“ POLITICAL ESCORT ” is a STAR WARS® X-WING MINIATURES GAME™ tournament variant where players take turns attacking or escorting an unarmed shuttle. This is a tournament variant of the original Mission One: Political Escort included in the original STAR WARS® X-WING MINIATURES GAME™ Core Set.

The objective of “ POLITICAL ESCORT ” varies depending on the player’s role. The defender tries to escort an unarmed shuttle across the board to allow the politician/smuggler/leader/supplies on board to escape. The attacking player seeks to destroy the escorted shuttle before it can leave the board. Win conditions are based on the success of the shuttle; points are also scored for destroying the opponent’s ships.

1. Building Squads.

Each player selects a faction and builds a 100-point squad following standard X-Wing squad-building rules (though see section 6 for special rules affecting squad components), with exceptions as defined below. This squad will be used for both attacking and defending the shuttle.

When serving as the defending player, the defender adds the Senator’s Shuttle (or Emperor’s Shuttle, or Jabba’s Shuttle – theme as you wish) to his or her squad. The Shuttle has the following statistics and abilities:

· Pilot Skill zero (0), but sets up at Pilot Skill 12.

· No attack ability

· Two (2) green evade dice

· Six (6) hull and six (6) shields

· No action bar; the Shuttle cannot perform actions, to include free actions

· Movement: 2-speed forward (green), 1-speed left and right banks (white)

· Treat as a large base ship for the purposes of upgrades and game effects

· Treat as friendly to all ships on the defending squad, and as part of that faction for the purposes of assigning upgrades

· Has two crew slots, and a modification slot

· Is eligible for the “Protect” action: another friendly ship at range 1 of the shuttle may take a “Protect” action to assign a Protect token (use an evade token) to the shuttle. When the shuttle is defending, during the “compare results” step the defending player may spend a Protect token to cancel one of the attacker’s attack dice. There is no limit to the number of Protect tokens that may be assigned to the shuttle, but only one may be spent per attack. [Note: This is slightly different than the protect action in the Core Set Political Escort mission, which adds an Evade result to the defense roll.]

The player may pay for and assign up to two crew slot upgrade cards and one modification slot upgrade card to the shuttle. The cost of these upgrades is included in the player’s 100-point squad cost. These upgrades are only assigned to the shuttle; they cannot be used when the player is the attacker.

Each player should bring a shuttle token (from the Core Set), though only one token is required per two players. In the event no shuttle tokens are available, a large ship base may be substituted.

2. Set Up.

Once players have built their squads, set up begins.

a. Players determine initiative as normal. The player with initiative decides which player will be the attacker, and which player will be the defender.

b. Set up play area.

(1) Place obstacles as normal, from the pool of obstacles, three from each player.

(2) The defender chooses which side of the board will be the defender’s edge. The opposite side of the board is the attacker’s edge

(3) Place ships as normal, following normal ship placement rules.

(4) At PS 12, the defender places the shuttle anywhere within range 1 of the defender’s edge of the board.

c. Prepare to play. Players activate shields and otherwise prepare other components to play.

3. Play.

Play proceeds much like the phases of a standard X-Wing Game:

a. Planning phase. Players plan maneuvers and set maneuver dials as normal. The shuttle may set a dial if one is provided; but this is not required; the defending player may simply declare the shuttle’s maneuver.

b. Activation phase. In pilot skill order from lowest pilot skill to highest pilot skill, ships reveal their maneuver dials, move, and take actions as normal. The shuttle moves first, unless the attacking player has initiative and has a ship reduced to pilot skill zero (0). Ships follow other activation phase rules as normal.

SPECIAL RULE: Shuttle blocking. The shuttle may only be blocked by an opposing ship(s) for a single round. If the shuttle is blocked, and a 2-forward maneuver does not clear the block, on the following round the defending player should also select a 2-forward maneuver. If that maneuver is still blocked, the shuttle is moved using the shortest straight maneuver that will place it on the opposite side of the blocking ships (use a 3-, 4-, or 5-straight maneuver as needed).

c. Combat Phase. Combat proceeds normally. The attacker may attack the shuttle as if it were any other ship. The shuttle suffers damage as any other ship; if it receives a face up damage card with an effect which does not affect the shuttle, or which allows an action to flip the card face down, the card is automatically flipped face down after the shuttle’s next activation.

