GAME OVERVIEW When the Traders have taken their actions, it’s

the NPCs’ turn. NPCs are non-player characters

Core Space is played in a series of narrative
missions. Your group of Traders will be presented controlled by the game’s mechanics. The most
with a set of objectives and a map of the area, common NPCs are the Purge – the deadly alien
showing how to set out your terrain. They will enemy sent to destroy all life – but you may also
need to venture out from their ship, complete the encounter Civilians, Gangers or the troopers of
objectives and get back to safety. Objectives may the Galactic Corps.
be to collect intel from a local civilian, sabotage
equipment, or simply scavenge enough to trade
for supplies.

It is up to the players whether they want to work

cooperatively with the other crews in the area,
or attack them and try to take the objectives
for themselves. It’s not quite that simple either;
allegiances may change as the game progresses
as one player realises they need help to escape!

During each round of the game each crew will While all of this is going on,
alternate taking actions with their Traders – the game’s Hostility level WELL REGULATED
I TELLIGE
moving, shooting and exploring the board. The will be rising. As each peg MILITIA
RELAXE GUARDED
RELAXED
CE
D
Heads unengaged
Pot-shot: The nearest
WATCH
Up: Each playe Civilian YOUR BAC
K

is placed into the Hostility

with LoS to a PurgeTheycharacter
should read makes ar takes an Event
Card.

Traders’ abilities are tracked using the game’s

ranged attack against
them toit.the their cards,
deck in the and then retur
decide whet same orde n
WATCH YOUR
they have reveal or keep r. Players can
her toBACK
learned. classified what
“Hey!”: The nearest Civilian to a Purge

unique Character Dashboard, and the success Tracker, the Purge will distracts it. Immediately
character towards
COVER
Kill Cod
transME
COMoveVERthat Purge
that Civilian. ME
e: A limited
mitted to you
may choose
PURGE
time kill code
by your ship. has been
CHARGE

become even more

Unite: All unengaged a singl
Civilians within Each playe
within LoS e Purge char r

of their actions is determined by rolling the

medium range of any of one
Purge make a acter (rank
insta of their Trad 1-3)
ranged attack againstntly defe
the nearest
ated andone. ers. That
removed from Purge is
play.
KILL ME PURGE

various dice. dangerous, as will the Rise Up: All unengaged Civilians Move
towards the nearest Purge twice (up to 8
inches). All Civilians then engaged with
the Purge will then make a close assault attack

unpredictable events
against one Purge enemy.

coming out of the

game’s event
deck each
round.

COMPONENTS
ere you will find reference images of the game s most common components. hese will be explored
in more detail in the coming pages.

Crew of the Black Maria Crew of the Ion Hope

Jace Lars Renton Beck Arianna Roykirk Gak Tirgarde

Purge

Harvesters Devastators Assassin Live One

4
Civilians Clip Bases
These are supplied in two colours and will
fit over the bases of your miniatures to
easily tell them apart during a game.

Turn Counter Event Cards

This counter is based on a Galactic
Credit. It is used to mark the ARACH OPHOBIA
DCOVER
IAMOME D
controlling player in each round, RELAXED
THEPUDRIRGTEI AC
They are Coming: You hear a rumbling in the
dista ce aise the ostilit TIVIT
a d sh Re this
but can also be ipped like a coin card back into the deck. RELAXESe
Finders Keeper
s: Po
Dar
o
ELAX
ch: PlPU RG
ace 1 HaE
ED
GUAR
DED
Y
equ ipment that may infit tod aa Tr
CHARGE piec e o rvester at
during games to just
They are Here: Place lyinagPurge
Counter
nearest Entry Point
in plaiMother
to a Trader,
must cho and
be useful for
n sight. at
Replace
ose
The
the
5
W
play
A
ader
you
.
erCwith
T H the
r crew
Y Turn
the near
est Entry
ac
a cha O
nce Die: mak t: Thract
UR B
make decisions
thewith
Spiders in contact Chait. er and then roll
e ne A
es a M ar es t C K
• 1-2: Draw ove ac Harvester to
a random larg tion towa a Tr
K M
token.
PURGE
COVE e equipment rds that ader

such as who R ME Trader.

Protect the Mother: All unengaged Spiders on
• 3-4: Draw Respond: Th CHAR
the board immediately activatea–aran their
dom target lle near
Trad er sma akesequ ipmesent GE
must be the closest toke
enemy n. to the Mother.
Assaul mAll an
t Deva
stator
goes first. • 5-6
Spider tokens loose
been discarded arealre
on: the
placed
Takboard
ady in
e a po
next to
or
ss
Shi pibthat
the
Par
tion ag immediate Ra to
t achave
le. ts 2 tokeai
Gatherers
play, take a Shi n.
nst that
If it is Tr ad
nged
er, if
Board, and that many If that
Spiders are ,placed p Parts 1 toke
is in play draw KaILinran
L dom n.
equipm
contact with the Mother. If ent
there are MEsmall
Ta
tokerg n.no
et Mothers
Acquire PURG
on the board,Unw
place
antea Purge
d itemsMother
to a Caat the d: The E
foare dropt ain m
ppe neares
nearest Entryfeet
Point
. to a Trader, wingplaced 5atakthe
lloand es cha
an im ract t As
er’s sassin
Spiders in contact with it. Captai the AI Chart, med iate ac
tion
n as th
e target with the near
. est

FLORENCE
Florence is the Trader term for
Range Ruler
Universal Assets (UA), Galactic
This is double-sided – one
Credits or indeed any form of
side showing movement
currency. It is a slang word derived
distances, and the other
from the term cash ow, leading
for shooting.
to the well-known Trader phrase,
“to go with the ‘Flo”, in other words Target Counter Entry Point Markers
to always follow the money. Many This is used to
Trader captains carry old coins mark a point on
in a superstitious belief that it will the board, such
help them navigate the dangers Kill Point
as for a blast
of Core Space. The Turn Counter Counter
weapon.
represents the coin many captains
carry.

Dry-Wipe Pen
You will need one of these if you are playing a
campaign, allowing you to write on your Character
Boards to show your Traders’ advancement.

Chance Die Combat Dice Purge Die Security Die

This is used for These are used for attacking This is used to This is used
randomising various enemies. The blue die is always determine the number when activating
game effects, and used first, adding the red dice of Purge characters that Security Wardens.
is also used for for more powerful attacks. will arrive on the board
COMPONENTS

activating Civilians. – 0, 1, or 2.

5
 Trader Boards Ship Boards
These boards are double sided – one side is a playable
Trader, and the other a Civilian NPC.

Crew Dashboards
Purge Board

Hostility Tracker
The Hostility Board
fits into the ostility
Tracker.

Token Pouch/Equipment Tokens

These represent the various weapons and items that you will
find in Core Space. Most of the tokens can be stored together
in the token pouch, but there are some that you should keep
separately and only use when instructed:

• Large rectangular tokens

• Green objective tokens
• Rare items – any tokens with
the icon on the back

Pegs
The pegs are used in the Hostility Tracker and
Crew Dashboards to track various statistics
and effects.

Search/Reminder Counters
These are double sided. They are placed on the board during the
game up to show that a location has been searched. On the
other side, the and are used to remind you of certain game
effects – blue for positive effects such as extra actions, and red for
negative effects such as missing your turn.

Activation/Assistance Counters
These are double sided. They are placed on a Character Board
side up to remind you that a character has activated. On the other
side, the is used to mark a character that has been defeated and
needs help.
6
GLOSSARY • Target: The focus of a particular attack or action.
Throughout this book you will see certain words
that have a specific meaning within the context • Hit: Potential damage represented by
of the rules. t will be beneficial to know them in icons on the combat dice. Hits can be
advance, so they are listed for you here: affected by rules such as armour and cover.

• Player: The real-life person controlling a crew. • Damage: Actual wounds sustained from hits
after other rules have been accounted for.
• Character: Any single miniature.
• Prone: A character that has fallen or been
• Crew: The group of characters controlled by knocked off their feet. The model will be laid
a player. on its side.

• Trader: A character that is part of a • Defeated: A character who is out of the

player’s crew. game, at least temporarily. Defeated Traders
are laid on their side but left on the board.
• NPC: A non-player character controlled by Defeated NPCs are removed from play.
the game’s AI, including the Purge.
• Scatter: Moving a character or item in a
• Rank: The power level of an NPC. Higher- random direction determined by the Chance
ranked NPCs tend to arrive after but act Die (see page 13).
before lower-ranked ones.
• UA: Universal Asset – the game’s currency,
• Mission: A single game of Core Space. used for hiring crew members and trading
equipment between games.
• Round: A collection of phases that repeat
throughout the game, allowing all characters • May: Any rule that uses the word ‘may’ is
to act. optional, and the player(s) can choose not to
use it if they wish. Otherwise, all rules must
• Phase: specific part of a round where be applied in full, if possible.
certain groups of characters will act and
certain rules will come into play.

• Activation: The prompt for a character to

take their turn.

• Turn: The time in which an individual

character is activated and takes actions.

• Action: A self-contained activity that a

character does. The number of actions a
character can take in a turn will be limited,
unless the action is marked as ‘free’.

• Enemy: A character from an opposing crew

or group of NPCs. Characters will often be
restricted from taking certain actions while
enemies are nearby. Civilians are never
considered to be enemies except by the
Purge, who consider everyone an enemy!

• Engaged: Enemy characters in base contact

COMPONENTS

with each other are engaged.

• Attack: A dice roll made against a character

in order to in ict damage.
Usually made via an
Assault action, but
attacks can be generated
from other sources as well.

7
 TERRAIN
The Core Space game is built to work with Battle Systems’ modular terrain. It is made from sturdy full
colour board and can be assembled without glue or prior hobby knowledge.

Before playing for the first time you will need to remove all of
the walls, small terrain pieces, character boards and counters
from the card sheets. Some of the small terrain pieces require
basic assembly.

he Core Space starter set comes with enough terrain to fill

a standard 2 foot by 2 foot gaming area, and to play all of the
standard missions. ere is an example of the Salvage Run
mission from page 56.

Each Core Space mission comes with a map showing how to set up the board. The large rectangular pieces
are walls, and they are assembled in a simple grid to match the map, using the plastic clips provided.

The edge of the playing area is considered to be a wall for rules purposes, but you do not need to
physically place walls around the edges.

Depending on the number of players available to help, you will need to allow approximately minutes to set
up the playing area before each game, and a further minutes to set up the rest of the game components.

8
Standalone Terrain
As well as walls, Core Space also uses smaller pieces of standalone terrain. In
the game these pieces are used to provide cover from shooting attacks and can
also represent key ob ectives in your missions.

These standalone pieces often require assembly in order for them to stand
upright on the board. The pieces simply push together, but may need to be bent
or folded first.

hese pieces of terrain have different uses in game.

ieces such as a conduit, locker or bunk are intended to be fixed in place and will often clip
onto the walls. hese pieces can be used as cover but usually won t have any additional rules.

Conduit Locker Bunk

Smaller pieces such as chairs, tables and crates will still provide a limited amount of cover, but can
also be moved around the board and or nteracted with, if you wish.

Table Chair Workstation Crates

Crates in particular are very important in the Core Space rules. Crates will usually contain
e uipment that your raders can pick up and use. t the start of each game you will fill the crates
with a random selection of items,
and you will need to Search
these during the game to see
what you can find.

or video tutorials on how to

assemble the components,
and for the full range of Battle
Systems terrain, please visit
battlesystems.co.uk.
TERRAIN

9
 Crew Dashboards A character can never exceed their potential, but
they can drop below their default!
Each rader has their own Board, which fits
into the Crew Dashboard. The dashboard is Points
split into four sections: Trader Board, Items, Points are the value of a character’s total worth,
Class and Pegs. used when selecting a crew (see page 66).
Trader Board The Points value is located at the bottom left
The Trader Board shows the Trader’s statistics corner of the Character Board.
and personal details. Note that the reverse of the
board shows the Trader in their Civilian guise. Base Abilities
Their statistics will be covered on page 16. In addition to any Skills granted by their class,
some characters also start with some Skills or
abilities as standard, shown in the bottom left.
Skills will be pre-marked with a certain level
(see the Class Board) and work in exactly
the same way. You may also see some
additional icons, such as the one to the right,
which are covered in more detail on page 16.

Armour Slot
The Trader Board has an area in the bottom right
Character Species and Type corner that may be punched out, leaving space
The character’s species is listed at the top of for an item see below , specifically, armour.
the board, and the type (Captain or Crew) at the Armour will grant additional protection to the
bottom. Certain rules may refer to these attributes. character when attacked, and its rules will only
apply when placed in this slot.
Statistics
These are depicted with a series of circles and However, don’t discard the piece that you have
include the character’s Health, Action, Skill, removed! Many characters have an additional
and Career. base ability in this area which will be in effect
whenever they are not weighed down by armour.
Health represents the character’s toughness and
stamina and shows how much damage they can Items
take before they are defeated. The items that a character starts with
or collects during a game are stored
Action shows how many actions (see page 21) here. There is an actual, physical limit
the character can make each round. – the character cannot carry more
items than the tray can hold! Larger
Skill shows how many specialised Skills (see
items such as ri es take up more
page 32) the character can use in a game.
space, so use this area wisely.
Career represents everything the character
has learned during their time in the crew and
Class
The Class Board represents the character’s
affects how many Skills they can learn, as well
profession and specialisation, and therefore the
as improving their other statistics later in a
type of Skills available to them.
campaign (see page 74).

Default vs. Potential

You will notice that each statistic has some
spaces filled out with an inner circle default),
and some left blank (potential).

Default spaces represent the character’s starting Each of the coloured icons represents a Skill
abilities – the inner circles should be filled in with (see page 162). The spaces around it can
a dry-wipe pen at the start of a game. be marked with the dry-wipe pen to show the
character s proficiency with that Skill, from evel
Potential spaces represent the character’s ability 1 to Level 3. When selecting a crew (see page
to improve in a campaign. These spaces can be the player will fill in a number of these spaces
filled in to add points to the character s statistics. equal to the Trader’s current Career points to

10
show their starting Skills. As the character’s Board, the character is defeated. Unless stated
Career advances in a campaign, more points otherwise, a character can never exceed their
can be allocated to the Class Board to learn new current Health statistic.
Skills or upgrade existing ones.
The second row shows the character’s Skill,
Pegs using the purple pegs. Like Health, this is set at
he statistics on the rader Board are fixed the start of the game to match the Skill statistic. If
during play, and the in-game action instead takes there are no pegs remaining, the character may
place down here. hese holes are filled with the no longer use Skills.
plastic pegs to show the uctuating state of the
character’s abilities. The bottom row shows the amount of ammo
carried by the character, using the yellow pegs.
The top row shows the character’s Health, Characters always start the game with a full
using the green pegs. At the start of a game magazine of ammo, but this will change as
pegs are added to match the character’s current weapons are fired and reloaded. f there are no
Health statistic and pegs may be removed or pegs remaining, the character may not fire their
added during the game as the character takes ranged weapons.
damage. If there are no pegs remaining on their

Example
• Arianna has a default Health statistic of 5 but
the potential to raise it to 7. It is currently at 6.

