Thunder's Edge Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Object of the Game
• Alternate Victory Conditions
• The 2 Player Game
• Game Contents
• Game Component Overview
  • Hexes
    • Thunder's Edge Hexes
  • Locations
  • Off World Location Hexes
  • Counters
  • Player Counters
    • Conventional Force
    • Walker
    • Menace
    • Obliterator
    • Artillery
    • Control Marker
• Starting the Game/Setup
• Building Thunder's Edge
• The Initial Drop
• The Turn Sequence
• Status Phase
  • Increasing Tensions Segment
  • Mission Cards Segment
  • Transit Segment
• Senate Phase
  • Consul Segment
    • Overview
    • Requests
    • The Rider Card
    • Draw More Cards
    • Consul
    • The Black Cards
    • The Planned Information Leak
  • Mission Segment
  • Discard Segment
    • Optional Rules for the Consul Segment
• Priority
• Action Phase
  • Player Action Segments
    • Movement
    • Declare Combat
    • Attack Resolution
    • Artillery
    • Location and Fortification Defense Value
    • 6) Advance
    • 7) Breakthrough Combat
    • Sieges
• Reinforcements Phase
  • Resources Segment
    • The Bishops Grant
  • Purchase Segment
• Drop Phase
  • Player Drop Segments
• Ending the Game
• Diplomacy and Trading
• Turn Sequence Reference
• Unit Reference
• Rulebook Notes

Introduction

Thank you for acquiring Thunder's Edge(TE), Fantasy Flight's third game in the HEXPLAY series (after TWILIGHT IMPERIUM and BATTLEMIST). In TE you will take control of one of five rival Earth factions seeking to gather power and position by political maneuvering in the SolGov senate and by military force on the distant planet of Thunder's Edge. This conflict hovers near the brink of an all-out, destructive civil war between mankind. Before tensions reach a critical level, and the sentiment of the Earth populace turns against your faction, you must acquire as much political power and physical holdings on Thunder's Edge as possible. It is your destiny to be the progenitor of mankind's next era.

Object of the Game

To win a game of Thunder's Edge, you try to get as much influence, power, and strategic advantage as you can before SolGov steps in, clamps down on the Thunder's Edge situation, and a new status quo is established.

Your success in fulfilling these objectives is measured in Victory Points. Throughout the course of a game of Thunder's Edge, you'll accumulate Victory Points in a number of different ways, from playing cards to controlling Locations to establishing influence in various Off World Locations.

As the game progresses, however, tensions on Earth will increase. When they finally reach their breaking point, each faction will sum the number of Victory Points it has accumulated. The player whose faction has the most wins the game.

Alternate Victory Conditions

Centor is a Population Center, and the capital city of Thunder's Edge. Any player that succeeds in gaining control of Centor and three other Population Centers wins the game immediately.

The 2 Player Game

Thunder's Edge works best with 3-5 players, but we realize that many people enjoy playing boardgames one-on-one, and that in many places it's difficult to find a large group to play. There is really only one change that must be met in order for two players to enjoy Thunder's Edge: each player should use two colors of Player Counters. Otherwise, a given player's counter mix will simply be too limited to allow for an interesting conflict. All of the counters controlled by one player become a part of his faction, they just happen to have two different colors. No other rules change.

Players of one-on-one games, however, should note that they may encounter difficulty during the Consul Segment. The card-swapping action of this part of the game just doesn't work well in a two player game. You've been warned.

Game Contents

Your Thunder's Edge game should contain:

• 1 Rulebook
• 39 Hexes located on three sheets
• 112 Cards (5 Faction Cards, 51 Mission Cards, 43 Senate cards, and 13 Location cards)
• 288 Counters located on two countersheets
• 1 General Chart
• 5 Player Charts
• 4 Dice

Game Component Overview

Following is an overview of the different components of TE.

Hexes

Thunder's Edge contains 39 hexes. Most (36 of them) interlock to form the terrain of the volcanic world of Thunder's Edge. The others represent Off World Locations that are not on Thunder's Edge, but that are nevertheless important in the game's struggle.

As a HEXPLAY game, the layout of the gameboard will differ from game to game. See Diagram A for a visual description of the different hex types.

Thunder's Edge Hexes

Thunder's Edge hexes represent areas on the planet of Thunder's Edge. Each hex contains one or two areas. Most hexes simply contain a field representing terrain, which is labeled either Clear, Badlands, Mountains, or Volcanic. In these cases, the entire hex is one area.

The Terrain of Thunder's Edge

Clear: Dry arid steppes, frequently covered with 'Hoppu': a hard and tough moss-like growth. Military Units have no problems navigating Clear areas.

Badlands: Rocky wind-swept areas that often harbor decent water-wells and useful minerals. Military Units have no problem navigating Badland areas.

Mountain: The tall sharp peaks of Thunder's Edge truly speak to the youth of the small planet. Mountain areas are very dangerous to navigate. All Military units must immediately stop upon entering Mountain areas.

Volcanic: As a relatively young planet, Thunder's Edge boasts several active volcanic lands. Conventional Units are immediately destroyed if they enter Volcanic hexes, and all other military units must stop their movement when entering such areas.

Locations

Some Thunder's Edge hexes feature multiple areas. These hexes have a field of terrain, just like the other hexes, but they also have a smaller, inset hexagon in their upper left hand corner. This inset hexagon is a Location (a Population Center, Refinery, or an Outpost). Each location has its name and location-type printed on the hex. There are also two printed values on each location. The first of these values is the "Defense Value" (printed in a red circle), the second value is the "Resource Value" (printed in a yellow circle).

Each location has a corresponding 'Location Card' that provides more information about the specific location.

Hexes with Locations are considered to have two areas: 1) the field of terrain and 2) the Location itself. When units move between a location and the area surrounding the location, they expend a point of movement. Note that there is no way to move into a Location without moving through the field of terrain that surrounds it.

Off World Location Hexes

The Off World Location hexes each represent a place that is not actually on Thunder's Edge (or even necessarily nearby), but that is nevertheless important to the game. These do not interlock with the other hexes (or with each other). Instead, they're placed to the side.

Each Off World Location has a positive special ability that can be used by the player that controls the specific Off World Location. It is also beneficial to control Off World Locations for the 10 Victory points that they each provide to their controller at the end of the game.

Example: John controls the Juno Platform Off World Location. Because of this, John draws two Mission Cards (rather than one) during the 'Draw Mission Cards Segment'. If John controls Juno Platform after the game has ended, he will collect 10 Victory Point for this.

In the course of the game, certain Mission Cards and units are played on Off World Locations. As these are played, they should be placed on the hex or on the table in a way that makes it clear to all players that they are associated with a specific Off World Location.

