Arcs: The Blighted Reach Expansion

Your objective marker starts on the space shown on your objective card and moves down the Power track when your Fate or other effects tell you to advance it; you complete an objective when it reaches 0 (Act I–II) (p. 8). In Act III some Fates give grand ambitions that score Power at chapter end (p. 9), and a “C” Fate final objective wins immediately at the end of a chapter if your objective marker is at 0 and you have ≥1 Power (p. 9).

At the end of the round in which any Event cards were played, the player with initiative may call the Summit, then that player rolls the event and number dice and resolves the event die (Crises or Edicts); if the Imperial Council was secured the same round, resolve the Council instead and do not resolve the Event (p. 12–13).

Catapult moves are taken typically from Loyal starports and follow the Movement Law that Imperial ships only move when moved along with Loyal ships (p. 10); catapult sequences can drop ships off along the way (p. 11). Catapult moves must end if you move into a gate with fresh or damaged Blight (p. 19), and various gate-control rules (Empire/Regent/Outlaw control) also end Catapult moves for particular factions as specified on page 10.

The Truce Law means Imperial ships protect Regents from harming and taxing each other, so Regents cannot harm or tax Rival Regents in systems that have Imperial ships (p. 11). When attacking or defending with Regents, Imperial ships are added to the battle as described, and Outlaws must destroy all defending ships (including Imperials) to hit a Regent’s buildings (p. 11).

When you get a Flagship you replace your Loyal buildings on the map with Free buildings and you may no longer build Loyal cities or starports on the map; instead you build Upgrades and Armor on your Flagship board (p. 22). Upgrades and Armor grant benefits and add dice when fresh starports exist (p. 23), and in combat Upgrades/Armor are hit like ships when attacking but like buildings when defending, with Armor always taking hits before its matched Upgrade (p. 23–24).

During Intermission you resolve Fate effects, return Court cards/agents, return trophies and frozen resources, repair all damaged Blight, then destroy all damaged ships, buildings, and Flagship Upgrades/Armor and destroy buildings in systems that have Blight and no ships (p. 28). After that give initiative to the player with the most Power and every player with more than 1 Power loses half their Power (round to lose less), and then players who completed or failed objectives choose or draw new Fates per the steps (p. 29).