Terra Conflictus 2066 // Game Master's Guide // Rules v4.0 — Terra Conflictus Layer // Mission Design & NPC Reference
Standing Order // Hold fire, observeField Capture // Splice on the moveRecovered Frame // Southwark, 2060
Running the Game — GM Fundamentals
The operators see the table. You see everything underneath it.
Your job is not to play against the operators. Your job is to make the world push back — hard enough to matter, honest enough to trust.
Core Principles
Assign a general rating for each attribute. You do not need to track every number. Use the rating consistently across similar NPCs.
Rating
Threshold
Use When
Good
2+
Elite soldiers, specialists, HVTs
Ordinary
4+
Standard guards, trained militia
Bad
5+
Conscripts, panicked civilians, grunts
NPC Motivation & Behavior
Assign one motivation before the mission. It determines behavior, surrender conditions, and morale.
Motivation
Surrender?
Behavior
True Believer
Never
Fight to the last. Ignore morale checks.
Zealot
Never
Fight to the last. May self-destruct if cornered.
Professional
If outmatched
Tactical. Will break and regroup rather than die for nothing.
Paid
If outmatched
Calculating. Reassess if the math stops working.
Coerced
If outmatched
Reluctant. First to break under pressure.
NPC Activation & Control
Grunts do not activate individually. Up to six Grunts can act as one group. They move together, stay in loose formation, and react as a unit. Use one skill check for the whole group. If terrain or combat forces a split, each sub-group acts independently with separate skill checks.
Elites activate individually. Place their activation anywhere in the Threat Phase.
Surrender Rules
Surrendered NPC. Takes no actions. Moving a surrendered NPC requires 1 action from an operator and reduces that operator's MOBI by half while escorting.
Re-engagement. A surrendered NPC who witnesses allied NPCs winning nearby may attempt to rejoin the fight: roll GUTS 4+. Success: they re-engage.
Escorting NPCs
Escorting. An operator adjacent to a willing NPC can escort them. Both models move together using the slower model's MOBI. No extra action cost.
Zone Transitions. Moving through a zone boundary: roll TACT 4+. Failure: the NPC stumbles. You lose 1 action stabilizing them.
Wounded NPCs. An NPC with 2+ Flesh Wounds moves at half MOBI. An NPC with a Mortal Wound cannot move without assistance — requires an adjacent operator spending both actions to move at half MOBI.
NPC Reactions. An escorted NPC cannot take reactions. They move with their escort or stay put.
Running the Game — Alert System
Alert Level tracks enemy awareness across the mission. It starts at 0 and climbs. It never goes back down on its own.
0
Cold. Standard patrols. No active searching.
1
Tense. Patrols move on shorter intervals. Some guards check in.
2
Elevated. Active search. Patrols double. Reinforcements begin staging.
Reinforcements. One Grunt fireteam (3 models) arrives at the nearest entry point next Threat Phase.
3
Guard sweep. Two Grunts move toward the loudest sector this turn.
4
Extraction prep. The HVT begins moving toward a secondary exit (GM tracks privately).
5
Intel destruction. An NPC begins destroying documents or wiping drives (d6 rounds, then intel is gone).
6
Comms out. Enemy calls for external support. Reinforcements arrive in d6+2 rounds.
7
Civilian scatter. All civilians move to the nearest covered position and stay there.
8
Escalation. Alert Level increases by an additional +1 beyond the triggering event.
Running the Game — NPC Combat
They have radios. They have training. They have contingencies.
Morale Thresholds
Grunts and NPCs break morale under specific conditions.
Event
Threshold
Effect
3+ casualties
GUTS 5+
Grunt group must make morale check. Failure: break and fall back one sector.
Leader OOA
GUTS 4+
All Grunts in adjacent zone must check. Failure: Pinned for one round.
Flanked
TACT 4+
Elite enemy on unexpected flank: checks apply.
Elite Tactics
Call for Support. An Elite may spend 1 action calling Grunts from an adjacent zone to move toward their position. Grunts arrive next Threat Phase.
Leadership Bonus. Grunts within 6" of an Elite gain +1 to morale checks.
Suppressive Fire
Suppression Effect. 3+ Grunts with LoS to the same target: that target's next Shoot roll suffers -1. This penalty ends after the target's next activation completes.
Suppression Stack. Multiple groups do not stack the penalty. It is -1 regardless of group count.
GM Reminder — Close Range (Rules v4.0)
Close Range +1 is a weapon property, not a universal rule. Only weapons with the Close Quarters tag grant +1 to SHOOT within 6". Check each NPC's weapon. Apply only if the tag is present.
Running the Game — Faction Doctrines
Each faction fights differently. Assign one doctrine to enemy forces before the mission. It determines NPC tactical behavior, special rules, and escalation patterns.
Ascendancy — Coordinated Pressure
Doctrine: Fire superiority through coordination.
2+ units with LoS to the same target each get +1 to Shoot. Elites call coordinates instead of Reaction: next friendly Shoot adds +1.
Pack Coordination. Grunts activate individually but share reaction budget within 4".
Trauma Response. On MW, SHOOT 4+ at whoever wounded them before OOA.
Persistence. Elites don't OOA at 2 MW: continue at -2, 1 action until third hit.
Running the Game — Grunt Command
One Grunt per group may take a Command action instead of moving or shooting. Command actions coordinate the group and provide tactical flexibility.
Command Action
Effect
Rally
Remove Pinned from one Pinned Grunt in the group.
Suppress
All Grunts in the group gain +1 to Suppress actions this round.
Maneuver
Group moves at full MOBI through difficult terrain this activation.
Running the Game — GM Systems (Rules v4.0)
Supply State
Track the squad's supply condition between missions. Supply State affects consumable availability and Field Stabilize costs.