Counters

Thunder's Edge contains a multitude of counters, each representing a military unit or strategic improvement. There are generally two types of counters: Player Counters and Common Counters.

In most cases, the counter mix is limited on purpose. When a faction has all of its Obliterator units in play, for example, it may purchase no more Obliterator units until at least one is destroyed (and the counter becomes available for purchase once more). The only exception to this rule are control markers, of which each player is assumed to have an unlimited supply. If any player runs out, he should use some convenient marker - coins, paper clips, or whatever - to represent more.

Player Counters

Player Counters are all those military unit counters of a specific color, controlled by one player. Each player's set of Player Counters should be identical. Each player's counter mix should be: 12 Conventional Forces, 4 Artillery, 4 Obliterators, 6 Menaces, 8 Walkers, and 13 Control Markers.

All Player Counters have a number of features in common. Diagram B shows these characteristics. Be sure to note the Attack Value (a measure of the unit's prowess when launching attacks), Defense Value (a measure of the unit's prowess when defending against other factions' attacks, Movement Value (the number of areas that unit can enter each Game Turn), and Cost (the number of Credits it costs to purchase one of those units).

The following sections describe each type of Player Counter available.

Conventional Force

ATTACK: 1, DEFENSE: 2, MOVE: 2, COST: 1

A Conventional Force represents a cooperative force of powered-suit infantry, mechanized vehicles, and traditional armor. It is a decent defensive unit for the cost. These are the least expensive units in Thunder's Edge.

Walker

ATTACK: 2, DEFENSE: 1, MOVE: 2, COST: 2, BT

Walkers are light robotic units specializing in fast attack. Each individual Walker is piloted by a single human pilot; this counter represents a number of individual Walkers under a common command. Walkers have the Breakthrough ability, which allows them to make follow-up attacks after successful primary attacks.

Menace

ATTACK: 2, DEFENSE: 2, MOVE: 2, COST: 3, BT

Menaces are heavier units than Walkers. They maintain the Walkers' fast attack ability, but have an enhanced capacity for extended defensive assignments. Like Walkers, each Menace has a single human pilot, and one counter represents a number of Menaces grouped together. Menaces have the Breakthrough ability, which allows them to make follow-up attacks after successful primary attacks.

Obliterator

ATTACK: 4, DEFENSE: 1, MOVE: 1, COST: 4

Obliterators are enormous, lethal robotic units each piloted by a highly trained team of pilots. These units are unparalleled in their ability to inflict damage on the attack, but their enormous destructive payload make them slow and almost useless to defense. As with Walkers and Menaces, a single Obliterator counter represents an entire squadron of individual robots.

Artillery

ATTACK: -, DEFENSE: 1, MOVE: 1, COST: 2, SUP: 1

Artillery batteries are units that can support attacks from a distance. Their Support ability allows each of them to add one Support Die to one combat that occurs within two areas of the Artillery's location each Game Turn. (Once an Artillery unit has been used in a given Game Turn, it's useful to turn it upside down so it isn't accidentally used a second time.) Artillery can't attack alone.

Control Marker

Control Markers don't actually represent military units. Instead, they're used throughout the game to indicate that a given faction controls a given area even though none of his units are present, that a faction is associated with a card, and so on. Whenever a player moves the last unit out of an area, he can leave one of his Control Markers there to indicate that he retains control of the area even though he has no units present to defend it. Other factions can move their units into that area without hindrance, but as long as they don't, the player whose Control Marker is there is considered to have control.

Common Counters

Fortification

A Fortification is a defensive improvement that can be made to any Thunder's Edge area or location. In order to build a Fortification, the player must pay the Fortification's cost (three Credits) and sacrifice a Conventional Unit in the area or location where the Fortification will be located. Fortifications add two to the Defensive Value of an area and give the defender two extra dice to defensive combat in that area.

Fortifications are destroyed whenever the units that occupy the same area are overcome by an enemy. A Fortification can exist without any friendly units in its area, but does not alone constitute a defense against enemies. (If enemy units move into an unfended area containing a Fortification, simply remove the fortification.) Fortifications can never move.

Any area or Location can only hold one Fortification.

Landing Area

A Landing Area is a very simple improvement to an area that allows three units to be dropped on to that hex (rather than the single unit normally allowed) during each Game Turn's 'Drop Phase'. Landing Areas are never destroyed, and any player can use a Landing Area in an unoccupied area, or a Landing Area that is controlled only by virtue of a control marker.

Since units may never 'Drop' on Locations, a Landing Area cannot be built on a Location.

Consul Counters

Each Game Turn, at the end of the Consul Segment, the one player that managed to declare 'Consul' takes one of these counters, each of which is worth five Victory Points at the end of the game.

Attack Arrows/Breakthrough

These are used to designate attacks and Breakthroughs during the Action Phase.

Cards

There are three different decks of cards used in Thunder's Edge.

Location Cards

The cards in the Location Deck, very simply, represent the Locations on Thunder's Edge. Each Location - Population Center, Refinery, and Outpost - has a single corresponding Location card. Whenever you gain control of a Location, you should take the appropriate card from the Location Deck or the player that previously controlled the location, and place it face up in front of you. The Location card serves several purposes.

• The location card serves as an easy reminder of the Resources and Victory Points gained by controlling the specific location.
• Each location also has one specific special ability that can be used once per full game. A player can 'use' this special ability when appropriate (the abilities differ for each Location). After a player has 'used' this special ability, the card is turned 180 degrees to indicate that the special ability has been used. If another player takes control of a Location from you, make sure when you transfer the card that you tell him whether the card's been 'used' yet or not - if you've already 'used' it, the new controller (and any future controllers) won't be able to do it again.

Mission Cards

The Mission deck contains a number of different types of cards.

Initiative Cards

These cards describe major objectives your faction successfully achieves. Initiative cards always increase Tensions as a part of their Requirements, and always award a Victory Value. Initiatives that have been played are kept face up in front of the player that played them until the end of the game, unless some other effect changes this. Initiative Cards are played during the 'Mission Segment' of the Senate Phase.

INITIATIVE REQUIREMENTS: All initiative cards require certain elements and/or have a certain 'cost' when played. Some cards require the player to control specific areas of Thunder's Edge, and/or some cards require a certain control of Political Lobby Bloc's in the Senate.

If an Initiative Card requires certain political support, in order to play that Initiative Card, a player must have acquired specific Senate Cards during the 'Consul Segment' that immediately preceded the 'Mission Segment'. A player must 'spend' these Senate Cards (discard them) to play the Mission Card.

