see Action Points) that your Team will be using to perform Actions (see: Actions). The number is equal to [the amount of friendly Supreme Levels (see: Supreme Levels) that are not Incapacitated (see: Incapacitated) and still on the table] x 2 +2.
Errata
Pulp City card errata and clarification, as printed on pages 134-135 of the Supreme Edition book. Following Supreme cards are affected by errata and clarification.
Heroes
- Ace of Wraiths - King of Torment: was AP 4, is AP 3.
- Androida - Eye Beam: was AP 2, is AP 1. Machine Kin: The moved vehicle may not end up on top of any models, Androida's controller may move all affected models to the side, shortest possible route. Team Power - Rise of the Machines: The Team Power affects now also enemy Non-Exclusive and Non-Character Mechanical Minions within (or Activated by a Supreme within) Androida's Mind Range.
- Blood Rose - Overwhelming Mercy: The Action removes the Incapacitated Condition as well. Blood Roses Bloom: The Action doesn't affect Incapacitated models.
- Chronin - Flurry*: Use of Flurry* may be announced after finding out if the Strike was successful.
- Dr. Mercury - Anvil: Remove the following sentence: This doesn't apply to Trump Trait Re-rolls. Team Power - Mercurial: When in the guise of a different Supreme, Dr. Mercury still retains his own Trump Traits.
- Giant Hadron - Giant Hadron model uses an 80 mm base.
- Iron Train - Haunted Train: Replace Mind with Strength in the description. Street Brawler: Replace the text with following: Street Brawler (Strength /AP 1): Until the end of the Round, Iron Train pays only 1 AP for Throw and Smash Actions, regardless of the Rank of the Manipulated Object and adds extra +1 to the Opposed Rolls when performing them. Fortify: was AP 3, is AP 2.
- Red Riding Hoodoo - Blood Red Hoodoo: was AP 3, is AP 2. Halo of Souls: Replace the text with following: Any friendly Supremes in the aura may use Red Riding Hoodoo's Agility value when defending against enemy Actions. Halo of Souls lasts until the end of the Round.
Hero/Villain
- Acorn - Hurray for the Trees: Father Oak is Immune/Hurray for the Trees.
- Chimp Chi - Shuriken: RNG 5. Team Power - Sneaky Git: Chi is placed before Citizen are placed.
- Guerilla - Raze: was AP 4, is AP 3. Slam: was AP 4, is AP 3. Replace the following text: Use instead of Move or Run* Actions* with: Movement Action.
- Howler - Howls: Remove RNG 8 from the description.
- Virus - Fix: Repair: was AP 3, is AP 2.
Villains
- Boreas - Blood Wind: Replace the following text: May not Activate this Round with: For the rest of the Round must pay additional 1 AP for each Action performed. Gale: Throw Action refers to Throw Scenery Manipulation Action.
- Hellsmith - Subfaction: Hellsmith is Forgotten. Earthquake: was AP 4, is AP 3. Aegis of the Damned: was AP 3, is AP 2. Replace Deflect 1 with Deflect 2.
- Nuke - Radiation: Replace: at half Nuke's Energy with: at full Nuke's Energy. Nuclear Substances: If purchased, Uranium or Plutonium become Nuke's Damage Sources.
- Rook - Guard: The extra cost for each Damage transferred doesn't count towards Rook's AP Allowance. Team Power - Body Guard: Replace the following text: If the selected Supreme is a Coven model, all of Rook's Strike Actions benefit from the Push Away Trump Actions with: If the selected Supreme is The Coven model, all of Rook's Strike Actions benefit from the Super Damage 3 with the difference that the model is not Knocked Down at the end of the move.
- Tangent - Analyze: Discard the last sentence. Weak Spot: Replace the following text: If that number is rolled, double Agility value for that Roll with: If that number is rolled, add +3 to the Opposed Roll.
Generic Minions
- Sentry Bots - Laser Eyes: was AP 1 for each Bot, is AP 1.
