This thread is for all the gameplay posts related to the resurrected Battlestar Galactica Boardgame forum game.
The format and text for this game is used with permission from MrBlarney's BSG game on the Penny Arcade forums, linked here. Much of the graphic elements have changed to my own custom designs.
Since we are not using the New Caprica phase, I've left those rules out. You will find mention of new caprica elements in these write ups, simply ignore them.
As per the rules below, you can post discussion in here, but any actions or decision you make must be bolded. This thread is now active for gameplay.
Battlestar Galactica The Boardgame
Rules and Utilities
Base Set Rules, from the publisher's website
Pegasus Expansion Rules, from the publisher's website
FAQ and Errata, from the publisher’s website
Player Aid 1 (Base Set), on BoardGameGeek
Player Aid 2 (Base Set), on BoardGameGeek
Notes and Guidelines for this play-by-post game:
Spoiler:
Secrecy is an important part of this game! As such, the following rules must be followed at all times:
There are a number of Skill Cards that can be played under certain conditions. Please refer to the Skill Cards section for the effects of each card. For the purposes of keeping things moving at a good pace, I recommend sending me a PM with guidelines or instructions in advance detailing the circumstances in which you want to use them.
Skill Cards that come before events:
Before die rolls: Strategic Planning
Before skill checks: Investigative Committee, Support the People, At Any Cost, Guts and Initiative, Scientific Research, Jury Rigged
Before combat: Run Interference
Skill Cards that come after events:
After die rolls: Calculations
After skill checks: Declare Emergency
After combat rolls/results: Major Victory, Evasive Maneuvers
After a discard: Sabotage
- * You may not tell other players the exact value/type of cards that are in your hand, that you plan to put into a Skill Check, or what you had put into a Skill Check after it is resolved. You may still use vague terms to describe the cards you hold/play: “this should help a lot” or “this should help a little” are reasonable; “this should help a medium amount” can be said for multiple cards.
* If an ability or action allows you to look at the top card of any deck, you are not allowed to tell the other players what that card is or any specific information about it.
* All communication between players must be made through this thread. No private conversations allowed!
* All players, whether Human or Cylons, must adhere to these rules; Revealed Cylons may not show their hands to other players or reveal their Super Crisis card until they play it.
There are a number of Skill Cards that can be played under certain conditions. Please refer to the Skill Cards section for the effects of each card. For the purposes of keeping things moving at a good pace, I recommend sending me a PM with guidelines or instructions in advance detailing the circumstances in which you want to use them.
Skill Cards that come before events:
Before die rolls: Strategic Planning
Before skill checks: Investigative Committee, Support the People, At Any Cost, Guts and Initiative, Scientific Research, Jury Rigged
Before combat: Run Interference
Skill Cards that come after events:
After die rolls: Calculations
After skill checks: Declare Emergency
After combat rolls/results: Major Victory, Evasive Maneuvers
After a discard: Sabotage
Spoiler:
Above, the main game board at the beginning of the game, before characters are placed. The fleet has four resources that will deplete over the course of the game: Fuel (starts at 8), Food (starts at 8), Morale (starts at 10), and Population (starts at 12). One Basestar and three Raiders are deployed at the fore of Galactica, two civilian ships at the aft, and one Viper in each of the port-bow and port-quarter areas.
Battlestar Pegasus is located on a board separate from Galactica. Pegasus is not located in any specific space and does not have its own space areas. There are four locations on Pegasus that provide new options to the human fleet. Whenever Galactica would be damaged, the current player may choose to damage a location on Pegasus instead. However, there are only four damage tokens in the Pegasus stack, and so if all locations are damaged, Pegasus is destroyed. All players on Pegasus at such a time are moved to Galactica’s Sickbay, and no more use of Pegasus may be made for the remainder of the game.
Spoiler:
There are two different scenarios that may be played: the original scenario following humanity’s journey to the planet of Kobol, and the expansion scenario following the fleet to New Caprica and the escape from the planet that followed.
Instead of a loyalty card, Cylon Leaders start the game with an Agenda card that provides a special win condition. While the Cylon Leader may win with either the humans or the Cylons depending on the drawn Agenda, each Agenda requires an extra condition to be satisfied in order for the Cylon Leader to declare victory. In a 4- or 6-player game, the Cylon Leader draws an Agenda from the Sympathetic Agenda deck, which is more likely, but not necessarily, to be favorable to the humans. In a 5- or 7-player game, the Cylon Leader draws from the Hostile Agenda deck, which is more likely to be unfavorable to the humans.