Example: Pierre holds the 'Entrenchment' Initiative in his hand. To play this card, Pierre must discard 5 Military Support Points and 5 Industrial Support Points from the cards that he acquired during the 'Senate Phase'. After the Consul Segment, Pierre holds the following: two '1' Military Support Cards, General Fanburch (worth 2 Military Support Points), one '2' Military Support, one '3' Industry Support, one '2' Industry Support Card, and one '2' Church Support Card.

During the 'Mission Segment', Pierre uses (discards) General Fanburch, the '2' Military Support Card, and one '1' Military Support Card, as well as both of his Industry Support Cards. This is the total of 5 Military Support Points, and 5 Industry Support Points that Pierre needs to play the 'Entrenchment' Initiative Cards.

EFFECT: Most Initiative Cards have an effect that is implemented immediately after the card is played. This effect differs from card to card.

Example: After Pierre plays his 'Entrenchment' Initiative Card, he must implement the effect of the card. In this case, Pierre gets to place two free Fortification counters anywhere on Thunder's Edge as long as those areas do not already hold Fortifications.

TENSION INCREASE

As more Inititiative cards are played by the factions during the Thunder's Edge Conflict, the more the Tensions increase. Each Initiative card has a 'tension increase' value located in the circle in the lower right hand corner of the card. Immediately after an Initiative Card has been played, the Tension Marker must be advanced by the number indicated by the 'tension increase' value.

If the Tension Marker reaches or exceeds 30 after a player plays an Initiative Card, the rest of the Mission Segment is played out, after which the game is over. See the 'End Of Game' section later in this rules-booklet.

Example: Pierre played the 'Entrenchment' Initiative card, and therefore must advance the Tension Track two spaces as indicated by the 'increase tension' value in the lower right hand corner of the card.

VICTORY POINT VALUE: Every successfully played Initiative Card provides a Victory Point Value to its owner at the end of the game. These Victory Points are needed to win.

Alliance Cards

Alliance cards are the means by which players become allied with one another. The rules for this procedure are described in detail on the Alliance cards themselves. When Alliances are played, each party to the Alliance should place a control marker on the card itself, which should be placed in a common area of the table, in view of all players. (Near the Off World Locations is usually a good place.) It remains until one of the parties to the alliance announces that he is breaking the alliance, which can only be done during the 'Senate Phase'.

BENEFITS OF AN ALLIANCE: There are a few specific benefits of being allied with another player.

• You may move through (but not end your turn in) hexes that your Ally controls.
• An Ally must break the Alliance before he can attack you. This prevents deadly 'sneak attacks' from, at least, that player.
• Allies can use their Artillery Units to support each others Attacks or Defenses.

Off World Strength Cards

These cards provide players with Control Points on the Off World Locations during the game.

Some cards are specific to a given Off World Location, "Mars Strength," for example. Such a Card can only be played to that specific location.

Another type of Strength Card is the generic 'Off World Strength' card. These cards provide less strength than the location-specific cards, -- but can be played on any Off World Location.

All Strength Cards cost 5 credits to play and must be played during the 'Mission Segment'. After playing the card, the owner should place one of his Control Markers on the Strength Card.

Investment Cards

An Investment is a card that requires payment in return for some benefit over the course of the game. Investments that have been played are kept face up in front of the player that played them until the end of the game.

Investments must be played during the Mission Segment

Determining Control of Off World Locations

During the game, the only way to gain control of Off World Locations, is to play Strength Cards. After the game has ended, the Military Units that players secretly sent to the Off World Locations also provide control power here.

During the game: The player with the highest number of Strength Points (Determined exclusively by the Strength cards) on a specific location controls it. That player receives the specific ability (printed on the Off World Location Hex) that is rewarded to the owners of Off World Locations. If two players have the same number of Strength Points on an Off World Location, neither of the players controls it.

Example: Richard has a 'Mars Strength' card and a 'Off World Strength' card on the Mars Off World Location (for a total of 8 control points). Christopher has a 'Mars Strength' card on the Mars Off World Location (for a total of 5 control points). Richard controls Mars since he has 3 more control points than Christopher.

After the game: After the game has ended, the secret units sent by players to the Off World Locations are revealed. These units provide one control point for each resource cost of the units (thus an Obliterator Unit would give 4 control points). The player adds up their total number of control points (Strength Cards + Military Units). The player with the largest number of Control Points controls the Off World Location, and receives the 10 points for its control. Should two or more players have the same number of control points, the 10 victory points are divided equally between them -- rounding down to the nearest whole number.

Example: The game has ended and control of the Off World Locations is to be determined. Richard has 8 control points from Strength Cards, and Christopher has 5 control points from Strength Cards. Carla has secretly sent two Obliterator Units to Mars during the game for a total of 8 control points. Richard has sent one Walker Unit for 2 extra control points. Christopher had sent one Obliterator and one Menace Unit for a total of 7 extra control points. The final total is therefore: Richard 10 control points, Christopher 12 control points, and Carla 8 control points. Christopher has the most control points and collects the 10 victory points for controlling the Mars Off World Location.

Action Cards

Actions are cards that generally have few or no Requirements or Costs, but that provide single-use abilities, often during a single combat. Action cards are discarded once their effects have been resolved.

Senate Cards

The cards of the Senate deck, which are used only during the Senate Phase and Mission Segment of each Game Turn, each represent some amount of support from one of five Blocs within the SolGov Senate: Military, Agra-Union, Bureaucracy, Manufacturing, and Church. Each of these cards has a number in the upper right hand corner, which indicates the number of Support Points the card is worth to its holder.

There are really two kinds of support cards: Lobby Bloc support cards and Senator support cards. Both provide a number of Support Points, but some Mission Cards specifically require the support of one or more Senators. Some even require the support of specific sorts of Senators: either those affiliated with a particular Bloc or those with a specific ideology: Expansionist, Isolationist, Pacifist, or Militant. (Expansionist, Isolationist, Pacifist, and Militant are called Traits.) Senators are distinguished by a small 's' printed next to the number in the upper right hand corner.

There are also three additional cards, the 'Black Cards': Scandal, Ill Reputation, and Planned Information Leak. Each unaffiliated with a Bloc, and entail specific other effects. Their effects are described in detail on the cards themselves. You can also read about them later in this rules booklet.

Faction Cards

The Faction Cards describe the special ability that each faction holds. These cards are randomly drawn by players at the beginning of the game.

Player Charts

Thunder's Edge provides each player with a Player Chart to keep track of their stockpile of credits. The chart also acts as a reference guide.

The stockpile chart contains two horizontal rows, both with the numbers '0' to '9'. The first track is used to keep track of the 'tens', and the second track for the 'ones'. Players should use the provided 'x1' and 'x10' counters to keep track of their credits.