• She has 2 default Actions, but the potential

for 3.

• She has a default of 4 Skill points, and the

potential for 6, with 5 marked currently.

• She has a default Career of 4 points,

currently has 10 points, and has a maximum
of 15!

• rianna s base ability is the Re exes Skill,

Level 1.

• In addition, she has a icon in her armour

slot. If she is not wearing armour, she will be
able to Move an extra inch.

• Arianna is carrying a Common Pistol and an

Energy Baton.

• Arianna has allocated her 10 Career points to

7 different Skills in the Hunter class:

She is Level 1 in Marksman, Disarm,

Crew Dashboards

Ambush, Fade to Black, and Evade.

She is Level 2 in Combat Expert.

She is Level 3 in Weapons Expert.

• Arianna will start a game with 6 Health pegs

(equal to her Health statistic), 5 Skill pegs
(equal to her Skill statistic), and 7 ammo pegs
(a full magazine).

11
 Key Concepts
Hostility
The Hostility Tracker is used to gauge Purge
interference. The higher the Hostility, the more
deadly and numerous the Purge become. The
tracker increases by 1 point each round, marked
using the black pegs, and will increase by a further
following the first shot fired by a rader each
round (if any), as the noise draws the Purge closer.

There are 7 Hostility levels:

• Relaxed
• Guarded
• Watch Your Back
• Cover Me
• Charge
• Kill Me
• Purge!

Each of these includes a number of icons

indicating the character type(s) that arrive in the
Purge and NPC Phases (see pages 34 and 40).

If an icon is followed by a number, that many

characters will be placed. If the icon is followed
by a die icon, roll that die to determine how many
characters of that type will appear.

The Hostility level will also determine the effect of

Event Cards each turn (see page 20).

If the Hostility level reaches Purge!, turn the Purge

Board over to the ‘Charged’ side – from now on all
Purge characters will have increased statistics.

The Hostility Board

You will notice that the Hostility Board has two
sides. The side shown here should be used for
any games using only the core set. The reverse
side should be used when you want a bit more of
a challenge and have incorporated the additional
NPC and Purge types into your games.

Icon Key
Harvester Civilian

Devastator Ganger

Assassin Galactic
Corps

Live One
Purge Die

Annihilator
Chance Die

Mother

12
COMBAT DICE RANDOM DIRECTIONS AND SCATTER
There are two types of combat dice; blue and The Chance Die can also be used to determine
red. These are mostly used for Assault (see page random directions – the chosen direction will be
23), but you may sometimes need to roll them for shown by the arrow on the die face after it has
other reasons, as detailed in specific rules. stopped moving.

The blue die is always used Some rules will ask you to scatter an item or
as part of a roll. If only a character. To do so, simply roll the Chance Die.
single dice is required, only The item or character in question is moved a
the blue dice is rolled. number of inches from its current position using
the number and direction shown on the die. If
If more than one die is this would cause it to hit a wall, another model,
required, all additional dice or any other obstruction, it will move as far as it
will be red. Red dice are not can and stop.
quite as powerful as blue dice.

There are two different icons on the dice:

• Each icon is a hit.

• Each icon is a misfire, and will often have
an adverse effect.

Blanks are failures and have no effect.

CHANCE AND RANDOMISATION

In Core Space you will often be asked to choose
a crew, Trader or item at random. This is done
using the numbers on the Chance Die to
generate a result. Ignore the icons
and arrows on the die for these rolls.

This is a simple way of

deciding random actions and
keeps the game moving fast.
If you come up against a
situation not covered by the
rules, or something that
you can’t decide on, just
roll the Chance Die to
see what happens.

EXAMPLE
One member of the Black Maria is affected
by a technical failure. There are 3 crew
members in play. Roll the Chance Die. On
Key Concepts

a 1-2 it’s Jace, 3-4 it’s Lars and on a 5-6 it’s

Renton. If there were 4 members you could
roll 1 for Jace, 2 for Lars, 3 for Renton and 4
for Beck, re-rolling the dice on a 5 or 6.

13
 LINE OF SIGHT
There are various rules in Core Space that
require miniatures to see each other, such as
firing a ranged weapon. his is called line of
sight (or LoS for short).

For a character to draw line of sight, you must

be able to trace a straight line from the centre
of their base to any part of the target character.
You can use the range ruler to trace this line to
ensure it is straight.

Bio-Tag Rifle

If you cannot draw a line to any part of the Character A’s LoS to target B is only
target without being completely obstructed by partially blocked as B can be seen through
another character, wall, or a piece of terrain at the window - refer to the cover rules. LoS
least as tall as the target, line of sight cannot to target C is completely blocked by the
be drawn. wall. A’s LoS to D is clear.

Note that all characters are considered to be the

same height for LoS purposes unless they are
Massive (see page 171), and the entire area above
their base blocks LoS, regardless of their pose.

If you can only draw a line to part of the target, or the

line is obstructed by a piece of terrain shorter than
the target (such as a crate), check the cover rules on
the next page to see if line of sight can be drawn.

Magnum Pistol

The exception to this rule is that characters can

ignore pieces of terrain shorter than themselves
if they are in base contact (so a model in contact
with a crate can fire over it without penalty for
example). The same applies to other members
of their crew in base contact – it is assumed that
they will get their comrade to duck!

A has clear LoS to target C. However, A’s

LoS to B and D is partially obscured by the
terrain - refer to the cover rules.

14
COVER
Often terrain and walls will partially block line of
sight, but enough of the target may be visible for
a shot to be taken. In this case, the target is in
cover. The amount of cover may have an impact
on the attack or action being made as follows:

• If 25% of the target or less is obstructed,

this is insufficient cover. Line of sight can
be drawn as normal and no further rules
will apply.
• If between 25% and 90% of the target is
Insufficient Partial Full
obstructed (such as them hiding behind a Cover Cover Cover
crate or bulkhead), this is partial cover. Line
of sight can be drawn, but additional rules Note that prone characters will be affected
may apply (see Ranged Assault on page 26 by cover based on their prone position, so a
for example, where partial cover will reduce waist-high crate may provide full cover to a
hits by 1). prone character.
• If 90% or more of a target is obstructed, they
are in full cover – line of sight cannot be If you cannot decide what type of cover a target
drawn at all. is in, roll the Chance Die – on a 1–3 it’s the
larger amount of cover, and on a 4–6 it’s the
smaller amount.

RANGE
For most weapons line of sight isn’t enough – they will also be limited by range –
depending on the distance to the target the weapon may be more or less powerful,
or be unable to hit at all. This is measured using the range ruler, from the edge of
the shooting character’s base to the edge of the target’s base.

• Short range is up to 5 inches.

• Medium range is from 5–13 inches.
• Long range is 13 inches or more – anywhere further than the length of the ruler.

On page 17 you will see how this is shown on the weapon tokens.

Key Concepts

15
 Equipment, Icons and NPC STATISTICS
Statistics Unlike Traders, NPCs do not make complex
Throughout Core Space you will see various actions or use items, so their statistics are much
numbers and icons – on Trader Boards, simpler. There are four values that you will see
equipment tokens, or in this rulebook. Here is a across all NPC Boards, whether it’s the Purge,
quick guide to explain what they mean. the Galactic Corps, or the lowly Civilians. These
boards should be kept to the side of the playing
A full list of the game’s icons can be found on area in view of all players.
page 171.
This is the number of actions that an
Base Ability Icons NPC can take each turn. Note that NPCs
Some Traders and other characters will have do not always use their actions when
starting abilities that give them bonuses in the they activate – see page 40.
game. The most common ones are:
This is the number of dice that an NPC
will roll for a Close Assault action.
Whenever making a Move action (see
page 22), this character can move an This is the number of dice that an NPC
additional number of inches equal to the will roll for a Ranged Assault action.
number inside this icon. They are still All NPCs can shoot at up to medium
limited to the 11 inch maximum. range, except the Purge who can shoot
Whenever making a Close Assault at any range.
action (see page 25), this player rolls This is the physical armour value of
dice equal to the number inside this icon the NPC and will modify any hits made
when unarmed. If they have a weapon, against them.
they will use its dice instead. This value is used when Traders attempt
This character has a permanent physical to Persuade the NPC to do something.
armour value (see page 24) equal to the This is covered in more detail on page 29.
number inside this icon, when they are
not wearing armour. If they wear armour, While some NPCs can carry items, they cannot
they use its value instead. use them – they will only use the statistics above.
When this character moves into contact
with an enemy, it gets an immediate free
Close Assault action (see page 25).

Although you will see this icon on a few

boards, for your first few games you can
ignore it. It is used for the Climbing and
Jumping rules on page 112.
Characters with this icon have their
actions ‘linked’. This means that any
actions they take in their turn must be
of the same type. For example, a
character with two actions could
move twice or shoot twice, but
couldn’t move and shoot in the
same turn.

16
EQUIPMENT TOKENS
Equipment is one of the most important features of Core Space, represented by the small square and
rectangular tokens in the game – each of these is a weapon or more specialised item that can be
carried by Traders as well as other characters.

You will notice that the tokens come in a variety of colours. This denotes their type, as follows:

Blue: Weapons – these will be held in your item tray and used to make Assault actions.

Yellow: Armour – can be held in the item tray, but its rules will only apply when in the
armour slot.

Orange: Special Items – this covers any other equipment used during the game, from
Ammo Mags, to Medi-Stims, to Sensor Goggles.
Purple: Non-combat equipment, such as money or ship parts – these items are not used
during the game, but they will be very useful for trading and maintaining your ship when the
mission is finished, so you ll need to allow space for them in your item tray.
Green: b ectives – these tokens are only used where specified in missions, to represent a vital
asset that the crews are trying to retrieve. Usually a Trader will have to carry this off of the board
to win.

On the back of each equipment token you will see the cost of the item.
This is used when trading in a campaign (see page 75).

WEAPON STATISTICS
Like characters, weapons and armour also have statistics, shown below. Many items will have more
specialised icons as well. These will each be covered in the appropriate section of the rules and can
also be found in the reference section on page 171.

RANGED WEAPONS
This is the number of combat dice used by the weapon in a Ranged Assault
action (see page 26), at short, medium and long range respectively. If there
Short Medium Long is no number shown, the weapon cannot be used at that range.
CLOSE ASSAULT WEAPONS
This is the number of combat dice This is the number of combat dice
used by the weapon in a Close used when throwing the weapon
Assault action (see page 25), (see page 31). If there is no number
when making a standard or heavy shown, the weapon cannot be used
hit respectively. in that way.

ARMOUR
A physical armour value will reduce the number of hits against the wearer by the
value shown.
Physical
A shield armour value will reduce the number of hits by the value shown, but if
Shield the value is beaten the shield is inactive for the rest of the mission.
Combat A combat value means that this armour allows the wearer to make Close Assault
actions with it when unarmed. When using a weapon, they will use the weapon’s
Key Concepts

dice as normal.
For more on armour, see page 24.
BLAST WEAPONS
This is the number of combat The smaller numbers show the number of combat dice used
dice or effect used on the on characters within 1 and 2 inches of the target respectively.
target of the attack. For more on blast weapons, see page 31.

17
 SETTING UP THE GAME
Core Space is played using a series of missions
– scenarios with pre-set objectives. These
can be played as a continuous narrative (see
Campaigns on page 68), but most people start
out by playing one-off games. That’s what we
will set up here.

Note: Some missions may have slight variations

on these set-up rules. If so, this will be stated in
the mission briefing.

To set up a game, follow these

steps in order:

1. Read through the Missions section

of this book on page 52, or
the mission briefings that
come with other Core Space
sets, and select the one you
want to play. Each has a narrative
intro to set the scene, which will help you
make your decision. or your first game,
we suggest you start with the Salvage Run
mission on page 56.
2. Lay out the gaming mat(s) and terrain
as shown on the map. However, do not 5. The players then
place the cargo crates just yet. The Set Up take it in turns to
Diagram for the mission (see page 53) will randomly place the cargo
show how many of each token to put inside crates onto the board in the
each crate. It may also specify certain ‘Key positions shown on the map.
Item’ tokens to set aside before starting. 6. Choose which Events will be used for this
3. Take all the large equipment tokens from game as detailed on page . Shuf e the
your collection and put them into the token Event Cards and place the deck face down at
pouch. Without looking, draw the number the side of the board.
shown in the mission’s diagram for each 7. Place the Entry Points around the board as
large cargo crate on the board and place the shown on the map.
tokens inside the crate. The remaining large 8. Place the Purge Board and Purge miniatures
equipment tokens should be removed from at the side of the playing area.
the pouch and put back in the box – they will 9. Decide between the players which NPCs will
not be used for this mission. be used for this game (see page 53), and
ote that many missions call for specific place their miniatures and Character Boards
tokens (usually rare ones) to be part of at the side of the playing area.
the random selection before the tokens 10. If there are two players, use the Turn
are placed in the crates. See page 53 for Counter as a coin toss to determine which
more details. player will deploy their crew first. f there
4. Now place all the small equipment tokens into are more than two players, each player
the pouch. Without looking, draw the number should roll the Chance Die. The player that
shown in the mission’s diagram for each small rolls highest goes first re rolling ties . he
and large cargo crate on the board and place winning player can choose any airlock door
them inside the crates as above. As above, on the map to be their starting point. The
be sure to include any rare or special tokens other players then choose their starting
in this selection as detailed in the mission. points, proceeding clockwise around the
Don’t forget to put the lids back on. Leave the table. Note that in a campaign, the winner
remaining equipment tokens in the pouch – of the previous game can choose their
they will be used during the game. airlock door instead of rolling the Chance
Die or ipping the urn Counter.

18
 11. Each player
should now select
their crew (see page
66 for more details).
The players place their
dashboards in front of them
with the appropriate Trader and Class
Boards in place. Their Ship Board should be
placed airlock side up (see page 71) in line with
their chosen airlock location, and the miniatures
should be placed onto the Ship Board.
12. Each player should place pegs into their
crew dashboards – Health and Skill pegs
equal to the characters’ statistics, and full
magazines of ammo. Unless playing a
Rescue Mission (page 54), pegs are always
reset to their full values at the start of a
game, even in a campaign.
13. Finally, it’s time to start the game. The player
that deployed last should take the Turn
Counter – they will go first in the first round.

ENDING A MISSION
Missions will list various objectives, but these do not necessarily have to be completed to end a
mission. Sometimes it will be all you can do to escape with your lives!
SETTING UP THE GAME

nless specified otherwise in the mission briefing, a game will end immediately when all raders
are either defeated or are back on board their ships.

