Operator Tactics // Card Game // Terra Conflictus · 2066
HVT
High-Value Target — Earth 2060
Card Game Solo Co-op 2-Player Variant Prototype
Five challenges. Three turns. One target. Get it done.Operator Tactics: HVT — Mission Briefing
00Overview

Operator Tactics: HVT is a strategic card game set in the fractured world of 2060. Players assemble a team of elite operators — contractors, faction specialists, and gene-forged veterans — and deploy them through a gauntlet of challenges en route to the final confrontation with a High-Value Target. No two missions play out the same.

The game uses four decks: Operator cards, HVT cards, Scenario cards, and Challenge cards. One D6. No tokens for operators — card orientation tracks everything. Playable solo, cooperatively, or as a direct two-player duel.

Operator Cards

Specialists drawn from the NAF, EO, UKE, PCU, SCA, NCB, ACU, and independent contractor pools. Each has unique skills and proficiency ratings.

HVT Cards

The targets. Warlords, oligarchs, rogue scientists, PMC defectors, and black market architects. Each has a vulnerability, health score, and counterattack profile.

Scenario Cards

The mission. Objectives, locations, and special conditions drawn from the real geography and politics of Earth 2060. Twenty cards. No two runs identical.

Challenge Cards

The gauntlet. Five challenges stand between your team and the HVT. Climate hazards, AI security systems, gene-forged guards, disinformation. Each has six variables determined by a D6 roll.

01Mission Briefing
Assemble your team and prepare for the hard part. These aren't amateurs. These are the architects of the post-Upheaval black market, the warlords who turned ghost country into private kingdoms, the PMC defectors who took their employer's secrets and disappeared into contested space. Navigate the terrain of Earth 2060, deploy your team's capabilities against everything the target throws at you, and get to the HVT before the clock runs out.

Lead the Strike Team. You're in command. Each operator brings a specialization: long-range precision, systems intrusion, demolitions, field medicine, deep cover, close-quarters violence, tactical leadership, recon, vehicle operation, or technical engineering. Build your approach around the mission's demands.

High-Stakes Scenarios. Twenty scenario cards spanning Earth 2060: the elevated districts of NAF coastal cities, PCU desert outposts, SCA jungle compounds, flooded European heritage zones, NCB surveillance corridors, and the open maritime routes of the Pacific Free Zone.

Final Confrontation. Three turns to reduce the HVT to zero health. Some HVTs go loud. Some try to run. All of them have a plan that doesn't include being taken alive.

Dynamic Challenges. The path to the HVT runs through five Challenge cards. Some hit first. Some require specific skills to crack. Your operators' health is the only currency that matters.

PART I
The Rules
1Components

HVT Deck. The targets — faction defectors, oligarchs, warlords, rogue scientists, black market architects.

Scenario Deck. The mission — objective, location, special conditions.

Challenge Deck. The gauntlet — everything between your team and the HVT.

Operator Deck. Your team — specialists from every faction and contractor pool.

One D6. All rolls.

Tokens. Track HVT HP only. Operator state is tracked by card orientation.

2Setup & Difficulty
  1. Draw one Scenario card. This is the mission.
  2. Draw one HVT card. This is the target. Set HVT HP using a token or die.
  3. Draw five Challenge cards. Place them face down, left to right. Don't look.
  4. Draw Operators based on difficulty.
DifficultyOperatorsHVT HPHVT Counterattacks
Easy421 per turn
Medium331 per turn
Hard231 per turn
Impossible122 per turn
Impossible The HVT fires twice per confrontation turn. A single operator must survive the gauntlet and bring down a 2 HP target. Any hit in the gauntlet Wounds them. A second hit is KIA. You need a vulnerability match and favourable counterattack rolls. There is no comfortable path here.
3Proficiency

Every operator is rated Good, Ordinary, or Bad at each skill. Challenge cards list a variable success threshold. Use whichever threshold is higher — your proficiency rating or the printed variable threshold on the challenge card.

Good — 2+

Right operator, right job. The printed variable threshold may still raise the requirement if it exceeds 2+.

Ordinary — 4+

Workable, not ideal. Roll at 4+ or the printed threshold, whichever is higher.

Bad — 5+

Wrong person, wrong challenge. Always roll at 5+ regardless of the printed threshold.

4The Wounded State

Operators do not track HP with tokens. Card orientation tracks everything.

Three States Active — card upright. Full proficiency.
Wounded — card rotated 90° sideways. Proficiency drops one tier on every roll.
KIA — card removed from play.

Wounded tier penalty. Good becomes Ordinary. Ordinary becomes Bad. Bad can only succeed on a 6.

Challenge Outcomes 6 — Critical Success. Challenge cleared. The deploying operator recovers: Wounded becomes Active, or Active stays Active.

Success (meets or beats threshold). Challenge cleared. No state change.

Failure (below threshold). Challenge cleared, but state changes: Active becomes Wounded, Wounded becomes KIA.

1 — Critical Failure. Operator is immediately KIA regardless of current state.

If all operators are KIA before the confrontation, the mission fails immediately.

5Initiative

Challenges marked ⚡ act first. If the deployed operator does not have ★ Init, apply Pressure: −1 to their roll result. If that reduced roll would cause a failure, the operator takes the failure state change before their normal result resolves. Operators with ★ Init negate this entirely.

Hard / Impossible Warning On Hard and Impossible, operators start with no buffer — Wounded on the first hit, KIA on the second. Initiative challenges are where games are lost. Route your ★ Init operator into them, or accept the risk with someone who can absorb the downgrade.
6The Gauntlet

Reveal Challenge cards one at a time, left to right. For each:

  1. Roll D6 — determines which variable activates.
  2. Deploy one operator.
  3. If the challenge has ⚡ and your operator lacks ★ Init, apply Pressure (−1 to roll).
  4. Roll D6 and apply the result to that operator.

Every operator must be deployed at least once across the five challenges. You may deploy the same operator multiple times if the mission allows it, but operators who are Wounded or KIA cannot be deployed (Wounded operators may still attempt to Recover — see the Confrontation section).

7The Medic

The Medic has a special action available twice per mission. Before the operator roll on any challenge, the Medic may attempt a Health Restoration check (D6, 3+). On success, one Wounded operator of your choice becomes Active. The Medic still deploys against that challenge normally afterward — this is a bonus action, not a replacement deployment.

Rules Note If the Medic is the only operator alive, they may target themselves with the Health Restoration check. The two-use limit is per mission — it resets between missions.
8The Confrontation

Three turns to reduce the HVT to zero HP. Each alive Active operator attacks once per turn. Wounded operators may either attack (at their degraded proficiency) or spend their action attempting to Recover (roll 5+ to become Active again).

Attack Priority — Apply in Order

  1. Vulnerability Match. Operator's archetype matches the HVT's listed vulnerability → roll that skill at 2+.
  2. Combat Specialists. Commando rolls Combat 2+. Fighter rolls Hand-to-Hand Combat 2+. Sniper rolls Long-Range Combat 2+. Applies regardless of vulnerability match.
  3. Fallback. No vulnerability match anywhere in the team → any specialist (Hacker, Demo Expert, Spy, Recon, Technician, Driver/Pilot, Medic) may roll their primary skill at 4+, if narratively defensible. If it makes sense, it stands.
  4. Default. No match, no applicable fallback → Combat at 5+.

Each successful hit reduces HVT HP by 1. Critical success (6) still counts as one hit unless a card says otherwise.