Sympathetic Cylon Leader Agendas (4- and 6-player games)
- Human Victory: Kobol scenario: Reach Kobol by making one final jump after accumulating a Destination Score of 8 or more (Every time you jump you will earn a Destination Card with a score between 1 and 3), OR New Caprica scenario: Jump the fleet to New Caprica by accumulating a Destination Score of 7 or more, then subsequently jump the fleet away from New Caprica while maintaining at least one of each resource (Fuel, Food, Morale, Population). (See dedicated rules section for the New Caprica phase of the game.)
- Cylon Victory: End humanity. This is done by destroying Galactica (damage six locations), dropping one of the fleet's resource stats to 0, or getting a Centurion Boarding Party far enough into Galactica's innards.
- Cylon Leader/Sympathetic Cylon Victory: Fulfill the conditions stated on their hidden Agenda Card – these include allowing either the cylons or the humans to win the game alongside other requirements.
Instead of a loyalty card, Cylon Leaders start the game with an Agenda card that provides a special win condition. While the Cylon Leader may win with either the humans or the Cylons depending on the drawn Agenda, each Agenda requires an extra condition to be satisfied in order for the Cylon Leader to declare victory. In a 4- or 6-player game, the Cylon Leader draws an Agenda from the Sympathetic Agenda deck, which is more likely, but not necessarily, to be favorable to the humans. In a 5- or 7-player game, the Cylon Leader draws from the Hostile Agenda deck, which is more likely to be unfavorable to the humans.
Sympathetic Cylon Leader Agendas (4- and 6-player games)
- Convert the Infidels - The humans have won AND All resources are at 3 or lower.
- Guide Them to Destiny - The humans have won AND Population and morale values are within 2 of each other.
- Join the Colonials - The humans have won AND you are Infiltrating and not in the “Brig” or “Detention”.
- Prove their Worth - The humans have won AND at least 5 Raptors/Vipers are damaged or destroyed.
- Illusion of Hope – The Cylons have won AND 6 or more units of distance have been travelled.
- Salvage their Equipment – The Cylons have won AND 2 or fewer Galactica locations are damaged.
- Genocide – The Cylons have won AND Both food and population are at 2 or less.
- Reduce Them to Ruins – The Cylons have won AND 4 or more Galactica and/or Pegasus locations are damaged and Morale is at 3 or lower.
- Show Their True Nature – The Cylons have won AND Either you are in the “Brig” or “Detention”, or you have been executed at least once.
- Siege Warfare – The Cylons have won AND Every resource is at half or lower (in the red).
- Grant Mercy – The humans have won AND Population, morale, or food is 2 or lower.
- Mutual Annihilation – The humans have won AND You have played a Super Crisis Card.
Spoiler:
Each player chooses a character in turn order. Selection of Political Leaders, Military Leaders, and Pilots is restricted if there are more of the other types of characters, Support characters may be chosen at any time, and at most one Cylon Leader character may be selected.
The first player draws their full Skill Card Draw to start the first turn, while all other players draw three cards from their normal Skill Card Draw to start the game. Cylon Leaders draw only two cards to start, the size of their normal draw.
The first player draws their full Skill Card Draw to start the first turn, while all other players draw three cards from their normal Skill Card Draw to start the game. Cylon Leaders draw only two cards to start, the size of their normal draw.
Spoiler:
- Receive Skills Step: The current player draws the number and types of Skill Cards listed on his character sheet.
- Movement Step: The current player may move to a different location. If he moves to a different ship (between Galactica, Colonial One, and Pegasus, or from a Viper to any of these ships), he must discard one Skill Card from his hand. Alternatively, the player may use a non-Treachery Skill Card with a Movement Ability.
- Action Step: The current player chooses one action to perform. Options include the actions listed on his location, character sheet, and non-Treachery Skill Cards. If piloting in a Viper, you may activate it as an action. Unrevealed Cylons may also reveal a Cylon Loyalty Card in this step.
- Crisis Step: The top card of the Crisis deck is drawn and then resolved.
- Activate Cylon Ships Step: If any are in play, Cylon ships are activated according to the Crisis Card drawn.
- Prepare for Jump Step: If the Crisis Card has the "prepare for jump" icon on it, the fleet token advances one space on the Jump Preparation track. If the token reaches the end of this track, then the fleet jumps automatically.
Spoiler:
Cylon players may reveal a Loyalty Card indicating their alignment as an action. The following steps are followed after a reveal:
- Resolve Loyalty Card Action: If the player is not in the Brig, then the effect on their Loyalty Card takes effect.
- Discard: The player's hand is discarded down to 3 Skill Cards.
