FAQ v0.7
Last updated: December 27, 2015
Table of Contents:
General
Printing
Player Ships
Earning & Spending Experience
Imperial AI & Pilot Cards
Terrain
Mission Deck
Specific Missions
If you have a question that isn’t addressed in the v0.7 campaign materials or the FAQ below, ask it in the comments.
General:
Q: Can I play this solo? What about with 2 players? Do we need 6 players for this?
A: It can be played solo, although missions generally have the best balance for 3-4 Rebel ships. If you’re going to play Heroes of the Aturi Cluster solo, I’d recommend playing a squadron of 2-3 ships. With 2 players, I recommend playing 2 ships each, provided you own enough TIE Fighters to run the AI at this scale.
Q: How many ships do I need? Can I run this with my collection?
A: In general you will need the following for each Rebel ship:
- 1 X-wing or Y-wing (model, base, dial, tokens); campaign adds a player scoresheet
- 2 TIE Fighters*
- 1 of each other TIE for every 2 players*
- 1-2 shuttles total*
- 1 Decimator*
- some missions also include the YT-1300, HWK-290 and Rebel Transport.
*You only need the model & base; the campaign replaces the dials and cards with an AI statcard/Imperial Pilot card
Q: How does the game experience change with the number of Rebel ships / players?
A: Missions scale in enemy ships and objectives with the number of Rebel ships.
- 1 Rebel ship: It’s possible but the balance of some missions is probably not great. You’re almost always outgunned.
- 2 Rebel ships: Works pretty well, especially if you have a small collection. Dice luck can really swing the game though.
- 3-4 Rebel ships: Closest in scale to the standard 100-point game so a 60-75 minute playtime for each scenario is pretty reasonable. Maybe even 45-60 minutes if you’re running the whole squad solo. This might be the sweet spot for game balance.
- 5-6 Rebel ships: Playtime is usually 90 minutes, maybe more if you have a lot of table talk. Enemy squads are larger which increases the amount of focus fire on a single Rebel ship each time those squads attack. Individual players tend to die faster as a result. In 3-4p games, having a 100% player survival rate isn’t that uncommon but It’s pretty rare in low-ps 6p games – somebody has to draw all the TIE Fighter fire. Until your 6p squad gets a couple A-wings with PTL/Stealth to do that, your poor X and Y wings will take a bit of a beating in larger games. Most missions also add objectives based on the number of players. In larger games you tend to have 1-2 players that need to focus entirely on objectives (if they can) while the rest attempt to engage the fighters, but in 3-4p each ship’s role tends to be a little more fluid.
Q: Can the AI be used outside the campaign for regular skirmish games?
A: It was developed and tested this way, so it should be OK. You should be able to build a 100pt Imperial list and play against it using the AI statcards, but you’ll have to make some assumptions about how AI ships will use their upgrades.
Q: Can this campaign be played with a human player as an Imperial GM/Overlord?
A: Probably, though it’s not something that was tested. A human player will make better use of the Imperial ships, so if this is something your group wants to try, you may need to adjust the difficulty to be a bit easier following the instructions on p33.
Q: I want to run a weekly game at my FLGS. What do I do about missing players that will fall behind in XP/levels?
A: This is how most of the campaign was playtested, so the rules are designed to handle this case. Each mission scales with the number of players, so being short a player won’t prevent you from playing.
Generally you don’t need to worry much about compensating absent players when their their squadmates level up. This is because high-PS players tend to accumulate strong support Rebel Pilot Abilities, and also attack first, softening up targets for low-PS players to kill, and quickly rack up more XP. It’s not uncommon for an player to rejoin a campaign in progress and accumulate 14XP or more in a single mission if they’re getting kills.
Q: Where are the corresponding Scum and Imperial campaigns?
A: Maybe eventually they will exist, but they’re a long way off if I ever do them.
Q: Is there anything we can do to help speed up development of MORE missions or content?
A: If you and your group enjoyed this campaign, consider donating as a thank you, and encourage me to continue working on new content or expansions for the campaign.
Printing:
Q: Where can I get this printed professionally, and what paper choices, etc should I make?
A: This is beyond the scope of an FAQ answer here. Instead, I have created two new resources to help players produce the best quality components they can:
- v0.7 includes “Manifest.xls”, an excel file listing all the campaign files, their specs, and recommended paper stock. Show this to your local print shop and see what they can do for you.