- Grimms #1 - Add following sentence to the Resource side of the card: Grimm upgrades may be purchased only when your Team has a model with a Grimm Master or Superior Grimm Master Team Power.
Chapter XX: Effects Redux (2019 official update)
Official companion chapter "Effects Redux", Pulp Monsters, version 1.3 (2019). It replaces the Supreme Edition Effects rules in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of this book. Editor's note: the source PDF's text layer renders several Trait icons as bare letters (F, G, H, I, J, and the Structure G value below); they are reproduced exactly as printed rather than guessed at. This chapter outlines several new Effects and updates the rules explaining some existing Effects. All Effects are included here, even if unchanged, to make a single handy reference for players.
New Effects and revised Effects are noted as such after their name; if neither is noted they are unchanged. The revisions in this chapter are changes simply to add greater clarity to the original intent of the written rules.
Effects Reminders
As a reminder, when an Action results in any EFX, players have the option to not select any or all EFX; however, on a successful result any FX must be applied. If multiple Effects are achieved, either as FX and/or as EFX, then it is up to the Attacking player to decide the order in which they are applied.
Generally, multiple results of the same Effect 'stack'. This means, for example, that a Combat Action causing Damage 1 (from FX) and Damage 1 (from EFX) to a Target causes Damage 2. However, some Effects do not stack and this is noted in their descriptions; for example, no matter how many Stun Effects are applied; the Stunned Condition is still recovered in the subsequent Effects Phase. Another example is that usually models cannot suffer more than two Fatigues in a single Round unless they have a special rule allowing more (such as Speeders).
Effects - New & Revised
Attack X
The Target adds a number of dice equal to X to their Attacker Action Rolls. Bonuses from multiple Attack FX and EFX stack. Attack X counts as a Combat Bonus. This Effect lasts until the following Effects Phase.
Blast X
A template with radius X is placed with the center over the base of the Target model. After resolving the initial Action Roll, other models at least partially within the template area up to a height equal to the radius are also affected by the same Combat Action and a separate Action Roll is made applying FX and EFX as usual, except that no further Blast X FX/EFX are applied. If the Action Roll against the first model is failed, then the opposing player may move the center of the Blast by up to 2 inches. A Blast is not repositioned if further Action Rolls are failed. Attackers using a Blast that resolves Action Rolls with their J are Immune to their own Action.
Block X (NEW)
Add X dice (total all Block X from FX and EFX) to the Target model's next Action Roll as Defender within the current Turn; after the Turn ends or immediately after the Block X bonus has applied, that Block X bonus does not then apply to further Action Rolls. Block X counts as a Combat Bonus.
Brutal X (NEW)
Add X dice (total all Brutal X from FX and EFX) to the Target model's next Action Roll as Attacker within the current Turn; after the Turn ends or immediately after the Brutal X bonus has applied, that Brutal X bonus does not then apply to further Action Rolls. Brutal X counts as a Combat Bonus.
Damage X
The Defender loses X HP. A model that loses its entire HP is KO'ed (see Conditions).
Defend X
The Target adds a number of dice equal to X to their Defender Action Rolls. Bonuses from multiple Defend FX and EFX stack. Defend X counts as a Combat Bonus. This Effect lasts until the following Effects Phase.
Displacement (REVISED)
There are four Displacement Effects (Grab & Throw; Knockback; Pull; and Shift). They are grouped together as some models will have special interactions with all Displacements (such as due to being Immune/Displacement Effects for example). When moving a model due to a Displacement Effect, it cannot be moved through other models, Objects or Structures, and will stop if they contact the vertical volume of Terrain or another model. If the Displacement Effect is Self/X, then treat the Attacker as Target and Target as Attacker in the description of the Effect. The exception is Self/Shift which simply allows the Attacker to move the Attacker.