If one crew was entirely wiped out (all of their Traders were defeated), that player
automatically loses.

Otherwise, in a one-off game, if the Primary Objective was completed, the player(s) that
completed it are the winner(s). If it was not completed, the winner is the player with the most
Traders still alive. If it’s still a tie, add up the sale price of all of your crew’s equipment tokens
(the second number on the back of the token). The winner is the one with the most money.

Of course, in a campaign it’s not quite so simple – you can lose a game but still come out on top
in the end if you play it right! The campaigns section on page 68 will go into this in more detail.

19
 Order of Play Note the following:
Each mission is played in a series of rounds,
• If you draw an
during which all characters on the board will
get to act. Each round is broken down into the Assistance card , B
BY TLI DED
found in various Core
HE L
IGHT
RELA

following phases:
Shield XED
Yo
intel ab ur Eyes: Yo PURG
ou
discard t this missi u have receiv
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Space expansions,
on. Ke
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a o ep this ed important
lowing o rt r card an
: s to e d
• Fla efit ro
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lighting mb: You ha

do not show the other

system ck into
those
around to overload the local

1. Hostility
board you. Pic it and
in k a po blind
characte LoS of one int on
of the
range rs (except Ma your Traders.
of
next tur that point los chines) in sh All

players. These cards n. e an ac ort

2. Trader
tion in
their

3. Purge are kept by the player

4. NPC with the Turn Counter
5. Assessment to use later.
• If a card allows multiple players to make
1. Hostility Phase an action, the player with the Turn Counter
As the game goes on, Purge interference will goes first, proceeding clockwise.
increase as they become aware of your presence. • If there is no target for a rule, the rule has no
In this phase, start by adding 1 black peg into the effect. If part of a card’s text can be resolved
first empty space on the ostility racker. but not all of it, resolve as much as possible
and then discard the card.
• If for any reason, no part of a card’s text can
be resolved (for example a
card that moves a Civilian
WATCH YOUR BACK
when there are none), The nearest Harvester to a Trader
ignore the text.
makesIfathere
Move action towards that Trader.

is an icon at theCOVER
end of ME CHARGE
the paragraph, it will be The nearest Devastator to
a Trader makes an immediate Ranged
used to place a new
Assault actionNPC
against that Trader, if
instead, if possible. The
Note: In multiplayer games, you must add 1 peg NPC will arrive as detailed on pages 34/41
for every three crews, rounding up, so you would as normal. Whether an NPC is placed or
add 1 peg per round with 1-3 crews, and 2 pegs not, shuf e the unresolved card back into
per round with 4-6 crews. the deck and draw another.

Then, the player with the Turn Counter draws 2. Trader Phase
an Event Card. Random events may help or In the Trader Phase, players will take turns
impede the players’ progress. Some are merely a to activate their Traders. The Trader Phase is
nuisance, but others can be deadly and you will explored in more detail on page 21.
need to be ready for them.
3. Purge Phase
Depending on the current Hostility level, the card In the Purge Phase, new Purge constructs will
may have different effects. Resolve all the effects arrive on the board and then the Purge will
detailed for the current Hostility level. Once the attack. For full details on the Purge Phase, see
card is resolved, place it in a discard pile to the page 34.
side of the board, face up. If the deck ever runs
out, shuf e the discard pile to make a new deck. 4. NPC Phase
In the NPC Phase, all other NPCs controlled by
the game, such as Civilians and the Galactic
Corps, will act. See page 40 for how this works.

5. Assessment Phase
In the Assessment Phase the board is tidied up
ready for the following round.

• All Activation Counters are removed.

• Any other effects that state they happen ‘at
the end of the round’ will happen now.
• The Turn Counter is passed to the next
player, moving clockwise around the table –
they will be in control for the following round.

20
Trader Phase The most common actions that can be taken are
as follows:
In the Trader Phase, the players take it in turns
to activate their Traders. The player holding the
• Move
urn Counter goes first, and then play continues
• Ranged Assault
clockwise around the table, each player
• Close Assault
activating one character at a time until all Traders
• Knock Back
have been activated.
• Search
• Reload
The Player’s Turn
• Persuade
When it is a player’s turn to activate a Trader,
• Interact
they do the following:
Each of these is detailed on the following pages,
1. Choose one of their Traders to activate. This
along with a few other less common actions.
cannot be a character that has been marked
nless specified otherwise, there is no restriction
with an Activation Counter.
to the number of times that a particular action
2. Take actions with the Trader, allowing them
can be taken, or the order they can be taken in.
to move, shoot, interact with the terrain, and
more. The following pages list the available In addition, a character can take effortless
actions in detail. actions – these do not count towards your
3. hen you are finished, place an action limit, but you can only take one of them
Activation Counter on the Trader’s per turn – see page 30.
dashboard to remind you that they
cannot act again this round. Prone Characters
4. Play passes to the next player clockwise Prone characters cannot take any actions other
around the table. When all Traders on the than to Stand Up (see page 29), after which they
board have been activated, move on to the can act normally.
Purge Phase.
Defeated Characters
Actions Defeated characters cannot take any actions
A Trader’s Action statistic (see page 10) shows at all until they have been revived by another
how many actions they can take in a turn. Most character. For more on defeated characters, see
characters have two, but some have more. You page 33.
can choose to use all, some, or none of them
when activating your character.

Trader Phase

21
 Move Attacks of Opportunity
Movement in Core Space is measured in If a character leaves base contact
inches, using the range ruler provided. with one or more enemies, either
Characters can Move in any direction, but at the start or during their Move, all
cannot Move through or over terrain unless standing, engaged enemies can make
specified otherwise. Characters can Move a free Close Assault action (see page
through other friendly characters, but 25) against the moving character,
cannot move through enemies without regardless of whether they have already
permission (note that enemy NPCs will activated this turn. This action is resolved
never give permission). immediately and does not use any of their
actions for the turn.
When a character takes a Move action,
they can move up to 4 inches, as marked Entering and Leaving The Ship
on the ruler. This is measured from the Traders will start the game inside their ship’s
edge of their base. airlock. o enter the board, their first action of
the game must be a Move action, measured
You will note however that the from the airlock door.
maximum Move is 11 inches. No
matter how many actions a character Traders that wish to return to their ship can
spends Moving, and no matter what also do so with a Move action, again measured
abilities they may have, they can to the airlock door at the board edge. Note
never voluntarily Move more than that once a character has left the board and
11 inches in a single round (they returned to their ship, they are out of the game
may still be Knocked Back by an and cannot return.
enemy or moved involuntarily by
an effect). Enemy Traders and NPCs may not enter a
player’s ship without their permission.

Example

Lars wants to enter the nearby corridor using two Move actions. He cannot move
through the wall and the nearby crate, but he can go around them as shown, up to
the 4 inch limit per action.

22
Assault Actions Misfires
An Assault action allows one character to The icon on the dice signifies a misfire or
attack another. There are two types of Assault weapon malfunction.
action – a Close Assault action (page 25)
made with a character s fists or a hand to hand If two or more icons are rolled during an
combat weapon, or a Ranged Assault action attack, the weapon jams or breaks and no
(page 26) made with a ballistic, chemical or damage is caused.
energy weapon.
Ranged weapons are jammed – rotate the token
Both types are similar in execution, except for the 180° in your dashboard. Clearing a jammed
positioning of the attacker and their target. Each ranged weapon costs 1 action.
allows the character to make an attack.

Attacks
Close Assault attacks can only be made against
enemies in base contact with your character.

Ranged Assault attacks are made at a distance,

against targets within LoS and range of your
character’s weapon. They cannot be made against Close assault weapons are broken ip the item
targets in base contact with your character. face down in the tray in your dashboard.

Otherwise both types of attack are made in the

same way:

• Roll combat dice for the weapon as shown

on its token or on your character profile if
fighting unarmed . he number of icons
rolled are your hits.
• pply any applicable modifiers to the roll Broken weapons cannot be used again during
such as cover (page 15) or armour (page this game. They can only be repaired during
24), altering the number of hits scored. the game with a Repair action (see page 114).
Some special rules and Skills may apply Otherwise, they will be repaired automatically
further modifiers. after the game if playing a campaign.
• Any remaining hits cause damage.
If targeting a Trader, reduce the target’s f you are fighting unarmed, or your weapon
Health by 1 for each point of damage. If has a icon (see page 27), results have
their Health reaches zero the character is no effect.
defeated – lay the character on their side.
They will remain there until moved, revived,
or killed (see page 33). The Live One
If targeting an NPC, unless stated Defeating a Purge Live One is a
otherwise the character is instantly feat worthy of renown. he first
defeated and removed from play if they Trader to defeat a Live One in a
take damage. Any items they were carrying mission takes the Live One Kill
are left on the ground where they fell. Point Counter.
Note that certain rules or cards will also call for This counter is exchanged in the
attacks to be made against a target. These are Advancement Phase after the game – see
carried out in the same way, but will specify the page 74.
Trader Phase

number of dice to roll rather than referring to a

character or weapon. Unless stated otherwise,
such attacks do not have an origin and therefore
cover modifiers do not apply.

23
 Armour If a character with shield armour takes hits up to
Hits sustained in an attack and including the shield armour value, the attack
can be reduced by armour. Physical is resolved just like physical armour above.
There are two types of Shield However, if enough hits get through to damage
armour, physical and the wearer, the shield has been overloaded and
shield. Each token will have Combat cannot be used for the rest of the
numbers shown as follows: mission – ip the token face down.
It will recharge between missions
Physical armour has a permanent affect in a campaign. For example, if a
while it is worn, reducing the number of hits character with a Shield Belt (shield armour value
scored in an attack against the wearer by of suffers hit, it will be de ected as normal
the physical armour value on the and the armour will continue to work. If the
counter. For example, if a character character suffers hits, would be de ected,
with a Combat Vest (physical would cause damage, and the armour would be
armour value of 1) suffers 2 hits, rendered inactive.
the armour will deflect/absorb 1 of
those hits, but the other will get through and If for any reason a character has both physical
cause damage. This will happen each time the and shield armour at the same time, they will use
character is attacked. the highest value available. If these values are
equal, the shield armour takes priority.
Shield armour, however, is energy based, and
if beaten will be rendered inactive for the rest Some armour will also allow the character to
of the game. attack with it in Close Assault as detailed on the
next page.

24
Close Assault
To attempt a Close Assault attack the enemy
must be engaged with your character. You
may either fight unarmed (if possible) or
choose one of your character’s close assault
weapons to attack with. You Standard Hit
will then choose whether you
want to make a standard hit
or a heavy hit, and roll the
number of dice shown.
Heavy Hit

Standard hits ignore results. Heavy hits have

a chance of breaking the weapon and results
will apply as normal.

Cover does not apply to Close Assault attacks,

but armour will apply as normal.

Note that some armour includes an

unarmed combat icon – this can be used
in a Close Assault attack like any other
weapon. hese icons do not stack a
character will use one or the other.

Attacks of Opportunity
Don’t forget that if a character is engaged
with an enemy and moves away, the enemy
can make a free Close Assault attack against
it, following all the usual rules. This attack is
resolved immediately, does not use any of
that character’s actions for the turn, and can
be done even if the attacking character has
already activated.

Example

Roykirk uses his first action to move into base

contact with Beck, and his second to attack
Beck with his Combat Knife. This gives him
one die. The player rolls, but the result is a
blank – Roykirk has failed to hit!

When it is Beck’s turn to activate, he may

choose to spend an action attacking back
with his own Combat Knife. However,
to give him a chance to really do some
damage, he can instead use the weapon’s
heavy hit option, rolling two dice. One of his
hits will be de ected by Roykirk s Combat
Trader Phase

Vest, but with two dice he has the potential

to roll 3 hits! There is a chance that the
weapon might break, but the player thinks
it’s worth the risk.

If the characters survive the attacks, they will remain engaged and continue to make Close
Assault actions until one of them chooses to Move away (attracting an attack of opportunity), or
one of them is defeated.

25
 Ranged Assault fter the first Ranged ssault action made by
To attempt a Ranged Assault attack the target a Trader in each round, place the peg in the
must be within range and LoS, and cannot be Hostility Tracker instead of discarding it. You
engaged with your character. If you are engaged can easily remember if this has happened
with one or more other enemies while making already this round because the last peg in the
a ranged attack, they may make an attack of Hostility Tracker will be yellow instead of black.
opportunity against your character. Only one ammo peg is placed in the Hostility
Tracker per round.
You must choose one of your
character’s ranged weapons to
attack with, and roll a number Short Medium Long
of dice based on the range
between the shooter and the target.

he most common modifier applied to ranged

attacks is cover (see page 15). Partial cover will
reduce the number of hits on a target by 1. This
is always resolved before any other modifiers
such as armour. Shooting at Engaged Characters
Characters that are engaged with each other
Important: Making a ranged attack reduces will be constantly moving, raining down blows or
your ammo – remove an ammo peg from dodging aside, and they make for difficult targets
your dashboard. when shooting.

If you want to shoot at an enemy engaged with

another character, check the following:

• At short range, you can freely pick your target

– you are close enough to pick your moment
and aim straight.
• At medium or long range, after rolling
to hit you must roll the Chance Die to
determine which of the combatants you
have hit (even if one of them is your own
character!). Modifiers such as cover and
armour are worked out based on the
actual target hit.

26
 Example
Renton fires at short range with an Outland Pistol, which
allows him to roll one die. e is firing at rival rader, Roykirk,
who is in partial cover and has no armour.

The player rolls the blue combat die and gets a single hit.
However, the partial cover reduces the number of hits by 1.
With zero hits, the attack does no damage.

In the next player’s turn Roykirk shoots back. Renton is in clear

LoS with no cover, but is wearing a Combat Vest. Roykirk has
a Combat Rifle, rolling two dice (one blue, one red this time).
He rolls one result, and one result.

A single result will not am the ri e and is ignored. Renton s

armour will block one of Roykirk’s 2 hits, but the other gets
through. Renton takes 1 damage and loses a Health peg.

Common Ranged Attack Icons Infinite Ammo: This weapon does

Burst Fire +1: You may add 1 combat not use any ammo pegs (and can be
die to your attack, but you must remove fired if you have no ammo), but one
1 extra ammo peg. peg must still be added to the Hostility
Tracker from the supply.
Burst Fire +2: You may add up to 2 combat
dice to your attack, but you must remove Reliable: This weapon ignores
the same number of extra ammo pegs. results.

Full Charge Shot: You may empty your Target Lock: This weapon ignores
weapon in one powerful blast. You must partial cover, and can fire at engaged
have at least 4 ammo pegs remaining, characters at any range without
and all of them are removed. Based on randomising the target.
the number of pegs removed, either:
Silent: This weapon does not add a peg
• Add 2 combat dice to your attack if to the Hostility Tracker.
ammo pegs were removed.
• Add 3 combat dice to your attack if Dangerous: fter the shot is fired, the user
ammo pegs were removed. suffers an attack with a number of combat
dice equal to the number in the icon.

