THE SOLO RULES

What This Book Is

This is the solo companion to Operator Tactics. One player, no GM, a 24″ × 24″ board (36″ × 24″ for vinyl-scale figures), one to four operators, sixty to ninety minutes. Every decision the GM would normally make is replaced by a rule, an oracle, or an enemy protocol.

The core game does not change. Attributes, dice, actions, wounds, cover, Edge, Stealth, Heat — all of it is the same as the multiplayer game. What this book adds is the handful of structures you need to run the game without a human across the table: a yes/no oracle, an enemy AI protocol, a turn-end event phase, an intel system, a mission builder, and a campaign Heat track.

Deliberately left out: faction politics, setting history, gene-forged lineage rules, augment packages, the full RPG layer. This is a table manual, not a world book. If you want the setting, read the Operator Tactics Core Book. If you want to play tonight, keep reading.

Conventions Used

• The die is a D6. Some rolls call for 2D6 (take highest, take lowest, or read as two axes). The Intel Table is a D20. The Event Generator is a D12 in one place.
• Meet or beat. A roll succeeds when it equals or exceeds the threshold. Natural 6 always succeeds. Natural 1 always fails. No modifier overrides these.
• Measurements are in inches, nearest base point to nearest base point.
• Solo DC. Where the multiplayer game says 4+, solo sometimes says 3+. This is called out per rule.
• “SITREP” is the yes/no oracle. “Protocol” is the enemy AI. When rules say “GM decides,” you use one of these two tools.
• Core Book references point to Operator Tactics — Core Book. Anything the core handles (augments, full Heat ladder, faction rules) is cited there, not duplicated here.

What You Need at the Table

1 · The Five Solo Tools

Learn these five. Play forever without a GM.

Solo OT replaces a human GM with five discrete tools. Each answers one class of question that would otherwise cross the table.

If a rule or scenario card answers a question, you don’t ask the oracle. If the oracle can answer it, you don’t improvise. If the protocol can decide for an enemy, you don’t override. The whole system is built to keep your judgment out of the loop where it would bias the fight in your favor.

2 · The Turn Sequence

Every round of solo OT resolves in five phases. Work top to bottom. Don’t skip.

3 · Modified Rules

Core rules apply. These are the solo-specific adjustments. If a rule isn’t listed here, run it the way the core game runs it.

Priority Check

Roll D6 for your squad and D6 for the enemy. You choose whether to take priority or concede it. Priority Pressure. The loser’s first activated model (operator or enemy) gets 1 action instead of 2 this round. Applies to both sides.

Action Floor

Every activation has a floor of 1 action. No combination of penalties — Priority Pressure, MW, Pinned, wound-track modifiers — reduces below it. Applies to operators and enemies equally.

Fumble Table

Natural 1 on a primary action roll triggers a D6 Fumble. Applies to both sides. When an enemy fumbles and rolls a 6, the nearest friendly enemy model counts as their “ally” for the result.

GUTS Check Triggers

Roll GUTS vs 4+. On a fail, the operator loses 1 action next activation. Triggers:

• A friendly operator in LoS goes Out of Action.
• You take your first MW this mission.
• You activate with 3 FW.
• You’re the last active operator on your side.

Any extreme situation beyond these: SITREP (Even Odds) to determine if a check fires.

Wound Clarity

Taking an MW clears all current FW. MW penalties replace FW penalties — they don’t stack. Applies to enemies too.

Reactions

A reaction costs 1 action next activation. One per operator per round.

• Body Shield. A friendly within 2″ is targeted by Shoot. Push them clear, become the target yourself. Requires LoS.

Terrain

• Difficult Terrain. 2″ per 1″ traveled.
• Climbing. 2″ per 1″ vertical. Ladders or stairs: 1:1. No handhold: TACT 4+ or no progress.
• Falling. 1 FW per 3″. 6″+ falls deal 1 MW instead.

Visibility

The scenario card states the condition. Default: Full Daylight.

• Night Vision. Ignore darkness and low-light penalties.
• Flashlight. 6″ cone. Negates darkness inside the cone. Reveals Stealthed enemies.

Environmental Conditions (D6)

Roll D6 at mission start or select. Lasts the entire mission. Place as Step 0.5 in the Mission Builder.

