FFG: Fantasy Flight Games News

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The Underway

Announcing the Fourth Data Pack in the SanSan Cycle

“The Underway is a funky, chaotic, and eclectic mix of architecture and ethnicities. What unifies it is a general counterculture vibe – the sense that they are pioneers and iconoclasts. But this independent spirit paved the way for the rise of Los Muertos.”

    –Exposé on The Underway: Part IV – Days of the Muertos

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of The Underway, the fourth Data Pack in the SanSan Cycle for Android: Netrunner!

SanSan is the cradle of high-end tech, home to beautiful beaches, and the host of the World Expo. It is also still recovering from “The Big One,” the cataclysmic earthquake that opened up the San Andreas fault and redefined America’s western coast. However, this event that was disastrous for many was an opportunity for others, some of whom quickly moved their homes and businesses into the new space that was created.

Fast-forward, and this new space, now dubbed “The Underway,” is a motley assembly of many different architectural styles, ethnicities, and cultural influences. It’s a hotbed of holographic artists, indie studios, and the birthplace of Jank-Juke-Jazz. It has also become synonymous with gang activity, particularly that of Los Muertos, a street gang whose members are identified by their bioluminescent tattoos and that deals in illegal tech as much as it deals in flesh and drugs.

Accordingly, the sixty new cards in The Underway (three copies each of twenty different cards) dabble in an eclectic mix of upgrades, assets, and resources, as well as a handful of illicit hardware and programs. Meanwhile, everything seems to run through Los Muertos, and even as the gang’s criminal influence bolsters the Criminal faction, it pervades everything in this Data Pack. It starts with a new Criminal Runner identity, it reaches outward as other Runner factions are supplied with the sort of tech you don’t normally find in America, and it ripples into every aspect of every card as Corps are forced to deal with the gang’s members in one way or another.

A Dangerous Game

The Corps of Android: Netrunner may more or less rule the world, but Los Muertos rules the Underway. Still, it’s difficult to know who is or isn’t part of the gang unless they activate their bioluminescent tattoos. Then, it’s easy, as their faces are marked by bright, skull-like lines and decorative swoops or swirls.

Their relative anonymity makes them brazen, and it makes them difficult for Corporate problem-solvers. Any given Street Peddler (The Underway, 62) could be part of Los Muertos, ready to participate in the gang’s next Drive By (The Underway, 64).

But Corps can’t operate blindly. Were a Corp to miss its mark with a shipment of Defective Brainchips (The Underway, 72) or the services of a Contract Killer (The Underway, 78), it could gain international notoriety and suffer irreparable damage to its reputation.

Accordingly, some Corps may seek to expose the gang’s influence, slowly but surely winning the public to their side with Exposé (The Underway, 75) pieces. Others may simply accept the Underway Grid (The Underway, 80) for what it is, a region of SanSan, hidden from the light, where the rules are different, everyone’s life is riddled by secrets, and violence is expected.

Viva Los Muertos

“Is your neighbor secretly a violent criminal? The answer to this chilling question and more, right after the break.”

    –Shannon Claire, SSN 5

Since The Big One, the Underway has emerged as a hive of criminal activity. Within its shadows, many Runners have learned their trade and honed their skills. The members of its largest gang, Los Muertos, rule the streets, profiting off their deals in flesh and drugs and tech. For the right price, you can find anything, but you have to be careful about how you get it.

Can the Corps clean up the Underway’s streets? Can they burrow in and change its local culture? As Corps and criminals vie for control of the regional business, The Underway Data Pack is certain to lead to all-new forms of subterranean aggression.

Look for The Underway to arrive at retailers everywhere in the second quarter of 2015!

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Source: The Underway

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The Darth Dilemma

An Imperial Assault Guest Article from Zach Bunn

“A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi knights. He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct.”
    –Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars™: A New Hope

Darth Vader is one of the greatest villains of all-time, and he can easily be one of the most terrifying threats in Imperial Assault. With massive striking power, a mastery of the Force, and powerful defenses, Darth Vader forces you to carefully consider any plan of attack if you wish to achieve victory.

Today, Zach Bunn explores the threat of Darth Vader and methods to form an attack plan in every game of Imperial Assault.

Zach Bunn on Darth Vader in Imperial Assault

I was recently teaching the skirmish game of Imperial Assault to a new player when I had one of those moments that all of us experience as we progress through the learning stages of most games. The epiphany reverberated through my brain, like Obi-Wan’s voice in Star Wars: A New Hope as Luke turns off his targeting computer.

It happened right as I finished explaining the win condition of skirmish missions. I said, “So, you have to get to forty points, usually through a combination of accomplishing objectives and destroying your opponent’s units.”

A critical part of that victory condition is destroying your opponent’s units. As my epiphany revealed, the harder a unit is to destroy, the harder it is for you to gain points by killing it. The more points your opponent has invested in hard-to-destroy units, the harder it is for you to gain those points. I looked down at Darth Vader and all the pieces came together. It seems so obvious now, but at the time I had to pause the demo and ponder a concept that I now refer to as the “Darth Dilemma.”

There are many reasons why Darth Vader is extremely powerful in Imperial Assault, but because I was too busy fielding Darth Vader, I never really looked at it from my opponent’s side. A unit like Darth Vader creates a terrifying dilemma for your opponent because he ties up nearly half of your army points in a unit that’s extremely difficult to kill. If you attempt to destroy Darth Vader and fail, you’ve wasted your actions and figures for nothing. If you attempt to avoid him, you have to make your way to victory by destroying lesser units or by scoring an absurd amount of objectives. You have to choose how you want to try to confront Vader, and neither option is very appealing.

Back to the demo. We set up the “Leave No Evidence” skirmish mission, which challenges both players to recover important artifacts from the Massassi Ruins on Yavin 4. I noted the six excavation tokens on the board, each worth six points. Math says that thirty-six objective points are on the line. For my opponent to win this scenario and not have to destroy Darth Vader (who’s worth eighteen points), he must capture at least three objectives and destroy every other figure in my army. If I can score four objectives, my opponent is now forced kill Darth Vader to win. If I protect one of my lesser figures and score three objectives, my opponent is forced to kill Darth Vader. By taking advantage of this dilemma, I can create some bad exchanges for my opponent.

I’ve found that to deal with Darth Vader consistently, you must immediately decide whether you’re going to confront him or avoid him. There is no middle ground. Because he rolls two black defense dice and has the option to re-roll one per attack, his average defense is around four blocks! If you just try to whittle Vader’s health down after you’ve lost a good chunk of your army, you won’t have the firepower to finish the job. If you start your assault early and back off, you’ve wasted too much time and offense on a zero-point payoff. You’ve got to commit to a plan early, and you’ve got to follow through.

Though it’s Darth Vader who specifically creates this dilemma out of the Imperial Assault Core Set, there’s a fundamental lesson to be learned and applied regardless of his presence. I’ve adopted a methodology ever since that moment, and it’s helped me determine good lines of attack for any given scenario and army combination. It’s a simple and universal line of questioning that should be considered before every first turn in Imperial Assault.

Solving the Dilemma

At the start of each game, I have several important decisions to make. These decisions affect my deployment, the early movement of my figures, and where I direct my offense throughout the game.

When you first start playing skirmish missions, it may seem like you can simply move toward your opponent at the beginning of the game and start shooting the closest units, but this has proven to be a losing strategy. I’ve seen too many games where, by using this kind of strategy, my opponent gets to thirty points before realizing he has no reasonable path to victory. This is a depressing realization, and I try to avoid it by asking the following questions before the game begins:

1. How many points does this scenario’s special objectives offer?

2. How many of those points can I reasonably expect to capture?

3. Given the answers to points 1 and 2, which of my opponent’s models do I need to destroy to get to forty points?

4. If my point calculation in 2 starts to look too ambitious in the middle of the game, which additional models will be easiest to destroy in order to make up the difference?

5. Go through steps 1 through 4 again as if I were my opponent. What objectives might he reasonably expect to capture? What units of mine will he be trying to destroy?

The games of Imperial Assault that I’ve lost are typically the result of being too eager and not fully considering the questions above. By spending a few minutes considering your path to victory, each decision you make throughout the game is put into context. When evaluated with this context in mind, you’ll find yourself carefully considering your plan, rather than just dashing around a corner and shooting down a pesky unit with your Stormtroopers!