4. Determining a Winner .

a. If the shuttle successfully exits the attacker’s edge of the board, the defender wins.

b. If the shuttle is destroyed, the attacker wins.

c. Record the number of points of ships destroyed by each player as that player’s score. If the shuttle is destroyed, and it had any equipped upgrades, the point cost of those upgrades is added to the attacker’s score. If the shuttle has taken six damage but was not destroyed, half of its upgrade point values (rounded down) are added to the attacker’s score. In the event the game goes to time (see tournament rules, below) without the shuttle being destroyed or exiting the board, the player with the highest score of destroyed ships is the winner.

5. “POLITICAL ESCORT” Tournament.

a. “ POLITICAL ESCORT ” may be played in a tournament format.

b. Number of rounds played is up to the tournament organizer, number of participants, and time available, but three or four rounds are recommended.

c. Each round each player plays a game both as attacker and as defender. Players are initially randomly assigned pairings. Once initiative and attacker/defender are initially determined and players are ready to play, they have 95 minutes [ NEEDS PLAYTEST ] to complete TWO (2) games. Players are allocated 45 minutes for the first game. At the end of 45 minutes, complete the round in play, and record scores. Players then reverse roles, with the shuttle moving to the previous attacker, who becomes the new defender, set up and start a new game.

d. At the end of each game, the winner gains one Victory Point. Players record winner of the game, who was attacker/defender, and points of ships destroyed.

e. At the end of each round, the players will turn in two game scores. A player might have two wins (2 points), one win and one loss (one point), or two losses (zero points) from the round. Points for ships destroyed are converted to Margin of Victory and kept as a running tally (Subtract losere’s point’s detspryed from winner’s points destroyed; winner MOV is 100 + difference; loser MOV is 100 – difference).

f. In subsequent rounds, players are paired against players of equal records, randomly paired with those of equal points. So, for example, all players with two Victory Points are paired against those who also have two Victory Points. Players may be paired down if an unequal number have similar records. For an odd number of players, the player with the worst record gets a bye – scoring 2 Victory Points and 200 MOV.

g. For final standings, players are first ranked by Victory Points, then by MOV. In the case of a subsequent tie, the tie breaker goes to the higher number of wins as the defender.

6. FAQ / Special Rules

a. Ban list. The following pilots or upgrades may not be used:

(1) Huge ships and huge ship only upgrades

(2) Twin Laser Turret

(3) Minefield Mapper

b. The following upgrades or pilots are modified as indicated:

(1) Biggs Darklighter: Treat this pilot’s pilot ability as blank.

(2) Lowhhrick: Treat this pilot’s pilot ability as blank.

c. Frequently Asked Questions.

(1) Do Homing Missiles ignore Protect tokens like they do Evade tokens? A: No, Protect tokens are a different effect.

(2) Do Protect tokens count as modifying dice rolls? A: No. They do not add an evade result; they cancel an attack die.

(3) Does a Console Fire critical effect cause any additional damage? A: No; the card is automatically flipped face down in the next activation phase.

(4) Can the shuttle be assigned stress tokens? A: Yes, but they largely have no effect since the shuttle has neither actions nor red maneuvers. However, other effects related to stress may be applied; for example: attempting to cause damage via Black Market Slicer Tools.

(5) If the shuttle is blocked and the defender selects a 1-bank maneuver, does the shuttle automatically clear on the second round? A: No, the shuttle must select the 2-forward for two rounds in a row, automatically clearing on the second round.

(6) I have a Lambda -class Shuttle in my squad and the Emperor Palpatine upgrade card. May I put Emperor Palpatine on the Senator’s Shuttle when defending and on the Lambda shuttle when attacking? A: No; any crew or modifications assigned to the Senator’s Shuttle may not be used when the squad is the attacker.

(7) How many ion tokens does it take to ionize the Senator’s shuttle? A: Two; the shuttle is treated as a large-based ship for the purposes of effects and upgrades.

(8) Does the Senator’s Shuttle get barrel-rolled when hit by a tractor beam? A: No; it is a large-based ship. It does still suffer the reduced agility score effect.

(9) Where can I get a Senator’s Shuttle model? A: Try searching Shapeways.com, Combat Zone Scenery, or PrintandPlayDesign at Etsy.com.