Combat Updates

• Close Range. Weapons with the Close Quarters property gain +1 within 6″. Check the weapon tag — this is a property, not a universal rule.
• Stacking Limit. Maximum +2 from class abilities per Shoot attack.
• Hostage Fire. A modified 1 or 2 hits the hostage.

Fighting

1. Contact. Move until your model touches the enemy (base-to-base, or within 1″ if either model uses a separate base). 1 action. Fight triggers immediately.
2. Opposed. Both roll D6. +1 with a melee weapon. High wins. Attacker wins ties.
3. Armor Check. Roll D6. Greater than loser’s AR = wound. Equal or less = absorbed. Nat 6 always penetrates.
4. Wound. FW on any win. Nat 6 on the armor check: MW instead.
5. Locked. TACT 4+ to break free. Success: 3″ clear. Fail: still locked.

Multiple Attackers. +1 per friendly in contact with the same target. Max +2.

Grenades — Solo Scatter

No opposing player to scatter against. Roll D6:

Challenge Thresholds

Roll against the listed number. Modifiers apply to the die. Default threshold when unspecified: 4+.

Specializations

Choose one per operator before each mission. Retrain freely between missions. No cost.

Field Read SOLO

A solo-exclusive action. 1 action. Roll relevant attribute vs 3+ (solo DC).

• Spot Weakness (OPINT). Learn one tactical detail about the target.
• Call the Target (TACT). Next friendly attack against that target gains +1.
• Read the Room (OPINT). Reduce cover penalties in a terrain feature by 1.

Nat 6: two benefits. Nat 1: false information, roll Fumble Table. Success earns 1 Tempo.

Desperation Fire

Both actions. Second Shoot at −2. Nat 1 on the second: weapon jam (1 action to clear). Commando Rapid Fire: 3 total, third at −2.

Sustain

Half MOBI while sustaining. Wound = GUTS 4+ or Sustain breaks. A Tech Override from an adjacent ally removes the roll requirement.

Fog of War

Recommended for every solo mission. Mark patrol zones with tokens, not enemy models. Reveal the enemy only when an operator has LoS. Once revealed, the enemy stays revealed and is tracked as a model from that point on.

Reinforcements

No automatic reinforcements in solo play. A SITREP check fires for reinforcements when: an alarm triggers, an operator goes OoA, or at the end of Round 4. Odds depend on Heat Level (see 23 · The Heat Track).

Complexity Indicators

If you’re teaching solo OT, introduce classes in this order:

• Basic. Commando, Breacher.
• Intermediate. Marksman, Medic.
• Advanced. Infiltrator, Tech Specialist.

GM Judgment Calls

Wherever a rule written for the multiplayer game says “GM decides,” in solo play you use SITREP (Even Odds) unless the context clearly shifts the probability.

4 · SITREP

The picture is never complete. Make your call with what you have.

SITREP is the yes/no oracle. Use it for questions the rules and the scenario card can’t answer. If the rules can answer it, don’t ask. Limit: 2 checks per situation. Then commit.

Odds

• Unlikely. Roll 2D6, take the lowest.
• Even. Roll 1D6.
• Likely. Roll 2D6, take the highest.

The Table

Unlikely cannot produce a 6. Likely cannot produce a 1. The extremes are reserved for the neutral-odds roll.

Prompts (D6 + D6)

When the oracle result needs more than yes/no — “what happens next?” — roll two D6. First die reads the Action column, second die reads the Object column. Combine through the fiction.

5 · Enemy AI Protocol

They follow their training. No improvisation.

Every enemy activates in the Threat Phase using this protocol. First valid action wins. Don’t improvise. Don’t play the enemy as if they have a GM in their head — play them as if they have an SOP card taped to their helmet.

Action Priority (Alert)

Target Priority (Alert)

1. Operator who attacked this enemy this round.
2. Closest operator in LoS.
3. Most wounded operator in LoS.
4. Nearest to the primary objective.
5. Tie: roll D6. Odd = left, even = right, from the enemy’s facing.

Enemy Types

Hostile Assets. Non-combatants don’t attack. They move 4″ toward the nearest exit unless restrained. A Hostile Asset used as combatant tier (15 pts) takes all checks at −2 and is removed on any single wound; overflow from a crowd Shoot lands here first.

Threat Keywords

Assign one keyword per enemy at setup. Persists the whole mission.