HVT Counterattack After all operators attack, the HVT fires back — once per turn on Easy/Medium/Hard, twice per turn on Impossible. Each attack: select one alive operator at random (roll a die, draw a card, point with eyes closed). Roll the HVT's attack at the listed threshold. On a hit: Active becomes Wounded, Wounded becomes KIA. Resolve each counterattack separately.
9Win & Lose

Win: HVT reaches 0 HP within three confrontation turns.

Lose: All operators KIA at any point, or three confrontation turns expire with the HVT still alive.

PART II
Two-Player Variant
10Two-Player Setup

One player runs the HVT. One runs the operator team. The HVT player's job: design a gauntlet that bleeds the team before the confrontation. The Operator player's job: survive it.

  1. The Operator player draws operators per the difficulty table. Lay them face up — the HVT player sees the full team before building anything.
  2. The HVT player selects the HVT card and sets HP per the difficulty table.
  3. The HVT player draws eight Challenge cards, reviews them privately, selects five, and places them face down in the order of their choosing. The remaining three are discarded unseen. The Operator player knows five challenges are coming. They don't know which ones or in what order.
11Two-Player Gauntlet

The HVT player reveals one Challenge card at a time, left to right. When a challenge is revealed, the HVT player selects which of the six variables activates — no die roll. They read the operator team and pick the variable that hurts most.

The Operator player deploys one operator and rolls as normal. All proficiency, Wounded state, and initiative rules apply identically.

Medic heal applies as written. Resolves before challenge engagement. The HVT player cannot prevent it.

12Two-Player Confrontation

The HVT player controls the HVT card. All attack priority rules apply identically to the solo game. The HVT player cannot dispute a Fallback roll if the skill used is narratively defensible — if the Operator player can explain how the skill applies, the roll stands.

Win / Lose. Operator player wins by clearing all five challenges and reducing the HVT to zero HP within three confrontation turns. HVT player wins if all operators are KIA or three turns expire with the HVT alive.

13Optional Rules

HVT Chooses Counterattack Target

Recommended once both players know the game. In the confrontation, instead of selecting the counterattack target randomly, the HVT player chooses which alive operator is targeted. No die roll. They pick the operator that most threatens them. Use this when the Operator player is winning too consistently at a given difficulty.

Balanced Draw

For first-time players. At Medium (3 operators): guarantee at least one combat-capable archetype (Commando or Fighter) and one specialist. Fill the third slot randomly. At Easy (4 operators): guarantee one combat-capable and two specialist archetypes. Fill the fourth slot randomly. Use fully random draws once you know the game.

PART III
The Operators
14Named Operators

These operators are drawn from across the factions, independent contractor pools, and gene-forged specialist programs of Earth 2060. Some carry faction colors openly. Others have cut those ties — but the training stays with them.

Kai "Longshot" Brennan
Sniper • NAF — Hellfire Harrier, 3rd Strike Wing
Prometheus baby. Learned to shoot in the dust-cloud aftermath of the North American Upheaval. Brennan trained under the Hellfire Harrier doctrine — urban overwatch, collapsing terrain, Phoenix rules. He doesn't need a clear line. He needs patience and elevation.
Precision Shooting 2+ Stealth 2+ Long-Range Combat 2+ Observation 4+ ★ Init
Sela Okafor
Hacker • ACU — Former Signals Intelligence
Built her skills during the Document Wars, intercepting data transfers between rival factions. She knows how the old systems were built and exactly where they're held together with post-war pipe.
Hacking 2+ Electronic Security 2+ Information Gathering 4+ Combat 5+ ★ Init
Dario "Breach" Vasquez
Demolitions Expert • SCA — Former Cartel Engineer
Learned his trade blowing tunnel networks in the Amazon basin. Defected after the Makali operation went wrong. He doesn't talk about the margin. He just doesn't miscalculate it anymore.
Explosives 2+ Disarming Traps 2+ Breaching 4+ Stealth 5+
Dr. Amara Diallo
Medic • ACU — Field Surgeon, Sahel Theater
Ran field medicine during the Great Drought displacement crises, working out of mobile stations in ghost country. She can stabilize an operator in conditions that would end most medical careers.
Medical Treatment 2+ Triage 2+ Health Restoration 2+ Combat 5+
Yusuf "Shade" Nazari
Spy • PCU — Former Deep Cover, Petro Caliphate Intel
Worked the border between the PCU and ghost country for seven years under three separate covers. Water trader, tech salvager, mid-level cartel liaison. He doesn't look like a threat. That's the whole point.
Disguise 2+ Infiltration 2+ Intelligence Gathering 4+ Combat 5+ ★ Init
Cass "Ironwall" Murtagh
Fighter • UKE — Royal Phantom Corps, Close Protection
Trained under the Royal Phantom Corps' close-quarters doctrine before going independent after the Balkanized Belt campaign. Built for confined spaces. Stealth isn't her approach. Controlled violence is.
Hand-to-Hand Combat 2+ Melee Weapons 2+ Martial Arts 2+ Stealth 5+
Cpt. Ren "Rampart" Takahashi
Commando • NAF — Strike Team Commander
Ran three-man strike teams in the flooded lower districts of NAF coastal cities. Draws Reeves lines for a living — marks the perimeter, commits the team, accepts no losses inside it. His tactical calls are clean and they hold.
Combat 2+ Tactical Operations 4+ Leadership 4+ Stealth 5+ ★ Init
Ilara "Ghost Bloom" Nkosi
Recon Specialist • ACU — Desert Patrol, Sahel Corridor
Specter work. Eight months without resupply in drought country, tracking caravan routes through terrain that looks empty until she maps it. Her observation record is the kind of thing other recon operators don't believe until they see the logs.
Scouting 2+ Stealth 2+ Observation 4+ Combat 5+ ★ Init
Piotr "Freight" Czarny
Driver/Pilot • EO — Former PMC Convoy Specialist
The one you call when the route is contested and the cargo can't wait. Has run Volkov freight through the Belt more times than he can count and lost vehicles on most of those runs. He's still here. The vehicles aren't.
Vehicle Operation 2+ Navigation 2+ Tactical Driving 4+ Combat 5+
Mirren "Crowbar" Voss
Technician • NAF — Former DARPA Drone Systems Engineer
Left NAF research after her autonomous sentry program was absorbed into a PMC contract without her sign-off. She builds better systems than the ones she's fighting, and she can crack the ones she didn't build.
Technology 2+ Engineering 2+ Repairs 2+ Combat 5+
Daniyar "Falcon" Bekova
Sniper • EO — Tempest Riders, Long-Range Overwatch
Earned her callsign at the Siege of New Moscow, holding a sniper position for 40 hours in a Prometheus chain collapse while Volkov freight ran below her. She fires when the conditions are right, not before.
Precision Shooting 2+ Stealth 2+ Long-Range Combat 2+ Observation 4+ ★ Init
Liang "Circuit" Fei
Hacker • NCB — State Security Defector
Six years inside NCB's cyber warfare division before making contact with a UKE intelligence broker and disappearing into the contractor market. Knows how the NCB builds its surveillance architecture from the ground level up. Also knows every way out.
Hacking 2+ Electronic Security 2+ Information Gathering 4+ Combat 5+ ★ Init
Thiago "Crater" Fontes
Demolitions Expert • SCA — Jungle Warfare, Amazon Basin
Learned his trade in the SCA's tunnel network campaigns. The difference between a controlled breach and a catastrophic failure was about two centimeters of placement. He's used to working in environments where the structure around him is the threat.
Explosives 2+ Disarming Traps 2+ Breaching 4+ Stealth 5+
Dr. Sofia Engström
Medic • UKE — Royal Phantom Corps Field Medical
Ran field medicine in the flooded coastal campaigns during the post-Upheaval reconstruction wars. Operated in zero-supply conditions, extreme climate environments, and under fire. Methodical and fast. Does not lose operators who arrive breathing.
Medical Treatment 2+ Triage 2+ Health Restoration 2+ Combat 5+
Veda "Silk" Rashid
Spy • PCU — Former Diplomatic Intelligence
Ran deep cover inside NAF tech sector boardrooms for three years, identifying IP transfers to black market brokers. Comfortable in environments where the threat wears expensive clothing and the weapons are information and leverage.
Disguise 2+ Infiltration 2+ Intelligence Gathering 4+ Combat 5+ ★ Init
Jens "Sledge" Thorvald
Fighter • EO — PMC Enforcer, Balkanized Belt
EO PMC asset for twelve years before going independent. His fighting style isn't elegant — it was built for the Belt, where the terrain is ugly and the engagements are close. Methodical, difficult to put down, completely unsuited to subtlety.
Hand-to-Hand Combat 2+ Melee Weapons 2+ Martial Arts 2+ Stealth 5+
Maj. Fatou Balde
Commando • ACU — Rapid Response, Sahel Operations
Commanded ACU rapid response during three separate climate displacement crises, each one a different kind of chaos. Builds plans that survive first contact. Her team composition decisions have a recovery rate other officers study.
Combat 2+ Tactical Operations 4+ Leadership 4+ Stealth 5+ ★ Init
Roshan "Specter" Karimi
Recon Specialist • PCU — Dune Specter Doctrine
Trained under the original Dune Specter program — patience-based operations in extreme environments. Has held observation positions for days in PCU desert theater without resupply, waiting for the environment to create his window. He doesn't rush. He doesn't have to.
Scouting 2+ Stealth 2+ Observation 4+ Combat 5+ ★ Init
Naima "Corsair" Diop
Driver/Pilot • ACU — Pacific Free Zone Maritime
Runs maritime transit routes through the South China Sea Freehold and the African coastal corridors. Navigates by instinct, reads vessel traffic the way Specter operatives read desert terrain. Outstanding warrant in three NAF ports she considers a professional credential.
Vehicle Operation 2+ Navigation 2+ Tactical Driving 4+ Combat 5+
Elin "Patchwork" Svensson
Technician • UKE — Field Systems Engineering
Built her skills repairing post-war pipe infrastructure in UKE's flooded coastal zones, where everything is held together by creative engineering and stubbornness. Can repair, modify, or sabotage almost any system — faction-built or black market — in the time it takes most technicians to read the manual.
Technology 2+ Engineering 2+ Repairs 2+ Combat 5+
// END NAMED ROSTER //
15Generic Archetypes

