Full manual text
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
What’s in the Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Act I Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Act II & III Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
The Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Imperial Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
The Free States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Summits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Crises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
The Blight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Edicts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Imperial Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Flagships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
New Rules & Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Intermission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Packing Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
December 18, 2023
The Blighted Reach Expansion
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2 •
Introduction
The galaxy is in crisis. The Empire is crumbling. The Blight is spreading through the Reach, destroying
everything it touches. What is it? What does it want?
Some believe this is the end. Others, just the beginning. In this time of chaos, new movements bloom
loud like desert flowers, promising safety, liberation, communion, or simply the honor of glorious
death in the struggle. What will you promise? What is your Fate?
We strongly recommend you play at least one game of single-session Arcs before the campaign.
All players should be comfy with the base game. Otherwise, expect a long, tedious first game.
What’s in the Box
Fate Cards & Pieces
1 1
Steward
Hold together a fragmenting empire
while navigating fractious court politics.
YOUR PATH TO POWER
I
Assert your authority by winning
ambitions as the First Regent.
II
Extend the Empire’s control and
fill the Imperial Trust.
III
Solidify the Empire’s control over
Outlaw cities and fill the Imperial
Trust as the First Regent.
Complexity:
A
03GUILDF1
Dealmakers
Bargain (Secure): Choose a Court card
that a Rival could secure. They secure it
but return agents they would capture.
You influence once for each agent they
had on the card, then you secure once.
02LOREF1
Bury this if you’re an Outlaw.
You may tax any cities controlled by
the Empire like they are Loyal, ignoring
the Empire’s Presence and Truce Laws.
(Don’t take Captives.)
Imperial Authority
01SETUP SETUPF1
1. Gain Imperial Authority (02)
and Dealmakers
(03).
2. Gain the First Regent tile.
Flip this card over.
Steward - Act I Steward - Act I
FATE (24)
(8 each of A, B, and C)
These tarot-size cards show your
Fate, which can change over time.
FATE SETS
Each Fate has a set of many cards
and pieces you will use in play,
organized as described below.
FATE SET DIVIDERS
Each Fate Set is stored behind
the divider of matching number
as described below.
Player Pieces
Each player has the following pieces. The box contains pieces for 4 players.
UI Layer in Indesign:
UI Graphics for IndesignUI Graphics for Indesign
SLIPSTREAM
DRIVE
DEFENSE
ARRAY
TRACTOR
BEAM
SHIP
CRANE
CONTROL
ARRAY
HULLANY
PLANET ANY
PLANET
FLAGSHIP
Rivals can collect raid
dice in battle if your
Flagship is defending.
In battle, hit pieces here like ships
when attacking and like buildings
when defending. Hit top first.
In battle, your Flagship collects 1 die per
fresh starport on this board. It does not
intercept unless it has a Defense Array!
You may build on here while your
Flagship is at the matching planet. Build
bottom first. You may repair pieces here.
You may build up to 1 ship
per turn in your Flagship’s
system (2 with Ship Crane).
OBJECTIVE MARKER
This shows how close you are to
completing your Fate’s objective.
FLAGSHIP PIECE
Some Fates turn you into a Flagship,
adding this piece to the map.
FLAGSHIP BOARD
Some Fates turn you into a
Flagship, giving you this board.
Stop!
Punch out the 24 Fate Set dividers and put them
in the deep box wells.
Place the small cards for the 24 Fate Sets behind
the dividers of same number. Keep their pieces
in bags by their cards or in a different deep well.
Keep the large Fate cards in the small raised well.
The cards are marked “F” with the Fate Set’s
number in the bottom-left corner.
The pieces are on a punchboard sheet in the
shaded area marked with the divider shape and
the Fate Set’s number.
01SETUP SETUPF1
1. Gain Imperial Authority (02)
and Dealmakers
(03).
2. Gain the First Regent tile.
Flip this card over.
Steward - Act I Steward - Act I
Piece &
Card Counts
3rd
2nd
1st
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
free
1st
5th
W
ideal
3rd
W
ideal
W
ideal
2nd
6th
W
ideal
4th
W
ideal
21 3
Chapter
Act
I & II
Edenguard
20
6 of 7
Front
Blighted Reach
16
1
8
22
22
Card for Fate Set 1Piece for Fate Set 1
Fate Set Number
01SETUP SETUPF1
1. Gain Imperial Authority (02)
and Dealmakers
(03).
2. Gain the First Regent tile.
Flip this card over.
Steward - Act I Steward - Act I
Divider
---
• 3
Other Cards & Sheets
01GUILDCC
Manufacture (Build): Gain 1 Material.
Prelude: You may discard this to gain
Material up to your number of empty
resource slots. If the Material supply
empties, steal the Material instead.
Mining Interest
11VOXCC
Crisis: Return the declared ambition
marker of highest Power to Available
Ambitions.
When Secured: You may declare any
ambition. (An ambition marker must be
Available.) Bury this card.
Populist Demands
!
Event
Mirror Lead, Add Event to Round End
Take actions like the lead
card unless a Rival played
an Event card or secured
the Imperial Council this
round.
You cannot Lead this,
Copy with this, or discard
this to seize the initiative.
At the end of the round,
after checking initiative,
the player with initiative
may call a Summit, then
must roll an event.
: Resolve Crises.
: Resolve Edicts.
If the Imperial Council
was secured this round,
resolve it instead of this.
GUILD (10)
The campaign uses a new Court
deck. These cards are marked
“CC” in their bottom-left corner.
VOX (5)
The campaign uses a new Court
deck. These cards are marked
“CC” in their bottom-left corner.
EVENT (3)
Two or three of these new
action cards are added to the
action deck during setup.
01IMPERIAL COUNCIL
When Secured: Flip this card over to
its Imperial Council Decided side. As
a reminder, tuck it partially under your
played card so its card title is showing.
Imperial Council
in Session
01IMPERIAL COUNCIL
When the round ends, return Imperial
Council Decided to the Court, then:
1. You may call a Summit.
2. If you’re a Regent, become First Regent.
3. If you’re an Outlaw, steal from the First
Regent tile. (See Empire Rules sheet.)
4. You must resolve either Crises or Edicts.
You cannot influence or secure this card.
You may flip this card to In Session if you
call a Summit and Petition the Council.
Imperial Council
Decided
»
02EDICT EDICT
This card is only used in two-player
games.
Bury all Guild cards in the Court with no
agents on them, then refill the Court.
00
Guild Envoys Guild Envoys
Depart Depart
06TITLE TITLE
Tuck this partially under your Fate card.
You must follow the rules for Regents
listed on the Empire Rules aid sheet.
You can become an Outlaw, flipping this
title over, if you call a Summit.
Imperial Imperial
Regent Regent
06TITLE TITLE
Tuck this partially under your Fate card.
You must follow the rules for Outlaws
listed on the Empire Rules aid sheet.
You can become a Regent, flipping this
card over, if the First Regent consents to
it in a Summit.
You can force them to make you a
Regent if you called the Summit and
return 1 Favor of theirs to them.
Outlaw
IMPERIAL COUNCIL
This new card in the Court lets
players take advantage of Imperial
politics. It is marked 01.
EDICT (4)
These are put in the rules booklet
and may resolve during events.
They are marked 02–05.
REGENT/OUTLAW TITLE (4)
Every player starts as an Imperial
Regent and might become an
Outlaw. They are marked 06– 09.
10ABILITY ABILITY
Slipstream Drive
Prelude: Once per turn,
you may Catapult move either your
Flagship alone or other ships
from your Flagship.
Damaged Upgrades still give benefits.
Tractor Beam
When your Flagship is
defending in battle, the
attacker cannot collect raid
dice.
Control Array
While your Flagship is in a
gate, you may tax any cities in
its cluster like they are Loyal.
(Don't take Captives.)
Flagship Upgrades
Graphics for Aid Cards
Graphics for Aid Cards
Graphics for Aid Cards
4 These are put in the rules booklet and may resolve during events They are marked 02 05 REGENT OUTLAW TITLE 4 Every player starts as an Imperial Regent and might become an Outlaw They are marked 06 09 10ABILITY ABILITY Slipstream Drive Prelude Once per turn you may Catapult move either your Flagship alone or other ships from your Flagship Damaged Upgrades still give benefits Tractor Beam When your Flagship is defending in battle the attacker cannot collect raid dice Control Array While your Flagship is in a gate you may tax any cities in its cluster like they are Loyal Don t take Captives Flagship Upgrades Graphics for Aid Cards Graphics for Aid Cards Graphics for Aid Cards
10ABILITY ABILITY
Defense Array
When defending in battle, your
Flagship can intercept, dealing
1 hit for each fresh starport on
your Flagship board.
Ship Crane
Your Flagship may build up to
2 ships per turn, not 1. (You
still must build twice to build
2 ships.)
Hull
This has no special benefit.
It may be hit like any other
Upgrade.
Flagship Upgrades
Graphics for Aid Cards
Damaged Upgrades still give benefits.
Empire Rules
Control & Command
The Empire controls systems with any number of
fresh Imperial ships, ignoring players’ Loyal ships.
The First Regent controls all Empire-controlled
systems for ambitions, objectives, and events.
On a Regent’s turn, they Command the Imperial
Fleet following the Presence Law: In systems with
Loyal pieces, they control the system if it is Empire-
controlled and can take actions with Imperial ships
there—move and repair them, battle with them,
build at them, and tax cities they control.
Movement
Movement Law: Regents can only move 1 Imperial
ship per Loyal ship they move along with them at
the same time to the same system.
Empire control ends Catapult moves of Outlaws.
Regent control ends Catapult moves of Outlaw
pieces and Rival Regent pieces alone.
Outlaw control ends Catapult moves of Regent
and Imperial ships alike.
Battle, Harm, & Taxing
Truce Law: Regents cannot harm Imperial ships
except for hits they take as attacking ships in battle,
and they cannot harm or tax Rival Regents in
systems with Imperial ships.
