The Phantom League
The Phantom League Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Box contents
- 18 Primary System Half-hexes (Red)
- 18 Secondary System Half-hexes (Orange)
- 1 Central Hex
- 2 Galactic Trade Charts
- This Rulebook
- 9 Captain cards
- 9 Spaceship cards
- 30 Mission cards
- 11 Alien cards
- 10 Non-player ship cards (Pirate/Alliance)
- 40 Improvement cards
- 69 Battle cards
- 19 Hyperspace cards
- 20 Docking cards
- 10 Orange Narcotics tokens
- 10 Red Slave tokens
- 20 Blue Fuel tokens
- 20 Green Food tokens
- 20 Grey Ore tokens
- Money chips
- 6 Player mats
- 9 ship markers
To help referencing, each card has a unique letter/number combination in its lower right corner. The letter also indicates to which set it belongs: A = Alien Encounter, B = Battle (three types), C = Captain, D = Docking, H = Hyperspace, I = Improvements, M = Mission, P = Pirate Ship, S = Spaceships. Example: S09 is the Desperado Spaceship.
Cards
There are ten different sets of cards in the game. Each set is identified by a different symbol: Captain, Spaceship, Improvement, Mission, Hyperspace, Docking, Alien, Pirate, Alliance, Battle. A complete overview of all the symbols used on cards is given on the back side of the "Galactic Trade Chart".
Specific effects of a card are represented by symbols on the left side of the card:
- Defense against Projectiles is the strength of a Spaceship's Defenses against Projectile weapons used during battle.
- Defense against Energy weapons is the strength of a Spaceship's Defenses against Energy weapons used during battle.
- Damage Projectiles is the power of a Spaceship's Projectile weapons used in a battle.
- Damage Energy is the power of a Spaceship's Energy weapons used in a battle.
- Support indicates the number of Battle Support cards a player can add to his Battle deck and the number of Battle cards he may discard to help or hinder other players' escape attempts.
- Speed indicates how many Hex tiles a ship can move in one turn. Resolving Support and Attack cards in battle is also regulated by speed.
- Escape Value refers to the Escape Difficulty dial on the player mats. It influences the initial Escape value of a player for Escape attempts after battle rounds.
- Improvements refers to the number of Improvement cards a player can have in play.
- Cargo indicates the number of commodity tokens a Spaceship can load.
- Fuel refers to the Fuel reserve in a Spaceship's tank and its consumption. These are tracked with the Fuel dial on the player mats.
- Structure points represent the amount of damage a Spaceship can withstand and is tracked with the Structure dial on the player mats. Some Improvements increase the Structure value.
System Half-hex tiles
There are 36 System Half-hex tiles in the game (18 primary and 18 secondary). Each System is aligned to one of the three factions in the game: League Dominions, Renegade world, Neutral, identified by the symbol appearing left of the System's name. The presence of a Planet or Space Station in a System is also indicated by a symbol left of the System's name. The symbols in the box below the System's name are used for trading ('Trading', p. 22).
Setting Up the Game
Board
- Place the Central Hex tile in the middle of the table (1).
- Shuffle the 36 Half-hexes face down and make pairs of primary and secondary Systems (i.e., pair up each orange Half-hex with one red Half-hex). Each pair of Half-hexes forms a Star System Hex.
- Place six Half-hex pairs, face up, around the Central Hex (2). This is the inner ring, representing the known Star Systems. Place the 12 remaining Half-hex pairs, face down, around the inner ring (3). This is the outer ring, representing the unexplored Star Systems.
- Place all the commodity tokens and money tokens next to the game board (4).
Cards
- Separate the cards by type. Further separate the Battle cards by type: Attack, Defense, Support. Shuffle each deck. Place the following card decks next to the board (5): Mission, Docking, Hyperspace, Alien, Improvement, Pirate, Alliance, Attack, Defense, Support. When a card deck runs out, reshuffle the discarded cards to form a new deck.
- Deal three mission cards to each player (5). Players keep their missions secret.
Money
- Distribute initial funds of 1000 to each player (6).
There is only one currency in the game. Though it is represented by tokens, League world money is intangible and cannot be stolen. However, extortion is possible.
Captains, Spaceships and Improvements
- Each player gets a player mat (8). The player mat is used to keep track of the player's Structure points, Fuel reserves and Escape difficulty. It also has areas to place money tokens (9) and commodity tokens (10).
- Starting with the fastest player – whoever is the first to claim the right – then going clockwise, each player chooses a Captain card. The player places the Captain card face up, below his player mat (11). The remaining Captain cards are returned to the box.
- Starting with the last player to choose a Captain and going counter clockwise, each player buys a Spaceship. The player pays the Spaceships' price and receives the corresponding Spaceship card (12) and Spaceship marker. The remaining Spaceship cards are returned to the box.
- In order of Spaceship cost, beginning with the player with the most expensive Spaceship, each player may buy one Improvement. The player pays the Improvement's price and places the Improvement card face up below his player mat (13). All players may go through the deck of Improvement cards any time they want during the game.
- Each player sets the Recognition dial on his player mat to 1 (14).
- Each player calculates his initial Structure, Fuel and Escape Difficulty values by adding up the values on his Spaceship, Captain and Improvement cards, and sets the corresponding dials on his player mat to the appropriate values (15).
- All players place their Spaceship markers on the Central Hex (16). All Spaceships start docked to the Alliance Home World Planet called "Central". Turn the Spaceship markers with the Docked side face up to indicate that the ships are Docked.
All Captains are now ready to start their quest for Fame or Notoriety.
Object of the game
The game is essentially a quest for Recognition – for glory. Each player begins the game as a generic nobody, with a Recognition level of one. At the first three levels of Recognition, players are still neutrally aligned. On reaching level four, each player will have to make a decision whether to follow the Path of Fame or the Path of Notoriety.
A player wins the game if he reaches Recognition level of 8 (on the Path of Fame or the Path of Notoriety). A player may also win if all other Captains are dead.
Recognition
Recognition is tracked using the Recognition dial on the player mats. After level three, there are two possible paths: the Path of Fame (green path) or the Path of Notoriety (red path). Special abilities of Captains and Spaceships may suggest which path to choose. A player whose Recognition level drops back to 3 is considered neutral again. He must choose a path once more when he gains Recognition, but it does not need to be the same path as before.
Path of Fame. If a player chooses the Path of Fame, his allegiance goes to the Alliance of League Dominions: traditional, highly regulated and hierarchical societies where crime is not tolerated. Therefore, a player on the Path of Fame who loots a ship wreck will lose 1 Recognition point.
Path of Notoriety. On the Path of Notoriety, the player joins the Renegade worlds: the League Dominions will put a price on his head. A renegade player's bounty is equal to the cost of the Recognition level prior to the player's current level. Example: a Renegade of level 6 has a bounty of 400.
Recognition is gained through:
- Fulfilling glorious missions.
- Buying Recognition.
- Destroying or defeating other ships.
- Exploring uncharted space.
- Encountering Aliens.
Recognition is lost by:
- Using an escape pod.