Use these cards when building custom operator pools or playing with simplified team compositions. Each represents any trained contractor operating without faction affiliation. The skill profile is the same. The name and history aren't.

The Sniper
Archetype • Independent Contractor
Every contested zone has one. They find elevation, they wait, and the shot either solves the problem or it doesn't.
Precision Shooting 2+ Stealth 2+ Long-Range Combat 2+ Observation 4+ Combat 5+ ★ Init — stealth & positioning
The Hacker
Archetype • Independent Contractor
The infrastructure is broken but it still runs, and someone built it. They know who. They can get in.
Hacking 2+ Electronic Security 2+ Information Gathering 4+ Combat 5+ ★ Init — system disruption before engagement
The Demo Expert
Archetype • Independent Contractor
Anything can be compromised given the right material and enough time to place it correctly. They have both.
Explosives 2+ Disarming Traps 2+ Breaching 4+ Stealth 5+
The Medic
Archetype • Independent Contractor
Field medicine in a contested zone means working with what's available on people who can't wait. They've done it long enough that it looks routine.
Medical Treatment 2+ Triage 2+ Health Restoration 2+ Combat 5+
Special: Twice per mission, before the operator roll on any challenge, may attempt Health Restoration (D6, 3+). On success, one Wounded operator becomes Active. Still deploys against the challenge normally.
The Spy
Archetype • Independent Contractor
They've been someone else for so long they don't remember who they were before. That's not a problem. It's the qualification.
Disguise 2+ Infiltration 2+ Intelligence Gathering 4+ Combat 5+ ★ Init — cover established before challenge engages
Note: Covers Disguise vulnerabilities on HVT cards.
The Fighter
Archetype • Independent Contractor
Trained in close-quarters before the Upheaval. The techniques work the same in post-Upheaval corridors. Faster than most people who try to stop them.
Hand-to-Hand Combat 2+ Melee Weapons 2+ Martial Arts 2+ Stealth 5+
The Commando
Archetype • Independent Contractor
Strike team background. Direct action, fast breach, controlled exit. They know what the call sounds like when it comes in.
Combat 2+ Tactical Operations 4+ Leadership 4+ Stealth 5+ ★ Init — tactical positioning & quick response
The Recon Specialist
Archetype • Independent Contractor
They move through the terrain before the team does. What they find shapes the mission. What they miss costs someone their state.
Scouting 2+ Stealth 2+ Observation 4+ Combat 5+ ★ Init — advance positioning & threat identification
The Driver/Pilot
Archetype • Independent Contractor
Every mission has an exfil. They get the team out of the zone when the plan stops working. Always ready to move.
Vehicle Operation 2+ Navigation 2+ Tactical Driving 4+ Combat 5+
The Technician
Archetype • Independent Contractor
The post-Upheaval world runs on infrastructure nobody fully understands anymore. They understand more of it than most.
Technology 2+ Engineering 2+ Repairs 2+ Combat 5+
PART IV
High-Value Targets
16High-Value Targets

Thirty targets. Warlords, oligarchs, rogue scientists, PMC defectors, and black market architects. Each has a vulnerability — the operator archetype and skill that bypasses their defenses — and a set of counterattack profiles determined by a D6 roll at the start of the confrontation. HVT HP is set per the difficulty table.