When a Regent attacks in battle, they may add
Imperial ships in the battle system as attacking ships.
When a Regent defends in battle, they must add
Imperial ships there as defending ships.
Outlaws may also choose the Empire as the lone
defender. Its defending pieces are Imperial ships.
Imperial Council
When you secure the Council, flip it over and tuck
it under your played card. At the end of the round,
return Imperial Council Decided to the Court, then:
1. You may call the Summit.
2. If you’re a Regent, take the First Regent tile,
keeping all resources on the Imperial Trust.
3. If you’re an Outlaw, steal from the Imperial
Trust up to your empty resource slots. The
First Regent loses 1 Power for each stolen.
4. You must resolve either Crises or Edicts.
The Empire controls
with one fresh ship!
Imperial ships protect
Regents from each other!
May add Imperials on attack.
Moving Imperial
ships requires one
Loyal ship for each.
Must add Imperials on defense.
Take the First Regent
tile with its resources, or
steal resources from it!
You can flip the Council
back to In Session by
calling a Summit.
The First Regent gains
Empire control for
ambitions, objectives,
and events.
You must have
Loyal presence to
use Imperial ships.
Resolve either
Crises or Edicts.
?
!
First
Regent
These resources
are frozen.
Imperial
Trust
01IMPERIAL COUNCIL
When the round ends, return Imperial
Council Decided to the Court, then:
1. You may call a Summit.
2. If you’re a Regent, become First Regent.
3. If you’re an Outlaw, steal from the First
Regent tile. (See Empire Rules sheet.)
4. You must resolve either Crises or Edicts.
You cannot influence or secure this card.
You may flip this card to In Session if you
call a Summit and Petition the Council.
Imperial Council
Decided
/
First
Regent
These resources
are frozen.
Imperial
Trust
First Regent gains Empire control for ambitions objectives and events You must have Loyal presence to use Imperial ships Resolve either Crises or Edicts First Regent These resources are frozen Imperial Trust 01IMPERIAL COUNCIL When the round ends return Imperial Council Decided to the Court then 1 You may call a Summit 2 If you re a Regent become First Regent 3 If you re an Outlaw steal from the First Regent tile See Empire Rules sheet 4 You must resolve either Crises or Edicts You cannot influence or secure this card You may flip this card to In Session if you call a Summit and Petition the Council Imperial Council Decided First Regent These resources are frozen Imperial Trust
04RESOLUTIONF1
Wait to resolve this
until the Intermission
If you completed your objective:
1. Add Council Intrigue (05), Tax Collectors
(06), and Hunter Squads (07) to the Court
deck.
2. Add Imperial Protectors
(08) to the rules
booklet. Explain it to everyone.
3. Scrap Empire Falls
(09) and 2 Lesser
Regents
(10–11).
If you failed your objective:
1. Scrap Council Intrigue (05), Tax Collectors
(06), Hunter Squads (07), and Imperial
Protectors
(08).
2. Add Empire Falls
(09) and 2 Lesser
Regents
(10–11) to the Court deck.
3. Add Dealmakers
(03) to the Court deck.
04RESOLUTIONF1
Wait to resolve this
until the Intermission
If you completed your objective:
1. Add Council Intrigue (05), Tax Collectors
(06), and Hunter Squads (07) to the Court
deck.
2. Add Imperial Protectors
(08) to the rules
booklet. Explain it to everyone.
3. Scrap Empire Falls
(09) and 2 Lesser
Regents
(10–11).
If you failed your objective:
1. Scrap Council Intrigue (05), Tax Collectors
(06), Hunter Squads (07), and Imperial
Protectors
(08).
2. Add Empire Falls
(09) and 2 Lesser
Regents
(10–11) to the Court deck.
3. Add Dealmakers
(03) to the Court deck.
? ?
B B
+
If You Failed
First
Regent
These resources
are frozen.
Imperial
Trust
03GUILDCC
When you battle in a gate, you may
collect 2 more dice.
Prelude: You may discard this to place
1 ship in each gate.
Gatekeepers
07GUILDCC
Prelude: Before any other actions, you
may discard this to seize the initiative.
You can’t seize the initiative if you have
it or if it’s already seized this round!
Lattice Spies
14VOXCC
Crisis: The player with the most Power
must replace a Loyal city with a Free city.
When Secured: You may replace any
Loyal or Rival city you control with a
Free City. If you do, you may seize the
initiative. Shuffle this card into the Court
deck.
Song of Freedom
09GUILDCC
Rivals cannot steal your resources and
other Guild cards. (In battle they can
steal this first and then spend .)
If this card is stolen, bury it. (Place it on
the bottom of the Court deck.)
Sworn Guardians
X
Intermission
A. Resolve Fate
Each player resolves their Resolution card.
Each player who failed their objective loses
Power equal to the space of their objective
marker on the Power track.
B. Clear Court
1. Return all cards from the Court except the
Imperial Council to the Court deck.
2. Clear all agents from the Court.
3. Scrap the Court discard pile.
C. Clear Pieces
1. Clear all Trophies and Captives.
2. Clear all frozen resources, including from the
Imperial Trust on the First Regent tile.
3. 2 Players Only: Clear all resources from
ambition boxes.
D. Repair & Destroy Pieces
1. Repair all damaged Blight.
2. Destroy all damaged ships, buildings, and
Flagship Upgrades and Armor.
3. Destroy all buildings in systems that have
Blight and no ships.
E. Shift Initiative & Power
1. Give the initiative marker to the player with
the most Power.
2. Each player with more than 1 Power loses
half their Power, rounding to lose less.
F. Choose Fate
Each player who completed their objective draws
1 Fate card. Each player who failed it returns their
Fate card to the box and draws 2 Fate cards.
·In Act I, draw “B” Fates.
·In Act II, draw “C” Fates.
Each player secretly chooses 1 Fate card from
these 2 cards to play in the next Act, then
everyone reveals them simultaneously.
If you choose a new Fate card, return your Fate
card to the box, scrap the rest of your Fate Set
that is not in play, return all Favors you have to
your Rivals, and take the new Fate Set for your
chosen Fate.
FLAGSHIP UPGRADES (4)
These aid cards give the rules for
Flagship Upgrades, marked 10–13.
RULES AIDS (2)
These aids give rules for play, ending
games, and setting up later games.
LOG SHEET PAD
These sheets record players’
details between games.
Other Pieces
BLIGHT TOKENS (24)
The Blight is a mysterious entity
spreading through the Reach.
FREE CITIES & STARPORTS
(28 cities, 14 starports)
Players can act with Free
buildings they control.
IMPERIAL SHIPS (15)
These ships control systems
for the Empire, and Regents
can act with them.
to the box scrap the rest of your Fate Set that is not in play return all Favors you have to your Rivals and take the new Fate Set for your chosen Fate FLAGSHIP UPGRADES 4 These aid cards give the rules for Flagship Upgrades marked 10 13 RULES AIDS 2 These aids give rules for play ending games and setting up later games LOG SHEET PAD These sheets record players details between games Other Pieces BLIGHT TOKENS 24 The Blight is a mysterious entity spreading through the Reach FREE CITIES STARPORTS 28 cities 14 starports Players can act with Free buildings they control IMPERIAL SHIPS 15 These ships control systems for the Empire and Regents can act with them
First
Regent
These resources
are frozen.
Imperial
Trust
NUMBER & EVENT DICE
These are rolled in setup and
during some events in play.
CHAPTER TRACK TILE
This double-sided tile covers
the chapter track on the map.
FIRST REGENT TILE
This shows which Regent is the First
Regent and holds the Imperial Trust.
Action
Action Cards Action Cards
RULES BOOKLET
This booklet holds various
cards that are added in play.
OVERFLOW MARKERS (4)
These hold pieces from crowded
parts of the map between sessions.
OTHER DIVIDERS (6)
You can store cards and pieces
behind these dividers (page 30).
---
4 •
Act I Setup
If you are starting a campaign, use this section.
Otherwise, use Act II & III Setup (page 7).
Campaign setup is very different from single-
session setup. Here are the important changes:
• Do not use setup cards. No clusters
will be out of play, and players place
their starting pieces differently.
• Use the Guild and Vox cards specific to the
campaign Court (marked “CC”). Do not use
the cards for the base Court (marked “BC”).
• Use the same deck of lore cards as the base
game (marked “L”), but you will shuffle lore
into the Court deck after dealing the Court.
1. Set Up Table
A. Place the map on the table and collect
the 18 battle dice, 25 resource
tokens, 24 Blight tokens, 28 Free
cities, and 14 Free starports.
B. Give the initiative marker
to a random player.
C. Shuffle the 20 action cards marked “2”
through “6” to start the action deck.
D. 4 Players Only: Shuffle the 8 action cards
marked “1” and “7” into the action deck.
E. Shuffle 2 Event action cards
(2–3 players) or 3 Event action cards
(4 players) into the action deck.
F. Place the 3 ambition markers on their
blue, lower-numbered sides in the
Available Markers section of the map.
G. Place the Chapter track tile to cover
the chapter track on the map, with its
“Act I & II” side face up, and place the
chapter marker on its “1” space.
H. Place the zero marker in the Ambition
Declared slot on the map.
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• 5
I. Shuffle all 15 campaign Vox and Guild cards (marked “CC”) to make the Court deck. Deal 3 cards (2 players) or 4 cards (3–4 players) from it into the Court row.
J. Shuffle 1 lore card per player at random from the lore deck into the Court deck. Use the same lore deck as you use in the base game. You can add any lore cards you want from expansion packs.
K. Place the Imperial Council card (01) on its In Session side as the leftmost Court card.
L. 2 Players Only: Slide the Guild Envoys Departed edict card (02) into the first slot in the rules booklet.
M. Shuffle the 3 Govern the Imperial Reach edict cards (03–05) face down, flip them all over, and slide them all face up into the first available slot in the rules booklet.
N. Roll the number die, then set up the 2 Imperial clusters—in the rolled cluster and the next clockwise cluster, place 1 Imperial ship in each system. (8 total.)
