S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The Board Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Credits
• Component List
  • Paper
  • Cards
  • Tokens
  • Plastic
  • Others
  • Models
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The Board Game
  • Rulebook Structure
  • Golden Rules
  • Campaign
  • Stalker Count
  • Stories
• Starting the Campaign
• Zone Exploration in Campaign Binder
  • Zone Exploration Summary
  • Zone Navigation
  • Marking Locations
  • Stickers
  • Contacts
  • Double Faced Cards
  • Buying and Selling
  • Going on a Mission
  • Post Mission Cleanup
  • Stash
• Mission Setup in Mission Guide
  • Prologue
  • Setup
  • Epilogue
  • Mission Map Example After Setup
• Mission Map
  • Tiles & Spaces
  • Space Size
  • Space Edges
  • Buildings and Rooms
  • Cover
  • Map Radiation
  • Range
  • Line of Sight (LoS)
  • Environment Cards
  • Tokens on Mission Map
• Playing the Mission
  • Mission Objective
  • Game Round Structure
  • Event Phase
  • Players Phase
    • Turns
  • Actions
  • Basic Actions
  • Other Actions and Where to Find Them
  • Instant Triggers and Additional Rules
  • Map Radiation
  • Attention
  • PDA & Equipment
  • Stalker Card
  • Lead Stalker
  • Items
  • Armor
  • Armor Attachments
  • Artifacts
  • Backpack
  • Pockets
  • Tier
  • Weapons
  • Weapon Attachments
  • Stalker Attack
  • Attacking Multiple Enemies
  • Enemy Wounds
  • Enemy Death
  • Status Tokens
• Enemies & Zone Phase
  • Enemy Activation
  • Enemies
  • Enemy Types
  • Enemy Tokens and Teams
  • Enemy Movement Rules
  • Enemy Attack
  • Enemy Reaction
  • Enemy Facing
  • Radiation Exposure & Dosage Reduction
  • Discarding Tokens
  • Attention Reduction
  • End of Round Effects
• Anomalies
  • Anomaly Center
  • Anomaly Activation
  • Retrieving Artifacts from Anomalies
  • Blocking Anomaly Symbols
• Single Stalker Mode
  • Turn Overlays
  • Lead Stalker
  • Critical Injury
• Lost Territories
  • Reaching the Lost Territory
  • Lost Territories Setup
• Entities Comparison Table
• Icon Glossary
  • Dice
  • Map
  • Tokens
  • Enemies
  • Other
• Standee Glossary
  • Enemies
  • Anomalies
  • Overlays
• Index
• Quick Rules Reference
  • Map Radiation
  • Radiation Exposure
  • Attention
  • Anomaly Activation
  • Stalker Movement Rules
  • Enemy Types
  • Stalker Attack Sequence

Credits

Dedicated to the memory of Łukasz Orwat, the best of us. May we meet again.

Game by: Paweł Samborski

Based on: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games by GSC Game World

© 2024 GSC Game World Global Ltd.

Game Design: Paweł Samborski

Tests and Development: Michał Oracz, Konrad Sulżycki, Filip Tomaszewski, Jan Truchanowicz, Tomasz Zawadzki, Wojciech Zieliński

Internal Testing: Ernest Kiedrowicz, Łukasz Krawiec, Piotr Krejner, Konrad Sulżycki, Filip Tomaszewski, Jan Truchanowicz, Paulina Włodarczyk, Tomasz Zawadzki, Wojciech Zieliński

Rulebook & Gameplay Example: Konrad Sulżycki, Paulina Włodarczyk

Narrative Design: Marcin Mortka, Paweł Samborski, Jan Truchanowicz

Writing: Marcin Mortka, Maciej Głowacki, Michał Gołkowski

Editor: Matt Click, Daniel Morley

Proofreading: Matt Click, Daniel Morley, Tyler Brown, Jeremy Freeman, Wiktoria Ślusarczyk

Art Direction: Patryk Jedraszek, Adrian Radziun

Graphic Design: Adrian Radziun, Łukasz Styrna, Michał Lechowski, Karolina Łaski-Getka, Katarzyna Litka, Michał Stachowiak

Illustrations: Ewa Łabak, Piotr Foksowicz, Jakub Dzikowski, Piotr Orleański, Pamela Łuniewska, Agnieszka Szade, Patryk Jedraszek, Magdalena Cieplak

Character Design: Ewa Łabak, Agnieszka Szade

3D Modelling: Marek Kondratowicz, Michał Lisek, Mateusz Modzelewski, Piotr Gacek, Jędrzej Chomicki

DTP: Patrycja Marzec, Rafał Janiszewski, Jędrzej Cieślak, Kinga Janik

Production: Witold Chudy, Piotr Chmielewski, Anna Czajka, Jacek Pyszczek, Jacek Szczypiński, Olga Baraniak, Zofia Jerzyńska, Adrianna Kociecka, Mateusz Wolski, Michał Mattosz

GSC Game World Team: Ievgen Grygorovych, Mariia Grygorovych, Agostino Simonetta, Nikita Zakharchenko, Zakhar Bocharov, Olga Ryzhko, Vlad Novikov, Lina Volokhova, Maksym Tkachenko

Spiritual Support: Adrian Komarski, Anna Lis-Wilkosz, Jordan Luminais

Special Thanks: Paul Grogan, Peter Groome, Justyna i Marcin Olejarz, Dominik Ilski, Jakub Jasiński, Jacob Markson, Grzegorz Stroczyński, Weronika Sobota, Łukasz Cabak, Richard D. Breault, Franciszek Stępniewski-Janowski, Emily Markson, Szymon Kulka, Jeffrey Campbell, Ashley Justyne Hightower, Diego Garcia Gonzalez, Felipe Pérez Palencia, Krzysztof Piechnik, John Garcia, Alain Concepcion Romero, Kuba Błachut, Przemysław Wójcik, Karolina Stefaniak, Szymon Sobota, Michał Plata, Rigo Garcia, Dennis Łukasiewicz, Grzegorz Cichoszewski with 7siekier team, Jacek "Crom" Kowalski, Wojciech Liwanowski. And everyone who supported us during creation and development of the game!

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and GSC Game World are registered trademarks. All rights reserved.

Component List

Contents of the Mission boxes can be found on pages 4 and 5 of the Scriptbook (back of the Mission guide). Zone Survival mode components are listed in the Zone Survival Rules & Scripts booklet.

Paper

• 1 Rulebook
• 1 Mission guide/Scriptbook
• 1 Gameplay Example
• 40 Coupons
• 4 Zone Map with stickers

Cards

Standard cards

• 27 Weapon cards
• 11 Anomaly cards
• 12 High Attention (Red) Enemy Activation cards
• 10 Low Attention (Yellow) Enemy Activation cards
• 16 Contact cards
• 3 Control cards
• 21 Lost Territories cards

Small cards

• 38 Item cards
• 26 Artifact cards
• 33 Attachment cards
• 26 Armor cards
• 20 Enemy Wound cards

Oversized cards

• 12 Stalker cards
• 18 Random Event cards
• 5 Help cards
• 17 Enemy cards

Tokens

• 24 Unknown tokens
• 31 Loot tokens
• 4 Enemy team tokens
• 5 Artifact tokens
• 54 Enemy standees
• 20 Anomaly standees
• 1 Lead Stalker token
• 10 Pin down tokens
• 10 Exposed tokens
• 4 Focus tokens
• 16 Bolt tokens
• 4 No Visibility tokens
• 4 Attention tokens (yellow Warning / red Danger)
• 8 Turn tokens
• 4 Container tokens (Improved/Advanced)
• 8 Critical Injury tokens
• 1 Pseudogiant carcass token
• 1 Dog Companion token
• 9 Enemy HP tokens
• 2 Trap tokens
• 2 Entrance tokens

Plastic

• 6 Stalker dice
• 6 Equipment dice
• 1 Anomaly die
• 10 Pistol Magazines
• 10 Rifle Magazines
• 10 Shotgun Magazines
• 36 Universal/Ammo markers
• 4 Stalker HP markers
• 13 Anomaly overlays
• 4 color rings
• 24 small + 3 big standee bases
• 6 sets of plastic pins

Others

• 4 PDA – Player boards
• 4 Geiger counters
• 2 Solo Stalker Turn overlays
• 15 Map tiles
• 3 Lost Territory tiles
• 6 Mission boxes*
• 1 Campaign binder with 1 cardholder and 2 dividers
• 1 Stash
• Zone Survival components**
• 1 Enemy facing sticker sheet

Models

• 4 Stalker models
• 1 Dog Companion model

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The Board Game

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The Board Game is a 1-4 player fully co-op, story-based "zone" crawler. The Campaign is played by repeating two separate parts of the game: Zone Exploration and Missions.

Zone Exploration – Before each Mission you will have an opportunity to explore the Zone, meet new people and manage all your belongings to prepare better for the next Mission.

The main gameplay components during Zone Exploration are the Campaign binder, your Stash and the Zone Map.

In the Campaign binder you can find all the rules for Zone Exploration as well as all your Contacts. All your belongings are safely hidden in the Stash.

On the Zone Map you can find places to visit throughout the Campaign. You will add stickers, showing additional areas to explore.

Missions – The main part of the gameplay is when your Stalkers set off for a Mission, where you will fight against Enemies, struggle with dangerous Anomalies, loot valuables, and most importantly, fulfill Mission objectives.

To start a Mission you need to set it up according to the Mission guide, which contains some insight about the tasks ahead of you, as well as instructions on how to prepare and populate the Mission Map.

Each Mission has its own unique Map, consisting of tiles, which are divided into spaces. Stalkers and Enemies move through those spaces. Various points of interest will be shown on the Environment cards overlaid on the Map. Reality-bending anomalous areas will be shown as standees residing on the foil overlays. Sometimes Enemies will fight not only you, but each other as well, forming different teams. The Zone is a living, breathing world after all.

You will have your Equipment to help you win the day. It is all displayed in your trusty PDA – Personal Digital Assistant (a fancy way of saying "player board"), with your chosen Stalker in the middle, and their Equipment distributed between various slots – Pockets, Backpack, equipped Artifacts, worn Armor and Weapon in hand.

Each Mission is played through several game Rounds, during which different Events sway the situation and Stalkers and Enemies act. You will sneak, run, loot, and fight. All that in order to complete the Mission objective.

You will find various Actions available to you on different game components, from your Basic Actions found on the Help card, through those provided by your Equipment, to Environment cards allowing you to interact with your surroundings.

If you manage to complete the objective, your Mission will be successful. You will progress the Campaign and will discover new places in the Zone. But beware, if at least one of the Stalkers dies, or the time runs out – the Mission will end in a failure.

Apart from the Campaign, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The Board Game can also be played in the form of one-shot Scenarios using the Zone Survival mode. All necessary information about the differences between the Campaign and the ZS mode can be found in the Zone Survival Rules & Scripts booklet.

Rulebook Structure

The rulebook is divided into the following sections:

1. Starting the Campaign – Contains instructions required to start a new Campaign.
2. Zone Exploration in Campaign binder – Briefly summarizes all steps performed during a Zone Exploration.
3. Mission Setup in Mission guide – Briefly summarizes the structure of a Mission guide and shows an example of a Mission setup.
4. Mission Map – Thoroughly covers rules about elements found on the Map tiles and Range rules.
5. Playing the Mission – Thoroughly covers the game Round order and component rules.
6. Entities Comparison – Quick reference table outlining differences between Entities.
7. Glossaries – They cover all identifications of Enemy and Anomaly standees and all icons.

Golden Rules

In a game like this, unclear situations can happen. In that case, follow those rules:

1. Cards before Rulebook – Whenever a card's text directly contradicts rules found in the Rulebook, the card takes precedence.
2. Limited Components – All components are limited. If an effect would require you to use a component that isn't available and doesn't specify what to do otherwise, that part of the effect is ignored (e.g., effect of an Anomaly would cause a Stalker to lose 7HP and gain a Loot token, but all Loot tokens are currently used, the Stalker would only lose 7HP and not gain a Loot token).
3. Uncaring Zone – Stalkers are intruders in the Zone, and the Zone reacts almost as if it has a mind of its own. Whenever you have an unclear situation, rule it in the player's disfavor.

Campaign

One Campaign playthrough means playing with the group of Stalkers through a series of consecutive Missions. Each Campaign playthrough requires a fresh Zone Map on which you mark your progress and a separate Stash as two Stalker groups don't share their belongings.

Stalker Count

Some game effects change depending on the number of Stalkers taking part in a Mission. We recommend that each player controls 1 Stalker.

If you want to add a new Stalker to the Campaign group, because e.g., you have a new player joining you for a game night, you simply choose a Stalker card for them. You will have to equip them using the contents of your Stash though.

Stories

Each Mission in the game is a part of a Story – they provide an overarching narrative, and their outcome will impact your Campaign. Each Story has its letter, referred to in the Mission guide and the Zone Map, so you know that the narrative in Mission A1 will continue in Mission A2. You don't have to finish one Story to begin another. You should save the Zone Map and contents of your Stash after finishing all Corebox Stories. Upcoming Stories from the Stretch Goals and expansions will use your Campaign state.

Starting the Campaign

To start a new Campaign perform the following tasks:

1. Learn about the game: The rules of the game are explained in the following chapters:

   • Zone Exploration – Summarizes information about Zone Exploration, which can be found in the Campaign binder.
   • Mission Setup – Summarizes the structure of a Mission guide and instructs how to resolve a Mission setup.
   • Mission Map – Thoroughly covers the Map structure.
   • Playing the Mission – Thoroughly covers the game Round order and component rules.

2. Check the Gameplay Example: Play out the short scenario found in the Gameplay Example to check your understanding of the game.

3. Take out the Campaign binder, Stash (plastic envelope) and Zone Map from the box. They will be used during the Zone Exploration part of the game.

4. Slot starting cards: Find Contact cards C01 (Sidorovich), C08 (Guide), and C99 (Patron) in the box, take them out and place in slots of the Campaign binder's cardholder. Their exact position in the cardholder does not matter.

5. Choose Stalkers: Each player chooses 1 Stalker card and 1 Stalker model to represent their Stalker. Provided Stalker models are universal and are meant to represent every Stalker, so choose whichever you want.

   You may choose any available Stalkers but there are four Stalkers recommended for the first playthrough:

   • Borsuk, a Zone explorer
   • Mamon, a lone fighter
   • Milady, a sneaky sniper
   • Velet, a versatile tank

   Those chosen Stalkers will remain with you for the whole Campaign. Then, each player chooses one color and takes the following components in that color:

   • Attention token
   • Plastic ring

   Place the plastic ring on the Stalker's model. Place the Stalker card in the middle of the PDA and the Attention token in the slot at or near Pockets.

   Example: Starting components for a gray Stalker are placed on the PDA – the Stalker card in the middle, with Weapon, Backpack, and Pockets slots around it.

6. Gain starting Equipment: Gain 5000 K regardless of the number of Stalkers in your team and place them in your Stash. This is the total starting cash, to be split between your team. You will be able to spend it during Zone Exploration in the Campaign binder. Additionally each Stalker starts with a Leather Jacket Armor card – take 1 per Stalker out of the deck and place in your Stash.

7. You're ready to start! Open the Campaign binder on the first page (Zone Navigation) and follow the instructions found there to start playing the Campaign.

Zone Exploration in Campaign Binder

Before each Mission, you perform Zone Exploration using the Campaign binder and the Zone Map. You explore the Zone, make use of some of the Contacts gained throughout the Campaign, and manage your Equipment.

Detailed instructions of Zone Exploration steps are found in the Campaign binder which is the main component you will be using in this phase.

Zone Exploration Summary

During Zone Exploration each of these steps will be resolved fully, in this order:

1. Zone Navigation – Here you visit locations on the Zone Map. One of these locations will be your next Mission. Choosing it gives you the story introduction, but doesn't start the Mission immediately.
2. Contacts – Here you interact with the Contacts you have met during the Campaign. They will help you during your Missions and allow you to buy and sell Equipment.
3. Going on a Mission – Here you perform all necessary steps to prepare Stalkers for the Mission. It redirects you to the Mission guide where you setup the Mission.
4. Post-Mission Cleanup – This step is performed after the Mission and contains instructions for clearing the table.

Zone Navigation

The Zone is vast and provides many opportunities. Which places you visit is your decision. At the beginning your options are limited, but after each Mission new stickers with new points of interest will be added to your Zone Map. During each Zone Navigation you must visit 1 Mission location and you may visit up to 1 New Contact or Stash location.

There are three types of locations found on the Zone Map:

New Contacts – Marked in green, they represent new Contacts you can meet in the Zone. Many of them are traders or offer other unique services. Choosing this point of interest will usually result in giving you a new Contact card. When you choose this option read the specified script which can be found in the Scriptbook (back of the Mission guide).