Raheel al-Saidani
Bioweapon Logistics Broker • Vulnerability: Explosives (Demo Expert or Technician, 2+)
Primary broker for bioweapon precursor materials moving out of the Indo-Pakistani Forbidden Zone. Five sanctions lists, off all of them.
Remote-Triggered IEDs: 2+ • Armored PMC Bodyguards: 3+ • Booby-Trapped Exfil Routes: 3+
Mira "The Absence" Kovacs
Freelance Assassin • Vulnerability: Electronic Security (Hacker, 2+)
Former EO intelligence asset. Vanished during a black site extraction. Re-emerged under four identities. The intel suggests gene-forged biometric variance. The intel might be wrong.
Overwatch Snipers: 2+ • Biometric Spoofing Systems: 3+ • Close-Quarter Combat Protocols: 2+
Gregor Vanchev
PMC Warlord • Vulnerability: Explosives (Demo Expert, 2+)
Ran PMC operations under three EO oligarchs. Escaped detention, took half his unit, established a fortified compound in Balkanized Belt ghost country. Calls it a security firm.
PMC Heavy Artillery: 2+ • Armored Vehicle Perimeter: 3+ • Belt-Veteran Mercenaries: 3+
Alexei Drobyshev
Arms Broker • Vulnerability: Hacking (Hacker, 2+)
Former EO analyst who pulled a Prometheus League move — broadcasting classified schematics for personal enrichment. Pivoted to arms brokering. Knows how every major faction builds its secure comms architecture.
Faction Hacking Countermeasures: 2+ • EO Armored Convoys: 3+ • AI Surveillance Grid: 4+
Sung-Min Yeo
Gene-Forged Labor Trafficker • Vulnerability: Scouting (Recon Specialist, 2+)
Runs gene-forged workers across Pacific Free Zone routes without documentation. The NCB knows. He has enough on NCB procurement practices that they'd rather manage him than arrest him.
Gene-Forged Enforcers: 2+ • Compound Trap Network: 3+ • SCSF Escape Routes: 3+
Tomas "The Drought Clock" Arriaga
SCA Narcotics Warlord • Vulnerability: Infiltration (Spy, 2+)
Controls water access, food distribution, and narcotics supply across 400 km of ghost country. The population isn't loyal out of ideology — they're loyal because he controls whether the taps run.
Bribed Regional Officials: 2+ • Cartel Security Forces: 3+ • Ghost Country Tunnel Networks: 4+
Rodrigo "Don Blood" Espinoza
SCA Cartel Kingpin • Vulnerability: Explosives (Demo Expert, 2+)
Controls the SCA's southern corridor with a combination of cartel force and infrastructure investment that makes him genuinely popular. Taking him down is both a tactical and a political problem.
Cartel Enforcement Teams: 2+ • Jungle Tunnel Networks: 3+ • Corrupted Law Infrastructure: 4+
Vera "Station" Marchetti
Shadow Data Broker • Vulnerability: Hacking (Hacker, 2+)
Former NAF tech executive. Runs a shadow data brokerage from maritime platforms — buying, packaging, and reselling faction intelligence. Her clients include three services that are also looking for her.
Hardened Encryption Stacks: 3+ • Maritime PMC Security: 2+ • Pacific Free Zone Escape Routes: 4+
General Kota Phirum
Ghost Country Warlord • Vulnerability: Scouting (Recon Specialist, 2+)
Commands a private army in highland ghost country. Eleven years of unbroken operation. Revenue stream: illegal mining, transit tariffs, gene-forged labor brokering. Compound never successfully approached.
Ghost Country Militia: 2+ • Compound Trap Architecture: 3+ • Air Transport Extraction: 4+
Dr. Nessa Brandt
Void Walker Bioweapon Architect • Vulnerability: Technology (Technician, 2+)
Former NAF bioengineering researcher. Designs gene-forged bioweapons on spec for any buyer. Works to her own parameters. Three turns ahead of every interdiction operation sent after her.
AI-Managed Security Systems: 3+ • Engineered Pathogen Traps: 2+ • Lab Self-Destruct Protocols: 3+
Felix "The Ledger" Brauer
Former Delta Force Arms Dealer • Vulnerability: Infiltration (Spy, 2+)
NAF Delta Force before discovering the operator skill set translates cleanly to arms dealing. Knows how faction procurement works from the inside. Selective, which makes him more dangerous than the dealers who aren't.
Contracted Operator Security: 2+ • EO Armored Convoy Support: 3+ • Encrypted Dead-Drop Comms: 3+
Mother Caelum (Theodosia Vance)
Infrastructure Strike Architect • Vulnerability: Disguise (Spy, 2+)
To twelve thousand followers: a prophet of necessary collapse. To faction security: the architect of four infrastructure strikes killing 900 people combined. Both descriptions are accurate.
Devoted Follower Strike Teams: 2+ • Compound Trap Architecture: 3+ • Psychological Warfare Protocols: 2+
Dmitri "The Document" Kashin
Freelance Intelligence Asset • Vulnerability: Electronic Security (Hacker, 2+)
EO deep cover who didn't surface when recall came. Operating freelance since, clients spanning every faction and black market tier. Three intelligence services still believe he's their asset.
Multiple Identity Packages: 3+ • Faction Tech Stealth Systems: 3+ • Contracted Assassin Network: 2+
Benedetto "The Don" Marini
UKE Black Market Broker • Vulnerability: Infiltration (Spy, 2+)
Runs the UKE black market's most established brokerage out of a partially flooded Mediterranean free port. Has bribed enough UKE officials that pursuing him is formally complicated.
Syndicate Enforcement Units: 2+ • Concealed Weapons Caches: 3+ • Corrupted UKE Officials: 4+
Commandant Aziz Borcea
Warlord-State Governor • Vulnerability: Explosives (Demo Expert, 2+)
Led a NAF-backed liberation movement for six years, then decided liberation was less interesting than governance. Runs a warlord state in former Eastern Europe with enough heavy weaponry to make direct assault Forbidden Zone math.
Private Army Ground Forces: 2+ • Compound Escape Infrastructure: 3+ • EO-Sourced Heavy Weaponry: 3+
Kwame "Dust" Boateng
SCA Transit Cartel Commander • Vulnerability: Navigation (Driver/Pilot, 2+)
Runs the SCA's West African transit corridor — narcotics, gene-forged labor, pre-Upheaval archive materials. Maintains loyalty through infrastructure investment and personal violence in roughly equal measure.
Cartel Strike Units: 2+ • Transit Tunnel Traps: 3+ • Maritime Escape Network: 3+
Dr. Yara "Sequence" Okonkwo
Bioweapon Architect • Vulnerability: Technology (Technician, 2+)
Former ACU gene-forging researcher whose program was absorbed by a NAF PMC without consent. Destroyed the research, took the methodology, disappeared. Specializes in modifications designed to look like natural illness.
AI-Managed Facility Security: 3+ • Engineered Pathogen Traps: 2+ • Lab Self-Destruct Protocols: 3+
Senator Harlan Vex
Corrupt NAF Official • Vulnerability: Intelligence Gathering (Spy or Hacker, 4+)
NAF legislative architect for 20 years, data broker for 18. Sells access to NAF procurement intelligence to EO, NCB, and six PMC operations simultaneously. The art is making sure none of them compare notes.
PMC Enforcement Units: 2+ • Concealed Security Systems: 3+ • Corrupted Federal Officials: 4+
Zora "Prometheus" Kadic
Cyber Operative • Vulnerability: Electronic Security (Hacker, 2+)
Runs the most active Prometheus League-aligned data operation in the EO corridor. Broadcasting faction intelligence on open frequencies because she believes the information itself is the weapon. Three services want her contained. Three want her as an asset.
Hardened Encryption Architecture: 3+ • Contracted PMC Security: 2+ • Maritime Platform Escape: 4+
Brother Elias (Mikael Strand)
Climate Apocalypse Cell Leader • Vulnerability: Scouting (Recon Specialist, 2+)
Leads an operational cell that has graduated from civil disruption to infrastructure strikes. Doctrine: the climate collapse was engineered by faction power structures. Three steps ahead of most interdiction timelines.
Devoted Operative Strike Teams: 2+ • IED Trap Architecture: 3+ • Psychological Disruption Protocols: 2+
Empress Solange (Ama Asante)
ACU Coastal Black Market • Vulnerability: Infiltration (Spy, 2+)
Controls the largest informal economy in the post-Upheaval African corridor. Pays for schools, water, and medical clinics. Also controls narcotics, gene-forged labor transit, and weapons brokering at continental scale.
Syndicate Enforcement Network: 2+ • Compound Trap Architecture: 3+ • Coastal Maritime Escape: 3+
Prof. Soren Haas
Rogue Gene-Forging Researcher • Vulnerability: Technology (Technician, 2+)
Licensed gene-forging researcher until his protocols moved past informed consent. Developing cognitive compliance modifications in gene-forged subjects — workers who don't want to leave because they can't want to.
AI-Monitored Security Architecture: 3+ • Gene-Forged Subject Defense Units: 2+ • Lab Self-Destruct Failsafes: 3+
Nadia "Black Widow" Reyes
Assassin • Vulnerability: Electronic Security (Hacker, 2+)
Cleanest contract record in the post-Upheaval market. Seventeen confirmed eliminations, zero forensic traces, zero witnesses. Gene-forged for biometric variance and enhanced reaction time.
Overwatch Sniper Positions: 2+ • Gene-Forged Stealth Systems: 3+ • Close-Quarter Combat Systems: 2+
Colm "The Ledger" Ashby
Arms Distribution Broker • Vulnerability: Navigation (Driver/Pilot, 2+)
Former UKE Royal Phantom Corps officer. Runs an arms distribution network sourcing from EO PMC surplus and delivering to SCA, PCU, and independent warlord operations. Never failed a delivery.
PMC Heavy Artillery: 2+ • Armored Transit Vehicles: 3+ • Contracted Mercenary Security: 3+
Yevgeny "Omega" Rykov
Radical Extremist • Vulnerability: Explosives (Demo Expert, 2+)
Former EO analyst who concluded the oligarchs orchestrated key Prometheus chain failures to consolidate territory. Burned his post, published the evidence, transitioned to operational sabotage targeting EO infrastructure. Methods don't distinguish military from civilian.
Remote IED Packages: 2+ • Armored Operative Support: 3+ • Faction-Sourced Booby Trap Networks: 3+
Benedikt "Cipher" Horak
Pre-Upheaval Stockpile Broker • Vulnerability: Scouting (Recon Specialist, 2+)
Specializes in pre-Upheaval military equipment from dissolved national armies nobody catalogued in the chaos of the 2040s. Finds them, authenticates them, moves them through the Balkanized Belt into active conflict zones.
PMC Artillery Support: 2+ • Armored Convoy Network: 3+ • Contracted Security Forces: 3+
Valentina "Archive" Sereni
Document War Relic Broker • Vulnerability: Hacking (Hacker, 2+)
Moves pre-Upheaval archive materials that didn't survive the Document Wars officially but did survive in the hands of people who knew what they were worth. Connected to UKE black market and at least one Void Walker network.
Encrypted Communication Networks: 2+ • Armored Transit Convoy: 3+ • AI Surveillance Integration: 4+
Dr. Otto Pfeiffer
Gene-Forging Criminal • Vulnerability: Technology (Technician, 2+)
NCB's leading gene-forging researcher before being declared a state fugitive for non-consensual modification experiments. Running an underground research operation for four years, funded by EO black market contracts.
AI-Managed Security Architecture: 3+ • Engineered Compound Traps: 2+ • Lab Self-Destruct Protocols: 3+
Vadim "Signal" Makarov
NCB Cyber Operative • Vulnerability: Electronic Security (Hacker, 2+)
Runs offensive cyber for NCB but has been operating three degrees outside his sanctioned mandate for two years. Sideline: surveillance architecture sold to PCU, mapping Void Walker infrastructure for unauthorized reasons.
Hardened Encryption Stacks: 3+ • Contracted PMC Security: 2+ • Maritime Exfil Platform: 4+
Minister Cécile Beaumont
Corrupt UKE Broker • Vulnerability: Intelligence Gathering (Spy or Hacker, 4+)
Senior UKE economic governance position. Parallel career as liaison between UKE financial institutions and EO black market operations. Nine years running both jobs. Protection comes from knowing which UKE officials are doing the same thing.
Syndicate Enforcement Units: 2+ • Concealed Security Systems: 3+ • Corrupted UKE Officials: 4+
PART V
Scenario Cards
17Scenarios