Example: Richard has his 'x1' counter over the '5' on the second track and the 'x10' counter over the '2' on the first track. This indicates that Richard has 25 resources to his disposal.

The General Game Chart

The general game chart has two main sections that is of great importance: the Tension Track, and the Reinforcements Track.

The Tension Track

Tensions increase throughout the game for a number of different reasons, and when they reach a certain point - specifically, when the Tension Track reaches 30 - the game ends and Victory Points are totaled. The Tension counter is placed on the number "one" at the beginning of the game, and moved on the Track during each Game Turn's Status Phase and as required by various Mission Cards.

The Reinforcements Track

This card has two areas: Transit and Orbit. Newly purchased military units are placed face down on the Transit box when they are purchased. This indicates that those units are on their way to Thunder's Edge. Later, during the 'Transit Segment' all units in the Transit box are moved to the Orbit Box. This indicates that the units have arrived at Thunder's Edge and are ready to be deployed into the conflict on the planet below.

Dice

Thunder's Edge uses only six-sided dice; the game comes with four of them.

Starting the Game/Setup

At the start of each Thunder's Edge game, players must go through the following steps:

1. Each player selects one set of Player Counters and takes all of the counters of that color. In addition, each player receives a player chart.

2. Mission and Senate cards should be shuffled and placed in two separate decks. One card from the Mission Deck should be dealt to each player, and three cards from the Senate Deck should be dealt to each player.

3. The Faction Cards are shuffled and one card is randomly dealt to each player. This card represents the faction that the player will control during the game.

Building Thunder's Edge

At the beginning of each game, the world of Thunder's Edge must be built. Follow the steps below to complete this step of the set-up process.

1. The Off World Location hexes should be placed to one side of the table, face up.

2. The Centor hex is located and all of the other hexes shuffled randomly together. Centor is placed in the middle of the table. Four other hexes are selected randomly, and placed face down so they and Centor form a line five hexes long with Centor at its middle, as shown in Diagram C.

3. Each player rolls two dice, summing them. The highest roller randomly deals the remaining hexes out to the players, starting with himself. Due to the number of Hexes in the game and the varying number of players, a few players may end up with one more hex than other players. This is fine. Players may now secretly look at the hexes they have been dealt.

4. Players take turns placing one hex at a time face down on the table, starting with the player who dealt the hexes. Since all of the hexes (except Centor) are placed face down, no one but the placing player knows exactly what hexes have been placed where. Players should take care to remember where they've placed valuable Locations; they'll want to be sure to drop some of their initial units on these Locations later.

Each new hex placed on the board must be placed so that it touches exactly two other hexes that have already been placed - no fewer and no more. See Diagram C for examples of legal and illegal placement of new hexes. The rule printed with Diagram C reads: "New placements must touch two hex-sides on the board. No more (1), and no less (2)."

5. Now that Thunder's Edge has been constructed and each player has his initial cards, each player must choose which units he will possess at the start of the game.

Each player may begin the game with up to twenty Credits worth of military units. None of the Common Counters - such as Fortifications and Landing Areas - may be purchased at this time. Each player selects his initial units secretly.

The catch is this: each Credit not spent on military units before the game, becomes two Credits in the player's starting Credits during the first game turn.

Example: Richard purchases 8 points worth of Military Units during the set-up of the game. He then has 12 Credits left over from the 20 he was allowed to spend. Richard therefore starts the game with 24 Credits (12x2). On his player chart, Richard places the 'x1' counter over the number 4 on the second track, and the 'x10' counter over the number 2 on the first track.

The Initial Drop

Once each player has selected his starting units and collected his initial stockpile of Credits, players begin to drop their initial units onto Thunder's Edge.

Players drop these units according to the following rules:

• Each player rolls two dice and sums them; the highest roller will place a unit first, followed by the player to his left, and so on around the table.
• When it is a player's turn to place a unit, he chooses a unit from those he purchased, chooses a hex in play, and places the unit there. If that hex is face down (they all will be, except Centor), it is turned face up.
• During the Initial Drop, a new unit may never be dropped onto a hex that already contains a unit.
• If the revealed hex has a Location on it, the unit is placed in the non-Location area on that hex (units may NEVER drop onto Locations). Otherwise, it is simply placed on the hex. If the hex that is revealed would destroy the unit (as a Volcanic hex would destroy a Conventional Unit, for example), the unit is removed from play and the hex remains face up.
• If a player's turn to place comes and he has already placed all of his initial units, or he doesn't wish to drop any more units, the next player places a unit. Placing continues until all players have placed all of their initial units. If all hexes contain units and there are still units to be placed, the remaining units are placed in the 'Orbit' box of the Reinforcements Track, where they will remain until they arrive on Thunder's Edge later in the course of the game. If a player chose not to Drop all of his units during the Initial Drop, the remaining units are likewise left in the 'Orbit' box of the Reinforcement Track.

The Turn Sequence

Once the game is set up, the turn sequence begins. It continues until the game ends.

Each Game Turn is divided into five Phases, many of which are subdivided into one or more segments. Each segment is completed before the next begins; when one Game Turn ends, the next begins.

TURN SEQUENCE:

1. Status Phase
   • Increase Tensions Segment
   • Mission Cards Segment
   • Transit Segment
2. Senate Phase
   • Consul Segment
   • Mission Segment
   • Discard Segment
3. Action Phase
   • Player Action Segments
4. Reinforcements Phase
   • Resources Segment
   • Purchase Segment
5. Drop Phase
   • Player Drop Segments

Status Phase

The Status Phase is largely a bookkeeping exercise; it should pass quickly on most Game Turns. There are three separate segments of the Status Phase: The 'Increase Tensions Segment', the 'Mission Cards Segment', and the 'Transit Segment'.

Increasing Tensions Segment

During each Game Turn's Increasing Tensions Segment, the Tensions marker on the Tensions Track is moved two spaces higher. Should the marker reach or exceed 30, the game ends immediately.

Mission Cards Segment

During the Mission Cards Segment, each player is dealt one Mission Card from the top of the Mission Deck.

Additionally, each player may purchase one additional Mission Card at a cost of five Credits. Finally, if a player controls the Juno Platform Off World Location, that player may draw one additional Mission Card.

Transit Segment

During this segment, all counters in the Transit box of the reinforcements track are moved to the Orbit box of the reinforcements track.

Senate Phase

During the Senate phase, players jockey for position and support in the SolGov Senate by drawing new Senate cards and trading them with other players. Players need these cards for two purposes: 1) To play Mission Cards, and 2) to attempt to declare themselves 'Consul' (the head of the Senate). Once a Consul has been declared, players will play Mission Cards in turn, and finally discard down to three Senate Cards before the phase is over.

