Hey,

So I'm about to start my first IA campaign ever (hooray) and we've already purchased the Return to Hoth expac. I'm going to be running the show as the Imperial, and I have two questions:

1. My group has people who can't always make it. Is it okay to sub heroes (and players) in and out, giving the Heroes the appropriate rewards for when there are fewer of them? If someone misses a session, do we just advance their hero as normal?

2. Can I include the Return to Hoth heroes in the original campaign or does that break it somehow?

Hey,

So I'm about to start my first IA campaign ever (hooray) and we've already purchased the Return to Hoth expac. I'm going to be running the show as the Imperial, and I have two questions:

1. My group has people who can't always make it. Is it okay to sub heroes (and players) in and out, giving the Heroes the appropriate rewards for when there are fewer of them? If someone misses a session, do we just advance their hero as normal?

2. Can I include the Return to Hoth heroes in the original campaign or does that break it somehow?

Those are good questions! I await their answer!

It's best to play with 4 heroes, however you want to do that. They should all be at the appropriate amount of gear and XP for the threat level.

Heroes can be used in any campaign. Loku however is garbage and shouldn't be used in any campaign.

It's best to play with 4 heroes, however you want to do that. They should all be at the appropriate amount of gear and XP for the threat level.

Heroes can be used in any campaign. Loku however is garbage and shouldn't be used in any campaign.

I've played the tutorial and a skirmish. My friends coming over have played Armada and X-Wing but never IA, so it might be a stretch to have them play two heroes at once, but we'll see.

I have a similar problem with one of my groups and I just keep a bigger roster. I was upfront with them and said that the campaign will advance on my schedule and I will give at least a weeks warning for play times to try and accommodate as many people as I can. I was able to convince them of this strategy by showing them the stack of missions we have yet to play and basically saying that if we do it this way we can get through 2 campaigns (at least) in the time it would take us to do one waiting on everyone.

So I have 7 people total in that group (including myself) and we generally have just the right amount of people each time. When there are more than 5 I give them the option to play on my side or as an ally on the side of the Rebels for the night. It hasn't come down to a situation where they didn't own an ally yet, but if it did I would just let them pick one at random. It's about having fun so just do what works for your group, but just be up front so no feelings are hurt if player X comes back and someone has advanced his character. In the rare occurrence they are really upset with the upgrade choice I've let them rebuild from where they were before hand.

And ya if you aren't playing the campaign with 4 heroes it will be severely unbalanced and not very fun.. especially the core. Trust us, play with four heroes.

I have a similar problem with one of my groups and I just keep a bigger roster. I was upfront with them and said that the campaign will advance on my schedule and I will give at least a weeks warning for play times to try and accommodate as many people as I can. I was able to convince them of this strategy by showing them the stack of missions we have yet to play and basically saying that if we do it this way we can get through 2 campaigns (at least) in the time it would take us to do one waiting on everyone.

So I have 7 people total in that group (including myself) and we generally have just the right amount of people each time. When there are more than 5 I give them the option to play on my side or as an ally on the side of the Rebels for the night. It hasn't come down to a situation where they didn't own an ally yet, but if it did I would just let them pick one at random. It's about having fun so just do what works for your group, but just be up front so no feelings are hurt if player X comes back and someone has advanced his character. In the rare occurrence they are really upset with the upgrade choice I've let them rebuild from where they were before hand.

And ya if you aren't playing the campaign with 4 heroes it will be severely unbalanced and not very fun.. especially the core. Trust us, play with four heroes.

Will do. I have 4 people for this, not all of whom make it every time, so it'll likely be 3 people (including me) most sessions since it's my friends who, like me, are often off in the daytime.

You can use any hero in any campaign. But Loku is too good to use, because with Combat Spotter it makes it virtually impossible for the imperial player to win any mission where the rebel objective is to defeat specific imperial figures.

It should be fine as long as there's no new players coming in once campaign starts

My solution: tell the Rebel players that it's a long-term commitment, and the optimal player count to start a campaign is either 2, 3, or 5 players and play with 4 Rebel heroes no matter actual player count. So 2 = me + 1 Rebel controlling 4 heroes, 3 = me + 2 Rebel each controlling 2 heroes...

If someone can't make it a specific night, just tell him that we'll move on without him, and someone else might be making decisions for his/her hero (ex. Diala player can't make it, so Fenn player will be controlling Diala+Fenn tonight)

but if someone consistently can't make it (3 in a row), ask them if they still want to continue and I'll drop him from the campaign. Also at this time the other Rebel players should be quite familiar with the now ex-Rebel player's hero

Yeah, I don't like the idea of simply bringing in new heroes with an appropriate XP level because that allows for optimal builds on the fly.