Draw one Scenario card at setup. It defines the mission's objective, location, and special conditions. The scenario doesn't replace the Challenge cards — it frames them. The same challenge plays differently in a NAF elevated district versus SCA jungle terrain.

ScenarioObjectiveLocationKey Conditions
Hostage RescueExtract faction-held hostages without casualtiesNAF elevated residential districtHigh civilian density; Reclamation protocol if detected
Device DefusalNeutralize a remote-triggered deviceNAF transit interchangeHard countdown; multiple or decoy devices; civilian saturation
Arms Shipment InterceptionIntercept illegal arms transfer and secure cargoPCU desert transit portPMC security with drone overwatch; multiple exfil routes
Intelligence ExtractionExtract classified data from a secured facilityNCB administrative compoundAI surveillance grid; hard extraction window
Infrastructure SabotageDisable critical EO industrial infrastructureEO industrial complex, Balkanized BeltHazardous environment; cascade risk if sequence incorrect
Asset ProtectionPrevent assassination during a faction summitUKE heritage hotel, partially flooded historic cityMultiple delegations; potential inside cover actors
Labor ExtractionRescue gene-forged trafficking victimsSCA jungle compound, Amazon basinGene-forged guard animals; modified stress responses in victims
Production Facility RaidRaid a mobile bioweapon production facilitySCA river compoundIntegrated trap network; SCA reinforcement countdown
Data Vault BreachNeutralize an active data vault seizureNAF financial data centerActive breach in progress; civilian employees present
War Criminal ExtractionLocate and extract a war crimes fugitiveMountainous ghost country, former Eastern EuropeExtreme terrain; years of established defensive architecture
Cyber Strike PreventionStop an active cyber attack on NAF civilian infrastructureNAF technology campusCascade risk; possible insider threat; simultaneous vectors
Camp NeutralizationNeutralize a PCU-adjacent irregular forces campPCU contested zone, fortified desertContinuous patrols; precision required; stealth preferred
Document RecoveryRecover stolen pre-Upheaval archive materialsUKE heritage estateIntegrated UKE surveillance; Document War-era concealment architecture
Bioweapon Facility BreachInfiltrate EO bioweapon research facilityEO hardened industrial complexHazardous materials; cascade airborne release risk
PMC DisbandmentNeutralize a rogue PMC and capture its COEO-adjacent ghost country military installationArmored assets; multiple fortification layers; pre-positioned escape
Maritime InterdictionIntercept nuclear materials on a Pacific Free Zone vesselSCSF maritime transit, open waterMoving platform; radiation risk; narrow transfer window
Summit ProtectionProtect a NAF-UKE diplomatic contact during public engagementNAF convention center, elevated districtMedia presence; multi-vector threat; possible inside threat
Artillery InterdictionNeutralize an EO artillery positionFortified EO desert baseHeavy weapons; sandstorm risk; countdown to fire mission
Asset ExtractionExtract a compromised intelligence assetNCB-administered city, full-spectrum AI surveillanceCover required throughout; multiple NCB interdiction assets active
Detention Break PreventionPrevent a coordinated escape from a high-security facilityEO maximum-security installationOperation already in progress; AI-integrated containment; hostage risk
PART VI
Challenge Cards
18Challenge Cards

Five challenges stand between your team and the HVT. At setup, draw five cards and place them face down. Reveal them one at a time, left to right. Roll a D6 to determine which variable activates on each card. In the two-player variant, the HVT player selects the variable instead of rolling.

Each entry shows the challenge name, whether initiative applies (⚡), the primary skill focus, archetype proficiency ratings, and all six variables with their success thresholds. Remember: use whichever threshold is higher — your proficiency rating or the printed variable threshold.

