Q: Do NPC attacks count as ‘Energy Weapons’

fire?
CORE SPACE FAQ
Core Space is a sprawling sandbox where almost A: No. NPC attacks are not considered to have
anything is possible. While the core mechanics any ‘types’ or special rules.
are quick and easy to remember, like most
miniatures games situations can arise where the
rules don’t quite cover every detail, or where Q: How many actions do NPCs get?
something can be interpreted in different ways. In
this section we will run through some frequently A: Gangers and the Galactic Corps use the
asked questions, offering clarifications and number of actions on their boards when activated,
additions to the core rules. following the NPC AI Chart.

Anything written in this section overrides any rules Civilians and Security do not. When they activate
previously published. Of course, like all Core they roll their respective die, and carry out
Space rules you are also free to ‘house-rule’ whatever action(s) are shown in their chart, once
anything you like to suit your gaming group and only.
playstyle.
The actions on the boards of Civilians and
In all cases, mission-specific rules also override Security are only used if they have joined a
anything in the rulebook or written here. Trader crew mid-game, or if Security Wardens
have been commandeered by the Corps.
Version 1.2, published May 2022, latest
amendments in purple. If Civilians start their activation within 4 inches of
the Purge, any movement must be made directly
CORE RULES away before continuing their action. This
Q: How much Health do the Purge and other movement is whatever is included in the action
NPCs have? they rolled, not in addition. For example, if a
Civilian rolled a Move result while 2 inches away
A: 1. All NPCs will be defeated by a single point from a Harvester, they would first have to move 2
of damage unless stated otherwise in their rules inches directly away from the Harvester, putting
(the Purge Annihilator for example, which swaps them out of the 4-inch range. They would then
out its statistics insert with each point of damage, have 2 inches of their original Move left, in the
effectively giving it a Health of 3). direction shown on the dice as normal.

If a Civilian rolled a Live One result while close to

Q: Can you use an item found during a Search the Purge, and for whatever reason did not reveal
action without putting it into your Dashboard first? themselves as a Live One, they would not move
For example, using ammo to reload a weapon. at all as the Live One result does not include any
movement.
A: No. The space required in your Dashboard
represents you having to holster or pack away
other things you are holding in order to carry out Q: What happens if the Hostility level increases in
the action with the new item. the middle of a phase?
A: Hostility increases take effect immediately. For
Q: Do NPC ranged attacks add ammo pegs to the example, a rule (such as a Rogue Purge leaving
Hostility Tracker? the board) may cause the Hostility to increase
early in the NPC Phase. If this took the Hostility
A: No. Civilian attacks are considered insignificant from Cover Me to Charge, no Civilians would
by the Purge and the Corps and Security arrive even though they were eligible to do so at
Wardens are skilled enough to attack more the start of the phase.
stealthily. As they do not ‘spend’ pegs to attack
anyway it’s simpler for all NPCs to not add to the
tracker.

1
 Q: When is a character considered to have been their respective NPCs. Some missions may also
‘targeted’ by an attack, e.g. using Counter Shot? tell you to use it.
A: NPCs must always determine a target before Because the additional NPCs will attract some fire
attacking. Traders should declare who they are from the Purge that would otherwise come your
targeting before rolling dice. At this point Reaction way, it is recommended to also use the Purge
Skills can be used against the attack if applicable. Reinforcements ( ) to give yourself more of a
If the Reaction prevents the attack from being challenge!
made it is wasted.
The Disarm and Light Fingers Skills react to an
attack in which you took no damage and therefore Q: Do I need to use the ruler?
any Reactions must take place after the attack A: No. Many players prefer more structured, grid-
has been resolved. based movement, especially when getting
new/younger players involved. The Cyberpunk
gaming mat in the Core Space box has a grid
Q: Will a Purge character ‘Hacked’ by the level 3 overlaid on the artwork for this reason.
Tech Skill be attacked by other Purge?
To use the grid, just consider any reference to
A: Yes – it is treated as part of your crew for all inches in the rules to mean squares. For example,
purposes, and therefore the Purge will realise that a Move action allows a character to move 4
it has been hacked and target it like any other squares. Short range is 5 squares and medium
member of your crew. range is 13 squares. It’s still best to use the ruler
for range and line of sight.
Characters may only enter a square that is
Q: What happens if a ship system degrades when
completely empty – squares partially filled by
it is already at zero?
terrain are impassable.
A: Nothing. If you roll to degrade a system that
Characters in orthogonally adjacent squares are
cannot be degraded any further there is no effect
considered to be in base contact. Characters in
– you got lucky this time!
diagonally adjacent squares are not in base
contact.