Stashes – Marked in blue, they represent well hidden inventories of other Stalkers, potentially containing Equipment that's hard to obtain. Choosing this option will usually give you a choice of obtaining some Equipment, sometimes at a cost. When you choose this option read the specified script which can be found in the Scriptbook (back of the Mission guide).

Missions – Marked in red, they represent your possible next Mission. When you choose this option read the specified page of the Mission guide which will brief you on what you can expect from the next Mission. Choosing a Mission doesn't immediately start it, but you won't be able to pick another one. Before the Mission begins you will have an option to explore the Zone more, make use of your Contacts and prepare your gear.

Marking Locations

Most of the scripts and some Mission Epilogues ask you to mark a location. To do so, simply cross out that location using a pen or pencil. Do it only when asked to.

Marked Locations can't be visited. They are already completed and are unavailable in this Campaign.

Stickers

When you are instructed to update your Zone Map with a sticker, find it on the sticker sheet and stick it to the Map in the correct place. Each sticker contains one distinctive feature with its counterpart on the Zone Map which can help you to find the correct place for a sticker.

Contacts

Contact cards represent various Characters (and animals) met throughout the Campaign. During each Zone Management you may choose and resolve up to three Contact cards that you have slotted in the cardholder of your Campaign binder.

There are four types of Contact cards:

• Loners – They offer small task services sometimes out of good will, but usually they demand a considerable payment.
• Traders – They buy and sell various Equipment. Thanks to them you can easily upgrade your gear which is essential to survive in the Zone.
• Companions – You may take up to 1 Companion on a Mission. Consider choosing a Companion if you think you might need a helping hand on a Mission.
• Contracts – You may take up to 1 Contract on a Mission. They provide you with an additional objective which rewards you with K on completion.

Here's an example of a Contact card:

SIDOROVICH – TRADER (C01a). "A fat bastard, but a reliable source of supplies. Warning: not cheap!" Rules: You may sell Equipment cards of any Tier for a quarter (1/4) of their K value (round down to next 50). You may buy Tier I Weapons and Armors for their K value. You may buy Magazines for 500 K each. You may buy Items for twice their K value. You may buy "Echo Detector" Attachments for their K value.

1. Name – Each Contact has a unique name.
2. Type – Each Contact has one of the four Contact types.
3. Number – Each Contact has a number in its top right corner. Contact numbers start with the letter C.
4. Story – A bit of lore about that character.
5. Rules – Depending on the Contact type this can be a single-use effect, buy/sell offer or instructions on how to use this during a Mission.

Double Faced Cards

Companions and Contracts are double faced cards. On their "a" side there are instructions you resolve during Zone Exploration. On their "b" side there are rules that are applied during the Mission. During Zone Exploration you may freely look at both sides before you decide to choose that Contact.

Buying and Selling

Before the Mission you will have the option to trade with different Contacts. We advise to carefully consider your options here as correct preparation and better Equipment can make a Mission much easier to beat.

Whenever you buy or sell Equipment (usually by visiting a Trader), you gain or discard Coupons equal to the good's K value. Usually this is the value visible on a card, but sometimes the Trader modifies it (e.g., Sidorovich sells Items for twice their K value and is willing to buy Equipment cards from you for only quarter of their K value).

When you buy something, find it and place it in your Stash (or if you want you may immediatelly equip it on your PDA). When you sell something, discard it and return it to the correct deck or token compartment.

Detectors and Artifacts – Artifacts are the most powerful and most precious objects in the Zone. To obtain them from Anomalies you will need at least 1 Detector Attachment card in your team. Although it's not necessary for the Mission, gathering Artifacts is usually worth the trouble.

Going on a Mission

Before you depart on a Mission you should prepare yourself. You want to strike a balance between space for any loot you may find and preparing for any number of troubles. After all, a prepared Stalker is a living Stalker.

This is the moment when you decide which Stalker equips what. Each Stalker should have at least 1 Armor and 1 Weapon at all times so be sure to equip yourselves properly. Additionally these steps will be performed before each Mission:

• Each Stalker sets their HP to their Max value.
• Each Stalker packs few Bolts in their Pockets and Focuses on the Mission.
• Each Weapon is fully loaded.
• Each Stalker sets the Radiation dosage on their Geiger counter.

Post Mission Cleanup

After each Mission you will have an option to save your Campaign or to continue playing.

Stash

During the Campaign, you may gain loads of Equipment and Coupons, either by completing Missions, scavenging them from hidden stashes or simply from trading with Contacts. As long as you are resolving the Zone Exploration all your belongings are available to you.

After you prepare for a Mission any pieces of Equipment that you don't want to take on a Mission (or simply can't due to limits) can be safely placed in a Stash and will patiently wait for your return.

Mission Setup in Mission Guide

During each Zone Exploration you choose one Mission you will embark on. All information about Missions can be found in the Mission guide booklet and is split into three sections:

Prologue

You read this section when you choose a Mission on the Zone Map. Here you will find a story introduction for the Mission you are planning to undertake. The Prologue contains some useful hints about the task ahead, to help you better prepare for it. Choosing a Mission doesn't immediately start it, but you won't be able to pick another one until you finish it (succesfully or not). After reading the Prologue you will return to the Campaign binder where you can explore the Zone further, visit various Traders, and meet with other Contacts.

Setup

This section contains all the information required to prepare the Mission Map. Mission specific cards (mostly Mission Events and Environment) and tokens are unique for a given Mission and can be found in the Mission box corresponding to the Mission you just embarked on. Any remaining components can be found in the main box. To prepare the Map follow the instructions found on the two pages of setup, step by step. On these two pages you can only see the connection between the setup instructions and the prepared Mission Map. All rules regarding components can be found on the following pages of the Rulebook.

Remaining components in the Mission box – Not all of the components found in the Mission box are used during setup. Remember to only use the components the game asks you to. If you ever feel that you've misplaced some of the components or just want to reset the Mission box, you can find the full contents of each Mission box on pages 4 and 5 in the Scriptbook.

Here's an example of setup for Mission A1:

1. Map Setup

1. Find Map tiles: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 and place them as shown.

2. Environment Setup

Environment cards:

• 2A. Take out all Environment cards from Mission box A1. Find the A1-01a (Mission Objective) card, read it, and place it next to the Map.
• Find both A1-05a cards, pick one at random, and return the other to the Mission box.
• Find both A1-07a cards, pick one at random, and return the other to the Mission box.
• 2B. Now, set the following cards on the Map as shown on the illustration below: A1-02a, A1-03a, A1-05a, A1-06a, A1-07a. These are your starting overlay cards.
• 2C. Keep the remaining Environment cards as the Environment deck next to the Map, as they will be needed during the Mission.

Anomalies:

• 3A. Draw 1 random Gravitational type Anomaly card and place it face up next to the Map. Find the Electro Anomaly card and place it face up next to the Map.
• 3B. Draw 1 random Gravitational Anomaly overlay (3, 5, or 8) and place it on the Map so the tip of the triangle in the Anomaly center points to the top of the Map. Draw 1 random Electric Anomaly overlay (6, 7, or 11) and place it on the Map so the tip of the triangle in the Anomaly center points to the top of the Map.
• 3C. Place 1 Artifact token in the center of each Anomaly overlay. Then, place matching Anomaly standees on those overlays.

3. Other Setups

Stalkers:

• 4. Place the Stalker models on the space marked as "Starting Point".

Enemies:

• 5A. Find the Bandit Rifle Enemy card and place it next to the Map. Mark it with an Enemy team token. Find the Bandit Shotgun Enemy card and place it next to the Map. Mark it with an Enemy team token.
• 5B/C. Find 3 Bandit Rifle standees. Place 2 of them on spaces marked with the Enemy team token and 1 next to the Map. Find 3 Bandit Shotgun standees and place them on spaces marked with the Enemy team token.
• When placing Enemy standees, mind their facing. They are marked with little arrows attached to the standee bases and Enemy team token icons.

Loot:

• 6. Take 16 random Loot tokens and place them in stacks on the Map as shown.

Unknown tokens:

• 7. Depending on the number of Stalkers, take a set of Unknown tokens and randomly place them on the Map as shown:
  • Single Stalker: 2× Unknown, 1× Loot, 1× Enemy
  • 2 Stalkers: 1× Unknown, 1× Loot, 2× Enemy
  • 3 Stalkers: 1× Loot, 1× Loot, 2× Enemy
  • 4 Stalkers: 2× Loot, 2× Enemy

Event deck:

• Take out all Mission Event cards from Mission box A1. Find both Mission Event cards II, return one of them, chosen randomly, back to the box.
• 8. Stack the Mission Event cards in numerical order, face down. Mission Event card I should be on the top and number VIII should be on the bottom. This is your Event deck.
• Remember! Leave the Random Event card in the Mission box, it may be needed later during the Mission.

Mission begins! Start the first Round.

Epilogue

This section continues the story, describing the events after the Mission. It contains the Mission rewards you get for your success, ranging from new Equipment, Coupons, Contacts to stickers adding points of interest to your Zone Map and unlocking new Missions.

Mission Map Example After Setup

1. Map tiles – Each Mission Map consists of several Map tiles showing you where the Mission will take place. Be careful to orient them as shown on the setup diagram. The numbers of required tiles will help you find the correct way of placing Map tiles.
2. Environment cards – In each Mission box you can find a dedicated, unique Environment deck. Do not look through the contents of those cards (unless instructed) and always place them on the side specified by the setup, otherwise you might spoil the Mission for yourself! During setup the Environment cards are divided into three categories:
   • A. Note cards – These cards are placed next to the Map and contain your Mission Objectives, new rules and information necessary for the Mission.
   • B. Map overlays – These cards are placed directly on the Map, changing its contents and allowing you to interact with them in various ways. All overlay cards with text have it oriented in the same way - this will help you to place them correctly on the Mission Map.
   • C. Environment deck – Cards not placed during setup are stacked in a deck and placed next to the Map. During the Mission you will be instructed to find specified cards in that deck.
3. Anomalies – Each Mission will contain at least one Anomaly. Anomalies consist of the following components:
   • A. Anomaly card – They contain rules regarding Anomaly effects and should be placed next to the Map.
   • B. Anomaly overlay – Setup will instruct you which overlays you should use and where to place them, marking the exact spot of the Anomaly Centers.
   • C. Anomaly standee and Artifact token – Setup will instruct you in which Anomaly Centers you should place Anomaly standees and Artifact tokens.
4. Stalker's Starting Point – Each Mission specifies a starting space or spaces where you place your Stalkers.
5. Enemies – Each Mission will contain at least one Enemy. Enemies are represented by the following components:
   • A. Enemy card – Placed next to the Map and marked with at least one Enemy team token defined by the setup. The card contains all the Enemy rules and statistics, like their Sight Range, Move value, and Attack. The color token influences their behaviour and decides their team allegiance.
   • B. Starting Enemies – Most Enemies are immediately placed on the Map. This point tells you where to place the Enemy standees. It is important to have them facing in the right direction, as shown by the arrows on the setup diagram.
   • C. Enemy pool – Some Enemies are placed next to the Map and can arrive later when you resolve Unknown tokens.
6. Loot tokens – Piles of stuff ready to be picked up. It might be an Item, some Bolts, a lone Artifact stashed away or even a Weapon. Most of the time you will be placing those on random spaces in stacks of multiple tokens per space.
7. Unknown tokens – These tokens represent Enemy reinforcements and mark spaces where the Enemies might come from.
8. Event deck – Deck of Event cards which narrates the Mission for you. In each Mission box you can find dedicated, unique Mission Event cards that create your starting Event deck for that Mission. Additionally during the Mission you will add some Random Events to this deck. The Event deck marks the passage of time, limiting the number of Rounds that are available during a Mission, so every time you are adding Random Events to the deck, you gain time to finish that Mission.

Mission Map

The Map is the main component of each Mission. It's where the Action takes place. The Mission guide will instruct you how to prepare the Map for each Mission, but knowledge about the Map and interaction with it is crucial to Mission success.

Tiles & Spaces

Each Map tile has its number in one of the corners and is divided into several spaces of different sizes and properties.

Spaces marked with a water icon are water spaces and no Entity may enter or move through them.

Example: Map tile "1" is divided into 9 spaces.

Entities

Entities are living beings traversing the Zone. There are three types of Entities:

• Stalkers – player characters.
• Companions – Stalkers' animal companions.
• Enemies – Humans and Mutants hostile to Stalkers.

Movement, Line of Sight, Ranged Attacks and other rules referring to Entities affect all three of these types equally, unless specified otherwise.

Space Size

Depending on the space size, many Entities (Stalkers and Enemies) may be present in a single space. Standard space size is 1×1 grid square. Only one Entity can be present in such a space. All other spaces consist of a few such squares combined together and their Entity capacity increases proportionally. Any fragments that visually enlarge a space, but aren't a full 1×1 square do not add Entity capacity to that space.

Example: Space 1 has 1×1 size so it can hold 1 Entity. Space 2 has 1×2 size and can hold 2 Entities. Space 3 has 1×2 size and can hold 2 Entities. Although space 3 is visually bigger than space 2, part of it is not a 1×1 square so it's ignored when checking space size. Space 4 has 2×3 size and can hold 6 Entities.

Note: some space edges can be visually thicker than others (especially those on the tile edges). The thickness of the edge doesn't have any gameplay effects.

More information about entering fully occupied spaces can be found on pages 20 and 32 (Stalkers and Enemies Movement rules).

Fully Occupied Space

A space with a number of Entities equal to its size is fully occupied. Enemies can't end their Movement in such a space and Stalkers that end their Movement there Push one of the Entities 1 space away.

Space Edges

Spaces sharing an edge in at least one of the four cardinal directions are considered adjacent. There are five different types of connections between two spaces, which change how an Entity can interact with them.

1. Open edge – Entities can Move, draw a LoS, and measure Range through an Open Edge. They are the most common type of space connection.
2. Impassable Terrain – Entities can't Move but can draw a LoS and measure Range through Impassable Terrain. Impassable Terrain can form lone structures (e.g., a mesh fence) or separate parts of the Map in the form of spaces with water.
3. Wall – Entities can't Move, draw a LoS, nor measure Range through a Wall. Spaces separated by a Wall aren't considered adjacent. Walls can form lone structures or separate parts of the Map into buildings.
4. Door – Doors are part of Walls that are treated as Open edges, so Entities can Move, draw a LoS, and measure Range through a Door. They represent different entrances to the buildings.
5. Window – Entities treat Windows differently. Stalkers and Human Enemies treat them like Open edges, Psionic Entities treat them like Impassable Terrain, and all other Enemies treat them like Walls.

If two different edges of two Map tiles connect with each other, treat them as one edge of the higher restriction in this order: Wall > Impassable Terrain > Open edge.

Example: The marked edge is considered a Wall as it has higher restrictions than Impassable Terrain. So no Entity can Move, draw a LoS, nor measure Range through this edge.

Buildings and Rooms

Rooms are areas fully enclosed by Walls, Doors, and Windows. Multiple Rooms neighbouring each other create a building.

Some effects may reference being inside or outside of a building (Indoor or Outdoor spaces).

Indoor spaces are all spaces in any Room.

Outdoor spaces are all spaces that do not belong to any Room.

Example: This building is divided into 6 Rooms.

Cover

Spaces with the Cover icon contain Cover, meaning it is harder to hit Targets in that space unless you're close. It represents obstacles, hiding spots, and all of the things you could use to your advantage when defending.

Whenever an Entity on a space with Cover is Attacked and the Attacker isn't on the same space (or in the same Room in case of fighting in a Building), reduce the number of successes from Stalkers' Attacks and damage from Enemies' Attacks equal to the Cover value.

Map Radiation

Radiation is a dangerous part of the Zone. Not all areas are contaminated, but if you find yourself in one, you'd better quickly get out.

Example: Depending on the Radiation value, the intensity of its visuals increases and changes colors. Radiation on the spaces with 1-2 has yellow colors, 3-4 orange colors, and 5+ red colors.

Each time a Stalker slides their Turn token (after fully resolving the effect or Standard Action that caused them to slide the Turn token), if they are on a space with Map Radiation, they increase their Radiation dosage (on their Geiger counter) equal to the Map Radiation value of the space. This amount can be reduced by their Armor's Map Radiation modifier.

Free Actions and Map Radiation – As Free Actions don't cause you to slide your Turn token down, performing them doesn't cause you to increase your Radiation dosage from Map Radiation on your space.