Rigged Infrastructure
Skill Focus: Demolitions, Disarming • No Initiative
Post-war pipe construction concealing integrated explosive systems. These systems don't act — they wait. The trap triggers when you touch it, not before.
Good: Demo Expert, Technician • Ordinary: Hacker, Recon Specialist
  • Factional IED packages inside junction panels — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Pressure-triggered toxin dispensers in ventilation ducts — 4+
  • Remote-detonation packages requiring precise handling — 3+
  • Decoy equipment wired to draw disarmament attempts — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Collapse charges on structural support points — 3+
  • AI-triggered fragmentation systems in doors and access panels — 4+
Coordinated Strike ⚡ Initiative
Skill Focus: Combat, Coordination
Multi-vector faction security response. This challenge has initiative.
Good: Commando, Fighter • Ordinary: Sniper, Recon Specialist
  • Simultaneous breach from multiple approach corridors — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Mixed PMC units with varied weapons and coordination protocols — 4+
  • Overwatch snipers covering ground force advance — 3+
  • Gene-forged security with AI-assisted drone coordination — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Elite PMC operatives with faction-spec equipment — 4+
  • Coordinated multi-unit assault with suppression and breach teams — 3+
Ambush ⚡ Initiative
Skill Focus: Agility, Combat
Concealed threat deployment requiring immediate response.
Good: Commando, Fighter • Ordinary: Recon Specialist, Sniper
  • Gene-forged security executing a concealed position strike — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Post-war pipe concealment used to position hidden threat — 4+
  • Overwatch position active in adjacent structure — 3+
  • Ambush through ghost country ruins or flooded lower district — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Diversion operation leading operators into prepared kill zone — 4+
  • Multi-level attack from elevation and ground simultaneously — 3+
System Failure
Skill Focus: Hacking, Technology • No Initiative
Prometheus chain cascade through connected infrastructure. One failure triggering the next.
Good: Hacker, Technician • Ordinary: Medic
  • Power grid failure causing zone-wide blackout — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Communications breakdown isolating operators from coordination — 4+
  • AI security system running hostile response protocol — 4+
  • Faction surveillance infrastructure malfunctioning — creating gaps and unpredictable triggers — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Automated system reboot cycling through unsecured states — 3+
  • NCB-standard data corruption running misdirection on operator navigation — 3+
Climate Conditions
Skill Focus: Endurance, Survival • No Initiative
Post-Upheaval environmental conditions in the active mission zone. The world of 2060 is not stable climate. It is the aftermath.
Good: Recon Specialist, Driver/Pilot, Medic
  • Storm surge flooding lower district approach routes — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Great Drought heat — extreme temperatures degrading equipment and endurance — 4+
  • Prometheus-pattern electrical storm disrupting digital systems — 3+
  • Sandstorm conditions in PCU or EO desert theater — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Heat index in extreme range — operator fatigue accumulation — 4+
  • Rapid temperature drop affecting weapons systems and exposed equipment — 3+
Timed Failsafe
Skill Focus: Explosives, Disarming • No Initiative
Automated systems with countdown triggers. The failsafe doesn't know you're there until you trip it.
Good: Demo Expert, Technician • Ordinary: Hacker
  • Countdown on faction explosive failsafe package — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • AI-controlled blast doors closing on timed architecture — 4+
  • Time-release trap system with variable trigger — 4+
  • AI-managed security shutters cycling through lockdown sequence — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Hard mission window with countdown before response force arrives — 3+
  • Pre-scheduled PMC reinforcement arrival — operator timing is critical — 3+
Asset Complication
Skill Focus: Negotiation, Stealth • No Initiative
Extraction or protection scenario with a protected third party whose status affects the mission.
Good: Spy, Medic • Ordinary: Recon Specialist, Commando
  • Asset held in position with armed PMC security — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • IED device in proximity to asset position — 4+
  • Asset located in trap-integrated holding location — 3+
  • Asset being used as leverage in active confrontation — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • PMC security running escalation threat on asset if alarm triggers — 3+
  • Asset in non-standard location requiring compound navigation — 4+
Infrastructure Maze
Skill Focus: Agility, Stealth • No Initiative
Post-Upheaval construction and ghost country architecture creating complex navigation requirements.
Good: Recon Specialist, Spy, Driver/Pilot • Ordinary: Sniper
  • Flooded lower district corridors with partial structural collapse — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Reconstructed ventilation systems with non-standard routing — 4+
  • Ghost country underground infrastructure with multiple defunct junctions — 3+
  • Post-war pipe stairwell architecture with concealed access points — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • False wall and hidden access construction from Document War concealment era — 4+
  • Elevated district external approach with restricted access — 3+
Disinformation
Skill Focus: Observation, Deception • No Initiative
Document War-era disinformation technique deployed in the mission environment.
Good: Hacker, Spy • Ordinary: Medic, Recon Specialist
  • Fabricated intelligence package leading to prepared ambush — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Deepfake communication intercepts designed to redirect operators — 4+
  • PMC operatives running false faction identity covers — 4+
  • AI-generated false mission parameter update — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Ghost country map data — outdated infrastructure creating navigation failure — 4+
  • False alarm triggering security response in wrong sector — 3+
Remote Threat Systems ⚡ Initiative
Skill Focus: Hacking, Demolitions
AI-directed or remote-operated weapon and surveillance systems.
Good: Hacker, Demo Expert • Ordinary: Technician, Commando
  • AI-piloted drones carrying explosive payload — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Remote-triggered trap requiring rapid disarming — 3+
  • Remote-operated vehicle running ambush approach — 4+
  • Faction surveillance node under remote operator control — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • AI-managed security architecture running active countermeasure — 4+
  • Remote-controlled automated sentry with faction-spec weapons load — 3+
Security Architecture ⚡ Initiative
Skill Focus: Stealth, Hacking
AI-integrated or faction-built alarm and detection systems requiring evasion or neutralization.
Good: Hacker, Spy • Ordinary: Recon Specialist, Technician
  • Pressure-sensitive floor panels connected to automated response — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Laser grid requiring precise movement to navigate — 4+
  • NAF or NCB biometric entry system requiring bypass — 4+
  • Sound-sensitivity array integrated with zone-wide alert — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Infrared detection grid active across approach corridors — 3+
  • AI-managed multi-layer access system with sequential authentication — 4+
Environmental Obstacles
Skill Focus: Agility, Climbing • No Initiative
Physical terrain challenges from the changed landscape of 2060 — elevated districts, flooded approaches, ghost country infrastructure.
Good: Recon Specialist, Sniper, Medic, Driver/Pilot
  • Flooded lower district access requiring specialized equipment — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Faction security gate — hardened against standard bypass — 4+
  • Post-war pipe ventilation access — structural integrity uncertain — 3+
  • Elevated district barrier with integrated deterrence system — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • AI-monitored access control requiring card or biometric bypass — 4+
  • Storm debris blocking approach route — requires clearing or reroute — 4+
Rigged Entry Points
Skill Focus: Demolitions, Disarming • No Initiative
Approach and entry vectors trapped with faction-sourced explosive or chemical systems. The traps don't move — they trigger on contact.
Good: Demo Expert • Ordinary: Technician, Spy
  • Factional explosive charges on primary entry point — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Chemical dispersal mechanism in door hardware — gene-forged formulation — 4+
  • Pressure-plate network covering approach corridor — 3+
  • Remote-triggered charge integrated into window access — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Trap activated by incorrect biometric or code entry — 3+
  • Post-war pipe vent access releasing toxin when breached — 4+
Security Patrol ⚡ Initiative
Skill Focus: Stealth, Combat
Faction security or PMC patrol units requiring evasion or neutralization.
Good: Spy, Commando • Ordinary: Fighter, Recon Specialist
  • Gene-forged security units with enhanced detection capabilities — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Standard PMC patrol with fixed route and surveillance integration — 4+
  • Elite faction operatives with full-spectrum vision systems — 3+
  • AI-directed drone patrol coordinating with ground units — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Armored PMC vehicles running perimeter sweep — 3+
  • Gene-forged security with hardened physical profiles — 4+
Hostile Electronics ⚡ Initiative
Skill Focus: Hacking, Technology
AI-integrated or faction-built electronic threat systems requiring intrusion or destruction.
Good: Hacker, Technician • Ordinary: Spy
  • AI surveillance network with biometric tracking — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Automated defensive turret system requiring disabling — 4+
  • AI-directed security drones running active patrol — 4+
  • Faction electronic jamming system disrupting operator comms — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Holographic decoy system — AI-generated false positions — 4+
  • AI-managed access architecture requiring sequential code intrusion — 4+
Hostile Contact ⚡ Initiative
Skill Focus: Combat, Direct Action
Armed opposition between the team and the objective. No subtlety available. They open fire first.
Good: Commando, Fighter • Ordinary: Sniper, Recon Specialist
  • PMC security team with overlapping fields of fire — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Gene-forged close-protection unit — faster and harder than standard security — 4+
  • Faction militia with area denial weapons in a contested corridor — 4+
  • Contracted kill team — professional, briefed, waiting — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Armed checkpoint with escalation authority — shoot first — 3+
  • Security response force arriving ahead of schedule — 3+
Overwatch Position
Skill Focus: Precision, Observation • No Initiative
A threat established at elevation — sniper, drone, or remote weapons system covering the approach. They don't know the team is moving until the team moves.
Good: Sniper, Recon Specialist • Ordinary: Commando
  • Long-range sniper, confirmed zero — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Drone overwatch running thermal sweep on 90-second rotation — 4+
  • Remote weapons station on elevated structure, AI-aimed — 4+
  • Multiple observation posts with radio coordination — eliminating one doesn't clear the lane — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Concealed position in flooded upper district — no visible profile — 4+
  • PMC spotter team calling fire from off-map artillery — 3+
Breach and Clear ⚡ Initiative
Skill Focus: Combat, Breaching
A hard entry into a controlled structure. The structure is prepared. The team is not expected. The structure reacts on contact.
Good: Fighter, Commando, Demo Expert • Ordinary: Recon Specialist
  • Reinforced entry point with armed security staged inside — breach triggers immediate response — 3+ (Crit fail: state change)
  • Layered room-clearance with rotating PMC security — 4+
  • Booby-trapped primary entry — alternate access requires navigation under fire — 4+
  • Gene-forged security in close-quarters formation — trained for exactly this — 4+ (Crit success: recover state)
  • Hostile compound with non-combatant presence — neutralize without collateral — 4+
  • Timed lockdown sequence activating on breach — structure seals around the team — 3+
PART VII
Tutorial
19Solo Walkthrough — A Complete Mission