Trader Phase

27
 Knock Back Open the cargo crate and remove the contents,
A Knock Back action allows you to shove or keeping the tokens hidden from other players. The
misdirect another character in base contact, player can add any or all of the contents to their
pushing them away. character’s dashboard. Any remaining items, and
any of their own items that they no longer want or
To Knock Back another character, roll dice equal have room for, are placed back into the cargo crate.
to your character’s unarmed combat value, if
they have one, or one die if they do not. Crates can be Searched any number of times in
a game.
For each hit scored, the defending model is
pushed 1 inch directly away from the attacker. General Search
Armour has no effect. The attacker can follow Characters may also do a general Search
up to remain in base contact with the defender of the room they are in, as long as they are
if they wish, and have not already moved their not engaged with an enemy and there are no
maximum distance this round. None of these enemies in the room. room is defined as an
moves attract attacks of opportunity. area completely surrounded by either walls
or the edges of the board (ignoring doors and
If you score 3 or more hits, the defending model windows). Each room can only be Searched
is then knocked prone. once per mission – add a Search Counter
to the room to remind you that it cannot be
If the space directly behind the defender is blocked Searched again.
by other characters or terrain, they are pushed in
the closest possible direction instead. If there is no When you make a general Search, take a
space to push an opponent back, they do not move. random item from the token pouch. If you wish,
you may add it to your character’s dashboard.
If you roll any , you have misjudged the attack If you don’t want the item, or you want to swap
and stumble. The action is not resolved, and the it with an item you already hold, place the
opposing model can immediately make a free discarded item on the oor, in base contact with
Knock Back action against you instead. If they your character.
also roll a , there is no effect.
Note: Most of the time the separation of
Massive characters (marked with the icon to ‘rooms’ on the board is obvious, but players
the right) use the number within the icon like may agree to separate very large rooms or
armour against Knock Backs, reducing the long corridors into multiple areas that can each
number of hits. They also add this many automatic be Searched separately.
hits to their own Knock Back attempts.

Search
Search actions allow a character to look around
and find new items, and will often be the key to
victory in a mission. There are two types of Search:

Search a Crate
Characters may Search any cargo crate they
are in base contact with, as long as they are not
engaged with an enemy.

Knock Back Example

Gak is blocking a doorway. Lars wants to get through the
doorway to have access to a crate on the other side, and so
he decides to knock Gak backwards.

Lars does not have an unarmed combat value, so he rolls the

standard 1 die for the attempt. He scores a hit, allowing Gak to
be shoved back 1 inch, leaving the doorway clear.

28
Persuade Reload
NPCs can often be persuaded to do certain Reloading can only be done if a
things, such as trade an item with you or even character is holding an ammo token
join your crew. To do this you must be in base and is not engaged with an enemy.
contact with the NPC you are trying to Persuade
and not engaged with any other enemy. When you reload, add the number of ammo pegs
listed on the token to your dashboard, up to the
Characters can be persuaded to: maximum. ou will usually have to then ip )
the token or discard ( ) it and return it to the
• Trade an item. If they are carrying an item token pouch.
you may swap it for one of your own (small
items only). If they are not carrying an item Interact
you may draw one at random from the token Some missions will specify additional actions
pouch, and swap that instead. If you don’t that can be made. hese will be specific to the
want the item drawn, leave it in the NPC’s mission or terrain being used – pick a lock,
item slot and do not make a trade. defuse a bomb, call an elevator, etc. Unless
• Join your crew. If successful, the NPC will stated otherwise, to Interact with an object a
assist your crew by acting as one of your crew Trader must be in contact with it and unengaged.
members for the remainder of the mission.
See Joining Crews on page 50 for full details. Other
They can be activated in the current round. There are a few other less common actions that
• Ma e a mission specific action Some can be made by your crew, detailed below.
missions will list extra things that you can
persuade an NPC to do. For example, you This list is not exhaustive – there may be other
may need to persuade a Civilian in a bar to actions that are used in specific missions, or only
provide vital intel. when a character has a particular Skill. They will
be detailed in the appropriate place.
he following icon represents how difficult
an NPC is to persuade, and can be found Once you’re familiar with the core rules, more
on their Character Board. actions can be found in the advanced rules
section on page 106, such as Jumping, Climbing,
You must decide what you are Persuading a and Repairing items.
character to do before rolling. Persuading a
character works similarly to an attack. The number Clear Jam
of combat dice rolled is equal to your character’s This action unjams a ranged weapon, and can
Skill statistic (the value on their Character Board, only be done when not engaged with an enemy.
not the remaining number of pegs). The Persuade
Don/Remove Armour
value of the NPC works like armour, modifying
Armour cannot be put straight into your
your roll. If your roll beats their Persuade value
character’s armour slot – it takes time to put
and scores a hit, the action is successful.
on. When picked up it should be placed in the
item tray. This action is used to move or swap
Example an armour token from the tray to the armour slot
or vice versa. This can only be done when not
engaged with an enemy.

Stand Up
This action allows a prone character to return to
their feet, standing the model upright. They act
normally from then on.
Trader Phase

Roykirk has moved into contact with Kaori

and wants her to join his crew. Kaori has
a Persuade value of 2, and Roykirk’s Skill
is also 2 so he will roll 2 dice. The first
two hits will be blocked by Kaori’s strong
will so he will need to roll at least three
hits to convince her.

29
 Effortless Actions Just like regular actions, there may be further
Effortless actions are small things that a effortless actions available in certain missions or
character may do while on the run or in the heat with certain Skills. Some Skills may even make
of combat, such as ducking out of the line of fire, regular actions effortless!
or swiping an item from the oor as they run past.
Proximity Moves
Effortless actions are free – they do not count as A Proximity Move represents a character ducking
one of your actions for the turn and can therefore into cover, sidestepping an attack, leaning
be taken in addition to your regular actions. around a corner to shoot, or making the extra
However, you can only make one of these free effort to charge into combat.
effortless actions per turn.
It allows a character to move up to 1 inch. This
If you have already made an effortless action follows all the regular movement rules, and will
in your turn, you can make more but they still not allow you to move further than 11 inches
will count towards your action limit instead. in one round.
Alternatively, you can spend a Skill peg to use
Effortless Items
a second effortless action in a turn, but this
Certain items will have the icon, allowing them
will count as your Skill use for that turn (see
to be used effortlessly. The item token will state
page 32).
the effect that applies; for example:
Unless stated otherwise, effortless actions can
• Sensor Goggles that allow you
only be made before or after other actions – they
to Search effortlessly
cannot be made mid action.

Effortless actions include: • A Combat Stim that gives you

2 extra actions this turn
• Making a Proximity Move
• Using any item marked with the icon • A Medi-Stim that adds 2
• Throwing an item Health pegs
• Picking up, dropping or swapping an item in
base contact Once the action is complete you will
• Giving, taking or swapping an item with often have to then discard ( ) the
another character in base contact (if the other token and return it to the token pouch.
player allows it)

Example
ace uses his first action of the turn to Move
into a room packed with Gangers, where there is
also a Combat Knife on the oor. e moves into
contact with it, and then uses an effortless action
to pick it up.

As he still has Skill pegs available, he uses one to

take a second effortless action to Throw the knife
at a nearby ganger, who takes damage from the
attack and is defeated.

Jace then uses his second action to Move out

of the opposite doorway, out of LoS of
the Gangers.

30
Throwing Items Throwing a close assault weapon is resolved
Items that can be thrown will have the like a ranged attack, using the number of
following icon: dice inside the icon. Cover, armour and any
other modifiers apply as normal. The thrown
weapon is removed from the character’s
dashboard and placed on the floor adjacent to
the target. It can be picked up again from the
Note that this includes many close assault floor like any other token.
weapons – launching a sword at someone may
seem a bit desperate but it can be effective! Note that thrown weapons can break just like
Throwing an item requires LoS to the target, any others following 2 results. Place the
and most items can only be thrown at short token face down as a reminder.
range. If an item can be thrown at a longer
distance there will be an M or L next to the icon.

Blast Weapons
Blast weapons affect not only the target, but also
anyone in the surrounding two inches.

They also do not have to target a character – their

attacks will be resolved even if they hit a point on
the oor. hey can even be aimed at such a point
if you wish, allowing the blast to hit characters that
would otherwise be out of sight! These weapons
are usually thrown, such as grenades, but there are
other items and effects that use the blast rules.

hen firing or throwing a blast weapon, first you

need to determine the origin of the blast. Choose
a target point or character within range and LoS as
normal, and then roll the blue combat die as follows:

• Any number of hits: You have hit your target.

• Blank/No hits: You have missed – the origin
of the blast is one inch away from your target in a direction of your choice.
• : You have seriously missed – the origin of the blast is up to two inches away from your
target in a direction of the target player’s choice (or the player with the Turn Counter if the
target was an NPC).

If there is intervening terrain between the shooter and the target, reduce the number of hits rolled by 1.

Once the origin of the blast has been determined, roll combat dice for every character hit by the
blast as shown in the diagram.

Blast effects cannot pass through walls. They will however pass through windows (breaking
them as they go if appropriate; see page 108) and across other terrain. Characters on the other
side of the terrain hit by the blast will benefit from a cover modifier as usual.
Trader Phase

Number of combat dice used on any character

at least partially within 1 inch of the target point
Number of combat dice/ or character.
effect used on target
character (if any). Number of combat dice used on any character
more than 1 inch away, but at least partially
within 2 inches of the target point or character.

31
 Using Skills fully resolved before your Skill is used. The Skill
Skills are specialised abilities that allow must then be used immediately, before regular
characters to do things over and above the play resumes where it left off.
standard rules.
Reaction Skills can be used even if your
Each character has their own skill set comprising character has already been activated this round.
of the Skills on their Class Board and often
one or two on their Trader Board. Each Skill Duplicate Skills
is represented by a coloured icon – a full list Some characters may have a Skill type on their
of these Skills can be found on page 162. The profile as a base ability, and then have the same
spaces around each Skill icon will be marked to Skill type on their Class Board, or granted by an
show the character s proficiency with that Skill, item. When determining what level of that Skill
from Level 1 to Level 3. can be used, these are added together.

Once per round, Traders can spend Skill pegs For example, Tirgarde has Ambush
to use one of their Skills. Some Skills are used level 1 as a base ability, and can also
during other actions, and other Skills will grant learn two further levels of the Skill on
actions themselves – these are done before or the Crewman Class Board. If one of these levels
after regular actions, but not during, and do not was marked, he would be able to add it to the one
count as one of your actions for the turn. from his base ability and use the Skill at level 2.

To use a Skill, they must: Note that sometimes these Skills might be in
the character’s armour slot. Therefore, putting
1. Select which Skill they want to use and at armour on may reduce the level of a certain Skill
which level. available to a character, even if they also had it
2. Remove a number of Skill pegs from their on their Class Board.
dashboard equal to the Skill’s level. For
example, using a level 2 Skill removes All Skills have a maximum level of 3.
2 pegs.
3. Carry out the action listed in the Skill section
for that Skill.

Unless otherwise noted in the Skill’s description,

Skills must be used during a character’s turn.

If a Skill contradicts anything in the core rules,

the Skill’s description takes precedence.

Remember that Skill pegs can also be spent on

effortless actions. This counts towards the once
per round limit, and you will not be able to use
any other Skills until the following round.

Passive Skills
Some Skills have rules marked as passive.
Once a character has the relevant level of that
Skill or above, this rule is always in effect, and
does not require any Skill pegs to use. Passive
Skills can still be used if a character has no Skill
pegs remaining.

Reactions
Some Skills are marked as reactions. These
will usually be used outside of your character’s
turn, reacting to an event or attack made by
another character. The trigger condition
for each Skill’s use will be detailed in its
description. This trigger condition, or any
action currently being taken (for example
an opponent making an attack) must be
32
 Example
Arianna has the Fade to Black Skill. Let’s assume
she has spent some of her Career points on it and
can use it up to level 2.

rianna is in the open and is fired at by a

Devastator in the Purge Phase. She only has 2
Health pegs left so the player is worried. The Fade
to Black Skill allows the Trader to react and duck
into cover when attacked, which could save her life
in this situation.

Once the Devastator’s target is established,

Arianna spends one of her Skill pegs to Move
behind a nearby crate. She is now in cover and
can ignore one of the Devastator’s hits, if it
scores any.

To ensure her safety, the player could instead have

used two Skill pegs to use the level 2 version of the
Skill – Moving, and then ignoring all hits.

Defeated Characters
A defeated Trader is not necessarily dead – they
may be unconscious or just too injured to move.
Whatever the reason, they are incapacitated
and cannot participate in the mission. A defeated
Trader miniature should be laid on its side, and
an Assistance Counter placed next to them to
remind you that they are not just prone.

Hope is not lost however. The other Traders (from any

crew) on the board can attempt to help (or not…).

Important: Unless stated otherwise, defeated

Traders can never be targeted by an enemy or
selected when a rule calls for a random Trader.

Reviving Characters
Items or Skills that restore Health such as a
Medi Stim or Medi ack can be used to revive
a defeated Trader. However, they must be used
by another Trader in base contact – the defeated Rob Them Blind
Trader cannot use items themselves. The Trader More ruthless players may opt to ‘rescue’ the
using the item can take it from their own supplies, defeated character’s equipment rather than the
or from the defeated Trader’s item tray. character themselves. Other Traders in contact
with the defeated Trader can make a Search
revived rader restores the specified amount
action as if the Trader were a cargo crate –
of Health and removes the Assistance Counter.
Trader Phase

taking any items they want from the character’s

They are left prone, but can activate as normal in
item tray. Any discarded items are left next to the
the current round, if they haven’t already.
defeated Trader.
Grab a Leg
End of a Mission
If the crew don’t have any medical supplies,
In a campaign, characters left defeated at
defeated characters can also be carried or
the end of a mission must be extracted – see
dragged back to their ships. The defeated
page 72. If any of their equipment was stolen
character can be moved by other Traders using
during the game, they will not get it back.
the rules for moving items on page 109.

33
 Purge Phase Once you have determined the number of Purge
arriving and their respective Entry Points, place them
In the Purge Phase, more Purge may arrive onto
the board and attack. In each round the Purge on the board in contact with their Entry Point. If there
are moved and rolled for by the player with the is no room because the area is blocked by other
Turn Counter, unless that player’s crew are the models, place them as close as possible.
ones being attacked, in which case another
Note that sometimes Purge will be placed next
player should roll.
to Entry Points outside of the Purge Phase (by
The Purge Phase has two stages: an Event Card for example). In this case they will
be placed onto the board at that Entry Point and
1. Arrival then activate in the Purge Phase as normal.
2. Activation
High-Ranking Enemies
Arrival The most dangerous Purge are limited in number,
Each Hostility level includes a number of icons and are rarely sent en masse into a con ict.
indicating the characters that could potentially
Purge of rank 4 and above (Live Ones, Gatherers
arrive in this phase. While the Hostility is
and Annihilators) will only appear once per
‘Relaxed’ no Purge will arrive.
game. Once one has been placed, do not roll for
that Purge type again for the rest of the game,
and any other rule that would generate one is
Harvester Devastator Assassin Live One ignored. Once the character has been defeated,
it will not return.

