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READ THIS WHEN A COMBAT OCCURSvat
INTRODUCTION
[As the explorers roam the crypt-like halls ofthe Blackstone Fortress, they will invariably encounter violent opponents
with which they must do battle- wandering bands of Chaos heretics, defensive drones seemingly indigenous to the
starship, o prowling xenos abominations that fight from the shadows.
The firefights aboard the Blackstone Combat in the Blackstone Fortress
Fortress are tense and brutal affairs __is fought at relatively close range, in
{in which the explorers temporarily which small and medium arms are
set aside ther thinly veiled distrust highly effective. There is alot of cover
‘or outright animosity for one another provided by debris andthe shape
50 a8 to eliminate their shared enemy. of the chambers themselves.
Fighters dive for cover behind the Rather than striding out into
wreckage created by acons-past the open, fighters must rely on
battles, or duck into the trench-like this cover ~ and the help of their
apertures that open inthe floorsand allies ~ to outmanoeuvre and
walls ofthe Blackstone Fortress. ‘outgun their enemies.
Prom there they lay down hails of “The players choose actions for the
covering fre while other explorers _explorers they control frst rolling
‘move to positions ofadvantage, or _actvation dice and then spending
attempt to snipe ther foes themselves them to take the actions. The actions
through gaps in the debris. The taken by the hostiles are determined
sounds of guns, grenades and by rolling the Blackstone dice
bellowed war cries thunder through _and looking up the result on the
the dark chambers, and those behaviour table on the back of the
combatants who flare left to be hostile’ reference card
picked clean after conflicts end, or
consumed by the folding architecture Scattered around the batlfild
ofthe Blackstone Fortress itself are discovery markers, which
an explore can move toand
“This maelstrom ofbatl is resolved _perform a Search action to draw
using the combat rles inthis booklet, a discovery card - though taking
‘When a combat cards revealed, the time to do so may put the
itwill show you how to set up the explorer in mortal danger!
chambers to make the battlefield, as
well as where the explorers start the At the end ofeach turn, arollis
combat and where any discoveries _-made on the event table to decideifa
‘will befound, Encounter cards are __random event takes place, such as the
then drawn, which willdetermine arrival ofa maglev transport chamber
the hostile that have been met by the that will allow the explorers a means
‘explorers and wherethey arelocated, of escape
‘The combat is then fought overa A new tuen then begins, and so the
series of turns, during which the battle will rage on, unt either the
explorers and the hostile are allowed explorers are victorious and can carry
to move and attack. The order in ‘on with their expedition, or they are
‘hich this happens is decided wsing _allout of action andthe expedition
the initiative cards onthe combat,
track, and the results of any attacks
are decided using the action dice
included in the game.
ud in ignominious fallure.COMBAT RULES
As the explorers delve deep into the Blackstone Fortress, they will encounter groups of hosiles that will oppose them.
The resulting battle is resolved using the rules in this booklet.
COMBAT CARD
‘A combat is fought whenever a combat card is drawn from the exploration deck (see page 7 of the Rules booklet)
ach combat card has a map showing the chambers that make up the battlefield on which the combat is fought. In
addition, the card shows where to place any portals, location tiles and discovery markers, and whether the explorers start
ina maglev transport arrival chamber or have been ambushed. See the rules for battlefield creation on page 6 to find out
hhow to use this information to create the battlefield on which the combat will be fought.
I COMBAT COMBAT
Chambers ae
so |
| Geen “i
ENCOUNTER CARDS \
Encounter card ae used to Tie Second sneer
determine which hosts have been Primary encounter
encountered bythe explorers <7 == || quar
‘TRATTOR GUARDSMEN NEGAVOLT CULTISTS
Fach encounter card lst four types
ofencouner( Ak A Ad, AA): Al ae
which corespond to thedlscovery B [oem
markers shown on the combat card. BD mene) Ba |e |
cvgmtcecmms’ | (AMEE) A (mem
feereetioers aa fe A 7 |
J Beier)
the following rules), ora special
(Quaternary encounter
rule (referred toas a twist in the
following rules).