This walkthrough runs a full Medium difficulty mission from setup to result. Every card draw, die roll, and decision is explained as it happens. If you've read the rules and want to see them in motion before playing, start here.

Setup

You choose Medium difficulty: 3 operators, all starting Active. HVT at 3 HP, 1 counterattack per confrontation turn.

Scenario: Arms Shipment Interception. A PCU desert transit port. PMC security, drone overwatch, contingency exfil routes.

HVT: Gregor Vanchev — fortified Balkanized Belt compound, private army. Vulnerability: Explosives. A Demo Expert rolls Explosives (2+) instead of Combat. Attacks: PMC Heavy Artillery (2+), Armored Vehicle Perimeter (3+), Belt-Veteran Mercenaries (3+). Set Vanchev to 3 HP.

Draw 5 Challenge cards and place them face down. Draw 3 Operators:

You scan the team: Medic for HP recovery, Demo Expert for Vanchev's vulnerability. Keep Vasquez Active through the gauntlet.

The Gauntlet

Challenge 1 — Security Patrol ⚡ Variable roll: 4 — AI-directed drone patrol coordinating with ground units (threshold 4+). Murtagh (Fighter) is Ordinary at Security Patrol — she rolls at 4+. No ★ Init — Pressure applies (−1 to roll). Roll: 5. Minus 1 = 4. Clears 4+. Security Patrol cleared. Murtagh's Pressure roll didn't force a failure, so no state change.

Team: Murtagh Active, Vasquez Active, Diallo Active.
Challenge 2 — System Failure Variable roll: 2 — Communications breakdown (threshold 4+). No ★ Init operators have a skill advantage here — everyone is Bad (5+). Vasquez at 2 HP has more buffer. Deploy Vasquez. Roll: 5. Clears 5+. System Failure cleared. No state change.

Team: Murtagh Active, Vasquez Active, Diallo Active.
Challenge 3 — Disinformation Variable roll: 6 — Coordinated false intel has flagged one operator's credentials (threshold 3+). Diallo (Medic) is Ordinary (4+) at Disinformation. Before she deploys, you use the Medic heal — but everyone is still Active, so you save it. Diallo deploys at 4+. Roll: 2. Below 4+. Diallo becomes Wounded — rotate her card 90°.

Team: Murtagh Active, Vasquez Active, Diallo Wounded.
Challenge 4 — Rigged Entry Points Variable roll: 1 — Factional explosive charges on primary entry (threshold 3+). Vasquez (Demo Expert) is Good (2+). Printed threshold is 3+. Use the higher: 3+. Roll: 6. Critical Success. Rigged Entry Points cleared. Vasquez already Active — he stays Active. He reads the grid, marks the safe path, walks through clean.

Team: Murtagh Active, Vasquez Active, Diallo Wounded.
Challenge 5 — Hostile Contact ⚡ Variable roll: 3 — Faction militia with area denial weapons (threshold 4+). Murtagh (Fighter) is Good (2+). Printed threshold is 4+. Use higher: 4+. No ★ Init — Pressure (−1). Roll: 5. Minus 1 = 4. Clears 4+. Hostile Contact cleared. No state change from Pressure since the Pressure-adjusted roll still cleared.

Before this challenge, use the Medic heal: Diallo attempts Health Restoration (3+). Roll: 4. Success. Diallo becomes Active. Rotate her card upright.

Gauntlet complete. Team entering confrontation: Murtagh Active, Vasquez Active, Diallo Active.

The Confrontation

Three turns. Vanchev at 3 HP. Check attack priority:

Turn 1 Murtagh attacks: 2+. Roll 3. Hit. Vanchev: 3 → 2 HP.
Vasquez attacks: 2+. Roll 4. Hit. Vanchev: 2 → 1 HP.
Diallo attacks: 5+. Roll 3. Miss.
HVT Counterattack: Belt-Veteran Mercenaries, 3+. Random target: Murtagh. Roll 5. Hit. Murtagh: Active → Wounded.

After Turn 1: Murtagh Wounded, Vasquez Active, Diallo Active. Vanchev 1 HP.
Turn 2 Murtagh is Wounded — tier drops from Good to Ordinary: 4+. She can attack or attempt Recover (5+). She attacks: roll 5. Miss at 4+... wait, 5 clears 4+. Hit. Vanchev: 1 → 0 HP.

Vanchev is down. Mission complete.
Result — Mission Success Vanchev neutralized in 2 confrontation turns. Two operators Active, one Wounded. The Demo Expert never got to take his Turn 2 shot — Murtagh finished it from a Wounded state, rolling Good-degraded-to-Ordinary, and clearing it with a 5.

What This Mission Taught

The threshold rule changed one roll. On Challenge 4, Vasquez was Good (2+) but the printed variable sat at 3+. The higher threshold applied — 3+ instead of 2+. On his Critical Success, it didn't matter. In a close game, that one point of difference is everything.

The Medic heal is a resource, not a given. Diallo was Wounded after Challenge 3. Saving the heal for Challenge 5 restored her to Active before the confrontation. Using it earlier on nothing would have meant she entered the HVT fight at Ordinary tier on all rolls.

Wounded operators still contribute. Murtagh took a counterattack hit and ended Turn 1 Wounded. She still attacked on Turn 2 at her degraded tier (Ordinary, 4+) and closed the mission. She was one roll away from being KIA — a 3 would have ended her. That's the Wounded state doing its job: danger without certainty.