Instead, much like ricope suggested, have 4 heroes that you work with. If all 4 or your friends can make it, great! Otherwise, some players might have double duty, which is fun too.

It's best to play with 4 heroes, however you want to do that. They should all be at the appropriate amount of gear and XP for the threat level.

Heroes can be used in any campaign. Loku however is garbage and shouldn't be used in any campaign.

I've played the tutorial and a skirmish. My friends coming over have played Armada and X-Wing but never IA, so it might be a stretch to have them play two heroes at once, but we'll see.

I've introduced IA to a few friends, in two cases had 1 player playing all 4 heroes in another had 2 playing 2 heroes each. I've also demoed the game at a store and had people "off the street" running 2 heroes each with no problem. It works out well.

The game has a progression to it so each character is very simple at the start and new abilities are added slowly giving players a chance to learn. The first mission in the core and Hoth campaigns were also made to be straightforward while also having a variety of enemies in order to teach new players.

I have two play groups.

First one, we started off with 3 rebel players and 4 heroes, and someone joined in mid campaign. She just plays Diala the way it was built, but makes her own decision on how to spend XP from now on.

Second one, someone couldn't make it for the first game and we picked a hero, played 3 missions and didn't spend any XP on him. When he came for the second game, I let him pick the hero he wanted and spend XP however he wanted.

I think it's all reasonable. I wouldn't really like it if heroes start changing during the campaign, but in the second case it was whatever, especially since the previous hero hadn't spent any XP and it was that player's first time playing.

I set a date when all players can make it. Depending on the group, if someone doesn't make it and cancels kind of last minute, we'd either play without them or reschedule. But as I said, it depends on the group. Anyways, if someone misses a game, we'd probably play their hero but not spend any XP. Maybe we'd get them items though.

As for your second question : yes you can include any hero on any campaign. You can also include imperial units from any expansion (but you have to earn unique villains before you play them), as long as the habitat matches the mission.

I have two play groups.

First one, we started off with 3 rebel players and 4 heroes, and someone joined in mid campaign. She just plays Diala the way it was built, but makes her own decision on how to spend XP from now on.

Second one, someone couldn't make it for the first game and we picked a hero, played 3 missions and didn't spend any XP on him. When he came for the second game, I let him pick the hero he wanted and spend XP however he wanted.

I think it's all reasonable. I wouldn't really like it if heroes start changing during the campaign, but in the second case it was whatever, especially since the previous hero hadn't spent any XP and it was that player's first time playing.

I set a date when all players can make it. Depending on the group, if someone doesn't make it and cancels kind of last minute, we'd either play without them or reschedule. But as I said, it depends on the group. Anyways, if someone misses a game, we'd probably play their hero but not spend any XP. Maybe we'd get them items though.

As for your second question : yes you can include any hero on any campaign. You can also include imperial units from any expansion (but you have to earn unique villains before you play them), as long as the habitat matches the mission.

Thanks for the help, all. We went through the first two missions (Aftermath and Fenn's story mission) and they were a lot of fun. Aftermath was a blowout for the Imps (they didn't realize how fast 6 rounds could go), but Brushfire literally came down to the last die roll. A few more questions, if you'll indulge me:

1. Re: The Agenda Deck. How many cards do I start with? How many do I get after every mission? Do I have to use them after each mission, can I keep them, or are they 4 random cards every single time?

2. Re: Crates. The way I've played it, you get 50 credits per unopened crate at the end of every mission. Is this correct?

3. Deployment points. Again, my understanding is that you can deploy new groups at green deployment points until other ones are opened per the mission rules.

4. Reinforcement: Do reinforced groups come in at the deployment points or with their friends?

Thanks!

1. Read through the rules reference guide. The agenda deck consists of 18 cards - 6 x 3-card sets. During the Imperial Upgrade stage you draw 4 randomly and can purchase from those with the influence you have collected. When purchasing, read what the card says and perform the relevant portion. (All are 'put into play' when purchased. Some cards are revealed, some are kept hidden. Agenda side missions are added to the active side missions, forced mission is played immediately.)

Any agenda cards not purchased are returned to the agenda deck. (Shuffle before each upgrade stage.)

Note that the order of the imperial upgrade stage is wrong in the learn to play guide. Agenda cards are purchased last (correct in the Rules Reference Guide).