Radiation During Movement

If Movement caused you to slide one of your Turn tokens down and you moved to, from, or through one or more spaces with Map Radiation, you increase your Radiation dosage only once, equal to the highest value of the Map Radiation found on those spaces. This value can be reduced by your Armor's Map Radiation modifier.

Example: During the "Movement" Basic Action, the blue Stalker was present in 4 spaces. Two with 0 Map Radiation, one with 2 Map Radiation, and one with 4 Map Radiation. After finishing this Movement they would increase their Radiation dosage by 4, but their NBC Suit reduces it by 1 so they increase their Radiation dosage by 3.

Although it's not lethal immediately, accumulating too much Radiation dosage can harm you during each Enemies & Zone Phase.

Range

Range is always measured between two spaces. It is equal to the lowest number of edges crossed between those spaces. Range doesn't have to be measured in a straight line.

Example: Different Ranges from the blue Stalker. Range 0 - green. Range 1 - yellow, Range 2 - orange, Range 3 - red.

Effects with Range 0 can only be applied on your space.

When an effect refers to something within Range X, all spaces at Range X and lower may be affected. In the above example an effect "within Range 2" applies to green, yellow and orange spaces.

When an effect refers to something within Range X+, all spaces at Range X and higher may be affected. In the above example an effect "within Range 2+" applies to orange, red and all farther spaces.

Finding the Closest Object

To find which object is the closest one to something follow these rules:

1. Visualize the shortest route for each compared object (containing the least number of spaces in between).
   • Human Enemies ignore all routes containing uncovered Anomaly symbols (unless there are no other possible routes). They will try to avoid Anomalies at all costs.
2. Choose the object with the shortest route.
3. Choose the object whose route contains the least number of corners.

If it's still tied, Lead Stalker decides. We encourage you to try to choose the most suitable option.

Example: Let's check which Bandits are closest to the Stalker. The blue Bandit is at Range 2 so they are indisputably the closest one. Next both teal and yellow Bandits are at Range 4. The yellow Bandit's route doesn't contain any corners (it doesn't matter that they need to rotate twice to be able to Move along that path) and the teal Bandit's route contains one corner so the yellow Bandit is closer than the teal. One of the possible routes for the pink Bandit is at Range 5, but it goes through an Anomaly so it's out of consideration and we need to find another one. Bandits don't like to risk their lives like that. The remaining routes of the last 3 Bandits are all at Range 6. The pink Bandit's route contains 1 corner, purple's 2 and red's 3. To sum it up, Bandits are close to the Stalker in this order: blue, yellow, teal, pink, purple, and lastly red.

Line of Sight (LoS)

Line of Sight (LoS) is determining whether two Entities on the Map are able to see each other. LoS is always measured between two spaces. In order to determine if there is a LoS between the spaces of those two Entities you have to:

• For Stalkers check all cardinal directions (front, back, left and right), for Enemies check directions depending on their Sight Range.
• LoS in each cardinal direction should be checked individually.

To do so, check spaces that are horizontally or vertically (depending on the cardinal direction checked) connected to the Entity's space. Then, for each such space, repeat this process in the same cardinal direction until you reach the edge of the Map, the end of Sight Range or you encounter a LoS blocking effect (a Wall or No Visibility token). In other words you could compare LoS to all spaces that you could reach with Movement without the need to change direction.

• An Entity always has a LoS to its own space.
• An Entity has Line of Sight to all those spaces and can therefore see each Entity present in those spaces.
• Entities, Anomalies, and most tokens do not block the Line of Sight unless it's clearly stated!

Example: A Stalker has infinite Sight Range in all directions. Standing on this particular space, the blue Stalker has LoS to 10 spaces in front of them, 2 spaces to the left, 2 spaces to the right and 0 spaces in the back as there's a Wall behind them. So the blue Stalker can see all 3 Bandit Shotgunners but can't see the 2 Bandit Riflemen.

A Stalker's LoS has infinite Range in each direction, but an Enemy's Sight is defined on their Enemy card and depends on the cardinal direction relative to their facing.

Example: A Bandit has the following Sight Ranges: 3 in front, 1 on sides, 0 in the back. Standing on a particular space and facing downwards, the Bandit has LoS to 3 spaces in front of them, 2 spaces to the left, and 2 spaces to the right. So this Bandit has LoS to the green and blue Stalkers but doesn't have LoS to the gray Stalker (reaching that space would require changing the direction) and the purple Stalker (they are on the space to the back of the Bandit where they have LoS 0).

Example: Standing on this particular space, the blue Stalker has LoS to 5 spaces in front of them, 1 space to the left and 3 spaces to the right.

Environment Cards

Each Mission has its own unique set of Environment cards. They influence the Map, provide hints, and add or change some rules.

There are two main types of Environment cards:

• Map overlays – Placed directly on the Map tiles, adding new Actions/Triggers or changing spaces and connections between them.
• Notes – Kept next to the Map. Textful cards that provide single use instructions, hints about a Mission or additional rules.

Apart from those, a small number of Environment cards represent an Anomaly or a Weapon.

Action Choices and Costs – Sometimes a Note card can offer you multiple Actions to choose from. Some of them are marked with the Free Action icon and require you to slide your current Turn token down once in order to perform them. Remember that this may cause you to increase your Radiation dosage.

Here's an example of a Map overlay card:

A1-03a: "Peek inside: You may perform this Action on a space adjacent to this building's [wall opening]. Flip this card." / Trigger: "When a Stalker enters this building, immediately flip this card."

1. Number – Each card has a number on its front and back so it's easily distinguishable. The first two signs denote the Mission. Additionally, front side card numbers end with "a" and back side card numbers end with "b".
2. Action (Standard or Free) – Some cards contain an Action that you can perform on a specific space/-s found on this card.
3. Trigger – Some cards contain a Triggered effect that should be applied when a Stalker (or sometimes an Enemy) enters a specific space/-s found on this card.

For easier overlay cards setup remember that text on most overlay cards is oriented in the same way and should align with the Map.

Here's an example of a Note card:

A1-03b: "RADIO SHACK. Not even a trace of a prisoner. If there is an Unknown token in this building, resolve it. Find and resolve 1 random card A1-10a (Cell Key Location). Discard this card."

1. Number – Each card has a number on its front and back so it's easily distinguishable. The first two signs denote the Mission. Additionally, front side card numbers end with "a" and back side card numbers end with "b".
2. Name
3. Story – Some cards contain bits of story.
4. Rules – Either instructions you must apply immediately or additional rules applied to the game.

Double Faced Cards

Most Environment cards are double faced with a front containing "a" in its number and back containing "b" in its number. Always be sure to follow the instructions of the game and keep cards with the correct face showing (e.g., when Mission setup requires you to place overlay card A1-02a on the Map do not accidently place it on its "b" side). By default you should only see the front face of the Environment cards and they should be stacked in the Environment deck in such a way.

Flipping an Environment Card

Many effects require you to flip an Environment card. When you do:

If it's an Overlay card, place it back on the Map. It should either be placed in the direct neighborhood of where it previously was or a visual will help you determine its location.

If it's a Note card, resolve its effects. Then, you'll usually be asked to discard it. If the card is not discarded, place it next to the Map as it will contain information or additional rules.

Discarding and Removing an Environment Card

Whenever you are instructed to discard an Environment card, return it to the Mission box.

Rarely, an effect may ask you to remove a certain card from the game. Store this card separately as it shouldn't be used in this Campaign playthrough again.

Tokens on Mission Map

No Visibility

No Entity can draw LoS to, from, or through a space with this token (it's considered to have a Wall in each of its edges for the purpose of drawing LoS). Entities on the same space with a No Visibility token can still Target each other. No Visibility tokens placed on the Map are removed during the Enemies & Zone Phase.

Bolt

Bolts are kept in Pockets. You can place them on the Map to cover Anomaly symbols by performing the "Bolts & Nuts" Basic Action. Anomaly symbols covered by a Bolt are ignored when rolling for Anomaly Activation. Bolts placed on the Map are removed during the Enemies & Zone Phase.

Artifact

Artifacts usually start hidden under the Anomaly standee and can be placed on the Map with a Detector Armor Attachment. Anomaly symbols covered by an Artifact token are ignored when rolling for Anomaly Activation. Artifact tokens placed on the Map can be gained by performing the "Pick Up" Basic Action. When you do, draw an Artifact card with the Type corresponding to the Anomaly you pick it from. If there's no such Artifact card available or the Artifact token was picked from a non-Anomaly space simply draw a random Artifact card.

Loot

Loot represents Equipment scattered throughout the Zone. It ranges from multiple Bolts and Items to Weapons or even rarely an Artifact.

Loot tokens on the same space are placed in one stack. When additional Loot is added to the space, place it on the top of the stack.

When you resolve the Loot (usually by performing the "Pick Up" Basic Action), resolve the top Loot token from the stack. If it's unflipped, flip it and gain the visible reward. Then, discard the Loot token. Place the discarded Loot token to the side. It can't be used again during the same Mission.

Unknown Enemy

Unknown Enemy tokens represent Enemies that can arrive during the Mission. Unknown tokens on one space are usually placed in one stack.

When you are instructed to resolve an Unknown token, resolve the top Unknown token from the stack. If it's unflipped, flip it. Then, follow these instructions:

• If it's blank (X), discard it.
• If it's an Enemy color icon, place 1 or 2 Enemy standee/-s of the corresponding color on its space facing the direction shown by the arrow on the token.

If you placed at least 1 Enemy standee, discard the Unknown token.

If there weren't enough standees in the Enemy pool to place at least 1 standee, draw an Enemy Activation card (a High Attention Enemy Activation card if there's at least 1 Attention token on the Map, otherwise a Low Attention Enemy Activation card). Resolve it, but only Activate 1 Enemy that matches the color that should be placed but couldn't and is closest to the resolved Unknown token. Then, discard the Unknown token.

Resolving multiple or no Unknown tokens – When instructed to resolve multiple Unknown tokens at the same time, do so by resolving them one by one. When instructed to resolve an Unknown token and there are no Unknown tokens on the Map, nothing happens.

Example A: End of Round effect on the Event card causes you to resolve 1 Unknown token closest to the Lead Stalker (blue Stalker in this case). To do it you flip the Unknown token in the building. It is an Enemy color token pointing upwards. Bandit Shotgun is the Enemy marked with that color so you take 1 Bandit Shotgun standee from the Enemy pool and place it in the same space as the Unknown token facing upwards, then you discard that Unknown token.

Example B: As no Bandit Shotgun standees are available in the pool (all 3 are already on the Map), you must draw an Enemy Activation card and Activate 1 Bandit Shotgun which is closest to the Unknown token. According to the closest rules this would mean either of the Bandits that are at Range 1 from the Unknown token, so it's up to you to decide if it's the one in the building or the one just outside of it. As you resolve steps on the Enemy Activation card remember that those steps can only affect that 1 Bandit (if its color matches the steps) and you don't resolve the bottom step as it's performed only during the Enemy Activation step of Enemies & Zone Phase.

Placing Enemies and fully occupied spaces – If a new Enemy standee should be placed on a fully occupied space (e.g. from resolving an Unknown token), place that Enemy on the closest available space facing the direction of the space it couldn't be placed on.

Playing the Mission

Missions are various tasks you will undertake during your Campaign. They have story connections between each other and are played on the Map constructed from Map tiles and populated with different components during setup.

Mission Objective

Each Mission has a main Objective card which summarizes your goal during that Mission. You have to fulfill it in order to succeed. Additionally, it contains information regarding, what happens whenever a Stalker dies.

In most Missions a Stalker's death is equal to the failure of a Mission and requires you to go to a specific Mission Event card which explains the next steps.

Example: Mission Objective of the first Mission (A1). "MISSION OBJECTIVE – Find and rescue Dalik. Escape from the Bandit camp. If any Stalker dies: The Mission is lost, find and resolve Mission Event card VII (A Fatality)."

Stalker count – The Stalker count icon represents the numeric value equal to the number of Stalkers in your team. Some effects refer to it. Example: "New Arrival" Mission Event card places 4 minus Stalker count Random Events on the top of the Event deck. In a game with 2 Stalkers this effect would place 2 Random Events (4-2=2).

Game Round Structure

Each Mission is played through several game Rounds, each consisting of three Phases. During each Round players will reveal and resolve a new Event card, then plan and play out their Turns, after which the Zone and Enemies respond. This will repeat until either players complete the Mission successfully, a Stalker dies, or they run out of time. In each case, players will be directed to resolve a specific Mission Event card.

A Game Round consists of the following Phases:

1. Event Phase – Draw and read a new Event card to find out what is happening and apply Instant rules found there.
2. Players Phase – Each player carries out two Turns during which they can perform various Actions.
3. Enemies & Zone Phase – Enemies Activate, Stalkers suffer from accumulated Radiation dosage and End of Round effects (found mostly on Event cards) apply.

Event Phase

Events mark the passage of time during a Mission and narrate what happens during Rounds. During this Phase, draw the top card of the Event deck, read it, resolve Instant effects present, and place it next to the Event deck. Then, proceed to the Players Phase.

Active Event – Only one Event can be active at any time. Whenever an effect causes you to draw/find an Event card, place it on top of the previous Active Event.

The Event deck consists of two types of Event card:

• Mission Event – They contain story progression and Mission specific situations. They are unique for each Mission and are added to the Event deck during setup. Some Mission Event cards have multiple variants with the same number. In that case you pick one at random when building your Event deck.
• Random Event – They contain small story twists like finding extra loot or sudden Radiation spikes. They are added to the Event deck during the Mission.

Here are examples of Mission and Random Event cards:

"New Arrival" – The camp is under attack! Bandits spring up and grab their weapons. Instant: Alarm! Resolve all Unknown tokens from all stacks of Unknown tokens. End of Round: Ongoing fights – Place 4 minus Stalker count Random Events on the top of the Event deck. Reset all Turn tokens and Refresh the Lead Stalker token. Start the next Round by drawing and resolving a new Event.

"Quick Gear Check" – One of your ammo pouches is undone. A magazine must have fallen out somewhere. Instant: Lead Stalker: Discard 1 Magazine. You may discard a Universal/Ammo marker or slide 1 of your Turn tokens down as if performing 1 Standard Action to ignore this effect. End of Round: Reset all Turn tokens and Refresh the Lead Stalker token. Start the next Round by drawing and resolving a new Event card.

1. Name – Each Event card has a unique name.
2. Number – Mission Event cards have a number on their front and back. Random Event cards that start in the Mission box have the Mission number on their front.
3. Story – A narrative of what is happening.
4. Instant – These effects are resolved immediately when you draw this card during the Event Phase. Some of them allow Stalkers to perform additional Actions like Movement or Attacks, but they don't slide their Turn tokens down unless specified.
5. End of Round – These effects are resolved at the end of the Enemies & Zone Phase.
   • A. Marked effects don't appear on each Event card and can be different from card to card. Usually they add new Random Events to the deck or cause additional Enemies to arrive.
   • B. Unmarked effects are always the same and remind you of steps required before starting the next Round.

Event information – Part of the Event cards is resolved during the Enemies & Zone Phase, but you may read it as soon as the Event becomes Active. Plan your Actions accordingly!

Players Phase

During this Phase, Stalkers carry out their Turns one at a time in a clockwise order. Each Round starts with the Turn of the Lead Stalker.

In a given Round each Stalker carries out two Turns in total (each represented by one Turn token) and during each Turn they perform 2 Standard Actions.

When all Stalkers have finished both of their Turns, proceed to the Enemies & Zone Phase.

Turns

Example: On the left – Turn tokens before performing any Standard Action. In the middle – Turn token after performing the first Standard Action of that Turn. On the right – Turn token after performing the second Standard Action of that Turn. When Stalker decides they don't want to perform any Free Action their Turn ends and Enemies that have them in their LoS can React.

Each Turn is represented by one of the two Turn tokens on a Stalker's PDA. During a Turn, only the Active Stalker performs Actions.

One Turn must be finished before the next one can begin.

During each Turn, a Stalker must perform 2 Standard Actions and may perform an unlimited number of Free Actions. Each time a Stalker performs a Standard Action, they slide their Turn token down once. When a Turn token reaches the bottom slot and they don't want to perform any additional Free Actions, their Turn is finished.

End of Stalker's Turn

After each Stalker's Turn, Enemies with a Line of Sight to that Stalker will have a chance to React by Attacking them. This information is reminded on the PDA when a Turn token reaches the bottom slot. More about Enemy's Reaction on page 34.

Passing the Turn

A player may decide, before their Stalker's Turn begins, to pass. In that case, proceed with the Turn of the next Stalker. You don't lose your Turn when you pass. It means that you can freely postpone your Turn and wait for a better situation to utilize your Actions, but you have to carry out your Turns eventually.