- Escaping a battle, even involuntarily.
- Breaking an agreement.
- Looting a ship after a battle (only if on Path of Fame)
All these will be detailed later in this rulebook.
Death of a Captain
If a Spaceship is blasted to pieces, the Captain will die and the player is out of the game.
The first player whose ship is destroyed has an escape pod, allowing his Captain to survive. The player starts his next turn docked to the location closest to where he was shipwrecked, keeps his Spaceship card and money tokens, resets the dials on his player mat to their initial values, but he loses all cargo and Improvements and one Recognition level because of the humiliation he suffered.
If a Captain has a payment due but is out of money and no other Captain is willing to give him a loan, he is considered dead as well. There are no escape pods for bankruptcy.
Game Turn
The player with the fastest ship begins the game, play then proceeds clockwise. If two or more ships are tied for highest speed, choose one of them randomly as the first player.
Each game turn starts with the Movement phase, followed by the Action phase. Both phases are optional.
Movement phase
On his turn, a player can move once (and only once). The player may move his Starship marker either to the other Half-hex of the System Hex he is in, to another known System Hex (face up Hex), or to an unexplored System Hex (face down Hex). A Starship may change directions during its movement.
Note: If a player is in a blockade, he must attempt to break the blockade by battling the blockader before he can start his movement phase (see 'Blockading', p. 9).
If the player's ship is docked, he turns over his Spaceship marker to indicate he undocks, then he proceeds with his movement phase. Undocking and breaking a blockade are not actions (see 'Docking', p.9).
Moving requires Fuel and appropriate speed, as explained in the next section.
Movement cost
In order to move, there must be enough Fuel in the Spaceship's tank and the Spaceship's engines must be able to reach high enough speed.
Fuel level in a Spaceship's tank is tracked with the player mat's Fuel dial. If a player runs out of Fuel, the missing Fuel units are consumed as Structure points and the player moves the Structure dial on his player mat accordingly. Fuel tokens in the cargo space do not count as Fuel reserves for movement. More about Fuel, see 'Trading', p. 22.
Note: A Spaceship with the Fuel dial on 0 can move, but it will consume Structure points.
Speed determines the number of Hexes a Spaceship can move in one turn. The speed of a Spaceship is calculated by adding up the Speed value on the Spaceship card and the speed bonuses of the Captain card and of all installed Improvements.
A. Movement to the other Half-hex inside a Star System Hex is always free: it does not consume Fuel from the Spaceship's tank and there is no speed requirement. The player may still lose Fuel due to the effects of a Docking card, see 'Docking', p. 9. A player may not move back and forth between Half-hexes on the same turn, as he only may move once in a turn.
B. Movement to a known Star System Hex consumes 1 Fuel unit, regardless of the number of Hexes traveled. The Spaceship's speed determines the number of Hexes it can move in one turn. A speed of 1 is the standard and allows jumping to the neighboring System Hexes. Each additional speed level allows to move one Hex farther. The player may choose on which Half-hex he places his Spaceship marker.
C. Movement to an unexplored Star System Hex requires a total speed of 2 or more, as unexplored Systems are considered to be one Hex farther away. Moving into an unexplored System Hex is considered unsafe and requires the player to draw one Hyperspace card and consumes 2 Fuel units, though some Hyperspace cards might increase the Fuel usage. If the Hyperspace card indicates that the jump was unsuccessful, the ship does not move, but it still consumes the Fuel units. Otherwise, after resolving the effects of the Hyperspace card, the player turns over the two Half-hexes, moves his Spaceship marker on the Half-hex of his choice and gains one Recognition level on his player mat dial if his Recognition is below 6. No Recognition is gained for exploring unknown space after reaching level 6.
Notes: Some Spaceship or Captain abilities and some Improvements may require the player to draw additional Hyperspace cards. Cards are drawn and resolved one by one. Drawing 'Cold Engine' (H11) followed by 'Engine Failure' (H12) means that the jump was successful and engines failed after the Hyperspace Jump. If these cards are drawn in reverse, the jump fails.
Update Fuel reserve. Always remember to move your Fuel reserve dial to indicate Fuel consumption after you have moved.
Aliens
In the world of The Phantom League, humans are not the only space-faring race. When jumping into Hyperspace, players will occasionally meet Aliens by drawing Hyperspace cards. These encounters are so rare that they may increase the Recognition level of the player. Most Aliens are peaceful, but there is always a risk that the encounter turns hostile.
Pirates!
There are two Pirate nests in the game: Xatray and Walton-Rye. They have a Pirate symbol on their Half-hexes. If a player wants to dock to the Planet on one of these Half-hexes, he draws a random Pirate ship to see what he is facing. Pirates claim half of the cargo (minimum of one), half of the player's money (minimum of 50) or one installed Improvement - the player's choice (round down if you have to round a number). If the player gives them what they ask for, the Pirates leave without fighting. If not, the player must battle them (see 'Battles', p. 11).
Some Docking (see 'Docking', p. 9) and Hyperspace cards also feature Pirate encounters.
Towing Ships
When a ship runs out of Fuel or cannot move anymore for other reasons, it can be towed by another ship equipped with a Tractor Beam.
A player in need of towing can make a deal with a player who is equipped with a Tractor Beam; these deals are often lucrative for the towing player.
Towing speed is determined by the towing ship and consumes one additional Fuel unit per movement.
The towing ship does not have to start its turn in the same Hex as the ship that is to be towed. The towing ship may move in and through the Hex and attach the tractor beam mid-move. Attaching the tractor beam is not an action.
Tractor Beam. The Tractor Beam is available as an Improvement (I14), though some Spaceships have it installed by default. A tractor beam allows:
- Towing a friendly ship and rescue fellow ships that ran out of fuel.
- Some additional battle actions (specified on the battle cards).
Action phase
The possible actions available to a player and the number of actions he may complete depend on his location.
Actions in a Star System Hex
If the player is not docked to a Planet or a Space Station (Spaceship marker Docked face down), he may choose one (and only one) of the following actions on his turn:
- Mining - In a Half-hex containing asteroids, a player can mine ore. Any ship can mine three units of ore per round, and some Improvements can increase this mining rate. As there is an infinite supply of asteroids, the game will never run out of ore (see 'Trading', p. 22).
- Fuel scoop - if the player has a Fuel scoop Improvement and his ship is currently located in a Half-hex with a gas giant, he may fill up his Fuel tanks to the amount indicated on his card (see 'Trading', p. 22).
- Attack other Spaceships present in the same Hex - A player may engage in a battle with one or more Spaceships that are on the same Hex, see 'Battles', p. 11. On Systems where a Pirate nest lies (Xatray, Walton-Rye), the player can fight Pirates by trying to dock to the Planet on the Pirate Half hex.
- Blockading - If the player is in the same System Half-hex as players who are docked, he can prevent the docked ships from moving. The blockading ship's marker is placed with the Docked side face down on top the blocked ships' markers. To break the blockade, each blocked ship has to battle the blockader (see 'Battles', p. 11). After the battle, the blockade is broken unless the blocked ship is destroyed. As a blockading ship can agree to let another ship leave without a battle, bargaining is also a viable option - "Pay me and you don't have to enter a battle that you'd lose".