O. Roll the event die. Place 1 Free city on each planet of the rolled planet ID symbol outside the Imperial clusters.
P. Place 1 damaged Blight (shaded side) in each system outside the Imperial clusters.
Q. 2 Players Only: Place the 6 resource tokens matching the planets in Imperial clusters onto the ambition boxes:
• Material and Fuel go on Tycoon.
• Weapons go on Warlord.
• Relics go on Keeper.
• Psionics go on Empath.
---
2. Set Up Players
A. Each player chooses a color, collects the player board, 15 ships, 5 cities, 5 starports, and 10 agents of that color, and places those cities in the 5 triangle slots along the top of their player board.
B. Each player draws 2 “A” Fate cards (“A” on card back) and chooses one secretly. After everyone chooses, reveal them and take the matching Fate Sets (page 2).
C. Each player sets up based on the Setup side of their objective card—the first card in their Fate Set—then flips the card to its Objective side.
D. Each player places their objective marker on the Power track space shown by the large clock on their objective card.
E. Each player puts their Power marker on the “0” Power track space on the map.
F. Each player takes a Regent/Outlaw title card (06–09) and tucks it partially under their Fate card with its Regent side up. If no one has the First Regent tile from their setup, the player with initiative takes it.
G. In turn order, each player places 3 ships and 1 building in an empty building slot at a planet with an Imperial ship and gains 1 resource token of that planet type. (The planet can have Rival pieces.)
H. Repeat the previous step but in reverse turn order—start with the last player in turn order and go counterclockwise.
I. Place Free cities in all empty building slots on planets with Imperial ships. (With 4 players, you might not place any.)
J. Each player draws 6 action cards into their hand. 2 Players Only: The player without initiative may discard all of the action cards in their hand except Events and draw the same number of new cards from the action deck.
K. Discard all action cards not in players’ hands into the action discard pile on the map.
---
• 7
Act II & III Setup
Set up Act II or III so it’s the same as the previous
Act, including Power, with these changes:
A. In Act II, flip the lowest-Power ambition
marker to its higher-Power side. In Act
III, flip the two lowest-Power ones to
their higher-Power sides. The others
start on their lower-Power sides.
B. Shuffle the Court deck and deal
3 cards (2 players) or 4 cards (3–4
players) from it into the Court. Flip the
Imperial Council card to In Session.
C. Place 1 damaged Blight on each gate
that has no Blight and no ships.
D. Roll the event die. In each cluster, place
1 damaged Blight at the planet with the
rolled ID symbol if it has no Blight. If it does
have Blight, place 1 damaged Blight at
each planet in its cluster with no Blight.
E. 2 Players Only: Roll the number die twice.
Place the 6 resource tokens matching
the planets in the 2 rolled clusters onto
ambition boxes as in Step Q of Table
Setup in Act I. (If the resource supply
empties, just place as much as you can.)
F. Each player sets up using the Setup side
of their objective card, then flips it to
its Objective side. Each player may also
rearrange their resource tokens. If multiple
players must make setup choices, resolve
them in turn order. (To speed up setup,
feel free to do all this simultaneously!)
G. Each player places their objective marker
on the Power track space as shown at the
top of their objective card. In Act III, only
players with a “C” Fate do this step.
H. Place the Chapter track tile on its side
that lists the current Act. Place the
chapter marker on its “1” space. Draw
and discard action cards exactly as in
steps J–K of Player Setup in Act I.
2 players only
---
8 •
The Campaign
A campaign of Arcs lasts for three games, called Acts.
Campaign Acts end differently from single-session games.
• Don’t end an Act after 5 chapters. Instead, Acts I and II
end after 3 chapters, and Act III ends after 4 chapters.
• Don’t end an Act early if a player gains enough
Power. Ignore the thresholds on the Power track.
While setting up Act I, you choose an ”A” Fate. You might
play this Fate for all three Acts or switch to a new one.
• If you switch Fate after Act I, you’ll choose a ”B” Fate.
• If you switch Fate after Act II, you’ll choose a ”C” Fate.
At the end of Act III, the winner is the player with the most
Power accumulated over all three Acts. Break a Power tie in
favor of “A” Fates over “B” Fates, and “B” Fates over “C” Fates.
Break a further tie in turn order.
You can also win by completing a final objective (page 9).
Objective
In Acts I and II, your Fate gives you an objective.
During setup, place your objective marker on the starting
space on the Power track shown at the top of your objective
card. Sometimes, the starting space changes based on the
number of players, shown by the symbols.
Your objective card gives you ways to advance your objective
marker, moving it down the Power track toward 0 Power.
When it reaches 0 Power, you complete your objective!
Winning Ambitions: Some objectives want you to win an
ambition—this means you get first place, so you’re not tied.
Intermission
After Acts I and II, there is an Intermission. In it, you gain a
bonus for completing your objective, you might choose a new
Fate, and most damaged pieces are destroyed.
If you failed your objective, you lose Power equal to the
space of your objective marker on the Power track.
It’s the end of a chapter.
Lotus is an Outlaw, and
they win 2 ambitions and
control 3 systems, so they
move their objective marker
down a total of 9 times!
Starting Space
13
Prove Yourself as a New Admiral
While you’re a Regent and
winning an ambition, advance
1 for each Imperial ship that
anyone places on the map.
» Imperial ships are placed with
the Use Imperial Foundries
and Govern the Imperial Reach
(Policy of Escalation) edicts.
Demonstrate the Navy’s Might
While you’re a Regent, advance
1 for each Trophy you take in
battle with attacking Imperial ships.
» To advance, you can battle
Blight, Free cities, and Outlaws.
» You can attack with both Loyal
and Imperial ships, and the
Imperial ship can be destroyed.
01OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVEF7
Admiral - Act I
Objective
21 3
Chapter
Act
I & II
The chapter track tile covers the
track used in the single-session
game. Use one side in Acts I and
II, and use the other in Act III.
The Intermission is
described on page 28.
In Acts II and III, you may need
to track large amounts of Power.
Use the second Power marker
included in the base game to
mark the “+50” or “+100” space
near the Power track to show this.
14-18
: 18 / : 16 / : 14
Inspire Confidence in the Cause
While you’re an Outlaw, advance
3 for each ambition you win.
Defy the Empire’s Grip
At the end of a chapter, if you’re an
Outlaw, advance 1 for each
system you control.
» You can become an Outlaw
when you call a Summit or
when you declare an ambition,
using your Parade Fleets card.
01OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVEF2
Founder - Act I
14-18
: 18 / : 16 / : 14
Inspire Confidence in the Cause
While you’re an Outlaw, advance
3 for each ambition you win.
Defy the Empire’s Grip
At the end of a chapter, if you’re an
Outlaw, advance 1 for each
system you control.
» You can become an Outlaw
when you call a Summit or
when you declare an ambition,
using your Parade Fleets card.
01OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVEF2
Founder - Act I
---
• 9
Grand Ambitions
In Act III, “A” or “B” Fates give two grand ambitions, shown
by gold crosshairs. These give you more ways to gain Power
and do not use the objective marker.
At the end of a chapter, grand ambitions are scored at the
same time as declared ambitions.
If you fulfilled one grand ambition, gain the lower amount of
Power shown under the current chapter on the Chapter track.
If you fulfilled both, gain the higher amount.
Your grand ambitions are always active—you do not need to
declare them. Rivals cannot gain Power from them.
Final Objective
In Act III, “C” Fates have a final objective.
At the end of a chapter, after scoring ambitions, you win
the game if your final objective is complete by having your
objective marker at “0” and you have at least 1 Power!
• Winning by completing a final objective supersedes
winning by having the most Power.
• If you have a final objective, you can still win at the
end of Chapter 4 by simply having the most Power.
• If multiple players would win the game by
completing their final objective, the winner is the
player among them with the most Power.
Rules Booklet
As you play, your Fate will add many cards to the rules
booklet.
The booklet is double-sided. You can use one side for Edict
cards and the other side for Law and Summit cards.
In rare cases where you run out of space on one side for a
specific card type, you can use the other side.
As you add cards to this booklet, make sure to explain them
aloud, since these rules affect everyone.
There is no penalty for
failing your final objective.
It’s just another way to win!
Each slot can snugly fit 1 to 3
unsleeved cards. If you sleeve
cards, remove their sleeves first.
It is the end of Chapter 3. Dane
fulfills one grand ambition, so
he gains 4 Power from it.
»
02 EDICT EDICT
This card is only used in two-player
games.
Bury all Guild cards in the Court with no
agents on them, then refill the Court.
00
Guild Envoys Guild Envoys
Depart Depart
Entrench the Empire in the Reach
You’re a Regent and the
Empire controls all Outlaw
cities or there are no
Outlaws.
You’re the First Regent and
the Imperial Trust has more
resources than the current
Chapter.
22 OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVEF1
Steward - Act III Steward - Act III
Grand Ambition
Chapter
Act
III 2/4 3/8 4/14 5/20
21 3 4
Chapter
Act
III 2/4 3/8 4/14 5/20
21 3 4
Entrench the Empire in the Reach
You’re a Regent and the
Empire controls all Outlaw
cities or there are no
Outlaws.
You’re the First Regent and
the Imperial Trust has more
resources than the current
Chapter.
22 OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVEF1
Steward - Act III Steward - Act III
---
10 •
TITLE
Tuck this partially under your Fate card.
You must follow the rules for Regents
listed on the Empire Rules aid sheet.
You can become an Outlaw, flipping this
title over, if you call a Summit.
Imperial
Regent
Regent Title Card
The Empire
Everyone starts as a Regent of a crumbling galactic Empire,
shown by their Regent title card tucked into their Fate card.
One Regent is the First Regent, who governs the Empire
(page 20) and holds the Imperial Trust (page 21), resources
they collect from Regents as tribute for the distant Emperor.
A Regent can become an Outlaw by calling a Summit (page
16). Outlaws can be attacked by the Empire, but they can
battle Regents freely and don’t pay into the Imperial Trust.
