********************************************* OFFICIAL FAQ FROM DECIPHER, Inc. ********************************************* STAR TREK: CUSTOMIZABLE CARD GAME ********************************************* RULES FAQ: v.5 ALTERNATE UNIVERSE - RELATED QUESTIONS See Rules FAQ: v.4 for other recent Rule FAQs) ********************************************* by Tom Braunlich ********************************************* THIS INFORMATION WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE COMBINED RULES FAQ FOR ST:CCG, WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON DECIPHER.COM, AND ELSEWHERE. ********************************************* INTRODUCTION This FAQ sheet includes answers to common questions related to the new Alternate Universe expansion set for ST:CCG, which was released about a month ago. We have now had time for significant feedback and have compiled the FAQs below. Thanks to all of those who helped by sending in questions. Throughout this text, "ALTERNATE UNIVERSE" is abbreviated "AU" ***** Note: Questions related to DOORWAYS (the AU Doorway and the Devidian Door) are found in section 23. I expect Rule FAQ v.6 to come out soon, in January 96. :-) For more info on AU-related rules, see the copy of the "Rule Notes" sheet provided with AU boxes, which can be acquired at your local dealer, from decipher.com, from Decipher's fax-back system, or by emailing to: DAnswerMan@decipher.com. We are working on new ST:CCG Tournament Rules to improve the old rules and to incorporate the impact of Alternate Universe on tournament style play. We would like to hear your input on this, particularly on whether card limitations should be lifted or added, and for what cards, etc. You can send your feedback to DAnswerMan@decipher.com. ********************************************* The following information is copyrighted by Decipher Inc. 1995; however, it can be freely disseminated online or by traditional publishing means as long as this copyright notice is attached. TM, (R) & (C) 1995 Lucasfilm, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Star Wars and related marks are trademarks of Lucasfilm Ltd. Used under authorization by Decipher, Inc. Authorized User. ********************************************* OVERALL INDEX TO THE QUESTION CATEGORIES ********************************************* 1. GENERAL QUESTIONS 2. PERSONNEL 3. SHIPS 4. MISSIONS 5. DILEMMAS 6. EVENTS 7. INTERRUPTS 8. EQUIPMENT 9. ARTIFACTS 10. OUTPOSTS ********************************************* 11. HOLOGRAPHIC RE-CREATIONS 12. NON-ALIGNED and TREATIES 13. AFFILIATIONS 14. THE SPACELINE and MOVEMENT 15. SEEDING 16. BEAMING -- AWAY TEAMS -- CREW 17. DUPLICATION RULES / UNIVERSAL CARDS 18. BATTLE 19. CLOAKING 20. BORG and ROGUE BORG 21. CUMULATIVE EFFECTS 22. CARD COMBINATIONS 40. COMMENTS ON PAST RULINGS ********************************************* *1. GENERAL QUESTIONS Q: "THE COLON RULE" -- Can Countermanda be nullified by Amanda Rogers? Does Q2 nullify Kevin Uxbridge: Convergence? A: Yes. These are examples of a basic concept in the interpretation of ST:CCG cards which was introduced with AU, called "The Colon Rule", so let me explain it here in detail. (Also, see the Rule Notes for AU for more info.) THE COLON RULE is simple a way to interpret, by a glance at the name of the card, whether or not it is grouped with other cards which potray the same character. You will note that some card names in ST:CCG contain a colon (":"), such as The Traveler: Transcendence, etc. Why? This is because we expect to sometime come out with another card that is a different instance of The Traveler, etc., and we wanted to distinguish them by name WHILE STILL MAKING IT CLEAR THAT THEY ARE CONSIDERED TO BE GROUPED TOGETHER. For example, suppose we one day have a card that is called "The Traveler: Timestop". (There is no such card, I'm just making this up). The question then would be, if I had another card that says, "nullifies The Traveler", would it apply to The Traveler: Timestop as well as The Traveler: Transcendence? And the answer would be yes, because of the colon rule -- the use of the colon this way shows that the cards are the same when referenced by other cards, two versions of The Traveler, so to speak. In other words, the presence of the colon indicates to you that Decipher wanted the two cards to be grouped together as "Traveler Cards". However, if "The Traveler: Timestop" was instead named simply "Timestop", then it would NOT be grouped with The Traveler (even if there was a picture of The Traveler on that card). Now, we did not include colons on all the original cards which might eventually form such a group, because that would have been too awkward (especially since we weren't sure at the time whether there would be any others). But the Colon Rule would still apply to them. Thus, there is a new card in AU called "Kevin Uxbridge: Convergence." Because it is named with a colon like this, it is considered to be grouped with the normal Kevin Uxbridge card. Any card that applies to "Kevin Uxbridge" would apply to both of them. Thus, Q2 would nullify both of them. (If a future card does NOT apply to both, it will be worded more specifically to make that clear). Thus, you can see that Countermanda is an example of a card that is NOT using the colon rule, and thus which is NOT intended to be grouped with Amanda Rogers. (If we wanted it that way, we would have named it "Amanda Rogers: Countermanda", or some such thing.) Now, since the Amanda Rogers card says it "Nullifies any one Interrupt card just played (except Kevin Uxbridge or another Amanda Rogers)...." this means that the new card "Countermanda" is NOT one of these exceptions, and thus CAN be nullified by Amanda Rogers. (It might seem strange that Amanda would nullify herself, but we wanted it this way for gameplay reasons. A chauvenist male might say that it is a woman's prerogative to change her mind!) Note, by the way, that Amanda Rogers WILL NOT nullify the Kevin Uxbridge: Convergence card, since, by the colon rule, it would be considered grouped with Kevin Uxbridge, which is exempted from Amanda's control as noted above. The Alternate Universe expansion set makes extensive use of this colon rule to distinguish between, for example, a personnel and the alternate universe version of that same personnel. One final note: The Colon Rule applies also if the second card also is given the exact same name as the first card. In such a case, they are also grouped together, and any other card that refers to one also applies to the other. (This will be rare.) Another final note: It is likely that we may have made some mistakes in the initial set by not always anticipating the colon rule well. For example, there is a mistake on the Bynars Weapon Enhancement card. We intended that there would be future Bynars-related cards (which is why we gave it the long name rather than just "Bynars"), but somehow the colon was left out. It should have been called, "Bynars: Weapon Enhancement." Please bear with us if we have to deal with a few such mistakes in FAQs. To summarize: If two similar cards have the same name or the same name differentiated by a colon, then they are considered to be grouped together in terms of how they relate to other cards. If two similar cards have a different name (even a slight difference), and there is no colon, then they are not grouped together. Q: THE COLON RULE and TASHA YAR or MAJOR RAKAL -- The colon rule seems to work well except in two cases that seem murky: "Tasha Yar" and "Tasha Yar - Alternate", and "Major Rakal" and "Deanna Troi." Under the colon rule, these pairs are not the same, and thus could be played together, but it seems weird in these cases. Is this legal? A: Yes, it is correct. Why? The duplication rule says that more than one of the same unique card can't be in play for you at the same time. i.e. you cannot have two Picards in play. The introduction of AU. created situations where the same "persona" appears from another universe, etc., and, as happened in several episodes, there was the possibility of them being in the same universe at the same time. This in turn prompted us to come up with a rule to handle this impact on the game caused by A.U. characters. This rule was printed in the Rule Notes for A.U., and is called the "Colon Rule", described above. It indicates which personnel are considered "the same" (grouped together for these purposes) and which are not. Thus, cards without the same name are not "the same" as far as the duplication rule goes, and can appear at the same time. This includes pairs like, for example, Worf and