- Lose Titles: If the player was Admiral or President, the title is passed to the human player that is highest in the line of succession.
- Receive Super Crisis: The player receives one random Super Crisis card from the ten available.
- Hand Off Excess Loyalty Cards: If Galactica has traveled 6 distance or less, all unrevealed Loyalty Cards are passed on to a single human player of the revealing player’s choice.
- Join Cylons: The player moves to the Resurrection Ship and their turn ends.
Spoiler:
Revealed Cylons ignore all abilities and effects that were part of their original character. Cylon players may also choose to ignore effects on Crisis Cards that might affect them unless the Crisis Card specifically targets a Cylon player.
- Draw Skills Step: The current player may draw any two Skill Cards of different types.
- Movement Step: The current player may move to any of the Cylon Locations or use a Movement ability on an applicable Treachery card.
- Action Step: The current player activates his current location and performs the listed action or uses an Action ability on an applicable Treachery Skill Card.
- Prepare for Jump Step: In the base game, the Activate Cylon Ships Step and Prepare for Jump Step are always skipped on Cylon players’ turns. With the expansion, the Prepare for Jump Step is not ignored when Crisis cards are played from the Caprica location. The Activate Cylon Ships step continues to be skipped.
Spoiler:
Cylon Leaders start out the game in the Cylon locations and are normally treated as Cylon players, but can use the Human Fleet location to move to a Galactica location and infiltrate, acting as a human player in most respects while among the human players. While infiltrating, the Cylon Leader may return to the "Resurrection Ship" location and stop infiltration as an action, discarding down to three skill cards if they performed the action in the "Brig" or "Detention Center". Whether infiltrating or not, Cylon Leaders will be able to use the special abilities listed on their character sheets as well as suffering from the listed disadvantage.
When not infiltrating, Cylon Leaders are considered to be Cylon players and follow the Revealed Cylon Game Turn steps, with the exception that on the Draw Skills Step, the Cylon Leader must take cards from the distribution listed on their character sheet. When infiltrating, Cylon Leaders are considered to be human players and follow the Human Game Turn steps, with the exception that on the Draw Skills Step, the Cylon Leader may draw an extra card from any of the types they normally draw from, in addition to their regular skill card draw. In addition, a Cylon Leader can never be made President or Admiral, and can play up to two skill cards per Skill Check as long as they are not in the "Brig".
Sympathetic Cylons operate almost exactly like a regular Cylon, but may use the Human Fleet location to infiltrate like if they were a Cylon Leader. When not infiltrating, a Sympathetic Cylon draws any two Skill Cards of different types (like a normally revealed Cylon). When infiltrating, a Sympathetic Cylon draws any three Skill Cards of different types. Whether infiltrating or not, Sympathetic Cylons cannot use any character abilities, like regular Cylons.
It should be noted that the Cylon Leader does not start with a Super Crisis, and the Sympathetic Cylon does not obtain a Super Crisis when revealed. The only way for either to obtain one is via the Resurrection Ship Action.
When not infiltrating, Cylon Leaders are considered to be Cylon players and follow the Revealed Cylon Game Turn steps, with the exception that on the Draw Skills Step, the Cylon Leader must take cards from the distribution listed on their character sheet. When infiltrating, Cylon Leaders are considered to be human players and follow the Human Game Turn steps, with the exception that on the Draw Skills Step, the Cylon Leader may draw an extra card from any of the types they normally draw from, in addition to their regular skill card draw. In addition, a Cylon Leader can never be made President or Admiral, and can play up to two skill cards per Skill Check as long as they are not in the "Brig".
Sympathetic Cylons operate almost exactly like a regular Cylon, but may use the Human Fleet location to infiltrate like if they were a Cylon Leader. When not infiltrating, a Sympathetic Cylon draws any two Skill Cards of different types (like a normally revealed Cylon). When infiltrating, a Sympathetic Cylon draws any three Skill Cards of different types. Whether infiltrating or not, Sympathetic Cylons cannot use any character abilities, like regular Cylons.
It should be noted that the Cylon Leader does not start with a Super Crisis, and the Sympathetic Cylon does not obtain a Super Crisis when revealed. The only way for either to obtain one is via the Resurrection Ship Action.
Spoiler:
At the start of the game, the Admiral and President roles are given to the players who are highest in the appropriate line of succession. Players with these roles have extra powers and responsibilities throughout the game. These roles may pass from player to player depending on actions taken.
Admiral Abilities
When the fleet jumps, you draw 2 Destination Cards and choose 1 to resolve.
You control the nuke tokens. (There are 2 nuke tokens available at the start of the game.) You also give the order to jump from New Caprica when Galactica returns.