Control & Command
The Empire controls all systems that have any number of
fresh Imperial ships, ignoring all players’ Loyal ships.
The First Regent controls all Empire-controlled systems for
the purpose of ambitions, objectives, and events (page 12).
On a Regent’s turn, they Command the Imperial Fleet
following the Presence Law: In systems with Loyal pieces,
they control the system if it is Empire-controlled and can take
actions with Imperial ships there—move and repair them,
battle with them, build at them, and tax cities they control.
If a rule lets you ignore the Presence Law, you Command the
Imperial Fleet in all systems, even those with no Loyal pieces.
Movement
Regents also follow the Movement Law: Regents can only
move 1 Imperial ship for each Loyal ship they are moving
along with them at the same time to the same system.
• Empire control of gates ends the Catapult moves of
Outlaw pieces, but not Regent or Imperial pieces.
• Regent control of gates ends the Catapult moves of
Outlaw pieces and Rival Regent pieces alone, but not
Imperial pieces or mixed Regent and Imperial pieces.
• Outlaw control of gates ends the Catapult
moves of Regent and Imperial ships alike.
An Outlaw has 4 fresh Loyal
ships in a system. A Regent
has 2 fresh Loyal ships there.
Regardless of all these ships,
1 fresh Imperial ship is there,
so the Empire controls it.
On the Regent’s turn, they
control the system. On the
Outlaw’s turn, the system is
controlled by the Empire, so
they build pieces damaged.
Presence Law: To Command
Imperial ships, Regents need
Loyal pieces in the system—
pieces of their player color.
Outlaw
Regent Imperial
The Empire controls systems
with just one Imperial ship.
Movement Law: Imperial ships
don’t move alone. Each one
needs a moving Loyal ship.
Rival means it has another
player’s color.
Most of the time, you take
Catapult moves when you
move from a Loyal starport.
---
• 11
Battle, Harm, & Taxing
Finally, Regents follow the Truce Law: Regents cannot harm Imperial ships except for hits they take as attacking ships in battle, and they cannot harm or tax Rival Regents in systems with Imperial ships.
When a Regent attacks in battle, they may add Imperial ships in the battle system to their attacking ships.
When a Regent defends in battle, they must add Imperial ships in the battle system to their defending ships.
Outlaw Battles
Outlaws may choose either a Regent or the Empire as defender.
If the Empire is defending, the defending pieces are the Imperial ships in the battle system, and the First Regent takes any destroyed pieces of the Outlaw as Trophies. If there is no First Regent, they return to the Outlaw.
A Regent takes a Catapult move, moving 2 Imperial and 3 Loyal ships, dropping off 1 Loyal ship.
Next, they move 2 Imperial and 2 Loyal ships, dropping off 1 Imperial ship.
They finish their Catapult move by moving 1 Imperial and 2 Loyal ships.
To hit a Regent’s buildings with , an Outlaw must destroy all defending ships, even Imperials.
If the Outlaw battles the Regent, the Regent adds the Imperial ship, so they have 3 defending ships.
If the Outlaw battles the Empire, the Empire has 1 defending ship.
If the Regent battles the Outlaw, the Regent may add the Imperial ship to their 2 Loyal ships.
Regent + Imperial...
...or Imperial Only
Outlaw
Truce Law: Imperial ships protect Regents from harming and taxing each other.
Harm means “battle, hit, damage, or destroy” (page 27).
The Truce Law does not limit Crises (page 18) in any way.
---
12 •
Events
There are three kinds of events: Summits, Crises, and Edicts.
During a Summit, players can make deals to exchange pieces and favors in a freeform manner.
During the Crises, the Blight attacks ships on the map, and some Guild and Vox cards cause chaos.
During the Edicts, the First Regent governs the Empire. Over time, more Edicts are added.
Events can be triggered by playing an Event card or securing the Imperial Council card from the Court (page 14).
Event Cards
Event cards are a new kind of action card added during setup. They cannot be scrapped.
On your turn, you may play an Event card. You cannot Lead it, Copy with it, or discard it to seize the initiative.
When you play it, you may take actions exactly like you played the lead card.
However, your Event card gives you no actions if a Rival played another Event card earlier this round or secured the Imperial Council earlier this round (page 14)!
Two-Player Mulligans: When you take a mulligan in a two-player game, you must keep any Event cards in your hand and only draw the number of action cards you discarded.
Lotus plays a “2” Construction card as the lead card.
Dane plays an Event, so he can take 4 Construction actions.
Next, Mikah also plays an Event, but she gets no actions from it.
Event
Mirror Lead, Add Event to Round End
Take actions like the lead card unless a Rival played an Event card or secured the Imperial Council this round.
You cannot Lead this, Copy with this, or discard this to seize the initiative.
At the end of the round, after checking initiative, the player with initiative may call a Summit, then must roll an event.
: Resolve Crises.
: Resolve Edicts.
If the Imperial Council was secured this round, resolve it instead of this.
If you have the initiative and only have Event cards, you must pass the initiative.
If you play an event that gives you no actions, you can still take Prelude actions.
---
• 13
Resolving the Event
At the end of a round where any Event cards were played, do
the following just after checking whether initiative changes:
The player with initiative may call the Summit (page 16).
Then, they roll the event and number dice and resolve the
event die as follows:
•If is rolled, resolve Crises (page 18).
•If is rolled, resolve Edicts (page 20).
Imperial Council: If the Imperial Council (page 14) is secured
during the same round as any Event cards are played, resolve
the Council and do not resolve the Event card.
Dane and Mikah played
Event cards and did not
seize the initiative, so Lotus
keeps the initiative.
Lotus calls the Summit. After
it, they roll the event die and
number dice, triggering Crises!
If multiple Event cards were
played, only resolve one.
Roll the event and number dice
even if a Summit was not called.
For now, ignore the number die
and the , , and planet ID
symbols on the event die. They
are used in Crises (page 18).
---
14 •
Imperial Council
The Imperial Council is a card in the Court with two sides:
In Session and Decided. In each Act, it starts In Session.
While the Imperial Council is In Session, players may
influence and secure it.
The Imperial Council cannot be buried, scrapped, or
discarded.
Securing the Council
When you secure the Council, flip it to Decided and tuck it
under your played card as a reminder to resolve it later.
At the end of that round, return the Imperial Council card to
the Court on its Decided side, then resolve the following:
1. You may call a Summit (page 16).
2. If you’re a Regent, take the First Regent tile, keeping
all resources on the Imperial Trust (page 21).
3. If you’re an Outlaw, steal resources from the Imperial
Trust on the First Regent tile, up to your number of
empty resource slots. The First Regent loses 1 Power
for each resource stolen.
4. You must choose to resolve either the Crises (page 18)
or the Edicts (page 20).
Event Cards: If the Imperial Council is secured in the same
round as Event cards (page 12) are played, resolve the
Council and ignore the Event cards.
Imperial Council Decided
Securing the Imperial Council flips it to its Decided side.
While it is Decided, players cannot influence or secure it.
It flips back to In Session at the start of an Act (page 7), and
you can flip it to In Session if you call a Summit and Petition
the Council (page 16).
This is different from resolving
an Event card in a couple ways:
You choose whether to
call the Summit, not the
player with initiative.
You choose to resolve either
the Crises or Edicts, rather
than following the event die.
01IMPERIAL COUNCIL
When Secured: Flip this card over to
its Imperial Council Decided side. As
a reminder, tuck it partially under your
played card so its card title is showing.
Imperial Council
in Session
Cards can be attached (page
27) to the Council, even if it’s
flipped to Decided, and cards
like Court Enforcers do affect it.
You’re the First Regent and
secure the Council. When
the round ends, you call the
Summit and become an Outlaw,
giving away First Regent.
Then, you steal 3 resources from
the Imperial Trust, making the
new First Regent lose 3 Power.
Tough first day on the job!
01IMPERIAL COUNCIL
When the round ends, return Imperial
Council Decided to the Court, then:
1. You may call a Summit.
2. If you’re a Regent, become First Regent.
3. If you’re an Outlaw, steal from the First
Regent tile. (See Empire Rules sheet.)
4. You must resolve either Crises or Edicts.
You cannot infl uence or secure this card.
You may fl ip this card to In Session if you
call a Summit and Petition the Council.
Imperial Council
Decided
First
Regent
These resources
are frozen.
Imperial
Trust
-3
---
• 15
The Free States
As the Empire crumbles, some people have escaped its grip,
declared independence, and formed the Free States.
You may take actions with Free buildings that you control—
tax Free cities, build ships at Free starports and Catapult
move from them, and repair Free cities and starports.
Harming & Trophies: Just like players’ buildings, Free
buildings can be harmed—battled, hit, damaged, and
destroyed. Take Free buildings you destroy as Trophies.
Battling: If you choose the Free States as defender in battle,
all Free buildings in the battle system are defending pieces.
They take hits from rolled dice like players’ buildings.
Raiding: You may raid the Free States. You may gain exactly
1 resource matching its planet type by spending . You
cannot gain multiple resources from the Free States in the
same battle.
Empty Supply: In the rare event that you must place a Free
building but the supply is empty, use a proxy piece.
Destroying a Free city still
Provokes Outrage.
Taxing a Free city does not
let you capture agents.
---
16 •
Summits
Event cards and the Imperial Council let players call the
Summit. It has two parts: Call to Order, then Negotiations.
Broadly, in the Call to Order you can return Favors—Rival
agents you have collected on your Fate card—to your Rivals to
force them to take Negotiation actions, and you can interact
with Imperial politics.
Then, in Negotiations, everyone can take Negotiation actions
in a freeform manner, including giving each other Favors that
can be returned in later Summits.
Call to Order
The player who called the Summit may take any number of
Call to Order actions, listed below:
•Return Favors: Return a Rival’s Favors to their supply
to force them to take Negotiation actions (page 17)
you choose, targeting you , in the way you choose. By
default, each Negotiation action you force costs 1 Favor.
