Base Set, Pegasus Expansion, Exodus Expansion
After forty years passing without a single word from the Cylons, they returned, and all but eradicated the human race. In this time of strife, they must put aside the petty differences that once separated them and focus on one thing — survival.
Humanity's only hope of a future is to find a new home; a place called Earth. The Cylons, however, are in constant and tireless pursuit. They now look, breathe and bleed exactly like humans. Cylons have infiltrated the Fleet, destroyed resources, and threaten to finish the extermination they have begun. The humans have no choice but to run, plagued by the paranoia of an indistinguishable enemy.
Are you a Cylon who will help to erase any memory of the human race? Or will your resilience and determination to survive prove to the Cylons that humanity is worth saving?
In the basic version of the game, players take the roles of prominent figures in the remainder of humanity working toward the goal of reaching Kobol, the first step on the long road toward the legendary planet Earth. However, hidden among their ranks are Cylon infiltrators, who seek to end humanity for once and for all. The Exodus expansion adds three modules to the game, including the Cylon Fleet board and CAG title, new Loyalty Cards in The Final Five and Personal Goals, and the Ionian Nebula goal, which introduces more effects through Trauma tokens that affect both the players as well as new NPCs among the fleet. The following rules apply to the new situations and rules introduced in the Pegasus and Exodus Expansions. For rules that apply solely to the base set, look to one of the older games.
Rules and UtilitiesBase Set Rules, from the publisher's websitePegasus Expansion Rules, from the publisher's websiteExodus Expansion Rules, from the publisher's websiteFAQ and Errata, from the publisher’s websitePlayer Aid 1 (Base Set), on BoardGameGeekPlayer Aid 2 (Base Set), on BoardGameGeekNotes and Guidelines for this play-by-post game:
Secrecy is an important part of this game! As such, the following rules must be followed
at all times:
- 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.
- When discussing Loyalty cards, specific information cannot be mentioned: for "You Are Not A Cylon" cards, no discussion of Personal Goals is allowed, if any is present, and for "You Are A Cylon" cards, no discussion of reveal effects is allowed. Similar applies for Cylon Leader Agendas.
- 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.
All actions should be reported in the thread in bold cyan for them to be recognized. Movement, skill card use, ability use, discards, etc. all apply. On skill checks, the rules state that submissions to the check are made beginning with the player after the active player then continuing in turn order, ending with the active player. However, you can make a submission out of order if you know what you wish to play. It is recommended that you discuss with your fellow players if you are uncertain how much you should contribute. Final submission numbers will be given by the GM at the time of resolution.
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,
Political Prowess,
At Any Cost,
Guts and Initiative,
Scientific Research,
Jury Rigged
Before combat rolls:
Run Interference,
Best of the Best
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:
SabotageObservers can post with commentary, but should avoid strategic discussions. Observers should also post in lightskyblue italics to distinguish them from the players.
The Board
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.
The Cylon Fleet module from the Exodus Expansion adds a new Cylon location and a board mirroring the main game board. Cylon ships will be placed here when they are not in combat on the main board.
General Game Flow and Victory Conditions
There are three different scenarios that may be played: the original scenario following humanity's journey to the planet of Kobol, the Pegasus expansion scenario following the fleet to New Caprica and the escape from the planet that followed, and the Exodus expansion scenario following humanity's travel to and departure from the Ionian Nebula.
- 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.), OR Ionian Nebula scenario: Reach the Ionian Nebula by accumulating a Destination Score of 8 or more, then making one final jump. (See dedicated rules section for the Ionian Nebula scenario.)
- Cylon Victory: End humanity. This is done by destroying Galactica (damage six locations), dropping one of the fleet's resource stats to 0, executing a human with no replacement character available, 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.
At the start of the game, each player (with the exception of Cylon Leaders) is given one Loyalty Card (Exception: Gaius Baltar, who receives two) that indicates whether or not a player starts out as a Human or a Cylon player. Players take turns in sequence, encountering crises and jumping the fleet towards the destination of Kobol or New Caprica. When a distance of 4 or greater has been reached, the Sleeper Agent Phase activates: each player, including Revealed Cylons, is dealt one more Loyalty Card (Exception: Sharon Valerii, who receives two) that may change that player's alignment. The total number of Cylons present in the game is fixed and dependent on the number of players in the game. It should be noted that with the Exodus expansion, the Loyalty deck will contain one more card than necessary for use with the new execution rules and new loyalty cards.