Protect your vulnerability match. Vasquez was the answer to Vanchev. Routing him away from initiative challenges and using Diallo on Disinformation kept him Active. If he'd gone Wounded in Challenge 2, he'd have rolled at 4+ in the confrontation instead of 2+. Against a 3 HP target with 3 turns, that gap matters.

20HVT Player Primer — Reading the Team, Building the Gauntlet

The solo tutorial shows how to run an operator team. This primer shows what the same mission looks like from the other side of the table.

Your Job

The Operator player survives. You make that harder. You see the operator team before you build anything. You choose which challenges they face and in what order. You choose which variable activates on every card. The gauntlet is yours to design — the only constraint is the eight cards you drew.

Reading the Team

The Operator player laid out the same three operators:

Your priorities: get Vasquez Wounded. Exhaust Diallo's heals on someone other than Vasquez. Arrive at the confrontation with Murtagh already Wounded.

Gauntlet Construction

You draw eight Challenge cards. Your eight:

Security Patrol ⚡ — Murtagh Ordinary (4+), Vasquez Bad (5+), Diallo Bad (5+). Initiative applies Pressure to any operator without ★ Init — so whoever deploys takes a −1 on their roll. Good against the whole team.
System Failure — Everyone Bad (5+). No one on this team handles it cleanly.
Overwatch Position — Sniper and Recon Specialist are Good. This team has neither. Everyone Bad (5+).
Disinformation — Diallo Ordinary (4+). Others Bad. Forces Diallo to engage if the Operator player wants reasonable odds — which means she might take the failure state change, not Vasquez.
Hostile Contact ⚡ — Murtagh Good (2+/printed 4+). Others Bad. Initiative Pressure still applies, and Murtagh's Pressure-reduced roll has to clear the higher threshold.
Rigged Entry Points — Vasquez Good. He clears this cleanly. Discard.
Remote Threat Systems ⚡ — Vasquez Good at Demolitions. He clears it. Discard.
Asset Complication — Diallo Good at Medical. She sails through. Discard.

You discard the last three — they hand the Operator player free wins on Vasquez and Diallo. Your selected gauntlet, in order:

  1. Security Patrol ⚡ — Pressure on turn 1. Murtagh takes the −1 penalty.
  2. System Failure — Everyone Bad. High chance of a Wounded state on whoever deploys.
  3. Overwatch Position — Everyone Bad again. Second consecutive Wounded opportunity.
  4. Disinformation — Diallo's best answer. Forces her to deploy and risk her state — and if she uses her heal here, she burns a charge.
  5. Hostile Contact ⚡ — Murtagh's challenge. Pressure −1 still applies. If Murtagh is Wounded entering this, the tier drop plus Pressure could miss entirely.

Variable Selection

In the solo game, a D6 determines the variable. As HVT player, you choose. Read the card, read the operator's current state, pick the variable that maximizes consequence.

Challenge 1: Security Patrol ⚡ — You pick Variable 6 (Gene-forged security with hardened physical profiles, threshold 4+). It shares the 4+ threshold with Variable 4 but has no Critical Success upside. You deny the Operator player the chance to roll a 6 and recover state.

Challenge 3: Overwatch Position — By this point someone is Wounded. You pick Variable 1 (long-range sniper, 3+ threshold, Critical Failure causes state change). The threshold is actually easier — but if the Operator player rolls a 1, it's a KIA instead of Wounded. You're not raising the difficulty. You're raising the consequence of a bad roll.

That's the distinction the Operator player never fully anticipates: sometimes you pick for threshold. Sometimes you pick for what happens when they fail.

What You're Building Toward

A well-constructed gauntlet doesn't try to KIA every operator outright. It arrives at the confrontation with HP spread thin — Murtagh Wounded, Vasquez borderline, Diallo's heals spent on Murtagh instead of Vasquez — so your single counterattack per turn actually decides the mission. One hit on a Wounded operator is KIA. If the Operator player survives your gauntlet but everyone is a hit away from death, the confrontation is a genuine coin flip. And you're the one choosing who gets targeted.

PART VIII
Earth 2060
21The World — Earth 2060
The Upheaval didn't end the world. It ended the world that existed before. What came after wasn't collapse — it was reconfiguration. The power structures are still there. They just answer to different names.Cayo Nkrumah, Contested Ground: Notes from the Post-Upheaval

The Factions

NAF — North American Federation

Rebuilt coastal cities on elevated infrastructure after the sea-level events. Runs the Hellfire Harrier air doctrine and Phoenix Rules for urban operations. Largest PMC contracting economy in the western hemisphere.

EO — Eurasian Oligarchy

Oligarch-controlled territory running from the Balkanized Belt through former Russian space. PMC operations under rotating operational names. Volkov freight is the blood supply. Document War records suppression is the foundation.

UKE — United Kingdom of Europe

Partially flooded heritage zones and reconstructed coastal cities. Royal Phantom Corps provides close-quarters doctrine. UKE black market is the most established informal economy in the western corridor.

PCU — Petro Caliphate Union

Desert territory expanded by the Great Drought. Controls remaining fossil fuel infrastructure. Dune Specter doctrine for desert operations. Manages the ghost country corridor between the drought expansion zone and the Belt.

SCA — South/Central American Alliance

Jungle and former agricultural territory reshaped by drought and cartel consolidation. Amazon basin operations. Gene-forged labor transit is the shadow economy. The drought clock runs on water access, not ideology.

NCB — New China Bloc

Full-spectrum AI surveillance architecture across administered territory. State gene-forging research program. Cyber warfare division operating three degrees outside sanctioned mandates as standard practice.

ACU — African Coalition Union

Sahel corridor operations, Specter doctrine, Pacific Free Zone maritime presence. Largest informal economy on the continent runs alongside official governance. Field medicine infrastructure from the Great Drought displacement crises.

SCSF — South China Sea Freehold

Maritime territory. Open water. The Pacific Free Zone transit routes run through here. No state authority that acknowledges itself. The contractors and the cartels use the same channels.

Key Concepts

The Upheaval. The cascade of climate, infrastructure, and political failures in the 2040s that reshaped the global order. Not a single event — a sequence. The Prometheus chain failures were part of it. The Great Drought was part of it. The Document Wars were the information layer of the same collapse.

The Prometheus Chain. Any cascade failure where one infrastructure collapse triggers the next. Named after the pattern. Still happening in 2060 in slow motion across the Belt and in ghost country.

Ghost Country. Territory no faction controls and no faction wants to patrol. Former agricultural land, abandoned infrastructure zones, drought-affected corridors. Operators work here without backup. The HVTs live here.

The Document Wars. The conflicts over pre-Upheaval archive materials — who controls the historical record, who gets to define what the old world was. Still running in 2060 as an information economy. Disinformation techniques from that era are still in operational use.

Gene-Forging. Post-Upheaval genetic modification for specialized labor, military application, and black market adaptation. Legal with faction licensing. Operated outside that framework by most of the HVTs in this deck.

Void Walkers. Operators, researchers, and contractors who have formally cut all faction ties and operate in contested space without affiliation. Some are ideological. Most are practical. All of them are off the official maps.

The Balkanized Belt. Former Eastern European territory fragmented into warlord states, ghost country, and PMC-controlled corridors. Volkov freight runs through it. So does most of the EO arms trade.

Prometheus League. An information collective that broadcasts classified faction materials on open frequencies. Operates on the belief that the information itself is the weapon. Three faction services want them shut down. Three others want them as assets.

// OPERATOR TACTICS: HVT // TC2066 // PROTOTYPE //