- Grab & Throw (REVISED): Apply other FX and EFX against the Defender first. Then the Attacker may immediately use their Throw Combat Action (at the usual Action costs) during the same Activation. Throwing the Defender as an Object (Thrown model), applying Damage 1 to the Thrown model (as with a Thrown Object). Grab & Throw may not be used to Throw models on a larger base size than the Attacker. The Thrown model applies a Smash It Up bonus based on Object rank; for non-Objects, 30 mm bases is considered Rank 1; 40 mm base is Rank 2; 50 mm base and above is Rank 3. You may Throw a model even if the initial Action KO'ed the Target model. This Throw cannot be used to Throw an alternative Object as a result of Grab & Throw. Once the Throw Action Roll is resolved, any EFX from the Throw may be divided as desired by the Attacking player between the Defender and the Thrown model.
- Knockback X (REVISED): The Defender is moved X inches horizontally directly away from the Attacker (there is no vertical movement). If Knockback movement takes the Target into empty space, then the Knockback ends and the Target Falls. For Knockback from Blasts the Defender is moved directly away from the center of the Blast.
- Pull X (REVISED): The Defender is moved X inches directly towards the Attacker horizontally, with no vertical movement. If Pull movement takes any part of the Target's base into empty space, then the Pull ends and the Target Falls. For Pull from Blasts the Defender is moved towards the center of the Blast, with the leading edge of their base moving no further than the center of the Blast area.
- Shift X (REVISED): The Defender is moved up to X inches horizontally as chosen by the Attacker; this movement may be up to 4 inches vertically. Shift movement must end up with the model in contact with either the Battlefield or Terrain, and the model must be placed in a stable position that does not result in a Fall.
Drain X
Remove X AP from the AP Pool of the Target's Team.
Empowered
The Target achieves EFX on their Trump Trait Action Rolls on a 4+ until the following Effects Phase.
Energize X
Add X AP to the AP Pool of the Target's Team.
Extra Target X
Apply the listed FX and no EFX to another model within X inches of the original Defender. Each model can only be affected by a single Extra Target Effect per Action Roll.
Fatigue (REVISED)
The affected model is Fatigued. A model can usually suffer Fatigue twice before it can no longer use Movement Actions or other Actions costing Fatigue in the current Round (some models such as Speeders can suffer Fatigue three times). Remove all Fatigue in the subsequent Effects Phase. A model choosing to suffer Fatigue from using an Action or any similar cause can only do so if it has enough capacity to suffer Fatigue - it cannot do so if it has already suffered its limit of Fatigue in the current Round. Enemy Actions causing Fatigue may still be used on a Target model which has already reached its Fatigue Limit. If a model has already reached its Fatigue limit in the current Round it cannot then use any Actions that have a Fatigue cost, or FX or EFX which include Self/Fatigue.
Follow Up
After resolving this Action the Attacker may immediately use a single available Exclusive Action at the usual costs (which may be the Action just used), subject to the model's AP Limit.
Heal X
The Defender regains X HP, up to their starting maximum.
Immunity/X
The Target is Immune to X until the following Effects Phase. If a Target is currently suffering from X and then gains Immunity any instances of X are immediately removed.
Example: Supreme Zed is suffering from Suppress 2. He gains Immunity to Suppress thanks to a Friendly model's Action. Because he is now Immune/Suppress the Suppress 2 is removed.
Mind Control (REVISED)
The Defender may immediately be forced to perform a single eligible Exclusive Action or Movement Action, if they have enough AP Limit remaining and can meet non-AP costs. The AP cost is paid from the Attacking Team's AP Pool and counts against the Defending model's AP Limit; any other costs are applied against the Defender subjected to Mind Control. Mind Controlled models are considered Friendly to the Team whose Supreme used Mind Control, and as Enemy to their own Team for the duration of Mind Control.
Power Down X
Remove X Power Up dice from the Defender. If X exceeds remaining Power Up dice, all are removed.
Power Up X
The Target gains X Power Up dice. Each Power Up die may be spent to increase the number of dice used for one Action Roll, discarding the die after the result is determined. There is no limit to the number of Power Up dice that may be used on a single roll. Power Up dice remain until used or discarded. Power Up dice are not a Combat Bonus.