State
Consumables
Field Stabilize
Operational
Standard. No restrictions.
Standard. 1 action, OPINT 4+, remove 1 MW.
Strained
Consumables halved.
Limited to once per operator per mission.
Critical
No consumables.
Requires TACT 4+ to improvise a kit, then OPINT 4+ to stabilize.
Equipment Stress
Track equipment condition across missions. Equipment exists in one of two states.
State
Condition
Effect
Clean
Standard function.
No modifiers. Normal operation.
Stressed
Worn, damaged, or poorly maintained.
Natural 1 on any roll using this equipment = weapon jam. Resolve jam before next action.
Contaminated Terrain
Zones marked as contaminated impose immediate biological hazard on entry.
Baseline operators: GUTS 4+ on entry or suffer 1 FW. Check once per entry.
Gene-forged operators: Auto 1 FW on entry. No save. Template instability amplifies contamination effects.
Fumble Table (Natural 1, roll d6)
When any operator or NPC rolls a natural 1, roll on this table to determine the fumble consequence.
1
Weapon Jam. Weapon unusable until 1 action spent clearing. No attacks this activation.
2
Dropped Weapon. Weapon falls to ground. 1 action to recover. Adjacent enemies may grab it.
3
Exposed. Operator loses cover bonus until next activation. Position revealed to all enemies with LoS.
4
Friendly Warning. Shot lands near friendly operator within 6". Ally must check GUTS 4+ or become Pinned.
5
Compromised Gear. One piece of non-weapon equipment becomes Stressed. If already Stressed, it breaks.
6
Total Failure. Action fails completely. Lose remaining actions this activation. All enemies with LoS gain +1 to next Shoot against this model.
Melee Break-Free
Rules v4.0 Update — Melee Break-Free
Failed melee break-free attempt: operator takes 1 FW and may try again next turn. They are no longer locked in place indefinitely.
NPCs & Enemies — Enemy Tiers
Each enemy tier has distinct capabilities, costs, and tactical roles.
Grunt
Baseline enemy. Cheap, numerous, interchangeable.
SHOOT: 5+ (Bad)
FIGHT: 5+
MOBI: 5"
GUTS: 5+
TACT: 5+
OPINT: 5+
AR: 0 (no armor)
Wounds: 2 FW slots. No MW. Out of Action after 2 FW. No conversion.
40 pts
Grunts advance in groups and use cover. They do not use reactions. They activate together at the start of the Threat Phase unless split by terrain or orders. Three or more Grunts with LoS to the same target: that target's next SHOOT roll suffers -1.
Elite (Standard Variant)
Core enemy unit. Capable of coordinated response.
FIGHT: 4+
MOBI: 5"
GUTS: 4+
TACT: 4+
OPINT: 4+
AR: 1 (Light Vest)
Wounds: 3 FW / 1 MW
55 pts
Elite (Hardened Variant)
Dangerous. Uses cover. Coordinates with other Elites.
FIGHT: 3+
MOBI: 5"
GUTS: 3+
TACT: 3+
OPINT: 3+
AR: 2 (Combat Armor)
Wounds: 3 FW / 1 MW
85 pts
Note on Elite variants. R5 recognizes three NPC tiers: Grunt (2 FW / 0 MW), Elite (3 FW / 1 MW), and HVT (3 FW / 2 MW). The 55 pt and 85 pt Elites above are the same tier at different equipment and training loadouts. Use the point cost as the dial, not the tier name.
HVT (High Value Target)
Mission-critical target. Has unique ability. Usually has bodyguards.
FIGHT: 3+
MOBI: 5"
GUTS: 3+
TACT: 3+
OPINT: 2+
AR: 2 (Combat Armor)
Wounds: 3 FW / 2 MW
100+ pts
HVT Wound States
HVTs are mission-critical enemies. They escalate as they take damage.
Wound State
Trigger
Effect
Fresh
Normal
Standard activation in Threat Phase
Cornered
1 MW taken
+1 to all rolls. Attempts escape if possible. Activates at start of Threat Phase.
Last Stand
2 MW taken
One final action before going OOA: full attack, trigger a trap, destroy intel, or execute a hostage. GM chooses based on scenario.
HVT Forced Engagement. If the mission clock reaches Round 10 and the HVT has not taken a Mortal Wound, the HVT moves toward the nearest sector containing player operators. It activates at the start of the next Threat Phase.
NPCs & Enemies — Faction Forces
Tactical Opposition (d8)
Roll to determine the type of opposition operators face, or select based on your scenario needs.
Corporate Security. 2-3 models plus robots, SHOOT Ordinary, OPINT Good. Heavy armor. Automated support. Defend objective.
6
Commando Team. 2 models, SHOOT Good, FIGHT Good. Elite threat. Aggressive. Use tactics.
7
Cult Unit. 6-8 models, GUTS Good, no surrender. Fanatic. Charge to contact. Final stand.
8
Heavy Assault. 2 models, MOBI 8", heavy weapon. Slow but lethal. Area denial. Berserk if wounded.
NPCs & Enemies — HVT Profiles
HVT Profile Generator (d6 x3)
Roll three times or pick one type, one ability, one setup. Create your HVT.
d6
HVT Type
Signature Ability
Defensive Setup
1
Warlord
Rallying Cry. All allies within 6" gain +1 next activation.
Armored vehicle. TACT 5+ to breach.
2
Hacker
Remote Override. Disables one operator's electronics 1 round.
Server room. Cameras on all approaches.
3
Enforcer
Berserk Charge. Full MOBI toward nearest operator, +2 FIGHT.
Rooftop position. Elevated. Rappel extraction.