- Docking with other ships - If both parties agree, Spaceships can dock with each other. This docking procedure is an action for the active player only. Any amount of cargo, Fuel or Improvements can then be transferred between the ships.
- Docking to a Space Station or Planet - Each time a player docks to a Planet or Space Station, he draws the number of Docking cards indicated on his playmat, below his current Recognition level, in the color of the Space Station's or Planet's faction. If he has any illegal cargo tokens (slaves or narcotics), he draws one additional Docking card.
The player resolves the docking cards one by one, considering only events marked with the faction symbol (League Dominions, Renegade world or Neutral) matching the Planet or Space Station he is docking to. If the matching symbol is not displayed on the docking card, nothing happens. If docking is successful, he turns his Spaceship marker with the Docked side face up.
Note: A player who can't pay the fine indicated on his Docking card may sell commodities or, if he docks to a Space Station, sell Improvements to gather the necessary funds. He may also borrow money from other players (see '"Phantom Leagues"', p. 24).
Right after docking, the player may immediately perform actions on the Planet or Space Station (see sections below). He doesn't have to wait his next turn.
Actions on Space Stations
While docked to a Space Station, a player may perform any or all of the following actions in any order, as many times as he wants:
- Buying Improvements - A player can buy as many Improvements as he wants, but he cannot install more Improvements than indicated by the Improvements symbols on his cards. When a player buys an Improvement, he pays the price indicated in the lower right corner of the card and places the card below his player mat. If the Improvement is installed, he also updates the Structure dial on his player mat. Cards for acquired Improvements that are not installed are placed upside down below the player mat. All players may go through the deck of Improvement cards any time they want during the game.
- Reselling Improvements - Any Improvement can be sold on any Space Station at half of its purchase value. However, it is usually more profitable to resell Improvements to other players; Improvements can be moved from ship to ship if both ships are docked to the same Space Station.
- Repairing broken Improvements - Repairing broken Improvements costs 50 regardless of the number of Improvements a player repairs. The player turns the Improvement card face up to indicate the Improvement is available again.
- Installing unused Improvements - Space for new Improvements becomes available when installed Improvements are sold, transfered, given away as ransom or used up (disposable Improvements). A player may install previously acquired Improvements at no additional cost. A player may also simply uninstall Improvements to make space for new ones.
- Repairing Structural Damage - Repairing structural damage costs 50 per Structure point. The player moves the Structure dial on his player mat according to the number of recovered points. He cannot raise the dial beyond the value given by his Spaceship, Captain and installed Improvement cards.
- Trading - A player may buy, sell or barter available commodities, see 'Trading', p. 22.
- Transfer Fuel from Cargo - A player can transfer Fuel tokens from the cargo to the Fuel tank. He places the Fuel tokens back into the reserve and moves the Fuel dial on his player mat accordingly.
Actions on Planets
While docked to a Planet, a player may perform any or all of the following actions in any order, as many times as he wants:
- Moving Cargo From Ship to Ship - Occasionally it may become necessary to move cargo between ships. Any cargo can be transferred free of charge from ship to ship when both ships are docked to the same Planet.
- Trading - A player may buy, sell or barter available commodities, see 'Trading', p. 22.
- Transfer Fuel from Cargo - see above.
- Buying Recognition - It is always possible to spend money to recklessly gain Recognition. The cost of a Recognition level will depend on the player's current Recognition level. The more famous he already is, the more it will cost to upgrade his status. A player may only purchase one level of Recognition per turn.
Note: The final level of Recognition, level 8, can never be acquired with money.
| Reputation rising to | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | 50 | 100 | 200 | 400 | 800 | 1600 | Cannot be bought |
Example of a game turn: In a four player game, on the first turn of the game, all ships are still docked to the 'Central' Planet. Player 1 chooses to stay docked. He buys a few commodity tokens. Player 2 moves to a neighbouring Star System Hex and takes 3 ore tokens from the local asteroid belt. Player 3 moves two Hexes away from the Central Star System and ends his turn as he wants to move further on his next turn. Player 4 leaves the Planet but stays on the Central Star System to block player 1.
Battles
Battles are fought using the cards from the three Battle card sets: Attack cards, Defense cards and Support cards.
Support Cards can only be played against an enemy or to help an ally. The symbols on these cards suggest whether they are best used for an ally or against an enemy. These are only suggestions, they are not binding rules.
Defense Cards are all marked with symbols which define the use of the card: work against one attack of the player's choice, work against all attacks at once, do not have direct effects on enemies but give indirect benefits, and cancel all attacks at once.
Attack Cards are all marked with an attack symbol, thus they work only against one enemy of the player's choice.
The 'Surprise Move' (B05) Attack card is a misprint! It doesn't work against all enemies.
Battle preparation
Before they engage in a battle, all players involved need to build their individual Battle decks and a common Destiny Deck that will add some unpredictability to battles. The players build a new Battle deck each time they engage in a new battle.
Prepare the Destiny Deck
To prepare the Destiny Deck, one player randomly draws 5 Battle cards from the Attack set, 3 cards from the Defense set, 1 card from the Support set, and shuffles them. Whenever the Destiny Deck is exhausted, the players make a new one using the same procedure.
Prepare Battle decks
- Each player draws one card from one of the Battle card sets. He can choose which type of card he wants to draw as his first card: Attack, Defense or Support.
- Each player counts the attack symbols (projectile / energy) on his Captain and Improvement cards. For each card where one or both symbols are shown, the player draws 1 Attack card (i.e., even if a card shows both symbols, he only draws 1 card).
- Each player counts the defense symbols (projectile / energy) on his Captain and Improvement cards. For each card where one or both symbols are shown, the player draws 1 Defense card (i.e., even if a card shows both symbols, he only draws 1 card).
- Each player draws one Support card for each support symbol he has on his Captain and Improvement cards.
Note: The numbers next to the attack, defense and support symbols on the cards are disregarded for now. Players only count the symbols on their cards to build a Battle deck. The symbols on the Spaceship card DO NOT count towards the number of Battle deck cards.
- Each player draws 2 cards from the Destiny Deck and adds them to his Battle deck. If there are not enough cards in the Destiny Deck for all participating players in the battle, make a new Destiny Deck. Players continue drawing cards, clockwise, until every player has drawn 2 cards.
- Each player now looks at his Battle deck cards and the battle can begin.
Battle deck example
Henri chooses to draw 1 Support card as his first card. Then, he draws for "Rusty" Jim-Bob (C03):
- Attack and Defense symbols: 1 Attack card
- Defense symbols: 1 Defense card
for the Turbo-Laser (I01):
- Attack symbol: 1 Attack card
and 2 additional cards from the Destiny Deck.
Henri has a total of 6 Battle deck cards: 2 Attack, 1 Defense, 1 Support and 2 unknown.