Quicken (NEW)
A model affected by Quicken increases its AP Limit by 1; if its new AP Limit is already equaled or exceeded, it cannot spend more AP. Quicken lasts until the following Effects Phase. If a model is subject to Slow before Quicken is applied, Quicken removes the Slow Effect. Multiple Quicken Effects do not stack.
Recover (NEW)
Remove the Stunned Effect from the Target model.
Revitalize (NEW)
Remove one Fatigue from the Target Supreme or Monster; Revitalize does not affect Minions.
Self/X
This is a qualifier added to other Effects; this listed Effect (X) is applied to the Attacking model. For example, Self/Fatigue means the Attacker is Fatigued.
Slow (NEW)
A model affected by Slow reduces its AP Limit by 1; if its new AP Limit is already equaled or exceeded, it cannot spend more AP. If a model is subject to Quicken before Slow is applied, Slow removes the Quicken Effect. Slow lasts until the following Effects Phase. Multiple Slow Effects do not stack.
Special/X
Some Effects are unique, so are described on the appropriate model's card, with the description (X) listed below the associated Action.
Spectral
The Defender becomes Spectral. Spectral models are Immune/F, G, I, and H Exclusive Actions and Immune/Falling Damage; they cannot use F, G, I, and H Exclusive Actions; they do not count as being in Base to Base; and the model's Movement Type changes to Blink. Spectral models do not inflict Crash Damage. Spectral models may not be Burdened, do not count for Mobbing and do not score AGP. Unless otherwise noted Spectral lasts until the following Effects Phase.
Summon X/X
This Effect places a model onto the battlefield. There are three Summon Effects which share some general rules. A Summoned model must be placed so that the center of the base is within the Summon Action range. Unless otherwise noted, Summoned Dangerous Terrain and Structures remain in play until the same Summon Action is used again by the same model using it; in which case the previously Summoned model is removed; excess Summoned Minions are removed if their limit is exceeded (see below).
- Summon Dangerous Terrain/X: Below the Action profile is a description of the Dangerous Terrain listing the radius in inches (in parenthesis after the name); what FX are applied as Dangerous Terrain; and any unique rules for the Dangerous Terrain.
- Summon Minion/X (REVISED): Summon a Minion with the name X; the number listed after the name in parenthesis is the maximum number of Friendly copies of that Summoned Minion model which may be in play; if this is exceeded, the controlling player chooses which model(s) to remove until the maximum is not exceeded.
- Summon Structure/X: Place a Structure X within range. Structures are Inanimate. The description below the Action profile lists: Structure name; the Structures G value; the height of the Structure in inches; the base size of the Structure; and the amount of HP the Structure has. Additional special rules are listed after this. Any Actions triggered by a Structure do not use the Summoning model's Powers or Effects.
Suppress X
The Defender reduces the number of dice it rolls for Action Rolls by the total of Suppress X applied to it, to a minimum of 1 die. Suppress lasts until the following Effects Phase.
Stun
The Defender is considered Stunned for all purposes (may only move as though it had Sprint Movement Type) and is an Easy Target (see Conditions). Stun is removed in the subsequent Effects Phase; Stun is applied after the Action Roll causing it is resolved; multiple Stun Effects on the same model do not stack.
Weak/X
The Defender is considered Weak against X until the following Effects Phase. If the model is already Weak to X no extra benefit is gained.
Chapter 1: Pulp City SE Core Rules Update (2022 official update)
Official companion chapter "Pulp City SE Core Rules Update", Pulp Monsters, February 2022, copyright Pulp Monsters 2022. This chapter outlines key changes to the core rules as set out in Pulp City Supreme Edition (SE). All the rules in this chapter should be considered additional or changed core rules as outlined in Pulp City SE.
Origins Revisited
Pulp City Power Up heralds a new Origin type: Cosmic.