Gatherers Annihilator If using the Purge Reinforcement cards , a

If an icon is followed by a number, that many second Purge of each type can appear, but only
Purge will arrive. If the icon is followed by a die once the Hostility reaches Purge.
icon, roll that die to determine how many Purge
will appear. Start at the top, and work down the
Not Enough Purge?
In a regular two-player game you will only use
list to see what arrives.
the Purge miniatures that come in the core set
– 5 Harvesters, 2 Devastators, 1 Assassin and
ive ne. t times you may find that you need
Purge Die – one Chance Die – a to roll for a type of Purge to enter the board, but
character arrives per Live One arrives on a there are none of that type left.
result. result
If this is the case, use the next lowest ranked
Purge character available. For example, if an
When the Hostility level reaches Purge!, the
Assassin (rank 3) is required but unavailable use
number of Purge arriving will be the same as in
a Devastator (rank 2) instead; if a Devastator is
Kill Me, but remember that from now on all Purge
unavailable use a Harvester (rank 1).
characters will use the increased statistics on the
‘Charged’ side of the Purge Board.

If there are no Harvesters left and you need to

spawn more, then none will arrive until some
have been defeated.

The Purge will arrive at a random

location around the board,
determined by the Chance Die.
The numbers on the Chance Die
correspond to the Entry Point
counters. Roll separately for each
type of Purge arriving.

34
 Example
For example, in ‘Cover Me’, the following Purge will arrive:

Firstly, 2 Harvesters are

placed. The Chance
Die rolls a 3, so the 2
Harvesters are placed
onto the board next to the
Entry Point.

Next, the Purge Die is

rolled to determine the
number of Devastators,
along with the Chance
Die to show their location. The Purge Die rolls a , and
the Chance Die rolls a 5, so 1 Devastator is placed at
Entry Point 5.

The two dice are rolled again for the Assassins, resulting in a 2
and a 3 respectively. We only have one Assassin, so we will be
placing a Devastator in place of the second one. The Harvesters
we placed earlier are blocking Entry Point 3, so the Assassin
and Devastator are placed as close as possible.

Finally we need to roll for a Live One, but this uses the Chance Die instead
of the Purge Die, so there is only a 1 in 6 chance of it turning up. The die
rolls a so the Traders are safe, for now!

The Hostility Tracker also shows a Civilian icon – we will deal with this in
the NPC Phase.

Activation • If there are no visible characters, their

All Purge on the board will now activate. The target will instead be the closest non-Purge
highest ranked Purge character on the board will character. Work this out by measuring the
activate first, followed by the next highest rank, and shortest possible distance between the Purge
so on down to the rank 1 Harvesters acting last of and the potential targets, moving around
all. If there is more than one of the same rank on terrain and through doors as necessary.
the board, the player with the Turn Counter can • The one exception to this rule is for Purge
choose the order in which they activate. Assassins. They will prioritise targets with
authority, namely Trader Captains. If they can
In the Trader Phase, you were able to decide see a Trader Captain, it will be their target
which actions your crew would take. However, the even if it isn’t the closest character, and they
Purge and the other NPCs in the game are not will move around or over other targets to
under your control. They will instead take actions reach it. This includes leaving base contact
based on the following strict AI sequence. Each with another enemy and provoking an attack
Purge character will continue to take actions from of opportunity. If an Assassin cannot see a
this list until they have none left to use. Captain, they follow the normal rules.
• Defeated Traders are never targeted.
Targets
Purge Phase

Before making their activation, each Purge Once a target has been chosen, it remains
character will choose a target, and for the Purge locked for the rest of that character’s turn unless
the term ‘target’ applies to everyone on the board! it is defeated. This applies even if a closer
target came into view part-way through a move.
• By default the target will be the closest non- The target is only reassessed mid-turn if the
Purge character within LoS and not in cover. original target is defeated. Otherwise it will be
• If all visible characters are in cover, the target reassessed next time that character activates.
will be the closest.
35
 Actions • NPCs that take a Move action always move
The Purge can make Move and Assault actions, as far as possible (i.e. the full 4 inches)
and will use them in the same way as Traders. unless they move into base contact with the
target, at which point they will stop.
Each time they make an action, the Purge will • Ranged Assault actions taken by the Purge
prioritise the action that causes the most harm have unlimited range, but follow the normal
possible, using the AI Action Chart below. rules for shooting at engaged characters.
• NPCs are unaffected by results unless
Once you’ve played a couple of times, these stated otherwise.
actions will become second nature. A few things
to remember: Prone Characters
Purge that have been knocked prone must use
their first action to Stand p, before making the
rest of their activation as normal.

NPC AI Action Chart

NO YES
Is the target engaged
with the NPC?

Is the target in YES The NPC will make

the NPC’s LoS? a Close Assault action
against target.
NO

The NPC will Move NO Does the NPC have a

towards target via Shooting statistic?
shortest route.
YES

YES

Can the NPC reach Is the NPC’s Shooting

and attack the target statistic higher than their
NO this turn? Close Assault statistic?

NO NO
YES

Has the NPC The NPC will

already moved YES
make a Ranged
this turn? Assault action
against target.

ote that Ranged ssault actions taken by the urge have unlimited range. ll other Cs can fire
at up to medium range. They both follow the normal rules for shooting at engaged characters.

36
Example

In this Purge Phase, the Assassin is the highest-ranking Purge on the board, and will
act first. Its closest target is Gak. However, Assassins always prioritise Captains if they
can see them, and the Assassin will therefore move towards Arianna with its first action.
With its second action, while it could reach Arianna by moving again, it wouldn’t have any
actions left to attack her. Therefore it will instead target her with a Ranged Assault action.

The next highest ranking Purge are the Devastators. Devastator 1 has no enemies in line
of sight, and will therefore move towards the closest, in this case Gak. After Moving once
it has reached the end of the wall and can now see Gak. However, Devastators’ actions
are linked – because its first action was to Move, its second action will also be a Move. It
moves into base contact with Gak and can make no further actions.

Devastator 2 has enemies in line of sight, and has a superior ranged statistic. Therefore
it will shoot the closest target, in this case Tirgarde. Again, as its actions are linked, it
will shoot twice. If Tirgarde was defeated following the Devastator’s first action, it would
choose a new closest target for the second, in this case Arianna. If it had no other target in
LoS it would not make an action at all – the rule means that it could only shoot with its
second action.

Finally, the Harvester will act. The closest target is Gak. Harvesters have no ranged
abilities, so the Harvester will spend its one action Moving into base contact. Because the
Harvesters have the First Strike ability , it will then gain an immediate free Close Assault
Purge Phase

action against Gak.

That concludes the Purge Phase.

37
 NPC Phase If there are multiple NPCs of the same type and
rank on the board, the player with the Turn Counter
In the NPC Phase, all other NPCs controlled by
the game will act. Most NPCs are optional for can choose the order in which they activate.
most missions, and you can mix and match which Prone Characters
ones you use for each game (see page 53). For Cs that have been knocked prone must use
your first few games you may even choose not their first action to Stand p, before making the
to use NPCs at all while you learn the rest of the rest of their activation as normal. f an C s turn is
rules, and this phase can be skipped entirely. determined by a die roll instead of by taking actions
such as a Civilian , Standing p replaces the die
he C types available are
roll and they will do nothing further this round.

• Galactic Corps NPC Statistics

As detailed on page 16, NPCs always use the
• Security statistics on their Boards. While they are able to
carry items, they cannot use them.
• Criminal Gangers
nless a die roll defines a specific action such as
the Chance Die roll for Civilians , Cs will use
• Civilians the number of actions shown on their Boards.
Some of these NPCs come in the core game,
and others are available separately. Each C
type also comes with some associated Event
Cards. henever a certain type of C is being
used in the game, these should be shuf ed into
the Event deck.

Like the Purge, NPCs are controlled by the

game, but should be physically moved and rolled
for by the player with the Turn Counter, unless
that player’s crew is being attacked, in which
case another player should roll.

Order of Activation
Cs are always activated in the same order,
as listed above – alactic Corps, Security,
angers, and finally Civilians.
Each type of C effectively
has a sub-phase within the NPC
hase. he rules for activating
each type are detailed in the
following pages.

NPCs are ranked, like the Purge. For

example, the alactic Corps have Directors
(rank 3), Juggernauts (rank 2), and Guards
(rank 1). This is shown on their Boards.

or each type of C activated, the highest

ranked one on the board will activate first,
followed by the next highest rank, and so on.

40
NPC Arrival Targets
Cs can appear on the board in various hen an C is re uired to attack or interact
ways. Sometimes they may start the game in a with another character, it must select a target,
position shown on the mission map. Otherwise, ust like the urge.
they may appear via the Event Cards, a special
rule in a mission, or via the ostility racker ust he process is very similar, but Cs will
like the Purge. prioritise certain targets over others. Each type of
NPC has a target priority list that should be used
hen you activate a certain C type, you alongside the following steps.
should first check the ostility racker to see if
any will be automatically spawned, indicated by • If the NPC is in base contact with any
their icon. enemies, their target will be the highest
priority of the characters in contact that they
can damage. If they cannot damage any of
the engaged enemies, they will attack the
highest priority target with no effect.
• If the NPC has no enemies in base contact,
but there are enemies in LoS, the target will
be the highest priority of those visible.
If there are multiple enemies of the same
priority, the target will be the closest of
those not in cover.
ike the urge, Cs will arrive at a random f all are in cover, the target will be the closest.
location around the board, determined by the If an NPC needs to shoot its chosen target
Chance Die. he numbers on the Chance Die but is unable to damage it (a Galactic
correspond to the Entry oint Counters. uard shooting at a ive ne for example ,
it will instead target the next highest
f there are Cs of multiple ranks eligible to arrive priority enemy in LoS. If there are no
at the same time, place the lowest rank available. other enemies in LoS, it will still attack the
original target but with no effect.
nce you have determined the Cs arriving • If there are no enemies in LoS, the target will
and their Entry oint, place them on the board, in instead be the closest, highest priority target
contact with the Entry oint. f there is no room available. ork this out by measuring the
because the area is blocked by other models, shortest possible distance between the NPC
place them as close as possible. and the enemies, moving around terrain and
through doors as necessary.
Once the NPCs are all on the board,
• Defeated raders are never targeted.
activate them as normal.
Cs that need to move past other enemy
If there are multiple NPC
characters to reach their target or fulfil their
types shown on the ostility
designated action must do so without entering base
Tracker, do not place the next type until
contact. If they cannot, they will instead enter base
you have finished activating the current one.
contact with the character that they could not get
past, and stop.
ote that ust like the urge, if you are re uired
to place an NPC and there are no more
Remember
available, none are placed.
• Cs that take a Move action always move
as far as possible (i.e. the full 4 inches)
unless they move into base contact with the
target, at which point they will stop.
• Cs can fire at up to medium range,
NPC Phase

and follow the normal rules for shooting at

engaged characters.
• NPCs are unaffected by results unless
stated otherwise.

41
 Civilians Trade: he Civilian makes a Move
eople can carve out a life for themselves in the action towards the nearest Trader in
most forsaken places in the galaxy. Sometimes LoS that is not engaged with an enemy.
these civilians get caught up in the crossfire.
They can be a nuisance, they can be meat- f they move into contact with the
shields, or they can be vital allies. Trader, they will offer them a trade.
The player must draw a random
Civilians will try to go about their daily duties as e uipment token from the pouch.
normal, but with all the fighting going on around They may choose to keep it,
them they may act irrationally. swapping it with an item they already
hold, or re ect it. ny items swapped
Each time you activate a Civilian, or re ected are placed in the item slot
roll the Chance Die. he result will on the Civilian board, or in the token
determine the action they take this pouch if the item slot is full.
round as follows
f the Civilian does not reach the
Move: he Civilian makes a Move Trader, they will stop.
action in the direction indicated on
the Chance Die, moving around If there are no Traders in LoS, the
terrain where necessary. Civilian will make a Move action
Attack: he Civilian will make an in the direction indicated on the
Assault action against the closest Chance Die, moving around terrain
target, if any (Close Assault if where necessary.
engaged, Ranged Assault otherwise). Live One: f the ostility racker
Then they will panic, making two is high enough for a ive ne to
Move actions in the direction appear, the Civilian throws off its
indicated on the Chance Die, moving disguise – it was a ive ne all
around terrain where necessary. along Replace the Civilian with a
ive ne, if available.
If there are no targets in LoS, the
Civilian will make a Move action f the ostility level is too low for a ive
in the direction indicated on the ne to appear, or there are no ive
Chance Die. nes available, nothing happens.
Hide: he Civilian makes a Move
action, moving the shortest distance The Purge
possible that would put them in hen a Civilian gets it into their head to attack,
cover from the nearest visible they will throw caution to the wind and even
enemy, moving around terrain attack the deadly Purge.
where necessary.
nder normal circumstances however they will
f there is no cover available, or there avoid the urge wherever possible. nless a
are no visible enemies, the Civilian Civilian rolls an ttack result, they will not move
makes a Move action in the direction within 4 inches of the Purge.
indicated on the Chance Die instead.
f they start their activation within inches of the
Join: If there are any Traders within
urge, any movement they make if any must
short range and oS, the Civilian will
first be made directly away from the urge, and
oin the crew belonging to the closest
only once they are out of range will they continue
of these Traders.
their selected actions as normal.
See Joining Crews on page 50.
Civilians leaving base contact with the urge
If there are no Traders within short provoke attacks of opportunity as normal.
range, the Civilian will make a Move
action in the direction indicated on
the Chance Die.

48
Target Priority List Extra Civilians
1. The Purge he core set comes with three Civilian
2. angers or raders, whichever is closest characters, and normally, when these run out you
will not be able to bring any more onto the board.
Civilians will not attack alactic Corps,
Security, or each other and do not consider owever, if you have additional rader crews you
these groups enemies. will notice that the backs of their Trader Boards
show them in their Civilian guise. ou can use any
Civilians are never considered to be enemies spare raders as Civilians in this way – ust choose
except by the urge, who consider everyone one at random from those available when re uired.
an enemy!
Conversely, you will note that the Civilian Boards
Attacks of Opportunity have rader profiles on their reverse sides. ny
Moving out of base contact with Civilians will not of them can be hired as Traders as normal (see
attract an attack of opportunity. page , in which case they will not be available
to use as Civilians in your games.