As you embark on your first skirmish games, remember that sometimes the best decision isn’t the obvious or emotional one. You win by getting to forty points before your opponent. While considering the win condition of a game isn’t a new tactic by any stretch of the imagination, asking the important questions and constructing a plan of action is often the difference between victory and defeat. Stay focused, and make sure that every move you make contributes to an end game that gives you the best chance of winning.

Until next time, may the Force be with you!

Zach

Ready Your Troops

Thanks, Zach!

Darth Vader poses a deadly threat to any strike team, and the Rebel Alliance needs a plan to deal with him. Will you dispatch Rebel Troopers and Saboteurs to complete your objectives as quickly as possible? Will Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca confront Darth Vader directly? Gather your strike team and prepare for Star Wars battles in the Imperial Assault skirmish game!

Zach Bunn is a Star Wars fanatic, a lead member of Team Covenant, and a fan of Imperial Assault. In coming weeks, stay tuned for more Imperial Assault guest articles from Zach and other writers!

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Source: The Darth Dilemma

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Journey into Hutt Space

Lords of Nal Hutta Is Now Available

Venture into one of the most dangerous parts of the galaxy! Lords of Nal Hutta, a sourcebook for the Star Wars®: Edge of the Empire™ roleplaying game, is now available at your local retailer and in our online store.

Lords of Nal Hutta contains all the information that you need to experience Hutt Space. It provides countless details about Hutt civilization, including their ruthless crime syndicates and violent history. It describes each of the major locations in Hutt Space, from the dimly lit cantinas and black markets of Nar Shaddaa to the jungles of Saki, providing GMs with numerous and detailed settings for adventures. Lords of Nal Hutta also features new playable species and a wide variety of gear to help you survive in this notoriously lawless region.

Crime Families

The heart of Hutt culture is the kajidic, a clan-based syndicate governed by a single Hutt and often specialized in illegal activities. It is within his kajidic that a Hutt is given his first job, cultivates his career, and perhaps even attains political power. In our first preview, contributing writer Sterling Hershey introduced the four most prominent kajidics, from Jabba’s own Desilijic to the militaristic Qunaalac Hutts.

For Hutts, power and money are inextricably linked, and the end almost always justifies the means. Many kajidics, specialize in the lucrative spice trade – “spice” euphemistically including a wide variety of legal and illegal substances. Hutts have put thousands of slaves to work in spice production, and employed a vast number of smugglers and pilots who, like the famous Han Solo, are willing to risk their lives (and Imperial entanglements) for the sake of profit. A risky spice smuggling run, such as the infamous Kessel Run, could be the centerpiece of an Edge of the Empire campaign. A failed run might be the source of your obligation to a vindictive Hutt overlord.

 

 

Worlds of Beauty, Cruelty, and Wealth

A total of twelve planets are detailed in Lords of Nal Hutta: densely populated trade outposts where anything can be found for a price, desolate worlds with enslaved populations, vast game reserves where assassins hone their skills, radioactive wastelands. Our second preview explored three different planets within Hutt Space: the so-called Smuggler’s Moon, Nar Shaddaa, the capital and home of the Hutts, Nal Hutta, and the pastoral world of Toydaria. It also looked at three modular encounters: ready-made, detailed set pieces that GMs can use as the launching point of a campaign or a single-session adventure.

One location essential for any voyage into Hutt Space is the Kwenn Space Station, the neutral gateway between the Empire-controlled Mid Rim and the lawless regions ruled by the Hutts. Over 325,000 humans, Hutts, and other species permanently reside in the space station, with at least another 20,000 passing through daily, many of them being spice smugglers, weapons dealers, and mercenaries. But Kwenn is also an elite resort catering to the galaxy’s ultra-wealthy. Its towers are filled with expensive entertainments, from casinos and cantinas to spas – and even an opera house. It’s an ideal place for a smuggler to have a business meeting with his Hutt employers, for a bounty hunter to begin the search for her quarry, or for a quiet young entertainer to become involved in a Rebel conspiracy.

Native Species and Survival Gear

Lords of Nal Hutta introduces four new playable species native to Hutt Space: Ganks, Niktos, Sakiyans, and of course, the Hutts. In our third preview, contributing writer Gregory Koteles discussed the Ganks’ predilection for cybernetics, the Sakiyans’ stealth and intelligence, and the Niktos’ diversity. We also looked at a few of the cybernetic implants that your Gank or other character might purchase in Hutt Space.

Of course, survival in Hutt Space isn’t just a matter of shooting first. In this realm of deadly intrigue, you may want tools more subtle than a blaster. Poison, for example, may be a more effective weapon, and Lords of Nal Hutta introduces three kinds of it. If you intend on gambling at the Kwenn Space Station, you might want a marked sabaac deck or some loaded chance cubes to ensure to ensure that the odds are always in your favor. A portable credit cleaner can make sure that any money you earn in Hutt Space cannot be traced by even the most skilled accountant droids.

Follow Your Ambitions

Hutt Space is a realm of extremes. Its inhabitants are largely free from Imperial laws, but slavery is rampant. Unfathomable wealth lives side by side with desperate poverty. There’s as many opportunities for profit and political gain in Hutt Space as there are backroom deals, and as many opportunities for doing good as there are examples of cruelty. Whatever lures your Edge of the Empire roleplaying group into Hutt Space, you’re sure to encounter there danger, intrigue, and plentiful adventures.

Pick up your copy of Lords of Nal Hutta today!

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Source: Journey into Hutt Space

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Speed Up Your Games

Announcing the STAR WARS (TM): Armada Maneuver Tool Accessory Pack

“Set your course for the Hoth system.”
     –Darth Vader

The Star Destroyers are on their way, Star Wars™: Armada is coming, and Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce that the Star Wars™: Armada Maneuver Tool will be made available to players as an Armada accessory pack!

The massive capital starships of Armada feature designs that balance their scale and complexity with ease of use, and the Armada maneuver tool is at the heart of this design. As these ships batter their foes ion cannons, proton torpedoes, and turbolasers, their momentum constantly carries them forward across the battlefield, and the maneuver tool allows you to adjust their courses, even as it accounts for their tremendous inertia.

 The Armada maneuver tool.

The Armada Maneuver Tool accessory pack provides you an easy way to add a second maneuver tool to your games. You can also use the Armada Maneuver Tool accessory pack to build a shorter maneuver tool to accompany your full-size maneuver tool and to use with slower fleets or in tighter spaces. With a second maneuver tool built for shorter maneuvers, you can more easily navigate tight squeezes in the heat of battle.

Capital Ship Movement Made Easy

The Armada maneuver tool is one of the game’s most innovative features and makes it easy for you to set a ship’s course.

Capital ships can’t easily vary their speeds or execute hairpin turns like the starfighters that buzz around them. Accordingly, the maneuver tool lends an element of realism to your ships’ pitch and yaw, working in conjunction with your ships‘ available maneuvers to account for their inertia as they fly through the stars.

To set a ship’s course, you begin by resetting the maneuver tool so that all of its joints are straight. Then your ship’s speed indicates how far it will travel along the maneuver tool. At each joint, you can click the tool left or right a number of times away from the center position as indicated by your ship’s speed chart.

 The speed charts for the CR90 corvette (left) and the Victory II-class Star Destroyer (right).

Each column on the speed chart corresponds to the speed number at the bottom of the column and shows the number of times that each joint can be clicked while your ship travels at that speed.

The rows on your ship’s speed chart correspond to the joints on the maneuver tool. The row directly above the speed number relates to the first joint, the second row relates to the second joint, and so forth. An “I” indicates that the joint can be clicked once in either direction, while an “II” means it can be clicked twice. Meanwhile, a “–” means the maneuver tool must remain straight at that joint.

 Using the game’s unique maneuver tool, a Rebel player plots a “3” speed maneuver for his Nebulon-B escort frigate.

Additionally, you are allowed to use the maneuver tool to measure your ship’s possible positions before you commit to the move.

An Innovative and Integral Game Component

In many ways, the design of the Armada maneuver tool is responsible for enabling the game’s fluid, forward-looking approach to ship movement. It is an innovative and integral part of the game. Whether you use it to add a second, full-size maneuver tool to your games or to build a shorter maneuver tool for use in tight spaces, the Armada Maneuver Tool accessory pack ensures that you’ll be able to keep things calm in engineering as you focus all your firepower on enemy ships.