Lead Stalker – Lead Stalker is a moving title tied to one Stalker at a time. See more on page 24.

Gameplay Example – You can check the flow of the gameplay in the small Gameplay Example booklet.

Actions

From taking a few steps to headshotting a Bandit, each Action is important and can impact the whole Mission.

One Action must be finished before the next one can begin.

Basic Actions are Actions known to every Stalker and are explained in detail on the following pages. Other sources of Actions are the Environment cards on the Mission Map and the Equipment cards you've obtained (e.g., different Weapons, grenades, med-kits).

Actions are represented by two different icons:

• Standard Action – To perform this kind of Action you must slide your Turn token one slot down. They are relatively simple Actions, like moving a few meters, lobbing a grenade or taking a shot from a gun, but there's a limit to how much you can do during a short span of time.
• Free Action – They don't require you to slide your Turn token. You can perform any number of Free Actions during your Turn, before, after or in between your two Standard Actions. They represent Actions that can be performed without any preparation, like taking a peek through a window inside a building, opening doors or chugging an energy drink.

Markers in Turn tokens – Some effects can place 1 or more markers on your Turn token. They increase the number of Standard Actions you can perform during that Turn. Whenever you perform a Standard Action while you have at least 1 marker on your current Turn token, you must discard 1 marker instead of sliding the Turn token down. During the End of Round, Stalkers discard any markers remaining on their Turn tokens.

Basic Actions

Each Stalker always has access to the following Actions. They are also listed on the Help card.

Movement (Standard Action): Sometimes all you can do is run as fast as you can…

Move up to 3 spaces.

The most common Action used to traverse through the Mission Map. This Movement results in moving/placing your Attention token.

Careful Movement (Standard Action): Some situations call for a careful and silent approach.

You can't perform this Action to Move from or to Enemy LoS.

Move 1 space. Don't move/place your Attention token.

Stalker Movement Rules – Movement may come in different forms and from different sources. Regardless of the Movement source, all Stalker Moves follow the following rules:

• To Move X spaces, simply Move your Stalker to an adjacent space X times. Spaces divided with Impassable Terrain or a Wall without a Window aren't considered adjacent.
• If you enter a space with an Enemy, your Movement is interrupted and you must immediately end it.
• If you would end your Movement on a fully occupied space, Push one of the Entities from that space (Stalkers first, if present) to an adjacent space (the one you Moved from, if possible). If no Entity could be Pushed to create a slot for you, you can't end your Movement in such a space.
• You may Move through fully occupied spaces without Enemies.
• If you Move from a space with an Enemy, rotate the Enemy standee to face the adjacent space you Move to.

Attention

• If you Move through a space in an Enemy's LoS, place your Attention token on the first space you are Moving through that is no longer in an Enemy's LoS.
• If you end your Movement in an Enemy's LoS, place your Attention token on your space.
• If you end your Movement and your Attention token isn't placed on the Map, move/place your Attention token on your space.

Radiation

• If the Movement caused you to slide one of your Turn tokens down and you Moved to, from, or through one or more spaces with Map Radiation, you increase your Radiation dosage equal to the highest value of the Map Radiation found on those spaces. This value can be reduced by your Armor's Map Radiation modifier.

Triggers

During the Movement, check if you've entered a space with a Trigger or a space with Anomaly symbols and resolve triggered effects. If the Trigger effect applies immediately and doesn't specify that it ends the Movement you may continue the Movement after fully resolving the Trigger effect.

Push – Push is an involuntary form of Movement that can't be interrupted. When an Enemy is Pushed, rotate their standee so they are facing the space they moved from.

Moving Carefully – Some Actions specify that you Move without moving or placing the Attention token. In such cases you only move or place your Attention token if you end that Movement in an Enemy's LoS.

Prepare (Standard Action): Quick gear swap with a comrade or finding a better shooting position.

• Gain a Focus. See more about Focus on page 29.
• Gain 1 Bolt.

Then, any number of times in any order, Stalkers on your space may:

• Exchange an Artifact, Attachment, Armor, Item, Weapon, Magazine, Bolt, or Personal Important Finding (subtype of Note cards found during a Mission) with another Stalker on the same space.
• Move a Weapon from the Weapon slot to the Backpack and vice versa. Ammo stays on the Weapon.
• Move an Armor from the Armor slot to the Backpack and vice versa.
• Install or Uninstall an Attachment from an Armor or a Weapon.
• Move an Artifact from the Artifact slot to the Backpack and vice versa.

Reload (Standard Action): When your weapon is out of bullets you just have to put more of them in it.

If you have a Focus treat this Action as a Free Action (you don't discard that Focus).

Discard 1 Magazine from your Pockets of a type matching your Weapon (Pistol, Rifle, or Shotgun) to add as many Universal/Ammo markers to your Weapon to reach its Ammo capacity.

Pick up (Standard Action): There are many things lying on the ground in the Zone, just waiting for you to pick them up.

Choose 1 Loot token or Artifact token on your space. If it's an unflipped Loot token, flip it, gain its rewards, and discard it.

When you pick up an Artifact token, gain an Artifact card of a type matching the Anomaly you picked it from.

Decoy (Standard Action): Sometimes a little distraction is all it takes.

Throwing a decoy allows you to move your opponents or lure them right into a trap. Use it with caution though!

You can't perform this Action if you have your Attention token on the Map.

Discard 1 Bolt from your Pockets. Choose a space within Range 3 of your Stalker. Place your Attention token on that space. Then, if there are any Enemies on the chosen space or adjacent spaces, draw a High Attention Enemy Activation card and resolve it, but only Activate Enemies that are on the chosen space and adjacent spaces. Then, if any of those Enemies has LoS to any Attention token move that Attention token by 1 toward its owner.

Bolts & Nuts (Free Action): Every Stalker's (t)rusty friend. Each Stalker carries a few Bolts in their pockets that help you find safe paths through Anomalies.

Place 1 Bolt from your Pockets onto a chosen Anomaly symbol within Range 3. An Anomaly symbol covered by a Bolt is ignored when rolling for Anomaly Activation.

Bolts placed on the Map are removed during the Enemies & Zone Phase.

Knife (Free Action): Always useful, whether you are opening a Tourist's Delight can or in need of a backup when your AKM is out of bullets.

Knife is an Attack Action. To perform it you must be on the same space as the Enemy you wish to Attack. You may pick which Body Part you target, then roll 3 Stalker dice. If you kill your target, reduce your Attention.

Attacks – More about Stalkers' Attacks on page 27.

Other Actions and Where to Find Them

Apart from Basic Actions, Stalkers may do much more. Different Actions can be found on various game components. The most common are:

• Weapons – Each has at least one Attack Action (see: Attacks) that additionally requires Ammo.
• Environment cards – Most Environment cards can be interacted with by performing Actions written on them, revealing new secrets or progressing a Mission.
• Items – Each has its own Action. It can be performed if you have it in your backpack and are discarded after use.
• Artifacts – Some Artifacts provide you with their own, unique Actions.

Example cards: SAWED-OFF (Weapon) – Accurate Range 0-1, Max. Range 2, Ammo 2. Blast: 3 dice – This Attack hits all Enemies on the Target's space. Single Barrel (+1 die, discard 1 Ammo); Double Barrel (+3 dice, discard 2 Ammo). K300.

A1-08a (Environment card): "Open chest: Increase your Radiation dosage by 2 and flip this card."

FRAG GRENADE (Item, Grenade/Blast) – Throw (Range 2): Place your Attention token on the chosen space. Roll 4 dice. Attack all Entities on that space. Stalkers: star = success. Enemies: Target Torso. Discard this card. K500.

EYE (Item, Fire) – Discard a Focus to move your Attention token to a space within Range 2 of your Stalker. K3000, 5 dice.

Instant Triggers and Additional Rules

Although they are not Actions, they are an inseparable part of the gameplay. They can happen at any time when their condition is met. Some of them help or disrupt Actions, some are used to hide information from the player until they perform a specific Action and some are used to progress the Mission.

Triggers

Triggers appear on the Environment overlay and Anomaly cards. They remind you that something happens when a Stalker (or sometimes an Enemy) enters a specific space on the Mission Map. They specify whether they should be applied immediately during the Action or after finishing it. When applied immediately they won't end that Action unless it's clearly instructed.

Example: A1-03a – "Peek inside: You may perform this Action on a space adjacent to this building's [wall opening]. Flip this card." Trigger: "When a Stalker enters this building, immediately flip this card."

Example: FRUIT PUNCH (Chemical Anomaly card) – Trigger: "After an Entity finishes Movement, roll the Anomaly die for this Anomaly Activation: The triggering Entity and on all spaces with the rolled Anomaly symbol: Stalkers: Lose 9HP, then gain a Light Wound. Enemies: Light Wound, then gain a Bolt."

Additional Rules

Your Character, many parts of your Equipment and some Environment cards give you access to new abilities. They are marked with a colored icon (tan/orange/green) depending on the card's color. They can enhance specific Actions or provide you with ongoing passive effects.

Example: GRENADE LAUNCHER (Weapon Attachment) – "After you Attack with this Weapon, you may immediately use an Item from your Grenade Item as a Free Action." K2000.

Example: IMPROVED ARTIFACT CONTAINER (Attachment) – "You may use an Improved Artifact Container regardless of your Armor." K1000.

Example: SLIME (Chemical Anomaly card) – "Whenever an Enemy within Range 1 Attacks, you may increase your Radiation dosage by 3 to deal a Light Wound to that Enemy." K2000, 2 dice.

Map Radiation

Even after all those years after the first incident, Zone is full of radiation hotspots. Wise stalker knows when to cross them and how to prepare - good armor and some vodka goes a long way here.

Each time you slide your Turn token down (usually by performing a Standard Action), if you are/were present during the Action on any space with Map Radiation, increase your Radiation dosage by the highest value of the Map Radiation found on spaces where you are/were present during that Action. Your Armor's Map Radiation modifier can reduce this.

Geiger Counter & Radiation Dosage

Keep your Geiger counter near your PDA to easily mark Radiation dosage accumulated throughout the Mission. Whenever you increase your Radiation dosage, turn the wheel toward higher numbers and whenever you reduce, do the opposite.

During the Enemies & Zone Phase and whenever the game instructs you to do so you may suffer from Radiation Exposure (see more on page 35).

Attention

If you do stuff, someone is bound to notice that. And usually not in a good way...

Many Actions will cause you to place your Attention token on the Map, attracting Enemies toward you. With passage of time, Attention will fade, thus allowing you to use it tactically. Placing Attention doesn't immediately cause Enemies to react, but influences their behaviour during the Enemy Activation step.

Low Attention – Symbolises noises and other signs of your presence that Enemies may ignore, like moving a few steps too fast or dealing a lethal blow with a silenced Weapon. If there are only Low Attention tokens on the Map or none at all, Enemies won't necessarily follow your steps and may continue their own patrols.

High Attention – Symbolises noises and other signs of your presence that Enemies will follow. Shooting with a Weapon or moving right before their eyes, these Actions will alert Enemies and make them try to find you. If there is at least 1 High Attention token on the Map, Enemies' behavior will become more aggressive and more focused on the source of the Attention.

Attention Reduction

Some effects reduce Attention. When you reduce High Attention, flip it to its Low Attention side. When you reduce Low Attention, return it to your PDA.

PDA & Equipment

The most important component for each player is their PDA (player board). During a Mission you will keep your Equipment there and find all information about your Stalker. Here's a list of components found on the PDA:

1. Stalker slot – Here you place your Stalker card.
2. Turn slots – Here you place your Turn tokens. You slide them down to mark that you have performed a Standard Action.
   • A. Turn tokens – During each Round, Turn tokens start at the top of their slots. After you perform two Standard Actions the Turn token should end up at the bottom.
   • B. Critical Injury tokens – If you suffer a Critical Injury you place a token here, blocking part of the slot limiting the number of Standard Actions available during that Turn.
3. Weapon slot
   • A. Weapon card – Here you place your currently equipped Weapon.
   • B. Weapon Attachment – Here you place up to two Attachments that match Attachment slots on your currently equipped Weapon.
   • C. Magazine track – Here you place Universal/Ammo markers representing Ammo for your currently equipped Weapon.
4. Armor slot
   • A. Armor card – Here you place your currently equipped Armor.
   • B. Armor Attachment – Here you place up to one Armor Attachment.
5. Artifact slots
   • A. Artifact card – Here you place your currently equipped Artifact with the highest Artifact's Base Radiation value.
   • B. Artifact Container – Depending on your Armor, here you may place an Artifact container token.
   • C. Artifact cards – Here you place up to two additional Artifacts so that their Base Radiation values are covered by the PDA.
6. Backpack – Here you keep your Items and other Equipment cards that you currently aren't using.
7. Pockets – Here you keep all Bolts, Magazines and sometimes tokens provided by the Mission.
8. Attention – Here you place your Attention token if it isn't currently placed on the Map.
9. HP track – Here you mark your current HP value.

Reaching 0 HP – Whenever your HP drops to 0 (and whenever it would drop below 0 if you were already at 0) you gain a Critical Injury. When you gain your third Critical Injury, you die. More about Critical Injuries and Stalker's Death on page 29.

Losing and healing HP – When you lose HP move your marker to the right that many spaces (up to 0). When you heal HP move your marker to the left that many spaces (up to your Stalker's HP).

Stalker Card

Players take the role of Stalkers, exploring the Zone due to a vast number of different motivations. Each Stalker is represented by their own unique Stalker card. Although each Stalker is different, there is some universal information that may be found on those cards:

Example: MILADY – HP 14. SHOOTING: 2 dice (Range 0-3), 3 dice (Range 4+). Never Miss: Whenever you Attack an Enemy outside of its LoS, gain +1 star to that roll. Sneak (Standard Action): Move up to 3 spaces. During this Movement, the maximum value of Enemies' LoS is 1, except on the final space of your Move. Once per Turn.

Story: "Milady used to have everything, from cars to hunting trips abroad. Her life was a fairy-tale until she got mauled by a bear, and succumbed to coma. When she woke up years later, she learned that her husband, a special ops officer, had been deployed to the Zone, and never came back. And Milady, a renowned shot and a skilled hunter, was desperate enough to follow. She has been looking for years, and still no trace of lieutenant Stepan Andrukhov. Beware, though. Her favorite way of looking is through her sniper scope."

1. Name – Each Stalker has a unique name.
2. HP – Maximum amount of HP that a Character can have. You start each Mission with that much HP and at no point during a Mission can you have more.
3. Shooting skills – Depicts the number of dice rolled during each Weapon Attack. Sometimes a Character's Shooting skills depend on the distance to the Target.
4. Abilities – Each Character has at least one ability. They are either new Actions or additional rules impacting the game.
5. Story – Each Character card contains a story introduction for that Character on its back side.

Lead Stalker

Every group needs a leader.

Lead Stalker is a moving title tied to one Stalker at a time. Some game effects (e.g., found on Events) refer to a Lead Stalker. The Lead Stalker also has the final voice in case of unresolved disputes between players.

Lead Stalker is represented by the following token:

LEAD STALKER – "Flip this token and pass it to the next Stalker to choose one: Heal 2HP. Gain a Focus."

As long as you have this token you can perform the following Action:

Flip this token and pass it to the next player to choose one:

• Heal 2HP.
• Gain a Focus.

After you perform this Action the next Stalker on the left will become the Lead Stalker, but they won't be able to perform the token's Action (and hence pass the Lead Stalker) until it is unflipped during the End of Round.

You may perform this Action even if you would gain nothing from its effect (simply to pass the token).

Items

Items are common pieces of Equipment found plentiful in the Zone. They range from different grenades and med-kits to provisions. Items are kept in the Backpack and each offers a single-use effect.

Here's an example of an Item card:

BREAD (Food) – Eat (Free Action): Gain a Focus and heal 2HP. Discard this card. K100.

1. Name
2. Type – Each Item has at least one type. Sometimes effects may reference this type (e.g., gain 1 Food Item).
3. Effect – Each Item has a single-use Action after which it is discarded.
4. Coupon value – How much it is worth. This represents a fair price for this Item in the Zone.

Armor

Armor provides protection from Enemy Attacks and sometimes will even reduce the Radiation dosage you gain. You may only have 1 Armor equipped at a time and you may keep additional ones in your Backpack. It is advised for each Stalker to have at least 1 Armor at all times as the Zone can be a merciless place. Although Armor comes in different shapes and forms they share some common characteristics.

Here's an example of an Armor card:

PSZ-9D – Defense 2, Map Radiation -2, Artifact Container: Basic. Gain +1 star to Defense rolls. K5500.