Action: Launch 1 nuke at a Basestar (the nuke is removed from the game).
Nukes damage a Basestar twice on a roll of 1-2, automatically destroy a Basestar on a roll of 3-6, and automatically destroy a Basestar and 3 Raiders in the same area on a roll of 7-8.
Action: If Galactica is in orbit around New Caprica, jump the fleet. All human characters left on New Caprica are executed. All civilian ships left on New Caprica are destroyed.
Admiral Succession
President Abilities
At the start of the game, draw 1 Quorum Card. You control the hand of Quorum Cards.
Action: Draw a Quorum Card into your hand.
The maximum size of the Quorum Card hand is 10; if at the end of any turn there are more than 10 cards in the Quorum Card hand, the President must discard down to 10 cards. Quorum cards can be played as an action and specialize in increasing resources and dealing with unrevealed Cylons. When you play a Quorum Card while on a New Caprica location, roll a die. If 3 or less, you are sent to "Detention".
President Succession
Admiral Abilities
When the fleet jumps, you draw 2 Destination Cards and choose 1 to resolve.
You control the nuke tokens. (There are 2 nuke tokens available at the start of the game.) You also give the order to jump from New Caprica when Galactica returns.
Action: Launch 1 nuke at a Basestar (the nuke is removed from the game).
Nukes damage a Basestar twice on a roll of 1-2, automatically destroy a Basestar on a roll of 3-6, and automatically destroy a Basestar and 3 Raiders in the same area on a roll of 7-8.
Action: If Galactica is in orbit around New Caprica, jump the fleet. All human characters left on New Caprica are executed. All civilian ships left on New Caprica are destroyed.
Admiral Succession
- Helena Cain
- William Adama
- Saul Tigh
- Helo Agathon
- Lee "Apollo" Adama
- Anastasia "Dee" Dualla
- Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
- Louanne "Kat" Katraine
- Sharon "Boomer" Valerii
- Galen Tyrol
- Tom Zarek
- Ellen Tigh
- Gaius Baltar
- Laura Roslin
President Abilities
At the start of the game, draw 1 Quorum Card. You control the hand of Quorum Cards.
Action: Draw a Quorum Card into your hand.
The maximum size of the Quorum Card hand is 10; if at the end of any turn there are more than 10 cards in the Quorum Card hand, the President must discard down to 10 cards. Quorum cards can be played as an action and specialize in increasing resources and dealing with unrevealed Cylons. When you play a Quorum Card while on a New Caprica location, roll a die. If 3 or less, you are sent to "Detention".
President Succession
- Laura Roslin
- Gaius Baltar
- Tom Zarek
- Ellen Tigh
- Lee "Apollo" Adama
- William Adama
- Karl "Helo" Agathon
- Galen Tyrol
- Helena Cain
- Anastasia "Dee" Dualla
- Sharon "Boomer" Valerii
- Saul Tigh
- Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
- Louanne "Kat" Katraine
Spoiler:
Galactica
- FTL Control - Action: Jump the fleet if the Jump Preparation track is not in the red zone. Might lose population. (Population is lost on a 6 or lower.)
- Weapons Control - Action: Attack 1 Cylon ship with Galactica.
- Command - Action: Activate unmanned Vipers 2 times. These can be used on the same viper twice, or on two different vipers. Activated Vipers can be ordered to launch, move, or fire on a Cylon vessel.
- Communications - Action: Look at the back of up to 2 civilian ships. You may then move them to adjacent area(s).
- Admiral's Quarters - Action: Choose a character; then pass this skill check to send him to the "Brig". [Skill 7, Leadership, Tactics]
- Research Lab - Action: Draw 1 Engineering or 1 Tactics Skill Card.
- Hangar Deck - Action: Launch yourself in a viper. You may then take 1 more action. (Must have the Piloting skill.)
- Armory - Action: Attack a Centurion on the Boarding Party track (destroyed on a roll of 7+).
- Sickbay - You may only draw 1 Skill Card during your Receive Skills step. You may not move to this location with your normal movement.
- Brig - You may not move, draw Crisis Cards, or add more than 1 card to skill checks. You may not move to this location with your normal movement. Action: Pass this skill check to move to any location. [Skill 7, Politics, Tactics]
- Press Room - Action: Draw 2 Politics Skill Cards.
- President's Office - Action: If you are the President, draw 1 Quorum Card. You may then draw 1 additional Quorum Card or play 1 from your hand.
- Administration - Action: Choose a character, then pass this skill check to give him the President title. [Skill 5, Politics, Leadership]
- Pegasus CIC - Action: Choose a Basestar and roll a die: On 1-3, damage Pegasus; on 4-6, damage Basestar; on 7-8, damage Basestar twice.