Consul Segment

During the Consul Segment, players will trade Senate Cards with one another. Their chief goal in trading is to declare that they have assembled enough support to become Consul: the head of the Senate. In order to become Consul, a player must be the first to lay down the following:

• 10 Total Support Point from one Lobby Bloc

OR

• 5 Senators

This segment of the Thunder's Edge game is rather chaotic and exciting as players trade for the support they need to declare Consul and play Mission Cards.

Players all begin the segment with three cards (or possibly less if they used many Senate Cards to play Mission Cards in a previous turn, or if they have been stuck with the 'Ill Reputation' card in the previous Consul Segment)

The phase is played as follows:

Overview

In the Consul Segment, players trade Senate cards with each other. It is 'free market' trading where all players trade and negotiate at the same time. A trade consists of the following: Two players always agree to trade one card for another one card. After agreeing, the players pass each other two cards 1) The card that they agreed to trade away, and 2) a 'rider' card (see later). You cannot cheat! You must pass the trading partner the card that he requested, and that you agreed to trade (though limitations to 'requests' exists, see later!).

If a player wants to draw another Senate Card from the deck, he holds up his hand. When all players have their hands in the air, all players may draw another Senate Card, and trading resumes once more.

This continues (trading and drawing new cards) until a player declares himself 'Consul'. If the Senate Deck runs out of cards and no player has declared 'Consul' yet, there is no Consul for this round.

Requests

Though you must trade the requested card to your trading partner, there is a limit to what specifically he can request.

A player may only request one of the following three things:

1. A support for a certain Lobby Bloc. ie Military, Agra Union, Bureaucracy, Industry, and Church. A legal request would then be "I need Agra-Union support".

A player may never specify the numerical 'strength' of the lobby, ie, a player cannot request a "3 Military Support".

If a player requests support of a certain Lobby Bloc, it is legal to trade him a Senator that belongs to that Bloc. Thus, if a player requests "Church support" it is legal to trade him a "Church" Senator.

2. A player may request a Senator of a specific Bloc. Example: "I need an Industry Senator".

3. A player may request a Senator of a certain trait. Example: "I need a Pacifist Senator"

NOTE: It is illegal to request BOTH a lobby and a trait for a Senator, thus you cannot request "A militant Industry Senator".

The above three requests are the only legal request (and what the trading partner must supply) during Senate Card trading.

The Rider Card

With each trade, each trading player must give the other player the requested card AND another card from his hand -- the 'Rider Card'. This card may not be negotiated or discussed, and simply 'rides' with the agreed trade. This card is called the 'Rider' card, and can be any card -- even one of the feared 'Black Cards'.

Example: Richard has 7 Military Support on his hand, and only needs three more support points to be able to declare himself Consul. He shouts "I need Military". Steve has a '1' Military Support Card on his hand, and really needs Church Support; "I've got Military but I need Church", Steve says. Richard, who has a '2' Church Support Card on his hand agrees to trade a Military Card for a Church Card with Steve. Richard hands Steve the '2' Church Support Card and a '1' Agra-Union Support Card as the Rider Card. Steve hands Richard the '1' Military Support Card and a '2' Industry Support Card as the Rider Card.

Draw More Cards

If a player wishes to draw another Senate Card he must raise his hand. A player with his hand raised cannot trade Senate Cards.

When all players have raised their hands, all players draw another Senate Card from the Senate Deck and trading continues until a player declares himself Consul, or all players have their hands raised again, etc.

Consul

A player may declare himself Consul when he holds 10 or more total Lobby Support from one Lobby Bloc (remember that Senators give 2 support to their Lobby Group) or when a player hold 5 senators on his hand.

Example: After another trade, Richard has 10 Military Lobby Support (one '3' Military Support Card, One '2' Military Support Card, General Fanburch (2 support), and three '1' Military Support Cards). He immediately screams "CONSUL".

When a player declares Consul, all trading must stop, no more Senate Cards are drawn, and the Consul Phase is over. The player that declared Consul receives a 'Consul Marker' that provides the player with 5 Victory Points.

It is always the FIRST player to declare Consul that becomes Consul, even if more players had qualifying cards. If two or more players declared Consul at exactly the same time, the player with the highest total number of support points from ALL cards on his hand, becomes Consul. If there is still a tie, randomly decide which of the equal parties becomes Consul.

When the Consul Segment Ends, all players must reveal their Senate Cards.

The Black Cards

During the Consul Segment, unlucky players may draw, or have been traded (as a Rider Card) one or more of the 'Black Cards' from the Senate Deck. If the consul segment ends, and a player ends up with one or more of these cards, the following happens:

Scandal

If the Consul Segment ends, and you are stuck with the Scandal card, you may not play any Mission Cards in the following 'Mission Segment'. Reshuffle the Scandal Card back into the Senate Deck.

The Ill Reputation Card

If the Consul Segment ends and you are stuck with the Ill Reputation Card, you must immediately discard all your Senate Cards and reshuffle them back into the Senate Deck.

BOTH the Scandal and the Ill Reputation Cards

Should the Consul Segment end, and you possess BOTH these cards -- you assassinate the Consul, and YOU become Consul (take the Consul Marker from the player that declared Consul). Reshuffle both cards back into the Senate Deck.

The Planned Information Leak

This card acts as a wild card providing '1' support to any Lobby Bloc. If, however, you have the Scandal or the Ill Reputation Card after the Consul Segment has ended, you may use the 'Planned Information Leak' to cancel the effects of either the 'Scandal' or the 'Ill Reputation' card. Reshuffle the cards back into the Senate Deck.

Mission Segment

Immediately after the Consul has been determined, players begin the Mission Phase. The primary activity of this segment is the playing of various Mission Cards. It is during this segment that players can play the important 'Initiative' cards that they need to gain Victory points.

If the order of card play makes a difference, players play cards in order of Priority (see the "Priority" insert). Once all players have had a chance to play a card, each has the chance to play another card, and so on. This sequence continues until all players, starting with the Consul, have passed. Generally, however, order doesn't much matter, so to speed play, players can all play their cards at the same time, announcing them as they're played.

When Mission Cards call for the play of Senate Cards as part of their Requirements, the Senate Cards are discarded as the Mission Card is played and reshuffled back into the Senate Deck.

Discard Segment

Once the Mission Segment is over, each player must discard Senate Cards until he has three or fewer cards in his hand. Players who already have three or fewer cards need not discard more, unless for some reason they wish to do so.