Tertiary encounter }“The start ofa combat using the first combat card, and both of the encounter cards illustrated on the
previous page. The explorers must defeat the Traitor Guardsmen and Negavolt Cultist, search for any
archeotech and clues hidden in the chambers, and then use one of the portals in the right-hand chamber
tosummon a magley transport escape chamber.BATTLEFIELD CREATION
Before a combat can be fought, the batlefeld must
be created and the hosiles that oppose the explorers
Aeployed. To create the battlefield for a combat, carry out
the following steps
1, Setup battlefield
2, Deploy hostiles
3. Setup initiative deck
1. Set Up Battlefield
Pereeateteae laure yak cbr asic
the ateeldon which the combat fought. Take the
Papeete pie de ke
Beiaeccsl es cidem pata weaier cia cad
te ase lee am ate
ards ie ice
Location tiles: If any location tiles are shown on the
‘combat card, set them up inthe appropriate hexes afterall
‘ofthe chambers have been set up.
Portals: Setup the portals beside the hexes shown for
them on the combat card. Portals are used to mark the
exes where any hostile reinforcements can arrive during
the combat (pg 13), and also where the maglev transport
‘chamber that will allow the explorers to escape the combat,
willbe found (pg 15)
Discovery markers: The location ofthe discovery markers
are shown on the combst card Place the discovery markers
inthe hexes shove.
Arrival chamber: Ifa maglev transport chamber marked
with ated border is shown on the combat card, place the
rmaglev transport chamber occupied by the explorers in
the position shown on the card, After setting up the arrival
‘chamber the explorers can change the hexes they occupy
inthe chamber ifthey wish o do so.
Ambush hexes: Some combat cards will have the word
‘Ambushl" in the ttle, Instead of showing a maglev
transport chamber, uch a card will show one or more
ambush hexes (marked with the letter A). Ifthis isthe
‘ase, place the explorers in the ambush hexes, Up to two
explorers can occupy each hex.
2. Deploy Hostiles
Next, the hostile payer (or the lade ifthe
player) must deploy the miniatures forthe ostls the
explorers have encountered. Todos, the player draws one
ard from the encounter deck foreach discovery marker
Shown on the combat card
fs no hostile
Draw each card one at
‘on it before drawing the next card, The 4M encounter on
the frst card shows which hostiles must be deployed in
ime, deploying the hostiles shown
or adjacent tothe hex withthe 4 discovery maker; the
A eacounter onthe second card shows which hostiles
‘must be deployed in or adjacent tothe hex withthe
discovery marker and soon. Place the encounter cards
ina row, from lef to right, above the combat tack, to
act asa reminder as to which card corresponds to each
hostile group.
‘The ist hostile from a group must be deployed in the hex
with the corresponding discovery marker. Other hostiles
from the group must be deployed inthe same hexas the
discovery marker, or in a hex adjacent to the discovery
marker, IFthere is choice of hexes in which a hostile can be
deployed, you must deploy them in a hex that puts them in
‘cover from any explorers in preference to one that does not
Once the hostiles have been deployed, the hostile player (or
the leader if there is no hostile player) takes the reference
card for those hosiles for use during the combat.
Miniature limits: If there are nt enough miniatures to set
upall ofthe hosts in a group, set up as many as possible,
and ignore any remainder,
Hex limits: The number of hostiles that can be placed in
the same hex is determined by the size ofthe hostile (the
size ofa hostile can be found on their hostile reference
card). A hex ean hol three small hostile; one large
hostile an two small hostile two large hosiles; oF
‘one huge hostile, This is summarised in the hex limits
table below. The table also includes the hex limit for
explorer miniatues
HEX LIMITS
+3 small hosiles
+2 small & 1 large hostile
+ 2 large hostiles,
+ Lhuge hostile
+ Both Ratling Twins & 1 other explorer
+ explorers
|. Hostile sizes can be found on their reference card.