Look for the Star Wars: Armada Maneuver Tool accessory pack to arrive at retailers in the second quarter of 2015.

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Source: Speed Up Your Games

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The Galaxy at Your Fingertips

X-Wing (TM) Playmats Are Now Available

“Any attack made by the Rebels against this station would be a useless gesture, no matter what technical data they have obtained. This station is now the ultimate power in the universe! I suggest we use it!”
    –Admiral Motti, Star Wars: A New Hope

The Death Star Assault Playmat and the Starfield Playmat are now available online through our webstore!

With these new X-Wing Playmats, available via Fantasy Flight’s In-House Manufacturing, you can set your interstellar dogfights firmly in the Star Wars universe, bringing even more thematic gameplay to your X-Wing games. Two different playmat designs allow you to evoke the vastness of space in your X-Wing matches as fly your ships above the Death Star orbiting Yavin 4 or take your battles to an open starfield.

                                         

What Happened to the X-Wing Starfield Game Tile Kit?                          After extensive testing, we have determined that the Starfield Game Tile Kit is no longer the best option for an X-Wing play surface. The X-Wing Playmats will replace the Starfield Game Tile Kit.

Enter the Star System

Each X-Wing Playmat takes the form of an easily portable, 3’ by 3’ natural rubber playmat, complete with a slip-resistant bottom that helps to ensure your valuable miniatures stay safe during your space battles. Whether you field a squadron for the Rebel Alliance, the Imperial Navy, or the Scum and Villainy of the galaxy, you’ll find a cinematic setting for your ship-to-ship battles in the X-Wing Playmats. If you want to play with the GR-75 medium transport or the Corellian CR90 corvette, you can even combine two playmats to form the massive, six-foot-by-three-foot play surface required for Epic Play or Star Wars: Armada.

Two separate designs await your space battles. You can take your space battles to Yavin 4 by playing on the Death Star Assault Playmat. This playmat displays the Death Star as it orbits above Yavin 4, allowing you to set your dogfights in the climactic ending of Star Wars: A New Hope. Whether you seek to break the Empire’s power, or establish dominion over the galaxy, this playmat will serve you well.

As another option, the Starfield Playmat displays a dramatic view of the galaxy’s stars, placing your dogfight anywhere in the Star Wars universe. This playmat’s minimalist design makes this playmat especially suitable for tournament play, offering a stylish background for your tournament dogfights.

What’s more, both playmats are legal in all X-Wing Organized Play events, bringing the Star Wars setting to your tournament matches. Each playmat measures three feet by three feet, marking out the dimensions of a tournament game of X-Wing. These playmats provide a professional and thematic play surface for any faction as you battle your way to victory.

Bring the Universe to You

With these X-Wing Playmats at your fingertips, you can play each of your X-Wing dogfights in an easily portable piece of the Star Wars universe. Prepare to upgrade your X-Wing play surfaces, and pick up your X-Wing Playmats today!

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Source: The Galaxy at Your Fingertips

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Desperate Allies

Announcing an Age of Rebellion Sourcebook for Diplomats

“The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.”

   –Princess Leia Organa

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce Desperate Allies, a new career supplement for the Star Wars®: Age of Rebellion™ Roleplaying Game!

Desperate Allies is a sourcebook for Diplomats of all kinds, inviting you to join in tense negotiations, make last-second deals, and spread hope in a galaxy consumed by fear of the Empire. Within this supplement, you’ll find plenty of new opportunities and tools for Diplomats, including three new playable species and three new specializations, along with new items and vehicles well suited for diplomatic missions. You’ll also find rules for establishing Rebel bases, allowing you to enrich your campaign with diplomatic embassies, covert intel outposts, secure safehouses, or any other bases you can imagine.

Feeding the Fire

The Alliance to Restore the Republic is committed to fighting the Empire, but not all battles are fought with blasters. Diplomats use their words to fight for a better future. They convince new systems and factions to declare their support for the Rebel Alliance. They supply troops on the front lines with much-needed weapons, tools, and provisions. They spread hope for a brighter future in a galaxy choking on fear of the Empire.

Diplomats can come from all walks of life and serve many functions within the Rebel Alliance. They may have been politicians or Senators before the rise of Emperor Palpatine, or they may have come from much more lowly origins. A Diplomat might have extensive schooling, or may just have a knack for getting the right equipment to the right people. No matter what background or specialization your Diplomat may have, you’ll find plenty to learn and take advantage of in Desperate Allies.

For more on the new additions included in Desperate Allies, we turn to lead developer Max Brooke.

Developer Max Brooke on Desperate Allies

Desperate Allies is a sourcebook for Diplomats and all other representatives of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, giving Age of Rebellion players and GMs new tools to tell stories of politics, intrigue, and dramatic twists. This book offers three new species with long histories as diplomats: the cunning Neimoidians, the wise Caamasi, and the calculating Gossams. Additionally, Desperate Allies features three new Diplomat specializations. The Advocate, Analyst, and Propagandist provide your Diplomats with unique new avenues for development, and give other characters access to potent social abilities that their careers might otherwise lack. This supplement also includes new backgrounds, motivations, and two powerful signature abilities to give Diplomats an edge.

From left to right: Caamasi, Neimoidian, Gossam.

Tools of the trade are as important in negotiations as they are in the cockpit or on the battlefield, and Desperate Allies has numerous iconic and novel examples of weapons, armor, gear, and equipment that emissaries of the Rebel Alliance use to complete their important tasks. You may find a lightweight and elegant blaster pistol to rely on, or use your resplendent robes to command the attention of a room. Diplomats need transport as well, so this book has a selection of vessels ideal for diplomatic missions – and for evading or outflying the Empire when a job turns dangerous! The life of a Diplomat is rarely a peaceful one in the Rebel Alliance, and the tools and equipment in Desperate Allies give Diplomats the best chance of surviving their adventures.

In addition to the wealth of new character options it includes, Desperate Allies provides GMs with guidance and rules to enhance their social encounters and create moments for Diplomat characters to shine. Players will be able join in the negotiation and deals required to bring new soldiers and star systems into the Rebellion. Desperate Allies also features a number of modular encounters and adventure outlines that focus on diplomacy – without depriving players of the fast-paced action and adventure they expect from Star Wars roleplaying! These resources can be used to underscore the theme of intrigue in ongoing Age of Rebellion campaigns or to create stories with a focus on politics and power.

Finally, this volume contains the rules for creating Rebel bases, which GMs and players can use to construct and develop their own fortresses and hideouts. Your Diplomats can use these rules to establish embassies, but every character in Age of Rebellion can take advantage of the chance for a secure safehouse.

Desperate Allies invites you to partake in the galactic politics of Age of Rebellion, assisting players and GMs alike in bringing this vibrant part of the Star Wars universe to life!

The Stylus Is Mightier than the Sword

War is a central theme of Age of Rebellion, but without the Diplomats who envision a better life, warfare is just meaningless bloodshed. Diplomats ensure that soldiers have the support they need to wage war, but more importantly, they give the troops reasons to fight – to liberate the galaxy and to see something better built on the ashes of the Galactic Empire.

Look for Desperate Allies at your local retailer in the second quarter of 2015!

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Source: Desperate Allies

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Fantasy Flight Games Is Now Hiring

We Are Currently Accepting Applications for Two Positions

Fantasy Flight Games, leading hobby-market publisher of board games, card games, roleplaying games, and other tabletop games, is now hiring for the following positions:

Application Developer (pdf, 81.9 KB)

     
• Details can be found in the pdf document. To apply for the position of Application Developer, please submit a cover letter with salary requirements and resume to HumanResources@fantasyflightgames.com; under the subject line “Application Developer.”

Game Center Line Cook - Full Time (pdf, 67.8 KB)

     
• Details can be found in the pdf document. To apply for the position of Game Center Line Cook, please submit your application (pdf, 106 KB) to the Game Center Staff member or HumanResources@fantasyflightgames.com; under the subject line “Game Center Line Cook” no later than end of business day Friday, February 13, 2015.

Please do not call or visit.

Our offices are located in Roseville, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Candidates not already living within commuting distance must be willing to relocate. Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse work force and a work environment free from discrimination.

