BSG: The Board Game - The First Night

Hi friends!

This will be the official forum for our (hopefully) upcoming BSG: the board game... game! You can find the rules here https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/Battlestar_Galactica/bsg_rulebook_web.pdf and I recommend reading them, since PbP does not lend itself as well to rules questions as actually being at the table does. Fortunately, the turn structure for this game lends itself well to the PbP format.

The section below here won't make much sense to you until you read the rulebook. My GM post structure will look something like this:

Quote :

Fleet Status

Food	05/08		Vipers	2 Active, 4 in Reserve, 2 Damaged
Fuel	05/08		Raptors	3 in Reserve
Morale	06/10		Jump Prep	2/5 (Cannot Jump)
Population	10/12		Cylon Boarding	None

Galactica  (1 Damage)
FTL Control
Weapons Control occupied by Izendale (President-Admiral Adama[2])
Command
Communications
Admiral’s Quarters occupied by traveurysm (Boomer[5]) [SC: LEA/TAC = 7]
Research Lab
Hangar Deck
Armory DAMAGED!
Sickbay
Brig occupied by TheRambizzle (Starbuck[5]) and URMUM (Baltar[7])[SC: POL/TAC = 7]

Colonial One
Press Room
President’s Office
Administration occupied by RansomD (Roslin[7]) [SC: POL/LEA = 5]

Cylon Locations
Caprica
Cylon Fleet
Human Fleet
Resurrection Ship

All of your actual actions taken on your turn should be emphasized and stated like this ##play 1 card, ##move to FTL control etc. All players listed above also have their character noted next to their name, as well as the number of cards in their hand in brackets [7].

I have a deck manager program that I will use to keep track of hands and crisis cards etc. You will be PM'd any cards you draw/have in hand, as well as loyalty cards etc. Crisis cards will look like this:

Quote :

CRISIS: Detector Sabotage

Skill Check: LEA/TAC = 8
PASS: No effect
FAIL: All characters in the Research Lab are moved to Sickbay. Until the end of the game, no players may look at other players' Loyalty Cards.

Post Crisis: Activate Heavy Raiders, +1 Jump Prep

Every GM post will have an action queue listed at the bottom which will state what decisions/actions we are waiting for. This will tell if you NEED to post or not. You can still post of course, since this game relies on discussion to figure out who the dirty cylons are, but if your name appears in the action queue we are specifically waiting for some information from you!

I also need to stress some Secrecy Rules that are VERY important to make this game fun. BSG relies heavily on the paranoia of not knowing which of your friends you can trust, and these rules ensure that stays strong.

Secrecy wrote:

1. Players MUST read and abide by the Secrecy Clarifications in the official FAQ.
   
2. DO NOT EDIT YOUR POST!
   
3. Players may ONLY use the words, "low" or "high" to describe their contributions to skill checks. That’s it. You can use "medium", but only when contributing multiple cards and only to describe the entire contribution.
   
4. No out of thread communication between players is allowed.
   
5. Players may not quote anything from PMs. This includes cards and messages from the mod.
   
6. In every case, choosing cards to draw (whether as a variable draw or from another source) and cards to discard are both PUBLIC knowledge. Feel free to post them in the thread, because that's all I'm going to do if you send them to me.
   
7. Do not, under any circumstance, reveal your loyalty card, or loyalty cards other players have shown you, unless the rules EXPLICITLY tell you to.
   

This second post will be a reference post for information you might need on the fly.

CHARACTERS

Quote :

Military Leaders

William Adama (3 LEA/2 TAC)
Inspirational Leader - When you draw a Crisis Card, all 1 strength Skill Cards count positive for the skill check.
Command Authority - Once per game, after resolving a skill check, instead of discarding the used Skill Cards, draw them into your hand.
Emotionally Attached - You may not activate the "Admiral's Quarters" location.

Saul Tigh (2 LEA/3 TAC)
Cylon Hatred - When a player activates the "Admiral's Quarters" location, you may choose to reduce the difficulty by 3.
Declare Martial Law - Once per game, give the President title to the Admiral.
Alcoholic - At the start of any player's turn, if you have exactly 1 Skill Card in your hand, you must discard it.

Karl "Helo" Agathon (2 LEA/2 TAC/1 PIL)
ECO Officer - During your turn, you may reroll the die that was just rolled [once per turn]. You must use the new result.
Moral Compass - Once per game, after a player makes a choice on a Crisis Card, you may change it.
Stranded - Your character is not placed on the game board at the start of the game. While not on the game board, you may not move, be moved, or take actions. At the start of your second turn, place your character on the "Hangar Deck" location.