Timo chooses to draw 1 Attack card as his first card. Then, he draws for Kerberos (C06):
- Attack symbol: 1 Attack card
- Defense symbol: 1 Defense card
- Support symbol: 1 Support card
for the Cloaking Device (I09):
- Defense symbols: 1 Defense card
and 2 additional cards from the Destiny Deck.
Timo has a total of 7 Battle deck cards: 2 Attack, 2 Defense, 1 Support and 2 unknown.
Note: when a player counts icons on a Disposable Improvement to build his battle deck, he must use this Improvement during Battle (see next page). Otherwise, the icons are disregarded when building a Battle Deck.
Battle sequence
Each battle round follows the sequence below:
- Use Improvements
- Select cards to play
- Resolve Support cards
- Resolve block all damage card
- Resolve Attack and Defense cards
- Escape attempts
- Battle round closure
This sequence is repeated until all players have fewer than two Battle cards left in their Battle deck or only one player is left in the battle (see 'Escape attempts', p. 17).
You can follow the example below while reading through the step-by-step instructions for battle. All card references are given between brackets.
1- Use Improvements
Players who want to make use of a disposable or Fuel-consuming Improvements during battle announce their intention of doing so. If a player wants to make use of a Fuel-consuming Improvement, he immediately adjusts the Fuel dial on his player mat to indicate Fuel consumption. If he decides not to use an Improvement, the numbers next to the attack and/or defense symbols on the card are disregarded when calculating damage!
2- Select cards to play
Each player choses 2 to 5 cards secretly from his Battle deck and takes them in his hand, without revealing the number of cards he selected to the other players. Once all players have a number of cards in their hand, players reveal all the cards.
All cards revealed during this step must be played and resolved. The cards that were left in the players' Battle decks might be used later to help or hinder escape attempts in step 6 of the battle round, or might be used in subsequent battle rounds.
If a player has only one card left, he must play that card unless no other player has more than one card left. If all players have less than two cards left, the remaining cards are discarded.
Note: When a card refers to a player's 'hand cards', this is a mistake and refers to his Battle deck, not the actual cards in the player's hand.
3- Resolve Support cards
Starting with the player who has the fastest ship (see 'Movement phase', p. 6), each player resolves all Support cards he has revealed. The effects of the Support cards are resolved and applied immediately.
Note: Support cards may only be played against an enemy or to help an ally. If no ally is involved in the battle, the card MUST be played against an enemy. The card cannot be left unplayed, and a player may not apply the effects of the card on himself. Some cards, like "Collision" (B58), might affect both players though.
4- Resolve block all damage cards
If a player has revealed a Defense card of the type "block all damage", he disregards all Attack cards played against him by other players.
Note: Battle is not fought clockwise in the normal game turn order. Instead, the player with the fastest ship resolves his Attack cards first, and battle turn order proceeds by ship's speed order.
Battle Example
Henri: Captain "Rusty" Jim-Bob (C03), on Courier (S07), with a Turbo-Laser (I01). Timo: Captain Kerberos (C06), on Desperado (S09), with a Cloaking Device (I09).
Both players have their Battle decks prepared (see 'Battle deck example', p. 12).
Neither Henri nor Timo has a disposable or Fuel-consuming improvement.
Henri decides to play only 2 cards, choosing to keep 4 cards for the next round. Timo plays 3 cards, keeping also 4 cards for the next round.
No Support cards were played during this round.
Note: Henri's Spaceship has a special ability in battle: "Stunt Maneuverability": he can discard up to three of his remaining Battle deck cards and force his opponent to do the same. This can be handy to reduce the number of cards an opponent has for the next round, or to prevent a new battle round completely.
Timo's 'Impressive Move' card (B26) is a "block all damage" defense. Henri must discard all his Attack cards (in this round, he had only 1).
5- Resolve Attack and Defense cards
Starting with the player who has the fastest ship (see 'Movement phase', p. 6), each player resolves all of his Attack cards one by one. If multiple players are involved in the battle, he can choose against which player each Attack card is targeted.
Note: If a faster ship manages to destroy a slower ship, the slower ship's attacks are not resolved! If both ships have the same speed, attacks are resolved simultaneously.
The player who is attacked can organize his defenses. He can choose to use any number of his Defense cards, in any possible combination, against one single attack. The use of a Defense card is always optional.
Note: Defense cards of the "one attack" type are discarded once the Attack card they are used against is resolved. Defense cards of the "multiple attacks" type can be used against multiple Attack cards, and Defense cards of the "block all attacks" type block all attacks. The latter two card types are only discarded at the end of the battle round.
The projectile / energy symbols on Attack cards and the corresponding symbols on the Defense cards indicate the weapon types used. The total damage a ship suffers due to an attack is calculated separately for each weapon type. Calculate the damage for the weapon symbols (projectile or energy) shown on the Attack card as follows:
- Attack total: Add up the numbers next to the projectile or energy symbols on the attacker's Spaceship, Captain and Improvement cards, and on the Attack card.
- Defense total: Add up the numbers next to the projectile or energy symbols on the defender's Spaceship, Captain and Improvement cards, and on the Defense card(s).
- Attack total minus Defense total = Damage for a specific weapon type
Note: the total damage is the sum of damages for the weapon types shown on the Attack card! If a specific weapon type shows only on the Attack card, it does no damage (no weapon installed).
Unless the Attack cards specifies otherwise, the player whose ship suffers damage can choose how to apply the total damage caused by the Attack card.
- Apply damage to an Improvement: the player turns an installed Improvement card face down to indicate it is broken and unavailable until it is repaired (see 'Repairing broken Improvements', p. 10). Then, he immediately reduces the value indicated on the Structure dial of his player mat by the number of Structure points indicated on the broken Improvement's card. The difference between the total damage and the Improvements Structure value is soaked up by the Improvement. This is only possible with improvements that have a Structure value higher than 0.
- Apply damage to the Spaceship's Structure: the player reduces the value on the player mat's Structure dial by the total damage he suffered.
Note: If a player's Structure dial reaches 0, his ship is destroyed. See 'Death of a Captain', p. 5.
Escape Example (continued)
Henri has a 'Prayer to Unknown God' Defense card (B42). Before Timo resolves his Attack cards, Henri discards 2 cards from Timo's Battle deck and draws a new Defense card: Reflections (B36).
Timo resolves his first attack. Timo's attack totals: no projectiles used, 3 in energy. Henri's defense totals: no projectiles used, 4 in Energy.
Henri gets no damage from Timo's first attack as his defense total is higher than Timo's attack total. Only Energy weapons were used for this attack. Henri lowers his escape value by 1.
Reflections (B36) can only be used against Energy attacks, even though it is a defense against many card. Henri has no other Defense card.
Timo resolves his second attack: He uses 2 Fuel to increase Projectiles by 2. Timo's attack totals: 5 in Projectile, no Energy weapons. Henri's defense totals: 3 in Projectile, no Energy weapons.
Henri suffers 2 points of damage due to Timo's second attack. Henri now has the choice:
- He applies the damage directly to the Spaceship's Structure, and moves the Structure dial back by 2 points on his player mat. The ship takes the full damage!