- New large format 12×18″ PDF for components. Most print shops can do pages this size and it should be more cost-effective than a set of letter-sized pages. It also allows for more generous bleed areas around graphics, making the components easier to cut out without leaving unsightly white edges.
Q: My print shop says I need a print release form to print these files?
A: This is now available and included in the v0.7 download.
Q: How come the campaign rules and missions are in the same book? Wouldn’t it be easier to split them into two books, so that rules can be referenced while playing a mission?
A: At this time, I don’t feel there is enough mission content to justify this. However, I will consider it in the future when the project grows in scope.
Q: The station tile connections don’t seem quite the right size?
A: You may need to trim them a bit to get the tiles to interlock nicely.
Player Ships:
Q: If I fly a HWK-290, can I equip the Moldy Crow title? The scoresheet doesn’t have a title slot.
A: Yes, this is an oversight and is now mentioned on p11. The HWK scoresheet has a title slot in v0.7
Q: What’s up with the “E2” label on the B-wing scoresheet crew slot?
A: This was intended as a reminder that the B-wing can gain a crew slot by using one of its modifications for B-wing/E2. However, I’ve decided it’s clearer if one of the B-wing’s modification slots is Mod/Crew, so that E2 is essentially free and already factored in. This is changed in v0.7
Q: How come I can’t fly a Z-95, E-wing, K-wing, T-70, or either of the YT freighters?
A: Each of these ships were excluded for a different reason.
Z-95: Basically an inferior choice to an X or Y-wing, and not an iconic Star Wars ship in the same way. It needs some help to be a viable starting choice, though I can see it being desirable for pilots looking to upgrade directly to an A-wing. I may add it in the future.
E-wing: Surprisingly, playtesting revealed this ship to be too good once you start to fully equip it. The 3/3/2/3 staline, plus a system and 4 modifications outclasses just about every other Rebel ship choice, and creates a monster that is very difficult for AI TIE Fighters to deal with, making the campaign too easy. However, I do have some plans for it in future content. In the meantime, if you insist on playing with it in the current campaign despite the fact that it doesn’t exist in the Rebellion era, I’d recommend requiring players to have a PS of 7 or 8 before being able to switch to it for 10XP.
K-wing: A combination of not being released yet during campaign development, and some of the same reasons as the E-wing above. You could integrate it the same way if desired.
T-70: When I was developing the campaign, I didn’t know it existed in the game! If you’d like to use it, and don’t mind that it doesn’t fit into the campaign’s timeline, treat it like the A/B/HWK – Unlocked at PS4 and requires 5XP to switch.
YT-1300 and YT-2400: Early on in the campaign’s development, I made a deliberate decision to exclude these to maintain the “starfighter squadron” feel of the campaign. We also found them to be similarly too powerful if each player can fly one – their statlines are far better than your average fighter. If you’d like to try the campaign with one, treat any large ship as 2 players when you scale the AI’s deployment and let me know how it goes – I’d be interested in that playtest data.
Earning & Spending Experience:
Q: Do players still earn XP if they fail a mission?
A: Yes, aside from the results of any Eject Rolls or penalties listed in a mission’s objectives or Imperial victory text. clarified in v0.7 on p23.
Q: Are munitions purchased with XP used once per mission, or like standard X-Wing play once and discard?
A: All upgrades and abilities (such as Lightning Reflexes) that have a “discard this card” effect are once per mission. You do not need to re-purchase them after each use. This is now explicitly mentioned in v0.7 on p12.
Q: Can I have more upgrades than I have available slots on my player scoresheet?
A: You can own more upgrades/abilities than the slots on your player scoresheet and choose which to equip for each mission. For example, a Y-wing pilot might have several types of torpedoes and bombs, and choose which ones to fill its two slots with depending on the mission.
Q: Can I purchase the pilot abilities of the K-wing pilots?
A: Yes, Miranda Doni & Esege Tuketu have been added to the table in v0.7.
Q: What about the Rebel Pilots from the new core set or previewed future releases, etc?
A: At first glance, I don’t think any of the Rebel Pilot abilities in the new EP7 content pose any game-breaking problems and can probably also be used. I may explicitly add them in the future.