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Source: Fantasy Flight Games Is Now Hiring

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Use the Force

Announcing the STAR WARS (R): Force and Destiny (TM) Core Rulebook

“My ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.”
    –Master Yoda

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of the Star Wars®: Force and Destiny™ Core Rulebook and Game Master’s Kit.

The power of the Force flows through you. All your life you have felt it and used it, perhaps even unconsciously. Now, at last, you have found others like you who can sense and manipulate the Force, others willing to risk their lives for the sake of justice, for the sake of bettering the galaxy. Together, you are searching for the secrets of the outlawed Jedi Order and fighting against any evil that you encounter, including the Empire. Guiding you on your journey is the Force and Destiny Core Rulebook, which contains everything necessary for you to experience the Force’s immense power and take part in action-filled, epic adventures set in the Star Wars universe.

Outcasts in a War-Torn Galaxy

“For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire.”
    –Obi-Wan Kenobi

With a single, brutal, masterful stroke, Chancellor Palpatine took over the galactic government and abolished the Jedi Order. The Clone Wars ended and the Empire was born. Over the following decades, resistance against the Empire slowly strengthened until at last an organized Rebellion formed and destroyed the first Death Star, beginning a great civil war. Force and Destiny takes place in this war-torn galaxy, where Force-sensitives and anyone with ties to the Jedi must keep secret their power at risk of imprisonment and death.

While Force and Destiny is a complete and independent roleplaying system, it is also fully cross-compatible with our other two Star Wars roleplaying games, Age of Rebellion™ and Edge of the Empire™, set in the same time period. You could send Force-sensitives from Force and Destiny to the lawless locations featured in Edge of the Empire, or create a Rebel cell composed of outcast Force-users and idealistic Colonists who take on the Empire in an adventure from Age of the Rebellion.

The Balance Between Light and Dark

“Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”
    – Master Yoda

As Force-sensitive characters, you and the others in your group must learn to use the Force without the guidance of the Jedi Order. You also live with the constant threat of Imperial discovery, and will likely have to fight for your survival. You may choose to spend your life in the shadows, defending the downtrodden and carefully walking the line between good and evil. Or, you may join the Rebellion and battle the Empire from the pilot’s seat of a starfighter.  No matter what your character’s background, career, or ultimate aims, you will no doubt take on incredible missions and perform legendary deeds.

Your character will inevitably be forced to make difficult choices, and there will be countless opportunities to demonstrate your honor or surrender to violence, self-interest, and evil. Would you commit murder to free an enslaved friend? Would you use torture to elicit information that might save thousands of lives? In Force and Destiny, Morality is a defining aspect of character. Torture, failing to prevent another’s cruelty, even theft can pull you towards the dark side. Once fallen, you will have to relentlessly prove your commitment to the light side before you can leave the dark side behind.

The Stuff of Legends

“Yes, Artoo, I was just coming to that.”
    –Threepio

The heart of every Force and Destiny campaign is the 448-page Core Rulebook, beautifully illustrated with original art to immerse you fully in the Star Wars universe. In the Core Rulebook’s thirteen chapters you’ll find everything you need to play the game, from instructions on creating complex Force-sensitive characters to a thorough guide to the game’s narrative dice system. Entire chapters are dedicated to skills, talents, gear and weapons (including lightsabers), vehicles and starships, and of course, the Force itself.

For game masters, the Core Rulebook includes a chapter with helpful suggestions about running game sessions, developing a campaign, and handling your PCs’ ever-shifting Morality. You’ll also find detailed information about galactic geography, a history of the Jedi and Sith Orders from their ancient past until the Galactic Civil War, a catalogue of NPC adversaries, and a complete, stand-alone adventure, Lessons of the Past, to begin your Force and Destiny campaign.

Mastering the Force

“You’ll find I’m full of surprises.”
    –Luke Skywalker

The Force and Destiny Game Master’s Kit places right before your eyes all the information that you need to lead session of Force and Destiny. A GM screen not only helps you conceal your plots and machinations from the PCs, but features convenient reference charts that cover topics from vehicle critical hits to spending advantage and triumph results in combat.

The GM Kit also features detailed guidelines for knight-level play, in which PCs start an adventure with advanced capabilities, and for crafting custom lightsabers from materials that characters may encounter in their adventures. Above all, it contains a complete two-to-three session adventure, Hidden Depths, which can either stand on its own or tie in with the adventure in the Core Rulebook.

Meet Your Destiny

The Force and Destiny Core Rulebook and GM kit will be available in the third quarter of 2015. In the meantime, visit the Force and Destiny minisite for additional details and, soon, in-depth previews  of the game.

Your destiny awaits. May the Force be with you!

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Source: Use the Force

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Jeremiah Kirby

A Preview of the Champion Card in For the Greater Good

For the Greater Good is coming soon to Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game! With nearly two-thirds of its 165 cards focused on the Agency and its operatives, For the Greater Good gives the faction a major boost. However, it also offers plenty to fans of the game’s other factions.

Each of the game’s seven other factions gains at least one new character and at least one new support; they also gain more potential options from the expansion’s three different neutral cards, which include the new Ancient One Iod, The Hunter of Souls (For the Greater Good, 36).

Thus, even as the Agency’s Government agents pursue new leads in their defense of humanity, these other new characters allow the other factions to accelerate their plans for saving, dominating, or devouring the world. Like the Bedlam Boys (For the Greater Good, 41) and Restless Mi-Go (For the Greater Good, 45), most of them are also two-cost and one skill. However, the similarities between them tend to end there. After all, the monstrous scientists of Yog-Sothoth don’t function like the Syndicate’s criminals. Nor do Cthulhu’s cultists work toward the same intents as Miskatonic University’s bravest explorers and investigators.

Today, we turn our attention more closely toward one of these characters, as two-time World Champion Jeremy Zwirn offers a look at the character card he designed for Miskatonic University and that will soon see release with For the Greater Good.

Jeremy Zwirn on Jeremiah Kirby

Today, I'm very excited to show you my World Champion card and share a few of the thoughts I had while designing it. Having the opportunity to design your own Champion card is truly amazing, and I'm extremely grateful to be forever linked in this way to Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game. 

 

I'm a big fan of the literature of H.P. Lovecraft and have read all of his stories. The Cthulhu Mythos is brimming with interesting characters, items, and locations. As I thought about basing a card on one of these, I was a bit overwhelmed by the possibilities; where was I to begin? I thought about designing a card around one of the notable, named characters yet to appear in the LCG®: Professor William Dyer, Captain Obed Marsh, Abdul Alhazred (author of the Necronomicon), Joseph Curwen, or Herbert West, the infamous reanimator. The idea of designing a card around a powerful artifact, like the Shining Trapozehedron, also intrigued me.

In the end, I decided to make a card that pictured what I would like to be in the Cthulhu Mythos. That decision gave me the freedom to explore my card’s design without the pressure to match its mechanics to a known character. The result is the Explorer and Investigator, Jeremiah Kirby (For the Greater Good, 43).

 

Exploring New Ground

 

I wanted my Champion Card to stand apart from those designed by my predecessors. The four previous World Champion character cards in Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game all share a cost of three, three or more icons, and three skill. Three of them are neutral. They’re all good at combat and have Willpower. Instead of following suit, I thought it would be more interesting to give my character just one point of skill, one icon, and focus more attention on the ability.

I learned to play Call of Cthulhu with a Miskatonic University rush deck and am a hardcore gamer, so the faction of “nerds” felt right. The faction is known for its abundance of card draw, so I wanted to create a twist on this mechanic. For a while, I thought about designing a character that always revealed the top card of your deck and allowed you to play it as though it were in your hand. The idea was fun and interesting, but I wanted something more interactive. I'm a fan of mini-games that involve direct interaction with your opponent, and I love highly tactical cards that require you to weigh multiple factors each time you use them. Accordingly, when Jeremiah Kirby enters play, his response triggers a “card draw” ability, but your opponent influences which cards you get.

Meanwhile, since Jeremiah Kirby is an Explorer, I wanted his name to sound like an arctic explorer. Many of the Explorer characters in Call of Cthulhu are named after real explorers. Roald Ellsworth (Seekers of Knowledge, 4), for example, is named after Roald Amundsen and Lincoln Ellsworth. Taking the cue, I chose to name my card after Jeremiah Reynolds and Sydney Kirkby, slightly modifying Kirkby’s last name because my Golden Retriever’s name is “Kirby.”