- Or he applies the damage to the Turbo Laser, worth 1 Structure point, and moves the Structure dial back by only 1. The Improvement soaks up the difference between damage and Structure value of the Improvement but the card is turned face down.
Henri decides to take the full damage and keep his Improvement undamaged.
All cards from the first battle round have been resolved. The example continues below, and the second round of battle is detailed later.
6- Escape attempts
When all the cards revealed by the players have been resolved, the players involved in the battle may attempt to escape the battlefield. This is done following the normal turn order.
To be able to escape, a player must reach an Escape value of 0 on his player mat by discarding cards from his Battle deck. All players involved in the battle may discard cards to hinder or help the escape attempt.
Escape value. The player's initial Escape Value is determined by adding up the numbers next to the escape symbols on his Spaceship, Captain and Improvement cards. Any effects of battle cards that modify this value during battle must be reflected immediately on the player mat's dial.
Note: Due to the effect of cards played during the battle, a player's Escape value may already have reached 0. In this case, the player escapes the battle, even if this is involuntary unless he declares an escape attempt and discards battle cards to hinder his own escape. Escape icons on Attack cards affect the opponent while Escape icons on Defense cards affect the player's own ship unless the card text says otherwise.
Escaping from a battle is considered cowardice: players that have a Recognition level of 4 or more, regardless of paths, lose one Recognition level each time they escape from a battle, even if the escape is involuntary!
When a player tries to escape, the players go through the following steps:
- The player trying to escape announces his intention to all other players.
- All players involved in the battle willing to help or hinder the attempt, including the player who attempts the escape, secretly choose a number of cards to discard from their Battle deck. The type of Battle cards and their specific effects are of no importance.
Note: A player may not discard more cards than his support total. To calculate his support total, a player counts the number of support symbols on his Spaceship, Captain and Improvement cards + the number of "Improvement Support" cards he has. Thus, 'Targeting Computer' (I06) adds 2 for support (1 for the symbol and 1 for the card!). The player who attempts to escape is not bound to this restriction: he may play any number of cards to help or hinder his own escape.
- When players are ready, they simultaneously reveal the number of cards they have chosen and declare whether they want to help or hinder the escape attempt. Then the cards are discarded.
- Calculate the player's new Escape value using the table below. If the Escape value of the ship reaches 0 or below, the escape attempt is successful and the ship leaves the battle.
| 1 card discarded | By player trying to escape | By any other player |
|---|---|---|
| to help | Lower Escape value by 2 | Lower Escape value by 1 |
| to hinder | Raise Escape value by 1 | Raise Escape value by 0.5* |
* All non-integer numbers must be rounded down in the game. Thus, other players need to discard cards by pairs to hinder a player in his escape attempt!
Escape Example (continued from the previous Battle Example)
| Henri | Timo | |
|---|---|---|
| Escape Value | 3 (2+1 due to 'Prayer to Unknown God') | 6 (unaltered) |
| Battle deck cards left | 4 | 2 (2 lost due to 'Prayer to Unknown God') |
| Support total | 0 | 1 |
- Henri could escape. He would have to discard 2 cards from his Battle deck, which would lower his Escape Value by 4 points to -1. Timo is not able to hinder the attempt. His Support total only allows him to discard 1 card, which would have no effect. But even if Timo discarded both the cards he has, he would raise Henri's Escape value to 0, still enough for Henri to escape.
- Timo is unable to escape. Henri cannot discard cards to hinder Timo's attempt because his Support total is 0. But Timo has only 2 cards left in his Battle deck, and he needs to discard 3 cards to reach an Escape value of 0.
7- Battle round closure
Players whose ship has been destroyed are eliminated from the game. Players who have successfully escaped do not participate in subsequent rounds during this battle.
- If at least one of the remaining players has more than one card left in his Battle deck, a new battle round starts. The players proceed with phase 1 of the battle sequence. All players involved in the previous battle round who didn't escape and are still alive join the new battle round, even those who have only one card left or whose Battle deck has run out of cards. They will have a very hard time on this round!
- If none of the remaining players still in the battle has at least two cards left in his Battle deck, the battle is over and the remaining cards from the Battle decks are discarded. The three Battle card decks are reshuffled.
A battle may end without any ship being eliminated, or possibly even without damage to any ships.
Reset escape value. Always remember to reset your escape value dial to your default escape value after the battle ends. The default escape value is your ship's escape value, modified by bonuses of installed Improvements and bonuses of your Captain.
Battle Example (continued)
(Please refer to the cards in the game to follow the example below thoroughly)
After the first round of battle, Henri has 4 cards left in his Battle deck, whereas Timo has only 2 (because two of Timo's cards were discarded due to the 'Prayer to Unknown God' card).
- Use Improvements: Neither Henri nor Timo has a disposable or Fuel-consuming Improvement.
- Select cards to play: Henri decides to play all 4 cards he has. He keeps no cards for an escape attempt, as he knows that Timo has not enough cards to force a third battle round. Timo uses all 2 of his remaining Battle deck cards. Henri reveals 2 Support and 2 Attack cards, Timo reveals 1 Defense and 1 Attack card.
- Resolve Support cards: Henri resolves his Support cards. He has a 'First Strike' card (B59) which reduces Timo's Structure points by 1 immediately, and he has an 'Escape Artist' card (B66) which reduces Timo's Escape value by 3 points (remember Support cards never apply to oneself).
- Resolve block all damage cards: No 'block all damage' cards were revealed.
- Resolve Attack and Defense cards: Henri has the fastest ship. He resolves his Attack cards first. He has two 'Successful hit' cards (B02 & B03). Timo has a 'Parry' Defense card (B28). It is a 'Defense against all' card, so he can use it against both 'Successful hit' attacks. Henri's attack totals: 2 in Projectile, 3 in Energy. Timo's Defense totals: 7 in Projectile, 5 in Energy. No damage (x2 as the second 'Successful hit' card is resolved the same way).
Now Timo resolves his Attack card: 'Precision Strike' (B10). Timo has to choose which weapon he uses for this attack, so he decides to use Projectiles. Henri has no Defense card. Timo's attack totals: 3 in Projectile, no Energy weapon. Henri's Defense totals: 3 in Projectile, 3 in Energy. No damage.
- Escape attempts: No Escapes were attempted.
- Battle round closure: The players have no cards left, the battle is over.
Gaining Recognition and money through battle
A ship is defeated either if it is destroyed or if it escapes from battle. A player gains Recognition for defeating any ship (player or non-player). He will earn a money reward along with Recognition only if he destroys a Renegade player's ship or a non-player ship.
| Recognition gained | Money reward | |
|---|---|---|
| Defeat a player ship | 1 | 0 |
| Defeat a non-player ship | see ship's card (sometimes 0) | 0 |
| Destroy a player ship | 1 | bounty if Renegade's ship (see 'Path of Notoriety', p. 5) |
| Destroy a non-player ship | see ship's card (sometimes 0) | see ship's card |
Note: Recognition is only awarded to survivors; if, for instance, both Captains are killed in battle, neither player can use the Recognition from the battle to fulfill the victory conditions.