• Unaware. Doesn’t activate until alerted. First attack from Unaware gains Surprise bonus.
• Entrenched. +1 AR while in cover. Loses bonus if forced out.
• Aggressive. Always moves toward nearest operator. Never takes cover.
• Shielded. First hit per round absorbed. Second resolves normally.
• Flanker. Always attempts to move to an angle that avoids the target’s current cover.

6 · Alert States & Priorities

Track alert per group, not per individual. A group is one patrol cluster — models that started together.

Unaware → Suspicious Triggers

• Gunfire within 12″.
• A failed Hide by any operator within LoS.
• A body is found.
• An enemy within 6″ of the operator rolls 5+ to detect.

Suspicious Resolution (SITREP Even, each round)

Surprise Attack

An attack from Stealth gets +2 to the first attack. Breaks Stealth regardless of the result.

Example: Escalation Clock

A four-segment clock tracking how quickly a patrol group escalates from Unaware to Reinforced. Mark one segment per trigger.

7 · HVT Escalation & Motivation

HVT Escalation

A High-Value Target escalates as it takes damage. The ladder below overrides normal enemy behavior once triggered.

Last Stand resolves before any Stabilize attempt on it in the same round. You don’t get to close the book before the HVT writes its last line.

Enemy Motivation (D8)

Roll D8 before setup. This sets how the force behaves at its break threshold.

On reaching the threshold, roll Break Behavior (D6). Autonomous platforms skip this step. Commander Killed — all enemies within 12″ roll GUTS 4+. Fail: roll Break Behavior individually.

8 · Tempo Tokens

Tempo is the smart-play economy. Earn by playing well, spend to bend the dice.

Earn 1 Tempo When

• You succeed on Field Read.
• You score the first kill of the mission.
• You roll a natural 6 in combat.

One Tempo per trigger per activation. Don’t stack triggers into a single burst.

Universal Spends

• Reroll any D6. Does not stack with Edge.
• +1 to any roll. Declare after rolling.

Class-Specific Spends

9 · Performance Tokens

Earned at a class’s critical moment. One-use. Expires at mission end. Not bankable between missions.

Spend. +2 on the next roll using your class’s primary stat.

10 · Failsafe Tokens

When nothing else works, you spend this.

2 tokens per mission. Shared across the squad. Not earned. Not refreshed. Expire at mission end.

Spending Failsafe

Spend 1 on your activation. Choose one:

• Auto-succeed one check (not combat).
• Cancel one incoming wound.
• Force one enemy to skip its next activation.
• Immediately break Stealth detection on one operator.

11 · Running the Event Phase

At the end of every turn, after the Threat Phase resolves, the Event Phase fires. Something changes. The situation shifts. You react or you don’t — either way, the world moved.

Procedure

1. Threat Phase ends. All enemy activations resolved.
2. Roll 2D6. Designate one die as Category, one as Severity (color-code them).
3. Cross-reference on the Universal Event Table. Apply immediately.
4. Resolve any triggered checks (SITREP, OPINT, TACT) before moving to End Phase.
5. End Phase. Clean up.

First Turn

Skip the Event Phase on Turn 1. Let the operators deploy and take their first actions before the world starts moving. Events begin firing on Turn 2.

Two Modes

• Scenario Mode. Pre-built scenarios include their own Event Deck — playing cards mapped to scenario-specific events. Use those when provided; they’re tuned to the mission.
• Universal Mode. Mission Builder games and any scenario without a custom deck use the Universal Event Table below.

If a scenario provides a deck, use it. If not, roll Universal. Never run both at the same time.

Doubles = Amplified

When both dice show the same number, apply the event as written, then apply one amplification beat. Two notable doubles:

• Snake eyes (1–1). The event fires twice.
• Boxcars (6–6). A Defector / Opportunity event auto-triggers with bonus loot.

Heat Modifiers on Events

12 · Universal Event Table (2D6)

Roll 2D6. Red die = Category. White die = Severity. Read the pair. Apply now.

Category (First Die)

Severity (Second Die)

Event Fragments

Some combinations write themselves. When you need specifics, blend the pair through the fiction — or draw from the short-list below. These are reference seeds, not the whole tree.

13 · Event Deck Builder

The Universal Table keeps any mission alive. A scenario-specific deck makes a mission feel designed. If you’re writing your own scenario, build a deck.

Deck Size

The Five Required Categories

Every deck must include at least one card from each. A deck missing a category will feel flat in that dimension.