- Airlock - Action: Choose a character and pass this skill check to execute him. Reduce the difficulty of this check by 4 if the character is in the "Brig". [Skill 12, Politics, Tactics, Treachery]
- Main Batteries - Action: Choose a space area to affect and roll a die: On 1, destroy 1 Civilian Ship; on 2-3, damage 1 Viper; on 4-6, destroy 2 Raiders; on 7-8, destroy 4 Raiders.
- Engine Room - Action: Discard 2 Skill Cards to treat the next Crisis Card drawn this turn as if it had a "prepare for jump" icon.
- Caprica - Action: Play 1 of your Super Crisis Cards or draw 2 Crisis Cards, choose 1 to resolve, and place the other on the bottom of the deck. If playing a Crisis Card, the Activate Cylon Ships Step is ignored.
- Cylon Fleet - Action: Activate all Cylon ships of one type, or launch 2 Raiders and 1 Heavy Raider from each Basestar.
- Human Fleet - Action: Look at the top card of the Crisis or Destination deck and place it on the top or bottom of that deck. Then draw 2 Skill Cards of different types (may come from outside your skill set). or infiltrate Galactica.
- Resurrection Ship - You draw only 1 Skill Card during your Receive Skill Cards step. You may not move to this location with your normal movement. Action: Draw a Super Crisis Card.
Spoiler:
When a character is executed, all Skill Cards and Quorum Cards played on the character are discarded. If the player has a "You Are a Cylon" card, he reveals one and follows the procedures for Revealing as a Cylon above, skipping the Resolve Loyalty Card Action and Receive Super Crisis steps, becoming a Revealed Cylon. If the player is a Cylon Leader, he simply moves to the Resurrection Ship without revealing his Agenda.
If the player has no "You Are a Cylon" cards, he reveals all Loyalty Cards as a human character. Morale is reduced by 1 and the player’s character is removed from the game. If Sharon "Boomer" Valerii is executed before the sleeper phase, her player receives a new Loyalty card. The player may then choose any unselected character outside of the Cylon Leader category. If the player has not yet used a character’s once per game ability thus far, his new character’s once per game ability is available; otherwise it cannot be used. If the player does not have any characters to choose from, then the humans lose the game. If the Admiral or the President is executed, the title passes to the character highest in the line of succession after the new character is chosen.
A number of exceptions to the character procedure may apply. If Karl "Helo" Agathon is selected, his "Stranded" disadvantage applies for the player’s next turn. If Lee "Apollo" Adama is selected, he starts in the "Hangar Deck" location if no vipers are available for launch. If Sharon "Boomer" Valerii is selected before the Sleeper Phase, add one "You Are Not a Cylon" card to the Loyalty deck; if selected after the Sleeper Phase, she starts in the Brig. If Gaius Baltar is selected before the Sleeper Phase, add one "You are Not a Cylon" card to the Loyalty deck and immediately deal a Loyalty card to his player; if selected after the Sleeper Phase, his one-time "Cylon Detector" ability is unavailable, even if his player has not yet used a one-time ability.
If the player has no "You Are a Cylon" cards, he reveals all Loyalty Cards as a human character. Morale is reduced by 1 and the player’s character is removed from the game. If Sharon "Boomer" Valerii is executed before the sleeper phase, her player receives a new Loyalty card. The player may then choose any unselected character outside of the Cylon Leader category. If the player has not yet used a character’s once per game ability thus far, his new character’s once per game ability is available; otherwise it cannot be used. If the player does not have any characters to choose from, then the humans lose the game. If the Admiral or the President is executed, the title passes to the character highest in the line of succession after the new character is chosen.
A number of exceptions to the character procedure may apply. If Karl "Helo" Agathon is selected, his "Stranded" disadvantage applies for the player’s next turn. If Lee "Apollo" Adama is selected, he starts in the "Hangar Deck" location if no vipers are available for launch. If Sharon "Boomer" Valerii is selected before the Sleeper Phase, add one "You Are Not a Cylon" card to the Loyalty deck; if selected after the Sleeper Phase, she starts in the Brig. If Gaius Baltar is selected before the Sleeper Phase, add one "You are Not a Cylon" card to the Loyalty deck and immediately deal a Loyalty card to his player; if selected after the Sleeper Phase, his one-time "Cylon Detector" ability is unavailable, even if his player has not yet used a one-time ability.
Spoiler:
Most Crisis Cards and some Locations resolve with a Skill Check. Skill Checks are a major avenue of subterfuge for Cylon players.