Origins determine the source of a Supreme or Monster's amazing abilities. There are four Origins available to the Supremes and Monsters of Pulp City. Other than Minions, the character models in your Team will each have one of these Origins:
- Cosmic: Entities from beyond Earth, or those able to wield the powers of Mystery, Nature and Science in harmony, Supremes with Cosmic power wield energies unfathomable to man, a step beyond those of the other Origins. These beings have now begun to turn their gaze towards Pulp City.
- Mystery: The occult, divine interventions, pacts with demons or opening portals to the Necroplane - these events grant common people powers beyond imagination. These powers usually come with the highest price to pay.
- Nature: Children born to minor deities of Nature or those who dabble with ancient druidic powers become Supremes of Nature. Their abilities mimic the raging powers of the elements or of wild animals. Other Supremes seem to be born with these powers as if gifted by Gaia herself. Even a high-tech society like Pulp City is helpless against the unchained fury of Nature.
- Science: Some Supremes are born where science collides with their ordinary human lives. Radiation, chemicals or toxic fumes alter the bodies and minds and push evolution toward a new frontier. Others simply use high-tech gadgetry to augment themselves to superhuman levels.
The Origins Triad continues to work between Mystery, Nature and Science as usual with one key change - Cosmic beats all three (Mystery, Nature AND Science) and is only tied against Cosmic. When Cosmic is tied, as usual the Defender wins the roll.
Supremes and Monsters beat Minions as usual.
A way to think of the hierarchy is as follows (top to bottom):
- Supremes and Monsters beat Minions
- Cosmic beats other Origins, then
- Mystery beats Nature
- Nature beats Science
- Science beats Mystery
- Minions vs Minions do not have a tie-break
And remember, if the result is still tied, the Defender wins.
[The printed update contains an "insert new Origins graphic" placeholder here.]
Updated & Alt Character Cards
Update Cards. To reflect the changes some Supremes have experienced because of events such as the failed Ulthar and Necroplane invasions, and the cataclysmic effects of The Fall, as well as key design updates, some characters will have an updated profile card. Updated Cards are noted with the update symbol right on their front side. They are relevant to the particular model they update.
Players may choose to play with or without Updated Cards, however if they use any Updated Cards, then any Supremes that they recruit must use their Update Card profile if they have one. For example: Kieron wants to use the Tanuki Update Card in his Team; if he also wanted to recruit Yeti to the same Team, he would have to use Yeti's Update card. Kieron can also include Supremes in the same Team which don't have an Update card.
Alt Cards. We began producing Alt Cards with the Pulp City crowd-funding campaigns. Players can ignore the Update card requirement when they use an Alt Card. Examples of Alt Cards include Perun and Arquero (both Supreme Alliance Affiliation), Tangent (Red Republik Affiliation, and Sister Bedlam (Coven Affiliation). Future Alt Cards will include the alt-card symbol to the right on their front side.
[The printed update contains a placeholder for the alt-card symbol.]
Minion Recruitment Update
If a Team is recruited based on Faction, Minions can also be recruited even if they lack the same Faction; in this case recruited Minions must have a common Alignment with the Supreme(s) providing Minion+ points (consider additional Minion+ through Leader cards to be the same Alignment as the Leader).
Movement Updates
Open spaces. The main text omits this but should be included when Movement Types is explained (after the first paragraph but before the specific Movement Type entries): All Movement Types ignore open space between their starting point and the end of their move; this is limited to a single movement distance for Sprint but may be the distance of two Combined Movement Actions for other types.
Bounding. Bounding grants Immune/Fall which was missed from the main text.
Summary Updates. The 5th bullet point of the summary should read: All Movement Types ignore open space between their starting point and the end of their move; this is limited to a single movement distance for Sprint but may be the distance of two Combined Movement Actions for other types. The 10th bullet point of the summary should read: Wall Crawling: May move X inches horizontally and vertically; Immune/Fall; Immune Dangerous/Terrain if the distance of a single Movement Action completely clears the Dangerous Terrain; benefits from High Ground while in BtB with Terrain.
Smash It Up Revision
To better represent how different Objects can be used as weapons in Pulp City Encounters, the following text replaces Smash It Up from SE (chapter 6).