4
Handler
Dead Drop. Passes intel to bodyguards who execute contingency.
Fortified position. Heavy cover all sides.
5
Technician
System Lockdown. All doors lock. TACT 5+ to breach.
Mobile convoy. HVT center, two escort vehicles.
6
Fanatic
Personal Shield. AR 4 until first FW taken.
Deep bunker. One entrance. Reinforced door (TACT 6+).
Battlefield — Weather
Roll before the mission begins. Weather modifies tactics, LoS, and equipment function.
1
Clear Skies. No modifiers. Standard engagement conditions.
2
Light Rain. MOBI -1. +1 to stealth OPINT checks.
3
Heavy Downpour. MOBI -2. LoS reduced to 18". Electronics: TACT 4+ before each use or malfunction.
4
Dense Fog. LoS reduced to 8". All SHOOT rolls suffer -2. Infiltrator gains +1 to Shadow Step re-entry.
5
High Winds. SHOOT rolls suffer -1 beyond 12". Grenades scatter d6 inches in random direction.
6
Night Operations. All SHOOT at -2 without NVGs. -1 with NVGs. Stealth OPINT checks gain +2.
7
Sandstorm. LoS reduced to 6". MOBI -1. All SHOOT and OPINT rolls suffer -1. Heavy cover provides no benefit over light.
8
Blizzard. MOBI -2. TACT 4+ each round or suffer 1 FW from exposure. LoS reduced to 10".
9
Extreme Heat. GUTS 4+ at start of each activation or suffer -1 to all rolls. Heavy armor: GUTS 5+.
10
Electrical Storm. All electronic equipment offline. Tech CIRCUIT Override unavailable. Lightning strikes: d6 at end of round, natural 1 = random exposed operator hit.
11
Toxic Atmosphere. All operators without sealed equipment take 1 FW at end of each round. Cover does not protect.
12
Ash Fall. LoS reduced to 12". All surfaces count as difficult terrain. MOBI -1. Tracks visible. Hidden operators revealed if they move.
Battlefield — Illumination
Roll when the mission begins, or when operators move into a new environment.
1
Total Darkness. All SHOOT at -2. Stealth OPINT +2. MOBI -1. NVGs negate SHOOT penalty only.
2
Dim Light. SHOOT at -1. Stealth OPINT +1. NVGs negate SHOOT penalty.
3
Normal Light. No modifiers. Standard visibility. Default condition.
4
Bright Light. SHOOT +1 beyond 12". Stealth OPINT -1. Good for Marksman.
5
Harsh Glare. SHOOT at -1 when firing into light source. No penalty firing away. Thermal scopes unaffected.
6
Strobing/Intermittent. All SHOOT at -1. GUTS 4+ at start of activation or lose 1 action. Affects both sides.
Battlefield — Terrain Hazards
1
Unstable Floor. TACT 4+ or fall through. 1 FW, prone, one level down.
2
Live Electrical Wiring. Contact: TACT 4+ to avoid. Failure: 1 FW and lose 1 action next activation.
3
Gas Leak. Any gunfire or explosion in zone triggers detonation. 3" blast. 1 FW to all.
4
Flooded Corridor. MOBI halved. Heavy armor: TACT 4+ each round or stuck (lose 1 action).
5
Collapsed Rubble. Blocks movement. Forced Entry clears it. Otherwise: TACT 5+ and 2 actions.
6
Radiation Zone. Each round without sealed equipment: 1 FW. Cumulative. No healing in zone.
7
Minefield. TACT 4+ per 2" moved. Failure: 1 MW. Breacher (Demolitions) clears 2" path with TACT 2+.
8
Sniper Alley. Movement through open ground: persistent SHOOT attack (Ordinary 4+, no AP).
9
Oil Slick. MOBI -2. Prone operators: TACT 4+ to stand. Ignitable with incendiary or explosion.
10
Toxic Fumes. GUTS 4+ each activation or -1 to all rolls. Medic Field Stabilize has no effect in zone.
11
Weak Bridge/Catwalk. Supports 2 operators. Third causes collapse. TACT 4+ to grab edge, otherwise 1 MW.
12
Automated Turret. Fires at nearest operator in LoS each Threat Phase. SHOOT Ordinary 4+. Disable: Tech OPINT 4+. Destroy: 2 FW equivalent.
Destructible Cover (Optional Rule)
Light (glass, drywall, furniture). Destroyed by any successful SHOOT hit directed at the cover. One hit removes it.
Heavy (wooden barricades, vehicle panels). Takes 2 successful SHOOT hits to destroy. Track damage.
Reinforced (concrete, steel, blast doors). Cannot be destroyed by small arms. Requires demolition charges or specialized equipment.
When cover is destroyed, models using it lose the cover bonus immediately.
Civilian Casualty Consequence
Any civilian killed during the mission reduces final mission success by one tier. This applies whether or not the Collateral Risk modifier is active. Track civilian casualties openly.
Mission Design — Mission Types
1
Extraction. Get someone out. They may not want to leave.
2
Sabotage. Destroy a system, structure, or supply line. Plant charges, extract.
3
Surveillance. Observe and report. Do not engage unless compromised.
4
Elimination. One target. Confirmed kill required.
5
Seizure. Take and hold a location. Clear all hostiles, hold 3 rounds.
6
Recovery. Retrieve an object or data package.
7
Escort. Move a VIP through hostile territory.
8
Interdiction. Block enemy movement through an area for 4 rounds.