Playing with Jeremiah Kirby

In card games, I like nothing more than finding synergy between cards and creating decks where the whole is greater than its individual parts. Jeremiah Kirby is full of potential synergies, and many of those synergies involve other Miskatonic cards. Since he has the Explorer subtype, he can take advantage of all the synergies it grants.

   
• If Jeremiah Kirby leaves play, Roald Ellsworth lets you draw two cards or retrieve any one card from your discard pile.

   
• If you have James “Cookie” Fredericks (Seekers of Knowledge, 8) in play and fewer cards in hand than your opponent, you can order your responses to first trigger Cookie’s response, then trigger Kirby’s response to take a total of three of the top eight cards from your deck into your hand.

   
• Moreover, Jeremiah Kirby is a prime target to drop into play with the lynchpin of Explorer decks, Ultima Thule (Seekers of Knowledge, 26). As long as your opponent doesn't disrupt this combo, you'll net two cards each turn, and if you have Roald Ellsworth in play, that turns into four cards each turn.

Synergy is such a beautiful thing!

 

Explorer isn't Jeremiah Kirby's only subtype; he's also an Investigator. Thus, two Anthropology Advisors (Core Set, 25) will let you play him at no cost and give him two additional Investigation icons. Since he boasts such a powerful enters play ability, if you’re reducing his cost to nothing, you may sometimes want him to be destroyed just so that you can play a second (or third) copy of him. He’s a great target to commit to a story where you’ll need to take a wound after losing a combat struggle, or you can equip him with a Khopesh of the Abyss (Touched by the Abyss, 16) and wound away. Having Infirmary (Words of Power, 28) in play makes these viable options to keep the cards flowing.

 

The cards from Miskatonic University aren’t the only cards with which Jeremiah combines nicely. One of the best examples is Tom Capor’s Champion Card, Hall of Champions (Written and Bound, 20). I’ve always enjoyed the design of that card and wanted to make a card that synergized with it. Finding Jeremiah Kirby with the Hall of Champions will give you two cards and, potentially, three success tokens at a story. That’s not bad, especially since this could happen every turn, especially if you use cards like Archaeology Interns (Into Tartarus, 97) or Surprising Find (Touched by the Abyss, 109) to manipulate Jeremiah Kirby back to the top of your deck.

Playing Against Jeremiah Kirby

 

Every player of Call of Cthulhu has cards they love to use. Who doesn’t like cards that destroy your opponent’s characters or make them go crazy?

Everyone has their favorite cards to play, but who has favorites to play against? For me, Jeremiah Kirby is one of those cards; I actually enjoy playing against it more than with it! The way he creates interactions between known and hidden information can lead to intriguing scenarios.

For example, imagine your opponent starts the game and plays Jeremiah Kirby on his first turn, revealing Lucas Tetlow (Seekers of Knowledge, 9), Jeremiah Kirby, Matthew Alexander (Seekers of Knowledge, 7), Dwellers Below (The Sleeper Below, 11), and Flooded Vault (Terror in Venice, 10).

Which card do you choose first to put on the bottom of his deck? There are many factors to consider: what cards do you have in hand, and what might your opponent have in hand? If you have some non-Location support cards in hand, that Lucas Tetlow might be problematic. What cards have been resourced? If your opponent resourced a Matthew Alexander, does that mean he already has one in hand and doesn’t need another copy? What support cards is your opponent running? Flooded Vault could unearth anything from a Khopesh of the Abyss to Ultima Thule, and you have to consider all the possibilities. Does your second choice influence your first choice? If your opponent chooses to keep Flooded Vault, should you send that second copy of Jeremiah Kirby to the bottom of his deck so he can’t trigger card draw off it after a Khopesh bursts out of that Vault to attach to the first copy.

 

I thoroughly enjoy thought processes like these, even if the outcome isn't in my favor. I love trying to deduce what my opponent is thinking and using that to my advantage. I can't wait for a scenario like this to happen in a tournament.

 

Acknowledgements

 

I want to thank FFG for the opportunity to design this Champion Card, and I want to thank Brad Andres and Damon Stone for working with me to design a card I'm proud of. I'm really looking forward to playing with (and against) Jeremiah Kirby, and I hope you are as well!

Thanks, Jeremy!

For the Greater Good is now just a couple weeks away. In the meantime, keep your eyes open for our final preview, when we meet some of the Hunters who make their debut in this eighth deluxe expansion for Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game.

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Source: Jeremiah Kirby

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Imperial Investigation

A Designer Diary on Inquests in Enemies Within

“We thought he perished during our last encounter, but the ritual markings undoubtedly show the involvement of that damnable heretic Zethor. I don’t know how he escaped the purge on Temperance, but with the Emperor’s guidance, this time we will make sure of his fate.”

   –Witch-Seeker Arbella Syne

The Askellon sector groans beneath the weight of a billion billion souls and their numberless sins. Everywhere, heresy sprouts and blooms, infecting the innocent and spreading madness. For such unquestionable evil, there is only one certain cure: the cleansing fire of the Inquisition and the Ordo Hereticus.

Yet finding the roots of corruption is difficult. An Inquisitor’s Acolytes must develop a plan of investigation and follow the clues before they can confront the source of the heresy. In the Enemies Within sourcebook for Dark Heresy Second Edition, you’ll find new rules to give structure to your Inquests in the Imperium.

Today, Tim Cox shares his perspective on the Inquest rules he developed for Enemies Within!

Tim Cox on Inquests in Enemies Within

Mysteries and investigations lie at the heart of Dark Heresy Second Edition, as Acolytes and Inquisitors strive to uncover the threats to humanity, but mysteries also rank among the most difficult adventures for GMs to run and for players to follow. To assist players and GMs with running investigations and tracking the Acolytes’ progress, Enemies Within includes new rules for Inquests. These rules help players solve mysteries, conduct investigations, and hunt down the heretics, witches, and mutants that threaten the survival of Mankind.

When developing the rules for Inquests, I wanted to provide structure and mechanics to support investigative play without constraining GMs or players. Inquests needed rules that were flexible enough to represent any sort of mystery or heresy a GM might invent, while providing a solid foundation to ensure the plot advances. I also wanted to keep the focus on targeted investigations against known heretics and cults, while maintaining the flexibility to handle other types of mysteries.

Planting the Seeds

At their heart, the final rules for Inquests provide an organised system for conducting investigations, presenting guidelines that GMs can use to build their own mystery adventures. Although GMs can use Inquest rules for any investigation, they are best suited to handling investigations initiated by the Acolytes (or a Player Character Inquisitor). The beginning of an Inquest invites the Acolytes to plan the focus of their investigation, selecting their target and determining the Inquest’s scope – Minoris, Majoris, or Extremis. The scope is a reflection of the mission’s difficulty and length, and it dictates the Influence rewards for success.

The amount of player involvement in an Inquest means that Acolytes have the discretion to choose their target, the scope of their objective, and the resources they will use to accomplish it. This ensures that players and GMs are on the same page at the outset of the adventure and it further represents the discretion that trusted Acolytes and even Inquisitors exercise in deciding which threats to pursue and how best to prosecute their duties.

Chasing the Heresy

During an Inquest, Acolytes accrue Investigation points by finding clues and following leads, resulting in a tangible measurement for their progress. The number of Investigation points needed to complete an Inquest depends on its scope. A higher scope generally means more clues for the Acolytes to find.

In an Inquest, clues have an assigned Investigation point value, which can vary greatly based on the clue’s importance. In order for the Inquest to progress, the Acolytes might need to find a single vital clue or several minor clues. Acolytes gain additional Investigation points for successfully uncovering leads from a clue, but a mistaken interpretation or a false lead can actually cost them points.

Once the Acolytes have obtained a predetermined number of Investigation points, they trigger a Revelation, or an important break in the case. In order to benefit from the Revelation, they must successfully navigate a Confrontation – an important encounter with the potential to change the course of an investigation. Although Confrontations don’t always involve combat, they are often encounters with important heretics and lieutenants of the Acolytes’ target, or even with highly placed members of the organization the Acolytes seek to bring down. Confrontations may also be shocking discoveries, tense social encounters, or other important developments.