Certain "You Are Not A Cylon" cards have special designations as being a "Personal Goal" or as "The Final Five". "Personal Goal" Loyalty cards contain conditions that must be fulfilled by the owning players. While these goals may often be detrimental in nature, failure to fulfill the card objectives will result in the loss of resources at the end of the game. "The Final Five" Loyalty cards contain negative effects that trigger when the card is examined by a player other than its controller. There are increased penalties if the card is revealed as part of an execution result.
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.
Hostile Cylon Leader Agendas (5- and 7-player games)
- 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.
A Sympathetic Cylon may be introduced to the game at the Sleeper Phase in 4- and 6-player games that do not have a Cylon Leader. Sympathetic Cylons draw an Agenda from the Sympathetic Agenda deck, changing their win condition from the normal Human or Cylon condition to that on their drawn card.
Character Selection
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.
Human (and Unrevealed Cylon) Game Turn
- 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.
Revealing as a Cylon
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 (Pegasus Expansion): 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.
Revealed Cylon Game Turn
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 and Loyalty Cards that might affect them unless the 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 Pegasus 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.
Cylon Leader and Sympathetic Cylon Game Turn
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.
Admiral, President, and CAG
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. If playing with the Cylon Fleet module, the CAG title is also assigned. 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 with an additional token that can be gained.) You also give the order to jump from New Caprica when Galactica returns.
Action: Launch 1 nuke at a space area (the nuke is discarded).
Nukes damage a Basestar twice on a roll of 1-2, automatically destroy a Basestar on a roll of 3-6, automatically destroy a Basestar and 3 Raiders in the same area on a roll of 7-8. In the Cylon Fleet module, a roll of 8 destroys all ships in the area instead.
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
- Felix Gaeta
- Lee "Apollo" Adama
- Anastasia "Dee" Dualla
- Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
- Louanne "Kat" Katraine
- Sharon "Boomer" Valerii
- Samuel T. Anders
- "Chief" Galen Tyrol
- Callandra "Cally" Tyrol
- Tom Zarek
- Ellen Tigh
- Gaius Baltar
- Tory Foster
- Laura Roslin
The title of Admiral is lost if the holder is sent to the Brig, and is given to the human player highest in succession that is not in the Brig. If all human players are in the Brig, then the title goes to the player highest in the normal 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
- Laura Roslin
- Gaius Baltar
- Tom Zarek
- Tory Foster
- Ellen Tigh
- Lee "Apollo" Adama
- Felix Gaeta
- William Adama
- Karl "Helo" Agathon
- "Chief" Galen Tyrol
- Callandra "Cally" Tyrol
- Helena Cain
- Anastasia "Dee" Dualla
- Sharon "Boomer" Valerii
- Saul Tigh
- Samuel T. Anders
- Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
- Louanne "Kat" Katraine
Note that if the President is in the "Brig," he keeps the President title and all associated abilities.
CAG Abilities (Cylon Fleet module)
When a civilian ship needs to be placed on the main game board, you choose the space area. You must choose an area that does not already contain civilian ships (if able).
Action: Activate 1 unmanned viper and then give the CAG Title Card to any other human player.
Action: Once per turn, if you are piloting a viper, you may activate 1 unmanned viper and then take another action.
CAG Succession
- Lee "Apollo" Adama
- Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
- Louanne "Kat" Katraine
- Sharon "Boomer" Valerii
- Samuel T. Anders
- Helo Agathon
- William Adama
- Helena Cain
- Saul Tigh
- Felix Gaeta
- Anastasia "Dee" Dualla
- "Chief" Galen Tyrol
- Callandra "Cally" Tyrol
- Tom Zarek
- Ellen Tigh
- Gaius Baltar
- Tory Foster
- Laura Roslin
The title of CAG is lost if the holder is sent to the Brig, and is given to the human player highest in succession that is not in the Brig. If all human players are in the Brig, then the title goes to the player highest in the normal succession.
Locations
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. Viper Mk. VIIs, upon movement, can move up to two zones instead of just one. With the Cylon Fleet module, Vipers may also escort civilian ships to safety.
- 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]
Colonial One
- 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
- 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.
Cylon Locations
- 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.
- Basestar Bridge (Cylon Fleet module) - Action: Choose 2 of the following abilities:
- The CAG must place 1 civilian ship (following all placement rules).
- Place 1 Basestar or 3 Raiders in any 1 area on the Cylon Fleet game board.
- Roll a die: On 1-3, decrease the jump track by 1; on 4-8, increase the pursuit track by 1.
