Hey all,

We are currently playing the core campaign with 4 Players (aftermath + 3 story missions in) but for our next round one player can't attend the game.

So of course we can just let the other players take over and have a fourth hero which is played by the whole team like any other ally. But we were thinking if it is possible to work this absence into the story. meaning that one of the heroes just isn't there for this mission and they have to continue with 3 heroes.

So my question is now if this is possible to switch for 1-2 Missions and have just 3 heroes, but distribute the XP and money to the fourth player as if she had been with the mission? Are there any balancing issues?

The best would be for the others to control the 4th hero. However,

For single absent missions you can leave out the absent hero and his items, give the other the Heroic reward cards (for the 4th activation and some Health), then give the full rewards for 4 heroes, and perform the upgrade stages at the beginning of the next mission when the player is present again.

For more missions with absentees... Well, as long as you purchase things for 4 heroes, you don't need to adjust the credits.

We have also played missions standalone placed at various points of the campaign, so depending on 3 or 4 heroes, the credits need to be adjusted.

XP is not adjusted regardless of the number of heroes, the Rebels always have a certain amount of XP, and each hero has the same amount regardless of their number.

The best would be for the others to control the 4th hero. However,

For single absent missions you can leave out the absent hero and his items, give the other the Heroic reward cards (for the 4th activation and some Health), then give the full rewards for 4 heroes, and perform the upgrade stages at the beginning of the next mission when the player is present again.

For more missions with absentees... Well, as long as you purchase things for 4 heroes, you don't need to adjust the credits.

We have also played missions standalone placed at various points of the campaign, so depending on 3 or 4 heroes, the credits need to be adjusted.

XP is not adjusted regardless of the number of heroes, the Rebels always have a certain amount of XP, and each hero has the same amount regardless of their number.

Thanks for the response!

So at the end of the mission if it says "each player receives 1 XP" the absentee is not counted?

XP is not adjusted regardless of the number of heroes, the Rebels always have a certain amount of XP, and each hero has the same amount regardless of their number.

So at the end of the mission if it says "each player receives 1 XP" the absentee is not counted?

Absentees also get XP.

I was trying to get across that you don't need to track the XP of each hero separately because they gain XP at the same speed. You track what XP a "generic rebel" has, whether a certain hero was playing or not. What XP each hero has available to spend at each point can be easily calculated by subtracting their class card costs from this total rebel XP value.

In the regular case the number of XP for each hero does not depend on the number of heroes unlike the credits in the mission rewards (the less heroes, the more often the items are used, so the less credits are needed).

I would still stick to 1 player controlling the hero of the absentee.

The balance will be off.

One hero getting two activations means the hero can cover more ground in 1 round. That alone decides the success of a mission especially when rebels objective requires running to different points on the map.

The empire's win condition becomes tougher as well.

When played with 4 rebel heroes.... the heroes stand at 10 to 12 hp per hero. That means you need roughly 3 to 5 attacks to wound a hero; which you can manage to pull off if you focus fire in a single round.

When played with 3 rebel heroes.... the heroes' hp is now at 13 to 15 per hero. The same number of attacks will not wound a hero; he will survive with 1-3 hp; which is enough for him to double rest for 1 activation... negating all the effort you made to wound it the previous turn... and go for the objective for the 2nd activation.

Stick to 4 rebel heroes regardless of number of rebel players.

-Tactical Imperial Player