When the warband achieves the necessary total Investigation points, the results of their clues lead to the final Confrontation with their target, and the opportunity to successfully complete the Inquest. If the Acolytes are successful, they and their Inquisitor receive Influence based on the scope of the Inquest. Even if the Acolytes fail to defeat their foe, obtaining enough Investigation points nets them a reduced Influence reward. In some cases, such as during an Inquest against a particularly powerful Nemesis, just undoing his horrid schemes may be all that is possible.

Nothing According to Plan

One of my favourite elements of the Inquest rules is complications. At the outset of an Inquest, a GM can choose from a selection of complications or randomly determine one. Complications range from jurisdictional disputes with local forces or a branch of the Adeptus Terra, to local customs or practices that threaten to delay the investigation, to betrayal by a trusted ally. Each complication has mechanical effects and may cost the Acolytes Investigation points or affect their Subtlety.

Although players have a good deal more involvement in the selection, creation, and prosecution of an Inquest than they might in other adventures, complications provide a level of unpredictability and surprise that keeps the Acolytes on their toes. And although they may choose the target and scope of their Inquest, no Acolyte can ever tell for certain where that Inquest may lead them.

Doing the Emperor’s Work

I hope both GMs and players will enjoy incorporating Inquests into their games. Whether hunting down old foes or uncovering nascent threats, Inquests make up the work of the Inquisition. I look forward to hearing about the mysteries your Acolytes uncover and the threats you contend with!

Thanks, Tim!

Prepare to uncover the cults and heresies that fester throughout the Askellon sector with the new rules for Inquests. Check back for our next preview, in which we look at the new options available to your Acolytes as you work alongside the Ordo Hereticus.

Pre-order your copy of Enemies Within today!

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Source: Imperial Investigation

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Secret Vigil

A Preview of The Lost Realm Deluxe Expansion for The Lord of the Rings

“In the wild lands beyond Bree there were mysterious wanderers. The Bree-folk called them Rangers, and knew nothing of their origin. They were taller and darker than the Men of Bree and were believed to have strange powers of sight and hearing.”

    –J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Soon, The Lost Realm deluxe expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game will provide you and your heroes the chance to undertake daring, new adventures in a previously unexplored region of Middle-earth.

Outside the peaceful villages of Bree-land, lies a land tainted by ancient evils. In the darkest, northern reaches of Eriador, the Witch-king of Angmar once ruled. His armies terrorized the region for nearly seven centuries, and though he no longer resides within Carn Dûm, there are other evils that have found their way to Angmar.

In The Lost Realm, you join forces with the Rangers of the North, the Dúnedain who have secretly warded Bree-land and its neighboring villages from the dangers of Angmar and the surrounding lands.

The Orcs Are Massing

Your adventures begin with the expansion’s first scenario, Intruders in Chetwood. When a couple Rangers of the North discover a large group of Orcs making its way toward Bree-land, they realize they need help. The Ranger Iârion (The Lost Realm, 16) asks you to help him intercept the war-party before it can assault the Men of Bree.

Though the Orcs begin with a day’s lead, Iârion proves a skilled tracker, guiding you swiftly through forests and over hills. However, your trials won’t end once you manage to catch the Orc War-party (The Lost Realm, 17); they’ll have only just begun.

At its heart, The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is about adventures rooted in exploration and discovery. You and your friends work together against a randomized encounter deck full of enemies to fight, dangerous locations to explore, and treachery cards that can snatch victory right out of your hands. Meanwhile, each game immerses you in a story that unfolds as you press forward on your quest, moving from stage to stage. In these ways, The Lost Realm and its scenarios offer as pure an experience as The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game as you could hope to find.

From the opening moments of Intruders in Chetwood, as you hunt the Orcs, through the final quest stage of its final scenario, The Lost Realm immerses you in a narrative adventure full of challenges, choices, and intrigues. In an earlier preview, developer Caleb Grace addressed how the expansion’s side quests add narrative depth, even as they force you and your heroes to choose between pursuing the main quest and ridding the realm of other threats.

Along the way, you’ll need to travel from the relative safety of Chetwood Forest (The Lost Realm, 18) to the ruins of Fornost. You’ll learn why Aragorn told the Council of Elrond that the North would have had no peace if not for the Rangers of the North. You’ll learn about the foes he said would freeze lesser men’s hearts, and you’ll face them in battle. Moreover, you’ll have to do all this while trudging onward through foul weather and unmarked wilderness.

The result is that you’ll understand what it’s like to be one of the Dúnedain Rangers. You’ll feel the weight of responsibility sitting squarely upon your back, and yet you’ll continue onward, because there is no good alternative. You will gain no fame nor fortune should you succeed, but if you fail, many innocent men and women will die.

The Tireless Hunt

Of course, The Lost Realm explores the Rangers of the North and their trials in more ways than one. The expansion introduces two new Dúnedain Ranger heroes, a host of new Dúnedain allies, and a handful of related events and attachments.

As we’ve already seen, many of these new cards focus on scouting out enemies and engaging them, and this means that The Lost Realm adds a new dimension to the Tactics sphere of influence, even as it bolsters the Dúnedain trait.

Each sphere of influence has its strengths and weaknesses, and in multi-player games, Tactics players will often protect other members of their fellowship from as many enemies as possible. For starters, then, Tactics players frequently aim to optionally engage enemies as often as possible, and they often play with threat levels that are slightly higher than the rest of the table, so that they will be the first targeted by enemies in the engagement phase.

Often, though, you’ll find yourselves facing situations in which multiple enemies enter the staging area at once, and your Tactics player can’t engage them all. These situations occur frequently enough that many Tactics players feel the need to incorporate Ranged and Sentinel characters, as well as events such as Feint (Core Set, 34), in order to help their friends across the table.

Soon, The Lost Realm will introduce new means of controlling the game’s enemies and engagements, and this means that Tactics players will be able to pursue a wide range of all-new, effective deck-building archetypes.

The new Tactics version of Aragorn (The Lost Realm, 1) is likely to be the lynchpin in many of these builds. Not only does he subtract one from the Defense Strength of every enemy engaged with you, he comes with a Response ability that can pull enemies away from other players:

“Response: After Aragorn participates in an attack that destroys an enemy, choose an enemy not engaged with you and engage that enemy.”

Some of Aragorn’s benefits are obvious. By offering a consistent and immediate means of pulling enemies away from your fellow players, Aragorn’s ability grants you new freedom in the construction of your deck and the selection of your heroes. You face less need than ever to include Ranged characters or cards like The Hammer-stroke (The Blood of Gondor, 111) in order to attack those enemies that engage your fellow players.

Some of Aragorn’s benefits are less obvious, but no less effective. Since Aragorn’s Response isn’t a Combat Action, it works anytime he participates in an attack that destroys an enemy. That means that he can use cards like Quick Strike (Core Set, 35) to attack and destroy enemies before other enemies attack your teammates, and in this way, you can be an effective teammate and combatant, even if you don’t include Sentinel characters in your deck.

To this end, The Lost Realm also introduces Tireless Hunters (The Lost Realm, 8), which for one resource serves both as a Sentinel replacement and as shadow cancellation.

Finally, even as it offers Tactics players a range of new freedoms, The Lost Realm provides them with some limited, thematic means to explore an entirely new role – threat reduction. For a single resource, Secret Vigil (The Lost Realm, 12) can attach to an enemy and reduce its Threat Strength by one, making it easier to quest successfully so long as that enemy remains in the staging area. Then, once that enemy is destroyed, Secret Vigil reduces each player’s threat by an amount equal to the target enemy’s printed Threat Strength. When you consider that The Galadhrim’s Greeting (Core Set, 46) costs three resources for a table-wide threat reduction of two, you’ll be especially thankful for the Dúnedain and their Secret Vigil, especially when they eliminate an enemy as threatening as an Angmar Marauder (The Lost Realm, 44).

Explore the North

Will you experiment with a Dúnedain deck, or will you rely upon other heroes as you face the perils of the North? Either way, The Lost Realm offers an immersive and perilous exploration of one of Middle-earth’s most intriguing realms, the dark and shadowy lands just outside of Bree-land and the Shire.