1. Name
2. Defense value – Depicts how many dice you roll when Defending from Attacks. Each star rolled reduces the incoming Damage by 1.
3. Map Radiation – Depicts a modifier to the Map Radiation value of spaces allowing you to reduce the amount of Radiation dosage gained. Some effects may cause you to directly increase your Radiation dosage. They will specify whether your Armor may protect you against them.
4. Artifact Container – Basic, Improved, or Advanced. It shows how well protected you are from the equipped Artifacts' base Radiation dosage and if you should use the Artifact Container token.
5. Additional rules – Some Armor provides additional rules (e.g., PSZ-9D Armor will always protect you from at least 1 Damage from an Enemy Attack).
6. Attachment slot – Each Armor has 1 Attachment slot on which any Armor Attachment can be installed.
7. Coupon value – How much it is worth. This represents a fair price for this Armor in the Zone.
8. Tier of the Armor – How easily obtainable it is in the Zone and how powerful it is. In the core game, Armor Tiers range from I to III, with I being the most common and weakest.

Armor Attachments

LEATHER JACKET – Defense 1, Map Radiation -0, Artifact Container: Basic. K100.

ECHO DETECTOR – Detect an Artifact (Range 0, Free Action): Roll the Anomaly die and place the Artifact token from under an Anomaly onto a chosen corresponding Anomaly symbol. K1000.

Armor can have up to 1 Attachment installed. Armor Attachments are universal and suit each Armor. These Attachments range from Detectors, which provide Actions necessary to retrieve Artifacts from Anomalies, to extra pouches or defensive plates which provide new abilities.

Artifacts

The real bounty of the Zone. Objects with weird and supernatural effects.

These are special Items that may be obtained during the game, mainly by exploring Anomalies. Artifacts give Stalkers access to powerful special abilities at the cost of exposing them to Radiation.

Artifacts can be safely transported in your Backpack, but if you want to use their effects you will have to equip them. You may have up to 3 Artifacts equipped at a time and you may keep additional ones in your Backpack.

Although Artifacts come in different shapes and forms they share some common characteristics.

Here's an example of an Artifact card:

ECHINUS (Chemical) – Lose 1HP and gain a Focus. K3000, base Radiation dosage 4.

1. Name
2. Type – When you pick up an Artifact token from an Anomaly, gain the Artifact card with the type corresponding to the Anomaly.
3. Special effect – Each Artifact gives you a new ability. Either in the form of Actions you may perform or new rules influencing you.
4. Coupon value – How much it is worth. This represents a fair price for this Artifact in the Zone.
5. Base Radiation dosage – Radiation that you're constantly exposed to if you equip this Artifact.

Artifact's base Radiation dosage

Each Artifact has a base Radiation dosage visible in its bottom right corner. During the Radiation Exposure step of the Enemies & Zone Phase, if your current Radiation dosage is lower than your Artifact's base Radiation dosage, you must increase your dosage to match that value.

If you have multiple Artifacts equipped, only the highest base Radiation dosage applies. Place such an Artifact in the top Artifact slot and remaining Artifacts in the bottom slots that cover their base Radiation dosage value.

An Artifact's base dosage can be lowered by equipping Armor with an Improved or Advanced Artifact container.

Artifact containers are represented by the following tokens which are placed in the container slot under your Artifact with highest base Radiation dosage:

Improved Container -2. Advanced Container -4.

An Improved Artifact Container lowers the Artifact's base dosage by 2 and Advanced by 4.

Backpack

Sturdy backpack is sometimes more important than a loaded gun.

Backpack is the space under the PDA. During a Mission it's where you keep all your Items and other Equipment cards that you aren't currently using. The base capacity of your Backpack is 6 Equipment cards, but some effects can increase this value.

The following cards are referred to as Equipment cards:

• Armor
• Artifacts
• Attachments
• Items
• Weapons

At any point during the Mission, if you have more Equipment cards than your Backpack capacity allows, you have to discard any excess cards. You decide which cards to discard; they can be the ones that you've just gained. During equipping yourself (e.g., when performing the "Prepare" Action) ignore this capacity and only check it after that Action is finished.

Only Item cards can be used while stored in the Backpack. All other Equipment cards have no effect as long as they are in the Backpack and must be equipped by performing the "Prepare" Basic Action.

Gaining a new Equipment card – Whenever you gain a new Equipment card (e.g., from a Loot token), place it in your Backpack. Alternatively you may immediately equip it, replacing any currently equipped card. If it's a Weapon or Armor card you may install matching Attachments you have. Gained Weapons are fully loaded. If you place it in your Backpack, place the Universal/Ammo markers on the Weapon card. If you equip it, place the Universal/Ammo markers in the slot on the PDA.

Pockets

Be it trousers or tactical ammo pouches, every stalker needs place to store their bolts and spare magazines.

During a Mission, Pockets are where you keep Bolts, Magazines and sometimes additional Mission specific tokens. If an effect asks you to discard a Bolt or a Magazine it should be one you have in your Pockets. You can use Bolts in Pockets to perform two Basic Actions – "Bolts & Nuts" and "Decoy". The first is used to create safe passages through Anomalies and the other can distract Enemies.

Tier

Some Equipment cards have a Tier marking on their back. Tier defines the power of the Equipment and its availability.

Some game effects (usually Traders and rewards) reference the Equipment Tier. If the effect doesn't specify the Equipment Tier, Tiers are ignored for this effect (e.g., Gain 1 Attachment means shuffle the Attachment deck and gain the top card which can be either Tier I or II Attachment).

Weapons

To deal with the many dangers of the Zone you will need a trusty Weapon. You may only have 1 Weapon equipped at a time and you may keep additional ones in your Backpack.

It is advised for each Stalker to have at least 1 Weapon at all times as dealing with Enemies without one can be a real challenge. Although Weapons come in different shapes and forms they share some common characteristics.

Here's an example of a Weapon card:

AKM-74U – Accurate Range 2, Max. Range 3, Ammo (Rifle) 6. Suppressing: For every 2 skulls: Deal a Light Wound. Single Shot (Standard Action, 1 Ammo, +2 dice, Attention): Pick a Body Part. Burst (Standard Action, 2 Ammo, +2 dice, Attention): Gain +1 skull to the roll. You may spread star and skull effects between the Target and all Enemies adjacent to it and in your LoS. K1000.

1. Name
2. Accurate Range – Depicts the distance at which this Weapon works best. Within this Range the Accurate side of the Weapon die is considered to be 4 stars instead of 2 stars.
3. Maximum Range – Depicts the maximum distance within which this Weapon may be used. Each Weapon may be used to Attack Enemies from Range 0 up to its max. Range.
4. Ammo – Depicts the type (Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, or Special) and maximum Ammo capacity of this Weapon. Ammo is represented by Universal/Ammo markers placed next to the currently equipped Weapon card in the Magazine track on the PDA or directly on the Weapon card if it is held in the Backpack. Ammo is discarded to perform Weapon Attacks. Stalkers start Missions with fully loaded Weapons.
5. Attachment slots – Weapons can have up to 2 Attachment slots. If Attachment slots on Weapon and Attachment cards match you can install that Attachment, improving the Weapon.
6. Weapon trait – Various effects that are sometimes applicable during Weapon Attacks depending on the number of skulls rolled and sometimes always in effect.
7. Attack Actions – Depicts how the Weapon may be used to Attack. Weapons can have 1 or 2 Attack Actions. Each Attack has:
   • A. Action cost – Standard Action or Free Action.
   • B. Ammo cost – Required number of Ammo markers you must discard from this Weapon to perform the Attack.
   • C. Attack type – Some cards like Weapon Attachments may reference or influence only a specific Attack type.
   • D. Weapon dice – Number of Weapon dice rolled in addition to a Stalker's dice during the Weapon Attack.
   • E. Attention – You place the required Attention token on your space.
   • F. Additional effects – Some Attacks have additional effects. They range from the option to pick a Body Part, additional stars or skulls to special requirements to perform this Attack.
8. Coupon value – How much it is worth. This represents a fair price for this Weapon in the Zone.
9. Tier of the Weapon – How easily obtainable it is in the Zone and how powerful it is. In the core game, Weapon Tiers range from I to III, with I being the most common and weakest.

Accurate side – One side of the Weapon die is specially marked and can have additional effects during Weapon Attacks.

Magazines – There are three types of Magazines: Pistol, Rifle, and Shotgun. They correspond to the Ammo types that different Weapons use. Magazines are used to perform the "Reload" Basic Action. When you do so, discard a Magazine matching the Ammo type of the Weapon to add as many Ammo markers to that Weapon to reach its Ammo capacity. You may reload either your currently equipped Weapon or any Weapon you have in your Backpack.

Weapon Attachments

Weapons can have up to 2 Attachment slots. On each slot, 1 Weapon Attachment can be installed. Not all Attachments work for each Weapon though. In order to install an Attachment on a Weapon their slots have to match.

Note that the type is not the only thing to keep in mind – some Attachments may only boost a specific Attack type that may be unavailable for that Weapon. Modify your Weapon smartly, Stalker!

Here are all Weapon Attachment slots appearing in the core game. Note that one of the slots appearing on the Weapons can accommodate two different types of Attachments.

Example: AKM-74U can accept a Scope in its top slot and either a Grenade Launcher or Silencer in its lower slot. PTM (Pistol) – Accurate Range 0-1, Max. Range 2, Ammo (Pistol) 4. Suppressing: For every 2 skulls: Deal a Light Wound. Quick Shot (Free Action, 1 Ammo, +1 die, Attention, Once per Turn). Single Shot (Standard Action, 1 Ammo, +1 die, Attention): Pick a Body Part. K100.

SCOPE – "Whenever you Attack with a Single Shot or Aimed Shot within Range 3+, roll +1 die." K2000.

GRENADE LAUNCHER – "After you Attack with this Weapon, you may immediately use an Item from your Grenade Item as a Free Action." K2000.

SILENCER – "After you Attack with this Weapon, if you're outside of Enemies' LoS, reduce your Attention." K1000.

Stalker Attack

Lead is a currency of its own.

Attacks are Actions that allow you to engage Enemies. They are commonly found on Weapons and sometimes on different cards (e.g., Frag Grenade Item). Additionally there is one Basic Attack Action: the Knife Action.

In order to perform an Attack your Stalker usually has to have Range and/or LoS to the target's space.

Unless otherwise stated you may only target Enemy models with an Attack.

Attack Sequence

To perform an Attack follow these steps:

1. Choose an Attack Action and a valid Target.
   • When Attacking with a Weapon the Target must be within the Weapon's Max. Range and in LoS.
   • Additionally, some Weapon Attacks state a minimum Range to the Target.
   • Non-Weapon Attacks specify the Range within which they may be performed and if the Target must be in LoS.
2. Remember to slide the Turn token if the Attack is a Standard Action and spend Ammo if needed.
3. Place the required Attention token.
   • If the Attack places the Attention token and doesn't specify where, place it on your space.
   • If the Attack places Attention and you have your Attention token anywhere on the Map, do not place the Attention token.
   • Remember that if you're in an Enemy's LoS you always have your Attention token on your space.
4. Target a Body Part:
   • If the Attack allows you to pick the Body Part, do so now. Otherwise, target Torso.
   • Body Parts have different To Hit tables, providing balance between the difficulty of a Hit and its effect.
5. Roll the dice:
   • When Attacking with a Weapon, roll the Stalker dice presented on your Stalker card and additional Weapon dice specified by the Weapon's Attack.
   • Non-Weapon Attacks specify the number of Stalker dice and/or Weapon dice rolled.
   • Roll any additional Stalker dice and/or Weapon dice specified by other components. The most common sources of additional dice are Weapon Attachments.
6. If you have a Focus or another effect that allows you to reroll dice you may do so now.
7. Resolve the roll results:
   • Most Attacks allow you to spend rolled skulls to apply additional effects. The same effect may be applied more than once as long as you have enough skulls.
   • Count the stars rolled and compare them to the To Hit value of the targeted Body Part. Resolve the effect of the highest reached threshold of that Body Part.
   • If you're performing a Weapon Attack within Accurate Range, remember to treat the Mask (Accurate side) as 4 stars.
   • If the effect is a Light or Heavy Wound, draw an Enemy Wound card and apply the corresponding outcome.
   • If you did not reach any threshold, your Attack misses.
   • If you have any unspent skulls, this is the last time you may spend them to apply additional effects.
8. If you fail to kill the Enemy, rotate that Enemy so that they are facing your Stalker.

Masks – On Weapon dice some sides contain Mask symbols. They are spent to apply additional effects usually found on Weapons. Those effects may be applied multiple times and you may choose to apply different effects if you have more than one available as long as you are able to pay their skull cost. Each time you use such an effect, subtract the required number of skulls from the roll result. These effects may be used before or after the Attack's Hit is checked.

Example: Palkan decides to Attack a Snork with a Single Shot Attack from his PTM. He must slide his Turn token once as it is a Standard Action and discard 1 Ammo from the PTM. He rolls 3 Stalker dice (from his shooting skills) and 1 Weapon die (from the PTM Attack). Single Shot allows you to pick a Body Part so Palkan decides to target the Snork's Head. Palkan rolls 3 stars, 2 stars, 1 star, and 2 skulls. There's only one threshold on Snork's Head To Hit value: 6 stars. As Palkan rolled enough it will result in -1 HP and the Snork will die as it only has 1 HP. If Palkan rolls below 6 stars, the Snork wouldn't be harmed, but Palkan could spend the 2 skulls rolled to use the PTM's Suppressing trait and deal a Pin down to the Snork.

Multiple rerolls – There's no limit to how many times a die can be rerolled as long as it comes from a different reroll source.

Attacking Multiple Enemies

Some Attacks allow you to affect multiple Targets. The most common would be a Grenade explosion, salvo from a Rifle or spreading Shotgun shots.

Burst/Full Auto Attacks – These types of Attack allow you to spread stars rolled and additional effects applied during step 7 of the Attack Sequence between the main Target and any Enemy adjacent to it and in your LoS (but they don't have to be in LoS in the same cardinal direction).

Blast effects – The Shotguns' trait and Blast Items allow you to hit all Enemies on one or more spaces. With such effects roll the dice only once and apply the same star result to all Enemies hit.

Enemy Wounds

Sometimes all you can do, is shoot and hope for the best.

Whenever an Enemy suffers a Light or Heavy Wound (usually caused by Attacks or Anomaly effects), draw the top card of the Enemy Wounds deck and resolve the effects corresponding to the type of the Wound that Enemy suffered. After you resolve an Enemy Wound card, discard it.

There are six different possible outcomes from resolving an Enemy Wound card:

1. This Enemy gains a Pin down token – Place a Pin down token near the Enemy standee, marking that it suffered this status.
2. This Enemy gains a Pin down token and an Exposed token – Place both a Pin down token and an Exposed token near the Enemy standee marking that it suffered those statuses. If an Enemy suffered this Wound due to the effect of an Exposed token, they will still gain the new Pin down token. This is the only exception of having two Pin down tokens at the same time (one of which will be immediately discarded).
3. If this Enemy already has an Exposed token, Push them Away. Otherwise, this Enemy gains an Exposed token – This will either cause you to place an Exposed token near the Enemy standee, marking that it suffered this status, or if the Enemy already had an Exposed token when it suffered this Wound, you must Move that Enemy 1 space farther from you (this can't be interrupted). If there's no possible space that would cause that Enemy to be farther from you, don't Move them.
4. -1 HP – This Enemy loses 1 HP. As most Enemies only have 1 HP this usually results in their death. If this Enemy has more than 1 HP, place the -1 HP token near the Enemy standee or on the Enemy card (if there's only one standee of that Enemy).
5. If this Enemy already has a Pin down token, -1 HP. Otherwise, this Enemy gains a Pin down token – This will either cause you to place a Pin down token near the Enemy standee, marking that it suffered this status, or if the Enemy already had a Pin down token when it suffered this Wound, this Enemy loses 1 HP.
6. -1 HP, then shuffle this deck – This Enemy loses 1 HP. As most Enemies only have 1 HP this usually results in their death. Then, shuffle all Enemy Wound cards (including this one) to reset the deck.

Pin down and Exposed token limits – Entities can only have up to 1 Pin down token and 1 Exposed token. If an effect would deal a Pin down token or Exposed token and an Entity already has the same status, they don't gain the second one.

Enemy Death

Whenever an Enemy's HP drops to or below 0, they die. When this happens, remove their standee from the Map and return them to the pool as they could arrive later thanks to Unknown tokens.

Enemy pool – At the start of each Mission and whenever a new Enemy appears in a Mission, you will be instructed to prepare a specific number of Enemy standees. Some of them may be placed on the Map and some may be left next to it. Overall they create a given Enemy's standee pool. This limits how many standees of an Enemy there can be at the same time on the Map.