The marker of a destroyed Spaceship is a wreck: it remains on the gameboard and can be looted. If a Spaceship has an Escape pod, it only remains a wreck during one game turn as the player will start his next turn with the same Spaceship. If not, it remains a wreck until the end of the game.
Looting a wreck
A wrecked ship can be looted by docking to it. This is an action if it is not done right after the battle. The looter takes all Improvements, Fuel and cargo from the ship, and wins 3 ore. If there are several wrecks and several victorious players, they will have to decide how to divide the booty.
Looted improvements are all in 'broken' state and need to be repaired (see 'Repairing Broken Improvements', p. 10) before they can be used or sold.
- A player with a Recognition level lower than 4 or who is on the Path of Notoriety, can loot a wreck without penalty.
- A player on the Path of Fame may loot a wreck, but he loses 1 Recognition level as looting is considered illegal by the League Dominions.
Multiple players in battle
The battle sequence works the same, regardless of the number of participants. When a player doesn't attack all players that are in the same Star System Hex he is in, the other undocked players who are in the same Hex can still join the battle.
Both the attacked and attacking player can make an agreement with the other players in the Hex to improve their odds ('Agreements between players', p. 24).
Example: Anna, John and Henry are on the same Star System Hex. Anna attacks John, but the battle ends without damage. Now it's Henri's turn and, before John is able to escape on his own turn, Henri attacks John. Anna has two choices: either she watches how Henri finishes off her prey and gets away with the prize, or she joins in on either side. She cannot, however, attack both players, or attack Henri or John for her own benefit (i.e., without making an agreement with the other player) because she cannot actively attack until her next turn. She must choose sides!
Battle with non-player ships
Non-player ships, like Pirates, Alliance ships or Aliens, are brought into play by events on Hyperspace cards and Docking cards.
A battle against any non-player ship works just like a regular battle with one exception: the role of each non-player ship faction is played by the first players on the left of the active player who are not part of the same League as the active player.
This player will build a Battle deck following the usual rules. He will choose which type of card he wants to draw as first card. Then he draws cards according to the numbers indicated in the lower right corner of the ship's card by the symbols: number of Attack cards, number of Defense cards, number of Support cards.
He also adds the 2 usual Destiny Deck cards to the ship's Battle deck. The other attributes (Defense, Attack, Structure, Fuel, Escape value, Speed) are indicated in and around the ship's illustration.
The ship's bounty is indicated in the lower left corner of the ship's card. If a non-player ship is destroyed, players are allowed to loot the ship, even if they joined sides with this ship in a battle between non-player ships (see p. 20 for restrictions that apply when looting a wreck).
Ship collisions
Ships will only collide during battle. A collision is caused by the Support card "Collision" (B58).
As this is a Support card, it can only be played against an enemy or an ally, but collisions tend to inflict damage to both parties. So both parties need to check their damage using the following formula:
Collision damage to one's ship = Enemy's Escape value - own Defense against Projectiles
The Battering Ram does two additional points of damage to the enemy's ship.
Battering Ram. The most brutal of weapons. A huge chunk of extra durable metal built to soak up most of collision damage, whilst damaging the enemy even further. In collisions, the damage is determined by the enemy's Escape value and one's own Defence against Projectiles. Both parties have to calculate their own damage in the collision using the simple formula. If the formula yields damage, any ship with a Battering Ram will inflict two additional points of damage.
Example: (continued from the battle example) Henri's still has an Escape Value of 3 and Defense against Projectiles of 3, whereas Timo has an Escape Value of 6 and Defense against Projectiles of 5. Timo reveals a 'Collision' Support card, which causes Henri's ship to collide with his ship. The collision could cause damage to both players' ships: by using the formula above Henri gets 3 points of damage, but Timo gets no damage (negative value).
Trading
In the world of The Phantom League, each Planetary System has fixed exchange rates for buying and selling commodities. Not all commodities are available everywhere and some of the Planets or Space Stations might only buy, or only sell them. Many places will also offer special barter deals.
The rates for buying locally available commodities and/or selling commodities in demand, and sometimes special barter deals, are all indicated in the box below the System's name. The "Galactic Trade Chart" offers the same information, in a condensed format.
Commodities
There are five different types of commodities in the game. Each type of commodity is represented by tokens: Narcotics, Slaves, Fuel, Food, Ore.
Slaves and Narcotics are both illegal commodities. They are the most lucrative businesses in the galaxy, but also the most risky ones.
To reflect the risk a player takes when smuggling these commodities, a player who has either on board draws one additional Docking card.
Cards drawn upon entering Hyperspace or docking to a League Dominion or Neutral System often feature searches by the authorities. Docking cards also feature raids on smuggled commodities when docking to Renegade Systems.
Fuel is essentially hydrogen, compressed in liquid form. Fuel is consumed by the ship's Hyperspace engine during space travel, but is also needed for guns, shields, and by some Battle cards.
Fuel can be stored both in a ship's Fuel tanks and in the cargo bay, making it the commodity that any ship can haul the most of. Upon buying Fuel, the player decides whether it goes into his ship's tank or in the cargo.
Fuel can be transferred from the cargo bay to the Fuel tank when the ship is docked. Fuel can never be moved out of the Fuel tank in any other way but by consuming it.
Fuel Harvester & Fuel Scoop. There are two kinds of improvements for acquiring Fuel out of varying stellar objects: Fuel scoops and Harvesters. They work in slightly different ways. The Fuel scoops require the player to be in the same Half-hex as the stellar object (a gas giant) and he must use an action to fill his Fuel tanks. The Harvester, however, doesn't require an action and the player doesn't need to be in the same Half-hex as the stellar object. It is enough that he moves through the Half-hex in question; the Harvester gathers some extra energy and transforms it into Fuel.
Food is the most sought-after commodity. Algae, cattle, synthetic food substances and everything in between fits in this cargo category. Food is bought in almost all Systems and sold on agriculture worlds.
Ore is the generic raw material for most industrial products. Ore represents all minerals and is acquired by the players either by mining it themself on asteroids (see 'Mining', p. 8) or buying it like any other commodity. Ore is most profitably transported to the huge forge worlds like 'Hollow Core' that require vast quantities of it for industrial purposes.
Note: The supply of ore on asteroids is unlimited and the game will never run out of ore while mining. If you run out of ore tokens while mining, please substitute the missing tokens with something else. Buying ore is still subject to the supply limitation rule (see below).
Buying and selling
The number of trades a player can do on his turn while docked to a Planet or Space Station is limited by:
- the player's money reserve,
- his cargo space (see 'Cargo', below),
- the supply of commodities (see boxed text).
Supply limitation. A player can only buy up to half of the remaining supply of each commodity. When there is only one token left for a specific commodity, it is available for buying. A player is always allowed to fill his fuel tank, regardless of the number of fuel tokens available. The limitation of only half of supply still applies to fuel taken on as cargo.