Scenario Seed (d6 x4)
Roll four times or combine for a mission premise.
d6
Who
What
Where
Complication
1
Corporate asset
Extract
Urban center
Mole in the squad
2
Government official
Eliminate
Industrial zone
Hostage taken
3
Weapons cache
Destroy
Remote outpost
Civilian presence
4
Research data
Recover
Fortified compound
Double-cross
5
Defector
Protect
Transit hub
HVT escalation early
6
Infrastructure
Sabotage
Underground site
Time limit
Mission Structure
Approach. Positioning, intelligence gathering, reading the ground. The Infiltrator's time. Let the squad breathe here — they are spending this time loading the gun.
Objective. The pressure point. Why they came. Every decision here has a cost. Make the timing, exposure, and risk of the critical action feel real.
Extraction. The situation has changed since they arrived. The route they planned may not exist anymore. This phase should never feel like a formality.
Mission Design — Secret Objectives
Present one Secret Objective to the operators before each mission. Do not reveal the reward until they complete it.
1
Surgical Strike. Deliver the killing blow on the HVT. Reward: 2 Pressure tokens next mission.
2
Shadow Ops. Complete mission without taking any wounds. Reward: Infiltrator starts with unbreakable Shadow Step for 2 rounds.
3
No One Left Behind. All teammates extract. None OOA. Reward: All operators recover 1 MW free.
4
Headhunter. Eliminate 3+ enemies personally. Reward: +1 SHOOT next mission.
5
Retrieval. Locate unsanctioned intel or equipment. OPINT 4+ in cleared area. Reward: Free Prototype Gear roll.
6
Guardian. Prevent any teammate from taking MW. Reward: +1 GUTS all operators next mission.
7
Overwatch Angel. Score 2+ kills using Return Fire. Reward: +1 Shoot Reaction per round next mission.
8
Ghost Protocol. Complete one objective with no enemy aware of your operator. Reward: Infiltrator starts with 2 Pressure tokens next mission.
Mission Design — Stealth Rules
Stealth Break Gradation (d10)
When an operator is spotted during infiltration, roll to determine the enemy response level.
1
Phantom. False alarm. Guard chalks it up to wind or nerves. No action. Alert unchanged.
2
Sound Contact. Enemy heard something. One guard moves toward sound. No weapons drawn. Investigate 1 round, return if nothing.
3
Shadow. Enemy saw silhouette. One guard investigates. Weapons at low ready. OPINT 4+ to spot within 6". Investigates 2 rounds.
4
Peripheral Glimpse. Guard caught movement. All operators in zone must freeze (no actions) or be spotted automatically. Guard returns after 1 round if no movement.
5
Partial ID. Enemy knows someone is here but not where. Two guards sweep for d6 rounds. OPINT 4+ each round to detect within 8".
6
Noise Spike. All guards in adjacent zones alerted. Patrol intervals halve for rest of mission. Alert Level +1.
7
Visual Confirm. One guard has eyes on one operator. Radio attempted. Jammed comms: guard moves to ally. Active comms: all guards in zone alerted. Alert +1.
8
Weapons Free. Guard opens fire. All enemies in LoS activate. Stealth fully broken. Alert +1.
9
Compromised Position. Operator spotted and position marked. Reinforcements: 1 Grunt fireteam in 2 rounds. Alert +2.
10
Full Blown. All operators in zone detected. All enemy forces activate. Alert +2. HVT escape protocol if applicable.
Stealth System Basics
Shadow Step (Infiltrator Specialization). The Infiltrator maintains automatic Stealth until they fire, fight, or are detected. Stealth costs them no actions.
Stealth OPINT. Any operator can attempt Stealth in cover using a full action. Roll OPINT at the mission's applicable threshold (typically 4+). Success: Stealth established until discovered or broken.
Detection & Stealth Breaks. Missed SHOOT attacks do not break Stealth. SHOOT hits break Stealth. Silenced weapon fires never break Stealth. Fight (melee) always breaks Stealth. End movement in open within 6" of alert enemy breaks Stealth.
Re-entry. To regain Stealth: spend 1 action in cover, outside all enemy LoS. Roll TACT at applicable threshold.
GM Reminder — Overwatch (Rules v4.0)
Overwatch is a universal 2-action action available to any operator. Marksman Specializations refine it: Long Watch covers two zones, and Line of Sight Discipline can reduce its cost.
Campaign — Post-Mission Consequences
Roll after each mission to determine what fallout follows the operators into the next operation.
1
Clean Exit. No blowback. No attention. Enjoy it.
2
Rumor Spread. Locals know something happened. First TACT check for social interaction next mission suffers -1.
3
Faction Retaliation. One squad contact goes dark for next mission.
4
Heat. Local security increased. Next mission Alert Level starts at 1.
5
Collateral Fallout. Next mission includes "Clean Hands" constraint: no civilian casualties or client pulls funding.
6
Intel Leak. One piece of next mission's briefing intel is false. GM decides which. Do not tell the squad.
7
Equipment Seizure. One operator loses non-weapon gear before next mission.
8
Ally Compromised. A friendly NPC was captured or turned. May appear as hostile in future.
9
Media Exposure. Any Alert above 2 triggers immediate extraction order next mission.
10
Rival Faction Moves. GM advances one faction's Move by 2 steps instead of 1.
11
Reputation Boost. One free Field Requisition (any tier). Client relationship improves.
12
New Enemy. Named antagonist enters the campaign with a grudge. Appears in a future scenario.
Between-Mission Sequence
Run this after every mission in order.
1. Wound Recovery. Flesh Wounds clear automatically. Each Mortal Wound: Medic rolls OPINT 4+ to Field Stabilize. Failure: MW carries. No Medic: operator rolls GUTS 4+, success recovers MW.
2. Downtime Menu. Each operator selects one downtime action: Rest (recover 1 additional FW or remove Stressed from equipment), Train (swap Specialization or drill a skill), Acquire (purchase gear at current Supply State prices), Intel (gather information on next mission — OPINT 4+ for one detail), Recover (extended medical care — Medic OPINT 3+ to treat MW), or Lay Low (reduce Heat/Alert carry-over by 1 tier).