Governor Worf; Beverly Crusher and Beverly Picard; Tasha Yar and Tasha Yar - Alternate, etc. The rationale for this is that these characters are criss-crossing in time for some reason and could theoretically meet themselves, as Picard met a future version of himself in the episode "Time Squared", or the episode "Parallels", in which thousands of each character were in the universe at the same time, etc. Now, the only one that, to my mind, does not work well in this regard is the pair "Deanna Troi" and "Major Rakal." In this case, time travel and such things is not involved, and thus having Major Rakal in Federation mode at the same time you have Deanna in play seems too weird. If you wish, you can play with the house rule that this combination is not allowed (at least until we give a later ruling on this subject). Q: AU CARDS IN FUTURE SETS -- Will any AU cards be included in other expansion sets? Say one every so often? A: Yes, we had many choices for AU cards and didn't use them all. You can expect to see more, and in fact you can expect to see small parts of all sets mixed in with all other sets. Q: OPHIDIAN CANE: RARE OR UNCOMMON? -- This card shows up in the packs with the uncommons, but it's listed as a rare on the checklist. Is that a misprint? A: The Ophidian Cane is indeed a rare. It appears on the press sheet for the uncommons and thus gets collated with them, but it is has the same frequency as any other rare. When you get a pack containing the Cane, you are getting two rare cards. This happens on average once in every 121 packs. Q: MISSING PERSONNEL -- When will we see some of the main characters who are still missing, like McCoy, Dr. Pulaski, Guinan, Lal, Spock, etc.? Is it true that Whoopi Goldberg has refused to allow a Guinan card? A: There will eventually be all of these cards, including Guinan. Spock is coming with the Two-Player Game set. They all have had the images approved, and are only waiting for a release date. Originally Decipher had plans to use them as Premium cards for different things in 1996. However, due to certain paramount problems, those plans have changed and we will think of something else nifty to do with them. This will be announced as soon as possible. Q: MISSING CARDS -- I have noticed references to several cards I don't seem to have. What's the deal? A: Two much-anticipated cards, Thermal Deflectors and Hail, are included in Alternate Universe, but there are several cards still "unaccounted for" in both the original set and AU, incuding Guinan, Spock, Calamarain, Empathic Touch, Plexing, Marouk, Timepod Ring, Anya, Salia, Brainwash, Torture, and Dimensional Shifting. You can look for these cards in future expansions. We include "forward references" to future cards partly to whet your appetite for what's to come, but mainly so that when the new cards come out, they have a stronger connection to your existing cards. Q: PLEXING -- What is "Plexing," mentioned on the Barclay Transporter Phobia card? A: "Plexing" is a method of relaxation which Deanna taught to Barclay, in which you tap with your finger on a blood vessel in your temple (that is, on the side of your head, not in synagogue ;-) ). He used it to overcome fear of transporting. In ST:CCG, "Plexing" will be a game card in the future. As of the A.U. expansion, it does not exist yet. Q: THINNER CARDS? -- The AU cards seem thinner than my other cards. Are they? A: Carta Mundi manufactured Alternate Universe using the same high-quality Superlux stock as all of your other ST:CCG cards, so physically there is no difference from a manufacturing standpoint. However, all cards do change slightly with age and use: Exposure to light and air, shuffling, handling, and storage can all have subtle effects on any paper product, and the overall result seems to be that the cards stiffen a bit over time. So while your older cards are not really thicker than the new ones, they are somewhat *stiffer* than the new ones, giving the impression of extra thickness. In fact, I've been told that every time Wizards of the Coast released a new set of Magic: the Gathering cards, there were comments that they seemed thinner. You can verify for yourself that the cards are of similar thickness by making a stack of, say, 60 Alternate Universe cards and putting it next to a stack of 60 of your existing cards. I compared five different stacks this way (AU, original unlimited, year- old alphas, brand new betas, and silvers from the tin) and found that all five stacks were of equivalent height. So consider these cards like a new pair of shoes, in that they sort of have a "breaking-in period". I think you will find that with a little bit of play you won't notice any difference in feel. Q: NEGATIVE POINTS -- I noticed that on some of the cards in AU, you can now lose points from your score. What happens if you encounter these before you score anything? Do you have a negative score? A: Effectively, yes, you have a negative score. If I've lost 20 points from dilemmas or interrupts, and I've gained 50 points from scoring missions, dilemmas or interrupts, I have a net score of 30. *2. PERSONNEL Q: DUAL AFFILIATION PERSONNEL -- (1) How do you indicate which "mode" you want your dual- affiliation personnel to be in? (2) Can you "switch modes" in the middle of a mission attempt? (3) Can you switch affiliations in response to an Interrupt? A: (1) Simply tell your opponent which affiliation the dual-affiliation personnel is using when you first deploy it, and then tell the opponent each time you wish to switch its affiliation. For example, one strategy would be to start with Major Rakal as Federation, but at some point you might put her aboard a non- aligned ship, switch her to Romulan, and then have her attempt the "Quash Conspiracy" mission (which she can solve be herself if she can get past the dilemmas). Note that, whatever mode it is in, the dual-affiliation personnel behaves like a normal personnel of the affiliation you have selected. If you are using Stefan DeSeve as Romulan, he cannot go aboard a Federation ship or "mix" with Federation personnel (i.e. in an away team) unless you have a treaty (or unless you switch him to Federation first). (2) When attempting a mission in which a dual-affiliation personnel is taking part, you cannot switch "modes" during the attempt. The affiliation should be clear before attempting the mission, and the D-A personnel is committed to stay in the same mode. This is because, as in earlier FAQ rulings, the attempt of a mission is considered to be continuous, and you are not allowed to abort the mission. You can only stop the mission attempt if you are stopped from a dilemma, etc. Thus, during a mission attempt, it doesn't make sense that a D-A personnel could switch back-and-forth like Patrick Stewart in a one-man play. :-) Of course, if a dilemma stops you, you could then switch the affiliation and attempt the mission again next turn. (3) Think of switching the affiliation of a Dual Affiliation personnel as being a game "action." For example, if Major Rakal is currently Romulan and the opponent plays an Interrupt on her which she could nullify if she was in Federation mode, it is not possible to first switch her and then nullify the Interrupt. Individual actions are played out in sequence, and in that case it would be too late to switch her. Q: TARG and KURLAN NAISKOS -- ANIMAL isn't a new classification required by the Kurlan Naiskos, is it ? A: The current ruling on this is no. Just the original seven "basic" classifications are required by the Kurlan Naiskos (since it does say seven specifically), but we might consider the alternative at a later time. :-) Q: TARG and MULTIPLE TARGS -- Is the +1 bonus accumulative with multiple targs? A: Yes, except that it doesn't apply to the other Targs, just to the non-targ Klingons. For example, if you had Kurn and Duras together with three Targs, both Kurn and Duras would be Strength +3. Q: TARG and MALFUNCTIONING DOOR -- Can the strength bonus from Targs be used to provide the strength required to open the Malfunctioning Door? A: All cards which modify Strength do have their affect on this requirement of Strength >27 in four away team members. If you use the Targ bonus here, the Targ doesn't have to be one of the four personnel involved in lifting the door. Q: TARG and DILEMMA CARDS -- Is the Targ affected by cards such as the Male's Love Interest or Jamaharon? A: Yes. The Love Interest cards are considered to be generic to whatever they affect. If it's affecting a Vulcan, the love interest is a Vulcan. If it's affecting a Targ, the love interest is another Targ. The Targ is susceptible to all dilemmas, same as any other personnel (at least unless someone demonstrates a dilemma they should be immune to). Q: TARG and INTERROGATION -- Can a Targ be captured and interrogated? A: Yes. (In that case, you may answer, "How many lights?" by stomping with your hooves.) :-) Q: TASHA YAR-Alternate -- (1) What does "Armed with Starfleet Type II Phaser" mean? (2) If she runs into a dilemma or interrupt that says "Discard one Equipment", how would that affect her? A: (1) It means that other Fed personnel present with her get the usual +2 bonus as if there was a Type II phaser card present. (2) She is not affected by such a card. Cards like the Disruptor Overload say they destroy one "equipment card", and this doesn't fit her category. I know this is a bit strange from a storyline perspective, and we could possibly change this interpretation; but it would be awkward to play it on her to remove her skill and have to remember that for the rest of the game (though it might work). Q: AJUR, BORATUS, and "ARCHEALOGY" -- What precisely does it mean on the Ajur and Boratus cards when it says, "Once per game, if alone with Archaeology on a planet, may destroy all but 3 seed cards there (random selection)."