Q: How does the game work with three or more Diagonal movement is allowed as long as both of
crews? the squares to either side (that the character
would have to move through if moving
A: For more than two crews there are only two orthogonally) are empty.
changes to the standard rules:

• In the Hostility Phase you add one peg to

the tracker if there are 1-3 crews taking
part and two pegs for 4-6 crews.
• It is recommended to use Purge
Reinforcements. The cards should be
shuffled into the Event deck, and you will
have double the number of miniatures to
use before running out. Purge of rank 4+
will still only appear once before the
Hostility reaches Purge. After that point a
second one can appear.

Q: When should I use the reverse side of the

Hostility Board?
A: The reverse side should be used whenever Characters on larger bases, such as an
you are also using the Gang ( ), Galactic Corps ( Annihilator, are considered to take up 4 squares
), Annihilator ( ) or Gatherer ( ) cards and but otherwise follow the rules above.

2
Q: What does the mean on Q: And how does the Matter Mirror apply to
the Incinerator Gun? the Merg’s Charge Skill?
A: This weapon is used at A: The shroud will reflect the attack as usual, with
short range. the same damage-inflicting Knock Back applied to
the Charging character.

Q: Can thrown blast weapons (such as grenades)

jam? Q: When using a Phase Engram or other item
with the Phase icon, can any dragged items or
A: No. The initial roll will determine whether they characters also pass through walls and terrain?
hit, and the result will cause them to miss.
When rolling the dice for the attack, results are A: No, only the character and the contents of their
dashboard(s).
ignored. Grenades on larger tokens have the
icon, but the same rule applies to nano tokens
where the icon does not fit.
Q: If a character finds a Crystal Shard Key prior to
FIRST BORN mission 6 of the campaign, can it be used in this
Q: Drone AI – How many times do Drones mission?
resolve their AI Chart in their turn?
A: No, it will have no effect.
A: Once. They have two actions, but they will only
use both if they Move and then make a Ranged
Assault. They will not Move or Shoot twice. Q: Do the damage negation effects of Dyson
Equipment apply in the same attack that Shield
Armour is overloaded?
Q: Can a character marked with a Fear Counter
A: Yes. Although Shields block the effects of
make attacks of opportunity, or do anything else
Dyson Equipment, that stops immediately when
outside their turn?
they are overloaded. A character can therefore
A: No. negate damage from their Shield and a Dyson
item during the same attack.

Q: Can the Data Pad from the original starter set

be used to hack First Born doors?

A: No.

Q: Are items that are discarded after a period of

time such as the Burst Vest still discarded if the
Trader leaves the board before they have fully
resolved?
A: Yes.

Q: Does the Somnambulant True Born’s Matter

Mirror apply to indirect damage such as blast
effects? And how about other attacks that do not
originate from a character such as Exhausts?

A: No, the effects of the attack are just ignored.

3
 SETUP Note: Unless a rule says otherwise, all tokens are
Q: How exactly do you fill the crates and allocate taken at random from their respective parts of the
equipment at the start of the game? supply without looking. You should either load the
crates under the table or while looking away, or
A: The first step is to make sure you’ve separated get your GM or another neutral person to do it for
your equipment tokens correctly. There are four you.
types that should be kept separately:
That’s it!
• Large items: Only used when filling large
crates.
• Rare ( ) items: These are only used Q: What equipment does a Rookie Crew start with
where indicated by the mission. if there isn’t enough to go around?
• Objective (green) items: These are only
used where indicated by the mission. A: As detailed under Selecting a Crew in the
• High-value items: Items with a buy value rulebook, Rookie crews can be equipped from the
of 29 or more can only be purchased, not range of zero-cost items included in the starter
found. set.