Q: Can I purchase/use (Upgrade Name) in the campaign?
A: Pretty much, yes. Heroes of the Aturi Cluster was designed to be open-ended enough to allow players to use any of the components Fantasy Flight has produced or will eventually release. Anything that operates differently in the campaign is explicitly mentioned in the book. Also, limitations like “Imperial Only” and “Scum Only” still apply, and only the Pilot Abilities of Rebel pilots from the skirmish game are allowed (Sorry, no Ruthlessness EPT for you!).
Q: Eject table – why is there a (title) icon? Does this mean I can lose BTL-A4/A-wing Test Pilot?
A: This is legacy text from an earlier version of the campaign, when Rebel Pilot abilities were noted with the title icon. in v0.7, the Eject table on p41 and the Eject reference card have been rewritten to clarify that a critical hit result causes you to lose your most expensive Elite or Pilot Ability. Abilities like BTL-A4 and A-wing test pilot are factored into the player scoresheets and can’t be lost (because they cost 0 points and you’d just buy them back for free).
Q: The Eject table in the campaign book and Eject table on the reference card don’t match. Which one is correct?
A: The v0.6 reference card version should be used (These tables match in v0.7).
Q: Do I get XP for damaging, but not destroying, an Emplacement (or minefield)?
A: No. These targets are too much of a points farm otherwise.
Q: Do players gain XP for kills or mission objectives accomplished by non-player allies? (such as the YT-1300 or Defector’s TIE Defender)
A: No.
Q: If an AI ship leaves the board, or is destroyed by an Asteroid collision, who gets the credit and XP for the kill?
A: In v0.7, this is clarified in a new paragraph on p42: “the last player to damage the ship scores points for the kill. If no one ever damaged it, no one scores XP.”
Q: Am I calculating the amount of XP I gain correctly?
A: Some sample calculations:
- 1 XP total for dealing at least 1 damage to a ship, or destroying an emplacement.
- 2 XP total for killing a TIE Fighter (damage + kill)
- 3 XP total for killing a Shuttle (large) or other TIE type (damage + kill + special type)
- 4 XP total and your allies each get 1 XP, for killing an Elite enemy. (damage + kill + special type + everybody gets 1 for Elite).
Q: Do I gain XP for a Guardian Assist if I use something like Draw Their Fire?
A: This is the intent of the Guardian Assist rule, yes.
Q: Can I score a kill-assist XP for using Intimidation on the target? How would I keep track?
A: Intimidation is a weird case; I think you’d have to roll the AI ship’s lost Defense die off to the side and see if its result would have affected the attack’s outcome.
Q: Is Predator overpowered considering the majority of enemies are PS1 or 2?
A: Possibly. I’m not convinced yet that this needs to be addressed, as Predator’s performance is usually surpassed by better combinations of more powerful Elite and Pilot Abilities as players level up (having a Target Lock is usually better than Predator). However I might make some tweaks to address this in the future.
Imperial AI & Pilot Cards:
Q: Most AI ships have “nearest enemy in arc” then “nearest enemy” as their priorities. Do AI ships really ignore range when determining a target?
A: This is an omission from the v0.6 statcards; “nearest enemy in arc” is intended to be “nearest enemy in arc and range 1-3”. This is changed on all AI cards in v0.7
Q: Does the “Free (Target Lock) Action vs. Target” only apply if the AI ship selects “Nearest Enemy”?
A: No, It is a bonus step in addition to selecting 1) or 2). This line has been changed to “*)” instead of “+” in v0.7
Q: Sometimes the target for an AI ship is between two of the 8 directions on its statcard. How do you decide which table to use?
A: BGG user stickyasylum had an excellent suggestion, which has been incorporated into the v0.7 rules on page 20: “…use the table that the target ship is facing towards. If the target ship is pointing directly toward or away from the AI ship, randomly choose which table to use.”
Q: Do AI ships Swerve to avoid Proximity Mines/Cluster Mines/Connor Nets dropped by players?
A: Yes, they should Swerve once to avoid the taking damage, or in the case of Cluster Mines, limit the amount of damage they take.