Leaving Loot

Humans in the Zone carry various Equipment, so after you kill one, you will be able to get some stuff from their corpse.

Mutants on the other hand, do not. You wouldn't expect a Snork to carry an AKM in their pockets, would you?

Whenever a Human Enemy dies, place 1 Loot token on their space. Whenever a Mutant Enemy dies, they do not leave any Loot tokens.

Status Tokens

During the Mission, Stalkers and Enemies may gain the following status effects, which are marked with tokens.

Critical Injury

Heavy bleeding, broken rib, bad concussion – in the end they all have the same effect, getting you to the death's door.

Critical Injury is a negative status obtained whenever your Stalker's HP drops to 0. When you do, place a Critical Injury token above one of your Turn tokens. While having that token, a Stalker can only perform one Standard Action during that Turn.

When you lose any more HP while having 0 HP, gain a second Critical Injury. Place it above the other Turn token.

A single source of HP loss can only cause you to gain 1 Critical Injury.

When you increase your HP above 0, discard all Critical Injury tokens from your PDA, but don't slide your Turn tokens up (a Standard Action lost due to a Critical Injury can't be recovered during the same Round).

Example: You receive your first Critical Injury so you place it above your left Turn token. To fit it you must slide your Turn token down limiting the amount of Standard Actions you can perform on your first Turn to 1.

If you gain your third Critical Injury, you die. More about a Stalker's Death is found near the Reaching 0 HP rules on page 23.

Focus

If you're focused on the task at hand, everything is easier.

Focus is a positive status obtained through many Actions, the most common one being the "Prepare" Basic Action. Each Stalker can only have 1 Focus.

If a Stalker has a Focus, they may discard it to reroll any number of chosen dice during their Attack, Defense, or Anomaly Activation roll.

Some Actions check if a Stalker has a Focus or require them to spend it in order to perform that Action. E.g., as long as a Stalker has a Focus, they may perform the "Reload" Basic Action as a Free Action instead of a Standard Action.

Pin down

Getting knocked down, slipping on autumn leaves or getting stunned by a grenade explosion require you to compose yourself.

Pin down is a negative status that hinders an Entity's Actions. When a Stalker gains it, place it on top of their Turn token (sliding the Turn token down once to fit it), and when an Enemy gains it, place it near their standee as a reminder. Each Entity can only have 1 Pin down token.

Stalkers: Stalkers with a Pin down token may only perform the following Action: Discard your Pin down token. Stalkers with a Pin down token can't perform any other Standard Action nor Free Action until they get rid of the Pin down token. They must discard the Pin down token as the first thing they do. Only the Stalker affected by the Pin down token can discard it. Other Stalkers should try to cover their position while they do so. Gaining a Pin down token can be especially dangerous if a Stalker has a Critical Injury with Enemies nearby. Cooperate with your team, Stalker!

Enemies: If an Enemy with a Pin down token would React during the end of a Stalker's Turn, discard the Pin down token instead. Enemies with a Pin down token don't Activate when you resolve an Enemy Activation card. If an Enemy gains a Pin down token during one of the Enemy Activation card's steps it won't Activate during the remaining steps of that card.

All Enemies discard their Pin down tokens during the Discard tokens step of the Enemies & Zone Phase.

Exposed

Whether your attack destroy the piece of furniture they were hiding behind, or slightly injure an enemy – they are exposed. It is a good moment to strike.

Exposed is a status effect that, depending on who suffers it, either significantly hinders an Entity or increases the effectiveness of their next Attack. It is placed near their standee/model. Each Entity can only have 1 Exposed token.

Stalkers: When a Stalker with an Exposed token is Attacked, increase the Damage by 3. Then, discard this token. This usually means that they will lose 3HP more from the Enemy Attack unless they're able to compensate for it with other Defense modifiers. After a Stalker with an Exposed token Moves, discard this token. It doesn't matter what the source of the Movement is. Stalkers can easily get rid of this status, but if they don't do so they'd better be prepared to take a powerful hit.

Enemies: If an Enemy with an Exposed token would suffer a Light Wound, they suffer a Heavy Wound instead. Then, discard this token. If an Enemy with an Exposed token would suffer a Heavy Wound, they suffer -1 HP instead. Then, discard this token. As most Enemies only have 1 HP this usually results in their death. After an Enemy with an Exposed token Moves, discard this token. It doesn't matter what the source of the Movement is.

Enemies & Zone Phase

During this Phase you perform various tasks marking the passage of time. You feel the effects of the Radiation you've accumulated during your adventures, temporary effects vanish, new Enemies may appear, but most importantly Enemies Activate giving them a chance to hunt you down.

During this Phase, steps are resolved in the following order:

1. Enemy Activation.
2. Radiation Exposure & Radiation dosage reduction.
3. Discard tokens (No Visibility, Bolt, Unknown Enemy).
4. Attention reduction.
5. End of Round effects.

Enemy Activation

Depending on how much Attention you draw to yourself, Enemies will be more or less alert to your Actions and respond accordingly. If you are stealthy, you can count on them wandering around the area, but if you alert them to your Actions, be sure they will try to hunt you down.

During this step, Enemies are Activated according to the Enemy Activation card.

If there is at least 1 High Attention token anywhere on the Map, draw a High Attention Enemy Activation card and resolve it.

Otherwise, draw and resolve a Low Attention Enemy Activation card.

Example cards: SWARMING (High Attention) – 1. All Enemies: Move up to 2 spaces toward the closest High Attention token. 2. All Enemies: Move up to 2 spaces toward the closest High Attention token. 3. All Enemies: Attack a Target in their LoS. All Enemies have +2 Damage during this Attack. 4. All Enemies perform their Special. Only during Enemy Activation step of Zone & Enemies Phase — Exposed: All Enemies in LoS of any Stalker gain an Exposed token.

CHECKING THE DISTURBANCE (Low Attention) – If there is no Attention on the Map: 1. All Enemies: Move up to 2 spaces toward the closest Room. Enemies that were already in a Room Move to the next closest Room instead. If there is a Low Attention token on the Map: 1. Enemies closest to any Attention +1: Move up to 2 spaces toward the closest Attention. 2. Enemies with a Target in LoS: Move up to 2 spaces toward the closest space with Cover and no LoS to any Target. This Movement can't be interrupted.

High Attention Enemy Activation cards focus on Enemies looking for Stalkers, checking all sources of Attention. They have one additional part that is only resolved during this step.

Low Attention Enemy Activation cards focus on covering different areas of the Map, sometimes even ignoring the Attention placed by the Stalkers. They have two different parts which are resolved depending on whether at least 1 Low Attention token is on the Map or if there's no Attention on the Map.

When resolving Enemy Activation cards, conclude each point from top to bottom. Each point must be resolved one Enemy at a time and must be fully resolved before continuing to the next point. If multiple Enemies should be Activated, do so starting with those closest to the point of interest (usually it will be the closest Attention token). In case of a tie we recommend to Activate them in the following order: Green, Red, Yellow, Blue (Enemy team colors).

Here are the instructions found on Enemy Activation cards. Detailed rules of Enemies' Movement can be found on page 32 and Enemies' Attacks on page 33.

• [Color] Enemies Move up to X toward Y – Specified Enemies Move up to X spaces toward a point of interest (usually an Attention token closest to them) until they reach their target or are interrupted.
• [Color] Enemies Go forward up to X – Specified Enemies Move up to X spaces straight ahead (rotating before if needed) until they Move X spaces or are interrupted.
• [Color] Enemies Attack a Target in their LoS – Enemies that can see a Target during this point, Attack them, prioritizing Stalkers if possible. Sometimes different colors of Enemies increase or reduce the damage done by them during this Attack.
• Look around – Rotate the Enemy standee in a clockwise direction until they either make a full 360° rotation or they see a Target in their LoS in which case they stop.
• [Color] Enemies perform their Special – All Enemies of the specified color perform their Special (if possible). Usually the Special allows Enemies to retreat to a safer position, but sometimes they are more offensively oriented.
• If an Enemy has LoS to any Attention, move that Attention by 2 spaces toward its owner – This effect allows Enemies to "catch up" to Stalkers, allowing them to track where Stalkers went. With this effect, when an Enemy sees an Attention token without its owner they will deduce where the Stalker responsible for the source of Attention is hiding.

Stalkers' scaling – Some effects on Enemy Activation cards are influenced by the number of Stalkers. The Stalker count icon represents the numeric value equal to the number of Stalkers in your team.

All Enemies – This icon found on Enemy Activation cards refers to all Enemies currently on the Map, including those without a colored team token.

Target – In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The Board Game, not everyone is your opponent and sometimes not all monsters and bandits like each other. Stalkers may only directly Attack and Target Enemies. Enemies may Target Stalkers and Enemies from a different team. Companion cards will state if they can be Targeted by Enemies.

Enemies

Here's an example of an Enemy card:

CHIMERA (Mutant, Elite) – Movement: Move up to 4. HP: 4. Sixth Sense: Chimera ignores Anomaly effects. To Hit Torso: 8 stars = Light Wound, 14 stars = -1 HP. Pounce (Charge): +4 Damage if Chimera moved 1 or fewer spaces during this Attack. Damage 10, Range 1. Special: Withdraw – Move up to 2 spaces toward the closest space with no LoS to any Target. This Movement can't be interrupted. Turn the model toward the last space it moved from.

1. Name
2. Category – There are three categories of Enemies.
   • A. Horde – Numerous Enemies that you can easily deal with but they won't stop coming.
   • B. Elite – Tough and hard hitting, but there's only a few. Their spawns are usually limited.
   • C. Boss – Very rare and dangerous Enemies. Sometimes it's wiser to leave them alone, but if you're forced to fight you'd better prepare a good plan.
3. Type – Each Enemy has at least 1 type that describes them. Some game effects may reference those keywords and they incorporate some rules differences between Enemies.
4. Movement – Base Movement value. When this Enemy "Moves up to X", Move up to that many spaces.
5. Hit Points – Most Enemies in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. have 1 HP and a single precise shot is enough to take them down. Elite Enemies tend to have more HP requiring a more careful approach. When an Enemy is reduced to 0 HP they die.
6. Sight – Enemies can detect you from different distances. This grid depicts how many spaces in each direction a given Enemy sees. If you are in that Range, you are in that Enemy's LoS. The side with a triangle marks the front facing of the Enemy.
7. Ability – Some Enemies have passive or triggered effects.
8. Body Parts – Each Enemy has at least one targetable Body Part represented in this table. The left side shows the required amount of stars obtained during an Attack against this Enemy to score a hit. The right side shows the effects of those hits. Sometimes (like in Chimera's example) the right side contains more than one effect. In such a case, resolve those effects one at a time, from left to right.
9. Attack – Each Enemy has one available Attack.
10. Special – Some Enemies have a Special ability which may be performed during the resolution of certain High Attention Enemy Activation cards.

Enemy Types

Depending on their Type, Enemies have some additional rules:

Human

• Treat Windows as Open edges.
• On death, place 1 Loot token on their space.
• Sight usually limited to long Range in front, short Range on sides and nothing on back.

Psionic

• Treat Windows as Impassable Terrain.
• Don't drop Loot on death.
• Sight usually high in all directions.

Mutant

• Unless a Psionic, treat Windows as Walls.
• Don't drop Loot on death.
• Sight not always high but always see at least in short Range 1 on back.
• Special usually allows to retreat to safer position.

Enemy Tokens and Teams

Most Enemies, when added to a Mission, are marked with an Enemy token in one of four colors, which will differentiate their behavior (based on the Enemy Activation cards).

• Green Enemies are boss-like monsters and lethally dangerous individuals.
• Red Enemies are elite guards, enforcers and mutants hunting in small groups.
• Yellow Enemies are pack mutants and groups of humans (like bandits).
• Blue Enemies are horde Enemies, with little in the way of coordination and relying on numbers.

Enemy tokens have two sides. One marked with "1" and the other marked with "2". Enemies marked with tokens with the same number are considered to be in the same team and won't Target each other. If an Enemy isn't marked with a token, they are always considered to be in an opposing team to Enemies in team 1 and 2.

Example: BANDIT (Rifle) and BANDIT (Shotgun), both marked with Yellow team "2" tokens, and SNORK (Mutant), marked with a Blue team "1" token. As both Bandits share the same team number ("2"), they won't Target each other but if they encounter a Snork they may Attack it as it belongs to the other team ("1").

Enemy Movement Rules

There are two types of Movement that Enemies perform:

Move – When Enemies Move they do so toward a target, choosing the shortest route. Enemies follow the chosen route rotating towards the space they will Move to, before performing the Movement. They will repeat this as many times as the Move Action indicates, stopping when they reach their target space or Moving the maximum distance. If they didn't reach their destination and aren't currently facing in the direction that they would continue their Movement, rotate them towards that direction.

Go forward – Go forward means that Enemies are patrolling around without paying mind to their surroundings too much. When Enemies are asked to Go forward, the Enemy goes directly ahead, rotating by 90° only if they can't proceed farther. In such cases, they rotate the least number of times (clockwise in case of a tie), until they can Go forward again.

Move and Go forward keywords are always accompanied by the numeric value representing the amount of spaces the model can Move. This value is sometimes indicated with an icon which refers to the Movement value printed on the Enemy card.

Example: In case of the Zombie, the Action "Move up to X" (using the printed Movement value) allows the Zombie to Move only 1 space, but the Action "Move up to 2" allows the Zombie to Move 2 spaces. Even a Zombie can get a sudden rush of energy!

Example: The Snork Moves toward the green Stalker's Attention token. During the Movement, the Snork gains LoS to the green Stalker. Its Movement is immediately interrupted and as it now has LoS to the green Stalker their Attention token must be placed on their space.

Movement Interruption

When Moving, Enemies are aware of their surroundings. If they spot a Target, they won't continue to blindly follow the first thing that got their attention.

At any point during the Movement, if an Enemy gains LoS to a possible Target, or if they already had LoS to a Target, immediately end their Movement (e.g., if an Enemy should Move but they already have a Target in LoS they won't even rotate). Some forms of Movement specify that they can't be interrupted. Interruption doesn't cause Enemies to immediately Attack or perform any other Action.

If an interruption occured during the resolution of an Enemy Activation card continue to resolve it normally.

Enemy Attention

Whenever an Enemy gains LoS to a Stalker, that Stalker must place their Attention token on their space.

Enemy Movement and Fully Occupied Spaces

Enemies can't end their Movement in a fully occupied space. If it would happen, that Enemy ends their Movement in an adjacent space along the Movement route. If it's also a fully occupied space, the Enemy chooses the next shortest route to perform that Movement instead.

Enemies can Move through fully occupied spaces without possible Targets, but when doing so, they can't be interrupted on that space.

Example: The leftmost Snork wants to Move toward the closest Attention token. The blue Stalker's Attention is the closest as the path to it doesn't contain any corners. To reach it, the Snork Moves through a space that would give it LoS to the green Stalker, but as that space is fully occupied by two other Snorks the Movement of the Snork won't be interrupted and it will reach the space with the blue Stalker's Attention token.

Enemy Attack

You aren't the most dangerous thing in the Zone. Your life may end in the blink of an eye.

Enemies perform an Attack when they are instructed by an Enemy Activation card or when a Stalker ends their Turn in an Enemy's LoS.

All Enemy Attacks hit you. Only your Armor, Cover and Defense roll can decrease the amount of HP you lose.

Each Enemy has one Attack Action visible on their card.

Example: POUNCE (Charge) – +4 Damage if Chimera moved 1 or fewer spaces during this Attack. Damage 10, Range 1.

Enemy Attack has the following properties:

1. Type – There are two types of Enemy Attacks. Ranged Attacks allow Enemies to Attack from a distance. Charge Attacks allow Enemies to perform extra Movement before dealing damage.
2. Additional effects – Not all Attacks have them. They vary from restrictions to applying additional statuses or buffs if certain conditions are met.
3. Damage – How powerful the Attack is.
4. Range – Measured in spaces, how far this Attack can reach.

Enemy Attack Sequence

Whenever an Enemy Attacks, follow these steps:

Choose a Target in LoS:

1. If there's at least one Stalker in LoS, choose the closest one. If they are on the same space, players decide.
   • If there aren't any Stalkers in LoS, but there's another Target in LoS, choose the closest one. If they are on the same space, players decide.
   • If there aren't any Targets in LoS, the Attack ends.
   • If this Enemy can Charge, they do so now.
2. Rotate the Enemy so they are facing their Target.
3. Enemy deals Damage indicated by their Attack. Check for any modifiers to that Damage. Cover values are common modifiers and they reduce Damage equal to their Cover value against Attacks made outside of that space or Room (in case of buildings).
4. Then, depending on the Target, continue:

Stalkers:

• 5A. The Attacked Stalker rolls dice equal to the Defense of their Armor. Check for any modifiers to Defense rolls.
• 6A. If they have a Focus or an effect that allows them to reroll dice they may do so now.
• 7A. Count your stars and subtract them from received Damage.
• 8A. Lose HP equal to the remaining Damage.