The Lost Realm is now just a few weeks away. In the meantime, stay tuned for more news, including a look at the expansion’s second hero and a pair of sample Dúnedain decks designed to work together!

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Source: Secret Vigil

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Avoid a Backstabbing

New FAQ and Tournament Rules are Available for A Game of Thrones

The 2015 A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Organized Play season has gotten off to a roaring start with Store Championships. Battles rage across the Seven Kingdoms each week, and those with the most knowledge give themselves the best opportunity to be named Champion. Will you use your knowledge to gain an advantage over your foe? Or will you fall by the wayside, just another pretender to the throne?

What knowledge will you acquire, and how will you use it? Be sure to read the new FAQ (pdf, 2.3 MB) and tournament rules (pdf, 1.5 MB) before heading out to your next tournament.

 These changes will go into effect on February 16th, 2015.

A Word from the Developers

Hello A Game of Thrones players,

As we move deeper into the Store Championship season, a couple of metagame trends that began to creep into the game at last year’s Tourney of Stahleck and World Championships have strengthened their grasp upon the environment. Instead of waiting until our regularly scheduled pre-Regional Championships FAQ document, we have decided to release a small mid-season FAQ to address these concerns.

The top item being addressed is the River plot deck which, in spite of a restriction to Crossing the Mummer’s Ford (Spoils of War, 20), is still dominating the game. To lower the ceiling on how much card advantage Crossing the Mummer’s Ford card can provide, we are adding an errata to its effect that prevents it from being triggered by other card effects. This will limit the card’s effectiveness to one use each time a player cycles through his or her plot deck. To anticipate the most likely rules question relating to this errata, if another River plot attempts to trigger it as the top River card in your used pile, the “cannot” is absolute, and nothing will happen.

In addition to the River plot deck, we are taking this opportunity to address a few other strategies that have been warping the recent environment. Daenerys Targaryen (Ancestral Home, 76) and Melisandre’s Favor (The Horn that Wakes, 63) have both been added to the restricted list. We are adding an errata to Harrenhal (Ancestral Home, 78) that requires the character killed to pay its cost be both owned and controlled by the player who is using Harrenhal, to break up the card’s combo potential with the aforementioned Melisandre’s Favor. Finally, the combo of Unburnt (Queen of Dragons, 1) and Aloof and Apart (Secrets and Schemes, 18) is being checked, so that the free save the combo enables is no longer repeatable.

In the Q&A section, we field questions on two topics. The first explains the timing of the new Castle plots. The second covers the physical placement (dead pile, discard pile, or deck) of multiple cards that leave play simultaneously when there are no specific instructions regarding the order in which those cards arrive in their new location.

We hope that this FAQ release serves to rejuvenate the environment, and helps to maximize your enjoyment of the game over the remainder of the Store Championship season.

Nate French
 Fantasy Flight Games

Thanks Nate!

Don’t let yourself be caught unaware at your next Store Championship. Download the new FAQ and tournament rules today so you’ll be ready as you ride into battle.

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Source: Avoid a Backstabbing

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Fantasy Flight Games Is Now Hiring

Published 9 February 2015
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Fantasy Flight Games Is Now Hiring

Apply for the Position of Application Developer Today

Fantasy Flight Games, leading hobby-market publisher of board games, card games, roleplaying games, and other tabletop games, is now accepting applications for the position of
 


 
    Application Developer (pdf, 81.9 KB)
 


.

Details can be found in the linked pdf document. To apply for this position, please submit a cover letter with salary requirements and resume to HumanResources@fantasyflightgames.com; under the subject line “Application Developer.�

Please do not call or visit.

Our offices are located in Roseville, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Candidates not already living within commuting distance must be willing to relocate. Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse work force and a work environment free from discrimination.

 

Discuss this article
in our forums!

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Use the Force

Published 9 February 2015
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Star Wars: Force and Destiny

Use the Force

Announcing the STAR WARS (R): Force and Destiny (TM) Core Rulebook

“My ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.�

   –Master Yoda

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of the Star Wars®: Force and Destiny™ Core Rulebook and Game Master’s Kit.

The power of the Force flows through you. All your life you have felt it and used it, perhaps even unconsciously. Now, at last, you have found others like you who can sense and manipulate the Force, others willing to risk their lives for the sake of justice, for the sake of bettering the galaxy. Together, you are searching for the secrets of the outlawed Jedi Order and fighting against any evil that you encounter, including the Empire. Guiding you on your journey is the Force and Destiny Core Rulebook, which contains everything necessary for you to experience the Force’s immense power and take part in action-filled, epic adventures set in the Star Wars universe.

Outcasts in a War-Torn Galaxy

“For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire.�

   –Obi-Wan Kenobi

With a single, brutal, masterful stroke, Chancellor Palpatine took over the galactic government and abolished the Jedi Order. The Clone Wars ended and the Empire was born. Over the following decades, resistance against the Empire slowly strengthened until at last an organized Rebellion formed and destroyed the first Death Star, beginning a great civil war. Force and Destiny takes place in this war-torn galaxy, where Force-sensitives and anyone with ties to the Jedi must keep secret their power at risk of imprisonment and death.

While Force and Destiny is a complete and independent roleplaying system, it is also fully cross-compatible with our other two Star Wars roleplaying games, Age of Rebellionâ„¢ and Edge of the Empireâ„¢, set in the same time period. You could send Force-sensitives from Force and Destiny to the lawless locations featured in Edge of the Empire, or create a Rebel cell composed of outcast Force-users and idealistic Colonists who take on the Empire in an adventure from Age of the Rebellion.

The Balance Between Light and Dark

“Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.�

   – Master Yoda

As Force-sensitive characters, you and the others in your group must learn to use the Force without the guidance of the Jedi Order. You also live with the constant threat of Imperial discovery, and will likely have to fight for your survival. You may choose to spend your life in the shadows, defending the downtrodden and carefully walking the line between good and evil. Or, you may join the Rebellion and battle the Empire from the pilot’s seat of a straighter. No matter what your character’s background, career, or ultimate aims, you will no doubt take on incredible missions and perform legendary deeds.

Your character will inevitably be forced to make difficult choices, and there will be countless opportunities to demonstrate your honor or surrender to violence, self-interest, and evil. Would you commit murder to free an enslaved friend? Would you use torture to elicit information that might save thousands of lives? In Force and Destiny, Morality is a defining aspect of character. Torture, failing to prevent another’s cruelty, even theft can pull you towards the dark side. Once fallen, you will have to relentlessly prove your commitment to the light side before you can leave the dark side behind.

The Stuff of Legends

“Yes, Artoo, I was just coming to that.�

   –Threepio

The heart of every Force and Destiny campaign is the 448-page Core Rulebook, beautifully illustrated with original art to immerse you fully in the Star Wars universe. In the Core Rulebook’s thirteen chapters you’ll find everything you need to play the game, from instructions on creating complex Force-sensitive characters to a thorough guide to the game’s narrative dice system. Entire chapters are dedicated to skills, talents, gear and weapons (including lightsabers), vehicles and starships, and of course, the Force itself.

For game masters, the Core Rulebook includes a chapter with helpful suggestions about running game sessions, developing a campaign, and handling your PCs’ ever-shifting Morality. You’ll also find detailed information about galactic geography, a history of the Jedi and Sith Orders from their ancient past until the Galactic Civil War, a catalogue of NPC adversaries, and a complete, stand-alone adventure, Lessons of the Past, to begin your Force and Destiny campaign.

Mastering the Force

“You’ll find I’m full of surprises.�

   –Luke Skywalker

The Force and Destiny Game Master’s Kit places right before your eyes all the information that you need to lead session of Force and Destiny. A GM screen not only helps you conceal your plots and machinations from the PCs, but features convenient reference charts that cover topics from vehicle critical hits to spending advantage and triumph results in combat.

The GM Kit also features detailed guidelines for knight-level play, in which PCs start an adventure with advanced capabilities, and for crafting custom lightsabers from materials that characters may encounter in their adventures. Above all, it contains a complete two-to-three session adventure, Hidden Depths, which can either stand on its own or tie in with the adventure in the Core Rulebook.

Meet Your Destiny

The Force and Destiny Core Rulebook and GM kit will be available in the third quarter of 2015. In the meantime, visit the Force and Destiny minisite for additional details and, soon, in-depth previews of the game.