Pilots

Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (2 TAC/2 PIL/1 LEAoSUP)
Expert Pilot When you start your turn piloting a viper, you may take 2 actions during your action step [instead of 1].
Secret Destiny - Once per game, immediately after a Crisis Card is revealed, discard it and draw a new one.
Insubordinate - When a player chooses you with the "Admiral's Quarters" location, reduce the difficulty by 3.

Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (2 TAC/2 PIL/1 ENG)
Recon - At the end of your turn, you may look at the top card of the Crisis Deck and place it on the top or bottom.
Mysterious Intuition - Once per game, before resolving a skill check on a Crisis Card, choose the result [Pass or Fail], instead of resolving it normally.
Sleeper Agent - During the Sleeper Agent Phase, you are dealt 2 Loyalty Cards [instead of 1] and then moved to the "Brig" location.

Lee "Apollo" Adama(1 TAC/2 PIL/2 LEAoPOL)
Alert Viper Pilot - When a viper is placed in the space area from the "Reserves," you may choose to pilot it and take 1 action. You may only do this when you are on a Galactica location, excluding the "Brig."
CAG - Action: Once per game, you may activate up to 6 unmanned vipers.
Headstrong - When you are forced to discard Skill Cards, you must discard randomly.

Political Leaders

Laura Roslin (3 POL/2 LEA)
Religious Visions - When you draw Crisis Cards, draw 2 and choose 1 to resolve. Place the other on the bottom of the deck.
Skilled Politician - Action: Once per game, draw 4 Quorum Cards. Choose 1 to resolve, and place the rest at the bottom of the deck. You do not need to be President to use this ability.
Terminal Illness - In order to activate a location, you must first discard 2 Skill Cards.

Gaius Baltar (2 POL/1 LEA/1 ENG)
Delusional Intuition - After you draw a Crisis Card, draw 1 Skill Card of your choice [any color].
Cylon Detector - Action: Once per game, you may look at another player's Loyalty Cards.
Coward - You start the game with 2 Loyalty Cards [instead of 1].

Tom Zarek (2 POL/2 LEA/1 TAC)
Friends in Low Places - When a player activates the "Administration" or the "Brig" location, you may choose to reduce or increase the difficulty by 2.
Unconventional Tactics - Action: Once per game, lose 1 population to gain 1 of any other resource type.
Convicted Criminal - You may not activate locations occupied by other characters [except the "Brig"].

Support

"Chief" Galen Tyrol (1 POL/2 LEA/2 ENG)
Maintenance Engineer - During your turn, after you use "Repair" Skill Cards, you may take another action [once per turn].
Blind Devotion - Once per game, after cards have been added to a Skill Check [but before revealing them], you may choose a skill type. All cards of the chosen type are considered strength 0.
Reckless - Your hand limit is 8 [instead of 10].

LOCATIONS

Quote :

GALACTICA
Note: A character moving to Galactica from Colonial One or a piloted Viper must discard a skill card.

FTL Control
Action: Jump the fleet if the jump preparation track is not in the red zone. Roll a die; if the result is 1-6, lose a number of population indicated on the fleet’s space on the jump preparation track.

Weapons Control
Action: Attack one Cylon ships with Galactica. Roll 3-8 to hit a raider, 7-8 to hit a heavy raider, and 5-8 to hit a Basestar.

Command
Action: Activate up to two unmanned vipers. An activation can be used to a.) launch a viper from either of the two launch zones, b.) move an unmanned viper to an adjacent space area, or c.) fire an unmanned viper’s weapons (3-8 to hit a raider, 7-8 to hit a heavy raider, 8 to hit a Basestar).

Communications
Action: Look at the back of 2 civilian ships. You may then move them to adjacent area(s). Only the player taking the action may look at the back of the ships.

Admiral’s Quarters
Action: Choose a character; then pass a Skill Check (LEA/TAC) of 7 to send him to the “Brig.” Characters in the “Brig” can only add 1 skill card to skill checks, and being in the Brig prevents a Cylon from doing any damage if he reveals himself.

Research Lab
Action: Draw 1 engineering or 1 tactics Skill card.

Hangar Deck
Action: Launch yourself in a viper. You may then take 1 more action. You must be in the Hangar Deck to use a “Repair” skill card action on damaged Vipers.

Armory
Action: Attack a centurion on the Boarding Party track (destroyed on roll of 7-8 ),

Sickbay
You may only draw 1 Skill Card during the Receive Skills step of your turn. A character can (and should) move out of sickbay during the Movement step of his turn.

Brig
You may not move, draw Crisis Cards, or add more than 1 card to skill checks.
Action: Pass a Skill Check (POL/TAC) of 7 to move to any location.