Enemies:

• 5B. Compare the Attacker's Damage with the Torso To Hit value of the Attacked Enemy treating Damage as the same number of stars. Resolve the effect corresponding to the highest star threshold reached. If they didn't reach any threshold – the Attack misses. If the effect of the hit is a Light or Heavy Wound, draw a Wound card and apply the corresponding outcome.
• 6B. If they fail to kill the Enemy, rotate the Target's standee so they are facing each other.

Example: As they belong to different teams, Bandits and Snorks can Target each other. During Enemy Activation, the Bandit Attacks a Snork. The Bandit's Damage is 7 and if no modifiers to this Attack apply it will result in the Snork suffering a Heavy Wound. The effect of the drawn Heavy Wound is -1 HP so the Snork dies as it only has 1 HP.

Example: The Snork Attacks the gray Stalker. The Snork's Damage is 8. Now it's Stalker's time to Defend. Even though gray Stalker is on a space with Cover they don't gain its bonus as the Attack was made from the same Room. Leather Jacket Armor provides gray Stalker with 1 die for Defense rolls. They check for any other possible bonuses. Their Stone Flower Artifact allows them to roll 2 additional dice, but they will also gain a Pin down token. They decide to do so, so they gain a Pin down token and roll the total of 3 dice for Defense. The result of the roll is 1 star, 3 stars, and no star. They decide to spend their Focus to reroll the dice with 1 star and no star. The reroll result is 1 star and 2 stars. The final outcome is 6 stars rolled for Defense so compared to 8 Damage it means that the gray Stalker loses 2HP so they reduce their HP from 16 to 14.

Enemy Reaction

If you keep standing in your enemy's view, don't expect them to do nothing.

After each Stalker Turn, Enemies with LoS to that Stalker will have a chance to React, by Attacking. Only the Stalker whose Turn just ended can be a Target for an Enemy's Reaction (unless otherwise stated by the Enemy card).

Example 1: The blue Stalker ends their Turn in LoS of a Bandit. Even though the green Stalker is closer to the Bandit and also in their LoS, only the blue Stalker will be Attacked by the Bandit.

Example 2: The blue Stalker ends their Turn in LoS of a Pseudogiant. As a part of the Pseudogiant's Attack it Charges to the blue Stalker's space. Its Attack states that it Attacks all Targets on one space so both blue Stalker and green Stalker will be Attacked.

Enemy Facing

It's important to properly place Enemies as their facing influences their Line of Sight. Enemy standees have an art in front and black background in back.

Additionally you may use provided orange triangle stickers (that resemble the front of the Sight cross) to mark the front on the standee bases.

Example: Front and back of a Bandit with a Rifle.

Radiation Exposure & Dosage Reduction

Radiation is a patient killer. The bigger dose, the worse it gets.

During a Mission, Stalkers can accumulate Radiation dosage by entering irradiated areas and staying there too long.

During this step, each Stalker on the yellow, orange, red, or black threshold on their Geiger counter, suffers from Radiation Exposure.

Then, each Stalker reduces their Radiation dosage until they reach the next lower threshold.

Then, each Stalker below their Artifact's base Radiation dosage increases their Radiation dosage to match that value.

Radiation Exposure – When instructed to suffer from Radiation Exposure, check your current position on your Geiger counter, roll the required number of dice and lose HP equal to the number of stars rolled.

• 0-3: green threshold – no dice rolled.
• 4-7: yellow threshold – 1 die.
• 8-11: orange threshold – 2 dice.
• 12-15: red threshold – 3 dice.
• 16: black threshold – 4 dice.

Example: During the Enemies & Zone Phase, the gray Stalker's Radiation dosage was at 6. It is the yellow threshold so they must roll 1 die. The result is 2 stars so they lose 2 HP. Then, they reduce their dosage to 3 as it's the next lower value marked with a threshold. Lastly they check their currently equipped Artifacts. They have a Neuron Artifact equipped with a base Radiation dosage value of 6 and Armor that provides an Improved Artifact Container which reduces the base Radiation dosage value of their Artifacts by 2. The final value is 4 and as they're below that value they have to increase their dosage to 4.

Discarding Tokens

This step marks the passage of time as smoke disperses in the air, Anomalies disturbed with Bolts reactivate and Enemies get back on their feet. Discard all No Visibility tokens and Bolts from the Map. All Enemies discard their Pin down tokens.

Attention Reduction

Even the most alert enemy will not hunt you forever.

Reduce the Attention token of each Stalker that currently isn't in an Enemy's Line of Sight. When you reduce High Attention flip it to Low Attention. When you reduce Low Attention return it to your PDA.

End of Round Effects

During this step, resolve all End of Round effects. Most End of Round effects can be found on Event cards, but other cards may also include them.

If there are multiple End of Round effects to be resolved, do so in any order, but always resolve those on Event cards last.

End of Round effects on Event cards are divided into two types:

A. Marked effects – They differ from card to card. Usually they will cause new Enemies to arrive or they will add Random Events to the Events deck. B. Unmarked effects – They appear on most Events and are always the same. They contain final instructions that should be carried out between two Rounds. After resolving them, a new Round begins.

Example: "End of Round – Early birds. Resolve 1 Unknown token closest to the Lead Stalker. Place 5 minus Stalker count Random Events on the top of the Event deck. Reset all Turn tokens and Refresh the Lead Stalker token. Start the next Round by drawing and resolving a new Event."

Anomalies

Anomalies are areas, found exclusively in the Zone, that defy the laws of physics. At least the ones we know of. Not all areas are affected equally though, and experienced Stalkers are able to carefully traverse them.

That said, Anomalies are extremely dangerous, but are also the only place where Stalkers can find fabled Artifacts – unique items with powerful abilities.

Anomalies are represented by a few game components:

• Anomaly card – Describes detailed rules of the specific Anomaly, explaining the effects of the Anomaly and how it affects Entities entering its area.
• Anomaly overlay with Anomaly standee – An Anomaly overlay is a foil with Anomaly symbols, which delineates the area of effect of said Anomaly. In the center of each Anomaly overlay resides a standee dedicated to that Anomaly.

Anomalies are the main source of Artifacts – powerful and high valued items, sought by all Stalkers.

Example of an Anomaly card:

BUBBLE (Chemical, can produce Artifacts). Moving Anomaly: At the End of Round, place this Anomaly on the next empty Anomaly overlay in clockwise order. Anomaly overlays without an Anomaly are Inactive. Trigger: After an Entity finishes Movement, roll the Anomaly die for this Anomaly Activation: The triggering Entity and on all spaces with the rolled Anomaly symbol: Stalkers: Lose 7HP, then gain a Loot token. Enemies: Light Wound, then gain a Loot token.

1. Name
2. Artifact – Marks if the Anomaly can or can't produce Artifacts.
3. Type – When you gain an Artifact from this Anomaly, gain one with the corresponding type. Some effects may also reference Anomaly type.
4. Special rules – Some Anomalies may have a special rule (e.g., Bubble is a moving Anomaly and changes its overlay each Round).
5. Activation effect – When an Entity enters a space with an Anomaly it may Activate. If it does so, resolve its effect.
   • A. Target – Most Anomalies can affect multiple Entities at the same time.
   • B. Stalkers – Effect applied to Stalkers messing with the Anomaly.
   • C. Enemies – Effect applied to Enemies messing with the Anomaly.

Anomaly die – The Anomaly die is a D10 with the following sides: 1× the 1-petal symbol (10%), 2× the 2-petal symbol (20%), 3× the 3-petal symbol (30%), 4× the 4-petal symbol (40%). As you can see, the number of "petals" on each icon corresponds to its probability during a roll.

Range to Anomaly – When measuring Range to an Anomaly you measure to any space containing that Anomaly's symbols.

Inactive Anomalies – Anomaly overlays without an Anomaly standee on them are considered Inactive and are considered nonexistent for any rules that don't directly refer to them.

Here's an example of an Anomaly overlay on the Map:

Example: This overlay spreads the Anomaly on 4 spaces. Space 1 and 2 both with the 4-petal symbol, space 3 with the 3-petal and 4-petal symbols, and space 4 which contains the Anomaly center with 2× 1-petal, 2× 2-petal, 2× 3-petal, and 2× 4-petal symbols.

Anomaly Center

This is where the Anomaly standee and an Artifact token are placed. It always contains all 4 Anomaly symbols so it's really dangerous to enter it recklessly.

Anomaly Activation

Each Anomaly overlay has a spread of Anomaly symbols which differentiates the probability of Activating that Anomaly when an Entity enters a space with those symbols.

After an Entity finishes Movement, if they Moved to, from, or through one or more spaces with Anomaly symbols, roll the Anomaly die. If there is a currently uncovered Anomaly symbol, on any of those spaces, that matches the roll result, resolve the Activation effect of that Anomaly affecting all described targets. Entering multiple Anomalies during the same Movement requires a separate Anomaly die roll for each one of them.

Stalkers may discard a Focus to reroll the Anomaly die for their Anomaly Activation roll.

Any symbols currently covered by Bolts, Artifact tokens, or Entities are ignored (but each instance of a symbol must be covered separately).

Each different Anomaly symbol an Entity Moves through increases the chance of the Anomaly Activating. Moving through the same symbol multiple times does nothing however.

Retrieving Artifacts from Anomalies

Most Artifacts originate around powerful Anomalies. To find them, Stalkers use various detectors to pinpoint their exact location.

During the game, Artifacts always start placed under the Anomaly standees. They can't be picked up until you use an Action from a Detector Attachment card to pinpoint the Artifact's location, placing the Artifact token on a specified Anomaly symbol where it can be obtained using the "Pick up" Basic Action.

Whenever you perform the "Pick up" Basic Action to resolve an Artifact token, gain an Artifact card with the Artifact type corresponding to the type of an Anomaly from which you pick up the Artifact.

Example: The purple Stalker wants to retrieve an Artifact from this Electric Anomaly. To do so they need a Detector Armor Attachment card and to be at the right distance. Their Echo Detector allows them to detect an Artifact at Range 0 so they have to be on an Anomaly space to perform this Action. The closest Anomaly space has the 3-petal and 4-petal symbols so entering it would be a 70% risk of getting hurt. They don't like those odds so they decide to perform the "Bolts & Nuts" Basic Action and throw one of their Bolts to cover the 4-petal symbol. 30% doesn't sound so bad so they decide to enter that space. They roll the Anomaly die. The result is the 3-petal symbol! Luck isn't on their side today. Fortunately they have a Focus which can be discarded now to reroll the Anomaly die. The result is the 4-petal symbol so being cautious paid off! If they didn't throw that Bolt they could be fried right now. As they end their Movement they cover the 3-petal symbol and place their Attention token there. As they are on the Anomaly space they decide to detect the Artifact now. They perform the Detect an Artifact Free Action from the Echo Detector. They roll the Anomaly die and the result is the 3-petal symbol. Even though they currently cover it, it is still an Anomaly symbol so they place the Artifact token from under the Anomaly on their space. As they have performed two Standard Actions this Turn ("Movement" and "Bolts & Nuts") the purple Stalker's Turn ends. During the next Turn they can gain this Artifact by performing the "Pick up" Basic Action.

Blocking Anomaly Symbols

There are three basic ways to block an Anomaly symbol:

• A Bolt placed on it (usually by performing the "Bolts & Nuts" Basic Action).
• An Artifact token placed on it (usually by taking it from under the Anomaly with the help of a Detector Attachment).
• An Entity ends their Movement or is placed on a space with an Anomaly symbol. After they roll the Anomaly die for the Anomaly Activation, the Entity covers the highest uncovered symbol possible (4-petal → 3-petal → 2-petal → 1-petal).

A space is still treated as an Anomaly space, even if all symbols are covered. The same way Anomaly symbols are still treated as being there – the coverage of them only affects the probability of Activating the Anomaly.

Example: The blue Stalker decided to perform a risky Movement. They Moved through a space with the 3-petal and 4-petal symbols and ended up on a space with the 4-petal symbol. Fortunatelly two of the same symbols don't add up the difficulty of the roll but still there's a whopping 70% chance (from the 3-petal symbol – 3 in 10 and the 4-petal symbol – 4 in 10) that the Anomaly will Activate.

Example: On the left picture, the space inside this shack has a 100% chance of triggering this Anomaly as it contains all types of symbols (2 of each). On the right picture, two Entities and 2 Bolts block 2 3-petal and 2 4-petal symbols so the probability of triggering this Anomaly is reduced to just 30% (from the 1-petal symbol – 1 in 10 and the 2-petal symbol – 2 in 10).

Single Stalker Mode

Real stalkers seldom go out in groups. Too many guys to divide the loot. Real professionals go into the Zone alone.

For solo players it is strongly recommended to play with only a single Stalker. Themes of loneliness in face of an uncaring world are strong in the whole S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe and playing more than 1 Stalker per player tends to dillute that atmosphere.

Turn Overlays

While playing with only 1 Stalker in your team, place the special Turn overlays on your PDA on which you will slide Turn tokens.

This overlay allows you to perform 3 Standard Actions instead of 2 during each of your Turns for a total of 6 Standard Actions during each Round.

Lead Stalker

You are the Lead Stalker at all times so you never lose it. Still, when you perform the Action from the Lead Stalker token, you flip it and it is unflipped from the Event card's End of Round effect.

Critical Injury

When you gain a Critical Injury you place it in the same spot as usual. Notice that on the Turn overlay it covers 2 slots so by gaining it you lose 2 Standard Actions during that Turn!

Lost Territories

If you think you know the Zone, all its nooks and crannies, that's the moment you have to be extra careful. Experienced Stalkers are full of cautionary tales about well trodden paths suddenly leading into unknown Anomaly fields and lost souls wandering the Red Forest. And for a good reason.

Lost Territories is an optional expansion adding new areas you can access during your Campaign or Zone Survival Scenarios. Its use is completely optional, though some Missions may ask you to use Lost Territories components.

You can add Lost Territories to any Campaign Mission or Zone Survival Scenario.

It is advised to add it after you have some experience with the game, as some rules interactions can become quite complex!

Lost Territories mode uses the following components: 8 Setup cards, 13 Lost Territories Environment cards, 3 Lost Territories tiles, 2 Entrance tokens.

To add Lost Territories to your game, after you finish setting up the Map for a Campaign Mission or Zone Survival Scenario, draw 1 of the Lost Territories Setup cards and resolve it.

It will explain where the Entrance token is placed, which Lost Territory is used and whether any additional Environment cards should be used.

Lost Territories Environment cards numbers start with the letter L.

Reaching the Lost Territory

Each Lost Territory tile contains an Entrance. Additionally, a Setup card will have you place 1 Entrance token on the Map.

Spaces with a Lost Territories Entrance are counted as adjacent for purposes of Movement and measuring Range for all Entities, but you can't draw a Line of Sight "through" the Entrance token. So you may throw a Grenade or Bolt between the Lost Territory tile and the Map and the Enemies may follow you there, but you can't Attack with a Weapon as it requires LoS.

Lost Territories Setup

Here's an example of a Lost Territories Setup card:

CAVE – 1. Place the Entrance token on any 1×2 space. 2. Place the Cave Lost Territory tile next to the Map. 3. Place 1 random L4-01a card on the Cave tile. Discard this card.

LOST TERRITORIES SETUP – After you finish setting up the Map (Campaign Mission or Zone Survival Scenario), before the first Round of the game starts, you may draw 1 random Lost Territories Setup card (from this deck) and follow the instructions found on the other side of the card. This will add one Lost Territories tile next to the Map that can be reached from the space with the Entrance token. Spaces with the same Lost Territories Entrance are counted as adjacent (Entities can Move and measure Range between them), but Entities cannot draw a Line of Sight between them.

1. Where an Entrance token should be placed. If multiple such spaces are available, players decide.
2. Which Lost Territory tile should be placed next to the Map.
3. Additional Environment card used for this tile.
4. Reminder instructions on how to use Lost Territories.
5. Reminder instructions on how to traverse between the Map and Lost Territories.

Entities Comparison Table

This table provides a quick overview of the differences between various Entities in the game and their interactions.

Sight

• Stalkers: Unlimited Sight Range in all directions.
• Companions: Unlimited Sight Range in all directions.
• Enemies – Humans: Sight usually limited to long Range in front, short Range on sides and nothing on back.
• Enemies – Psionics: Sight usually high and has the same values in all directions.
• Enemies – Mutants: Sight not always high but always see at least in Range 1 on back.