? How is the "random selection" carried out in this case? A: It means that if Ajur (for example) is in an away team with any personnel who has archaeology skill (and no one else) on a planet, Ajur can destroy all but 3 seed cards there. This can only be done once per game for each of them. Note that by "seed cards" here we mean the dilemmas and artifacts and such cards which are placed under the mission, and we do not mean the mission itself or any outposts there (even though they are also "seed cards"). We should have used a different term than "seed cards", but space was at a premium on the card. Since players are supposed to seed their cards facing toward them under the missions (in order to be able to retrieve them at the end of the game), the random selection should be done carefully. Remove them, keeping them face down, and keeping them in the same order and same orientation while you pick three at random to discard. Then replace. Of course, this is a nice tactic against someone who has placed a lot of seed cards under one location. They probably have some devious plan there, or are stocking it with lots of artifacts. Ajur or Boratus can thus disrupt their plans. Q: K'MTAR and ALEXANDER -- (1) Do you have to have a treaty in play for K'mtar to get the +5? (2) Do I get the benefit if it is my opponent's Alexander? (3) Who gets the +5, K'mtar or Alexander? A: (1) Yes, you're going to need a treaty in play to get the +5 benefit. (2) No, it must be your Alexander. (3) K'mtar gets the +5. Q: PAUL RICE -- (1) Can I have a ship staffed entirely by Paul Rices? (2) Does Paul Rice destroy one of your own Echo Papas where present? (3) Does he nullify one Echo Papa per game or per turn? A: (1) Yes you can have a ship entirely populated with Paul Rices. (2) Paul Rice does not nullify your own Echo Papas. (3) Once per turn, Paul nullifies one Echo Papa present. Q: DATHON -- What are the Tamarian related dilemmas? A: Shaka, When the Walls Fell and El-Adrel Creature. Q: LAKANTA and WESLEY -- Does Lakanta give +4 to all of wesley's skills? A: No, not his "skills", but +4 to his attribute numbers. Instead of being Integrity = 6 Cunning = 8 and Strength = 5, he is now Integrity = 10 Cunning = 12 and Strength = 9! *3. SHIPS Q: GOMTUU and "HURLING" -- Gomtuu has a special weapon which says, "If target has shields < 9, hurl it up to 9 span." What does this mean? A: It means: 1) If the target ship has shields 9 or higher, Gomtuu can't affect it. 2) If the target has shields less than 9, then Gomtuu can use its unusual weapon. Instead of "shooting" the target ship, he "hurls" (throws, or moves) the target ship the equivalent distance down the spaceline of 9 span (in either direction, Gomtuu's choice). For example, the targeted ship might end up 3 locations away. This unusual effect symbolically imitates what happened in the episode. The target ship, after it is moved, is undamaged. However, if it was hurled to the location of a Borg Ship, or some other hazard, it must suffer the consequences that would befall a ship that was moved there in the normal way. Thus, indirectly, Gomtuu can cause damage that way. Note that it says, "... UP TO 9 span." This means if you wanted to hurl it less than the maximum distance away possible, you could. In any case, when the target ship is "hurled" away during a battle like this, it still does get its chance to shoot a retaliation shot, and can hit Gomtuu with the strength of its weapons. Q: GOMTUU and Q-NETS -- Do Q-Nets halt the "hurl"? Even if enough Diplomacy is aboard? A: :-) I would say that the Q-Net "catches" the "hurl" of Gomtuu. When the ship is hurled away, it is out of control, and thus having the 2 diplomacy aboard wouldn't be effective since they would have no opportunity to do anything before the ship bounces on the net! Q: EDO VESSEL and "50/50 CHANCE" -- The Edo Vessel says, "...there is always a 50/50 chance any attack is nullified." How do you determine this? Flip a coin? A: Any method will work. Some people like to "flip" the card itself, with the result that if it lands face up it is "in the universe" and thus attackable, while if it lands face down it is not attackable. This can be a bit messy, and the way I suggest is to stand up with the card held a meter or so above the table and then to simply drop the card. It will flutter down, landing on the table or floor, but shouldn't disturb anything. *4. MISSIONS Q: "NEBULA" LOCATIONS -- What are the Nebula locations refered to on the Isabella card? A: See "Isabella and Nebula Locations" listed elsewhere. Q: FGC-47 RESEARCH -- (1) What is the span on this mission? (2) What if I have 6 or more Navigation at this mission? A: (1) The span can be different for every ship. The idea of this card, of course, is that going through this area of space is hazardous, and must be done tediously, except that the more Nav skill aboard the faster you can go. You calculate the span by adding up the number of Navigation skills you have on board each ship moving to this location, and subtracting the total from 6. The result is the span number. For example if a Runabout is crossing the mission with Sito Jaxa and McKnight (that's 2 Navigation) the span is 4 (6 - 2 = 4). (2) The minimum span is one (any Navigation skills after the fifth don't help you here). We can't have you gaining range. ;-) Q: BRUTE FORCE -- On the Klingon Misson "Brute Force" it States "Strength > 10 x the number of away team members present (minimum of 3)" What does this mean? A: It means that, in your entire away team (which must have at least 3 personnel in it, not just 1 or 2), the total strength of the away team must be greater than 10 times the number of personnel in the away team. (Cards that modify "Strength" numbers do count when determining this total.) For example, if the away team consisted of 5 personnel, then the total Strength they have must exceed 50. Klingons are quite strong and this is quite possible for them, but it will usually require either characters like Fek'lhr (Strength = 15) or Roga Danar (Strength = 12), or some Strength modifying cards (like weapons) to exceed this number, since most characters have Strength less than 10. Q: BRUTE FORCE -- On the Brute Force mission, can the Echo Papa 607 equipment card be used to increase the strength of the personnel? A: No. The Echo Papa is only "used during away team or rogue borg battles..." However, other cards which modify your personnel's strength do count toward solving the Brute Force mission. Q: WARPED SPACE -- (1) Are the span numbers on Warped Space a misprint? (2) Can I choose which numbers to use? A: (1) The span numbers are not a misprint. They are meant to be a 5 and a 1. This is a balancing element for the mission because it isn't that difficult for the Klingons to solve, but it allows their opponent greater flexibility in movement. (2) No, the person who seeds the mission must use the 5 span number, and the opponent must use the 1. Q: QUASH CONSPIRACY -- (1) What does "No ship to ship beaming at this location" mean? (2) What if one of my ships is stopped there and can't move (via the Menthar Booby trap for example)? (3) Does it really mean "less than" or was the "<" supposed to be a ">"? A: (1) It means that you're not allowed to beam personnel from one ship to another at this particular location. This makes it difficult to have the Integrity <21 and still be able to overcome what dilemmas might be under there. (2) This is a tricky situation, but the way of getting people on or off that ship is with Emergency Transporter Armbands. (3) Yes, it does mean less than. This means that you can have only a handful of personnel there to complete the mission. Q: QUALOR II RENDEZVOUS -- (1) What does the non aligned icon mean (does it mean anyone can attempt this mission)? (2) What happens to my aligned personnel in stasis when the mission is solved? A: (1) Only non-aligned personnel can attempt the mission. Anyone can beam down to the planet, but aligned personnel (Romulans, Klingons, Federation, oh my) are immediately placed in stasis. They cannot help overcome dilemmas or lend their skills towards completing the mission. Only non aligned can proceed with and complete the mission. (2) When the mission is solved your aligned personnel are now out of stasis and free to act normally. They are subject to attack and are capable of initiating attack (as they would be normally). Q: COMPROMISED MISSION -- Is there a misprint on this mission, it has a blue stripe, meaning only the Federation can attempt it? A: This is not a misprint. The icons on this card indicate that if you seed the mission, you can attempt it only with a Klingon and/or Romulan crew, but if your opponent seeds it, you can attempt it only with a Federation crew. This makes sense relative to the storyline of the card, and has some interesting play effects. Q: REUNION MISSION -- (1) What does Cantankerousness refer to? (2) Is there a Spock card? (3) Is that the Enterprise in the image? A: (1) You'll see soon enough. ;-) It is a skill which currently is not on any existing personnel (as of this writing), (2) Spock is coming out in our two player game scheduled (at the time of this writing) to ship early in '96. (3) No, but it looks that way doesn't it? That's the Utopia Planitia shipyards drydock. A similar structure can be seen on the card "Spacedock". Q: DIPLOMATIC CONFERENCE MISSION -- Can the various VIP's needed for the Diplomatic Conference Mission use their skills and attributes while being transported, or are they just aboard the starship for the ride. A: The VIPs behave as normal personnel and follow the normal rules for how personnel work. The only difference is you don't need a treaty to "get them together" in the away team that attempts the mission. *5. DILEMMAS Q: COALESCENT ORGANISM -- Does it only affect personnel belonging to the affected player? Or personnel from different affiliations if a treaty is not in play? Or androids or exocomps? A: It can affect *anyone* who is at the same location at the end of the turn. As the Rule Notes say, "The idea behind this dilemma is that it can be passed on. The affected personnel can be used normally until it dies at the end of owner's subsequent turn. At that time, if it is in the same location as any other personnel (including opposing personnel), the Coalescent Organism is transferred to one of them via random selection.... If the affected personnel is alone when it dies, the Dilemma is discarded." Thus, if both players had away teams stranded on a planet and one of these things get loose, all of the personnel present are potential victims each turn. There is no limitation by race either. In the episode, the C.Organism infected a dog as well as a human. Logically, it would seem that Soong-type androids and exocomps would be immune. Q: ROYALE CASINO: BLACKJACK -- (1) How does it work? Where do the Cunning numbers come from? (2) If I have a PADD in my hand, does that add to the Cunning? Do other cards, in my hand, that affect Cunning count towards the 21 pts.? Do cards in play affect the cunning of the cards in my hand? A: (1) The Cunning numbers used come from the personnel in your hand, only. For example, when it comes up, the players reveal their hand and count up the Cunning numbers of the Personnel there to determine who wins the blackjack game. If you have two personnel, with Cunning numbers of 6 and 9, for instance, your total would be 15. If you have no personnel in your hand, your count is of course zero. If your count is over 21, you are "over" as in blackjack. Notice that there is a tactic here. If you have seeded a Casino Royale: Blackjack card and know where it is, you can wait until you have a good Cunning count in your hand before you beam down and cause the blackjack card to come up, increasing your chances of winning! (Or you can use Mickey D.) (2) You may only use the cunning numbers on the personnel in your hand. Modifiers do not affect these numbers at all. Q: QUANTUM SINGULARITY LIFEFORMS -- (1) Can any new Engineer from any player overcome this dilemma for the affected ship? (2) Can I play the Emergency Transporter Armbands on my opponent's ship to free him from stasis? A: (1) In the episode, both the Enterprise and the Romulan ship were caught in stasis, and it was Geordi who came to release both ships. So the current ruling is any Engineer of any affiliation from any player may overcome the dilemma if they choose to do so. (2) Anyone may play the Emergency Transporter Armbands to release *all* ships caught in stasis. Q: THINE OWN SELF and HOLOGRAPHIC PERSONNEL -- How does "Thine Own Self" affect Holograms. Are they considered captured, or are they deactivated? A: While the ship controlling them is still at that location, they are treated as a normal character by Thine Own Self. If the ship leaves, however, they would deactivate similar to what happens when a Love Interest card affects a Holo Personnel. Q: MICKEY D. and the CASINO ROYALE -- Does Mickey D. win Royale games if he's in the away team or in a player's hand, or both? What happens if both players have a Mickey D. there? A: He automatically wins the game for you if he is in the away team present at the mission. If both players have a Mickey D. there, the two cancel each other and the game plays out as usual. Q: HUNTER GANGS and CUNNING MODIFIERS -- Are cards which modify the Cunning of Personnel, like Yellow Alert, factored into determining if a Personnel is killed by Hunter Gangs? A: Yes. In fact, if a certain personnel is critical to you, you may want to make sure its Cunning is "even" when it is in an away team, which might involve modifying it in some way. Doing the opposite to the opponent's key personnel is also strong. Q: OUTPOST RAID -- What does it mean when it says, "If at your outpost..." on this card? Does it mean if you are attempting the mission directly from your outpost, or does it mean attempting a mission at a location where you have an outpost? In the latter case, if you have personnel in the away team and at the outpost, are both affected or just the away team? A: It means you must have Strength>81 if you are attempting a mission *at a location where you have an outpost*, whether you are doing it from a planet, from a ship, or from the outpost itself. The basic intention of the Outpost Raid card was to discourage doing missions at your outpost locations alone. Several people had developed decks with no ships, just trying to do missions at outposts and also scoring by surpassing several scoring/dilemmas. Some of these have been effective and some not; but all seem somewhat counter to the spirit of the game. The card helps discourage that by requiring a massive force to overcome it (probably at least 11 personnel) if you are "at the outpost". This interpretation is also simpler than trying to define it more discriminatingly. I don't think that people "left behind" at the outpost (not in the away team going down to the planet) would be susceptible to the effects of the dilemma as you said. The personnel at risk to the effects of a dilemma are always those in the away team involved. Looking at the wording now, I don't know why we left it so ambiguous. *6. EVENTS Q: CAPTAIN'S LOG: DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY -- How do you determine if a ship receives Captain's Log benefits? Do you have to go by the ship card lore alone? Can you go by the lore on the personnel card, or personal knowledge? A: You must strictly follow the rule listed on the C.Log card, which says that a ship gets C.Log benefits if any of "...your personnel are aboard a ship he or she 'captained' or 'commanded' (as referenced on ship card lore)..." This strict definition makes it reasonably easy to determine this benefit, whereas Personnel lore or personal knowledge are too murky and debatable. Here is a list of all the Ships currently in the game, and with whom they can get C.Log benefits: SHIP LIST FOR "CAPTAIN'S LOG" BENEFITS ( * Means see asterisk note below.) ******************************************* Ship Affil. Capt.Log" Benefit? ******************************************* Enterprise F None (*-1) Yamato F Donald Varley Galaxy F None Phoenix F Benjamin Maxwell Sutherland F Lt. Commander Data Nebula F None Oberth F None Hood F Robert DeSoto Excelsior F None Brittain F None Runabout F None Type VI Shuttle F None Miranda F None Enterprise-C F(AU)Rachel Garrett Fut. Enterprise F(AU)Admiral Riker ---------------------------------------- Vor'Cha K None Bortas K None (*-2) Qo'vat K None K'Vort K None Pagh K Captain Kargan Hegh'ta K Kurn Vorn K None Buruk K None K'Ratak K(AU) None Fek'lhr K (AU) None ----------------------------------------- D'deridex R None Haakona R Subcommander Taris (*-3) Devoras R Admiral Mendak Khazara R Commander Toreth (*-4) Scout Vessel R None Pi R None Science Vessel R None Decius R(AU)Tomalak ------------------------------------------- Husnock Ship N None Combat Vessel N None Mercenary Ship N Baran (*-5) Zibalian Trans. N None Yridian Shuttle N None Gomtuu N (AU)Tam Elbrun Edo Vessel N (AU) None Tama N (AU)Dathon (*-6) ******************************************* ------------ Notes --------------------- (*-1) See the question below about why Picard is not listed. (*-2) Bortas says it was "Gowron's flagship..." but the ruling is that this is too different from the main criteria for C.Log benefits. (*-3) Subcommander Taris is not yet in the game, but will be. (*-4) "Commander Toreth's warbird" is deemed to be "close enough" to the main criteria for C.Log benefits, although it is a stretch. (*-5) Mercenary Ship is unusual because it is the only "universal" ship with a named captain. The ruling is that if more than one such ship is in play, Baran gives the C.Log benefit to the one he is aboard. (*-6) Tama. "Dathon, speaking first." as indicated in the A.U. Rule Notes, is Tamarian for "commanded by Dathon." ****************************************** Q: CAPTAIN'S LOG and USS ENTERPRISE -- Why doesn't the Enterprise get C.Log benefits when Jean Luc Picard is aboard? Everyone knows he was the captain. Is this some kind of insult to us Picard fans? :-) A: There are many reasons we chose this method, even though we knew some fans might object. First, we all know that Picard commanded the Enterprise, but at various times so did Geordi, Beverly, Data, Riker, Deanna, and Captain Jellico! Perhaps most importantly, The USS Enterprise D to some extent already has C.Log benefits "built-in" to it. This is the justification for why its numbers are slightly higher than other Galaxy-class ships, which theoretically should be very similar to each other. The higher numbers reflect the excellence of the Enterprise crew and the leadership of Picard, and these benefits come automatically without the need for having the C.Log card in play. For all these reasons, we defined the card the way we did. By the way, note that the USS Sutherland and the USS Phoenix both get C.Log benefits, which is their advantage over the USS Nebula (all the same class). There is one other edge we wanted to give those ships which did not make it into AU, but will eventually. Q: CAPTAIN'S LOG for MULTIPLE SHIPS -- If Captain's Log is in play, can I have several ships receiving this benefit at the same time? A: Yes. Each one with the "correct" captain aboard gets the benefit. Q: CAPTAIN'S LOG and GOMTUU -- C.Log benefits provide SHIELDS +3 and WEAPONS +3 for the ship. How does this apply to Gomtuu's unusual weapon? A: Gomtuu can "hurl" the target ship up to 12 span away rather than 9. (See Gomtuu-related FAQs). Q: CAPTAIN'S LOG and TOMALAK -- The Decius says it was "Commanded by Tomalak". Which Tomalak does this refer to? A: It refers to the original "Tomalak" from the initial set, not the "Commander Tomalak" from the AU set. This is an example of the "Colon Rule". By the way, note that "Commander Tomalak" appeared in the episode "All Good Things...", but the Decius appear in another futuristic episode "Future Imperfect". That is why we did not match Commander Tomalak to the Decius. Q: WARTIME CONDITIONS and NON-ALIGNED or FEDERATION ATTACKERS -- Wartime Conditions can only be played if my Fed ship is attacked by "another ship." This is clear in the case of Romulan or Klingon attackers. But what if (1) it is attacked by a non-aligned ship? (2) it is attacked by the opponent's Fed ship (under the influence of an "Attack Authorization" order)? A: (1) Against Non-Aligned -- Since "Wartime Conditions" card refers to declaring war against "the attacking ship's affiliation", apparently it will not work against a non- aligned ship, which by definition does not have its own affiliation (at least at this time). (2) Against Opponent's Federation -- Technically speaking, yes! One might rationalize this as a variation of what actually happened with the Maquis in the final season of TNG in which you had some similar occurences. However, we might agree to ruling against this if enough people complain about it from a storyline perspective. Q: WARTIME CONDITIONS and TIME LIMIT -- Must I play Wartime Conditions immediately after the attack, or can I play it any time after my Fed ship was attacked? A: You can play it any time after the attack, it doesn't have to be played immediately after the attack. (Sometimes it takes those bureaucrats at Starfleet Headquarters awhile to make up their minds.) :-) Q: MULTIPLE WARTIME CONDITIONS -- Can I have more than one W. Conditions in play at the same time? A: Yes, you can have more than one. Q: INTERROGATION -- (1) How does the sequence of scoring points through Interrogation work? (2) Can you Interrogate multiple captured personnel using the same Interrogation card? or does each captive require a separate Interrogator? A: (1) First of all, when undergoing Interrogation we suggest that you ham it up a bit. When asked, "How many lights are there?", yell out like Picard, "There are FOUR lights!!!!" and let the tears stream down your face in stiff-lipped defiance! :-) The way the scoring works is simple. If the opponent says there are "five" lights, it means he gives in to the interrogation. You add 10 points to your score, and return the personnel. If the opponent says something besides "five" (we recommend saying "four", as in the episode, but any other reply gets the same result), it means the personnel is bravely resisting for another turn, and you add one point to your score. In either case, these scores are permanently yours. For example, in the following sequence the eventual score of a "10" does not wipe-out previous "1" scores earned. Turn "Lights?" Interrogator Scores ******************************* 1 "Four" 1 2 "Four" 1 3 "Four" 1 4 "Four" 1 5 "FIVE" 10 Interrogator's total score earned = 14 Personnel is now returned. If the Interrogated personnel is rescued (i.e., using Rescue Captives or other such cards in the future), you still keep the points you earned until that time. (2) You can Interrogate several captives at a time, but there must be an Interrogator card played for each one. Q: ENGAGE SHUTTLE OPERATIONS and ITS USES -- What's the point of Engage Shuttle Operations? Is it just to get around obstacles to beaming? A: Engage Shuttle Operations can do several things for you: (1) A shuttle can be an escape craft. If you know your ship will be destroyed at the end of your turn, you can load everybody onto a shuttle and leave the ship. (This wouldn't work during a battle or dilemma, only when you would logically have plenty of time to react.) (2) Shuttles can be "ferries" to extend your RANGE temporarily, or (for example) to transport Picard past the Q-Net to another ship which doesn't have 2 Diplomacy. (3) Shuttles can fly down to planets, bypassing Atmospheric Ionization, Distortion Fields, and Particle Scattering Fields, etc Q: ENGAGE SHUTTLE OPERATIONS and RANGE -- When landing shuttles, what is meant by "using their full Range"? A: The shuttle requires the full range to land -- that is, it must begin the landing attempt with all of its range intact, and when it lands on the planet its range is gone. This means it can't move anymore, just like any ship that uses up its range. The personnel aboard can disembark and go about their business on the planet, as if they had beamed down. The shuttle uses its entire range again when it goes back into orbit. Q: ENGAGE SHUTTLE OPERATIONS and RUNABOUTS -- Is a Runabout considered a shuttle for this purpose? A: Runabouts are not considered shuttles, so the only two cards presently affected are the Type VI Shuttlecraft and the Yridian Shuttle. Although Runabouts *do* fit on Galaxy-class ships, they are found there only on very special occasions. In any case, we did not want the runabouts to get this benefit for reasons of gameplay mechanics. Q: ENGAGE SHUTTLE OPERATIONS (DETAILS) -- Elaborate on the details. A: Here are the details on the how it works, taken from the AU Rule Notes: This card provides a mechanism for carrying shuttles aboard ships, launching shuttles from ships and using them to ferry personnel down to a planet. If the "mother ship" is destroyed, any shuttle it carries is also destroyed. If the shuttle on board is destroyed, the "mother ship" is damaged. Both are affected by a dilemma being faced by the crew on the mother ship. Missions cannot be attempted from a carried shuttle. If the Engineer who operates the shuttle is lost, it cannot be launched or recovered. Launching the shuttle from the ship uses no Range of the shuttle. To land the shuttle on a planet, or to take off from the planet, requires the use of the full normal movement Range of the shuttle. It must start with all of its Range intact and it expends all its Range during the landing process. Therefore, landing and launching would normally be a two-turn operation. Landing a shuttle is a good way to avoid blocks or hazards to beaming, of which there are now many. It will be developed further in future expansions. Q: ENGAGE SHUTTLE OPERATIONS and LOSS OF ORBITAL STABILITY -- Can a shuttle be affected by Loss of Orbital Stability? A: It makes sense that the shuttle would be immune to "Loss of Orbital Stability" if it is located on a planet. Q: INTRUDER FORCE FIELD -- If my opponent has this card in play, and I play 3 Rogue Borg on his ship, do they attack him with a Strength of 1 or 9? A: They attack him with a Strength of 9. The assumption is that two are captured, but the third released the first two from the force field and they attack the crew together. Q: MOT'S ADVICE -- If I play Mot's Advice on Mot the Barber, does he have Barbering x2 ? (- ; A: Yes! You seem to think that is not significant! ;-) *7. INTERRUPTS Q: ISABELLA and NEBULA MISSIONS -- It says, "Plays on any non-Borg ship at a nebula..." How do you determine if a space location is a "nebula"? A: It is any mission card which has the word "nebula" in its title or in its lore. Here is a current list of the missions which can be considered to be at a nebula: "Nebula" Locations *************************************** FGC-47 RESEARCH (FGC-47 Nebula) STUDY NEBULA (Gamma Erandi) SURVEY MISSION (Mar Oscura nebula) *************************************** There are a few other cards which seem to have nebulae on them, but they turn out to be globular clusters of stars, etc. The only mission which is arguable is the mission INVESTIGATE DISAPPEARANCE, which is in the Hakaris Corridor. The image sure looks like a nebula, but actually the area is described as an area of space filled with tetryon fields. I imagine the SFX guys at Paramount had to make it look nebula-ish in order to have something visible on the screen. So, technically this one doesn't count. Q: VULCAN NERVE PINCH -- (1) Is this card cumulative? (2) By "random selection", do you mean that I might pinch my own personnel? A: (1) Yes, you can play more than one of these per battle. (2) No, you can not accidentally (or intentionally) pinch one of your own personnel. You randomly select from the opposing away team. Q: VORGON RAIDERS and the OPPONENT -- (1) Is it true I can use V.Raiders to steal artifacts from the opponent? (2) Can I play V.Raiders on my *opponent's* Ajur and Boratus? A: (1) Yes, that is correct. For example, if the opponent had earlier acquired the Ressikan Flute, you could steal it this way. Or, if he plays the Ophidian Cane, you could usurp it and use it as your own. They only steal Artifacts which are "in play", however, not ones in the opponent's hand or still undiscovered. (2) No. The card says it is *you* that has to have Ajur and Boratus in play, so you can't be playing it on the opponent like this. Q: COUNTERMANDA -- (1) What nullifies Countermanda, Q2 or Amanda Rogers? (2) How many Telepathic Alien Kidnappers does Countermanda nullify? All on the table, all of the opponent's, or just one? A: (1) By the "colon rule" explained on the insert sheet, Countermanda is not an Amanda Rogers card. She is therefore not nullified by Q2 and only nullified by Amanda Rogers. (2) Countermanda nullifies one TAK at a time. Q: KEVIN UXBRIDGE: CONVERGENCE vs. RISHON UXBRIDGE -- Does K.U.Convergence actually destroy events protected by Rishon at this location, along with Rishon herself ? A: K.U.: Convergence would destroy all events at the location where it is played, including Rishon herself, EXCEPT it would not destroy the Event which Rishon was protecting. Q: KEVIN UXBRIDGE: CONVERGENCE and HOLOPROJECTOR -- Can K.U.:Convergence nullify a Holoprojector? The idea is that although the Holoprojector is played on the table, it is being used at a particular spaceline location. A: It is a clever argument, but no; that is not allowed and is not what is intended in this case. Besides, the Holoprojector says it is immune to Kevin, and by the "Colon Rule", Kevin Uxbridge: Convergence would also count in this regard. Q: PHASER BURNS -- Is Phaser Burns cumulative? A: Yes, and this can be a very nasty card if played in multiple. Q: DEAD IN BED -- "Kills any one personnel currently in stasis." How do you select which one if there is more than one to choose from (such as if an entire ship is in stasis). A: It is the player's choice, not random selection. Q: SENIOR STAFF MEETING -- May I play this card on my opponent? A: Yes, if they have the proper personnel types on board. Q: DESTROY GARBAGE SCOW -- When it talks about losing 10 points, who loses these points -- the player or the "uncompleted mission"? A: The uncompleted mission where the scow is destroyed would lose 10 points in value. The text says, "Plays to discard scow. Kills all personnel at that location unless aboard ship or Thermal Deflectors present. If mission not done yet, reduce it's points. [- 10]" Here is what this means: First of all, realize that to play this card the "Radioactive Garbage Scow" dilemma card has to have come out. This is a card that can be towed to different spaceline locations, and is a hazard. The Destroy Garbage Scow card can be used to cause havoc by destroying it at a location where this would be advantageous to you. When you play it, three things happen. The Scow is discarded. The radiation released kills all personnel at that location (except those protected by a ship or T.Deflectors). This primarily means you could wipe out an away team this way. or personnel at an outpost. Finally, the radiation pollutes that location, like Chernobyl permanently polluted parts of Russia with radiation. To symbolize this in play, the result is that the value of an uncompleted mission at that location goes down by 10 points. (i.e. if it was a 30-point mission, it is now worth only 20). This only applies to missions that were not completed yet. If the radiation occurs at a location where the mission is already complete, there is no change in the point value. *8. EQUIPMENT Q: ECHO PAPA 607 KILLER DRONE -- 1) Does its increase in strength go up by 10 each time (10, 20, 30, 40, etc.), or does it double (10, 20, 40, 80, etc.? 2) Does it increase it's strength in the same battle, as in the next turn, or does it have to be a completely different battle initiated later? A: 1) The strength goes up by 10 each time. (Sorry for the poor wording here.) 2) The rise in strength happens only in separate battles, not in successive rounds of the same overall battle. *9. ARTIFACTS Q: RESSIKAN FLUTE -- Does the Ressikan Flute give 5 pts. per music or person? Ie. If someone had Musicx2, would they get 10 points or just 5? A: It says, ".... for each of your music personnel in play...." It is only for each personnel with the music skill (5 in your example). Q: RECEPTACLE STONES and SPACE DILEMMAS -- It says, "Any space dilemmas you encounter..." (1) Does this include dilemmas which are BOTH space/planet but placed at a space location? (2) Does "any" here mean "every" space dilemma, even the Borg Ship? A: (1) Yes, we intended to count space/planet dilemmas found at a space location in this as well. (2) Yes, "any" does mean all of the space dilemmas you encounter on a turn, and the Borg Ship is one! Q: ICONIAN GATEWAY -- It says "... anyone's personnel and equipment can move..." through it. This means the opponent's as well? A: Yes! Note that playing a Gateway might backfire on you if the opponent can use it