• Enemy Movement. Patrol shifts, repositions, reinforcements, escalations.
• Environmental Shift. Terrain, visibility, or physical conditions change.
• Intel Opportunity. Operators can learn something — plans, objective details, climax variables.
• Pressure Spike. The clock compresses. A new threat arrives. The objective gets harder.
• Decision Point. Two options. Both with costs. Neither free.

The Lull Card (7+ decks)

One card in the deck does nothing. “Dead air. The silence is worse.” A lull provides one turn of relief that makes the next event hit harder, and creates tension through absence. Decks of 5–6 don’t need one — every card should carry weight at that size.

Endgame Trigger

When the deck runs out, the scenario enters Endgame. Define what Endgame means in the scenario brief. This is not optional.

• Clock Compression. Remaining turns halve (round up).
• Objective Lockout. Primary becomes impossible. Switch to extraction.
• Enemy Surge. All enemies go Alert. Reinforcements arrive each turn.
• Environmental Collapse. Building coming down, fire spreading, gas filling the room. D6 turns until uninhabitable.
• Narrative Shift. The objective changes. Something else is here now.

The Event Generator (Four Rolls)

Blank card, no idea. Roll each axis in order. Assemble a skeleton. Write it in three sentences.

Step 1 — Category (D6)

Step 2 — Scope (D6)

Step 3 — Agency (D6)

Step 4 — Connection (D6)

The Three-Sentence Rule

1. What happens. Concrete terms. “The east wall collapses,” not “something bad occurs.”
2. The mechanic. What the player does about it — a roll, a choice, a repositioning.
3. The consequence. What changes if they don’t act.

If your event takes more than three sentences, split it or simplify.

Deck-Building Checklist

1. Deck size matches mission length.
2. At least one card from each required category.
3. At least one card advances or compresses the mission clock.
4. At least one card creates a genuine choice (both options cost).
5. At least two cards reference scenario-specific elements.
6. No card takes more than three sentences.
7. Lull included for 7+ decks.
8. Endgame trigger defined.
9. No card introduces a mechanic that isn’t already in this book.
10. Every card has a category label.

14 · Intel Markers

Small tokens. Big consequences. Every one is a question you don’t know the answer to yet.

Core Rules

• Placement. During setup, place Intel Markers. Pre-built scenarios specify locations. Mission Builder uses the Placement Generator below.
• Recovery. Move into contact with the marker (base-to-base or within 1″). Spend 1 action. Roll on the scenario’s Intel Table or the Universal Intel Table (D20). Remove the marker. Each result can only be obtained once per scenario — reroll duplicates.
• Who can recover? Any operator. Tech Specialists and Infiltrators roll with advantage (roll twice, keep the better).
• Contested. If an enemy is within 6″ with LoS to the recovering operator, the recovery action triggers a free Shoot from that enemy. The operator commits regardless.
• Destroyed. Some events or enemy actions can destroy markers. A destroyed marker is gone. Whatever it was, you’ll never know.

Placement Generator (Mission Builder)

Place each marker at the most interesting feature in its zone: a desk, a vehicle, a locked door, a comms panel. If a zone has nothing interesting, place it at the center in cover.

Bonus Marker. If the mission has an HVT, place one additional marker on the HVT’s person. Recovery requires the HVT to be OoA or restrained. This marker always yields the highest-tier result.

15 · Investigation Checks

Intel Markers are what you find on the ground. Investigation Checks are what you pull from the world.

When to Use

Use an Investigation Check when an operator wants to learn something the rules and scenario don’t already answer, and the answer has tactical consequence. This is different from SITREP.

• SITREP. “Is the door trapped?” (Yes / No / Yes but)
• Investigation. “I examine the security panel. What do I learn about the building’s layout?” (Roll determines quality.)

Procedure

1. Declare the target. A body, terminal, locked room, captured enemy, document, vehicle.
2. Spend 1 action. Contact required — base-to-base or within 1″ (or within 6″ for a Tech Specialist using Remote Access).
3. Roll vs 4+. OPINT for electronic systems, documents, analysis. TACT for physical environments and tactical reading.
4. Read the result.

Investigation Targets

16 · Universal Intel Table (D20)

Roll D20 when an operator recovers an Intel Marker on a Mission Builder game.