Optional Rules for the Consul Segment

Optional Rule 1: Astute players will note that the requirement that all players raise their hands before cards can be drawn allows any player to hold the game up while he fiddles around with just about anything. Your group may rule that when all players but one raise their hands, cards are drawn, since the last player won't have anyone to trade with, anyway.

Optional Rule 2: Sometimes players will acquire a particular set of Senate Cards intending to use them to play a certain Mission Card, and not want to continue drawing from the Senate Deck throughout the rest of the Consul Segment for fear of getting Scandal or Ill Reputation. Thus, as an optional rule, any player may withdraw from the Consul Segment at any time, forfeiting further opportunity to trade Senate Cards this Game Turn, but not having to draw any additional Senate Cards, either.

Optional Rule 3: Rather than trading in the manner described above, players can agree to use an alternate method. In this method, a player simply places one or two cards in his hand and silently holds them out to any other player, face down. The other player can respond either by refusing or silently handing the same number of cards back to the first player. This method tends to make the Consul Segment more fast-paced, but sometimes makes it difficult for players to acquire cards that allow them to play some of the more difficult Initiative Cards.

Priority

At several points during the Game Turn, it is important to know which player performs a given action first. Whenever Priority is mentioned, it is understood that the Consul acts first. The Consul is followed by the player with the lowest total Victory Value from Locations, followed by the player with the next lowest Victory Value from Locations, and so on, until each player has been addressed.

This is also usually a good time to shuffle the Senate Deck, so that a good re-shuffle is not forgotten before the players begin drawing cards in the next Game Turn.

Action Phase

During this Phase, each player in turn moves all of the units on Thunder's Edge he wishes to move, and then launches any attacks he wants to launch. A player moves and then attacks; both parts form a 'Player Action Segment'. Each player has only one Player Action Segment; when all players have finished their Player Action Segments, the Action Phase is over.

Player Action Segments occur in Priority order, with a twist: each player, when his Priority comes up, may elect to pass for the time being. Thus, if the Consul doesn't want to have his Player Action Segment first, he can allow the next player in Priority order to go, and so on, until, if all players pass, the player who is last in Priority order must go. Once any player's Player Action Segment is finished, the option to go or pass starts over (though players who have already gone aren't offered an opportunity to go again).

Example: Imagine a five-player game between Andi, Bertha, Christine, Denise, and Ethel. Andi is Consul this Game Turn, Bertha controls the smallest Victory Value worth of cities, Christine controls the second-smallest, Denise controls the third-smallest, and Ethel controls the largest. First, Andi chooses whether to go. She decides not to, and the option passes to Bertha, who elects to move now. Once Bertha has finished her Player Action Segment, it is Andi's option again. She passes again, and now it's Christine's turn to go or pass, because although Bertha comes after Andi in Priority order, she's already gone). Christine doesn't want to move yet, and neither does Denise, so Ethel is forced to go. Once she's done, the option returns to Andi, and so on, until all players have acted.

Player Action Segments

Each player's Action Segment consists of two parts: movement and combat.

Movement

During the movement portion of the Player Action Segment, each of the player's units that is already on Thunder's Edge can move into or through a number of areas equal to its Movement Value. Remember that Locations and their surrounding terrain count as two separate areas for the purposes of movement. See Diagram D for some examples of legal movement. A player must have finished all his movement before any combat is declared; declaring any combat is a de facto declaration that a player has finished moving.

There are a number of additional rules governing movement.

1. No player may move his counters into an area that is occupied by units controlled by a faction other than his own. The only exception is that units can be moved through areas controlled by allied units, but even if they do, they are not allowed to end their movement so that units of different factions would occupy the same area.

2. Any unit that enters a Mountain or Volcanic hex must stop its movement immediately; it is finished moving for the turn.

3. Any Conventional Forces counter that enters a Volcanic hex is destroyed immediately.

4. No units may end its movement so that more than five units exist in the same area or Location. If this ever happens, excess counters must be removed from play by their controller.

Diagram D: Legal Movement. During his turn the red player moves the following: 1) The Menace Unit from the clear area moves '2' into the badlands area two hexes away. 2) His Walker in the clear area moves '2' into the "High Cliff" location. 3) His Obliterator in the clear area moves '1' into Centor.

Declare Combat

Combat is declared using the Attack Arrow counters. Once a player is done moving, he places these counters to indicate each battle that he plans to fight before the end of his Player Action Segment.

The Attack Arrows are simply placed so they point from attacking units' origin area (or Location) to the adjacent area (or Location) that is the target of their attack. These are called the origin hex and the primary attack hex, respectively. Note that there can be more than one origin hex in a given combat; players can (and should) attack a single primary attack hex from different origin hexes simultaneously to maximize their attack 'punch'.

(See the back of the Thunder's Edge box for a sample of how Attack and Breakthrough Arrows are placed)

The only complication to the arrow-placing is that potential Breakthrough combat (in the form of red Breakthrough Arrows) must also be indicated or the opportunity for Breakthrough combat is lost. Any attack that involves units with the Breakthrough ability - that is, Walkers and Menaces - can have one Breakthrough arrow. The Breakthrough arrow must point from the primary attack hex at any one adjacent area (Location in the primary attack hex, or adjacent hex). This hex is called the Breakthrough hex. If the first attack succeeds in wiping out the opposition in the primary attack hex, a secondary Breakthrough combat is immediately launched against the Breakthrough hex (see later).

A player must lay down arrows for all of the primary and Breakthrough attacks he wishes to make in a given turn before any of them are resolved. Any player who begins the process of combat resolution has made a de facto declaration that he doesn't want to declare any additional combat.

Example: On the back of the box, Red Military units from the Clear and Mountain hexes have declared an attack against the Badlands hex containing three Yellow Menace units. In addition, Red player has declared a Breakthrough attack against the Baker's Crevice Location, defended by a single Yellow Obliterator.

Note: A primary attack hex must contain enemy defending units (you can't declare combat against an empty area or Location), but a Breakthrough Combat can be declared against any area/Location -- even if it contains no enemy units.

Attack Resolution

Combats can be resolved in any order the active player chooses, though Breakthrough combat resulting from a primary attack must be resolved before a new primary attack can begin.

Once a combat begins, the procedure for resolving the combat occurs in the following order:

1. ATTACKER (+ ALLIES) DECLARE ARTILLERY SUPPORT
2. DEFENDER (+ ALLIES) DECLARE ARTILLERY SUPPORT
3. DEFENSIVE COMBAT ROLL
4. OFFENSIVE COMBAT ROLL
5. REMOVE CASUALTIES
6. ADVANCE
7. BREAKTHROUGH COMBAT (IF ANY)

1) & 2) Declare Artillery

Players and their allies declare any Artillery support (see the 'Artillery' insert). For each artillery unit in support, the player (defending or attacking) receives an additional die in their Combat Roll.

