Setup

Board Setup

  • Initiative to random player
  • Action cards 2-6 (1-7 in 4p)
    • (Campaign) Add 2 Event cards (3 in 4p)
  • Court row (Vox/Guild) of 4 cards (3 in 2p)
    • (Campaign) Use “CC” Vox/Guild cards, add 1 Lore per player
    • (Campaign) Imperial Council “In Session” as leftmost Court card.
  • (Campaign) Rules Booklet
    • (2p) Guild Envoys Depart in first slot
    • Govern the Imperial Reach (3x), shuffle into first available slot.
  • (Base/Leaders) Draw a setup card based on player count, mark out-of-play clusters.
    • (2 Players): Place resource tokens matching out-of-play planets in ambition boxes.
  • (Campaign) Instead of setup card, roll number die: this and successor cluster are Imperial.
    • (2p): Imperial cluster resources to ambitions
    • Place 1 Imperial ship in each Imperial system.
    • Place 1 damaged Blight in each non-Imperial system.
    • Roll Event die: place 1 Free City on each matching non-Imperial system.

Player Setup

  • (Base Game) A: 3 ships 1 city, B: 3 ships 1 starport, C: 2 ships. Resources from A/B systems.
  • (Leaders and Lore)
    • Lay out P+1 Leader and Lore cards
    • In reverse turn order, choose cards until all players have one of each
    • Starting pieces/resources as shown on Leader card
  • (Campaign), Act 1
    • Draw 2 “A” Fates, simultaneously choose and reveal.
    • Set up based on objective card.
    • Objective marker per Fate, counts down.
    • Each player starts as Regent, First Regent based on setup or goes to player with initiative.
    • In turn order: 3 ships + 1 building at a planet with an Imperial ship, gain that resource.
    • In reverse order: repeat.
    • Free Cities to all empty Imperial planet building slots.

(Campaign) Intermission

  • Resolve Resolution card for Fates, in turn order.
    • Failed objectives lose power equal to objective marker
  • Clear court - discard pile is scrapped
  • Clear trophies/captives, frozen resources, imperial trust, (2p) resources from ambitions.
  • Repair all damaged blight.
  • Destroy all damaged ships, buildings, flagship upgrades/armor.
  • Destroy all buildings in systems with blight and no ships.
  • Give initiative to player with most power.
  • Each player with 1+ power loses half, rounded down. (eg. 15 power, lose 7)
  • Choose Fate
    • Finishing Act 1, draw “B” Fates. Act 2, draw “C”.
    • Completed objective: draw 1 to current fate. Failed objective: draw 2 fresh.
    • Simultaneously choose and reveal.
    • If choosing new Fate, return current Fate to box, scrap remainder (but keep anything in play). Return all favours, take new Fate set.
  • Pack up or Next Act? (See rulebook)

(Campaign) Act 2-3

  • Start with lowest-power Ambition marker (Act 3: lowest two) flipped to start.
  • Imperial Council is “In Session”
  • Add 1 damaged blight on each gate with no blight and no ships
  • Roll event die. In each cluster, if marked planet has
    • no blight: add 1 damaged blight
    • blight: add 1 damaged blight at each planet in cluster with no blight
  • (2p): Roll number die twice, resources to ambitions
  • Player setup per objective card. Players may rearrange resource tokens.

Chapters

  • Shuffle action cards, deal 6 cards each (2p: player without initiative may mulligan). Remainder discarded facedown.
  • Play rounds until all players are out of cards.
  • Score Ambitions
    • Tie for 1st: all tied score 2nd. Tie for 2nd: nothing
    • Bonus city power if in first (not tied)
    • (2p) Count resources on ambitions as a 3rd player
  • Clean Up: return trophies/captives if warlord/tyrant scored.
  • Flip lowest-power ambition marker.
  • End game if any player has 27/30/33 power, or chapter 5.

Rounds

  • Player with initiative Leads a card, or passes initiative.
    • Pass: initiative marker to the left, next player with cards, start a new Round. If everyone passes, end chapter.
  • After leader’s turn, other players take a turn in turn order.
  • Check initiative: goes to player who Seized, or player who Surpassed with highest card.

Turns

  • Play an action card.
  • Declare an Ambition (optional, leader).
  • Seize the Initiative (optional): play an extra card face down. Playing a faceup 7 automatically seizes. Can only be seized once per round.
  • Prelude actions: spend a resource, or activate a guild card.
  • Take actions from action card:
    • Lead: One action per pip.
    • Surpass: Higher than lead in same suit: One action per pip.
    • Copy: (Facedown) one action from lead card.
    • Pivot: (Offsuit) one action from your card.
    • Event: (Campaign) take actions as lead card, or nothing if subsequent/council secured.