Nat 20. Always yields The Full Picture, even if already obtained. Overrides the duplicate rule.

17 · Secondary Objectives

The primary objective is what Command sent you for. The secondary is what the mission actually needs. Roll D6 during Mission Builder setup.

Reward. Investigating operator earns 1 additional MP. Campaign: +1 Campaign Token (Mission Intel). Non-campaign: 1 Tempo that carries into the next mission.

18 · The Nine Steps

Run these before you set up the table. A mission built this way fits on an index card.

19 · The Five-Zone Method

Every Mission Builder table is five zones, front to back. Set them up first. Terrain comes second.

1. Insertion Zone. Where you enter. Somewhat defendable.
2. Approach Corridor. Between insertion and objective. Punishes a straight dash.
3. Objective Zone. Where the work happens. Enemy-set defense.
4. Kill Zone. Open ground raked by fire.
5. Extraction Zone. The way out. Not the same edge as Insertion.

The zones do double duty: they tell you where to place terrain, patrols, and Intel Markers, and they give events a vocabulary. “An event that affects the Objective Zone” means something specific on your table.

20 · Patrol Tokens & Fog of War

Enemies deploy as tokens, not models. Reveal only on LoS. Place 3–5 tokens on the table at setup. Label in sequence: P1, P2, P3...

Patrol Behavior

• Enemies without a target move toward the nearest token in sequence.
• Reaching a token: move to the next.
• After the final token: loop to P1.
• Once a target is acquired (LoS, noise, SITREP), abandon patrol and follow AI Protocol.
• Remove tokens that are no longer needed. Don’t replace them.

Place tokens where they intersect approach lanes. A corner forces a decision. Open middle does not.

21 · The Self-Pressurizing Principle

A solo mission gets worse if you stall. Define why before Round 1.

Every mission answers one question before play: what gets worse if the operators do nothing?

Not every mission needs a timer. Every mission needs a consequence for inaction. If sitting in cover is as good as moving, the mission isn’t defined yet. Common pressures:

• A clock. X rounds until reinforcements / alarm / detonation.
• A moving target. HVT or asset that leaves the board at Round Y.
• A degrading environment. Flood, fire, structural collapse.
• A patrol that tightens. Every round, a patrol zone contracts.
• A witness. NPC who compromises the op if not silenced.

22 · Extended Operations & Extraction

Extended Operations

Non-combat phases: set a success target (3–5) and a round limit (4–8). Operators earn points by completing tasks. Hit the target before the clock or the mission degrades. Good for hacks, hostage stabilization, ritual disruption, controlled demolition.

Extraction Protocol

When half your squad has taken at least 1 MW: SITREP (Even Odds).

• Yes. Extraction activates. Move-only operators don’t provoke reactions.
• Campaign consequence. Heat +1.

23 · The Heat Track

Track between missions. Maximum: 6. Starts at 0.

Heat Increases

• Alarm triggered: +1
• Any operator goes OoA: +1
• Mission failed: +2
• Extraction under fire: +1

Heat Decreases

• Mission completed, no alarm: −1
• Surveillance mission fully undetected: −2

Heat Thresholds

• Heat 3. All missions start one Alert level higher.
• Heat 6. Every mission starts at Alert. Reinforcements auto-arrive end of Round 2. Does not decrease until a major campaign victory.

24 · After-Action & Between Missions

After-Action Events (D8)

Roll immediately after each mission resolves, before the between-mission sequence. Results range from clean extraction with no follow-up to intelligence drops, compromised identities, patron interference, or a fresh lead that shortens the next mission’s setup.

Recovery (No Medic)

Each operator carrying an MW rolls GUTS 4+. Success: recovered. Fail: persists into the next mission. Cannot be assisted.

Field Requisitions

Earned on mission outcome. One-use.

• Tier 1 — Standard. Full or partial success.
• Tier 2 — Priority. Full success only.
• Tier 3 — Black Ops. Full success plus zero MW across the squad.

25 · Battlefield Evolution

The mission changed them.

After adjusting Heat, check for Evolution triggers. One Evolution per operator maximum. A second qualifying event: keep or replace the current one.

Trigger Events

• Sole Survivor. Every other operator removed. You completed or extracted alone.
• Against All Odds. Survived 2+ MW in one mission.
• Ghost Protocol. Entire mission undetected.
• Field Promotion. Another operator permanently removed. You were closest.
• Broken Instrument. Failed a critical objective. Squad extracted. Primary goal lost.