3) Defensive Combat

The Defending player must now calculate his Defense Strength. Defense Strength is equal to the combined value of his Military Units' Defense Value (for those units in the area being attacked, of course), plus any Artillery Support, plus any modifiers for a Fortification. (NOTE: Defense Value derived from Locations does NOT count towards this number, but Fortifications do).

Example: A player is being attacked in the Badlands, in a hex that contains 3 Menace Units, one Fortification, and the player has allocated one Artillery Unit as defense support. The Defense Value is therefore '9' (6 for the combined Defense Value of the three Menace Units, 2 for the Fortification, and 1 for the Artillery).

After the player has calculated his Defense Strength, he rolls a number of 6-sided dice equal to that number.

For every result of '6' (or higher) the attacker must IMMEDIATELY remove an attacking unit of his (the attacker) choice. All units in a primary attack hex are considered 'attackers'. For every result of '5', the Attacker must remove one unit during the 'Remove Casualties' segment later during the combat round. Results of 1 through 4 are 'misses'.

Example: The defending player rolls 9 dice and scores the following: 6, 6, 5, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1. The attacker must immediately remove two attacking units, and must remove one additional attacking unit later during the 'remove casualties' segment.

4) Offensive Combat

After the attacker has removed any casualties inflicted by '6' results from the Defensive Combat Roll, the attacker calculates his 'Attack Strength' and rolls that many six-sided dice. Any results of a '5' or a '6' causes one 'hit' on the defender.

The Attack Strength is equal to the combined Attack Value of all attacking units, plus any Artillery support.

Example: After the defense roll (where the defender rolled two '6's) the attacker has removed two conventional forces. Now the remaining attack force is comprised of 1 Obliterator unit, two Menace units, one Walker Unit, and two Artillery Support. Thus the total Attack Strength of the attacker is '12' (4 for the Obliterator, 4 for the combined Attack Value of the two Menace units, 2 for the Walker, and 2 for the two supporting Artillery units).

5) Remove Casualties

Now the attacking player removes one attacking unit for each '5' result that the defender rolled on his Defensive Roll.

Artillery

Artillery units can supply support to attacks and defenses up to two areas away from their location. On the back of the Thunder's Edge Box, the red Artillery unit is able to provide one support to the declared battle (which is two areas away) but is out of range to support the potential Breakthrough combat.

An Artillery unit can only provide Support ONCE during a whole Action Phase. So if you use its ability for an attack, you cannot use the Artillery for additional attacks, nor for defensive support later on during the current Action Phase.

Artillery cannot 'fire' into an area that is not under attack, and cannot provide defensive support to its own area. (An Artillery unit under attack, however, does provide a '1' Defensive Value, and can be removed as a defensive casualty -- even if the Artillery unit has provided support earlier in the current Action Phase).

An Artillery Unit cannot declare an attack by itself.

The defender must remove one defending unit for each 'hit' that the attacker scored with his Attack Roll LESS any Defensive Value from a Location and/or Fortification.

Location and Fortification Defense Value

Each Location has an built in 'defense value' printed on the left (red) circle of the Location (and the lower left hand number on the specific location card). This Defense Value is subtracted from the attackers number of 'hits' before the Defender has to remove any units.

If the defending area is not a location, but still contains a Fortification, its defense value is '2'. (Thus the defender subtracts 2 'hits' before removing casualties).

Example: The Centor Location (with Defense Value '3') is under attack. The attacker scores 4 hits with his Attack Roll. The Defense Value of the Location is subtracted from the 'hit' count to measure how many units the defender must remove from the board. 4 Hits minus 3 in Defense Value equals 1. The Defender must remove one unit from the Location under attack.

Note: It is possible to build a Fortification on a Location. In this case 2 is added to the Defense Value of the Location. Centor, for example, would have a '5' in Defense Value if a Fortification was built there.

Note: Fortifications add 2 to the Defense Value of a Location, AND add two dice to the Defense Roll. The Defense Value of a Location does not add any dice to the Defense Roll.

6) Advance

If all defenders were eliminated from the area being attacked, the attacker may move up to five units from the origin hex(es) into the contested area. If the attacker placed a 'Breakthrough' Arrow, he must, if possible, advance at least one unit with Breakthrough capability into the newly conquered area.

IMPORTANT NOTE: There is only one combat round in TE. If all the defending units are not destroyed in combat, the attacker cannot advance, and must wait until the next round before he can attack again. Also note that if the Attacker could not advance after the primary combat, there is no Breakthrough Combat.

7) Breakthrough Combat

If an attacker has declared a Breakthrough Combat, he must, if at all possible, attack the Breakthrough Hex with one or more units with the Breakthrough capability (Menace and Walker Units).

Breakthrough combat is executed exactly like regular combat with the following exceptions:

• There is no additional Breakthrough Combat Segment after a Breakthrough combat (you cannot Breakthrough a Breakthrough).
• Attacker's casualties from Breakthrough Combat can only be taken from the units that actually participated in the Breakthrough attack. In addition, only units that participated in the Breakthrough attack may advance into an area devoid of defenders after the Breakthrough combat.

Example: Ben has attacked and defeated a defended area. Ben advances three Menace Units and two Conventional Forces into the contested area during the 'Advance' segment of the Combat. Ben also had declared a Breakthrough attack into a hex adjacent to the primary attack hex. Ben must now attack the declared Breakthrough hex with one or more units capable of Breakthrough combat. Ben decides to attack with all of his three Menace Units. During the Breakthrough combat, Ben loses one of his Menace units, but completely destroys the enemy. Ben advances his two Menace units into the Breakthrough hex. This combat is now over.

After a combat (and any Breakthrough combat) is finished, the player moves on to the next declared combat. If that player has no more declared combats, his Action Phase is over. Remove all Battle and Breakthrough Arrow Counters.

Sieges

Attacks against Locations can be especially difficult because of high Defense Values (Some locations can have Defense Values up to '5' -- Centor with a Fortification, for example). Players have another option rather than attacking: laying siege.

A player who, before the beginning of his Player Action Segment, controlled the area surrounding a Location, may, during the 'Movement' segment of his Action Phase, declare that the Location is under siege. Instead of attacking the Location, place a Siege Counter on it.

If, at the end of the entire next Game Turn's Action Phase (after all players have moved), the besieging player still controls the area surrounding the besieged Location, and has maintained control of it through the intervening time, all of the counters in the besieged Location are destroyed and the besieging player gains control of the city. (The new controller should place a Control Marker there.)