Civilians, human or otherwise, will often get caught up in the action. They perform the day
to day duties needed to keep things running and are not used to being invaded by Traders or
Purge and can therefore act irrationally. Although lightly armed they are not trained soldiers and
prone to panic.

Civilians will sometimes trade with characters, join a Trader crew or attack them without
provocation. Civilians can join a crew and likewise, a Trader can retire and become a civilian.
However, Civilians are not always what they seem, so be careful. Civilians may be Galactic
spies or even disguised Live Ones on reconnaissance duty!

KAORI
Young, strong and fast, Kaori has grown up on the mean streets working as a ‘runner’, a foot courier
o a e i e to a e t a a o eam o ei a e t e be i e e it to
buy and upgrade the tech she needs to stay one jump ahead of the competition.

BUTLER
Privileged, pompous and entitled, Butler demands the best. His empty swagger hides a deeply
insecure man whose fortunes have teetered on the brink more times than he cares to admit.

GAN’EEK
A skilled engineer and tech designer, Gan’eek works in the rough end of the galaxy. He prefers to be
in the thick of the action rather than take the soft posting that his family arranged.

TREVA JOLE
o to e mbe b t a e e a a e tt e a t e ea i t e ot t b o t e i
and famous. He looks on in envy at his customers but also envies the Traders’ exciting lives on the
edge, something Treva can’t bring himself to commit to.

OOMA
A member of an obscure species, Ooma ambles through life with his malfunctioning translator, the
eternal tourist even on his homeworld. However, his bumbling facade hides an extremely sharp and,
in some ways devious, mind.
NPC Phase

49
 Joining Crews Most Cs will stay fighting with you for the
It is possible for all types of NPC (except the duration of the game. Civilians, however, are
urge to oin rader crews. erhaps a Civilian still unpredictable. he Chance Die must still be
wants a taste of adventure, or maybe a alactic rolled for them in the NPC Phase each round,
uard is bored of their day ob. Civilians may alongside any other Civilians.
choose to oin following a oin result on the
Chance Die, whereas other Cs can only oin • If a Join result is rolled, they will change their
after being Persuaded by a Trader. minds and revert to being a Civilian.
• f a ive ne result is rolled, and the ostility
nce an C has oined a rader crew, they is high enough, the Civilian will become a
are part of that crew for all purposes. They are ive ne as usual.
no longer considered an C – they are now a
Trader and therefore a potential target for other All other results are ignored while they are part of
Cs where they might not have been otherwise. a Trader crew.

hey will be activated in the rader hase by that Carrying Items

crew s player and can make all available actions hen an C oins a crew, you will have the use
as normal. They will retain their normal statistics of their item slot, for small tokens only. If they
for now – do not ip their Character Board. ou were not already carrying an item, draw one at
could add one of the coloured base clips to the random from the pouch and place it in their item
model as a reminder, if you have a spare. f slot. he C cannot use any items themselves,
defeated, they are removed from the board and but they will be available to your other raders
cannot be revived. using the rules for swapping items. NPCs can
also make Search actions and collect additional
items for you during a game.

f a Civilian leaves your crew, any item they are

carrying remains in their Character Board. You
can still try to Persuade them to trade it or attack
them and take it by force as normal.

If an NPC is defeated, any item they were

carrying is left on the oor where they fell.

Permanent Hires
n a campaign, Civilians and angers that are
still part of your crew and get back to your ship
at the end of a mission can be permanently
hired – see page for more details.

They are still considered part of your crew

even when they are the only raders left
on the board, so if you wanted to keep
them you would continue playing until they
escaped onto your ship or were defeated,
as normal. If you don’t want to hire them
permanently, you can end the game
prematurely, leaving them to their fate

Note: Galactic Corps and Security cannot be

hired permanently.

50
NPC Phase Example
n this C hase, there are three types of C on the board – alactic Corps, angers
and Civilians.

he two alactic Corps uards will activate first, and they act according to the Chart. irstly,
they must select a target, and there are two enemies in the room – a urge arvester and a
Ganger. Normally, the closest enemy will be the target, but killing the Purge is a higher priority.

uard s line of sight to the arvester is blocked by the Civilian, and therefore its target
for this round will be the anger. s alactic uards have a superior ranged statistic, the
Guard will shoot the Ganger with both of its actions. If the Ganger was killed by the Guard’s
first action, target priority would revert to the arvester. s the uard can t see it to shoot, its
second action would be to Move towards it. alactic uards will not target Civilians, and will
move around them.

uard can see the arvester clearly, and will shoot it. f between them the two uards
managed to defeat the arvester and the anger, any remaining actions would be spent Moving
towards the next closest target, Tirgarde.

he anger, Evangeline, will activate second, if still alive. er close assault statistic is
superior, so she will spend her actions moving towards her target and making a Close ssault
action against it. he target will be either the arvester or uard , depending on what else
has happened so far.

inally, the Civilian will act. he Chance Die is rolled, revealing a rade result. owever,
Civilians are terrified of the urge. f the arvester has not yet been defeated, the Civilian must
move directly away before resuming its action. Running away would take the Civilian too far from
irgarde to trade this round. owever, if the arvester had been defeated, the Civilian would
instead move towards irgarde, reaching him and offering him an item.
NPC Phase

51
 Missions Objective Tokens
f your ob ectives involve finding items specific
As described on page 18, each game of Core
to your narrative, rather than weapons or
Space is a mission – a narrative scenario with
other existing equipment, the game includes
a series of objectives. When using the campaign
objective tokens for this purpose that can be
rules on page 68, missions can be played one
carried as normal.
after the other, with your crew’s performance in
one game affecting the next. Alternatively, each Three of these tokens have
mission can be played as a one-off. values – 3, 5, and 7UA, and
can be sold in the Trade Phase
Either way, before you start you will need to
like any other item.
select a crew – see page 66.
In addition, there is one token with no
Mission Structure value, to be used as a Mac uffin, or
Each mission will be presented as a mission
where an objective requires the crew
briefing, and each will follow the same format.
to transport something without the
There are some examples starting on page 80
temptation to just keep it!
that you can look at for reference. Each mission
has the following sections: Objective tokens cannot be broken or destroyed.
Introduction Special Instructions
Each mission will have a title and a narrative This section will list any rules that apply to the
introduction. This will set the scene, explaining game over and above the core mechanics.
why your crews are here, what they are looking For example, it may list alternative deployment
for, and the dangers that may lie ahead. locations, specific e uipment to place in the
Objectives crates to represent objectives, or certain NPCs
All missions will have a Primary Objective, and that will not follow the normal rules, such as an
some may also have Secondary Objectives. overly hostile Civilian.
Completing these will determine how successful
his section will also list any specific terrain
you have been at the end of the mission.
that can be Interacted with, such as a computer
Primary Objectives are the main purpose of the console you need to access or some machinery
mission, and the player(s) that complete them can you need to Repair.
claim victory in the game. They will often have a
large cash reward as well. This cash will be critical
for maintaining your ship and purchasing equipment.

Secondary Objectives are lucrative side-jobs

that you can complete while in the area – taking
out a specific enemy to claim a bounty on their
head, or destroying a server bank to disrupt the
activities of an evil corporation for example. They
will usually have a small cash reward.

Note that unless stated otherwise, objectives

do not have to be completed to finish a game.
hat s important is that your crew lives to fight Map
another day – it’s perfectly reasonable to decide Each mission will have a diagram showing how
to cut your losses and escape – it might put you to set up the mission map, detailing the location
in a better position in the long run! of rooms, corridors, crates and other scenery.
The Special Instructions section will often refer
Furthermore, there is nothing to stop you
to highlighted areas on the map to indicate
sabotaging a mission by destroying the objective.
objectives or other key locations.
Regardless of victory, every game will be
worthwhile for your crew in terms of gaining Each map will follow the key on page 62.
experience and salvaging equipment. Of course,
don’t expect your fellow players to take it too well Note that unless stated otherwise, the edge of
if you sabotage an objective – they might want the playing area is considered to be a wall for all
revenge on you in a future game… rules purposes.

52
Set Up Diagram Key Items: These are items that should be
Finally, each mission will have a set up diagram, put aside before the crates are filled – they
detailing the following: will usually be re uired for specific ob ectives,
detailed in the Special Instructions section.
Maximum Starting Crew: Crews can contain
up to 7 Traders, but you won’t always be able to Search Allocation: This section will show how
use all of them in every mission. The maximum to allocate equipment tokens to the crates for this
number of Traders you can have on the board at mission. As detailed in the components section,
once is listed here. the large, rare and objective tokens should be
kept separately – this section will tell you how
Event Card Allocation: You won’t use all Event many of each to include before the tokens are
Cards in all games. Depending on the location of the allocated to crates. Sometimes a mission might
mission, the NPCs being used, and the length of the re uire a specific token, and sometimes it may
game, you will only use a certain subset of the cards. specify a number of tokens chosen at random.
Use the icons in the bottom corners of the cards to
check against the card types listed here, and once Starting Hostility: This will tell you how many
you have them all shuf e them together to create the pegs to put into the Hostility Tracker before
deck for the game. The icons are as follows: the game begins. Some missions are set in
especially hostile environments so the game may
• Environment start at a higher level.
• Purge
• Assistance NPCs in Missions
• Galactic Corps Some missions, such as those in the various
• Criminal Gangers expansions, will specify that certain types of NPCs
• Civilians must be used, as they may be key to the mission’s
• Purge Annihilator story. The Purge from the core set are always
• Purge Gatherers used, and it is recommended to always use
• Purge Reinforcements Civilians once you are comfortable with the rules.

The rules for the Purge Annihilator and Gatherers Otherwise it is totally up to the players which
can be found on pages 38-39. NPCs are used in each game, depending on their
collection, and their preference. If the players want
The Purge Reinforcement cards are to be to use a certain NPC type, they should place the
used when you want to make your game more appropriate Character Board at the side of the
dangerous by adding a second set of Purge playing area, and have the miniatures to hand.
miniatures, so you’ll have 10 Harvesters, 4
Missions

Devastators, 2 Assassins, and 2 Live Ones! hen shuf ing the Event Deck at the start of
each game, the Event Cards for the NPCs being
If there are 4 or more crews in play, it is used should be shuf ed in along with any others
recommended to always use the extra set of Purge required for the mission.
miniatures and the Purge Reinforcement cards.

53
 Choosing a Mission Of course, Core Space has one foot in the
Now you know how missions work, you’ll need creative world of RPGs, and has everything
to know which one to play! For new players, you need to design your own missions and tell
we recommend starting with the Perseus Arm your own stories. You can create missions with
Campaign on page 80. This is a narrative any parameters you wish – be it solo or up to 6
campaign with pre-generated missions. It is for players for rookie crews or veterans fighting ust
two players and is designed for the Ion Hope and the Purge or with a full complement of NPCs –
Black Maria crews from the core set. it’s up to you! Full details for creating your own
missions are on page 58.
You can play the missions individually, or you
can join them together as one continuous story Replaying Missions
following the rules on page 68. Mission objectives do not need to be completed
for a mission to end. As detailed on page 19, all
Once you’ve completed the campaign, you that’s important is that you get out alive.
can find more missions in the Core Space
expansions, and more missions will be hosted for Especially when playing a campaign, if you finish
free on the Battle Systems website. a mission without achieving the objective you
may wish to replay it and try again, so that you
If you’re not ready for a full campaign just yet, or can continue the story. If so, we recommend
if you’ve got a couple more players, you can get that you make a few tweaks to the mission as
started with the standard 1-4 player Salvage Run detailed opposite, to represent the area being a
mission on page 56. little different during your next visit! It’s generally
worth making the game a little harder, as even if
you failed the first time you will still have gained
some experience and salvaged some equipment,
so you’ll be in a better position to try again.

Rescue Missions
Sometimes, part of your crew will manage to get back to your ship but one or more of your
Traders will have been left behind. In a campaign you will probably want to do something about
this! There are plenty of options available to you in the Extraction Phase (see page 72), one of
which is to perform a Rescue Mission.

This allows you to go straight back into the game you just played and save your fallen comrade. You
reload your guns, patch your wounds and hit yourself with the best combat stims money can buy.

Immediately start a new game with the following rules:

• The board and all non-Trader components remain in place from the end of the original game,
including the Purge and any other NPCs in play. The Hostility Tracker will resume where it left off.
• All Traders fully reload their ammo and may swap any equipment amongst their crew.
• All Traders restore two Health, up to their maximum.
• The player making the rescue may place their Ship Board in contact with any airlock door on
the map – it does not have to be the one they used in the original mission. If multiple crews
are taking part in the Rescue Mission, the winner of the original game
will place their ship first, continuing clockwise around the table.
• The game will end as normal – once all Traders are either defeated
or back on board their ship.

You may only make a Rescue Mission once after each

game. If a Trader is left behind during a Rescue Mission,
you will need to extract them in a different way.

Rescue Missions can be played solo, or other players can

join in, either to rescue their own Traders, or to help you rescue
yours. Of course, they may want payment for such a service…

54
More Ways to Play Here are some examples of things you could do:
There are plenty of things you can do to switch
up how your games work. Here are a few ideas: • Change the starting Hostility Level.
• Adding in different NPCs.
Single Crew Co-Op • Switching out Event Cards.
If you’re not a competitive person and are into • Changing the number of starting crew.
your roleplaying games, you may prefer to just
take a single crew and play ‘solo’ missions. In short, you can do anything you want, as
However, instead of playing on your own, you long as you and your opponents agree to it
and your friends could take a single Trader beforehand. There are some more examples in
each as your own personal character, with each the Advanced Rules section on page 115.
person responsible for their character’s actions
and decisions.
Co-operative play - Or Not?
The Trader crews in Core Space are all
Trying to keep a cohesive battleplan together struggling to stay alive, and it can get quite
within a group of people is much harder than competitive. However, sometimes the crews will
you’d think – it adds a whole new dynamic to have a shared objective that will be easier to
the game. achieve if they work together, or one crew may
decide to help another out, for the right price…
Even when playing with multiple crews, you can
still split them up and play in teams if you wish. It is totally up to the players how they want to
play the game – go in guns blazing or make a
Adding a Game Master truce with the other players for the greater good.
Some players, especially those that have The players can come to any agreement they
designed the mission and its storyline, may like in terms of what it may be worth for one of
prefer to take more of an overseer role, and not them to help another – there are no hard and
control a crew themselves. Instead you may fast rules. One crew could allow another crew to
choose to ignore the AI rules, and this player use their ship to escape the board in return for a
would take control of the Purge and other NPCs certain item for example, or a player could ask for
themselves. Again, this can make for some really a cash payment in return for reviving a defeated
exciting games. For more information check out opposing Trader.
the Advanced Rules section on page 107.
If you have made a deal to join forces with
Tweaking Missions another crew and are playing co-operatively, your
The nature of Core Space’s mechanics, with the crews will no longer be considered enemies, and
unpredictable dice rolls and Event Cards, mean can therefore ignore rules that reference them,
that in theory you could play the same mission a such as attacks of opportunity.
dozen times and every game will be different. So,
if you want a quick game without investing time Of course, there is no restriction on backstabbing
into designing a mission, you don’t have to! and reneging on a deal once it’s done, so be
careful. Just be aware that if you build up a
Just by making small tweaks to the pre- reputation for such things, you may become a
generated missions, you can create a wildly primary target in future games…
different experience and massively increase the
game’s replayability.
Missions

55
 Example Mission Briefing - Salvage Run
(1-4 Players)
The crew are low on funds, the ship is crumbling around their ears, their weapons have been
repaired too many times and everyone’s sick of eating refried beans. Luckily the grapevine has hinted
at a recently deserted warehouse that is deemed too close to the Purge for comfort. Their loss is your
gain as you swoop in to pick over the remains – the warehouse may contain some much-needed
salvage. Information is scant, so the plan is simple –run in, grab what you can, and try to stay out of
trouble. This mission is about funds - you need them, and fast!