Smash It Up Combat Bonus. Models with named Smash/Power Smash or Takedown/Power Takedown Combat Actions, or any THR (Throw) Action Type, add +1 die per Object Rank to their Action Rolls. To benefit the Attacker must be in BtB with an Object or must have contacted an Object during its own Movement Action within the same Activation that Smash It Up is used. After the Action Roll is resolved the Object suffers Damage 1 and if it is not destroyed it must be placed in BtB with the Defender or as near as possible after the Combat Action is resolved (placed by the Attacking player).
Terrain
The G Trait for Structures and Objects is treated like a T#, and therefore no Combat Bonus dice are rolled unless they are noted to affect Objects or Structures in an Action profile or Power description.
Terrain Manipulation Update
Models which use Traits other than F for Exclusive Actions allowing Terrain Manipulation (such as Throws with Traits other than F), use that Trait value not F to determine what Rank of Object they can Manipulate; e.g. Boreas' Gale Action uses his H Trait to determine the Rank of Objects Boreas can Manipulate with the Action.
Chapter XX: Pulp City Optional Rules (2021 official update)
Official companion chapter "Pulp City Optional Rules" (January 2021). Each of these rules is offered to improve the play experience where players agree to their use. In casual play, players should agree which, if any, optional rules are to be used before carrying out the Set-Up sequence. In organized play, the tournament organizer will make players aware of which Optional Rules are to be used, if any.
Last Supreme Standing
When a Team is reduced to only one Supreme not KO'ed, it adds +1 AP to its Pool during the AP Calculation Phase. This does not apply if the single Supreme is a Monster, and it does not apply if the Team has one Supreme on the Battlefield and other Supremes off the Battlefield due to Climb High or similar rules who are not KO'ed.
Behind the Mask: The Last Supreme Standing AP Pool bonus is intended to reflect the resolve of a protagonist in action movies and comics whose team-mates are all down, and who must give everything they have left against superior numbers. Opposing teams can benefit from this rule if they have only one Supreme not KO'ed.
Power Conversion
After all AP+ are added to Team Pools during the AP Calculation Phase, and after any relevant Powers and/or Actions are resolved, but before moving to the Effects Phase, each Team may discard up to 3 Power Up dice from its Supremes (but not Minions or Monsters), adding +1 AP to the AP Pool per discarded die.
Behind the Mask: The Power Conversion rule adds greater tactical flexibility to Supremes, especially Powerhouses. To balance that, the limit of 3 dice being converted per Team each Round is intended to avoid Teams 'banking' too many Power Up dice for later AP when there are Actions to be used boldly!
Fast Start
Supreme Activations: In Fast Start, Supremes (but not Monsters) can only be Activated during the first Round if they use at least two Actions in their Activation.
Minion Activations: Minions Activations are unchanged.
Behind the Mask: The purpose of this rule is to encourage more proactive moves and Action choices in the first Round.
Master Plans Redux
This Optional Rule introduces two new Master Plans and revises the Act Fast and Domination Master Plans; Starting Rolls and how Master Plans are achieved remains the same, however each Master Plan can now only be chosen once per Round.
If using Master Plans Redux, all Master Plans should be used as described below. Each benefit applies only once per choice!
- Act Fast: Immediately make a Movement Action with one of your Supremes using the usual movement rules; the chosen model is not Fatigued for the Movement Action.
- Domination: Add +1 AP to your Team's Pool during the AP Calculation Phase.
- First Strike: After completing your Team's first Supreme Activation in the Round, another Friendly Supreme may immediately be Activated in the same Turn.
- Power Up: Select one of your Supremes; this model immediately benefits from Power Up 1.
- Shake It Off: Select one of your Supremes; this model immediately benefits from Heal 1.
Behind the Mask: Act Fast is changed to bring it more in line with Domination and Power Up. The wording on Domination is changed to make sequencing clearer through the Round. First Strike and Shake It Off are added to add more tactical flexibility for Master Plans.