Chapters
The Grand Campaign is divided up into large turns called 'Chapters'. Each Chapter structures the course of the game, allowing for the easy tracking of time, resource income and expenditure as well as tracking events and investigations. Each Chapter is divided into phases, which are covered below. You go through each phase from top to bottom, but you are aware of the information from phases you haven't yet reached- so for example, you can't make firm decisions about which battle to engage in before you decide your purchases, but you can base your purchases around the information you can see from the battles.
Resource Review
This phase lists all of your resources and the condition they are in. There aren't any decisions to be made here, but it serves as an important element of bookkeeping.
- Advantages. Advantages are special cards which are accumulated over the course of Chapters, usually from good performance. They are divided into one of six types, and a copy of each type may be expended during a specific Phase. Advantage cards (not the effects) carry from Chapter to Chapter until expended, and you can expend as many Advantage cards as you like in a given time.
- Funding. This Advantage may be played during the Purchases phase, and adds +1 temporary Supply until the start of the next Chapter. It is usually gained from good performance and the completion of cases.
- Windfall. This Advantage may be played during the Purchases phase, and adds +2 temporary Supply and a +10 to the phase's Personal Time tests until the start of the next Chapter. Acquiring Stockpile cards often requires specific outcomes during Events and Investigations, and so are rarer than Funding.
- Employ. This Advantage may be played during the Purchases phase, and adds an Aide to the party.
- Promote. This Advantage may be played during the Purchases phase, and promotes an Aide.
- Cameraderie. This Advantage may be played during an Event, an Investigation or the Personal Turn phase. When used, it adds +10 (max +20) to all tests used by all characters within that phase. Cameraderie is rewarded for surprisingly low damage taken during combat as well as events and investigations that enhance the bond of the party.
- Secret Intel. This Advantage may be played during an Investigation or Event to reveal otherwise hidden information. For example, it may be used to reveal new data, determine the chances of success of proposed solutions, or to access hidden allies or passageways. Secret Intel is usually a reward of good event or investigation performance.
- Supply Level. This lists the party's Supply Level, which is covered in more detail below. Supply Level is used to gain new equipment and repair points.
- Party Roster. This lists all of the party's main members, namely the player's PCs, the Operators. It also lists their health level and Fate Points.
- Aide Roster. This lists all of the party's Aides, who are special NPCs who work for the party. It also lists their health level, Fate Points and Rank.
- Operators and Aides who take more wounds than their TB count as Heavily Wounded; if they act in an event, investigation or battle this turn, they start at half wounds and with a rank of fatigue. Injured Aides may not be used.
- Operators and Aides who take Critical Damage count as Critically Injured instead, and enter events, investigations and battles with no wounds (and any permanent or long-term effects from the damage) plus two ranks of fatigue per point of Critical Damage taken, to a maximum of equal to their Fatigue threshold. Injured Aides may not be used.
- Armory. This lists all the weapons and armour owned collectively by the party.
- Bases. This lists all of the party's bases of operation, as well as any facilities they possess. The party always starts with one Base.
Purchases
In this phase, you acquire new equipment. The Funding, Windfall, Employ and Train Advantages can be used in this phase.
Supply Levels
Supply Levels represent the party's access to equipment and resources, whether it represents funding, payment for completed tasks or loot taken during an investigation. It is used to acquire new equipment for the group.
- During the Purchases phase, each Operator may make a number of acquisitions equal to the Supply Level. So a Level of 4 means that each Operator can make four different acquisitions of goods. Once you acquire an item, it is assumed that you also permanently gain the ability to maintain it with ammo or tools as necessary.
- However, each item has a 'Value' field. Your Supply Level must equal or surpass an item's Value in order to be able to buy it. So if an item has a Value of 4, you need a Supply Level of 4 or higher to be able to buy it (and you can buy it four times if you so wish, if you're happy with buying nothing else).
- How you calculate Supply Level is simple. Supply Level is really just the sum of two things: your Permanent Supply Level and your Temporary Supply Level.