Everything else goes in the token pouch. Note that this restriction applies to all crews
collectively, not each crew. There is intentionally
Once your tokens are sorted, you should check not enough equipment to go around – you’re a
the mission briefing to see if anything needs to be Rookie, you can’t afford everything!
set aside or done differently for that mission
(usually the objective tokens). This information Pool all the zero cost items together. The players
can be found in the mission text as well as in the should then take it in turns to choose items to kit
Search Allocation and Key Items sections of the out their crew until everything has been taken, the
setup diagram. Anything noted here will be an Traders no longer have any space, or any
exception to the following standard rules. remaining items are unwanted. If any Traders are
left with no weapons, or nothing at all, they’ll have
The Search Allocation to find something in their first mission!
diagram will look like this:
We actively encourage starting with no more than
In this example, each large one item per Trader – it will make your early
crate contains 1 large token games a bit more tense and quickly teach you to
and 2 small tokens, and each loot efficiently!
small crate contains 3 small
tokens.

Of those, 1 small token and 1

large token are rare.
Start by taking the number of large rare tokens
shown (1 in this example). Then take regular
large tokens until you have enough for all the
large crates on the map. There are usually 4
crates, so you will need 3 more tokens. Shuffle
the rare token in with the rest and distribute them
randomly into the large crates.
Then take the number of small rare tokens
shown, and take regular small tokens until you Q: What if I have multiple token sheets?
have enough for all of the large and small crates A: If you have multiple copies of any set of
on the map. Again, there are usually 4 large and 4 tokens, only one set should be used for setup
small crates for a total of 20 small tokens (19 purposes. Additional tokens should be used for
regular and 1 rare in this example). Shuffle the purchasing in the Trade Phase only. Alternatively,
rare and regular tokens together and distribute you may wish to use the extra tokens to alter the
them randomly into the crates – 2 in each large availability of searched items to suit your taste –
and 3 in each small. fewer guns and more ammo for example!

4
ADVANCED RULES Q: How do NPCs interact with doors?
Q: What happens if a crate is destroyed while A: NPCs cannot normally make effortless actions,
items are still inside? but they may make them in order to open
A: If using the advanced rules, and especially if unlocked doors.
using the Temporary Cover rules from Dangerous
DaysError! Bookmark not defined., anything
that’s not nailed down can be blown up! Q: And what about locked doors?

If a crate is destroyed, the items inside are placed A: All NPCs other than the Purge cannot unlock
on the board where it was. One of these items, doors unless a mission rule says so. They will
chosen at random, is destroyed along with the choose a different target or take an alternative
crate. One of the remaining items, chosen at route to their target if there is one. Otherwise they
random, is broken and must be Repaired before will attack the door with a Close Assault or
use. Any other items can be used as normal. Ranged Assault action (whichever they are better
at, even if they cannot damage the door). By
DOORS default doors have a physical armour of 3, but of
There were quite a few questions about doors! course you can amend this to suit your setting.
The answer to most of them is simple – for the
purposes of the core rules, and the Perseus Arm The Purge on the other hand have technology to
Campaign, they are all considered to be open short circuit and breach locks. If the shortest route
and unlocked for simplicity unless otherwise for a Purge character to reach their target is
stated. through a locked door, they will Move up to it and
make a Close Assault action (including any free
Only when your group has agreed to use the
attack from a First Strike icon) against the
advanced rules can doors be opened, closed,
door. They do not need to roll – their action will
locked and unlocked. When not using the
open and unlock the door permanently. Mark it
advanced rules the Laser Cutter and Data Pad
with a counter to denote that it cannot be closed
are not used and can be left in the box.
again.
A lot of the advanced rules are left open for
WINDOWS
people to customise, or for a GM to control, but in
Similar to doors, the panels should be removed
this case we thought it best to expand a little.
from all windows for the purposes of the core
rules and Perseus Arm Campaign. They are
openings that can be seen through but not moved
Q: Does a door need to be closed before it can be through, other than by the Purge or other
locked or unlocked by the Hack Tech Skill?
characters with the Scramble ability .
A: No. When used to lock a door, the Skill will
also close it if not already closed. When used to When using the advanced rules, windows may be
unlock a door, the Skill will also open it if the closed, broken and dived through as detailed in
player wishes. the Deluxe Rulebook.