3. Supply State Update. Check current Supply State: Operational (standard, no restrictions), Strained (consumables halved, Field Stabilize limited to once per operator per mission), Critical (no consumables, Field Stabilize requires TACT 4+ to improvise a kit then OPINT 4+ to stabilize). Job framework reference: Job 1 = Operational, Job 2 = Strained, Job 3 = Strained or Critical.
4. Field Requisitions. Award based on mission performance tier (Silver, Gold, Platinum).
5. Battlefield Evolution. Check trigger conditions. Award if earned.
6. Advance Factions. Move every faction one step on their timeline. Write it down. Do not tell the players.
7. Brief Next Mission. Present the next operation. Let the squad plan.
Campaign — Contacts
When reaching out to a contact or asset between missions, roll to determine their current status and usefulness.
1
Burned. Compromised. Intel is false. Acting on it gives enemy +1 Alert at mission start. GM does not reveal.
2
Gone Dark. No response. Unavailable this cycle. May resurface later.
3
Scared. Dead drops only (costs 1 extra downtime action). Info accurate but incomplete. Omits the most dangerous detail.
4
Distracted. Own crisis. Needs a favor first (1 Supply, a side objective, or specific intel). Pay and they deliver.
5
Reliable. Solid. One piece of accurate intel or one resource. No complications.
6
Connected. Provides intel plus introduction to new contact in next AO.
7
Upgraded. Higher-quality support: Tier 2 Requisition, classified intel (2 details), or 1 NPC ally for 1 round.
8
Indebted. Goes above and beyond. All requested support plus one bonus. One-time. Debt cleared.
Campaign — Intel & Leverage
When operators interrogate, negotiate with, or extract intel from an NPC, roll to determine what they know and what it costs to get it. Roll twice: once for What They Know, once for What It Costs.
1
WHAT THEY KNOW: Nothing useful. Bystander. WHAT IT COSTS: Free. They talk because they are nervous or want to help.
2
WHAT THEY KNOW: Patrol timing. Accurate for 4 hours. WHAT IT COSTS: Safety. Clear a threat near them first.
3
WHAT THEY KNOW: Layout. One floor or zone. 80% accurate. WHAT IT COSTS: Money. 1 Field Requisition or equivalent.
4
WHAT THEY KNOW: Personnel. One Elite or HVT name, role, description. WHAT IT COSTS: Evacuation. Escort to safe zone.
5
WHAT THEY KNOW: Faction intel. One faction's goal, strength, recent movements. 24 hours old. WHAT IT COSTS: Information exchange. They want something the squad knows.
6
WHAT THEY KNOW: Weakness. Unguarded entrance, supply dependency, shift gap, or habit. WHAT IT COSTS: Protection. Guarantee safety of family/property. Breaking promise has campaign consequences.
7
WHAT THEY KNOW: Objective intel. Exact location, status, or complication the briefing missed. WHAT IT COSTS: Future favor. Undefined debt redeemable in future mission.
8
WHAT THEY KNOW: Everything. Full picture: enemy strength, HVT location, defenses, escape routes. WHAT IT COSTS: Betrayal of someone else. Target a person not in current mission. Moral cost.
Random Tables — Patrol Behavior
Roll when an NPC patrol activates.
1
Advance. Move full MOBI toward nearest known operator. If unaware, move toward nearest objective.
2
Hold Position. Stay put. Overwatch stance: fire at first operator to enter LoS. SHOOT Ordinary 4+.
3
Sweep. Move half MOBI laterally. OPINT 4+ to detect hidden operators within 8". Detect: engage next round.
4
Regroup. Fall back to nearest cover. +1 defensive rolls until next Threat Phase. Reloading.
5
Investigate. Move toward last disturbance (gunfire, explosion, alarm). Full MOBI. Engage any operator encountered.
6
Radio Check. Stop to communicate. Jammed comms: -1 all rolls next round. Active comms: reinforcements in 2 rounds.
Random Tables — Force Composition
Roll at mission start to determine the type of opposition operators face.
1
Local Militia. 4-6 hostiles. SHOOT Ordinary, FIGHT Bad. No armor. Break after 2 casualties.
Augmented Unit. 2-3 hostiles. FIGHT Good, MOBI 8". Medium armor. Berserk after taking FW.
Random Tables — Campaign Tables
Hex Movement
Each hex is approximately one hour of careful travel. Operators move one hex per hour, or multiple hexes for rapid advance (with exposure risk).
Movement Pace
Distance/Hour
Risk Level
Careful
1 hex
Low. Standard reconnaissance.
Fast
2 hexes
High. Noise, visibility risk. +2 Exposure roll.
Desperate
3 hexes
Very High. +3 Exposure roll. Exhaustion penalties.
Exposure (d6)
Roll after entering each hex. Higher rolls mean the squad is spotted or tracked.
1-2
Clear. No contact. Proceed.
3-4
Spotted. Enemy patrols noticed. Next encounter starts Hot (+1 Alert).
5-6
Tracked. Enemy has tactical advantage. Next encounter: enemy gains first action.
Hex Navigation
When entering unknown terrain, the squad's Scout rolls TACT.
TACT Roll
Result
Effect
2+
Success
Route is clear. Proceed to next hex.
4+
Delay
Lost ground. Spend extra hour. May increase Exposure.
5+
Ambush Prep
Enemy has time to prepare. Begin next encounter Alerted (+1).