When a player buys commodities, he pays the price in money tokens and places the aquired tokens on the cargo area of his player mat.
Selling commodities is just the opposite: the player removes the tokens from his player mat, places them back into the reserve and takes the money he earned.
Note: Whenever you need to round a number, round it down unless stated otherwise.
Cargo
The cargo space on a Spaceship is limited, as indicated by the number next to the cargo symbol on the Spaceship's card. Cargo space can be extended by cargo bay Improvements. Each commodity token requires one cargo space.
Excess cargo can be dumped in space or left behind on Planets or Space Stations, but the player will get no compensation for abandoned cargo and he will not be able to recover it.
There are two different production Improvements, which produce food and narcotics. These work and consume the indicated Fuel as long as there is at least one cargo space left. If there is no available cargo space, the production Improvements stop working and do not consume Fuel.
Example: "Food Producer" (I27) produces two units of food on every turn. Even if there is cargo space for one unit only, it will produce two, one of which is automatically discarded.
"Phantom Leagues"
Agreements between players
A player can make as many agreements as he wants with different players. Agreements between players are regulated in the game: the player who fails to hold up his end of the bargain always loses one Recognition level. A player should make sure he only enters contracts that he can fulfill. A verbally skilled player can lure other players into agreements which are bound to cause them harm in the long run.
Examples of agreements:
- "I'll protect you for the next 10 rounds. It will cost you xx"
- "Don't shoot me on this turn and I will pay you xx"
- "Give me your best Improvement and you can live"
- "Lend me xx, I will pay you back on turn x"
- "Let's fly together to Sanguine Sea"
- "I can tow anyone at modest price of xx"
- "Let's form a League to break this blockade"
- "Let's form a League to kill X"
Note: Even if a player is forced to dishonor an agreement because living up to its terms is no longer possible, this is considered a public humiliation, and he will lose one Recognition level.
The Phantom Leagues
Phantom Leagues are special agreements between players who decide to team up and collaborate. A player can only be a member of one League at any given time, but he can still make specific agreements with players that are not part of his League.
A Phantom League can be formed for a fixed duration or indefinitely. A player who breaks a League agreement will lose one level of Recognition. Leagued players always have their turn together and always move as a group.
Moving as a Group
When players form a Phantom League or make an agreement, they can choose to move their ships together. In this case the members of the group choose on whose turn they will all move.
Whenever the players need to draw cards, such as Hyperspace or Docking cards, draw only one set of cards for the whole group. Their effects apply to all members in the group.
The players always draw the highest number of cards required for any one group member. Special abilities of Captains and Spaceship that would allow a player to draw less cards, like Captain "Lucky" Oddson's (C01) ability to draw only one Hyperspace card, are just ignored when players move in a group.
Special abilities that don't affect the actual number of cards used for the group, like the "Explorer" (S08) Spaceship's Docking Sensors, are taken into account and affect the whole group.
In battles, each group member plays with his own Battle deck, drawing his cards individually, but players may coordinate their strategies.
Note: As the game progresses, it is not unusual to have all players join Leagues. As a result, there are no individual turns at all, as the players move and play as groups.
Missions
At the beginning of the game, every player receives three random missions. Missions can yield Recognition and/or financial gain.
A player can claim only one mission as 'fulfilled' per game turn and he must be docked on a Planet or Space Station to do so. The claimed mission card is discarded.
Missions can be completed even if, due to the effects of Docking cards, the market, the Improvement trader, or all businesses are closed, unless the mission itself implies buying or selling something.
Mission-related cargo
Unless the card specifies that the cargo is given to the player, any mission related commodity (slaves, food, Fuel, etc.) has to be acquired by the player by any means (buy, steal, loot, bargain). Mission-related cargo on board a Spaceship is taken into account when calculating the ransom claimed by Pirates to avoid combat (see Pirates, p. 8). The player will have to find the lost cargo from somewhere else.
Multi-part missions
A mission does not have to be completed all at once, unless the card specifically says so. Some missions even specify different steps that must be completed separately. When trying to complete a mission in multiple steps, the player must reveal the mission card when he has completed the first stage of the mission.
Example: The 'Food Crisis' (M12) mission requires 9 Food to be delivered. If his cargo space is too limited, a player may split the shipment and deliver 5 Food in one trip, then return later to deliver the remaining 4. He must reveal the mission card after the first shipment has been delivered. If the player is attacked by Pirates and wants to avoid combat by paying a ransom, the food tokens related to the mission he has on board count toward the total cargo of the ship, which Pirates will claim half of.
Drawing new Missions
Once a Mission is completed, the player draws a new mission card.
If at any time the player can show that a mission cannot be completed, he may discard the mission card and draw a new one. This will happen later in the game, when all Star Systems are visible and a Mission requires a player to find a new System of a specific type.
A player docked on a planet may spend his entire turn to discard all his mission cards and draw 3 new Mission cards. He must change all his Mission cards, not only one or two.
Extension: Mostly Harmless
Box contents
- 1 Pirate Nest token
- 1 Spaceship token (Cobra)
- This Rulebook
- 5 Captain cards
- 2 Spaceship cards
- 18 Mission cards
- 1 Alien card
- 3 Non-player ship cards (Pirate/Alliance)
- 15 Improvement cards
- 25 Battle cards
- 6 Hyperspace cards
- 13 Docking cards
To help referencing, each card has a unique letter/number combination in its lower right corner. The letter also indicates to which set it belongs: A = Alien Encounter, B = Battle (three types), C = Captain, D = Docking, H = Hyperspace, I = Improvements, M = Mission, P = Pirate Ship, S = Spaceships. A special symbol after a card reference indicates that the card is from the 'Mostly Harmless' extension.
Reprinted cards
The extension contains reprints that correct the misprinted cards from the base game. Remove the original cards from the base game and replace them by the new cards. Reprinted cards have the same reference as the misprinted cards from the base game:
M03, M05, M06, M08, M09, M11, M12, M16, M17, M20, M23, M27 and M28 are reprinted Mission cards. B27, B29, B30, B42, B49, B54 and B55 are reprinted Battle cards. S06 (Corsair) is a reprinted Spaceship card and C02 and C05 are reprinted Captain cards.
Path based Recognition rewards
Some of the new Docking and Mission cards in the Mostly Harmless extension have recognition rewards based on the player's current path. These rewards are indicated by the Gain Fame and Gain Notoriety symbols. Both types of reward apply to players with a Recognition level below 4 (neutral player). Once a player has chosen a side though, he will be affected negatively by any reward from the opposite faction.
Example: A player who is on the path of Fame may complete the mission "Narcotics Run" (M06), but he will loose one Recognition level. Similarly, a player at level 7 on the path of Notoriety who docks to a League world and draws the "Holy Inquisition" card (D29) will loose one Recognition level.
Moving Pirate nest
The Docking card "Bad Spot" (D23) from the Mostly Harmless extension introduces a third Pirate nest into the game (see Pirates, p. 8). Whenever a player draws this card, he places the Pirate token onto the Half-hex he is docking to and if he chooses to carry on the docking maneuver, he must draw a card from the Pirate deck. As the Planet or Station becomes a Pirate nest, any player who wants to dock there must also draw a card from the Pirate deck.