A Skill Check will involve two to four types of Skill Cards, and a number. A Skill Check always includes 2 cards from the Destiny Deck (see below), and then each player may add as many cards as they like in turn (Exception: Players in Brig and Revealed Cylons may only contribute one card to each check; Cylon Leaders may play up to two cards per check if they are infiltrating). All skill cards are submitted without revealing their values, including cards that come from the Destiny Deck. Only after all players have made a submission are cards revealed, without noting which card came from which player. PM the host the specific cards you wish to contribute after declaring the amount of cards in the game thread.
After the skill cards are revealed, you ADD all of the numbers from the correctly colored Skill Cards, and then SUBTRACT all of the numbers from the non-matching Skill Cards. If you meet or beat the Skill Check number, the check is a pass. This usually does nothing but avoid negative results, but can sometimes yield positive results. Some Skill Checks have a number value that allows for a partial pass; in these cases the negative results are lessened to some extent.
The Destiny Deck is composed of two cards from each of the six Skill Card types. Two are drawn in each Skill Check, and the deck is only replenished when it is exhausted (after six Skill Checks).
Before cards are played in a Skill Check, certain cards may be played to increase the chances of a successful pass. There are a number of these cards that are labeled as Reckless Skill Cards, introduced in the Pegasus Expansion. At most one Reckless Skill Card can be played in a single Skill Check - if multiple people wish to play such a card, the current player can choose who plays their card.
While Reckless abilities may make it easier to pass a skill check, it also puts the check at risk of Reckless Skill Check abilities found on certain Treachery cards. These cards contain events that activate if found in the cards submitted to a Reckless Skill Check. If multiple cards with the same name are present, only one copy of the card is followed.
A Skill Check will involve two to four types of Skill Cards, and a number. A Skill Check always includes 2 cards from the Destiny Deck (see below), and then each player may add as many cards as they like in turn (Exception: Players in Brig and Revealed Cylons may only contribute one card to each check; Cylon Leaders may play up to two cards per check if they are infiltrating). All skill cards are submitted without revealing their values, including cards that come from the Destiny Deck. Only after all players have made a submission are cards revealed, without noting which card came from which player. PM the host the specific cards you wish to contribute after declaring the amount of cards in the game thread.
After the skill cards are revealed, you ADD all of the numbers from the correctly colored Skill Cards, and then SUBTRACT all of the numbers from the non-matching Skill Cards. If you meet or beat the Skill Check number, the check is a pass. This usually does nothing but avoid negative results, but can sometimes yield positive results. Some Skill Checks have a number value that allows for a partial pass; in these cases the negative results are lessened to some extent.
The Destiny Deck is composed of two cards from each of the six Skill Card types. Two are drawn in each Skill Check, and the deck is only replenished when it is exhausted (after six Skill Checks).
Before cards are played in a Skill Check, certain cards may be played to increase the chances of a successful pass. There are a number of these cards that are labeled as Reckless Skill Cards, introduced in the Pegasus Expansion. At most one Reckless Skill Card can be played in a single Skill Check - if multiple people wish to play such a card, the current player can choose who plays their card.
While Reckless abilities may make it easier to pass a skill check, it also puts the check at risk of Reckless Skill Check abilities found on certain Treachery cards. These cards contain events that activate if found in the cards submitted to a Reckless Skill Check. If multiple cards with the same name are present, only one copy of the card is followed.
Spoiler:
Each player's hand is comprised of Skill Cards drawn from six different types: Politics, Leadership, Tactics, Piloting, Engineering, and Treachery. There are 26 cards of each type, with Skill Check values from 1 to 5, except for Treachery, which ranges from 1 to 3. These cards may also be used outside of Skill Checks, as a regular Action, in lieu of a Movement, or in reaction to specific circumstances. Human players may not use the special text abilities on Treachery cards, while Cylon players can use the special text abilities on only Treachery cards and no others. Cylon Leaders and Sympathetic Cylons can use different cards depending on if they are Infiltrating or not. I encourage you to PM me with circumstances in which you will automatically use your cards, so as to help keep the game moving as quickly as possible. If more than one character would be using the same card at the same time, only the next in action order will make the play. See the Notes and Guidelines sections for some rules on cards of this type.
Players have a maximum hand limit of 10 Skill Cards (Exception: Galen Tyrol, whose hand limit is 8). If they exceed this limit at the end of any player's turn, they must discard down to this amount. Players may still exceed this amount during any player's turn, including the start of their own turn after drawing Skill Cards.