•Petition the Council: Flip the Imperial
Council card to its In Session side.
•Leave the Empire: Flip your Regent title card to Outlaw.
If you are the First Regent, give the First Regent
tile to the Regent with the most Power. Resources
stay in the Imperial Trust. If there are no Regents,
return all resources from the Imperial Trust to
the supply, lose 1 Power per resource returned,
and place the First Regent tile in the supply.
•Revive the Empire: If there are no Regents, flip your
Outlaw title card to Regent and take the First Regent tile.
Lotus calls the Summit to order.
They return two of Dane’s Favors
to him to force him to give
them a Relic (Transfer Asset),
since it has a raid cost of 2!
Then, they Petition the Council to
flip it to In Session. They can do
this even though they called the
Summit by securing the Council.
Rival agents on your Fate
card are Favors .
Generally, you get Favors through
Negotiations (page 17) and the
Imperial Demand (page 20).
08TITLE TITLE
Tuck this partially under your Fate card.
You must follow the rules for Regents
listed on the Empire Rules aid sheet.
You can become an Outlaw, fl ipping this
title over, if you call a Summit.
Imperial Imperial
Regent Regent
1 1
Steward
Hold together a fragmenting empire
while navigating fractious court politics.
YOU R PATH TO POWER
I
A sser t your authorit y by winning
ambitions as the First Regent.
II
Extend the Empire’s control and
fi ll the Imperial Trust.
III
Solidif y the Empire’s control over
Outlaw cities and fi ll the Imperial
Trust as the First Regent.
Complexit y:
Flip your title card to Outlaw
if you Leave the Empire.
01IMPERIAL COUNCIL
When the round ends, return Imperial
Council Decided to the Court, then:
1. You may call a Summit.
2. If you’re a Regent, become First Regent.
3. If you’re an Outlaw, steal from the First
Regent tile. (See Empire Rules sheet.)
4. You must resolve either Crises or Edicts.
You cannot infl uence or secure this card.
You may fl ip this card to In Session if you
call a Summit and Petition the Council.
Imperial Council
Decided
01IMPERIAL COUNCIL
When Secured: Flip this card over to
its Imperial Council Decided side. As
a reminder, tuck it partially under your
played card so its card title is showing.
Imperial Council
in Session
---
• 17
Negotiations
After the Call to Order, all players may take any number of
Negotiation actions listed below in a freeform manner.
Each Negotiation action affects a Rival. To take a Negotiation
action, you need the consent of the affected Rival.
•Cede Control: Replace 1 Loyal piece on the map with
1 Rival piece of that type. You can only replace a Loyal
building if no Loyal ships are in its system, and you cannot
replace your last city, starport, or ship on the map.
•Delegate Authority: Replace 1 Loyal agent on
a card in the Court with a Rival’s agent.
•Promise Favor: Give 1 Loyal agent from your
supply to a Rival, placing it on their Fate card.
Rival agents on a Fate card are called Favors .
•Transfer Asset: Give 1 Captive, Trophy, Favor, or resource
you have to a Rival. If it is their Loyal piece, return it to
their supply. Forcing you to give a resource with Return
Favors (page 16) costs Favors equal to its raid cost.
•Invite to Empire: If you’re the First Regent,
flip an Outlaw’s title card to Regent.
Multipart Negotiations
You may agree with any players to simultaneously take
any number of Negotiation actions that can be resolved
immediately.
Ending Negotiations
If no one is negotiating, the player who called the Summit
may call for them to start negotiating, wait briefly, and then
count down from five seconds. If no one starts negotiating,
the Summit ends.
Mikah wants Dane to replace
1 Loyal agent of his with hers on
the Construction Union card in
the Court (Delegate Authority).
Dane wants Mikah to replace
2 Loyal ships of hers on the
map with his (Cede Control).
They agree and take all
these actions at once! All
these pieces come from and
return to their supplies.
Transfer Asset does not let you
give away cards. However,
some Fates might let you...
If you replace a piece, return
it and place another piece
in its place. If the old piece
was damaged, the new
piece is placed damaged.
08GUILDF2
Prelude: You may place this card next
to a face-up played Construction card.
When the round ends, draw that card
into your hand and discard this card.
Construction Union
---
18 •
Crises
Event cards and the Imperial Council can trigger the Crises.
When the Crises are triggered, resolve the Blight Crises,
then Fate Crises, and finally Court Crises.
Blight Crises
Each system with Blight has a Blight Crisis—each fresh Blight
there deals 3 hits, and each damaged Blight there deals 1 hit.
The Blight deals hits to Imperial ships first. If no Imperial
ships remain, it deals each remaining hit to the Loyal ships of
every player in its system. In both cases, fresh ships take hits
before damaged ships.
Fate Crises
Some Fates add cards with Crisis text that are held by
players. Resolve all of these cards in turn order.
Court Crises
Roll the event and number dice unless you just rolled them to
resolve an Event card.
Resolve the Crisis text on each Vox card in the Court from
left to right.
Attached Cards: If a Vox card has another Vox card attached
to it (page 27), resolve the attached card first.
Event & Number Dice: Some Crises determine how they
resolve using the icon and number on the event and number
dice. Here are the key phrases that refer to these dice:
•Rolled Cluster: The cluster rolled on the number die.
•Planets of the Rolled Symbol: Each planet with the
planet ID symbol (
//) rolled on the event die.
•Rolled Planet: The planet in the cluster rolled on the
number die and the ID (//) rolled on the event die.
•If // Was Rolled: Check whether this symbol was
rolled on the event die.
Removing Cards: If a Crisis removes a card from the Court,
return all agents on it and draw a card from the Court deck to
refill the Court.
A fresh Blight deals hits!
It hits the fresh Imperial
ship twice, destroying it.
Then it hits 1 Loyal ship
of each player there.
For Flagships in a Blight
Crisis, read Flagships in
Events (page 24).
Blight hits buildings only during
the Intermission (page 28).
Many cards bury themselves after
their Crisis. Bury means “place on
the bottom of the Court deck.”
When checking for specific
symbols, it doesn’t matter
whether you rolled the Crisis
or Edict symbol as well.
13VOXCC
Crisis: In turn order, each player with
more Guild cards than agents in their
supply must discard Guild cards until
their Guild cards equal their agents.
Bury this card. (Count protected Guild
cards but don’t discard them.)
When Secured: Rivals resolve the Crisis.
Diplomatic Fiasco
13VOXCC
Crisis: In turn order, each player with
more Guild cards than agents in their
supply must discard Guild cards until
their Guild cards equal their agents.
Bury this card. (Count protected Guild
cards but don’t discard them.)
When Secured: Rivals resolve the Crisis.
Diplomatic Fiasco
---
• 19
The Blight
The Blight is a mysterious entity spreading through the Reach.
No one knows what it wants or how to communicate with it.
In Crises (page 18), the Blight hits ships. In the Intermission
(page 28), it destroys buildings in systems with no ships.
•Harming & Trophies: Blight can be harmed—battled,
hit, damaged, and destroyed. However, it is Tough—it
takes 2 hits to damage or destroy. One hit does
nothing. Take Blight that you destroy as Trophies.
•Battling: If you choose the Blight as defender in battle,
all Blight in the battle system are defending pieces. Blight
is hit with but not . Blight does not intercept.
•Catapult Movement: Players taking a Catapult move
must end it if they move into a gate with fresh or
damaged Blight, like if a Rival controlled the gate.
•Empty Supply: If you must place Blight but
the supply is empty, take it from the player
who has the most Blight Trophies.
Fresh Blight
Takes 2 hits
to damage
or destroy.
Deals 3 hits
in Blight
Crisis.
In battle, you choose the
Blight as defender. You roll
two dice and get .
You don’t take any hits, and
you damage the Blight, flipping
it from fresh to damaged.
XX
Blight ends Catapult moves!
---
20 •
Edicts
Event cards and the Imperial Council can trigger the Edicts.
Resolve all Edicts in order from lowest number to highest.
The game starts with Govern the Imperial Reach (Edict 03)
and Guild Envoys Depart (Edict 00) in two-player games.
Govern the Imperial Reach
The First Regent must either enforce or change the Imperial
Policy shown on this edict card.
•If they enforce it, they collect the listed Imperial
Demand and then take the listed Imperial Action,
as described through the rest of this section.
•If they change it, they choose a new Govern the Imperial
Reach edict card to place on top of the other two cards.
Collect Imperial Demand
The First Regent must take 1 piece from each Regent as
shown by the Demand of the Imperial Policy, as follows:
•Peace: Relics or Psionics
•Escalation: Material, Fuel, or Weapons
•War: Trophies or Captives, but not
Regent or Imperial pieces
Resources go on the First Regent tile, adding to the Imperial
Trust (page 21). The First Regent must also add 1 resource
shown by the Demand to the Trust, if they have it.
Trophies and Captives go in the First Regent’s Trophies and
Captives boxes, respectively. The First Regent does not need
to take a Trophy or Captive from themself.
If a Rival Regent has no pieces shown by the Demand, the
First Regent must take 1 agent from the Rival’s supply as a
Favor. If they have no agents, the First Regent may make
them an Outlaw.
The Policy is Peace, which
demands Relics and Psionic.
Lotus, the First Regent,
takes the Demand from each
Regent—a Relic from Mikah,
a Psionic from Baz, and an
agent as a Favor from Dane,
who has no Relics or Psionic.
Lotus adds both resources to
the Imperial Trust on their First
Regent tile. Lotus has no Relics or
Psionics, so they don’t add one.
Demand
Policy
Edict #03
Rival agents taken as Favors
go on your Fate card. They are
used in Summits (page 16).
1 1
Steward
Hold together a fragmenting empire
while navigating fractious court politics.
YOU R PATH TO POWER
I
A sser t your authorit y by winning
ambitions as the First Regent.
II
Extend the Empire’s control and
fi ll the Imperial Trust.