COLONIAL ONE
Note: A character moving to Colonial One from Galactica or a piloted Viper must discard a skill card.

Press Room
Action: Draw 2 politics Skill Cards.

President’s Office
Action: If you are President, draw 1 Quorum Card. You may then draw 1 additional Quorum Card or play 1 from your hand.

Administration
Action: Choose a character; then pass a Skill Check (POL/LEA) of 5 to give him the President title. Revealed Cylons may not be given the President title.

CYLON LOCATIONS
Note: These locations may only be used by a revealed Cylon player.

Caprica
Action: Play your Super Crisis Card or draw 2 Crisis Cards, choose 1 to resolve, and discard the other. There are no Activate Cylon Ships or Prepare for Jump steps during this Crisis.

Cylon Fleet
Action: Activate all Cylon ships of one type, or launch 2 raiders and 1 heavy raider from each basestar. Activating heavy raiders will advance the centurions one step on the boarding party track, even if there are no heavy raiders on the board.

Human Fleet
Action: Look at any player’s hand, and steal 1 Skill Card (place it in your hand). Then roll a die, and if 5 or higher, damage Galactica.

Resurrection Ship
Action: You may discard you Super Crisis Card to draw a new one. Then, if distance is 7 or less, give your unrevealed Loyalty Card(s) to any player.

SKILL CARDS

Quote :

Politics
(1-2) Consolidate Power: Action: -- Draw 2 Skill Cards of any type, even outside skill set on Character Sheet.
(3-5) Investigative Committee: Play before cards are added to skill check. All are played face up including from Destiny Deck.

Leadership
(1-2) Executive Order: Action -- Choose another player who takes 2 actions, or moves and takes 1 action. Cannot use on a revealed Cylon or Sympathizer. Limit 1 per turn (Errata).
(3-5) Declare Emergency: Use after skill check is totaled. Reduces difficulty by 2. Cannot reduce partial pass difficulty. Limit 1 per skill check.

Tactics
(1-2) Launch Scout: Action: -- Can only use if there is an undamaged Raptor in the reserves. Roll die 3 or higher look at top Crisis or Destination Card and place on top or bottom of deck. Otherwise, destroy a Raptor and remove it from the game.
(3-5) Strategic Planning: Play before a die roll to add 2 to result. Limit 1 per die roll.

Piloting
(1-2) Evasive Maneuvers: Play after a Viper is attacked to reroll. If Viper is piloted subtract 2 from the new roll.
(3-5) Maximum Firepower: Action: -- Play while piloting a Viper to attack up to 4 times.

Engineering
(1-2) Repair: Action: -- Repair your current location, or if in the Hangar Deck repair up to 2 damaged Vipers.
(3-5) Scientific Research: Play before any cards are added to a skill check. All Engineering cards count as positive strength.

SPAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEEE

For the game start, this will be the procedure:

1. I will randomly decide on a turn order. I think it will be easiest if I message each of you in person and you can tell me who your choice is. Note that the selection is limited, in that you must choose a character from the category with the MOST remaining choices (except support, which can always be chosen). So if player 1 picks Admiral Adama, player 2 may not select a military leader, but is free to pick anything else. I will tell you what categories are available to you.

2. You will be PM'd loyalty cards.

3. I will make an opening post with the board setup and a sample turn post. Then its time to get the ball rolling!

Here is the starting order, randomized through my good friend RANDOM.ORG:

Quote :

1. ChaosSatella
2. traveurysm
3. RansomD
4. Izendale
5. TheRambizzle

Explosions rock the Battlestar Galactica, Caprica's finest shining example of human strength. The Cylons have taken the colonies completely by surprise, and the fleet, led by President Gaius Baltar and
Admiral Saul Tigh, takes flight into the stars. The pursuers will not give up easily however, and it is only by holding together that the humans may hope to escape to the legendary homeworld of Kobol.

Here is the situation for the game's beginning. Galactica is under assault by a single basestar (so far), and some vipers have been dispatched already to help defend this ship and the civilian ships
in her wake. The first turn is Sharon "Boomer" Valerii's. This is what the space map currently looks like:



A brief explanation for those who have no played. Galactica is the center icon, and space around is divided into six "sectors" in which ships can move. Ships may only move between adjacent sectors
(they cannot fly "over" Galactica). Cylon ships always move on a priority system, while vipers, while unmanned, will only move if instructed by a player (see the Command Deck location). Raiders will
prioritize ships in their sector (unmanned viper > manned viper > civilian ship), otherwise they will move towards the nearest civilian ship or clockwise. Heavy raiders will always move towards the
nearest viper launch bay (the green arrows). Basestars will not move, instead they will launch new raiders and heavy raiders, or attack Galactica, depending on what Crisis cards comes up.