Politics
Players have a maximum hand limit of 10 Skill Cards (Exception: Galen Tyrol, whose hand limit is 8). If they exceed this limit at the end of any player's turn, they must discard down to this amount. Players may still exceed this amount during any player's turn, including the start of their own turn after drawing Skill Cards.
Politics
- Consolidate Power - Action: Draw 2 Skill Cards of any type(s). They may come from outside your skill set. [8 x Strength 1, 6 x Strength 2]
- Investigative Committee - Play before cards are added to a skill check. All Skill Cards are played face up during this skill check (excluding those from the Destiny Deck). [4 x Strength 3, 2 x Strength 4, 1 x Strength 5]
- Support the People - <Reckless> Play before cards are added to a Skill check. Each human player with 4 or less Skill Cards in hand may draw 2 Skill Cards. [1 x Strength 1, 1 x Strength 2]
- Preventative Policy - Movement: Choose 1 resource type (fuel, food, morale, or population). The next loss of this resource type during this turn is reduced by 1. [1 x Strength 3, 1 x Strength 4, 1 x Strength 5]
- Executive Order - Action: Choose any other player. He may move his character and then take 1 action OR not move and take 2 actions. (Movement abilities may not be used.) A limit of 1 "Executive Order" card may be used per turn. [8 x Strength 1, 6 x Strength 2]
- Declare Emergency - Play after strength is totaled in a skill check to reduce its difficulty by 2. A limit of 1 "Declare Emergency" card may be used per skill check. [4 x Strength 3, 2 x Strength 4, 1 x Strength 5]
- Major Victory - Play after you destroy a Basestar or a Centurion on the Boarding Party track. Roll a die. If 5 or higher, gain 1 morale. Limit of 1 "Major Victory" card used per turn. [1 x Strength 1, 1 x Strength 2]
- At Any Cost - <Reckless> Play before cards are added to a Skill check. All Treachery Cards in the Skill check count as positive strength. [1 x Strength 3, 1 x Strength 4, 1 x Strength 5]
- Launch Scout - Action: Risk 1 Raptor to roll a die. If 3 or higher, look at the top card of the Crisis or Destination Deck and place it on the top or the bottom. Otherwise, destroy 1 Raptor. [8 x Strength 1, 6 x Strength 2]
- Strategic Planning - Play before any die roll to add 2 to the result. Limit of 1 "Strategic Planning" card used per die roll. [4 x Strength 3, 2 x Strength 4, 1 x Strength 5]
- Guts and Initiative - <Reckless> Play before cards are added to a Skill Check. Do not add cards from the Destiny Deck into this Skill Check. [1 x Strength 1, 1 x Strength 2]
- Critical Situation - Movement: Take 1 Action. Only 1 "Critical Situation" or "Executive Order" may be used per turn. [1 x Strength 3, 1 x Strength 4, 1 x Strength 5]
- Evasive Maneuvers - Play after any Viper is attacked to reroll the die. If the Viper is piloted, subtract 2 from the new roll. [8 x Strength 1, 6 x Strength 2]
- Maximum Firepower - Action: Play while piloting a Viper to attack up to 4 times. [4 x Strength 3, 2 x Strength 4, 1 x Strength 5]
- Full Throttle - Movement or Action: If piloting a Viper, you may move to any space area. You may then attack one Cylon ship in your area (even if you didn’t move). [1 x Strength 1, 1 x Strength 2]
- Run Interference - Play before Raiders are activated. The first 4 Raiders activating in your space area automatically miss (do not roll for them). [1 x Strength 3, 1 x Strength 4, 1 x Strength 5]
- Repair - Action: Repair your current location, or if you are in the "Hangar Deck" location, you may repair up to 2 damaged Vipers. [8 x Strength 1, 6 x Strength 2]
- Scientific Research - Play before cards are added to a skill check. All engineering cards in the skill check count as positive strength. [4 x Strength 3, 2 x Strength 4, 1 x Strength 5]
- Jury Rigged - <Reckless> Play before cards are added to a Skill Check to reduce its difficulty by 4. [1 x Strength 1, 1 x Strength 2]
- Calculations - Play after a die is rolled to add or subtract 1 from the result. Only 1 "Calculations" card may be used per die roll. [1 x Strength 3, 1 x Strength 4, 1 x Strength 5]
- Broadcast Location - Reckless Skill Check: Place 1 basestar in front of Galactica and 1 civilian ship behind Galactica. Only 1 of this ability may be resolved in each Skill Check. [8 x Strength 1]
- By Your Command - Reckless Skill Check: Activate all Raiders, Heavy Raiders, and Occupation Forces (but not Centurions). Only 1 of this ability may be resolved in each Skill Check. [4 x Strength 1]
- Special Destiny - Reckless Skill Check: Each player draws 1 Treachery Skill Card. Only 1 of this ability may be resolved in each Skill Check. [5 x Strength 2]
- God’s Plan - Movement: Exchange this card with the top card of the Destiny Deck. [3 x Strength 2]
- Sabotage - Play when a human player discards a Treachery Skill Card. Damage Galactica once. Only 1 "Sabotage" card may be used per turn. [4 x Strength 3]
- Human Weakness - Action: If at least one human player is in the "Brig" or "Detention Center", reduce the highest resource by 1. [2 x Strength 3]
Spoiler:
Cylon ships are usually activated based on icons found on Crisis Cards. Cylon players may also activate Cylon ships by using the Cylon Fleet location action on their turns. There are four different types of activations:
Activate Raiders - Each raider on the board takes one action with the following priority:
Launch Raiders - Each Basestar in play launches three raiders. If there are not enough raiders, the current player may choose which raiders are launched.