- Roll a die. If the result is less than the number of raiders on the main game board, draw 2 Galactica damage tokens and choose 1 to resolve.
Executions
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. All the player’s Loyalty Cards are discarded. If Sharon "Boomer" Valerii is executed before the sleeper phase, her player receives an additional Loyalty Card. Trauma tokens from the Ionian Nebula module are also discarded and replenished. 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. Once a new character has been selected, an additional "You Are Not A Cylon" card is added to the Loyalty deck, and the executed player draws a new Loyalty card from the newly modified deck.
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 in the Pegasus Expansion, his one-time "Cylon Detector" ability is unavailable, even if his player has not yet used a one-time ability. If Samuel T. Anders is selected, his "Starts on the Bench" disadvantage applies for the player's next turn.
Skill Checks
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.
Certain skill cards also have additional Skill Check abilities when they appear in a Skill Check. If multiple cards with the same name are present, only one copy of the card is followed. If the check has been made Reckless, then Treachery cards with Reckless skill Check abilities also activate. There are also some Crisis Cards that have additional Consequences if a Skill Check card appears in its Skill Check.
Posts
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
Leadership
Tactics
Piloting
Engineering
Treachery
Activating Cylon Ships
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.
If there are no Raiders on the board to activate, then each Basestar on the board will launch two Raiders. If there are multiple space areas containing Raiders, then the current player may choose the order in which they activate; all raiders in a space area are activated before moving to the next.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.
Cylon Fleet Module
When a Cylon ship activation is drawn and it would normally have no effect, they now have alternate effects. If "Activate Raiders" is revealed, one Raider is added to a random area on the Cylon Fleet board. If "Activate Heavy Raiders and Centurions" is revealed, one Heavy Raider is randomly added to the Cylon Fleet board. If "Launch Raiders" or "Activate Cylon Basestars" is revealed, one Basestar is randomly added to the Cylon Fleet board. In addition, for each of these additions, the Pursuit Track is advanced by one space. At the first and third steps, civilian ships are added to the main board. When the Pursuit Track advances four spaces to Auto Attack, all ships on the Cylon Fleet board jump in to attack the human fleet. If a ship cannot be added to the Cylon Fleet board, then all ships in the highest-numbered area containing that type of ship is jumped in.
The human fleet starts the game in this scenario with only six standard Viper Mk. IIs, but now have four damaged Viper Mk. VIIs that can be utilized. These advanced models are harder to shoot down and have increased move capabilities. A new title is added to the game, the CAG, who is responsible for certain Crisis decisions as well as civilian ship placement. Finally, jump mechanics are modified: while vipers are still moved to the reserves, civilian ships remain in their space areas and Cylon ships are returned to the Cylon Fleet board in their respective areas. Basestars are also repaired of all damage taken. To combat this, vipers may now use their activation to escort a civilian ship in their area off the board.
Combat Table
Jumping
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 Pegasus expansion scenario, the first major objective is to jump the fleet to New Caprica; in the Exodus expansion scenario, the objective is to jump the fleet to the Ionian Nebula and then away from the Cylon fleet. 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.
Under standard rules, 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.
See the Cylon Fleet module section above for changes in Jump mechanics in that module.
Ionian Nebula Module
When players draw Trauma tokens, they are secretly added to their personal supply. However, if a Disaster token is drawn, it is revealed to negative consequences. Human players who reveal a Disaster token are Executed; their new character discards all Trauma tokens and redraws up to three non-Disaster tokens. Cylons revealing a Disaster token draw two more Trauma, drawing two more if one of the two drawn is Disaster. Disaster tokens return to the supply once their effects have been resolved.
At the start of the game, three Allies are placed on the board with random facedown Trauma tokens. When a player ends their Movement in the same location as an Ally, the encounter is resolved. (If there are multiple Allies in the same location, one is chosen to encounter.) Effects are resolved according to if the ally's Trauma token is Beneficial or Antagonistic; Disaster tokens have no effect. The ally is removed from the game and a new ally drawn; the player who made the encounter places one Trauma token from their personal supply to the ally card facedown. Allies are not placed if their character is currently being controlled by a player, or that character has already been executed; instead, the card is removed from the game and a new Ally drawn. If the Ally deck has been depleted, then no more Allies will be placed for the remainder of the game. Allies can also be removed from the board if their locations are damaged or a player selects a character matching the Ally after an execution. In those cases, the Cylon player with the most Trauma draws the new Ally and places one of their Trauma tokens on the Ally. If a player needs to place a Trauma token but has none to place, then one is placed randomly from the supply.