Actions

Basic

  • Tax: Gain 1 resource at a Loyal or Controlled city.
    • Taxing Rival captures an agent.
    • City can be taxed once per turn.
  • Build
    • Starport or City in an empty slot in a system with a loyal piece.
    • Ship at a loyal starport. Starport can build once per turn.
    • Building in a system controlled by another, piece enters play damaged.
  • Move
    • Any number of loyal ships to an adjacent system.
    • Catapult move from loyal starport, move until you reach a planet or system controlled by another. Can drop off on the way.
  • Repair: 1 loyal ship or building anywhere, from damaged to fresh.
  • Influence: Place 1 agent on any Court card.
  • Secure: Take a card from Court if you have more agents than all other players.
    • Return your agents, capture rival agents.
    • Resolve “When Secured” action.
    • Draw a replacement immediately.
  • Battle
    • Choose battle system, your ships there are the attacking ships.
    • Choose defender, a rival in the system, these are the defending pieces.
    • Collect dice: 1 per attacking ship, Raid dice only if defending buildings or defender has no buildings in play.
    • Roll and resolve dice:
      • Hit your ships 1/flame
      • Hit your ships 1/fresh defending ship, if any intercepts
      • Hit defending ships 1/blast (hit buildings if out of ships)
      • Hit defending buildings 1/blast triangle
      • Raid resources and cards per raid key
    • Hitting fresh ships damage them, hitting damaged ships destroys them (move to opposing player’s Trophies).
    • Destroying cities:
      • Provoke Outrage (discard matching resources/guild cards, place an agent to cover Outrage icon, can no longer use for prelude actions)
      • Ransack Court (secure any card with any number of defender’s agents, take all rival agents as Trophies, not Captives)

        Prelude

  • Material: Build/Repair
  • Fuel: Move
  • Weapon: This turn, Battle from action card actions
  • Relic: Secure
  • Psionic: an action listed on lead card
  • Return resources spent in Prelude to supply at end of prelude.
  • Cannot use Court card prelude actions the same turn you secure them.

    Guild Cards

  • Cards may grant new actions: An action lists the name of a standard action in parens, you may take this action instead of that standard action.

Campaign

  • Lasts three Acts. Acts have 3/3/4 chapters.
  • Do not end Acts early, ignore victory thresholds on power track.
  • (Act 1-2) Fate has an Objective, and tells you how to advance (down) your objective token.
  • Between Acts there’s an intermission, which gives a bonus for completing your objective. You might choose a new Fate.
  • (Act 3) “A” and “B” Fates give two Grand Ambitions, which grant more power at the end of each chapter as marked - lower value fulfilling one, higher value fulfilling both.
  • (Act 3) “C” Fates have a Final Objective, you win the game at end of a chapter if you complete it and have at least 1 Power.
    • You can still win by simply having the most power.
  • Fates also add many cards to the Rules Booklet. Use one side for Edicts, another for Laws and Summits.

New Rules

  • Some guild cards are Protected (X), cannot be removed from holders play area unless they Provoke Outrage.
  • Court cards can attach a second card above existing cards.
    • When securing a card, secure its attached card.
    • When force attaching, if unable to fulfill all requirements, still attach ignoring fewest requirements to attach it.
    • If a card is removed and has an attached, refill court by sliding down the attached card.
  • Frozen resources cannot be spent, given, or discarded, except as described.
    • But they can be stolen!
    • When counting, count everything in your play area.
  • Harm
    • choosing as defender in battle, damaging, destroying, or hitting.
  • Tokens, added by Fates
    • By default, cannot be harmed.
    • By default, not Loyal.

      The Empire

  • Players start as Regent to the Empire.
  • One Regent is First Regent, and holds Imperial Trust.
  • A Regent can become an Outlaw by calling a Summit.
  • Control: The Empire controls all systems with at least one fresh imperial ship.
    • The First Regent controls all Imperial systems for ambitions, objectives, events.
  • Presence Law: On Regent’s turn, they control Imperial systems with Loyal pieces present, may take actions with Imperial ships.
    • If a rule lets you ignore Presence Law, you Command the entire Imperial Fleet.
  • Movement Law: Regents can only move 1 Imperial ship for each Loyal ship moving along.
  • Truce Law: Regents cannot harm Imperial ships (except when attacking), and cannot harm or tax Rival Regents in Imperial systems.
    • Regent attacking may add Imperial ships.
    • Regent defending must add Imperial ships.
    • Outlaws may attack Empire alone, First Regent collects Outlaw Trophies.
  • Free States
    • You may tax/build ships/catapult move/repair in systems you control.
    • Attacking: all free buildings in system are defending. Take as trophies when destroyed. Raid for exactly 1 resource of planet type for 1 key.
    • Unlimited supply, if not enough tokens use a proxy.
  • Imperial Trust
    • Held by First Regent
    • Resources are Frozen (can’t be raided/spent/given, but count for ambitions)
    • Emptied during intermission.

