FAQ

A. The first thing to do is read the rule carefully. It is usually meant to be taken pretty literally.

If that doesn’t help, try to consider the general tone of the game and adopt the answer that seems to make the most sense. If something seems like an obvious exploit, it likely is. Of course if everything else fails, you can email Ivan at nordicweaselgames@icloud.com and get an answer!

A. A typical starting crew is 6 characters, though there are options to play with a crew of only 4 or 5. You will typically face 5-8 enemy figures. As there are so many different enemy types, it would take a long time to collect and model all of them. I suggest starting with three general sets of figures: 8 or so figures suitable for criminals, 8 futuristic soldiers and 8 alien bug things. Then recycle those as you need.

A. The main tokens are to track which figures are Stunned and which figures have already been Activated (if you are prone to forgetting, like me!). You will also need a way to mark mission objectives and Notable Sights.

A. The game plays great in a 3x3 foot space and is playable down to a 2x2 foot space.The main tokens are to track which figures are Stunned and which figures have already been Activated (if you are prone to forgetting, like me!). You will also need a way to mark mission objectives and Notable Sights.

A. With a bit of experience, you should be able to conduct all of the campaign activities, play a tabletop battle and conduct your post-game rolls in about an hour or so. The first couple of games will be a little slower of course, while you are still learning.

A: A campaign can be as long or as short as you like. The rulebook offers a number of goals you can set for yourself if you like.

A: No, you use the highest bonus. (p.45 Add +2 if carrying a Melee weapon OR +1 if carrying a Pistol weapon) - Emphasis mine

Note that as written you can strike with any Melee or Pistol weapon carried. I suggest house-ruling that the strike must be carried out with the weapon bonus you used (i.e. if you used the +2 bonus from a Melee weapon, you must strike with the Melee weapon)

A. Yes

A: Resolve shots one at a time. Once Luck would trigger, move the character as per the Luck rule. If the enemy can still see them, they can shoot at them again with their remaining shots.

A: Specialists and Lieutenants are part of the total enemy number, not additional figures. For example if I encounter 6 villains, there'd be 4 basic opponents, 1 specialist and 1 lieutenant. Unique Individuals are added to the number encountered.

A: The first three Unique Individuals on the table (Enemy Bruiser, Enemy Heavy, Enemy Boss) use the base profile of the enemy type you are fight with a boost. For the rest, the table starting on p.105 lists their full profile.

A: While each side is assigned to a specific table edge, you are not forced to set up within a certain distance from that edge. This is important because player table sizes can vary.

Set up the enemy forces where it makes the most visual sense on their half of the table. When you set up, your forces cannot be within 18’ of the enemy.
An easy way of doing this quickly is to measure out an 18” “neutral zone” in the middle of the table and then setting up on each side of that.

A: If you do not currently have an active Quest, Rumors are added to the roll in the "Resolve any Rumors" stage before a battle. This increases your chance of finding a Quest. Once you find a Quest, your Rumors are set to 0. If you have an active Quest, all Rumors are assumed to be pertaining to the quest you are currently on. Each rumor adds +1 to the "Determine Quest Progress" roll in the post-battle sequence, meaning they increase your chances of finding the final battle. Once you finish the Quest, your Rumors are set back to 0.

A: If you begin the game with a Patron, they will automatically offer you a job in the first turn of the campaign. Afterwards they add a bonus when taking the “Find a Patron” campaign action.

A: Any Patron you either began the game with or which you have completed a job for is added to your list of contacts on that world. When you take the “Find a Patron” campaign action, you are seeing if there are any jobs available. For every Patron you know as a contact you get to add +1 to the roll, representing one of your old employers having something new they need done.

A: Benefits are rolled when the Patron is first acquired and will never change. All other factors are specific to the job on offer and are rolled each time.

A: As written yes. If you have nothing else going on, you would fight an Opportunity Mission. If you want to lay low, you can borrow the rule from Five Leagues and pay 1D6 Credits to spend another turn in port.

A: Yes, but the crew size you selected for the campaign is the cap to how many you can bring into a battle. So if you are playing a "4 crew" campaign and have 6 characters currently, you'd have to pick 2 to stay behind.

A: Up to you. I'd pay a Story Point to do so.

A: The species profile in the character creation chapter should always be the correct version.

A: When rolling for exploration etc. events that do not affect Soulless generally do not affect Bots either. Apply your common sense here.

A: To avoid things getting out of hand, the duplicator copies ONE item. So a modded gun will produce either a gun or a mod, not a modded gun. Sorry.

A: It means they cannot be fitted to grenades or other disposable weapons (however much as a grenade with a laser sight seems appealing)

A: First resolve all Shots in the weapon profile (2) against the selected target (Focus). Then resolve 1 Shot against each target within 2" (Area). A keen-eyed observer notes that technically the Area weapon rule already does this, without the need for the Focus trait.

A: No, you can target a spot on the ground. In this case, any Shots from the weapon profile are wasted but you get to resolve the bonus shots from the Area trait normally.

A: No, it happens as a free action. Roll at any point while you are carrying out your crew actions.

A: A terrain feature within roughly one move. The idea is that the defensive AI will view nearby characters as supporting the feature with counter attacks.

A: It should read Rampaging AI.

A: Yes, whether due to motion scanners, psionic detection, pheromone tracers or that one guy in your squad that keeps eating snacks on mission, the enemy is always assumed to be aware of your positions. Future expansions will add stealth missions.

A: Soulless emulate a personality in order for organic creatures to be more comfortable around them, but they all tend to be fairly similar. Bots are programmed with emotional emulation systems fitting their role.

A: They are completely synthetic. A “snapshot” of a personality unit is downloaded into a physical shell to fit the task the collective mind has intended for it. In human space, these shells are typically humanoid to ease interaction.

A: When out of range (which will be any player character) the Soulless are not in touch with their overmind. Upon returning to a ship or colony, they reconnect, any experiences are assessed by the collective and any updates to behavior are installed. Adventuring Soulless do develop quirks of personality from errors in the code. Potentially a Soulless could develop a quirk to “go rogue” though this would be very rare.

A: Precursors, Ferals and K’Erin display the same range of gender characteristics as humans do. Swift lack any such identification.

A: Yes, it is one of the Core worlds though by Unity regulations, it holds no specific significance.

A: Roughly 500 years in the future.

A: Fully enclosed helmets, Uniforms and armor should be black or dark grey mixed with red. For example, black armor over red uniforms.