Activate Heavy Raiders and Centurions - Each Heavy Raider on the board moves toward the closest Viper launch area, or if in a launch area, deposits a Centurion on the first space of the Boarding Party track. If there are no Heavy Raiders on the board, each Basestar in play launches one Heavy Raider. Each Centurion also advances one space on the Boarding Party track; if any has advanced to the end (a total of four activations), then the Cylons win. Centurions activate with Heavy Raiders with the Cylon Fleet location action.
Activate Cylon Basestars - Each Basestar in play attacks Galactica.
Activate Raiders - Each raider on the board takes one action with the following priority:
- Attack a Viper - Attack a viper in the same space area; unmanned Vipers are attacked before player-piloted Vipers.
- Destroy Civilian Ship - The current player chooses a civilian ship in the Raider’s space area. The ship is destroyed and the listed resources lost.
- Move – The Raider moves toward the nearest space area containing a civilian ship, moving clockwise if there are two space areas equidistant from the Raider’s current location.
- Attack Galactica - If none of the above actions have been taken, the Raider will remain in its current area and attack Galactica.
Launch Raiders - Each Basestar in play launches three raiders. If there are not enough raiders, the current player may choose which raiders are launched.
Activate Heavy Raiders and Centurions - Each Heavy Raider on the board moves toward the closest Viper launch area, or if in a launch area, deposits a Centurion on the first space of the Boarding Party track. If there are no Heavy Raiders on the board, each Basestar in play launches one Heavy Raider. Each Centurion also advances one space on the Boarding Party track; if any has advanced to the end (a total of four activations), then the Cylons win. Centurions activate with Heavy Raiders with the Cylon Fleet location action.
Activate Cylon Basestars - Each Basestar in play attacks Galactica.
Spoiler:
- Unit Attacked: Die Roll = Result
- Raider: 3-8 = Destroyed
- Heavy Raider: 7-8 = Destroyed
- Centurion: 7-8 = Destroyed
- Basestar attacked by Viper: 8 = Damaged
- Basestar attacked by Galactica: 5-8 = Damaged
- Basestar attacked by Nuke: 1-2 = Damaged Twice; 3-6 = Destroyed; 7-8 = Destroyed and destroy 3 Raiders in the same area
- Viper: 5-7 = Damaged; 8 = Destroyed; If a piloted viper is damaged or destroyed, move the pilot to Sickbay.
- Civilian Ship: Automatically Destroyed (no die roll)
- Galactica attacked by Raider: 8 = Damaged
- Galactica attacked by Basestar: 4-8 = Damaged
Spoiler:
The ultimate objective in the base set scenario for the humans is to jump the fleet enough distance to make it to Kobol. In the expansion scenario, the first major objective is to jump the fleet to New Caprica. The game starts with the Jump Prep marker on Start. Each Crisis Card drawn has a chance to advance the Jump Prep marker. When the Jump Prep marker reaches the -3 or -1 spots, any character can use the FTL Control location to initiate a jump, but will risk losing 3 or 1 population (on a roll of 6 or less). If the Jump Prep marker advances to the Auto Jump spot, the fleet automatically jumps with no risk of population loss.
Jumping clears the board of all ships. All Vipers, unmanned or piloted, return to the reserves. Any characters piloting Vipers are moved to the Hangar Deck. While jumping does clear the board of all Cylon ships, any Centurions in a Boarding Party remain on Galactica. After the jump, the Admiral draws 2 cards from the Destination Deck and chooses one, jumping the fleet a certain distance and initiating a special effect, and the Jump Prep marker returns to its starting position.
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