Each player now draws a Crossroads card and secretly places a Trauma token on it from their personal supply if possible. Once all players have made their decisions, Crossroad cards are resolved in turn according to the Trauma tokens placed. If a player has no Trauma tokens to place, they may choose either of the Beneficial or Antagonistic outcomes freely. Once all Crossroads cards have been resolved, remaining Trauma in each players’ personal supply is checked to see if any player will be eliminated from the game. Humans count their Antagonistic tokens while Cylons count their Beneficial tokens. If any player has more than two such tokens, then the player with the most tokens is eliminated from the game, losing no matter the final game outcome. If there is a tie among human players, the President chooses the player to be eliminated. If there is a tie among Cylon players, then all tied players are eliminated. Ties between human and Cylon result in losses on both sides.
Once "The Trial/Boxing The Line" phase has been resolved, Allies and Trauma are removed from play. The humans win if they can jump a final time without reducing any resources to 0.
General Ability: Inspirational Leader - When you draw a Crisis Card, all 1 strength Skill Cards count positive for the skill check.
One-Time Ability: Command Authority - Once per game, after resolving a skill check, instead of discarding the used Skill Cards, draw them into your hand.
Disadvantage: Emotionally Attached - You may not activate the "Admiral’s Quarters" location.
Setup Location: Admiral’s Quarters
General Ability: Cylon Hatred - When a player activates the "Admiral Quarters" location, you may choose to reduce the difficulty by 3.
One-Time Ability: Declare Martial Law - Action: Once per game, give the President title to the Admiral.
Disadvantage: Alcoholic - At the start of any player’s turn, if you have exactly 1 Skill Card in your hand, you must discard it.
Setup Location: Command
General Ability: ECO Officer - During your turn, you may reroll a die that was just rolled (once per turn). You must use the new result.
One-Time Ability: Moral Compass - Once per game, after a player makes a choice on a Crisis Card, you may change it.
Disadvantage: Stranded - Your character is not placed on the game board at the start of the game. While not on the game board, you may not move, be moved, or take actions. At the start of your 2nd turn, place your character on the "Hangar Deck" location.
General Ability: Intolerant - When an "Admiral Quarters" Skill Check is passed with a 10 or more, you may choose to execute that character instead of sending him to the “Brig”.
One-Time Ability: Blind Jump - Action: Once per game, if at 6 or less distance, draw 2 civilian ships and destroy them to immediately jump the fleet (even if the fleet marker is on a red space). The Admiral only draws 1 Destination Card.
Disadvantage: Bent on Revenge - You may not activate the "FTL Control" or "Engine Room" locations.
Setup Location: Pegasus CIC or Command
General Ability: FTL Operator - Anytime "FTL Control" is activated, you may reroll the die. You must use the new result.
One-Time Ability: Coup - Action: Once per game, you may take the Admiral title. If you are in the "Brig" when you take this action, move immediately to "Command" before taking the title.
Disadvantage: Misguided - You may not play more than 3 cards in to any Skill Check.
Setup Location: FTL Control
General Ability: Religious Visions - When you draw Crisis Cards, draw 2 and choose 1 to resolve. Place the other on the bottom of the deck.
One-Time Ability: Skilled Politician - Action: Once per game, draw 4 Quorum Cards. Choose 1 to resolve and place the rest on the bottom of the deck. You do not need to be President to use this ability.
Disadvantage: Terminal Illness - In order to activate a location, you must first discard 2 Skill Cards.
Setup Location: President's Office
General Ability: Delusional Intuition - After you draw a Crisis Card, draw 1 Skill Card of your choice (it may be from outside your skill set).
One-Time Ability: Cylon Detector - Action: Once per game, you may look at all Loyalty Cards belonging to another player.
Disadvantage: Coward - You start the game with 2 Loyalty Cards (instead of 1).
Setup Location: Research Lab
General Ability: Friends in Low Places - When a player activates the "Administration" or the "Brig" location, you may choose to reduce or increase the difficulty by 2.
One-Time Ability: Unconventional Tactics - Action: Once per game, lose 1 population to gain 1 of any other resource type.
Disadvantage: Convicted Criminal - You may not activate locations occupied by other characters (except the "Brig").
Setup Location: Administration
General Ability: Politically Adroit - When you end your Movement step in the same location as another player, you may give that player 1 Skill Card from your hand to draw 2 Skill Cards.