Loss of civilian ships often means the loss of valuable resources, so it is best to keep them alive.

Quote :

Fleet Status

Food	08/08		Vipers	3 Active, 5 in Reserve, 0 Damaged
Fuel	08/08		Raptors	4 in Reserve
Morale	10/10		Jump Prep	0/5 (Cannot Jump)
Population	12/12		Cylon Boarding	None

Galactica
FTL Control
Weapons Control
Command occupied by TheRambizzle (Tigh[3])
Communications
Admiral’s Quarters [SC: LEA/TAC = 7]
Research Lab occupied by traveurysm (Baltar[3])
Hangar Deck occupied by Izendale (Starbuck[3] VIPER - ECHO)
Armory occupied by ChaosSatella (Boomer[5])
Sickbay
Brig [SC: POL/TAC = 7]

Colonial One
Press Room
President’s Office
Administration occupied by Elwin Ransom (Zarek[3]) [SC: POL/LEA = 5]

Cylon Locations
Caprica
Cylon Fleet
Human Fleet
Resurrection Ship

The above is essentially "the board" for all intents and purposes. Explaining it would take... basically the whole rule book, so I trust you can understand it.

ChaosSatella receives 1 Loyalty Card and 2 TAC, 2 PIL, 1 ENG.
traveurysm receives 2 Loyalty Cards, 2 POL, 1 LEA, and 1 Quorum Card.
Elwin Ransom receives 1 Loyalty Card and 2 POL, 1 LEA.
TheRambizzle receives 1 Loyalty Card and 1 TAC, 2 LEA.
Izendale receives 1 Loyalty Card and 2 PIL, 1 TAC.

Quote :

Action Queue
ChaosSatella execute turn

At this time I would like to draw special attention to the SECRECY RULES listed on the first post. Please take the time to review them as they are VERY IMPORTANT for maintaining the fun in this game.
It is 100% about the paranoia and secrecy of not knowing who you can trust, otherwise you are playing a glorified mafia game.

edit: corrected number of vipers, and placed Starbuck in space where she belongs

edit 2: corrected Saul Tigh's initial draw, MAH BAD U GAIZ

As Boomer flies off to try to hold off the approaching Cylons, a message comes in from elsewhere in the fleet.

"Galactica this is Viper Three, we have reports of a bomb threat aboard the Olympic Carrier..."

CRISIS: The Olympic Carrier
Skill Check: POL/LEA/PIL = 11
Pass: No effect
8+: -1 Population
FAIL: -1 Morale, -1 Population

This is our first skill check! This represents a challenge that the crew must work together to overcome. To do so, you play the Skill Cards in your hand (in secret!). Make a post, either discussing how you want to respond, or with a statement of how many cards you are contributing. You must post the number of cards you are contributing, but not their type or strength. PM me the EXACT cards you are playing, but only post ##play 2 cards etc.

If you manage to exceed 8 points (POSITIVE cards aka POL/LEA/PIL, minus NEGATIVE cards aka TAC/ENG), you get -1 Population. If you exceed 11, nothing happens. Otherwise you suffer the penalty.

After the Crisis is resolved, Heavy Raiders will activate (they will be spawned at the Basestar) and you will get 1 Jump Prep.

Quote :

Action Queue
Everyone resolve skill check

Cheers!

##Plays 1 card

I can give a low amount.

I can contribute what, I think, would be high, but it would cost me a ton of cards. Do you all feel confident about this round, or should I go all in?

I did not contribute high on this one, but we still have two more players, wait and see?

# # plays 2 cards

Not to worry, everyone. I happen to have a close friend aboard the Olympic Carrier. I'm happy to remind him of our close relationship ... as well as the duty that he does owe me. I don't mean to be unseemly in this matter. But I am, in point of fact ... the president of the colonies. So if I say bomb defusal will be expedited, it will be expedited. Will it not?

- - - -

May I suggest we all change our avatars to our characters. It'll make things way easier to keep track of.

Just for clarity, I contributed a large amount.

##Plays 2 cards

This is a military matter. I'm not going to leave the safety of the Olympic Carrier up to some scared civy who will piss his pants sooner than stand and fight. If there is a bomb, the experts I am sending over will be needed.

Adjusts microphone

Citizens, those of us aboard COLONIAL ONE would like to thank both Admiral Tigh and President Baltar for their generous contributions. Regardless of our personal feelings towards the way our current leaders treat the public sector, we can all agree that their contributions towards the safety of the fleet have been truly non-sectarian. Zarek out.