Locations that are under siege do not produce Resources as normal during the Reinforcements Phase, though they are still added to a player's total for purposes of determining who will get the Bishop's Grant, and they do provide their controller with Victory Points.

Reinforcements Phase

The Reinforcements Phase is simple, and all players can conduct both Segments of the Phase (the Resource Segment and the Purchase Segment) simultaneously (though all players should be done with the Resources Segment before any of them move on to the Purchase Segment).

Resources Segment

During the Resources Segment, each player collects a number of Credits equal to the combined Resource values of the Locations he controls. Some players may also get Credits from other sources, like cards or Off World Locations. These are also collected at this time.

Player should adjust their stockpiles on their individual player sheets to reflect their increase of Credits.

Example: A player controls Centor (resource value of 8), Petersburg (Resource Value of 5), and Stalker's Reach (Resource Value of 2). His total Resource income is 15 Credits.

The Bishops Grant

Finally, during each Resources Segment, the Bishop's Grant - a boon of five Credits - is given to the player whose controlled Locations on Thunder's Edge (and no other sources) produce the lowest income. In the event of a tie, the Bishop's Grant is split as evenly as possible between those players who are tied, with remainders not being awarded. (So, for example, two tied players would each receive two Credits.)

Purchase Segment

During the Purchase Segment, each player secretly spends his Credits to purchase new units, Fortifications, Landing Areas, and so on.

Military units that are purchased are placed face down in the Transit box on the Reinforcements Track. Other counters - Landing Areas and Fortifications - are placed directly on Thunder's Edge. These may only be placed in areas where the building player already has at least one unit present. Recall that building a Fortification also requires the sacrifice of a Conventional Force in the area where the Fortification is being built. A player may not sacrifice the last unit in an area to build a Fortification.

Each player also has one other option during the Purchase Segment. Each player may purchase one unit (and only one unit) and secretly place it face down on any single Off World Location. These units will contribute their cost as a number of Control Points to control those Locations at the end of the game. (They do not contribute their cost to determine control during the game, only at the end, when Victory Points are being tallied.) Players should, of course, note that any units placed in this way are unavailable for purchase for the rest of the game.

Drop Phase

Player Drop Segments occur in Priority order in the same manner as Player Action Segments. That is, each player may take his turn or pass and go later, just like in the Player Action Phase.

Player Drop Segments

When a player's Drop Segment begins, he takes all of his own counters from the Orbit box of the Reinforcements Track. He then begins to place them on the board. The following restrictions are observed with respect to placed counters.

• No units can ever be dropped onto Locations (that is, Population Centers, Refineries, and Outposts).
• A player is limited to dropping one unit per area, unless an area contains a Landing Zone, in which case he can drop up to three units in that area.
• No unit can be dropped onto a hex occupied by units of another faction. They can, however, be dropped onto hexes controlled by other factions but which are not occupied by that faction's units.
• Units may never be dropped so that an area would have more than five units in it.

A player is not required to drop all of his units that are present in the Orbit box. In some cases, he may not be able to drop them all. Any units that are not dropped, for whatever reason, are returned to the Orbit box, to be dropped in a later turn.

Ending the Game

The game is over immediately when any game ending condition is met. There are two ways this can happen. 1) If a player controls Centor and three other Population Centers that player immediately wins the game. 2) The Tension counter on the Tension Track reaches 30. When this happens, the game is over and players calculate their Victory Points to determine who has won.

Before the final calculation can be made, final control of each Off World Location is determined. To do this, each face down counter on each Off World Location is turned up. Control of each Off World Location goes to the player that has the most Control Points there. For this end-game control, though, each formerly face down unit contributes its cost in Control Points, in addition to Strength cards that are present.

Once that's done, each player's Victory Value is figured according to the following formula:

Victory Value =

• Victory Values of controlled Locations
• + Victory Values of controlled Off World Locations
• + Victory Values of all Consul Counters possessed
• + Victory Values of all played Initiative Cards.

The player with the highest sum is the winner. Bing! He doesn't have to help clean up unless he wants to.

Diplomacy and Trading

Diplomacy and trading are encouraged in Thunder's Edge. They make the game more fun and help skillful players improve their chances of winning.

Diplomacy and table-talk are always permissible. Players can discuss their plans, cajole their opponents and allies, make threats, and so forth. The only thing that's not kosher is to use out-of-game leverage on your opponents, so please don't threaten to burn down your friend's apartment if he won't turn control of Centor over to you.

Trading of many game components is allowable. Players may always trade Mission Cards, control of unoccupied areas, and Credits with one another simultaneously and at will. They may not trade military units. They may not trade Senate Cards outside the normal procedures for doing so during the Consul Segment.

Players may also trade promises, (the promise to vacate a certain area, for example) but no player is obliged to do anything in the future, even if he gives his word that he will. For example, a player may agree to give another player five Credits next turn in exchange for three Credits now. When next turn arrives, the first player may choose whether or not to actually fork over the five Credits, and the second player will have no recourse, since the three Credits have already been handed over.

Turn Sequence Reference

The following is the Thunder's Edge Turn Sequence reference card printed in the rules.

1. Status Phase
   • Increase Tension Level (Advance Tension Marker by 2)
   • Draw Mission Cards (All players draw one Mission Card, and may buy one extra Mission Card for 5 Credits)
   • Transit (Advance all units in the 'Transit' box to the 'Orbit' box)
2. Senate Phase
   • Consul Segment (Player trade and draw Senate Cards until one player declares Consul)
   • Play Mission Cards (Most Mission Cards may be played)
   • Discard Segment (All players discard down to 3 Senate Cards)
3. Action Phase
   • Player Action Segments (Players, one at a time 1) move, 2) declare battles, and 3) execute combat)
4. Reinforcements Phase
   • Resources Segment (Players collect credits)
   • Purchase Phase (Players purchase new Units)
5. Drop Phase
   • Player Drop Segments (Players 'drop' units from the 'Orbit' box onto Thunder's Edge)

Unit Reference

The following is the Thunder's Edge Unit Reference card printed in the rules.

UNIT	ATTACK	DEFENSE	MOVE	COST	SPECIAL
Conventional Force	1	2	2	1	-
Walker Squadron	2	1	2	2	Breakthrough
Menace Squadron	2	2	2	3	Breakthrough
Obliterator Squadron	4	1	1	4	-
Artillery

Rulebook Notes

Transcription notes: the printed "Questions?" mailing block, the credits and copyright/trademark notices, and the closing Federation of Sol story blurb and Twilight Imperium advertisement have been omitted as non-rules material. The source scan has no page numbers and the Diagram A to C illustrations are described by their printed captions and rules text only.