Your destiny awaits. May the Force be with you!

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Jeremiah Kirby

Published 10 February 2015
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Call of Cthulhu LCG

Jeremiah Kirby

A Preview of the Champion Card in For the Greater Good

For the Greater Good is coming soon to Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game! With nearly two-thirds of its 165 cards focused on the Agency and its operatives, For the Greater Good gives the faction a major boost. However, it also offers plenty to fans of the game’s other factions.

Each of the game’s seven other factions gains at least one new character and at least one new support; they also gain more potential options from the expansion’s three different neutral cards, which include the new Ancient One Iod, The Hunter of Souls (For the Greater Good, 36).

Thus, even as the Agency’s Government agents pursue new leads in their defense of humanity, these other new characters allow the other factions to accelerate their plans for saving, dominating, or devouring the world. Like the Bedlam Boys (For the Greater Good, 41) and Restless Mi-Go (For the Greater Good, 45), most of them are also two-cost and one skill. However, the similarities between them tend to end there. After all, the monstrous scientists of Yog-Sothoth don’t function like the Syndicate’s criminals. Nor do Cthulhu’s cultists work toward the same intents as Miskatonic University’s bravest explorers and investigators.

Today, we turn our attention more closely toward one of these characters, as two-time World Champion Jeremy Zwirn offers a look at the character card he designed for Miskatonic University and that will soon see release with For the Greater Good.

Jeremy Zwirn on Jeremiah Kirby

Today, I'm very excited to show you my World Champion card and share a few of the thoughts I had while designing it. Having the opportunity to design your own Champion card is truly amazing, and I'm extremely grateful to be forever linked in this way to Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game.

I'm a big fan of the literature of H.P. Lovecraft and have read all of his stories. The Cthulhu Mythos is brimming with interesting characters, items, and locations. As I thought about basing a card on one of these, I was a bit overwhelmed by the possibilities; where was I to begin? I thought about designing a card around one of the notable, named characters yet to appear in the LCG®: Professor William Dyer, Captain Obed Marsh, Abdul Alhazred (author of the Necronomicon), Joseph Curwen, or Herbert West, the infamous reanimator. The idea of designing a card around a powerful artifact, like the Shining Trapozehedron, also intrigued me.

In the end, I decided to make a card that pictured what I would like to be in the Cthulhu Mythos. That decision gave me the freedom to explore my card’s design without the pressure to match its mechanics to a known character. The result is the Explorer and Investigator, Jeremiah Kirby (For the Greater Good, 43).

Exploring New Ground

I wanted my Champion Card to stand apart from those designed by my predecessors. The four previous World Champion character cards in Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game all share a cost of three, three or more icons, and three skill. Three of them are neutral. They’re all good at combat and have Willpower. Instead of following suit, I thought it would be more interesting to give my character just one point of skill, one icon, and focus more attention on the ability.

I learned to play Call of Cthulhu with a Miskatonic University rush deck and am a hardcore gamer, so the faction of “nerds� felt right. The faction is known for its abundance of card draw, so I wanted to create a twist on this mechanic. For a while, I thought about designing a character that always revealed the top card of your deck and allowed you to play it as though it were in your hand. The idea was fun and interesting, but I wanted something more interactive. I'm a fan of mini-games that involve direct interaction with your opponent, and I love highly tactical cards that require you to weigh multiple factors each time you use them. Accordingly, when Jeremiah Kirby enters play, his response triggers a “card draw� ability, but your opponent influences which cards you get.

Meanwhile, since Jeremiah Kirby is an Explorer, I wanted his name to sound like an arctic explorer. Many of the Explorer characters in Call of Cthulhu are named after real explorers. Roald Ellsworth (Seekers of Knowledge, 4), for example, is named after Roald Amundsen and Lincoln Ellsworth. Taking the cue, I chose to name my card after Jeremiah Reynolds and Sydney Kirkby, slightly modifying Kirkby’s last name because my Golden Retriever’s name is “Kirby.�

Playing with Jeremiah Kirby

In card games, I like nothing more than finding synergy between cards and creating decks where the whole is greater than its individual parts. Jeremiah Kirby is full of potential synergies, and many of those synergies involve other Miskatonic cards. Since he has the Explorer subtype, he can take advantage of all the synergies it grants.

• If Jeremiah Kirby leaves play, Roald Ellsworth lets you draw two cards or retrieve any one card from your discard pile.


• If you have James “Cookieâ€� Fredericks (Seekers of Knowledge, 8) in play and fewer cards in hand than your opponent, you can order your responses to first trigger Cookie’s response, then trigger Kirby’s response to take a total of three of the top eight cards from your deck into your hand.


• Moreover, Jeremiah Kirby is a prime target to drop into play with the lynchpin of Explorer decks, Ultima Thule (Seekers of Knowledge, 26). As long as your opponent doesn't disrupt this combo, you'll net two cards each turn, and if you have Roald Ellsworth in play, that turns into four cards each turn.

Synergy is such a beautiful thing!

Explorer isn't Jeremiah Kirby's only subtype; he's also an Investigator. Thus, two Anthropology Advisors (Core Set, 25) will let you play him at no cost and give him two additional Investigation icons. Since he boasts such a powerful enters play ability, if you’re reducing his cost to nothing, you may sometimes want him to be destroyed just so that you can play a second (or third) copy of him. He’s a great target to commit to a story where you’ll need to take a wound after losing a combat struggle, or you can equip him with a Khopesh of the Abyss (Touched by the Abyss, 16) and wound away. Having Infirmary (Words of Power, 28) in play makes these viable options to keep the cards flowing.

The cards from Miskatonic University aren’t the only cards with which Jeremiah combines nicely. One of the best examples is Tom Capor’s Champion Card, Hall of Champions (Written and Bound, 20). I’ve always enjoyed the design of that card and wanted to make a card that synergized with it. Finding Jeremiah Kirby with the Hall of Champions will give you two cards and, potentially, three success tokens at a story. That’s not bad, especially since this could happen every turn, especially if you use cards like Archaeology Interns (Into Tartarus, 97) or Surprising Find (Touched by the Abyss, 109) to manipulate Jeremiah Kirby back to the top of your deck.

Playing Against Jeremiah Kirby

Every player of Call of Cthulhu has cards they love to use. Who doesn’t like cards that destroy your opponent’s characters or make them go crazy?

Everyone has their favorite cards to play, but who has favorites to play against? For me, Jeremiah Kirby is one of those cards; I actually enjoy playing against it more than with it! The way he creates interactions between known and hidden information can lead to intriguing scenarios.

For example, imagine your opponent starts the game and plays Jeremiah Kirby on his first turn, revealing Lucas Tetlow (Seekers of Knowledge, 9), Jeremiah Kirby, Matthew Alexander (Seekers of Knowledge, 7), Dwellers Below (The Sleeper Below, 11), and Flooded Vault (Terror in Venice, 10).

Which card do you choose first to put on the bottom of his deck? There are many factors to consider: what cards do you have in hand, and what might your opponent have in hand? If you have some non-Location support cards in hand, that Lucas Tetlow might be problematic. What cards have been resourced? If your opponent resourced a Matthew Alexander, does that mean he already has one in hand and doesn’t need another copy? What support cards is your opponent running? Flooded Vault could unearth anything from a Khopesh of the Abyss to Ultima Thule, and you have to consider all the possibilities. Does your second choice influence your first choice? If your opponent chooses to keep Flooded Vault, should you send that second copy of Jeremiah Kirby to the bottom of his deck so he can’t trigger card draw off it after a Khopesh bursts out of that Vault to attach to the first copy.

I thoroughly enjoy thought processes like these, even if the outcome isn't in my favor. I love trying to deduce what my opponent is thinking and using that to my advantage. I can't wait for a scenario like this to happen in a tournament.   Acknowledgements   I want to thank FFG for the opportunity to design this Champion Card, and I want to thank Brad Andres and Damon Stone for working with me to design a card I'm proud of. I'm really looking forward to playing with (and against) Jeremiah Kirby, and I hope you are as well!

Thanks, Jeremy!

For the Greater Good is now just a couple weeks away. In the meantime, keep your eyes open for our final preview, when we meet some of the Hunters who make their debut in this eighth deluxe expansion for Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game.

 

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Source: Jeremiah Kirby