## plays 1 card.

The response to the alleged cylon bomb threat on the Olympic Carrier was both swift and decise. The colonial leaders spared no expense diffusing the threat, with Col. Tight personally leading a team of armed veterans onto the ship to stop the bomb.

Quote :

Crisis Outcome
Positive
Politics-3
Politics-2
Leadership-1
Leadership-2
Leadership-1
Leadership-1
Piloting-1
Piloting-2

Negative
Tactics-2

Result: 11, Pass

Heavy Raiders Activate, +1 Jump Prep

Note: because there are no heavy raiders on the map, each Basestar instead launches 1. Heavy raiders will move toward your viper launch bays, and when they reach it, will deploy Centurion boarding parties. If Centurions progress enough through the ship, the humans lose.

---

Quote :

Fleet Status

Food	08/08		Vipers	4 Active, 4 in Reserve, 0 Damaged
Fuel	08/08		Raptors	4 in Reserve
Morale	10/10		Jump Prep	1/5 (Cannot Jump)
Population	12/12		Cylon Boarding	None

Galactica
FTL Control
Weapons Control
Command occupied by TheRambizzle (Tigh[1])
Communications
Admiral’s Quarters [SC: LEA/TAC = 7]
Research Lab occupied by traveurysm (Baltar[5])
Hangar Deck occupied by Izendale (Starbuck[2] VIPER - ECHO) and ChaosSatella (Boomer[4] VIPER - ALPHA)
Armory
Sickbay
Brig [SC: POL/TAC = 7]

Colonial One
Press Room
President’s Office
Administration occupied by Elwin Ransom (Zarek[2]) [SC: POL/LEA = 5]

Cylon Locations
Caprica
Cylon Fleet
Human Fleet
Resurrection Ship

Quote :

Action queue
traveurysm execute turn

# # Go to Colonial One, discarding a skill card.
# # Proceed to Press Room and draw 2 Politics cards.


First a bomb threat, then cylon raiders. The people of the fleet need to be reassured that the situation is in control. I'll let the good people of Galactica do what they do best; my place now is in front of the cameras, reassuring everyone that they're going to be all right. The last thing we need right now is a panic.

In the wake of the recent crisis on a civilian ship, President Baltar does his best to ensure that the fleet knows they are in good hands. But something goes wrong. As the Cylon ships bear down on a Galactica, Chief Tyrol runs frantically onto the command deck. "Something is wrong! Our weapons systems are not responding!"

traveurysm gains 2 POL, 1 LEA, 1 ENG and discards Politics-3 (Investigative Committee).

CRISIS: Weapon Malfunction

Skill check: TAC/PIL/ENG = 11
PASS: No Effect
FAIL: Damage 2 Vipers in space areas. All characters in Weapons Control are sent to Sickbay.

Post Crisis: Basestars Launch Raiders, NO JUMP PREP

Quote :

Action Queue
Everyone resolve skill check

Boomer tries firing at the cylon fleet, but the pew-pew guns jam.

##plays 1 card

I can give a fair amount.

Our glorious leader had decided to abandon the GALACTICA in favor of the cameras. No matter, there is still much we can do from COLONIAL ONE. Citizens you must do your part and remind the President that preening in front of the camera doesn't solve anything. Zarek out.

##Plays one card

"This is Starbuck reporting in, I'm en route to intercept the Raiders"

##plays 1 card

I don't have much to give.

Making a rules clarification: whenever a skill check is posted, feel free to discuss but don't post what you are playing yet. I will wait for confirmation from all players who have an investigative committee card (or can receive them), and once I have confirmation that they do or do not intend to play them, I will make another post giving you the all clear to start playing cards. This confirmation can be sent to me by text or steam, it doesn't matter. This DOES NOT apply to the current skill check, which will have no IC played on it.

This mischief be the work of the cylons - I'm confident that my research into their methods will prove useful.

I can help a lot.

Rule Question: I am an alcoholic, and I started Gaius' turn with a card. That means I have to discard it right, giving me no skill cards, or do I get to keep it?

If I still have the card:
#plays 1 card

Damn weapons. What I wouldn't give to dock this girl and get her fixed up. She's been through too much.
I can't contribute much

If I no longer have the card:
I'll tell you the secret to avoid hangovers. Don't stop drinking.
I can't contribute at all

That is correct, you had to discard your remaining card at the start of Travis' turn.

TheRambizzle discards Tactics-3 (Strategic Planning).

A reminder to everyone that 2 random cards are ALWAYS added to a skill check, which is why there are 9 total cards instead of the 7 played by players.

(Resolved)