‘Twists: Sometimes an encounter card will include a twist
rather than a hostile group. Ithis is the case, the special
rule on the card applies forthe duration of the combat,
4. Set Up Initiative Deck
Finally the hostile player (or the leader ifthere is no
hostile player) must set up the initiative deck. The deck
‘must include the initiative card for each explorer that is
‘not oat of action, and for each hostile group. Take these
cards, shuffle them and place them face down below the
combat track. Any initiative cards not included in the deck
are placed to one side forthe time being, The combat can
now beginFIGHT COMBAT
‘Once the battlefield has been crested, the combat can
begin. A combat is fought over a series of turns, each of
‘which follows the same pattern of four phases the destiny
phase, the initiative phase, the activation phase and the
‘event phase. When the event phase is over new turn
‘begins. The combat ends once all of the explorers are
located in a hex in a maglev transport escape chamber or
all of the explorers are out of action (pg 15).
| COMBAT TURN SEQUENCE
+ Destiny phase
+ Initiative phase
+ Activation phase
+ Bvent phase
DESTINY PHASE
In the destiny phase, the leader must make a destiny rol
To do so, they rll the five destiny dice, and then put any
dice that show a unigue number in the available destiny
dice space ofthe Precipice board. Any other dice (doubles,
triples and so on) are put in the discarded destiny dice
space of the Precipice board. For example, ifthe roll was 2,
3,3,4,6, then the two 3s would be placed in the discarded
destiny dice space, andthe 2,4 and 6 placed on the
available destiny dice space. Whenever an available destiny
dice is used, it is moved tothe discarded destiny dice space
(see Destiny Dice on page 8).
Destiny dice example
INITIATIVE PHASE
‘With the destiny phase complete, te initiative phase
‘begins In the initiative phase, the order in which the
‘explores and the hostiles are activated inthe subsequent.
activation phase is decided, The initiative phase is carried
‘out in the following steps:
1. Activation rolls
2 Initiative
3. Covering fire
4.Gambits
1. Activation Rolls
Fist, the players make an activation rll foreach ofthe
explorers they control, To make an tivation rll for an
explorer, the player rolls one activation dice foreach empty
space the explorer has on the activation track of their
character card, Usually this willbe four dice, but wounds
(see page 14 ofthe Rules booklet) may reduce the number
‘ofdice that ate rolled, After making the roll, each dice is
placed in an empty space on the track, without changing
the revult of the rol
Activation dice can be spent to perform gambits or take
actions, as described in the rules that follow. Remove spent
dice from the explorers character card
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seca cs2 Initiative
‘Next, the leader must shulfle the initiative card deck
and then deal the cards face up from left to right in the
spaces for them below the combat track ifthe combat
isan ambush, see ‘Ambush’ on the page opposite). In the
activation phase, the explorer or hostile group whose
Initiative card isin the left-hand space ofthe track will
activate frst, then the explorer or hostile group whose card
isin the second space, and so on (see the Activation P
‘0n the following page for more detail on how this works)
3. Covering Fire
In ths step two explores that are visible to eachother cn
soap the postion oftheir native cards onthe combat
track Todo vo the players controling the to explorers
rst gre for itto happen This isclled covering fie, and
represents one of the explores covering the actions ofthe
other. An explorer can only change their position once in
tochnttiee pase by using oreing fire
Once all ofthe explorers taking part in covering fre have
swapped positions, this step ends,
4, Gambits
In this step, the explorers can attempt one or more gambit
‘To attempt a gambit, the player who controls the explorer
‘must first spend one ofthe activation dice on the explorer’
character card, and then rll the action dice corresponding
tothe explorer’ Agility value and look up the result below:
Failure: The explorer’ initiative card stays in the same
position on the combat track.