III
Solidif y the Empire’s control over
Outlaw cities and fi ll the Imperial
Trust as the First Regent.
Complexit y:
»
04EDICT EDICT
The First Regent must either enforce this
Policy or change to a new Policy card.
A Policy of Peace
1. Collect Demand: Take 1 Relic or Psionic
from each Regent, even you. Place it in the
Imperial Trust on your First Regent tile.
If a Rival Regent has none, take 1 agent from
their supply as a Favor. If they have no agents,
you may make them an Outlaw.
2. Imperial Action: Each Regent gains their
bonus city Power on uncovered city slots.
03
Govern the Govern the
Imperial Reach Imperial Reach
First
Regent
These resources
are frozen.
Imperial
Trust
»
04EDICT EDICT
The First Regent must either enforce this
Policy or change to a new Policy card.
A Policy of Peace
1. Collect Demand: Take 1 Relic or Psionic
from each Regent, even you. Place it in the
Imperial Trust on your First Regent tile.
If a Rival Regent has none, take 1 agent from
their supply as a Favor. If they have no agents,
you may make them an Outlaw.
2. Imperial Action: Each Regent gains their
bonus city Power on uncovered city slots.
03
Govern the Govern the
Imperial Reach Imperial Reach
1 1
Steward
Hold together a fragmenting empire
while navigating fractious court politics.
YOU R PATH TO POWER
I
A sser t your authorit y by winning
ambitions as the First Regent.
II
Extend the Empire’s control and
fi ll the Imperial Trust.
III
Solidif y the Empire’s control over
Outlaw cities and fi ll the Imperial
Trust as the First Regent.
Complexit y:
»
04EDICT EDICT
The First Regent must either enforce this
Policy or change to a new Policy card.
A Policy of Peace
1. Collect Demand: Take 1 Relic or Psionic
from each Regent, even you. Place it in the
Imperial Trust on your First Regent tile.
If a Rival Regent has none, take 1 agent from
their supply as a Favor. If they have no agents,
you may make them an Outlaw.
2. Imperial Action: Each Regent gains their
bonus city Power on uncovered city slots.
03
Govern the Govern the
Imperial Reach Imperial Reach
»
03EDICT EDICT
The First Regent must either enforce this
Policy or change to a new Policy card.
A Policy of War
1. Collect Demand: Take 1 Trophy or Captive,
but not Imperial or Regent pieces, from each
Rival Regent. If they have none, take 1 agent
from their supply as a Favor. If they have no
agents, you may make them an Outlaw.
2. Imperial Action: Give 1 Weapon to each
Regent from the supply. If the supply is
empty, give it from the Imperial Trust.
03
Govern the Govern the
Imperial Reach Imperial Reach
Not Imperial
or Regent
»
03EDICT EDICT
The First Regent must either enforce this
Policy or change to a new Policy card.
A Policy of War
1. Collect Demand: Take 1 Trophy or Captive,
but not Imperial or Regent pieces, from each
Rival Regent. If they have none, take 1 agent
from their supply as a Favor. If they have no
agents, you may make them an Outlaw.
2. Imperial Action: Give 1 Weapon to each
Regent from the supply. If the supply is
empty, give it from the Imperial Trust.
03
Govern the Govern the
Imperial Reach Imperial Reach
Not Imperial
or Regent
is empty give it from the Imperial Trust 03 Govern the Govern the Imperial Reach Imperial Reach Not Imperial or Regent 03EDICT EDICT The First Regent must either enforce this Policy or change to a new Policy card A Policy of War 1 Collect Demand Take 1 Trophy or Captive but not Imperial or Regent pieces from each Rival Regent If they have none take 1 agent from their supply as a Favor If they have no agents you may make them an Outlaw 2 Imperial Action Give 1 Weapon to each Regent from the supply If the supply is empty give it from the Imperial Trust 03 Govern the Govern the Imperial Reach Imperial Reach Not Imperial or Regent
---
• 21
Take Imperial Action
After the Imperial Demand, the First Regent must take the
Imperial Action, as follows:
In Peace, Celebrate Regency: Each Regent
gains the bonus city Power shown on all
uncovered city slots on their player board.
In Escalation, Requisition Ships: Place 2 fresh
Imperial ships in an Empire-controlled system.
If no systems are controlled by the Empire,
place them at a Loyal starport instead.
In War, Distribute Arms: Give 1 Weapon to
each Regent from the supply. If the supply is
empty, give it from the Imperial Trust.
Guild Envoys Depart
This card is only used in two-player games.
Bury all Guild cards in the Court with no agents on them, then
refill the Court.
Imperial Trust
By enforcing the Imperial Policy, the First Regent adds
resources to the Imperial Trust on their First Regent tile.
Resources in the Imperial Trust are frozen (page 27).
Stealing: These resources have no raid cost, so they cannot
be stolen in battle. However, cards such as Silver-Tongues
can steal them, and Outlaws can steal them by securing the
Imperial Council (page 14).
Intermission: Resources on the Imperial Trust return to the
supply during the Intermission (page 28).
In War, if there aren’t enough
Weapons to give out, you choose
which Regents get them.
Because the First Regent
enforced the Imperial Policy, they
must take the Imperial Action.
One Regent has all 5 cities built,
so they gain 5 Power. Nobody
else has more than 3 cities
built, so they gain no Power.
This only buries Guild cards,
not Vox cards or other types!
You cannot spend, discard, or
give away the frozen resources
on the Imperial Trust, even if
you Provoke Outrage. But they
still add to your ambitions!
Action
»
04EDICT EDICT
The First Regent must either enforce this
Policy or change to a new Policy card.
A Policy of Peace
1. Collect Demand: Take 1 Relic or Psionic
from each Regent, even you. Place it in the
Imperial Trust on your First Regent tile.
If a Rival Regent has none, take 1 agent from
their supply as a Favor. If they have no agents,
you may make them an Outlaw.
2. Imperial Action: Each Regent gains their
bonus city Power on uncovered city slots.
03
Govern the Govern the
Imperial Reach Imperial Reach
First
Regent
These resources
are frozen.
Imperial
Trust
---
22 •
Flagships
Some Fates give you a Flagship board, piece, and aid card.
When you get a Flagship, you also replace all of your Loyal
buildings on the map with Free buildings of the same type.
Flagship setup is described on the back of the Flagship board.
Your Flagship is a fresh Loyal ship that cannot be removed
from the map. Playing a Flagship has some new rules:
•You cannot build Loyal cities or starports on the map.
Instead, you can build them on your Flagship board
as Upgrades and Armor. (See Upgrades & Armor.)
•You can only build up to 1 ship at your Flagship per turn,
ignoring the number of starports on your Flagship board.
•In battle, your Flagship collects a variable number of dice,
and it does not deal hits for an intercept by default.
(See Defending, page 24.)
Upgrades & Armor
Your Flagship board has 6 Upgrade slots, each with an Armor
slot above it, that you can build Loyal buildings in.
•Upgrades give benefits (page 25).
•Armor takes hits before its matched Upgrade.
To build an Upgrade or Armor, your Flagship must be at a
planet of the type shown on its slot. You can only build Armor
if you have its Upgrade and it is fresh.
When you repair your Flagship, repair an Upgrade or Armor.
Upgrades and Armor do not work like buildings on the map:
•Players cannot tax these cities and cannot use
these starports to build ships or Catapult move .
•Destroying these cities does not Provoke
Outrage or Ransack the Court.
Your Flagship is at a Material
planet, so you can build a city or
starport as a Ship Crane Upgrade.
You build a starport in its
Upgrade slot. A Rival controls the
system, so it is placed damaged.
After repairing your Ship
Crane Upgrade, you can build
Armor for the Ship Crane
while you’re at a Fuel planet.
Some lore lets you build on
the map again—see Lore
& Flagships (page 25).
You can build ships at Free
starports you control (page
15) in addition to the ship you
can build at your Flagship.
Upgrade
Armor
Upgrades and Armor give
their benefit whether they’re
fresh or damaged.
Flagship Piece
---
• 23
Your Flagship has 2 fresh
starports. You collect 2
assault dice along with the
dice you collect for your
other attacking ships.
When you take a , you
choose to hit your Ship Crane
even though you have other
attacking ships you could hit.
Flagship Battles
There are a few key rules when battling with Flagships:
•When attacking with a Flagship, its Armor
and Upgrades are hit like ships.
•When defending with a Flagship, its Armor
and Upgrades are hit like buildings.
•Armor is always hit before its Upgrade.
Attacking
When attacking, your Flagship collects dice up to your
number of fresh starports on Upgrades and Armor.
While attacking, Upgrades and Armor are hit like ships:
•You must take hits from
and with Upgrades
and Armor if no other attacking ships remain.
•You can choose to take hits with Upgrades and
Armor instead of other attacking ships.
»
Armor Before Upgrades
Fresh Starports Add Dice
Your Flagship collects no dice
if you have no fresh starports
in your Upgrades and Armor!
---
24 • Defending
While you have a Flagship, Rivals who battle you have a different Raid Dice Limit: they can only collect raid dice if there are defending buildings or a defending Flagship.
If the attacker rolls a , your Flagship does not intercept unless it has a Defense Array (page 25).
While defending, Upgrades and Armor are hit like buildings:
• The attacker hits your Upgrades and Armor with .
• If the Flagship is the only remaining defending ship, the attacker hits Upgrades and Armor with .
Flagships in events
When taking hits in a Crisis, your Flagship only takes hits if no other fresh Loyal ships remain in the system.
Take each hit to your Flagship with your rightmost Armor.
If no Armor remains, take the hit with its rightmost Upgrade.
In Summits, you cannot use Cede Control to replace Loyal buildings on your Flagship board with Rival pieces.
Remember, destroying cities in Upgrade and Armor slots doesn’t Provoke Outrage or Ransack the Court (page 22).
The attacker rolls .
You’re defending with a fresh ship and a Flagship with no Defense Array, so they take 1 intercept hit.
They destroy the fresh ship.
The third and the hit the Hull Armor twice, destroying it.