Example Evolutions

• Last Operator Standing. When all friendlies are Down or removed: +1 to all rolls rest of round. Once per mission.
• Hard to Kill. First MW each mission converts to FW.
• Phantom. Re-enter Stealth without rolling. Cover required. Once per mission.
• Weight of Command. Free action order. Ally within 6″ takes a free action. Once per mission.
• Nothing Left to Lose. +1 to all rolls Round 1 of next mission. Fades after.

26 · Climax Variables

Every mission with a final objective zone has a Climax Variable: a die roll that fires once, when the first operator crosses the threshold of the final objective zone.

How to Use

1. When the first operator crosses the threshold, roll D6 (or choose one pre-assigned result).
2. The room you planned for is now a different problem.
3. Apply the variable. Do not reroll. The whole point is that the final room is harder than you planned.

Climax Variables do not replace the existing objective. They change the conditions under which it plays out.

Construction Pattern

A Climax Variable is a six-entry table. Build one per mission. Each entry should do exactly one of these things:

• Activate a third party. An NPC, defector, rival team, or autonomous platform enters the room under Enemy AI Protocol at the Alert state you specify.
• Change the room’s physics. A fire, flood, seal, collapse, or power failure that forces repositioning.
• Change the objective cost. A challenge that required 1 success now requires 2. Or waives a requirement entirely.
• Introduce a ticking clock. 2–4 rounds, then the window closes.
• Trigger Sealed Orders. A decision rolled and written face-down before deployment, opened now.
• Force a SITREP. A yes/no beat with high stakes: negotiate, surrender, fight.

Sealed Orders

Before deployment, roll the relevant hidden table and write the result face down. Do not look until the Climax Variable fires and instructs you to open it. This preserves surprise in solo play.

27 · Briefing, Operators & Setup

One operator. No GM. Every solo mechanic, introduced the moment it matters.

This is a learn-by-playing tutorial. Every chapter of this book is a reference; this Part is a rehearsal. Run the mission below and you will have used the SITREP oracle, the Enemy AI Protocol, the Event Phase, Intel Markers, HVT Escalation, Tempo, Failsafe, the Heat Track, and the Climax Variable — in the order the game naturally calls for them.

60–90 minutes. Solo or paired. No prior solo knowledge required. Core mechanics assumed; the rest of this book teaches what you need as you go.

The Mission

Somewhere in the Southwark flood basin, a dead signal came back online. Not a broadcast. A query. Something asking whether anyone is still listening.

Pick an Operator

Each plays differently. Read all three before choosing.

Map Setup

Build the table with four sectors in a row, left to right. Each sector should have natural chokepoints and at least one piece of cover.

Pre-Mission Setup: Fog of War

In solo play, enemies are not placed as models. They are patrol zones marked with tokens. The enemy is revealed when you see it.

1. Place Fog of War tokens (one type) at the patrol waypoints listed below.
2. Do not place enemy models yet.
3. When your operator has clear LoS to a waypoint, replace the token with the enemy model at that position. Check their Alert State immediately.
4. Revealed enemies stay revealed.

The table should look empty. That’s correct.

Patrol Setup

Enemy Stats

Heat Track

This is your first mission. Write HEAT: 0 on your notepad. You’ll update it after extraction. Everything you do in this mission either keeps that number where it is, raises it, or lowers it.

28 · Sector 1 — The Approach

Cracked pavement. Street-level dark. The substation wall is old concrete, flood-stained to the eight-foot mark. A gate hangs slightly open. One patrol token near the gate. Whatever is there hasn’t seen you yet.

This sector teaches: SITREP Oracle, Alert States.

Play

Move your operator toward the gate. Before you commit, ask the oracle: “Is the gate unlocked?” Odds: Even. Roll 1D6.

• 1–2. Locked. Needs TACT 4+ to bypass. Takes 1 action.
• 3–4. Unlocked, but something is off — creaky hinges, or Guard A’s patrol passes it in 1 round. Pick the cost.
• 5–6. Open and clear.

When your operator has LoS to the patrol token at the gate, reveal Guard A. They are Unaware. Now you choose:

• Approach silent. WIRE’s Ghost keeps Stealth as long as no one sees the movement. FORGE and SIGNAL are not in Stealth — they’ll be seen if they walk into LoS without cover.
• Open with a Surprise Attack. +2 SHOOT from Unaware. But an unsuppressed shot raises Alert on everyone within 12″.