One-Time Ability: Manipulative - Once per game, you may take the Admiral or President title at the start of your turn. Return that title to its previous owner at the end of your turn.
Disadvantage: Nothing But Trouble - Your Skill Set includes Treachery. (Human players can’t use text abilities of Treachery Cards.)
Setup Location: Admiral’s Quarters
General Ability: Adaptable - After any player uses the action on a Quorum Card, you may draw 2 Skill Cards of your choice (they may be from outside your skill set).
One-Time Ability: Influential - Once per game, you may examine the top 5 cards of the Quorum deck, and then return them to the top of the deck in any order you choose (even if you are not currently the President).
Disadvantage: Amoral - When you are the current player, you must choose the first option listed on any Crisis Cards that say "Current Player Chooses".
Setup Location: Press Room
General Ability: Alert Viper Pilot - When a viper is placed in a space area from the "Reserves", you may choose to pilot it and take 1 action. You may only do this when you are on a Galactica location, excluding the "Brig".
One-Time Ability: CAG - Action: Once per game, you may activate up to 6 unmanned vipers.
Disadvantage: Headstrong - When you are forced to discard Skill Cards, you must discard randomly.
Setup Location: Launch and pilot a Viper
General Ability: Expert Pilot - When you start your turn piloting a viper, you may take 2 actions during your Action Step (instead of 1).
One-Time Ability: Secret Destiny - Once per game, immediately after a Crisis Card is revealed, discard it and draw a new one.
Disadvantage: Insubordinate - When a player chooses you with the "Admiral's Quarters" location, reduce the difficulty by 3.
Setup Location: Hangar Deck
General Ability: Recon - At the end of your turn, you may look at the top card of the Crisis Deck and place it on the top or bottom.
One-Time Ability: Mysterious Intuition - Once per game, before resolving a skill check on a Crisis Card, choose the result (Pass or Fail), instead of resolving it normally.
Disadvantage: Sleeper Agent - During the Sleeper Agent Phase, you are dealt 2 Loyalty Cards (instead of 1) and then moved to the "Brig" location.
Setup Location: Armory
General Ability: Hotshot - When you would roll a die during your Action step, you may instead discard a Skill Card. Use the card’s strength +2 instead of the die roll.
One-Time Ability: Sacrifice - Action: Once per game while piloting a viper, send yourself to “Sickbay” to destroy 5 Raiders, 2 Heavy Raiders, 1 Basestar, or 1 civilian ship in your space area.
Disadvantage: Stim Junkie - At the end of your Action step, if you are in the same location or space area you were in at the start of your turn, you are moved to "Sickbay".
Setup Location: Hangar Deck
General Ability: Star Player - Action: Discard any number of Skill Cards. Then draw that number of Skill Cards from any one type within your skill set.
One-Time Ability: Longshot - Once per game, you may choose the result of a die roll on your turn instead of rolling it. This result cannot be modified or rerolled.
Disadvantage: Starts on the Bench - Skip the Receive Skills Step of your first turn.
Setup Location: Armory
General Ability: Maintenance Engineer - During your turn, after you use a "Repair" Skill Card, you may take another action (once per turn).
One-Time Ability: Blind Devotion - Once per game, after cards have been added to a Skill Check (but before revealing them), you may choose a skill type. All cards of the chosen type are considered strength 0.
Disadvantage: Reckless - Your hand limit is 8 (instead of 10).
Setup Location: Hangar Deck
General Ability: Efficient - When you activate the "Communications" location, you may look at every civilian ship on the game board and may move any number of them.
One-Time Ability: Fast Learner - Once per game, before making a Skill Check, look at the top 3 cards of any Skill deck (even outside your Skill set) and add all of them either to the Skill Check or to your hand.
Disadvantage: Emotionally Fragile - When morale is reduced to 2 or less, you are executed. If you are human, do not lose 1 morale.
Setup Location: Communications
General Ability: Quick Fix - On your turn, once all Skill Cards played into a skill check have been revealed, you may choose 1 card to discard before resolving skill check abilities and totaling strength.
One-Time Ability: Discharge of a Firearm - Action: Once per game, you may execute another character who is in your current location.
Disadvantage: Impulsive - you cannot contribute only 1 Skill Card into a skill check. You must either contribute no Skill Cards or contribute 2 or more Skill Cards. (Disregard this while you are in the “Brig”.)