It’s possible to get Loyal buildings back on the map if you have the right lore (page 25).
First, top row from right to left.
Then, bottom row from right to left.
Other defending ships still intercept even if your Flagship cannot.
---
• 25
Lore & Flagships
Lore works with Flagships as follows:
•Building Checks: Lore that checks for Loyal buildings
in a system—like Force Beams, Gate Ports, and Hidden
Harbors—counts Upgrades and Armor as in your
Flagship’s system unless the lore says “on the map.”
•Building on the Map: Lore that builds Loyal buildings
outside building slots—like Gate Ports and Cloud Cities—
does let you place Loyal buildings on the map again.
•Ship Improvements: Lore that improves your Loyal
ships—like Sprinter Drives and Mirror Plating—does
improve your Flagship, since it is a fresh Loyal ship.
•Dice Collection: Lore that collects dice for Loyal ships like
in battle—like Galactic Rifles—lets your Flagship collect
1 die per fresh starport on your Flagship board.
Flagship Upgrade Benefits
This section lists the Flagship’s Upgrades. The resource types
in parentheses are the planet types that your Flagship must
be at in order to build the Upgrade and Armor, respectively.
Ship Crane (Material → Fuel): You may build up to 2 ships
per turn in your Flagship’s system.
Defense Array (Weapon → Psionic): When your Flagship
is defending in battle, it deals intercept hits equal to the
number of fresh starports on its Flagship board.
Slipstream Drive (Fuel → Relic): Once per turn, in your
Prelude, you may Catapult move either your Flagship alone
or other ships from your Flagship.
Control Array (Psionic → Material): While your Flagship is in
a gate, you may tax any cities in its cluster like they are Loyal.
Tractor Beam (Relic → Weapon): When your Flagship is
defending in battle, the attacker cannot collect raid dice.
Hull (Any Planet → Any Planet): This Upgrade has no unique
benefit, but building cities will open resource slots, and
building starports will let you collect more dice in battle.
Resettling Flagships
The “C” Fates let you Resettle if you have a Flagship:
1. Clear your Flagship board and return it to the box.
Replace your Loyal Flagship piece with a Loyal ship.
2. Place 1 city and 1 starport in empty building slots on
the map. If there are none, replace Free buildings.
3. If you have fewer than 8 Loyal ships on the map,
place ships in systems with Loyal pieces until you have
8 Loyal ships on the map.
Do not capture agents if
you use Control Array.
Ship Crane doesn’t let you
build 2 ships with 1 action.
If you use lore to build Loyal
buildings back on the map,
Rivals can raid them as normal.
You don’t need a Slipstream
Drive to Catapult from Free
starports (page 15).
In this case, clear means you
return cities and starports on your
Flagship board to your supply.
---
• 27
New Rules & Terms
Protected Guild Cards
Some Guild cards in the campaign are protected, shown by
an “X” icon in place of their raid cost.
Protected Guild cards cannot be removed from the holder’s
play area unless the holder Provokes Outrage of its suit.
Attaching Cards
If you are prompted to attach a card, place it above a card in
the Court that does not have an attached card.
When you secure a card, also secure its attached card. If both
have When Secured actions, resolve them in either order.
Forced Attach: If you are forced to attach a card but you
cannot fulfill all of the requirements to attach it, you still
attach it, ignoring the fewest requirements to attach it.
Removal from Court: If a card is removed from the Court in
any way and it has an attached card, refill the Court by sliding
down the attached card. Place all agents from the removed
card onto the previously attached card. If an attached card is
removed, nothing happens to the card it was attached to.
Resources
Frozen: Sometimes resources are frozen. They cannot be
spent, given, or discarded—even from Provoke Outrage—
except as described by the piece freezing them. However,
Rivals can steal and take frozen resources, including for the
Imperial Demand (page 20).
Counting: When you are prompted to count how many
resources you have, count everything in your play area,
including on cards and on tiles such as the First Regent tile.
Harm
Some rules refer to harm—this means choosing as defender
in battle, damaging, destroying, or hitting.
Tokens
Many Fates add new punchboard tokens. By default, tokens
added by Fates cannot be harmed. Some tokens do say they
can be harmed, ignoring this rule.
By default, tokens added by Fates are not Loyal. However,
some do say they are Loyal—you treat them as being your
player color, and Rivals treat them as Rival pieces. You can
build buildings at Loyal tokens, you can repair damaged
Loyal tokens, and they fulfill the need for Loyal pieces found
in rules such as the Empire’s Presence Law (page 10).
Most often, you Provoke Outrage
when you destroy a city.
Frozen resources still add
to your ambitions!
02GUILDF2
When you declare an ambition, you
may place 2 fresh ships at a Free city.
Then, if you are a Regent, you may
become an Outlaw.
Parade Fleets
Protected
Still Discard on
Fuel Outrage!
02GUILDF2
When you declare an ambition, you
may place 2 fresh ships at a Free city.
Then, if you are a Regent, you may
become an Outlaw.
Parade Fleets
02GUILDF2
When you declare an ambition, you
may place 2 fresh ships at a Free city.
Then, if you are a Regent, you may
become an Outlaw.
Parade Fleets
03GUILDCC
When you battle in a gate, you may
collect 2 more dice.
Prelude: You may discard this to place
1 ship in each gate.
Gatekeepers
07GUILDCC
Prelude: Before any other actions, you
may discard this to seize the initiative.
You can’t seize the initiative if you have
it or if it’s already seized this round!
Lattice Spies
14VO XCC
Crisis: The player with the most Power
must replace a Loyal city with a Free city.
When Secured: You may replace any
Loyal or Rival city you control with a
Free city. If you do, you may seize
the initiative. Shuffle this card into the Court
deck.
Song of Freedom
01GUILDCC
Manufacture (Build): Gain 1 Material.
Prelude: You may discard this to gain
Material up to your number of empty
resource slots. If the Material supply
empties, steal the Material instead.
Mining Interest
06GUILDF4
When you Copy to move, you may gain
1 Fuel.
Prelude: You may attach this to a Court
card with no agents to declare the
Tycoon ambition.
Fuel Liaisons
Attach
03GUILDCC
When you battle in a gate, you may
collect 2 more dice.
Prelude: You may discard this to place
1 ship in each gate.
Gatekeepers
07GUILDCC
Prelude: Before any other actions, you
may discard this to seize the initiative.
You can’t seize the initiative if you have
it or if it’s already seized this round!
Lattice Spies
14VO XCC
Crisis: The player with the most Power
must replace a Loyal city with a Free city.
When Secured: You may replace any
Loyal or Rival city you control with a
Free city. If you do, you may seize
the initiative. Shuffle this card into the Court
deck.
Song of Freedom
01GUILDCC
Manufacture (Build): Gain 1 Material.
Prelude: You may discard this to gain
Material up to your number of empty
resource slots. If the Material supply
empties, steal the Material instead.
Mining Interest
06GUILDF4
When you Copy to move, you may gain
1 Fuel.
Prelude: You may attach this to a Court
card with no agents to declare the
Tycoon ambition.
Fuel Liaisons
Slide
XX
---
28 •
Intermission
The Intermission happens at the end of Act I and Act II.
Resolve all of the following steps in order.
A. Resolve Fate
Each player resolves the Resolution card in their Fate Set for
the current Act.
Based on whether you completed or failed your objective,
you’ll do things like gain or discard cards, add cards to the
Court deck, or add cards to the rules booklet.
Each player who failed their objective loses Power equal to
the space of their objective marker on the Power track.
B. Clear Court
1. Return all cards in the Court except the Imperial
Council to the Court deck.
2. Return all agents from the Court to their players.
3. Scrap the Court discard pile.
C. Clear Pieces
1. Return all Trophies and Captives to their players.
2. Return all frozen resources (page 27), including from
the Imperial Trust on the First Regent tile, to the supply.
3. 2 Players Only: Return all resources from ambition
boxes to the supply.
D. Repair & Destroy Pieces
1. Repair all damaged Blight.
2. Destroy all damaged ships, buildings, and Flagship
Upgrades and Armor.
3. Destroy all buildings in systems that have Blight and no
ships.
Dane failed his objective.
His objective marker is on
the “5” space, so he lowers
his Power from 2 to –3.
He puts his Power marker on “3”
and his extra Power marker on
the “(–)” space by the Power track
to show his Power is negative.
While you have less than
1 Power, you can’t win with a
final objective in Act III (page 9).
Make sure to also return attached
cards (page 27) to the Court deck.
Scrap removes the piece
forever. Put it behind the
Scrap divider in the box.
In the rare case that you have
no ships or starports left on the
map, place 3 fresh ships in any
gate, following the Elimination
condition in the base game.
03GUILDCC
When you battle in a gate, you may
collect 2 more dice.
Prelude: You may discard this to place
1 ship in each gate.
Gatekeepers
07GUILDCC
Prelude: Before any other actions, you
may discard this to seize the initiative.
You can’t seize the initiative if you have
it or if it’s already seized this round!
Lattice Spies
14VOXCC
Crisis: The player with the most Power
must replace a Loyal city with a Free city.
When Secured: You may replace any
Loyal or Rival city you control with a
Free city. If you do, you may seize
the initiative. Shuffle this card into the Court
deck.
Song of Freedom
09GUILDCC
Rivals cannot steal your resources and
other Guild cards. (In battle they can
steal this first and then spend .)
If this card is stolen, bury it. (Place it on
the bottom of the Court deck.)
Sworn Guardians
XX
04RESOLUTIONF1
Wait to resolve this
until the Intermission
If you completed your objective:
1. Add Council Intrigue (05), Tax Collectors
(06), and Hunter Squads (07) to the Court
deck.
2. Add Imperial Protectors
(08) to the rules
booklet. Explain it to everyone.
3. Scrap Empire Falls
(09) and 2 Lesser
Regents
(10–11).
If you failed your objective:
1. Scrap Council Intrigue (05), Tax Collectors
(06), Hunter Squads (07), and Imperial
Protectors
(08).