- Permanent Supply Level is exactly that- Supply Level that you have automatically each Chapter. It is a reliable, steady stream of Supply. Permanent Supply Level starts at one, and increases are very rare.
- Temporary Supply Level is gained through expending Advantages, such as the Funding and Windfall cards. These expire at the start of the next Chapter, so maintaining a high level of Supply often requires gaining these Advantages constantly.
- Permanent and Temporary Supply Level are also different in one other way: if Permanent Supply Level is equal to or higher than an item's Value, then you are assumed to have constant, steady access to these items and can acquire as many of them as you like without using up an acquisition. Effectively, these items become of unlimited access, and everyone can acquire them.
Permanent Effect Tests
In this phase, every Operator who has a Permanent Effect- eg. The Depressive Drawback- makes their test now and records the result here.
Events
Events are special incidents that occur during an Chapter, and range from small scale situations- for example, a fight amongst the crew risks creating long-term resentment- to large ones- for example, decisions that might impact the Federation.
- Each event comes with a description of the situation, and the players must then come up with their own solutions, which they can query to the GM as to whether or not they'll work. Some example solutions may be presented.
- After a solution is agreed on, it is enacted and the result is given then and there.
Investigations
Investigations are the meat of the Chapter, and represent the Operators using their varied abilities and skills to solve mysteries, find information and hunt creatures and dangers. Investigations can be both combat-heavy and skill heavy, depending on the scope involved.
Investigations use the Investigations rules listed here.
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Personal Time
After all the events and investigations are done, the party may finally have some time to themselves. In this time they can focus on their own needs. Each Chapter, the Operators may select a single action from the list below, and gain the benefits listed.
- Any uninjured Aides may also Assist one Operator each.
| Name | Effect | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Assist | You assist another Operator in their own Personal Time test. As always, a character may only be assisted twice for any given test. | - |
| Core Training | You spend the time in the training room or hitting the books, building up your abilities. Select a characteristic. You make a test in that Characteristic, gaining two growth points on a success and one on a failure. Once you have accumulated a total number of growth points equal to the Characteristic Bonus, you gain an extra point in that Characteristic. Each time you gain a point int his fashion, the number of growth points needed to improve that Characteristic increase by one. | May only increase each Characteristic five times this way |
| Craft Item | You choose to craft an item. The rules for crafting items can be found here Crafting. | - |
| Extended Care | If you have the Medical skill, you can use Extended Care on another character, who must be Resting. You test Medicae; on a success, they remove an extra tier of injury. | Multiple Operators can use this on the same injured Character but it counts as Assisting the Operator with the best chance of success. |
| Rest | You spend the time convalescing, tending to your wounds. If you are Critically Injured, you become Heavily Injured, and if you are Heavily Injured you become fully healed. You gain a +10 bonus to any Trauma or Disorder tests. | - |
| Skill Training | You spend the time in the training room or hitting the books, building up your abilities. Select a skill. You make a test in that Skill's Characteristic, gaining two growth points on a success and one on a failure. Once you have accumulated 8 growth points, you gain a level in the skill. The number of growth points increases by +2 for every level above 'Known'. | - |
| Suppress Disorder | If you possess a Disorder, then you can make a Disorder test as appropriate, with an extra -20 penalty. On a success, you ignore the Disorder until the end of the next Chapter. | Characters wanting to assist this action must have the Lore (Psychology) or (Religion) skill. |
| Train Aides | You choose to coach the Aides to improve their skills. You make a Command, Lore (Education) or Trade (Teacher) test, with a -5 penalty for every Aide with the Rank of Adept or higher. On a success, you gain 2 Train Aide points; on a failure you gain one. Once you have accumulated 10 points, you gain one Promote Advantage card. | Only one Operator may perform this action per Chapter. |
Conclusion
In this final phase, any trauma or disorder tests are made, along with any other special tests that should occur at the end of the Chapter. Then we take stock of everything and repaste the Resource Review, now with all the changes from the other phases updated. With that done, the Chapter ends.
Logs
Not a phase in and of itself. Here we keep an ongoing log of all XP gains, Advantages and Supply purchases from Chapter to Chapter.
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