Player Artifacts — About the Kit
This is a collection of twelve player-facing artifacts, each formatted as a self-contained, printable handout. These are real documents drawn from the OT world, designed to be handed across the table during play. They deliver world-building, reveal clues, create decisions, and raise stakes without requiring the GM to explain anything.
Each artifact includes a GM NOTE that specifies: when to hand it to players, what it accomplishes at the table, and what decision or pressure it creates.
Delivery at the Table
Each artifact is designed to be printed and handed to players at the moment it becomes tactically or narratively relevant. The best time to deliver an artifact is:
Right before a scene that requires the context it provides. When players ask a question it answers. When players make a choice it complicates. When they need to understand an NPC's or faction's behavior.
The artifacts work best when delivered in order of story momentum, not all at once. A player holding an artifact absorbs the world-building in moments rather than listening to GM exposition. The world becomes textured and real through what they read, not what they're told.
Each artifact can be read aloud in under two minutes or read silently in under one. Both methods work. Choose based on whether you want the table to hear the voice of the document or absorb it individually.
You can tell what district you're in by the taste of the water. Premium towers run glacier stock or licensed desal. Everyone else drinks reclaimed gray through military surplus filters and hopes the cartridge wasn't refilled.
The tier below drinks military-grade reclaimed water through surplus filters: gray, safe, tasting of chlorine and whatever the cartridge held before. Below that is the tap. Below the tap is the barrel. Below the barrel is the queue.
GM NOTE
Hand this to players when they first enter a major city or district, or when they need to understand the class structure through immediate sensory detail. This tells them everything about faction control, resource allocation, and social hierarchy without exposition. Reading it aloud takes 30 seconds and establishes that water is a status marker, a scarcity resource, and the foundation of power in this world. Use it to make players feel the vertical structure of arcologies and contested zones before they see it on a map.
ARTIFACT 2
Intercepted Communication — Doctrine Memo
NAF Strategic Briefing, Distribution List Redacted, 2058
TO: Field Operations Command
FROM: Doctrine Division
RE: PRIMARY TACTICAL DOCTRINE
Solve problems with technology. When technology fails, throw better technology at it.
Report all equipment failures as maintenance issues. Report all tactical failures as intelligence gaps. Report no doctrine failures.
Adaptive drone networks take precedence over conventional asset security. If equipment and personnel create a resource conflict, personnel scale down to match equipment capability.
GM NOTE
Hand this to players when they encounter NAF operators or facilities, or when they need to understand why NAF military logic is brittle. It reveals that the NAF's strength is also its vulnerability. Use it to explain NPC behavior ("The commander would rather lose half the squad to drone cover than admit the tactical doctrine doesn't work against this terrain"). Players holding this understand that NAF operators will make certain predictable choices, and those choices are opportunities.
Internal Circulation Only / SOUTHERN CARTEL ALLIANCE / Eyes Only
DOCTRINE: Patience and terrain. The environment is a weapon if you know how to use it.
THREAT ASSESSMENT: SCA operators are survivors. Resourceful. Adaptive. Operating in environments that kill outsiders. Expect infiltration-style tactics. Expect biological vectors the Geneva Conventions never anticipated because nothing in Geneva anticipated this.
ON THE GROUND: Wet. Overgrown. Alive in ways that make outsiders uncomfortable. Medicine and poison share the same lab in the Metroplex. Residents carry anti-spore patches as everyday gear. Unauthorized root-mass behavior is a code violation. The ecosystem is the weapon. Outsiders die here. SCA assets do not.
GM NOTE
Hand this when players are moving into SCA territory or preparing to encounter SCA operators. It establishes environmental hazard as a primary tactical element and explains why SCA fighters are tougher than they appear on a stats block. Use it to justify environmental complications in missions ("The jungle itself is fighting you as much as the operators are"). It also signals to players that anti-spore patches and disease protocols are not luxury items in contested zones.
ARTIFACT 4
BAFO Field Warning — Environmental Integrator
Source: BAFO Aberrant Catalog, Classified Field Reference
TYPE-3 SPECIMEN: ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRATOR
"The ground is its mouth."
Specimens fused with ecosystem at genetic level. Root-mass, stone, aquifer, permafrost integration. The body visible to conventional sensors is not the body that kills you.
THREAT PROFILE: Operators will have difficulty distinguishing creature from landscape. Trust instruments over eyes. Dormancy periods extend up to six months. Specimen can remain merged without resource input.
FIELD HUNTING PROTOCOL: Force it to surface using resonance lures tuned to Type-3 frequencies. Fire and chemical agents disrupt the biological bond. Do not attempt sustained engagement while merged. The landscape does not have ammunition constraints.
WARNING: A Type-3 that has fully integrated into primary watershed infrastructure requires installation-level response. Personnel overwatch is ineffective. Recommend tactical withdrawal and establishment of cordon.
GM NOTE
Hand this to players before they enter a mission in overgrown, flooded, or heavily forested terrain. It tells them three things: the threat is environmental and persistent, their normal tactics will fail, and retreat is sometimes the correct call. Use it to raise tension in wilderness encounters and to justify complications ("You can't distinguish it from the forest" becomes more real when they read it). The specific note about watersheds signals that some threats are infrastructure-level problems, not squad-level problems.
ARTIFACT 5
Lumicite Hazard Label — Resonance Protocol
Source: OT Lumicite Supplement, Installation Operations Manual
WARNING: LUMICITE RESONANCE ENTITY
It does not speak. It recruits.
Not biological. Proto-consciousness emerging from energy substrate. Incomplete. Hungry. Responsive to genetic templates built for combat.
GENE-FORGED OPERATORS: Do not attempt communication. Do not respond to audio phenomena. Do not enter installations where primary Lumicite is accessible.