5
 EXPANSIONS Bounty Hunters:
GENERAL 1. Marked Targets
Q: There are now lots of NPCs. If I want to use 2. Purge/First Born
multiple types in a game, who goes first? 3. Gangers/Traders (only if provoked or
blocking a route)
A: NPCs activate in the following order:
4. All other NPCs (only if blocking a route)
• Galactic Corps
Gangers: See the activation priority list, with
• Security Traders below Bounty Hunters.
• Bounty Hunters
• Game Hunters All other NPCs:
• Gangers
1. Purge/First Born
• Scavengers 2. Gangers/Traders
• Prospectors 3. Beasts
• Media
• Workers
• Civilians Q: Where are the Shift Change at MegaCorp and
• Beasts (if applicable) Rogue Purge expansions?
Q: And who do the various NPCs target with their A: These were our first non-Kickstarted
attacks? expansions back in 2020, and without knowing
A: Before activating, each NPC will choose a how well they would sell we produced a small
target, prioritising the following, in order: print run using resin instead of pre-assembled
plastic. It turned out that they were pretty popular,
• Enemies in LoS and not in cover. and gave us the confidence to go straight into
• If none, enemies in LoS and in cover. plastic for our 2021 retail releases. However,
• If none, enemies anywhere on the board. once they ran out it was no longer practical to
reprint them so they are unfortunately now
Breaking Ties discontinued.
• If there are multiple options, target the
highest priority from the lists below. The rules, Event Cards and equipment tokens
• If there are still multiple options, target the from Shift Change at MegaCorp have been
closest. reprinted in full in Black Star Rising, and the
• If there are still multiple options, the first missions are available to download for free from
player decides. our Downloads page. The resin miniatures are
• If a chosen target cannot be damaged, currently unavailable, but we will look at ways to
the NPC will choose the next best option. reproduce them in the future.
If there are none, they attack with no
As for Rogue Purge, the expansion is available in
effect.
full as a Print and Play expansion from our
Target Priority Lists Downloads page. The rules can be used
Any NPC type not listed is not considered to be alongside regular Purge miniatures, perhaps
an enemy. converted or painted in an alternative scheme.
The original resin miniatures are currently
Note that Galactic Corps, Security, Gangers, unavailable, but we will look at ways to reproduce
Scavengers, Workers and Civilians consider them in the future.
Traders to be enemies unless a mission states
otherwise. Hunters, Prospectors and Media only SHIFT CHANGE/BLACK STAR RISING
consider Traders to be enemies if provoked, i.e. a Q: Can the Hack and Grab Skill be used to take
Trader has attacked an NPC of that type in the items from a character’s armour slot, or from a
current game, or if they are Marked or blocking a Utility Dashboard?
route in the case of Bounty Hunters.
A: No – only items from the main item tray can be
taken.

6
ROGUE PURGE A: The dragged character will be moved to the
Q: If a Rogue Purge NPC with no Ranged Assault same Target Marker along with the character
stat is attacked at range while engaged with a dragging them – only one roll is made. One
different enemy, will they still move towards their Energy Counter is removed from the Power
attacker? Shard(s) for each character, including the one
being dragged.
A: No, the “unless already engaged…” text from
the second bullet also applies to the third. SHIPS OF DISREPUTE
Q: Do Traders on board an enhanced ship count
towards the limit for the mission?
Q: How are Rogue Purge affected by Fire and A: No, this limit only applies to Traders on the
Poison? gaming area itself.
A: In exactly the same way as regular Purge.

Q: Do Traders on board an enhanced ship gain

Q: Other than the above, are Rogue Purge Career Points for taking part in a mission?
Traders affected by Event Cards or Skills that A: Not as standard, no. Traders on the ship only
affect the Purge? gain Career Points via the Training Zone.
A: No, just like their NPC counterparts, rules that
affect Purge characters do not affect Rogue
Purge unless explicitly stated. Q: Are matching icons cumulative, such as if you
had a Teleport Upgrade on the Black Maria, or a
Drive Upgrade on the Poseidon?
Q: As the Harvey’s Hack item is purchased, A: No. The effects only apply once. If you have
not found, does it still only apply for one the same icon with different values, such as
mission? Teleport 1 and 2, you would use the highest value
A: No, it is permanent. available.
We have plans for future ship-based expansions
that will count multiple icons, so duplicate
Q: As Rogue Purge do not use ammo upgrades won’t necessarily go to waste…
for their weaponry, how is the Ammo
Module used?