Once Guard A is resolved — eliminated, bypassed, or snuck past — move to Sector 2.

29 · Sector 2 — Ground Floor

Fluorescent hum. Half the lights failed. Shelving units loaded with electrical components, old labels, dust. A patrol token near the stairwell. The stairwell is the only way up. There is no other route.

This sector teaches: Enemy AI Protocol, Priority Check.

Play

Guard B’s patrol token sits near the stairwell. Unaware. The stairwell is the objective for this sector — you have to pass through it.

This is the first time you run the full combat loop. Walk through each phase out loud:

1. Priority Check. Roll D6 vs D6. Choose.
2. Operator Phase. Your two actions.
3. Threat Phase. Every Alert enemy runs the AI Protocol.
4. Event Phase. Skip this on Turn 1. Starting Turn 2, you roll here.
5. End Phase. Resolve status effects, check objectives.

If you eliminate Guard B silently (stealth kill, suppressed weapon, fight from ambush): no Alert change.
If you shoot unsuppressed: Alert +1 across the building. Guard C in Sector 3 will escalate faster.

30 · Sector 3 — Server Floor

Cool air. Indicator lights blue-green in the dark. Server racks floor to ceiling. The locked door at the end of the floor is the server room. A patrol token moves its route. Two square tokens sit against racks — Intel Markers. One of them is glowing faintly. That’s new.

This sector teaches: Intel Markers, Event Phase.

Play

Guard C is on a patrol between the server room door and the far rack. They start Suspicious. Each round, roll SITREP (Even). 5–6: Guard C goes Alert. 1–2: relaxes to Unaware.

The Intel Markers

• Intel Marker A (against the near rack). An access log fragment. Partial credentials. Success (4+) adds +1 to both OPINT checks on the server room objective.
• Intel Marker B (the glowing one). A secondary drive attached behind a rack panel. This is your secondary objective. 1 Interact action, TACT 4+.

First Event Roll

At the end of Round 2, roll the Event Phase for the first time. Interpret the result in this room, right now, given what’s already happened.

The Locked Server Room Door

• SIGNAL. Override: OPINT 4+, adjacent.
• WIRE. TACT 5+ to slip it. Ghost ability bypasses the roll if adjacent.
• FORGE. Two TACT 5+ attempts, or burn a Failsafe.

The Primary Objective

Inside the server room: the data terminal. 2 successful OPINT checks to extract the access log. Nat 6 counts as 2 successes. If Intel Marker A was investigated successfully, add +1 to each OPINT roll on the terminal.

31 · Sector 4 — Rooftop & Extraction

Open air. Wind off the basin. The rooftop is exposed except for two cooling units the size of cars. VALE stands at the edge, back to you, looking at something in the distance. A pistol. A radio. A stillness that says they’ve been waiting longer than this shift.

This sector teaches: HVT Escalation, Tempo, Failsafe, Climax Variable.

VALE’s Last Stand

Before you start this sector, choose or roll D6. Write the result on a card. Turn it face down. Reveal when VALE hits 2 MW.

The Climax Variable

When your operator reaches the rooftop (crosses the threshold of this sector), roll D6:

Play

VALE is Alert. Enemy AI fires immediately. Battle Rifle at 30″, SHOOT Good 2+, AR 2. You need a plan.

• WIRE. Hold Ghost, approach to surprise range, Suppressed SMG from Stealth (+2). WIRE’s SHOOT is Ordinary, but with Surprise it’s 2+ against AR 2. Workable.
• FORGE. Cooling units as Heavy Cover (−2 incoming). Advance under fire. Get to melee. FIGHT Good 2+ with +1 knife vs VALE’s FIGHT Ord 4+ — you win this exchange most of the time.
• SIGNAL. EMP Device first (OPINT 4+, disables VALE’s radio and any alarm within 6″ for 2 rounds). Then work the range. SIGNAL’s SHOOT is Bad 5+ — this fight runs better if VALE is isolated and slowed.

When VALE hits 2 MW: flip the Last Stand card. Apply it. Then resolve the aftermath.

Extraction

Objective secured. Drive in hand or lost to Last Stand. Time to leave the building the way you came in.