PROTOCOL: Establish 40-meter security perimeter. Maintain baseline personnel ratio minimum 1:1 with gene-forged assets. Comms may fail within proximity. Maintain line-of-sight with handler. If comms degrade, assume contact and execute tactical withdrawal.
LETHAL THRESHOLD: Lumicite Pulse operates on installation timer. Once per mission window. 12-inch radius. All electronics and comms fail for duration. Standard combat protocols are ineffective during Pulse window. Personnel overwatch protocol switches to visual-only navigation.
GM NOTE
Hand this when players are approaching a Lumicite installation or entering a mission involving deep-game objectives. It creates immediate pressure by establishing that one specific rule (silence/non-communication) is non-negotiable, and that standard equipment will fail in ways they can't predict. Use it when players want to split the party or experiment with approaching an installation alone. The document gives you mechanical justification for complicated complications ("The Pulse just went off, your comms are gone for the next round, and something in the dark is calling your operator's name").
ARTIFACT 6
Operational Threat Assessment — Vocal Predator
Source: BAFO Aberrant Catalog, Field Reference
TYPE-7 SPECIMEN: VOCAL PREDATOR
"The voice is beautiful and belongs to someone the operator lost."
Sound is the primary weapon. Infrasonic waves cause vertigo, cortisol spikes, organ damage at range. Sophisticated variants learn speech patterns and mimic distress calls with perfect fidelity.
THREAT PROFILE: Specimen adapts mid-engagement. Round 3 vocal attacks increase in sophistication. This is not learned behavior. This is the template expressing predatory instinct at full capacity.
FIELD HUNTING PROTOCOL: Close range is critical. Vocal attacks lose coherence under 4 inches. Acoustic dampening gear reduces Resonance Scream range by 50 percent. If the voice starts telling the operator things they didn't know, the operator is compromised. Do not rely on that operator for tactical decisions.
WARNING: Do not pursue this specimen alone. Do not pursue this specimen with anyone you have lost.
GM NOTE
Hand this to players when they're tracking or approaching a vocal predator encounter. It establishes a hard rule about why close range is tactically critical, and it seeds psychological pressure: "the voice belongs to someone the operator lost." This creates roleplaying complications and emotional stakes in combat. Use it when you want a combat encounter to feel personal and dangerous in ways that stats don't capture.
Player Artifacts — Artifacts 7–12
ARTIFACT 7
Nkrumah Field Excerpt — Arcadia Observation
Source: Cayo Nkrumah, "Anywhere They Let Me In, Volume 4," Field Notes
The climate control cycles off at seven in the morning. You know it when it happens. The air changes in under a second, from the managed cedar-and-humidity of the subscription tier to the raw Pacific Northwest outside it: cold, wet, alive in a way the engineered version spends enormous money approximating. The locals don't react. They stopped feeling the difference years ago.
I met a woman at her back fence in Cedar Row. She was measuring with a strip of orange surveying tape, marking a post she had driven into the soil herself.
I asked what she was measuring.
"The treeline," she said. "It was twelve meters when we moved in. It's eight now."
She said it the way people say things they have decided not to feel. Flat. Precise. With the quality of someone who has told themselves this is just data. Then she folded the tape and went inside.
At night, the community boards carry posts about the water tasting wrong. About blue-green light at the treeline, bioluminescence at eleven-second intervals, captured by a man with equipment he bought with his own money because nobody else was listening. About tomatoes the size of fists that taste of something that is not tomato. The posts disappear by morning.
GM NOTE
Hand this when players arrive in a location that appears stable and managed but harbors hidden environmental instability. It teaches them to notice what authority isn't saying. Read it aloud if you want to create a sense of wrongness before anything overtly dangerous happens. Use it as a model for how the world communicates danger sideways: through missing data, disappearing posts, things people don't talk about. This artifact teaches players to ask the right questions ("What aren't they measuring?") and to trust the smallest details.
ARTIFACT 8
Conflict Magazine Clipping — DOs and DON'Ts of the Theater
Source: CONFLICT Magazine, Issue 09 — "The History Issue," Pages 10-15
DO: The SCA guerrilla veteran at the checkpoint bar, drinking alone, wearing a jacket with exactly one patch. His unit's original. Threadbare. Barely legible. He was offered 3,000 credits for it by a collector at the next table. He did not respond. The collector left. The patch stayed. This is how history should work.
DON'T: Carrying a "heritage sidearm" to a social event in a combat zone where people carry actual sidearms for actual reasons. You are wearing a quotation to a conversation. Everyone notices.
DO: The gene-forged Crackerjack veteran with the visible drift tremor in her left hand, wearing a watch on that wrist specifically so you can see the tremor move the dial. Not hiding it. Not performing it. Just wearing her history on the hand that earned it.
DON'T: The biotech investor at the gala wearing a "Prometheus-era aesthetic" wristband. A fashion accessory designed to evoke the look of early gene-forged medical equipment without any of the function, the pain, or the meaning. Insult value: incalculable.
DO: Pre-Upheaval reading glasses, wire-frame, prescription, clearly used, worn by an archivist who actually reads documents that survived the burn. Functional. Specific. Not a costume. The scratch on the left lens from a shelf collapse in the archive is a professional credential.
DON'T: "Vintage-style" data chip readers carried by people who do not read data chips, do not have data chips, and would not know an archive index from a menu. The aesthetic of knowledge is not knowledge. Put it away.
GM NOTE
Hand this when players are preparing to move through social spaces, attend events, or need to understand the difference between authentic experience and performed authenticity. It teaches them that real history lives on bodies and in artifacts earned through action, not purchased or performed. Use it to justify complications when players try to infiltrate spaces through false credentials or borrowed identity. Read it aloud in social encounters where players are trying to pass themselves off as something they are not, or when they meet veteran operators carrying the weight of actual service.