Primary Objective The shipping schedule is represented by the 3UA

Reward: hatever you can find Objective token. In a campaign, the token can be
traded during the Trade Phase as normal to gain
The aim of the game is money, pure and simple. the 3UA reward.
Get in, grab as much as you can carry, get out.
Don’t die. In addition, the player that claimed this token will
gain some benefits in their next game
There are some rare items to be found in this
warehouse, but don t take too long finding them – • They may choose to automatically be the
there are reports of the Purge in the area… first crew to choose their airlock location and
deploy their Traders.
The crew that escapes this mission with the • They may choose to automatically take the
highest total value of new items is the winner. urn Counter in the first round.
Players should make a note of the value of any
equipment they started the mission with, to Special Instructions
compare their total to at the end. Set Up
The shipping schedule is represented
Secondary Objective by the 3UA Objective token. Set this
Reward: 3UA aside at the start of the game.

While you’re here, you might as well make the The Shipping Schedule
most of it. If you can hack into the corporation’s To access the shipping schedule, a Trader must
computer systems you can access their Interact with the computer console highlighted in
shipping schedule. With that information you’ll red in the centre of the board. Once they do this
know exactly what to hit and when on your next they can take the Objective token.
supply run. Of course, the information itself is
valuable enough… Once you’ve got it, be careful not to let anyone
else steal it!

56
Set-Up

Missions

57
 Selecting a Crew You must select Traders based on the
following rules:
Before you can undertake a mission in Core
Space, you’ll need to assemble your crew.
• You must select one Captain. No more, no less.
Crews are hired based on a points limit, agreed in • You can select up to six Crew.
advance between you and any other players taking
You can choose from any of the Traders
part. These points will be spent on Traders using
available, including Civilians and Gangers, using
the values in the corner of their Trader Boards.
the reverse side of their Boards.
Here you can see that Jace costs 57 points.
Class Boards
Once you have selected your characters, you will
need to give them jobs. For each Trader in your
crew, select any Class Board from those available.
Slot it into your dashboard with your Trader Board,
or your first few games you don t need to worry and allocate the Trader’s Career Points to the
about selecting a crew – the crews of the Black Skills on the board, up to the default value.
Maria and the Ion Hope from the core set are
balanced against each other, and against any It is recommended that all crews have at least one
other pre-built crew available separately. Just Trader with the Tech or Machine Class, just in case
pick your favourite and get playing. You will still you need to Repair something during a game.
need to select some starting equipment – see
Rookie Crews on the next page. Note that some Traders may be locked to a
specific class. MAC for example can only take
However, once your collection grows and you the Machine Class, shown by the icon on his
learn more about the game you may decide to mix Trader Board.
and match all the characters available and build
your own crew. To do this, we recommend starting
with a limit of around 180 points, but you can
agree any limit you like with your opponents.

66
Rookie Crews You can then agree a number of UA for each
Most games and campaigns will start with a crew to spend on equipment – around 20UA
rookie crew – a group of inexperienced Traders should give you a good mix but you can decide
with basic equipment – and it will be up to you to on any value you like. These items are selected
develop their skills and find new gear as you play as described on page 75, but can be chosen
through the missions. from any of the Trading Posts.

Rookie crews do not start with any Career You can also use these rules if you want to
advancements and will have their starting play with an experienced crew against a rookie
statistics. They can be equipped from the range crew – just allow the rookie player to advance
of zero-cost items, examples of which are and equip their crew to the same level as the
shown below. Each Trader may take a single experienced player.
ranged weapon, a single close combat weapon,
and a single Medi-Stim (maximum two Medi-
Stims per crew).

Experienced Crews
If you don’t have time for a campaign, but you
want to play with some more powerful equipment
and skills at your disposal, you can put together
an experienced crew instead.

Select your Traders as normal, but then agree

with your opponent a starting Career level.
Advance each of the Traders that many times as
detailed on page 74.

Selecting a Crew

67
 Campaigns Campaign Length
Campaigns are the thing that take a game and he first thing you will need to decide for your
turn it into a story, and are the best way to play campaign is its length. Generally players tend to
Core Space. play out a campaign over a few months in real-
time, meeting up once a week or so to play. The
A campaign is a series of games linked together winner at the end is usually the one with the most
with a continuous narrative. Players will select money, but you may instead choose another way
their crew before their first game, and hopefully of determining victory.
keep the same characters from start to finish,
possibly even taking on new recruits along the Alternatively you may want to create a narrative
way! Your Traders will learn new Skills and goal for the campaign – maybe there are reports
acquire new equipment, all the while striving to of a Purge Annihilator in the area and the crews
keep their ship in good working order. are battling over the chance to take it down and
claim the bounty. Maybe you need to fight your
Of course, in a campaign Traders can be killed way to the spaceport to escape an apocalyptic
and their valuable Skills and equipment lost, so event about to befall the planet. Maybe a
players will need to think twice before throwing a lucrative opportunity has come up in another
character into certain death situations! sector, and the crews must upgrade their ships
so they can be the fastest one to get there.
In a campaign missions are carried out as These are just a few examples – what’s best for
normal. However, after the mission is complete your campaign is up to you.
the game is not over – there are some extra
steps to carry out to see how the mission’s Once you’ve decided on your story you should
success or failure has affected your crew and work out the end point – using the examples
their ship. above, that may be completing a mission where
the objective is to take out an Annihilator, or
Campaigns work best when you have a group getting to a shuttle bay after various missions
of fellow players who are available to play fairly infiltrating the space port, or being the first to
regularly and keep the story ticking along, but fully upgrade your ship. Your campaign will then
you can play with just one opponent or even solo go on for however long it takes for this end point
if you wish – ust change your story to fit to be reached.

68
Campaign Structure It is recommended that you keep your Ship
Once you know how and when your campaign will Board, Character Boards, and current equipment
start and end, you will need to establish a structure. tokens together in a box or ziplock bag between
games so you can easily set them up again
League-Style ready for the next mission.
More competitive players may prefer a strict,
turn-based structure, where every player in the Post-Game Sequence
campaign plays the same number of games. This Unlike one-off missions, after a campaign game
way all crews will have the same opportunities there are some additional steps to work out the
for advancement at each stage, keeping the impact of the game on your crew.
game balanced.
These additional steps should be carried out
Campaigns like this should be arranged in a while the players are still together, so that you
series of ‘campaign turns’, in which players will be can witness each other’s dice rolls and make
paired up, play games, and resolve the results. trades with each other.

Pairings could be made in a ‘Swiss’ tournament The post-game sequence has four phases:
fashion, or as a round-robin, where every player
plays every other player. The exact manner of 1. Extraction
arranging games is up to you. In this phase, players must decide what to do
about any comrades left behind. They may get
Free-Form arrested by the Galactic Corps, you may mount a
For those who prefer the more narrative daring rescue mission, or they may be simply left
approach, a more open structure can be for dead…
adopted, where games are arranged based on
the story that you’ve put in place, or simply on This phase is covered on page 72.
the players that are able to meet up at any given
time. This may mean that players play different 2. Advancement
numbers of games to each other, but does make This phase is where your characters will advance,
the campaign much easier to manage, and is learning new Skills and becoming more powerful.
much more realistic.
This phase is covered on page 74.
Playing Catch-Up 3. Trade
Although battles between unevenly matched Next, you will get a chance to head to the trading
sides can be far more exciting to watch, this is post to buy and sell equipment, and even hire
still a game and it needs to be fair to all players. A new crew members, ready for your next mission.
situation may arise in your campaign where one or
more players are significantly behind the others, This phase is covered on page 75.
or a new rookie crew joins in halfway through. In
these cases, where the difference between crews 4. Maintenance
is at least 10 UA worth of Traders and equipment, Finally, in the Maintenance Phase, you will need
it’s recommended that these players run through to assess the state of your ship and make repairs
some extra missions to catch up. if necessary. You will also be able to upgrade
your ship, allowing it to play a part in your games!
Use the Salvage Run mission on page 56
between your regular games – this represents his phase is covered on page , but first of all
these underdog crews stocking up on supplies you will need to understand how ships work –
before re-joining the story. The players can play see page 70.
it solo or together; just once or a few times, until
they are fully caught up. Win Bonus
f a player wins a game, they will get first choice
Between Games of which airlock door to set up at in the following
Campaigns

In a campaign it will be important to keep track game, instead of rolling the Chance Die or
of your crew’s progress between games. The ipping the urn Counter.
dry-wipe Boards will hold all of the necessary
information so you don’t have to remember
anything, but it may be a while between games.

69
 Ships
The ship is the Traders’ home, their transport and their livelihood. Without a ship a Trader is just a drifter
with their thumb out. Of course, with the state of the galaxy ships needs constant maintenance to keep
ying and that needs lo, alactic Credits, the old niversal sset.

Ships are represented in game by the Ship Board, which can be filled in with a dry wipe pen ust like
the Character Boards. In one-off games the Ship Board is only needed as a deployment area – you
can ignore these rules for now.

Maintenance Status
This area shows the current state of repair of each
of the ship’s essential systems: Propulsion, Life
Support, Supplies and Hull Integrity. At the start of a
campaign, your rookie crew will only be able to afford Ship Name
a second-hand ship and it won’t be in full working Each Core Space crew has its own
order – only the first three boxes on each row should ship – the two in the core set are the
be filled. ith use, the ship will degrade further and Ion Hope and the Black Maria. You
so repairs must be made – this will happen in the can of course come up with your
Maintenance Phase. If any of a ship’s systems reach own ship name too. Once you’ve
zero the ship becomes damaged beyond repair decided, write it in this space.
and uninhabitable. Unless repairs can be made
immediately the crew will disband and will be out of
the campaign, so be sure to save some credits for
vital repairs!

Assets
This is where you will note down how much
Hold money you have to spend. his will uctuate as
The hold works exactly like you buy and sell items and hire new crew in the
the item tray on the character Trade Phase. Once all purchases have been
dashboard – perfect for keeping made, the remaining amount should be written
items that you may not want to sell here ready for the following game.
just yet, but that you don’t want to
waste dashboard space on during Note that it’s wise to keep some funds available, just
a mission. In the Trade Phase you in case you need to pay a release fee for a captured
can freely swap items between crew member, or for other expenses that can crop up
your Traders and the ship’s hold. during missions.

70
Upgrades
In the Maintenance Phase assets can be spent to install the various upgrades shown here (see page 79).

Ship upgrades work exactly like Trader Skills – they have multiple levels that can be unlocked, and their
abilities are used by spending Skill pegs in the Trader phase. Any member of the ship’s crew can spend
their Skill pegs to use the upgrades – this will count as their Skill use for that round as normal.

The cut-out removed from the hold area of the Ship Board
contains easy reference for these upgrades.

UPGRADE LEVEL ACTION

Scanners 1 Choose a cargo crate within medium range of the airlock
door (LoS not required). Look at the contents and then
put it back.
2 Choose a cargo crate anywhere on the board. Look at
the contents and then put it back.
3 You may reduce the Hostility by up to 2. Then, based
on the current Hostility, roll for the number and arrival
location of all Purge and NPCs due to turn up this round.
You may modify any of the location rolls by 1, up or down.
Place them next to the appropriate Entry Point, off of
the board for now. They will not be rolled for again in the
Purge and NPC Phases – they will just be placed onto
the board and activated as normal.
Airlock Auto-Defences 1 Make a ranged attack, drawing LoS and range from the
airlock door, with the following stats:
2 Make a ranged attack, drawing LoS and range from the
airlock door, with the following stats:
3 Passive: Once this upgrade is in place, the ship may
activate once in each Trader Phase of the game just like
the rest of the crew. It can make a single ranged attack
with the following stats:
Docking Thrusters 1 You may move your Ship Board to any other point on the
same side of the gaming area as its current location.
2 You may move your Ship Board to any point along either
side of the gaming area perpendicular to its current location
that had an airlock starting position on the map.
There must be a 3 You may move your Ship Board to any other point on the
crew member left on opposite side of the gaming area to its current location
board the ship to use that had an airlock starting position on the map.
Docking Thrusters.

The Airlock
n the back of the Ship Boards you will find
the airlock. This is the area where Traders are
deployed at the start of the game. The edge with
black and yellow hazard markings is the door, and
should be placed in contact with the edge of the
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board. The Designation box is a space to write your

name, or the ship’s name, just in case the ships get
mixed up if they move around the board.

You will note that this side of the board also shows
the Hold and Upgrades sections. Any upgrades
made to your ship should be marked on this side of
the board too, for quick reference during the game.
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 Extraction Phase Emergency Teleport
So, you’ve managed to get back to your ship, All Traders carry an emergency teleport beacon
but you’ve left a comrade behind. The fate of the just in case, but they all dread actually using it.
fallen is now in your hands. Your defeated crew In fact, the less bold specify that they’re not to be
members have been left defenceless, and will rescued by teleporter under any circumstance!
need to be rescued, or left for dead…
If you choose to teleport the Trader out, roll the
In this phase you will deal with any crew Chance Die to see what happens:
members that did not make it off the board by
the end of the mission. Of course, if your crew all 1. The Trader dies in transit. They may have
made it out, you can skip this phase. been turned inside out, beamed into space, or
maybe they’ve been merged into the fabric of
or each defeated rader, first roll the the ship. Whatever awful fate befell them, the
Chance Die. If you roll a Live One result your Trader and their equipment are lost forever.
character has been dragged off by the Purge They can no longer be used in this campaign.
for processing and will meet a grisly end. You 2. Teleporters are notorious for pulling cruel
can consider them dead. The character can no tricks on the unwary. The character arrives
longer be used for the rest of the campaign. All safe and well, but they are not the same
of their equipment is lost with them. You’ll need person they were when they left Shuf e all
to hire a replacement. Trader Boards not being used for the current
campaign, including those for Civilians and
If they manage to dodge this fate, instead choose Gangers. Pick one at random – this is your
one of the following options: Trader’s new identity – swap out the model
and Trader Board for the new one. The new
• Rescue Mission Trader will retain the same number of Career
• Emergency Teleport points as they had before, but the player can
• You’re On Your Own choose a different Class Board and allocate
the Career points differently if they wish. The
Note: Traders apprehended by the Galactic character’s equipment remains the same.
Corps do not get this choice – they automatically 3. The character is teleported safely, but to the
follow the rules for an Apprehended result on wrong ship t will take a while to find and
page 73. retrieve them. Either the Trader misses the
next two missions, or the player can pay 4UA
Furthermore, if none of your crew made it out,
to have Galactic Central Data locate the lost
and you have no other crew members on board
Trader and re-teleport them immediately.
your ship, you will not have the Rescue or
4. The Trader has survived the trip, but there
Teleport options. All of your Traders must roll on
has been an accident and they are in a poor
the ‘You’re On Your Own’ table on page 73.
way. They take longer to recuperate than
Rescue Mission normal and they must miss the next mission.
You may decide to mount an immediate Rescue However, the character learns from the
Mission to get your Trader back. See page 54 for experience – they gain 1 Career Point.
more details. 5. The Trader is teleported safely onboard, but
their equipment did not survive the trip. Their
equipment is lost and must be discarded.
6. The Trader is teleported safely onboard
along with all of their equipment. There is no
further effect.