A: This item is for use when a Rogue Purge Q: Can Auxiliaries on board a ship be moved
Trader is firing a standard weapon. around the zones to activate abilities?

UTILITY DASHBOARDS A: No.

Q: Can Event Cards or any other rules that allow
you to gain ammo be used to reload a Combat
Dashboard? Q: Can the Medical Zone be used on the ship’s
commander to give them additional Skill pegs?
A: Yes.
A: No.

Q: Can Sure Shot be used with the Line

Rifle ability?
A: The Skill may be used with this weapon, but
only one target will be hit.

GATES OF RY’SA
Q: How does the Gate work when characters are
dragged through it?

7
 Q: I have a Frontier/Galactic/Outlands/Other board/the objective is roughly the same distance
terrain set. How do I use it? – if your design means that one crew will have a
longer and more winding route, you should adjust
A: In short, however you like! It would be their position, remove a wall or add a doorway.
unnecessarily complex to try and show a three-
dimensional terrain set up in a two-dimensional You may wish to move one or more entry points
map, so we tend to keep the pre-designed to an upper level if appropriate – as long as they
missions to a single level. However, it’s important are still the same distance apart this is fine.
to point out that many missions can be played on
whatever scenery you like. Cargo crates and Civilians should also be spread
evenly around the board. The exact position
Salvage Run from the rulebook is the best doesn’t matter; what’s important here is that they
example, and in fact this mission was designed to are fairly distributed in relation to the airlock
be adapted to other terrain. If you have another positions. No matter where a crew starts, they
Battle Systems terrain set, we recommend should have the same access routes to the loot.
building it in whatever configuration you think
looks exciting, whether that’s what’s on the front Civilians should start out of sight of the entry
of the box, or an ambitious construction of your points so that the Purge don’t defeat them before
own design. You can assemble the walls and you can get to them.
scatter terrain however you like, but leave any Any mission-specific terrain or objectives, such as
crates out for now. the console in the centre of the Salvage Run map,
Once you’re finished, it’s time to place all the should be placed equidistant from all airlocks. If
interactive elements of the board: placed on an upper level, there should be stairs or
ladders equally accessible from all sides.
• Airlocks
Otherwise that’s pretty much it. The rules are
• Entry Points
intentionally open enough that as long as the
• Cargo Crates
setup is fair for all crews, the mission will work.
• Civilians Not only does this create a stunning-looking
• Mission-specific terrain gaming table, but adds endless replayability to
Airlocks and Entry Points should be evenly your games!
spaced, roughly the same distance apart as on Note: You will need the Deluxe Rulebook for the
the original map, but adjusted to be in line with full rules for navigating multi-level terrain –
your main corridors etc. It is also important that climbing, jumping etc.
the journey from each airlock to the centre of the

8
ERRATA DATA CREDITS
Based on the feedback since the launch of the There is so much valuable equipment
game there are some minor points that need around now that Data Credits are not
more than just clarification. The following rules worth the space they take up in your
amend and replace those in previous books: tray. To avoid this, they can now be
uploaded directly to your bank account!
MOVING ITEMS
This has been expanded upon since the original Whenever a Trader finds a Data Credits token its
version in the Deluxe Rulebook and other mission UA value may be immediately added to the crew’s
briefings. assets and the token discarded, without being
added to the Trader’s equipment tray.
With these rules, cargo crates, the bodies of
defeated characters, and other similar sized items LENGTHY CAREERS
can be moved from one place to another. You may notice that some Traders have more
potential than they can fulfil, e.g. four unfilled Skill
When in contact with a suitable item that you wish spaces when they can only gain three by levelling
to move, you can Interact with it to Move up to 2 up.
inches, moving the item with your character.
Once a Trader’s Career track is full, any Career
If another Trader from your crew is in contact with Points they gain thereafter will instead be added
the item, you may Move both characters and the to any of their other stats with spaces remaining
item up to 4 inches instead as a single action. (player’s choice).
Both are still bound by the 11-inch maximum.
Place a Reminder Counter next to the other COMING AND GOING
character that moved – they will take one fewer When using the advanced rules for returning to
action in their next turn. the ship during the game, characters only gain
Career Points for surviving missions if they
If an enemy is also in contact with the item, it may started the mission in play.
not be moved without their permission (note that
enemy NPCs will never give permission unless a SURE SHOT
GM says so). Characters defeated using the Sure Shot Skill do
not grant Career Points.
Note: Massive characters can move items (and
characters that are smaller than them) at their full GIGER’S EMPORIUM
speed. Other characters cannot and do not need The Giger’s Emporium Trading Post has become
to help them. Massive characters themselves more exclusive. It can only be visited if your crew
require one more character than normal to move contains a Trader with Career level 3 that
them (two characters to move 2 inches and three survived the preceding mission.
to move at full speed).
In addition, a maximum of one item can be
SHIP UPGRADES purchased from Giger’s Emporium per phase.
Docking Thrusters actions can only be made
under the following conditions: Furthermore, the Emporium has started putting
trackers on their merchandise – no longer can
• In larger missions, each gaming mat used you just leave high value stuff lying around! Items
is a separate gaming area. with a buy value of 29UA or more can only be
• Only the level 1 action can be used to purchased – they cannot be found when
move from mat to mat along the same Searching unless a mission states otherwise.
side. The level 2 and 3 actions cannot be
used to move to a different mat. INTEGRATED WEAPONRY
Custom Traders (and the Rogue
• The Ship Board can only move to a side
Purge) have access to integrated
of a gaming area that had one or more
shooting capabilities with this icon. Any
airlock starting positions on the map.
Ranged Assault attacks a Trader carries
• There must be a crew member left on the
out with this ability are at medium range rather
ship to operate them.
than unlimited range.
In addition, a maximum of one upgrade can be
made in each Maintenance Phase.