Facing

• Stalkers and Companions: Facing is unimportant.
• Enemies (Humans, Psionics, Mutants): Their Sight Range depends on their facing. They change facing during their Movement, Attacks, when they Look Around or when a Target leaves their space.

Attention

• Stalkers: Depending on Actions, can place Low Attention or High Attention on the Map.
• Companions: Can't place Low Attention or High Attention on the Map.
• Enemies (Humans, Psionics, Mutants): They are attracted to Low Attention and High Attention on the Map. As long as they see the Stalker, that Stalker has their Attention token on their space.

Attacks and Targets

• Stalkers: May only directly Attack and Target Enemies.
• Companions: Actions on Companion cards specify possible Targets.
• Enemies (Humans, Psionics, Mutants): May Target Stalkers and Enemies from a different team. Companion cards will state if they can be Targeted by Enemies.

Statuses

• Stalkers: Can gain a Pin down token, an Exposed token, a Focus, and Critical Injury.
• Companions: Can't gain any statuses.
• Enemies (Humans, Psionics, Mutants): Can gain a Pin down token and an Exposed token.

Death

• Stalkers: Death results in losing a Mission.
• Companions: Companion card specifies what happens. Usually, flees the battlefield when in grave danger.
• Enemies – Humans: On death, place 1 Loot token on their space and return the standee to the Enemy Pool.
• Enemies – Psionics and Mutants: On death, return the standee to the Enemy Pool. Don't place any Loot tokens.

Windows

• Stalkers: Treats Windows as Open edges so they can Move, draw a LoS, and measure Range through it.
• Companions: Treat Windows as Impassable Terrain so they can't Move but can draw a LoS and measure Range through it.
• Enemies – Humans: Treats Windows as Open edges so they can Move, draw a LoS, and measure Range through it.
• Enemies – Psionics: Treat Windows as Impassable Terrain so they can't Move but can draw a LoS and measure Range through it.
• Enemies – Mutants: Treat Windows as Walls unless the Mutant is also a Psionic.

Movement interruption

• Stalkers and Companions: Movement is interrupted when entering a space with an Enemy.
• Enemies (Humans, Psionics, Mutants): Movement is interrupted when an Enemy gains LoS to a possible Target, or if they already had LoS to a Target, in that case the Movement doesn't occur at all.

Fully occupied spaces

• Stalkers: Can Move through fully occupied spaces without Enemies. When ends Movement in fully occupied space, Push one of the Entities from that space to an adjacent space.
• Companions: Can Move through fully occupied spaces without Enemies. Can't end Movement in fully occupied space.
• Enemies (Humans, Psionics, Mutants): Can Move through fully occupied spaces without possible Targets and can't be interrupted in such spaces. Can't end Movement in fully occupied space.

Anomalies

Each Entity can Activate Anomalies and can block an Anomaly symbol when they end their Movement or are placed on a space with an Anomaly symbol.

Space occupation

Each Entity occupies 1 slot on their space.

Icon Glossary

Dice

• Equipment die – Die rolled on many occasions usually coming from an effect of an Equipment card. They contain various numbers of star results which determine the effectiveness of the roll.
• Stalker die – Die that is usually rolled during Weapon Attacks. They contain skull results in addition to stars, which are used to apply additional effects.
• Anomaly die – Die rolled usually when interacting with Anomalies. Contains uneven distribution of the four Anomaly symbols (1×/2×/3×/4×).
• Success (star) – Result of a Stalker or Equipment die roll determining the effectiveness of an Action.
• Mask – Result of a Stalker die roll, necessary to apply some Weapon effects (usually Suppressing).
• Anomaly symbol – These icons refer to the specific result of an Anomaly die roll or a specific symbol of an Anomaly overlay.
• Accurate side – One side of the Stalker die. When Attacking an Entity within a Weapon's Accurate Range, this side counts as 4 stars instead of 2 stars.

Map

• Map Radiation – Appears on Map spaces. Represents irradiation of spaces on the Map. Spending time in such places will cause you to increase your Radiation dosage and possibly lose HP during the Enemies & Zone Phase.
• Trigger – Cards with this icon contain an effect that should be applied when an Entity enters a specific space.
• Window – Effects with this icon refer to Windows or spaces adjacent to them.
• Cover – Appears on Map spaces. Represents various elements that Entities may hide behind to improve their survival chances. Each point of Cover reduces the Damage from Enemy Attacks and stars from Stalker Attacks by 1.
• Water space – Represents impassable terrain like deep water or highly contaminated reservoirs. Entities can't enter or Move through water spaces, but may measure Range and draw a LoS through it.

Tokens

• Artifact – Unique items with powerful abilities, usually hidden in Anomalies.
• Loot – Various Equipment scattered throughout the Zone that may be picked up.
• Unknown Enemy – Represents Enemies that can arrive during the Mission.
• Unknown Enemy (colored) – Specific type of Unknown token required to prepare Enemy standee stacks.
• Lost Territories Entrance – Marks a space that connects to the Lost Territories tile.
• Bolt – A useful resource found throughout the Zone. They can be used as decoys or to create safe passages through Anomalies.
• Focus – A positive status that you may discard to reroll any number of chosen dice during an Attack, Defense, or Anomaly Activation roll.
• Pin down – A negative status that hinders an Entity's Actions.
• Exposed – A negative status that makes an Entity more susceptible to Attacks.
• No Visibility – This token is placed on the Map and obstructs vision. No Entity can draw LoS to, from, or through a space with this token.
• Low Attention – Noises and other signs of your presence that Enemies may ignore. Low Attention Enemy Activation cards focus on covering different areas of the Map, sometimes even ignoring the Attention placed by the Stalkers.
• High Attention – Noises and other signs of your presence that Enemies will follow. High Attention Enemy Activation cards focus on Enemies looking for Stalkers, checking all sources of Attention.

Enemies

• Horde Enemy – Most common and numerous Enemies that you can easily deal with but they won't stop coming.
• Elite Enemy – Tough and hard hitting, but there's only a few. Their spawns are usually limited.
• Boss Enemy – The very rare and dangerous Enemies. Sometimes it's wiser to leave them alone, but if you're forced to fight you'd better prepare a good plan.
• Colored Enemy icons – They refer to Enemy/Enemies of the specified color.
• All Enemies – Refers to all Enemies (even those without an Enemy team token).
• Enemy team and color – Color differentiates Enemies' behavior (based on the Enemy Activation cards). Sides marked with "1" and "2" define the team to which the Enemy belongs.
• Movement – Base Movement value of an Enemy.
• Enemy HP – Maximum value of an Enemy's HP.
• Enemy's HP loss – Tokens that should be applied to an Enemy, reducing their HP. When an Enemy's HP drops to 0 they die.
• Damage – Strength of an Enemy's Attack.

Other

• Standard Action – Actions that require a Stalker to slide their Turn token down.
• Free Action – Actions that don't require a Stalker to slide their Turn token down.
• Additional rule – Additional rules that enhance specific Actions or provide you with ongoing passive effects.
• Stalker count – A numeric value equal to the number of Stalkers in the game.
• Artifact's base Radiation dosage – Represents irradiation of Artifacts. During the Enemies & Zone Phase you must increase your Radiation dosage to match the highest of your equipped Artifacts (if it's lower).
• Pistol/Rifle/Shotgun Ammo – Different types of Weapons and Magazines they use.
• Special Ammo – Most exotic Weapons require rare and unique ammunition rarely found in the Zone.
• Coupons (K) – The currency of the Zone.

Standee Glossary

Enemies

Some standees have different names than the Enemy card they represent.

• 6 Snorks
• 6 Rodents
• 5 Dogs
• 4 Ticks
• 2 Controllers
• 2 Bloodsuckers
• 2 Crawls
• 1 Chimera
• 1 Pseudogiant
• 1 Poltergeist
• 1 Izlom
• 8 Zombies
• 4 Military Enemies (Mercenary, Monolithian)
• 1 Hornhead
• 2 Exoskeleton Enemies (Dalik)
• 8 Bandits – 3 Shotgun, 3 Rifle, 2 MG (If not specified by the scenario all 8 standees can represent the same Enemy card)

Anomalies

Anomaly standees are used by different Anomalies.

• 3 Electric (Electro, Tesla)
• 3 Fire (Burner, Comet, Popper)
• 3 Chemical (Bubble, Fruit Punch)
• 3 Gravitational I (Whirligig, Springboard)
• 2 Gravitational II (Magnet)
• 3 Gravitational III (Razor)
• 1 Special (Fridge, False Mirror)
• 2 Spatial (Space)

Overlays

Anomaly overlays are usually tied to Anomaly type but sometimes an effect may require a specified one.

• 1 Special (98)
• 3 Fire (2, 9, 10)
• 3 Chemical (1, 4, 12)
• 3 Gravitational (3, 5, 8)
• 3 Electric (6, 7, 11)

Index

Accurate Range 26; Actions 19; Active Event 18; Additional rules 21; Adjacent 12; All Enemies 30; Ammo 26; Anomalies 36; Anomaly Activation 36; Anomaly center 36; Anomaly die 36; Anomaly overlay 36, 42; Anomaly standees 42; Armor 24; Artifact card 25; Artifact Container 24, 25; Artifact token 17; Artifact's base Radiation dosage 25, 35; Attachment (Armor) 24; Attachment (Weapon) 26; Attack Sequence (Enemies) 33; Attack Sequence (Stalkers) 27; Attacking Multiple Enemies 27; Attention 20, 22, 30; Attention Reduction 22, 35; Backpack 25; Basic Actions 20; Blast 27; Blocking Anomaly symbols 37; Body Part (Enemy) 31; Bolts & Nuts Basic Action 21; Bolts 17; Boss Enemy 31; Building 13; Buying 9;

Campaign 6; Campaign binder 7, 8; Careful Movement Basic Action 20; Charge 33; Closest 14; Companion 9, 40; Components Limit 6; Contact 9; Contract 9; Control cards 4; Coupons 4, 9; Cover 13; Critical Injury 29; Critical Radiation dose 22;

Death (Enemies) 28; Death (Stalkers) 29; Decoy Basic Action 20; Defense 24, 33; Detector 24, 37; Discarding an Environment card 16; Door 12;

Elite Enemy 31; End of Round effects 18, 35; End of Stalker's Turn 19; Enemies & Zone Phase 30; Enemy 31; Enemy Activation 30; Enemy Attack 33; Enemy Facing 34; Enemy Movement rules 32; Enemy pool 28; Enemy Reaction 34; Enemy standees 42; Enemy team tokens 31; Enemy types 31; Enemy Wounds 28; Entities 12, 40; Entities comparison table 40; Environment cards 16; Equipment cards 25; Equipment dice 5; Event cards 18; Event deck 18; Event Phase 18; Exposed 29;

Flipping an Environment card 16; Focus 29; Fully occupied space 12, 17, 20, 32;

Gaining a new Equipment card 25; Geiger counter 13, 22, 35; Golden Rules 6;

Healing 23; Heavy Wound 28; Hit Points (Enemy) 31; Horde Enemy 31; HP (Stalker) 23; Human Enemy 31;

Impassable Terrain 12; Inactive Anomalies 36; Instant Effect 18; Item 24;

Knife Basic Action 21;

Lead Stalker 24; Line of Sight (LoS) 15; Loner 9; Loot token 17; Lost Territories 39;

Magazines 26; Map overlay cards 16; Map Radiation 13; Map tiles 11, 12; Markers on Turn tokens 19; Marking Locations 8; Masks 27; Mission 18; Mission boxes 5; Mission Epilogue 10; Mission Event cards 18; Mission guide 10; Mission Map 12; Mission Objective 18; Mission Prologue 10; Mission Setup 10; Movement Basic Action 20; Movement interruption (Enemies) 32; Movement interruption (Stalkers) 20; Mutant Enemy 31;

No Visibility 17; Note cards 16;

Passing the Turn 19; PDA (player board) 23; Pick up Basic Action 20; Pockets 25; Prepare Basic Action 20; Psionic Enemy 31; Push 20;

Radiation Dosage 22; Radiation Exposure 35; Random Event cards 18; Range 14; Reload Basic Action 20; Removing an Environment card 16; Rerolls 27, 29; Retrieving Artifact 37; Room 13; Rotation 32; Round Structure 18;

Scriptbook 8; Selling 9; Shooting 23, 27; Shortest route 14; Single Stalker mode 38; Space 12; Space edge 12; Space size 12; Stalker 23; Stalker Count 6, 18, 30; Stalker dice 5, 23; Stalker Movement rules 20; Stash 9; Status tokens 29; Stickers 8; Stories 6;

Target 30; Tier 25; Tokens on Mission Map 17; Trader 9; Trap tokens 5; Triggers 20, 21; Turn 19; Turn tokens 19;

Unknown Enemy 17;

Wall 12; Water spaces 12; Weapon 26; Window 12;

Zone Exploration 8; Zone Map 8; Zone Navigation 8

Quick Rules Reference

Map Radiation

After you slide the Turn token (usually by performing a Standard Action) increase your Radiation dosage by the highest value of the Map Radiation found on spaces that you were present in during that Action. This can be reduced by your Armor's Map Radiation modifier.

Radiation Exposure

During the Enemies & Zone Phase and whenever the game instructs you to do so you may suffer from Radiation Exposure. When you do, check your current position on the Geiger counter. If you're on the yellow, orange, red or black threshold you must roll the required amount of dice, then lose HP equal to the number of stars rolled.

• 0-3: green threshold – no dice rolled.
• 4-7: yellow threshold – 1 die.
• 8-11: orange threshold – 2 dice.
• 12-15: red threshold – 3 dice.
• 16: black threshold – 4 dice.

Attention

As long as you have your Attention token on the Map, no effect can place your Attention token.

As long as an Enemy has LoS to your Stalker you have your Attention token on your space and no effect can move/place or reduce your Attention token.

If you Move through a space in an Enemy's LoS, place your Attention token on the first space you are moving through that is no longer in an Enemy's LoS.

If you end your Movement and your Attention token isn't placed on the Map, move/place your Attention token on your space.

Attention Reduction

Some effects reduce Attention. When you reduce High Attention flip it to Low Attention side. When you reduce Low Attention return it to your PDA.

Anomaly Activation

After an Entity finishes Movement, if they Moved to, from, or through one or more spaces with Anomaly symbols, roll the Anomaly die. If the rolled Anomaly symbol is present on any of those spaces, Activate the Anomaly according to the Anomaly card.

Stalker Movement Rules

Movement may come in different forms and from different sources. Regardless of the Movement source, all Stalker Moves follow the following rules:

To Move X spaces, simply move your Stalker to an adjacent space X times. Spaces divided with Impassable Terrain or a Wall without a Window aren't considered adjacent.

If you enter a space with an Enemy, your Movement is interrupted and you must immediately end it.

If you would end your Movement on a fully occupied space, Push one of the Entities from that space (Stalkers first if present) to an adjacent space (the one you Moved from if possible). If no Entity could be Pushed to create a slot for you, you can't end your Movement in such a space.

If you Move from a space with an Enemy, rotate the Enemy standee to face the adjacent space you Move to.

Enemy Types

Depending on their Type, Enemies have some additional rules:

Human

• Treat Windows as Open edges.
• On death, place 1 Loot token on their space.
• Sight usually limited to long Range in front, short Range on sides and nothing on back.

Psionic

• Treat Windows as Impassable Terrains.
• Don't drop Loot tokens on death.
• Sight usually high in all directions.

Mutant

• Unless a Psionic, treat Windows as Walls.
• Don't drop Loot tokens on death.
• Sight not always high but always see at least in Range 1 on back.
• Special usually allows to retreat to a safer position.

Stalker Attack Sequence

To perform an Attack follow these steps:

1. Choose an Attack Action and a valid Target.
2. Remember to slide the Turn token if the Attack is a Standard Action and spend Ammo if needed.
3. Place the required Attention token.
4. Target a Body Part.
5. Roll the dice.
6. If you have a Focus or another effect that allows you to reroll dice you may do so now.
7. Resolve the roll results:
   • Spend skulls rolled to apply additional effects.
   • Count the rolled stars (if you're performing a Weapon Attack within Accurate Range, remember to treat the Accurate side as 4 stars) and compare them to the To Hit value of the targeted Body Part. Resolve the effect of the highest reached threshold of that Body Part.
   • If the effect is a Light or Heavy Wound, draw an Enemy Wound card and apply the corresponding outcome.
   • If you did not reach any threshold, your Attack misses.
   • Spend remaining skulls to apply additional effects.
8. If you fail to kill the Enemy rotate that Enemy so that they are facing your Stalker.