Setup Location: Hangar Deck
General Ability: Primacy - Action: Place 1 Basestar in front of Galactica, or if all basestars are in play, you may remove 1 from the game board. You may then place 3 raiders in front of Galactica and 1 civilian ship behind Galactica.
One-Time Ability: Aggressive Tactics - Movement: Once per game you may take 2 Actions.
Disadvantage: Lies and Secrets - When a player reveals a "You are a Cylon" Loyalty Card, you must discard all Skill Cards in your hand.
Setup Location: Cylon Fleet
General Ability: Glimpse the Face of God - Movement: Draw 2 cards from the top of the Destiny deck, then place 2 cards from your hand on the top of the Destiny Deck.
One-Time Ability: Cryptic Message - Action: Once per game, exchange your hand of Skill Cards with another player’s hand of Skill Cards.
Disadvantage: Clouded - You may not voluntarily move to a location that contains another player.
Setup Location: Human Fleet
General Ability: Intimate - Movement: Draw a Skill Card at random from a player’s hand. Then, that player draws 1 card from the skill deck of your choice (it may be from outside their skill set).
One-Time Ability: Human Delusion - Once per game, after all Skill Cards played into a skill check have been revealed, you may play any number of Skill Cards from your hand into the check.
Disadvantage: Conflicted Loyalties - You must discard 1 Skill Card to activate the "Cylon Fleet" location.
Setup Location: Caprica
Pegasus and Exodus Expansion OP by MrBlarney, original Base Set OP taken from Akinos/Darian.
This will be a set of 2 5-player games using all Pegasus and Exodus components. I will be starting one game now and one game later, after the first has had a chance to get going. Game types will be either New Caprica or Ionian Nebula, as chosen by the players. I will be picking 10 players at random and splitting them based on game type preference. This game will include 5 players who chose the same game type, and the next will include the other 5 and use the majority-preferred game type. (This makes sense in my head, at least.)
Signups are open until 6:00 PM Friday (CDT). Please choose a game type when signing up. This will not count against you if you choose the Unfavorite, you'll just end up in the other type of game.
Signing up!
Exodus please!
Sure. You could check out some of the other games as well - they're in the PbP index.
!Sign up! Ionian Nebula, please.
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
Never got a chance to do Ionian Nebula
Will attempt to read through the old games and read the rules.
Chicago Megagame group
Watch me struggle to learn streaming! Point and laugh!
Well, one preference. I prefer awesomeness.
I followed the previous PbPs as they were played - it was like having a favourite TV show to come home to every day - but I'm a new player, hope that's cool.
So, umm, hi. Everyone.
Similar situation, although I've played BSG before. Signing up?!
I'd prefer the Ionian Nebula.
Ionian Nebula would be awesome.
Twitch Stream
Sign Up for the Ionian Nebula preferably.
Signups are closed!
The random number generator has chosen the players. The overwhelming popularity of the Ionian Nebula has chosen the game type, which will be... *drumroll* Ionian Nebula.
The players for the next game:
Capfalcon
Nicolo M
Phyphor
SeGaTai
As mentioned previously, the next game will be starting in a bit after I get this one going, but I don't want to leave anyone hanging. This list is not in turn order, so you'll get shuffled when I start the next one.
The players for this game are:
iamtheaznman - President Tory Foster
antherem - Admiral Karl "Helo" Agathon
XiV - Cally Tyrol
El Skid - CAG Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
Rius - Felix Gaeta
Please begin choosing your characters, starting draws and locations as appropriate. A Cylon Leader may be chosen but is not required - if one is picked they'll get a Hostile Agenda and remove one You Are a Cylon card from the Loyalty deck. You may post a list of choices if your turn isn't up yet. Good luck all!
Hopefully next time.
!Tory Foster.
Also, Skiddles, what is this, game 4 together?
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
Something like
And I want to be the cylon this time
Cally Tyrol, LEA/TAC/ENG
Start with 1x Leadership, 2x Tactics.
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
If he chooses to keep his Starbuck choice, then I'll play as Felix, drawing Pol/Lead/Tac.
Edit: Also, please don't change your mind and pick a Cylon Leader. It'd be nice to finally have a game without one
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
Also, while I'm at it- does Starbuck really get the option of (when CAG) using the CAG action twice to activate 2 raiders and get 2 actions when piloting a viper? That seems...sweet.
About Starbuck... you're talking about if you're in space already, right?
Even though Starbuck gets two actions, you can only use that particular CAG action once per turn.
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.