Blight

  • Blight is Tough, requires two hits to damage/destroy.
  • Blight is hit on blast, but not blast+triangle. Blight does not intercept.
  • Blight stops Catapult moves.
  • If adding Blight and supply is empty, take from player with most Blight trophies.

Events

  • Trigger at end of round.
  • If Imperial Council was secured this round, the Securing player:
    • may call a Summit
    • if Regent, take First Regent
    • if Outlaw, steal resources from Imperial Trust, First Regent loses 1 Power for each
    • choose either Crises or Edicts
  • Otherwise, if an Event card was played, just after checking whether initiative changes, the player with initiative:
    • may call a Summit
    • roll event die: blast -> Crises, scroll -> Edicts.

Summit

  • Call to Order - take any number of actions
    • Return Favor to force a Negotiation action targeting you, costs 1 favor
    • Petition the Council back to In Session
    • Leave the Empire
      • If First Regent, give to Regent with most Power.
      • If no Regents, empty Imperial Trust and lose 1 power per resource returned
    • Revive the Empire
      • If no Regents, become a Regent and take First Regent
  • Negotiations - all players take any number of actions, needs consent of affected Rival
    • Cede Control - replace 1 Loyal piece with a Rival’s. Can only cede buildings if no Loyal ship in system, cannot cede last city, starport, or ship on map.
    • Delegate Authority - replace 1 Loyal agent on a court card with a Rival’s.
    • Promise Favor - give a Loyal agent from your supply to a Rival
    • Transfer Asset - give a Captive, Trophy, Favor, or Resource to a Rival
      • forcing a resource transfer costs Favors equal to raid cost
    • Invite to Empire - If you’re first regent, return an Outlaw to Regent

Crises

  • Blight Crises - Blight deals damage in each system, damages Imperial ships first, then damages every player in the system.
  • Fate Crises - resolve in turn order.
  • Court Crises - Roll Event+Number dice unless already rolled to indicate target systems. Resolve left to right, attached first.

Edicts

  • Resolve in order from low to high.
  • Govern the Imperial Reach
    • First Regent must either enforce it, collecting 1 piece from each Regent (if unable take Favor, if unable may make them Outlaw), and then take the Imperial Action or
    • change it, choosing a new edict card to place on top of the other two.

Flagships

  • May be given to you by a Fate
    • Replace all Loyal buildings with same Free buildings
    • Setup as described on back of Flagship board
  • Cannot build cities/starports on may, can build on Flagship as Upgrades and Armor.
  • Can build 1 ship at Flagship per turn.
  • Battle: Collects variable dice, does not intercept by default.
  • Upgrades & Armor
    • To build, must be at a planet of matching type.
    • Must build upgrade before Armor.
    • Can Repair.
    • Cannot tax, use to build ships, or catapult move. Destroying does not Provoke Outrage or Ransack the Court.
    • Cannot cede control in Summits
  • Attacking
    • Armor and Upgrades are hit like ships
    • Armor must be destroyed before Upgrade takes hits.
    • Flagship collects dice up to number of fresh Starports on upgrades and armor.
  • Defending
    • Armor and Upgrades are hit like buildings (must destroy other ships first, can be attacked with Raid dice)
    • Only intercepts with Defence Array upgrade
  • Events
    • When taking hits in Crisis, only takes hits if no other fresh Loyal ships in system, take hits to Armor, right to left, then Upgrades, right to left.
  • Resettling - via “C” Fate
    • Clear flagship board, return to box.
    • Replace Flagship with Loyal ship.
    • Place 1 city and 1 starport in empty buildings on map, if none replace Free buildings.
    • Place ships in systems with Loyal pieces until you have 8 Loyal ships on the map.

Specific Upgrades

  • Ship Crane (M>F): Build up to 2 ships from Flagship
  • Defense Array (W>P): intercepts with fresh Starports
  • Slipstream Drive (F>R): O/T, in Prelude, Catapult flagship alone, or other ships from flagship
  • Control Array (P>M): While in gate, may tax any cities in cluster as if they were Loyal
  • Tractor Beam (R>W): When defending, attacker cannot collect Raid dice
  • Hull (Any>Any): No defined benefit