9
 AMENDED ATTRIBUTES FIRST BORN: LEARN TO PLAY
The icon on the Teleport Grenade and the BOOKLET
icon on the Mother’s Venom now have new rules. Page 14, column 2, paragraph 2 – this
paragraph should be deleted as it is incorrect –
This item scatters the target the the drone would not have fired twice – see Drone
number of times shown, or twice if no
AI in the FAQ.
number is shown, with no attacks of
opportunity allowed. Roll a single die – FIRST BORN: EXPLORATION
on a hit you can choose the direction; MISSION
otherwise it is determined by the
First Born Rulebook, page 49. If you do not have
Chance Die. The target can be
any additional terrain products, the map shown for
scattered through a wall or terrain
this mission cannot be built with the contents of
piece but cannot end its move on top of
the starter set – it requires 12 ‘T’ clips and there
it. They cannot be scattered off of the
board but can be scattered into mid-air are only 10 in the box.
if using multi-level terrain, in which To build the map, just remove any two of the
case they will fall from their current quarter-wall pieces and use straight clips in the
height. Roll dice as shown (if any) for
positions they were attached instead of ‘T’ clips.
any characters within 1 and 2 inches
respectively. Any hits will scatter them DYSON REACTORS AND CONSOLES
too, in a random direction. Note that The ability of a Command Console to deactivate a
this can be used on a friendly Dyson Reactor (including Power Shards) may
character. If found on armour it is used only be used on a Reactor that is empty of Energy
on the wearer. Counters.
This weapon cannot be used after a
Trader has Reloaded during a game –
SHIELD ENGRAM
flip it face down when you Reload as a The discard icon on the
reminder. reverse of this token is in
the wrong place – it implies
MISPLACED GIRDER it is discarded immediately
Mission 1 of the Perseus Arm Campaign – when rotated to show the ‘2’ value. There should
Trader’s Gambit – has a girder near the top of the be an additional arrow and the discard icon
map: should be upside down – the character using it
will have a whole round with an armour value of 2
before the token is discarded.

SHIPS OF DISREPUTE
Signal Relay
The rules for this item are missing. This is
the Signal Relay and it boosts the effects of
other ship abilities. You will see it used with
The girder cannot be placed in this position so it the Weapons, Tech Hub and Mobile
should be ignored. Support Zones.
SLIPPERY She Can Take It!
The Scramble ability granted by the The level 2 Passive ability should read:
Slippery Skill, level 1, should be this:
Once per round, you can spend any number of
YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN fuel points as actions for a single ship ability.
The costs of this table should be increased to
match the values used in Core Space First Born
as follows:
Ransom: Cost increase is 2UA per mission.
Apprehended: Release fees are 5UA and 10UA
respectively.
Escaped: Cost for expenses is 3UA.

10