Extraction point: the gate in Sector 1. Once your operator crosses the board edge, the mission is over.

• Alert 2 or below. Route is clear.
• Alert 3+. A Grunt patrol is at the gate. SITREP (Even): 5–6 = there and armed. 1–4 = already passed through.

Resolution

After the Mission: Update the Heat Track

• Full Success, no alarm: Heat −1.
• Full Success, alarm triggered once: no change.
• Partial Success with alarm: Heat +1.
• Operator went OoA at any point: Heat +1.
• Failed primary: Heat +2.

Write your new Heat value. It carries to your next mission.

Between-Mission Recovery

All FW recover automatically. For each MW: roll GUTS 4+. Success: MW recovers to 1 FW. Failure: MW persists into the next mission.

Edge tokens reset to 1. Failsafe does not reset — gone until a major campaign event restores them. Tempo expires at mission end.

After-Action Roll (D8)

1. Loose Ends. Unfinished business returns next session.
2. Handler Heat. Your handler is exposed. Heat +1.
3. Friendly Loss. An NPC contact is removed from operations.
4. Intel Leak. False information surfaces. First SITREP next mission uses Unlikely odds.
5. Safe House Burn. One location is no longer available.
6. Promotion. One operator gains a Battlefield Evolution (see ch. 25).
7. Rest. Full recovery. All statuses reset.
8. Celebration. First activation next mission: +1 to all checks.

What You Just Learned

You are ready for the Mission Builder. You are ready to run procedural solo campaigns. You are ready to take whatever is in that access log and follow it.

// NO GM REQUIRED //

32 · Quick Reference

Print this section. Laminate it. Keep it next to the table. Everything you need mid-mission, on one spread.

Back Matter

Designer Notes

Solo OT is the same game. The core rules haven’t moved. What this book adds are the minimum structures required to replace a human GM — and nothing more. The design priority at every step was: answer the question without importing a new resolution method. The SITREP oracle uses D6. The Enemy AI Protocol uses the existing alert states. The Event Phase uses 2D6 reading off two axes. The Intel Table is the only new die (D20), and it’s the one place the system needed the range.

The other load-bearing idea is Solo Discipline. The game runs on the assumption that you will apply the dice, even when they hurt. SITREP exists to make your calls legible after the fact: you asked the oracle, you got a 2, that’s a No. If you reroll until you like the answer, the whole structure collapses and you’re just telling yourself a story about dice. The rulebook’s bluntness about this — do not reroll, do not interpret favorably, apply the result — is the rule that makes every other rule work.

Failsafe tokens exist as a pressure release. Two per mission, shared, never refreshed, never earned. They are enough to save a mission from one bad roll. They are not enough to save a mission from a bad plan. If the Failsafe is empty on Round 3, you’re overcooked and the rules know it.

How to Use This Book With Other OT Volumes

• Core Book. Attributes, classes, Edge, augments, full faction rules. This book assumes you own it.
• Skirmish & Iron Line. Head-to-head tabletop. Skirmish’s tiny Solo Mode is a subset of this book; this volume is the full version.
• Scenario collections. Scenarios that ship with custom Event Decks, Intel Tables, or Climax Variables override the Universal versions in this book. Scenario wins.
• Hex-crawl campaign layer. Separate volume. Feeds missions into this book; uses this book’s Heat track.
• RPG layer. The full campaign game is in the Core Book. This volume is the mission engine, not the character engine.

Compatibility

This book is aligned with OT Solo Rules v5 and Core Rules v7. It does not introduce any resolution method, die, or token that isn’t already in those two documents. Everything in here is a structure laid over mechanics that already exist.

Credits

• Operator Tactics, Terra Conflictus 2066. Jesse Alexander.
• Solo design. SITREP oracle, Enemy AI Protocol, Event Phase, Intel systems, Climax Variables — solo design pass v5.
• Mission Builder. Five-Zone Method and Scenario Card format, solo design pass v5.
• Art direction & visual system. Operator Tactics Core Book design vocabulary; TDR masthead treatment.
• Playtest. Dead Signal tutorial series, Broken Wire scenario cycle, Highwater / Emerald Gambit / Phoenix Down / Forbidden Ground / Iron Sands solo conversions.

Quick Cross-Reference

v5 // Aligned with Core Rules v7 // This book is a living document. Rules will change. The oracle will remain.