Q:What are AI ships supposed to do when they get “stuck” touching a large or huge ship? For example, I had a game where a TIE bomber bumped into a stationary transport. Every turn after that, the nearest target was the Transport, but five of the six possible maneuver options for that target caused it to bump again. It just sat there uselessly for five or six turns while my squad dealt with the other threats before the bomber finally rolled a 6 on its movement selection and did a 5K turn.
A: Two things: AI ships are intended to swerve to avoid ship collisions with Huge ships, because you take an attack die if your ship base overlaps them. AI ships also ignore ships they are touching for target priority (even Strike AI targets), unless those ships are the only ones in range. Either of these rules should cause the AI ship to move off and come around for another pass.
Q: During Action Selection, will ships barrel roll to avoid arcs even if it means they can’t attack the target?
A: AI ships are intended to be as aggressive as possible, so the action choice of “barrel roll to avoid target’s arc” should only be performed if the target will still be in the AI’s arc after barrel rolling. v0.7 AI Statcards have this entry reworded for clarity.
Q: When the players have high PS levels, Which abilities do Elite Enemies have?
A: The abilities listed on Imperial Pilot cards stack, so when the players are PS6+, an Elite Enemy will have every ability except the very bottom one (PS8+) on the card, including multiple Elite or Pilot Abilities. This is further clarified in v0.7, p35.
Q: In the Sample AI Dogfight on p26 during Turn 4, It looks like the TIE Fighter should barrel roll instead of Focus. Is this a mistake?
A: Eagle eyes! Yes, the Sample Dogfight is wrong – the TIE Fighter should have barrel rolled. It doesn’t have a huge impact on the example though.
Q: The TIE Advanced AI statcard has a hard 1 turn in it’s range 1 / 45º table, but the ship doesn’t have this maneuver on its dial. Is this is a mistake?
A: Yes. This has been corrected in v0.7, but should be treated as a 1 bank.
Q: The TIE Interceptor’s Action Selection is confusing; It seems like there are cases where it won’t match any of the criteria and perform an action in this step.
A: Remove step 5, and treat step 4 as “Evade”. This may make Interceptors a little nastier to deal with, too. This is changed in v0.7
Q: There’s no TIE Punisher AI?
A: Seems like an ideal addition to an expansion.
Q: Why does the Lambda Shuttle AI statcard mention “fire cannon at range 2-3”, when none of the shuttles in the campaign seem to be equipped with a cannon?
A: This is intentional; the AI Statcard for the Lambda Shuttle mentions cannons so that I can leave the design space open:
- If I have a scenario in the future that features a Lambda equipped with a cannon, the AI statcard works.
- If I change or add Imperial Pilot cards in the future that include an equipped cannon, the AI statcard works.
- If people want to use the AI outside the campaign and play with cannon-equipped shuttles, the AI statcard works.
New Terrain:
Q: Are Minefields emplacements? How do they interact with critical hits?
A: The v0.6 rules for minefields cause some awkward interactions with critical hits. Minefields are not emplacements but should treat all critical hits as double damage.
Q: How do critical hits and face-up damage cards dealt by Proton Bombs interact with Minefields and Emplacements?
A: Minefield rules in v0.6 are unclear. Treat each critical damage dealt to Minefields and Emplacements as 2 hits instead.
Q: How does Predator interact with Minefields and Emplacements?
A: These terrain pieces do not have a Pilot Skill rating, so you will only be able to reroll one die with attacking them with Predator.
Q: If I barrel roll or boost into/over an Ion Storm cloud, do I need to roll a die (again) to check for ion damage?
A: Barrel roll and Boost are not maneuvers, and clouds are not obstacles (as defined by the core X-wing rulebook), so this does not trigger a die roll. Only check once per turn, and only for maneuvers.
The Mission Deck:
Q: How does modifying the mission deck work? It’s not explicitly stated anywhere.
A: This is clarified in v0.7 on p28 with a new phase to the campaign round:
- A plus (“+”) replaces the current mission with the one listed.
- “Discard” or “+Victory Point” remove the mission from the deck, ending that mission arc.
- “Reshuffle” returns the card to the deck to replay later.
Missions and Mission Special Rules:
Disable Sensor Net p50
Q: If players roll a critical hit when “Activating Sensor Beacons”, and a patrol squad arrives, do they continue to check of the Sensor Beacons activate on future turns?