2. No. Rebels get 50 credits for each crate they have claimed , i.e. interacted with during the mission. (They both claim the crate and draw a supply card.) (See claim from RRG.)

3. Green deployment points are active at the beginning of the mission. Other points do not become active unless explicitly said so. (An event deploying something to a point does not make that point active.)

4. You deploy groups, reinforce figures. Both deployment and reinforcement is performed on any deployment point of your choice unless explicitly said otherwise. (Some missions may allow to perform optional deployments onto named tiles.) When deploying groups, each figure in a group must be deployed as close to the same single deployment point. Reinforcement happens one figure at a time, so you can choose an active deployment point for each figure separately.

See also https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1319188/what-are-some-crazy-or-common-rule-breaking-mistak

1. You build an Agenda deck choosing 6 unique decks from your total collection (look for the matching names in the top right corner). You then shuffle these up and after every mission pick FOUR that you can purchase from with your accumulated influence.

2. The heroes get 50 credits per crate that they interact with or pick up, they don't get bonuses for the ones they don't touch.

3. Yes, use the green points until the mission rules tell you otherwise. And when you deploy all 3 (or however many are in a group) have to go to the same point.

4. Re enforcements have to come in at the deployment points.

Edit: lol albert literally beat me to it by seconds He is probably more accurate anyway.

1. You build an Agenda deck choosing 6 unique decks from your total collection (look for the matching names in the top right corner). You then shuffle these up and after every mission pick FOUR that you can purchase from with your accumulated influence.

2. The heroes get 50 credits per crate that they interact with or pick up, they don't get bonuses for the ones they don't touch.

3. Yes, use the green points until the mission rules tell you otherwise. And when you deploy all 3 (or however many are in a group) have to go to the same point.

4. Re enforcements have to come in at the deployment points.

Edit: lol albert literally beat me to it by seconds He is probably more accurate anyway.

Thanks. I think the agenda deck confused me because there are only 18 agenda cards in the core set anyways, but since I haven't really messed with those (or the imperial class cards, apparently) I can start messing with those before our next session and build a deck with some of the Return to Hoth cards (as applicable).

Next question while I'm thinking about it: there's no reason for the Rebels to know where the deployment points are before guys start popping out of them, right? I just read them everything under the mission briefing and leave them to their fate?

The core also includes an agenda set from the Dart Vader villain pack, which comes with the core, so you should select one set to leave out.

The location of deployment points is hidden information. When new deployment points become active or old ones become inactive is known because you read it from the mission rules. Note that you read both the event (mission briefing) and the associated rules block. Because figures are deployed as close as possible to an active deployment point, the location(s) usually become revealed when you use them. (Not always, because you could have a) large figures, or b) there is already a figure on the deployment point, so you pick the closest valid space for the first figure you deploy/reinforce.)

Also, read the second page of the campaign book to the rebels (there are a few important things, like optional deployment including reinforcing), or let the rebels read the page themselves. There is nothing secret in the campaign book before page 4.

Regarding crates- you might want to tell your Rebels (if you want to be nice) that it's sometimes a good strategy to just rush crates if victory seems hopelessly out of reach. Missions are lost this way, but it's how campaigns are won. The extra couple hundred credits from opening crates can really help ease the sting of defeat- in a way, it's almost a victory of its own.

2. No. Rebels get 50 credits for each crate they have claimed , i.e. interacted with during the mission. (They both claim the crate and draw a supply card.) (See claim from RRG.)

We assume a crate discarded by something like Chance Cubes doesn't give you 50, although I don't think there is anything saying a discarded token no longer counts as having claimed that crate.

2. No. Rebels get 50 credits for each crate they have claimed , i.e. interacted with during the mission. (They both claim the crate and draw a supply card.) (See claim from RRG.)

We assume a crate discarded by something like Chance Cubes doesn't give you 50, although I don't think there is anything saying a discarded token no longer counts as having claimed that crate.

Nope. You interact with a crate, you claim it. You get to draw an item card for this mission only, but afterward also get to cash in your crate for credits.

If a hero discards a crate, that hero no longer has it, and it does not pay 50cr at the end of the mission. That's why it's Chance Cubes. (But it's not from the core, so no need to worry about it now. The same applies to Power Converter. You're giving up 50cr for the ability.)

Also note that Valuable Goods give the rebels 100cr regardless of whether the card was drawn from a crate or by some other ability (like depleting Mak's Supply Network).

Trying to get Valuable Goods (and crates in general) is a very good rebel strategy, especially if the mission is going so badly as almost surely being hopeless. Those 50cr to 250cr extra will be very valuable in buying the good items.