Nobody calls it a war because that would require admitting who's fighting it.
The surface game is water, energy, and territory. Every faction understands the surface game. They fight it on maps and in briefing rooms and across contested terrain.
The deep game is older.
Beneath the climate-ravaged surface, a network of sealed pre-Upheaval installations lies scattered across every continent. The installations contain Lumicite. The factions know Lumicite exists. They do not know where most of the installations are.
This creates a two-tier resource economy. The surface game uses what you can extract. The deep game uses what you can find. Both happen at the same table. Sometimes in the same firefight.
GM NOTE
Hand this to players after their first confirmed Lumicite encounter or when they need strategic context for the larger conflict. It tells them that the mission they're on is not the only mission being fought. It establishes the existence of an older layer beneath the surface factions. Use this to explain sudden shifts in faction priorities, unexpected alliances, or why commanders are suddenly interested in archaeology. This document makes the "deep game" real and gives players permission to ask harder questions about what installations actually contain.
ARTIFACT 10
Gene-Forged Protocol Statement — Origin and Instinct
Source: OT Expanded Setting Guide, Classified Personnel Briefing
Gene-forging is an unstable technology applied to biological systems that do not appreciate being redesigned.
The labs built soldiers. The world built everything else.
Stock Instinct triggers occur during sustained combat stress. The predator genetics express beyond design parameters. What was built for battlefield function becomes something older: the template remembering what it was evolved to be across millions of years of predation.
Template Drift is not degradation. It is the template remembering what it was.
Every gene-forged operator carries a past encoded in their template. That past does not die. It waits. It surfaces. It fights for expression the way a body fights an infection or accepts it, depending on the moment and the pressure and whether the operator has been using drift management protocols consistently or has been self-medicating with field stimulants instead.
The template was built for one purpose. The operator performs at another. These two things are not compatible. They are both true.
GM NOTE
Hand this to any gene-forged player character during their first major stress moment or drift trigger. It tells them the framework for understanding their instinct rolls and drift mechanics as something deeper than mechanical failures: they're moments when the engineered template asserts priority over the operator's will. Use this to justify complicated emotional moments during combat or stress. It also explains to non-forged players why their forged allies sometimes make decisions that don't track perfectly with regular training and discipline. This artifact makes biology a story element, not just a modifier.
ARTIFACT 11
United Cities of Refuge — Sanctuary Protocols
From UCR Foundation Charter, Governance Section, Official Distribution
The United Cities of Refuge offer sanctuary to refugees, political exiles, defectors, and dissidents. We are not a military power. We are an information economy.
Every faction operates in UCR territory unofficially. The UCR's neutrality makes official military presence illegal, which is the only reason they tolerate the rules. Extraction missions run constantly in our streets. Recruitment runs constantly. Protection ops run constantly. We do not prevent these operations. We profit from the intelligence they generate.
Our cities are permanent operations conducted by people pretending to be civilians. We offer anonymity to those the factions are looking for and information to all of them. We survive because we are more useful to every faction alive than any faction's military victory would be.
We do not fight wars here. We sell information about who is fighting them elsewhere and for how much they are willing to pay.
GM NOTE
Hand this when players first arrive at a UCR city or learn they need to operate in neutral territory. It establishes that UCR neutrality is maintained through intelligence economy, not military power. It tells them that civilian life is a cover for espionage, and that every faction uses UCR cities as staging grounds for operations they deny officially. Use this to justify complications: civilians might be operatives, trade deals might be intelligence exchanges, and the information they gather matters more to the UCR than their physical safety. This artifact makes players understand that they are operating in a space where information is currency and visibility is liability.
Source: Brotherhood Scholar Records, Partial Translation, circa 2046
Operation Dawnlight was not a government program. It was funded through private foundations, defense-adjacent research grants, and institutional channels that have now been deleted from the record.
Their response was not to prevent the collapse. It was to survive it.
Between approximately 2015 and 2030, Dawnlight operatives designed, constructed, and sealed a planetary network of installations. The installations contain Lumicite. The installations also contain data cores from before the Upheaval.
What survived is incomplete, scattered, and worth killing for.
The Document Wars destroyed more than archives. They destroyed the context needed to understand what the archives contained. A recovered data core is useless without the documentation that explains what it measures. A Lumicite sample is a power source if you know what to plug it into. A sealed installation is either a treasure or a grave, depending on whether you can decode what was left inside.
Dawnlight was designed by people who did not predict the Upheaval. Dawnlight was designed by people who scheduled it.
GM NOTE
Hand this when players are preparing for or have discovered a major installation-level mission, or when they need strategic context for why factions are willing to spend enormous resources on archaeological objectives. This document makes clear that installations are not random: they were built with intention by people who understood what was coming. It tells players that major installations likely have integrated security systems (both engineered and environmental) and that data found inside might explain the Upheaval itself. Use this when you want players to understand that some missions are about secrets big enough to change the world's understanding of itself, not just about resources.
Using This Kit
Each artifact is designed to be printed and handed to players at the moment it becomes tactically or narratively relevant. The best time to deliver an artifact is: right before a scene that requires the context it provides; when players ask a question it answers; when players make a choice it complicates; when they need to understand an NPC's or faction's behavior.
The artifacts work best when delivered in order of story momentum, not all at once. A player holding an artifact absorbs the world-building in moments rather than listening to GM exposition. The world becomes textured and real through what they read, not what they're told.
Each artifact can be read aloud in under two minutes or read silently in under one. Both methods work. Choose based on whether you want the table to hear the voice of the document or absorb it individually.
The artifacts are drawn from the source documents and formatted for table delivery. They are real world-building, not summaries or restatements. Players can feel the difference.