Success: Swap the explorer’ initiative card with the closest,
hostile group initiative card tothe explorer’ let or right on
the combat track
Critical success: Swap the explorer initiative card with
any hostile group initiative card on the combat track,
Destiny dice cannot be used to attempt gambits, but
an explorer can attempt several gambits as long as an
activation dice is spent for each gambit that they attempt
Remember that if several explorers want to perform a
‘gambit at the same time, the leader determines the onder in
‘hich they are attempted,
Espern Locarno provides covering fire to URC025,
‘and they swap places on the combat track. Then Janus Draik attempts
«gambit and sores rtcal succes ~ he swaps places with hostile group A.vay
SENG ee
AMBUSH )
Ifthe combat san ambush the combat rack sset up
differently in the first tm ofthe combat The hostile
inatve card are shuld and ot up first. Then the
explorer initatve cards are shufed and set up long
the remaining spaces of the rack This means that
the hostile wll activate irstin the rst tar, unless
any ofthe explorers perform gambits to change ther |
postition on thetic
ACTIVATION PHASE
In the activation phase, each explorer and hostile group is
activated in the order determined by the initiative cards
long the combat tack. The explorer or hostile group in
the first space of the track is activated first, When they have
‘completed their activation, theie initiative card is turned
face down, and then the next explorer or hostile group is
activated, and so on. Once all ofthe explorers and hostile
groups have acted, the activation phase ends
The way that players carry out activations for explorers and
hostile groups is slightly different. We will first explain how
tocarry out an activation for an explorer, and then how to
do so fora hostile group, Note that special rules apply 0
the Ratling Twins (see page 15 ofthe Rules booklet)
Explorer Activations
‘When an explore is activated, they can ake actions.
Aetionsletan explorer dothings wich as nove, fight and
tnake discoveries. Actions are taken by spending one of
the activation dice onthe explorer’ character card. An
explorer can take the same ation mutpe times, bat must
nul an ation before starting anew one
Each action has a cost in brackets, limiting the activation
dice that can be spent to make it. For example, to take an
action with a cost of (4+), an activation dice with a score of
‘4or more would need to be spent.
‘When a player does not want to take any more actions with
an explorer they control (or cannot do so), the activation
for that explorer ends; any remaining activation dice can
be saved to make overwatch attacks, and ifthe explorer
slew any hosties, ou can make an inspiration rol for
the explorer (overwatc attacks and inspiration rolls are
explained opposite). Then the next explorer or hostile
‘group on the combat track can be activated.
Destiny Dice
The destiny dice on the Precipice board ar effectively
extra activation dice that are shared between the explorers.
‘Whenever an explorer takes an action that requires them to
spend an activation dice, they can instead spend a destiny
dice, following al of the same rules as though they were
spending an activation dice, An explorer cannot spend
‘more than two destiny ice in the ame turn,
Basic Explorer Actions
‘There are four basic actions that any explorer can
‘make: Move (1), Recuperate (1+), Search (4+) and
Summon (44).
‘Move (1+): When an explorer takes this action, they
‘an be moved up to as many hexes as the Move value on
their character card. Each hex they move into must be
adjacent to their current hex. Explorers can move through
hhexes occupied by other explorers and hostiles can move
through heses occupied by other hostile, but miniatures
cannot move through hexes occupied by enemy miniatures
for obstructions or across a wall hexside. In addition, a
‘miniature cannot end a move ina hex if this means that the
hex’ limits willbe exceeded (see Hex Limits on page 6),
though they can move through such a hex.
anus Drak uses on af his activation dice to take @ Move
action. He has @ Move value of, nd moves 2hexes,
finishing next othe Taitor Guardsman,
Ifa miniature moves into @ hex that is adjacent to an
‘enemy, it must alt and cannot move any further. fa
miniature stars a move in a hex adjacent to an enemy, it
can leave the hex, but must halt fit enters another hex that
isadjacent to an enemy.