2. Add Empire Falls
(09) and 2 Lesser
Regents
(10–11) to the Court deck.
3. Add Dealmakers
(03) to the Court deck.
04RESOLUTIONF1
Wait to resolve this
until the Intermission
If you completed your objective:
1. Add Council Intrigue (05), Tax Collectors
(06), and Hunter Squads (07) to the Court
deck.
2. Add Imperial Protectors
(08) to the rules
booklet. Explain it to everyone.
3. Scrap Empire Falls
(09) and 2 Lesser
Regents
(10–11).
If you failed your objective:
1. Scrap Council Intrigue (05), Tax Collectors
(06), Hunter Squads (07), and Imperial
Protectors
(08).
2. Add Empire Falls
(09) and 2 Lesser
Regents
(10–11) to the Court deck.
3. Add Dealmakers
(03) to the Court deck.
??
First
Regent
These resources
are frozen.
Imperial
Trust
---
• 29
E. Shift Initiative & Power
1. Give the initiative marker to the player with the
most Power.
2. Each player who has more than 1 Power loses half
their Power, rounding to lose less Power.
Conceding: In games with 2 players, if your Rival has at
least 15 Power more than you after halving Power, we
recommend that you concede unless you feel confident.
F. Choose Fate
Each player who completed their objective draws 1 Fate card.
Each player who failed it returns their Fate card to the box
and draws 2 Fate cards.
• If you are finishing Act I, draw from the “B” Fates.
• If you are finishing Act II, draw from the “C” Fates.
Each player secretly chooses 1 Fate card from these 2 Fate
cards to play in the next Act. Then, everyone reveals their
chosen Fate card simultaneously.
If you choose a new Fate card, do the following:
• Return your current Fate card to the box.
• Scrap the rest of your Fate Set that is not
in play. Don’t scrap anything that is in play,
including your Flagship if you have one!
• Return all Favors you have to your Rivals.
• Take the new Fate Set for your Fate from the box.
Next Act?
At this point, discuss with everyone whether you want to play
the next Act or pack up the game so you can play it later.
If you are playing the next Act, set it up as described in
Act II & III Setup (page 7).
If you are packing up, read Packing Up on the next page.
Note that you won’t be able to play a single-session game of
Arcs until you finish the campaign or choose to abandon it!
Lotus has 7 Power and Dane has
–3 Power. Lotus halves her Power
to 4, and Dane stays at –3.
If you are choosing between your
current Fate and a new Fate, hide
the card back of your chosen Fate.
If You Failed
Favors are Rival agents
on your Fate card.
B B
+
---
30 •
Packing Up
For the next Act, preserve everything on the map, in the
general supply, and in everyone’s play areas as follows:
• Use a log sheet to record your names, colors,
Fates, Power, Outrage, and Flagship Upgrades and
Armor. If a Fate has you record more details, use
the blank spaces on the back of the log sheet.
• Use the 2 map trays to store the pieces on the map.
The trays have sections for each planet (marked
with its ID symbol) and each gate (marked “G”).
• If a system has too many pieces to fit in the tray, put an
overflow marker in its tray section and put pieces from
the system in a bag with the matching overflow marker.
• Use the 4 player trays to store the players’ play areas.
In your tray, use the large well to hold cards in play
stacked on top of the cards remaining in your Fate Set.
Use the small well to hold everything else in your play
area except your player board and Flagship board.
You don’t need to track the order of your resources.
• Keep all of the cards in the rules booklet.
Organizing the Box
The expansion box can fit everything from the base game.
It has 6 wells—a small well, 4 lower wells, and a deep well.
The small well fits the large Fate cards, the log sheet pad, and
leader cards from the base game.
The 4 lower wells store small cards and unused Fate Sets.
• Use dividers in these wells to store unused Fate Sets, the
action deck, base and campaign Court decks, lore deck,
small cards from the base game, and scrapped cards.
• You may store the bags of pieces for Fate Sets with their
cards behind their divider or in a separate well. If you
sleeve cards, store the piece bags in a separate well.
• Stack the game board, player boards, and
Flagship boards on top of the lower wells.
The deep well stores the 8 removable trays: 4 player trays,
2 map trays, the base game tray, and the campaign game tray.
• The base game and campaign trays can be packed in many
ways, but we recommend you pack them as shown to the
right and use them during play to keep the table tidy.
• Stack the base and campaign game trays in the deep
well, and stack the 4 player trays over them. Place one
rulebook over them. Stack the 2 map trays over the
rulebook. Place any other rulebooks and aids at the top.
Player Name & Color
I
II
III
I
II
III
I
II
III
I
II
III
Campaign Log
blue
red
yellow
white
Mikah
Steward13
Fate and Power in Act I
Outrage Flagship
Pieces
I
III
II
blue
blue
Red
yellow
white
red yellow white
M,P
CS
Use abbreviations—M for Material,
C for city, S for starport, etc.
Extra imperial ships can share the
chamber with the free starports.
Base Game Tray
Campaign Game Tray
---
• 31
Credits
Game Design: Cole Wehrle
Illustration: Kyle Ferrin
Editing: Joshua Yearsley
Graphic Design: Pati Hyun (lead) with Kyle Ferrin, Cole Wehrle, and Joshua Yearsley
Development: Cole Wehrle and Joshua Yearsley (co-leads) with Nick Brachmann
Blighted Reach Content Design: Cole Wehrle and Joshua Yearsley
Staff at Printing: Patrick Leder, Kyle Ferrin, Caryl Tan, Cole Wehrle, Nick Brachmann, Clay Capra, Pati Hyun, Brooke Nelson, Joshua Yearsley, Ted Caya, Claire Donaghue, Andrea Francisco, and Anne Kinner
Contractors & Summer Interns: Cory DeVore (3d modeler), Jeff Fraser (usability read moderator), George Georgeadis (Kickstarter video producer), Emily Mattingley (graphic design assistant), Alita Robertson (production assistant), Amanda Valentine (copy-editor); Q. Bryant and Dylan Kistler (production interns); Sam Buan, Michael Cauthorn, and Finn Powers-Tiffin (playtesting interns)
Playtesting & Usability Reading: Nathan Adams, Jo Attwood, Celena Baker, Dominik Batók, Todd Berman, Q. Bryant, Sam Buan, Cat Bult, Christina Berkley, Luke Bridwell, Ran C, Brenda Carrasco, Michael Cauthorn, Lili Chin, Jacob Church, Joshua Clark Orkin, Benjamin Cochrane, Justin Dowd and the Brass Cat crew, Erin, Zane Fisher, Andrew Grimes, Tonke Groot, Lily Gould, Daniel Hallinan, Haze, Sophia Hercher, April Higgins, Kevin Hulse, John Keller, Dylan Kistler, Ben Lang, Patrick Lefebvre, JC Lumsargis, Jai Manacsa, jermcurry, Jules Marciano, Vixen Martin, Arthur McCool, Kirby Morris, Caitlin Moran, Joe Moran, Paul Mussoni, Elias Nichols, Hung Nguyen, Nathaniel Olin, Mark Overstreet, Finn Powers-Tiffin, Daniel Preston, Kristopher Reynolds, Alita Robertson, Arden Rogow-Bales, Malachi Ray Rempen, Evan Rowland, Guerric Samples, Marius Schneider, Jaden Servant, S.P. Shaman, Sarah Shirley (Sarai), Mar Hepto, Matilda Simonsson, Charles Simon, Nicole Smith, Matt Snow, Kiaran Smalldon, Frack the Snail, Francis Snyder, Rho Sternjäger, turmoilbyrd, uropb, Samuel Vriezen, Steve Owen, Jackson Wray, Drew Wehrle, Chris Weidner, and many more!
Blighted Reach Usability Reading: Sam Campsall, Drew Conley, Esteban Dorado-Troughton, Trevor Dorn-Wallenstein, Reed Esler, Tobit Glenhaber, Reece Huntsinger, Jeremy Johnson, Conner Leahy, Ryan Lee, Marceline Leiman, Dom Marko, Robert Oppen, Nikola Rados, the Ramey-Olson-Keene Family, Jonathan Schenk, Michael Thurman, Brian Vandre, and Jackson Wray
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32 •
Index
Act Structure, 8
Armor, 22
Attached cards, 27
In Crises, 18 (Court Crises)
Blight, 19
And Catapult moves, 19
In Crises, 18 (Blight Crises)
In the Intermission, 28
Setting Up, 5, 7
Box organization, 30
Call to Order, 16
Chapters, number of, 8
Command the Imperial
Fleet, 10
Crises, 18
And Flagships, 24
Edicts, 20
Event cards, 12
In setup, 4 (Step E)
Event die
In Crises, 13
In setup, 5 (Step O),
7 (Step D)
The Empire, 10
Joining, 17
Leaving, 16
Favors
From Imperial Demand, 20
In Summits, 16–17
Clearing, 29 (Step F)
Flagships, 22
In events, 24
Resettling, 25
Upgrade list for, 25
Final objectives, 9
Free States, 15
Frozen resources, 27
Govern the Imperial Reach,
20–21
Grand ambitions, 9
Harm, 27
Imperial Action, 21
Imperial Council, 14
Flipping in Summits, 16
Imperial Demand, 20
And frozen resources, 27
Imperial Laws, 10–11
Imperial ships, 10–11
Imperial Trust, 21
Adding to, 20
Stealing from, 14
Clearing, 28
Lore cards
And Flagships, 25
In setup, 5 (Step J)
Negotiation actions, 17
Number die
In Crises, 13
In setup, 5 (Step N),
7 (Step E)
Objectives, 8
Protected Guild cards, 27
Resettling Flagships, 25
Record sheets, 30
Resolution cards, 28 (Step A)
Resources, counting, 27
Rules booklet, 9
Summit, 16–17
Tokens, limits of, 27
Tough, 19
Two-player mulligans, 12
Upgrades, 22
List of, 25
Winning ambitions, 8
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