Two sided Battle cards
The Mostly Harmless extension introduces a new type of Battle cards. These cards have two sides. One side is only available if the player has the required improvement installed on his ship. If he hasn't, he must use the other side of the card.
Example: The "Turtle Move" Defense (B78) is only available if the player has an "Asteroid Skin" (I04) improvement installed. Otherwise, he must use the "A Choice" Defense described on the other side of the card.
Variants
Quick Start Rules - For the first game, or when playing with new players, start the game more quickly by assigning a Captain and Spaceship to each player, and by starting with no Improvements.
Two Player Game - For a two player game of The Phantom League, no specific rule changes are needed. However, for experienced players, we recommend that each player plays with two Spaceships (but only one Captain). We also recommend that the two ships form a League and have their game turns together. In battle, each Captain uses only one Battle deck built with the attributes of both his ships.
Buying A New Spaceship - Players are allowed to buy a new Spaceship if they start their turn docked to a Space Station and perform no other action during their turn. Used ships sell for half their purchase price. The player may transfer any Improvements he chooses to his new ship for a flat rate of 50. Any Improvement that is not transfered is not compensated and the card is placed back into the Improvement deck.
Hazardous Space - To spice up the game and increase the feeling of danger players get when travelling in space, players also draw Hyperspace cards whenever they move to another known Star System Hex. Players ignore any structural damage, Improvement loss or Alien encounters on Hyperspace cards drawn for movement to known Star System Hexes, but resolve any other effects on the card.
More powerful Alliance - Whenever a card mentions an encounter with an Alliance Spaceship (e.g., cards says 'take an Alliance Patroller'), the player draws a random card from the Alliance deck.
Thematically correct docking cards amounts - use the table below instead of the number of Docking cards indicated on the player mats:
| Recognition Level | 8-7-6 (Fame) | 5-4 (Fame) | 1-2-3 | 4-5 (Notoriety) | 6-7-8 (Notoriety) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docking to League Dominions: draw | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Docking to Neutral: draw | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Docking to Renegade: draw | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Guarded spacestations - Both Alliance Space Stations (Alpha III and El Dorado) are guarded by an Alliance Cruiser. Similarly, the Renegade Space Station (Radianus) has a random Pirate on guard. Before a player can dock at these Stations, he will have to battle the guardian ship, except that a player on the Path of Fame may dock to Alpha III and El Dorado without a battle.
Support card bonus - During a Battle round, when Support cards are played, a player may exchange any support card he has and increase his Attack or Defense total by 1 per Support card he discards. The Attack or Defense bonus he gets applies to both weapon types. Example: a player who discards two Support cards to increase the Attack total with a 'Succesfull Hit' (B02) card will get +2 for Energy Weapons and +2 for Projectiles.
Alternative ending for Battles - Battles don't end when all players have only 1 or no cards left in their Battle decks. Instead, any card left after the battle round ends is shuffled into the Battle card decks. Then the players build a new Battle deck (see instructions on p. 11) and start a new Battle round. Battle will only end for a player if he gets destroyed, if he manages to escape, or if he makes some kind of deal.
Deadlier Battles (Timo's favorite variant!) - When players build their Battle Decks they do not draw cards according to the symbols on their Captain cards. Instead, each player builds his Battle Deck as follows: draw 3 Attack cards, 1 Defense card, 1 Support card. Add 1 card of your choice for each support symbol on your Captain and Improvement cards. Next, add the cards for the installed improvements you have by following the normal rules for building a Battle Deck. Finally, add 2 Destiny Deck cards to your Battle Deck.
Docking fee - A player may only stay docked at a Planet or Station for free during one turn. After the first turn, he must pay 75 for each turn he remains docked. Players may adjust the docking fee based on their game preferences in increments of 25. The minimum suggested is 25, and the maximum suggested is 150. Setting a docking fee radically changes the usefulness of the 'blockade' action and directly affects how well an aggressive strategy works.
Card Clarifications
This section is meant to help you better understand some of the card's effects.
In general, when a card from the base game refers to a player's 'hand cards', this is a mistake and refers to his Battle deck, not the actual cards in the player's hand.
Captain cards
HLD-454 "Jack" (C02) - "When in battle, +1 Escape for each enemy ships." Both the player who plays with HLD-454 "Jack" as a Captain and his enemy/enemies gain +1 Escape Value. As a consequence, Escape becomes harder for his targets and "Jack" is less likely to escape involuntarily himself.
Botch Lebadov (C05) - The text on this card should read: "Once, at any given time, during a Battle, a player may ask one of his enemies (to the player's choice) to discard his current cards and replace those with the cards of the same type from the draw pile. Once, at any given time, during a Battle, a player may discard all of his current cards and replace them with the next card of his draw pile."
Vulture Mac-X (C07) - "During salvage, produce 1 extra Ore and 1 Fuel." Salvage includes any destroyed player and non-player ship (Pirates, Alliance, ... ).
Aayaeh'h (C11) - "Must sustain herself by eating fuel at rate of 1 Fuel / turn." Eating fuel is the very first action on any given turn. Fuel is only eaten from the Spaceship's tank, never from the cargo. "Can use 1 Fuel to repair 1 Structure per turn." This ability can be used anytime during a player's turn.
Sir Frank Elderberg IV (C12) - "Straight as an Arrow - can not do anything dishonorable or illegal." As a consequence, the player cannot choose the Path of Notoriety! "Veteran - Can adjust his opponents Escape (up or down) by spending 2 Fuel for each point of change." A player may use this ability only once per battle, at any given point during the battle.
Spaceship cards
Free Trader Ship (S05) - Though the description on the card's back mentions "Built-in fuel scoops", this Spaceship does not have a fuel scoop.
Alien Card
Be There... (A06) - The card has a recognition symbol with the number 1. Though the player will only gain one recognition if he spends one turn undocked at New Hebron.
Battle cards
Equipment Breakage (B57) - Instead of loosing one random Improvement, the player may choose which improvement he looses.
Strategic Mistake (B62) & (B68) - "Discard two combat cards from your hand". "Hand" refers to the player's Battle Deck.
Mission cards
Some missions require the player to transport items. In most cases, the player must buy the goods first, with his own money, then transport them to the indicated destination and claim his reward. However, for the following missions, the player is given the items he must transport and he doesn't have to buy them himself: Slave Transfer (M03 & M03), Narcotics Run (M06 & M06), Renegade Efforts (M16 & M16), Cake Run (M23 & M23), Renegade Run (M31), Witness (M35).
Improvement cards
WarpWorks Mark IV (I16) - "Consumes 1 Fuel on each hyperspace jump, regardless of modifiers." "Modifiers" does not refer to the effects of hyperspace cards or Docking cards.
Structure dial
If you reach the value of 20 on the structure dial and, due to the structure points given by your Spaceship's and installed Improvement's, your actual Structure is higher than 20, just note your actual structure value on a piece of paper.