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You’re On Your Own Permanent Crew Loss
Maybe you don’t want to risk the teleporter, but Traders that are lost permanently following the
don’t have the resources for a rescue mission? In Extraction Phase are removed from your crew.
that case you will have to leave your companion Their Trader Board may appear again in a future
to fend for themselves, and hope it works out. Trade Phase when hiring new crew, but just
think of it as a similar-looking Trader rather than
Roll the Chance Die to see what happens: the exact same person! The new Trader can of
course have a completely different Career path.
1-2 Ransom: The unconscious Trader is picked
up by one of the many roaming gangs. You will If your Captain is ever permanently lost, you
need to pay a ransom of a number of UA equal have two choices.
to their Skill statistic to get them back. If you do
not pay immediately you can pay later, but the • If another Captain becomes available in the
ransom will increase by 1UA per mission. Trade Phase of the current game, you can
If you don’t want to pay, you may choose hire them as your new Captain.
to leave the character to their new life as • Alternatively, you can promote one of your
a criminal. From now on the character other Traders to Captain. Immediately
may be used as a Ganger NPC, using the advance their Career by an extra point, and
Civilian side of their card. from that point on all rules that apply to a
3-4 Apprehended: The Galactic Corps have crew’s Captain will apply to them.
arrested your fallen crewmate and placed
them in a local holding facility. It’s unlikely, but in the event that every member of
your crew is permanently lost, you are out of the
campaign and must start afresh with a new crew.

To see what trumped-up charges they are given,

roll the Chance Die again:

1: The Trader is released without charge

and sent back to your ship.
2-3: The Corps demand a 2UA release fee.
4-5: The Corps demand an extortionate
5UA ‘release fee’.
6: There is no bribe big enough – your
Trader is going down. Roll the Chance Die
– your Trader misses that many missions
while they serve their time. All of their
equipment is lost.
If you have to pay a release fee and you
can’t or don’t want to, treat this as if you
had rolled a 6 instead.
5-6 Escaped: Your crewmate wakes up just in time
and manages to slip away on an evacuation
shuttle. They make their way to an agreed
pick-up point and you retrieve them. You will
have to pay 1UA for fuel and other expenses.
In addition, one random equipment token they
were carrying is lost/sold for safe passage.
Campaigns

If you do not want to pay the 1UA, you can

leave them behind. The character is left
for dead and can no longer be used for the
rest of the campaign. All of their equipment
is lost with them.

73
 Advancement Phase Kill Points
Finding new equipment isn’t the only way to Defeating a Live One can make a
improve your Traders’ abilities on the table. As rader s Career, so to speak. he first
they survive missions and gain experience they Trader to defeat a Live One in a game
will also learn new Skills. takes the Live One Kill Point Counter.

As detailed on page 10, each Trader’s Board lists This counter is exchanged in the Advancement
their Career statistic, representing their current Phase after the game for an additional Career point.
ability level. he default spaces will be filled in at
the start of every standalone game or campaign, Level Up!
but it is in this Advancement Phase where the You will notice that the Career Points on each
potential spaces can be filled in too Trader’s Board are in rows. Each of these rows is
a level. Filling all of the spaces on a row allows the
character to level up, which has added benefits.

• When level 1 is complete, the Trader gains

1 Health Point and 1 Skill Point (and the
relevant pegs) for all future games.
• When Level 2 is complete, the Trader gains 1
further Health Point and 1 further Skill Point
for all future games.
• When Level 3 is complete the Trader gains
Each time a character survives a mission and 1 further Health Point, 1 further Skill Point,
makes it back to the ship during the game and 1 Action for all future games. This
(regardless of whether they completed their character is now maxed out and will not
ob ectives or not they gain Career point – fill advance any further.
in the first empty space on their rader Board. • Once a Trader’s Career track is full, any
Career Points they gain thereafter will be
This additional point can then also be allocated to added to any of their other stats with spaces
the character’s Skills on their Class Board. Pick remaining (player’s choice).
a Skill that you want to advance and fill in one of
the spaces next to its icon. You will be able to use Note that some Traders do not have all three
this Skill at a level equal to the number of marked Career levels – they can only level up as far as
spaces from your next game onwards. their Trader Board will let them. Also note that
statistic increases are only gained where the
Characters that fail to make it back to their potential spaces are available on their Board – if
ship during the game and require extraction all spaces are filled the rader will not advance
afterwards do not gain any Career Points. any further.

74
Trade Phase See page 76 for a list of items available at each
The next stage of each mission is for the trading post. All items can be sold at any trading
Traders to take their salvage, and any reward for post, but only certain items can be bought.
completing their mission objectives, to a trading
post where they can buy and sell items, and hire Stock is limited to the available tokens. If two
new crew! players choose to go to the same trading post
after a game, the winner will get first pick of any
Items are bought and sold using the game’s items, alternating thereafter. If there was no
currency – UA. The cost of buying and selling winner, ip the urn Counter to decide who can
items is shown on the back of the token, as pick first.
shown below.
Raw Blue
This value is This value is Raw Blue is the unique energy source that
the number the number of powers the Purge. Normally it disperses once a
of UA you UA you will Purge dies but it can be captured in an Energy
must spend to gain when you Flask that can be sold on the black market.
purchase this sell this item
item from a in a store. ou may find some Raw Blue
store.
during a mission – its token looks
like this:
You will note that you will usually get back less
than you spent if you were to buy and then sell You will see that its sale price
the same item, so make sure you get some use is listed as ‘SP’ – Special. To
out of it! determine its value, roll the
Chance Die:
Items with the icon are rare and cannot be
bought. These items can only be found during 1-2 You can make a quick sale and gain 2UA.
missions, or received as rewards. Be careful 3-5 ou find a trustworthy buyer and make .
when you sell them, as you may never find 6 ou find someone desperate to get their hands
them again! on it and make a tidy 9UA.

When buying an item, reduce your assets by its You do not have to sell the Raw Blue after rolling
cost, and then take it and add it to your ship’s the die – you can instead choose to hold onto it
hold, or to a Trader’s item tray. If you do not and try for a better deal in the next Trade Phase.
have space for any more items, you cannot Just remember it will be taking up valuable space
purchase any. in your hold, and you might need the money
sooner than you think!
When selling an item, increase your assets by its
sale price, and then return the token to the item
pouch. If it is a rare, large, or objective token, Barter
shuf e it back in with the other items of its type. Money isn’t the only thing you can trade
with of course. At any time during this phase
Trading Posts you can choose to barter with your fellow
The galaxy has a huge variety of trading posts, players – maybe they have a rare item that
and not every store will sell every item that you you will pay over the odds for, or you’ve got
want. After each game you will need to choose too many items and are willing to give some
one (and only one) trading post to visit from the better prices on them to make space.
following list:
What and how you trade in this manner is
• Up Close & Personnel completely open – it’s up to the players to
• Claw Store strike a deal in whatever way they see fit.
• Armourote You could let someone else hire the Civilian
• Tech Noir you just rescued, or throw in some ammo for
Campaigns

• Giger’s Emporium free to sweeten a deal, or even trade one of

your crew members, for the right price. The
only thing you can’t trade is your Captain.

75
 Trading Posts Up Close & Personnel
BS-Mart General Store he first port of call for all serious military
BS-Mart is essentially a supermarket for combat personnel (or wannabes), Up
supplies; relatively inexpensive and with a wide Close & Personnel specialise
variety. There’s pretty much nowhere in the in finely crafted close combat
galaxy that doesn’t have a BS-Mart. weaponry. They stock Close
Assault weapons costing
No matter which trading post you pick, you between 5-9UA.
can always visit the General Store as well.
Any Close Assault weapons with a 5-9UA purchase
The General Store stocks price that you sell while visiting Up Close &
items of all types with a cost of Personnel will earn a 1UA bonus per item.
up to 4UA.
Claw Store
Claw Store, aimed at the
discerning gun nut, offers
superior firepower at a decent
price. They stock Ranged
Assault weapons costing
between 5-9UA.

Any Ranged Assault weapons with a 5-9UA

purchase price that you sell while visiting Claw
Store will earn a 1UA bonus per item.

76
Armourote Giger’s Emporium
Armourote is the place to go if you’re one of the Giger’s Emporium provides high-end goods at a
unlucky species who don’t have high-end price. They specialise in exclusive top-of-
a built in ak acket. rmourote the-line equipment for the discerning buyer. They
specialises in personal stock items of all types costing 10UA or more.
protection and stocks armour
costing between 5-9UA. Giger’s can only be visited if your crew contains
a Trader with Career level 3 that survived the
Any armour with a 5-9UA purchase price that preceding mission. In addition, a maximum
you sell while visiting Armourote will earn a 1UA of one item can be purchased from Giger’s
bonus per item. Emporium per phase.

Tech Noir
Tech Noir specialises in the cutting edge
of technology for combat
accessories. They stock special
items (orange tokens) costing
between 5-9UA.

Any special items with a 5-9UA purchase price Any rare items or items with a
that you sell while visiting Tech Noir will earn a 10UA+ purchase price that you sell
1UA bonus per item. while visiting Giger’s Emporium will
earn a 1UA bonus per item.

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77
 Hiring Crew Costs
Inanimate objects aren’t the only things available All costs are based on the points value of each
in the galactic marketplace – there are plenty of Trader as detailed on page 66, and will change
mercenaries out there who will join your crew for depending on whether the Trader is hired on-
the right price. mission, temporarily or permanently, as follows:

Note that you may never have more than 7 Points On-Mission Permanent Temporary
crew members. Cost Hire Hire

There are three ways of hiring crew, as follows: 0-22 2UA 5UA 2UA

Hire ‘on-mission’ 23-34 4UA 7UA 2UA

During a game you may have persuaded a 35-39 7UA 10UA 3UA
Civilian or Ganger to join you temporarily.
However, if you can safely get them back to your 40-44 9UA 13UA 4UA
ship they can become a permanent member of
your crew. 45-49 10UA 15UA 4UA

As a reward for keeping them safe during the 50-54 11UA 17UA 5UA
mission you will be able to hire them permanently 55-59 12UA 19UA 5UA
at a reduced rate – see the Costs table.
60-64 13UA 21UA 6UA
Standard Recruitment
While at a trading outpost, you can visit the local 65-74 14UA 24UA 8UA
bars or mercenary agencies to scout out new
talent. Each player should take all of the Trader 75-84 18UA 30UA 10UA
and Civilian Boards from their collection that they
85+ 24UA 40UA 14UA
have not yet purchased, shuf e them, and draw
the top 5 (or fewer, if you don’t have 5). Note
that you will use the Trader side of the Civilian
boards. These are the Traders available for hire
at this time.

Any or all of these Traders can be hired in two

different ways – either as a permanent member
of the crew, or as a temporary hire, fighting with
you for the next mission only. The costs are as
detailed in the table on this page.

Remember that a crew can only have one

Captain. Any Captain Trader Boards that come
up in this phase can only be hired if you lost your
Captain in the previous game.

Traders hired temporarily will stick around until

the following Trade Phase and will be added to
the selection of Traders available at that time.
This will allow you to hire them again if you
wish, either temporarily or permanently, and
they will retain any advancements they
gained during your previous mission. If
you choose not to hire them again, they
will lose any advancements and become
available as part of the random selection in
future games.

78
Maintenance Phase Don’t forget, if any of a ship’s systems reach zero
Trader crews rely entirely on their ships. They the ship becomes damaged beyond repair and
require constant maintenance to keep them uninhabitable. Unless you can repair the ship in
running – if they become damaged beyond repair this phase, the crew will disband and will be out
they must be abandoned, and the crew will be of the campaign.
out of the campaign.
Repair
As described on page 70, the Maintenance Status After you have rolled for degradation, you will
section of the Ship Board shows the ship’s current have a chance to repair your ship. Making a
state of repair across its four systems: Propulsion, repair will fill in one space of your choice in the
Life Support, Supplies and Hull Integrity. These Maintenance area of the Ship Board, and will cost
levels will rise and fall during this phase. 2UA. There is no limit to the number of repairs
you can make during a phase, and repairs can be
Degradation made across all four of the ship’s systems.
First, each player must roll the Chance Die and
consult the following table to see which of the Note that Ship Parts tokens can be
ship’s systems has deteriorated with use. found during missions, and can also
be spent to make the number of
1. Roll twice more on this table and apply both repairs stated on the token, to the
results (re-rolling further results of a 1) same or different systems.
2. Propulsion reduces by 1
3. Life Support reduces by 1 Upgrades
4. Supplies reduces by 1 When a ship is fully maintained, with no spaces
5. Hull Integrity reduces by 1 left unfilled, you can instead turn your attention to
6. Equipment Malfunction – choose one random upgrading your ship. The available upgrades are:
equipment token worth up to 5UA from those
held by your crew and in your hold, and • Scanners
discard it. • Airlock Auto-Defences
• Docking Thrusters

These are fully detailed on page 71, and each has

three different levels. You can only purchase a
new level for an upgrade once all previous levels
of that upgrade have already been purchased.
The cost to apply upgrades is as follows:

• Level 1: 1UA
• Level 2: 2UA
• Level 3: 3UA

A maximum of one upgrade can be made in

each Maintenance Phase. Once an upgrade
has been applied, you should mark it on both
sides of your Ship Board for reference during
your games.

You cannot apply upgrades to your ship while

any of the maintenance spaces are left unfilled.
Upgrades that have already been applied will
not degrade.
Campaigns

Data Credits Biocell

79