A: Yes, they keep making this roll. This means there is no limit to the number of patrol squads that can be deployed, though each should be limited to 4 TIE Interceptors. This is now explicitly mentioned in v0.7.
Q: Theres a missing reference (## under “Disabling Sensor Beacons”). What should it be?
A: It’s a reference to the Emplacement statcard. v0.7 text has been rewritten: “Sensor beacons are considered Emplacements, and not obstructed by the asteroid they are placed on. (see the Emplacements statcard for details). When attacking, measure range to the asteroid token, not the beacon.”
Capture the Refuelling Station p52
Q: The mission rules for “Capturing the Station” say that “if the commandos destroy the Command Centre emplacement, they have captured the station.”
1) Does that mean that once the commando team has successfully captured the docking bay and moved to the main section of the station, if they choose to destroy the Command Centre emplacement after a failed capture roll, then the station has been captured?
2) What happens if the player’s ships destroy the Command Centre? Does that also count as a win?
3) Also, if the commandos destroy a fuel tank emplacement, does it explode and damage nearby emplacements? If so, that would make the bonus objective one of the most luck-dependent in the campaign.
4) Do the commandos roll to move the turn they are unloaded?
5) If the station is captured, what is the mission’s territory type now?
6) If all players are shot down, but the Outer Rim Smuggler YT-1300 survives the full 12 turns, do you win?
A: This section of the book has been rewritten in v0.7 and a couple rules were changed significantly:
1) The Commando Team must succeed at a movement roll on the center station tile to enter (and capture) the command centre.
2) If the Command Centre emplacement is destroyed, Rebels lose.
3) Causing explosions by removing fuel tanks is now optional if they are destroyed by the commando team. Removed fuel tanks will still reduce XP for the bonus objective though.
4) Yes, Commandos may roll to move the turn they are unloaded; both effects happen at “end of turn”.
5) Capturing the station changes the territory type to Friendly Territory (this is missing from v0.7)
6) If all of your ships are shot down, you lose the whole campaign. NPC ships don’t count for determining this. If all of your ships jump to hyperspace and leave the ‘YT to look after the station, you will also lose. At least one player must remain and survive the full 12 turns.
Imperial Entanglements p56
Q: Who owns the mines in this scenario? Will AI ships swerve to avoid them?
A: These mines should be Imperial-owned, so they only affect Rebels. All missions that currently include mines are Imperial Minefields, and have been clarified as such in their v0.7 setup diagrams.
Capture Officer p68
Q: The mission setup diagram lists 6 asteroids and 6 debris, but the image shows only asteroids (and the mission card only lists 6 asteroids). Which is correct?
A: The scenario should use 6 asteroids; no debris.
Nobody Home p70
Q: The bonus objective mentions TIE Interceptors in Beta and Epsilon squads, but Epsilon squad might not have any TIE Interceptors. Is this intentional?
A: This is a mistake. The Bonus objective should apply to squads Alpha & Beta, which are guaranteed to each contain TIE Interceptors.
Miners’ Strike p72
Q: How many XP does a player earn for destroying a fuel tank emplacement?
A: Players should earn 1 additional XP for destroying a Fuel Tank (2 total).
Secure Holonet Receiver p74
Q: If players destroy a relay/emplacement, it’s possible that the number 12 token may never be drawn and assigned, because there aren’t enough remaining relays to disable, making the mission unwinnable.
A: This mission’s special rules are a bit lacking in v0.6 and have been rewritten to make the original intent clearer and fix some of the above issues.
Q: Can I continue to disable channels after the 12 is drawn (and the channel is identified)?
A: Yes, after you identify the channel, you can continue to disable other relays to shrink the size of the draw bag. If you draw the 12 when disabling a different relay, draw another number and assign it, then return the 12 to the bag.
Defector p76
Q: When the Defector is identified and becomes an ally, should it still move at PS1 before the other Imperial PS1 ships?
A: The Empire always has initiative, but once the Defector changes sides it is no longer an Imperial ship. It should move at PS1 after all other PS1 Imperial ships.
Pride of the Empire p78
Q: What does the paragraph about “ignoring stats on the pilot card” mean?
A: This is legacy text and has been cut in v0.7. In an earlier version of the campaign, Elite enemies gained additional stats based on the number of players.