Recuperate (1+): Ifan explorer has been wounded, they’
‘an take this action to make a vitality roll (see page 14 of
the Rules booklet)
Search (4+); An explorer can take this action ifthey are in
ahex that contains a discovery mazker or if they spend 3
inspiration points (see pages 14-15 of the Rules booklet). It
cannot be taken by an explorer that s adjacent toa hostile
that is visible to them, When the ation is taken, remove
the discovery marker from the hex (ifthereisone) and
rave the top card from the discovery card deck and place it
beside the explorers character card‘Summon (44): An explorer can only take this action if
they are ina hex that is adjacent to portal. When they
do s0, the portal is removed and replaced with a maglev
transport escape chamber that can be used to end the
‘combat (see page 15). Ths ation cannot be taken ifthe
‘maglev transport escape chamber has already been setup,
Special Explorer Actions
Bret tc respec octecald on
Gir chareces nd Specialacionsare dvd ino
WsPefoes andunigee actions
Weapon Actions: Weapon actions are used to attack
hosiles. An explorer can take a weapon action by spending
an appropriate activation dice. They then attack as
described on the following page.
POSEY
Hann
vavcuano
Janus Draikcan take Pistol & Rapier and Pury of
Attack weapon actions The Ps e- Rapier weapon
action hasa cost of (1+), and uses a for atack rol
at ranges 1-3 and a at rares of more
‘Aiming (14): When an explorer takes a weapon action,
they can spend an extra (+) activation dice to make the
‘weapon action an aimed weapon action (so you will need
tospend two dice — one fr the weapon action, and a
second one to make itan aimed weapon action). Aimed
weapon actions ignore cover (see page 12).
‘Unique Actions: An explorer may also have one or more
unique actions on their character cad,
Overwateh
Sometimes an explorer will end their activation with one or
‘more unspent activation dice on thet character card First,
remove any dice with a score of 1. Then reduce the value
‘of any of the remaining dice by 1 (so 4 would become a
3, for example, and a6 a5). These dice ae referred to as
‘overvatch dice, and can be used later in the turn to carry
‘out weapon actions as described neat.
An overwatch dice can be used to take a weapon action
when a hostile that i visible tothe explorer finishes a
move or attack, or is deployed, The hostile that triggered
the overwatch must be the target ofthe weapon actin.
‘Take the explorers weapon action, and then carry on with
the hostile activation, Note that an explorer cannot make
foverwatch attacks until after they have been activated,
An explorer can take a maximum of one weapon action
cach time hostile triggers overwatch.Ifseveral different
explorers are in a position to carry out overwatch, frst
4eclate which will do so and then take one weapon action
with each of those explorers in leader order. If the hostile is
slain before all ofthe explorers have attacked, the explorers
that have not yet attacked must discard one ofthe dice they
had saved for overwatch
At the end ofthe activation phase, remove any overwatch
dice remaining on the explorers character cards,
Inspiration Roll
ifany hosts are ain daring an explorer activation,
an inspiration roll is made a the end oftheir activation
ied reelected ete eteeeea TS
ofthe Roles bookde) The inspiron rolls made after
the explorer has cared out alof the actions they wish
i pert at ele a ee sere
overwatch tacts
‘To make an inspiration roll rol the Blackstone dice, Ifthe
rolls less than or equal to the combined Wounds values
‘of the hostile sain by that explorer during that activation,
then that explorer receives 1 inspiration point. For
‘example, an explorer that had slain a Traitor Guardsman
(Wounds value 2) and a Chaos Beastman (Wounds value
3) would gain an inspiration point on a roll of 1to5. Ifthe
combined Wounds value ofslain hostiles is 20 or more, the
explorer automatically gains 1 inspiration point without
the dice having tobe rolled.
Note that inspiration points can only be gained for hostiles
slain during an explorer’ activation. Hostils slain at
ny other time (by overwatch, for example, as described
previously) cannot be used to gain inspiration points
DEPLOYMENT DURING A COMBAT
Sometimes a rule will allow you to deploy a miniature