to his or her advantage. Q: SAMUEL CLEMENS' POCKETWATCH -- When the pocket watch says "One action that must happen on your next turn (such as your card draw) happens now instead." Is that just the card draw, or can it be something else? A: It means anything which is "scheduled" to happen next turn as a result of the instruction from a card, or from the rules (such as the card draw). Examples might include a ship that is supposed to come back from a Temporal Rift next turn, a player who is supposed to guess a card next turn caused by the Telepathic Alien Kidnappers, etc. I know this is a bit vague -- we wanted to see how much freedom we could let the players have on this one, and what kind of creativity can result, even though at some point we might have to get more specific. Let your imagination go with it! Q: CRYOSATELLITE PERSONNEL -- Do the personel cards under this satellite count as Seed cards to your Half-A-Deck maximum? A: Yes. *10. OUTPOSTS Q: NEUTRAL OUTPOST -- (1) Can I use a Spacedock with this outpost? (2) Can I use my opponent's Neutral Outpost? (3) Can I mix personnel from different affiliations here? A (1) Yes, you can put a Spacedock on a Neutral Outpost. This will allow any ship to be repaired there. (2) No, you cannot use an opponent's outpost. (3) You cannot "mix" personnel at a Neutral Outpost without a treaty in play. (Treat it like a non aligned ship with "house arrest" rules as normal.) However, not that you can have personnel from different affiliations use the outpost as long as they don't mix. For instance, you could have some Fed personnel there, they leave, and then have some Romulans there. Q: OUTPOSTS and DOCKING -- How do personnel get from an outpost to a ship at the outpost - - by beaming, shuttles, or docking? This is important to know in view of cards like Barclay Transporter Phobia which can prevent beaming. A: Ships at an outpost are normally considered to be "docked" there, which means a direct doorway connection, such as the way the Enterprise docked at Starbase 74 in the episode "11001001" and other examples. It is also possible to "beam" between the outpost and a ship (and vice versa), if not prevented by another card. There are now several cards that prevent beaming, but none yet that prevent docking. Perhaps there will be one in an expansion. *23. DOORWAY CARDS Q: AU DILEMMAS and the AU DOORWAY -- How do these AU Dilemmas work? Does the Doorway have to be "open" for the AU Dilemma to affect you when it is revealed? A: A lot of debate and confusion exists on this issue, so let me explain it. (I will pass it by the full Rules Committee again, just in case they want to overrule me, but I wanted to post my understanding of this rule now. There is no need for a complex interpretation here.) The interpretation we intended is simple: First, remember that the purpose of the A.U. Doorway card is to allow AU-icon cards to "come through the door" into the "real" Trek universe. Thus, to be able to seed AU dilemmas or AU artifacts, you have to play the AU Doorway first during the seed phase, opening the door. (See FAQ below about sequencing.) Once this has been done, the AU dilemmas and AU artifacts have already met the requirement of coming through the door. There is no need for them to "come through the doorway twice" by requring the AU Doorway to be open when these cards are actually revealed or activated. In other words, they "came through the door" when they were seeded, and thus have no need to "come through the door again" when they are revealed. (To require otherwise introduces many unnecessary complications such as whose Door needs to be open, etc.) Think of it this way: Artifacts and dilemmas represent latent possibilities -- plot twists and cool things which are hidden at the location, waiting there to be found. They are not considered to be "in play" until they are revealed, but from a storyline perspective we can imagine them literally waiting there, just as the Tox Uthat artifact was buried on Risa and waiting for Picard and Vash to find it, etc. Thus, having already passed through the A.U. Doorway to be hidden there in the first place, there is no need for another trip through the door; it would be redundant. Q: AU ARTIFACTS FROM YOUR HAND -- Some AU Artifacts say they go to the owner's hand to be later played like a normal Equipment card, etc. Does this mean that they go "out of play" and thus need your AU Doorway to be open for them to re-enter play? A: The current ruling is that the rationale explained in the previous question remains unchanged. The artifact has already earned the right to be here by coming through the Doorway in the seed phase, and just because its use involves re-deploying it doesn't mean it symbolically left the universe. Q: AU DOORWAY: WHEN IS IT SEEDED? -- At what time of the seed phase may the AU Doorway be seeded? At first? After the Dilemmas and Missions? Or at any time you like? A: Technically speaking, you can seed it at any time you like, but practically speaking, you should seed it first. Remember that the AU Doorway is supposed to be in place before AU dilemmas and AU artifacts are seeded Thus, traditionally the Doorway is seeded first, so that there will be no question about an AU card being seeded out of sequence. We would like to keep this flexible, however, so that a player might delay seeding it for a few turns in order to attempt to "bluff" the opponent into believing he is not using AU cards, in case somebody wants to do that. But if this causes a problem with arguments about sequencing, then players should use a house rule to seed the AU Doorway first. Probably tournaments will require seeding the AU Doorway immediately. Q: OPENING AND CLOSING THE A.U. DOORWAY -- What happens if my A.U. Doorway gets "closed"? How can I reopen it? A: Think of it as a literal doorway. When it is open, AU cards can come through and be put in play. Having already come through the Door, they do not suddenly have to leave if the Door gets closed behind them -- they are already here. When the Door is closed, no more AU cards can come through until it is reopened. The main way to close an A.U. Doorway is to play the Revolving Door card on it. (Kevin Uxbridge does not nullify the A.U. Doorway, because it is not an Event card). The Revolving Door can be removed by playing another A.U. Doorway, another Revolving Door of your own, or Kevin Uxbridge. Stocking some of these three cards is advisable if your deck is dependant on AU cards, to "defend" your Doorway and keep it open. Q: "DOORWAY" CARDS -- How do these cards work? A: "Doorway" cards are a totally new category of ST:CCG cards introduced in the AU set. Currently there are two, the A.U. Doorway and the Devidian Doorway. There will be a few more in the future (or in the past?!? ;-) ). They represent cards with unusual features, of course, and were designed with lots of extra text space to help explain them a bit better. Normally, a "Doorway" card is assumed to work as follows: you can play it AT ANY TIME DURING YOUR OWN TURN. (It is thus similar to an Interrupt, except that it plays only during your turn, not during anyone's turn.) Playing a Doorway does not count as your one card play for that turn, just like an Interrupt does not count as this card play. The Doorway card plays this way unless the card text over-rides this normal function. The A.U. Doorway card, for example, has an unusual use as its main feature, acting as the A.U. Doorway. But it also has three subsidiary uses which are quite interesting, as you can see, all of which play the normal Doorway method. Q: DEVIDIAN DOOR EXPLANATION -- Elaborate on the Devidian Door. What does it represent? A: This is probably the most complex card in the AU expansion. The intent was to simulate an effect happening before a cause. The effect is that a new card gets played (seemingly out of nowhere), and the next turn, the Devidian Door gets played. From a storyline perspective, imagine it this way. Your on the bridge of your ship in the middle of a crisis. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Picard appears and helps you solve the dilemma that you're in. You now know that, at some point in the future, you're going to have to send Picard backwards in time so that he can help you overcome the dilemma you were just in. This is very similar to the episode "Time's Arrow", in which Guinan waited 500 years to send Picard back to 19th Century San Francisco where they were to meet. From a gameplay perspective, you may play a card now, so long as in your next turn (the future) you play the Devidian door (which explains where the card you're playing now is coming from). If you fail to show the Devidian Door, you have corrupted the space/time continuum, and you lose the game. See the FAQs below for how it works technically. Q: DEVIDIAN DOOR: WHERE PLAYED -- Where can a card coming from a Devidian Door be played? The card says " to anywhere." Is that literally true? Elaborate on the consequences of this. A: Yes. It allows you to play one Personnel or Equipment card "anywhere" (and also "at any time", like an Interrupt card play). This creates a couple of tricky situations which we're going to try to resolve here and now. 1) First, "Can I play the card on the Kitchen table in the next room?" No, it has to be played somewhere within the scope of the game. There are many possible places to put it (many examples are given below). Placing the card in the fish tank is not within the scope of the game. ;-) 2) "Can I play the card onto one of my own ships, escape pods, or outposts, wherever they are located? Yes. Certainly this would be a common use for the D.Door, getting a key personnel quickly to a needed location. 3) "Can I play the card directly to any planet location?" Yes. It can arrive alone, or can join an away team there. It would not be affected by cards that hinder beaming, etc. 4) "Can I play the card to a space location?" Playing the card to a space location would of course mean it is left floating in space. At the current time, there is no card that allows personnel to survive in space. So, a person placed this way would logically be immediately killed, and furthermore would not be able to do a mission there before they die. I believe there is some evidence in the series that Soong-type Androids and Exocomps could survive the vacuum of space, so you can play with the ruling that these Personnel plus Equipment cards could be played to a space location where they are not aboard a ship. In that case, they would be considered to be "floating around" and may be rescued by one of your own ships. They would not be able to participate in a mission from such a position, however. The same would apply to "Gaps in Normal Space" on the spaceline, or even the Q-Net. 5) "Can I play the card down on the table (not on the spaceline) next to my events and artifacts (which play like events)?" Yes, but they would just sit there and do nothing, and at the current time there is not any way I know of to retrieve them. Perhaps someone can think of a use for such a tactic! 6) "Can I play the card to a mission location where my away team has just revealed a dilemma which I cannot overcome without the help of someone from the Devidian Door?" Yes, we would like that effect to be possible, although we admit it might become confusing in certain situations and possibly might be something that can be abused. We invite further feedback on this if someone finds a way to abuse it. Therefore at a later time we might have to create limitations. 7) "Can I play the card to augment my forces where an away team battle is already in progress?" Yes. This would be another common use, deploying the card to a planet or ship where it is needed to meet some immediate condition. 8) "Can I play the card underneath a mission (like a seed card)?" Yes, you can seed a personnel or equipment card. When it is discovered, it is considered an improperly seeded card and is placed out of play unless you have some way of making it properly seeded, such as a Cryosatellite at that location. 9) "Can I play the card onto one of my opponent's ships or outposts, etc., and attempt to capture their ship?" At the current time, we do not have rules to handle what it means to capture an opponent's ship (except in the limited case of Rogue Borg combined with Lore Returns). However, there are such concepts in the works for future expansions (as well as more Borg stuff related to those type of actions). Such rules would also require that the concept of "capturing", introduced in AU, will have to be enhanced; to cover situations where such an attack fails. This too is in the works. So, at the time of this writing, using the Devidian Door to place one of your Personnel on an opponent's ship (etc.) would essentially mean that they are immediately captured, and treated as captured personnel. 10) "Can I play the card onto my opponent's draw deck, discard pile, or hand?" Yes, but that would essentially mean that you are "giving" them that card to play as their own card (returning it to you at the end of the game). One reason to put a card in your opponent's draw deck would be to prevent him from ending the game next turn by drawing his last card; a desperate measure that might work in some circumstances. 11) "Can I play the card on a dilemma like the Borg ship or the Radioactive Garbage Scow?" Yes, but currently, these are the only two dilemmas that you can play personnel onto via the Door. If you play any personnel onto the Garbage Scow, they immediately die, due to radiation poisoning. If you play them onto the Borg ship, nothing happens to them, and when the Borg ship exits the spaceline, they go to back to your discard pile. (As mentioned before, there will likely be other cards in the future that would give players more to do if they get aboard a Borg Ship, but currently not). 12) "Can I play the card onto my own hand, discard pile, or draw deck?" Yes, you can play them to all of these places legally. They act just like they got there in the normal way. There wouldn't be much point in playing a card from your hand to your hand, but you could do it if you really wanted to. These are some of the main examples of what you can do with the Devidian Door. I'm sure there are more. We intentionally left this card rather vague in order to "push the envelope" and allow maximum player creativity. If you try something new with the D.Door and wonder if it is legal or how it should be allowed to play out, just use common sense, bearing in mind both the "storyline" of time travel it represents and what rules currently exist to handle what you are trying to do. You have to live with the result within the current rule structure. If necessary, we might post some limitations on what can be done, but for now; let your creativity go! Q: DEVIDIAN DOOR and ITS TIME LIMIT -- Is the time limit for "showing" the Devidian Door on your next turn (after using it) a general time frame, or a specific game instruction? That is, is "showing the D.Door" considered to be a game action which my opponent might be able to prevent? A: The Devidian Door says that the person who uses it must "...any time during your next turn, you must show opponent a Devidian Door from your hand ... or you lose the game." First, note that this means the time period in which you must show the Devidian Door begins at the start of your next turn, and ends at the end of that turn (i.e., it must be done before you draw a card to end your turn). (Note: you are not allowed to unreasonably delay the end of your turn through meaningless stalling actions, such as beaming personnel back and forth forever.) Second, note that there is a gap of time between when you use the card and the start of your next turn when you have the first opportunity to show the D.Door. During this time gap, the opponent has the opportunity to find a way to mess you up by somehow forcing you to discard the Devidian Door before you get the chance to show it. For example, he could play Masaka Transformations on you, forcing you to discard your entire hand. Or, if he has the Telepathic Alien Kidnappers in play, he could possibly use it to correctly guess which card is your Devidian Door, forcing you to discard it. If this happens to you, you will lose the game if you cannot somehow get that Devidian Door back in your hand and show it to the opponent by the end of your next turn. For example, you might be able to get back a Devidian Door that was discarded by using Palor Toff, etc. Finally, "showing the opponent the Devidian Door card from your hand" is a game "action." If your next turn has come around, and you delay showing your Door, you still risk the opponent doing something to force you to discard it before you can show it. If that happens, you may have lost your chance to show it. Q: DEVIDIAN DOOR and OPHIDIAN CANE -- How is the cane used with the D.Door? The Cane says, "...allow 3 through Devidian Door..." If it is to be used in this way, is it played when you *use* the D.Door, or when you *show* the D.Door? A: It is played with the personnel who "go through" the Devidian Door, to justify the action of sending three through the door instead of just one. END