ArcsOfficial FAQ

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This FAQ answers rule questions related to the Arcs rulebook. For FAQs on specific cards, refer to the BGS Card LIbrary.

This FAQ is not exhaustive. It does not cover every rule, only those that may be overlooked or cause confusion. It does not cover the Blighted Reach campaign expansion.

Page numbers in this FAQ refer to the base rulebook.

This document is based on a community FAQ originally compiled prior to release by turmoilbyrd.

Errata

Core Rulebook, Page 19: Add the following text:

"Discard all action cards not in players' hands into the action discard pile on the map face down, and shuffle the action discard pile."

There are a couple situations where discard order matters.

Clarifications

Setup

Perform setup steps given by Leader cards after drafting everything. For example, the Archivist Leader prompts you to gain lore cards.

The two initial resources are always placed in the two leftmost resource slots, even if you have more slots open (Setup, p.5). When setting up a Leader (p.21), gain resources as shown on the Leader card in the order shown on the card, rather than based on your starting planets.

Simultaneous Triggers

If multiple things happen at the same time but must be resolved in order, the player taking their turn chooses the order (p.22). Examples:

  • After rolling dice in battle: Skirmishers and Empath's Bond
  • After a battle: Repair Drones and the Quartermaster's Resilient ability
  • Declaring an ambition: the Noble's Connected ability and Farseers

Action

You do not have to use all action pips given by your action card (p.8). For example, if you have 3 action pips, you could take only 1 action.

If you convert a standard action into a new action (p.20), modifiers of that standard action do not affect the new action itself.

If a new action contains standard actions, modifiers of those standard action(s) apply unless explicitly ignored (e.g., Force Beams).

Some abilities refer to "when you Copy or Pivot to..." followed by an action. These abilities trigger only from spending action pips to Copy or Pivot. They do not trigger from Prelude actions.

  • An ability that says "When you Copy or Pivot to battle" does trigger if you spent a Weapon to let you battle from your Copy or Pivot action pip (see Resource).
  • You can trigger the ability if you Copy or Pivot to use a new action containing the listed standard action. Example: Nurture on Living Structures contains Build, so taking Nurture with Copy or Pivot triggers abilities that say "If you Copy or Pivot to build..."

Tax

You can tax a city even if you cannot gain a resource from it. If you tax a Rival city this way, you still gain a Captive (p.12).

Build

You can build even if the corresponding building or ship supply is empty (p.22).

Move

During a Catapult move, you must stop at:

  • Any planet (regardless of control)
  • A gate controlled by a Rival (counted just before your ships move in)

As long as you have not stopped, you may backtrack while dropping off ships. Example: Catapult from a planet in cluster 3, drop ships in gate 3, then gate 4, then finally stop at a planet in cluster 3.

Battle

The attacker's Loyal ships in the battle system are all attacking ships and can be damaged by self-hits and intercept, even if attacker does not collect dice for all of them.

You need a legal defender to battle.

You can collect zero dice (p.14).

Secure

You need a legal target to secure: a card in the Court on which you have the most agents.

Resolve the "When Secured" effect of a Vox card before drawing a new card to refill it.

Rewind / Undo

In general, as long as an action or step does not reveal new information to the acting player, it can be undone with table consent (p.22).

Example: playing an action card reveals to others, but acting player gains no new information, so it can be undone with table consent.

Some actions and steps reveal new information and cannot be undone:

  • Battle (after rolling dice, or after defender uses Predictive Sensor)
  • Secure (after revealing the next Court deck card)
  • Declaring an ambition with Farseers (after seeing a player's hand)
  • Mulliganing a hand in a two-player game

Some players may not consent to an undo. For example, collaboration or kingmaking can make rewinds effectively reveal private information to the table, creating advantage for another player (p.22).

Turn Structure

Turn structure:

  1. Play an action card.
  2. If leading, you may declare an ambition. If not leading, you may seize initiative.
  3. Prelude window begins. You may use Prelude actions of cards and resources.
  4. Prelude window ends. Return spent resources to supply.
  5. Perform actions by spending action pips from played card.

In theory, once you spend an action pip from the played action card, you cannot use more Prelude actions. In practice, if actions do not reveal new information (e.g., battle/secure), rewinding to Prelude is acceptable (see Rewind / Undo).

Resources spent during Prelude return only at the end of Prelude (p.20). So you cannot regain a resource spent in Prelude during that same Prelude.

You cannot use Prelude actions on cards secured from Court in that same Prelude (p.20). However, you can use non-Prelude parts of the card later in that turn (e.g., Mining Interest's Manufacture action). You can use Prelude actions if you gain the card in other ways (e.g., steal with Silver Tongue).

Passing

The player with initiative may pass initiative marker to the next player in turn order who has any cards in hand.

Surpass with a "7"

Surpassing with a "7" seizes initiative, unless it was already seized. Seizing this way is not optional (p.10).

Resource

In your Prelude, you can always spend resources without effect, regardless of Outrage (p.16).

You can rearrange resources in your resource slots when you gain a resource (p.17). You cannot rearrange resources when a resource is removed (spent, discarded, stolen, etc.).

Weapon lets you "spend any action pips from your card play to take Battle actions" (p.17). This cannot convert actions from spending other resources, only actions taken from your played action card.

Destroying a City

When a city is destroyed (p.16):

  1. Provoke Outrage.
  2. Ransack the Court.
  3. Spend keys to steal, if you rolled raid dice and any attacking ships remain.

As a result, Outrage in step 1 does not discard cards gained from steps 2 and 3.

Replace

Some cards let you replace a piece (p.22). This removes one piece and places another in the same system.

You cannot replace if the targeted piece cannot be removed, or if the corresponding supply to place from is empty.

The new piece keeps the same fresh or damaged state as the old piece.

Changelog

  • June 17, 2024: Added Errata section with Core Rulebook, Page 19 errata
  • June 14, 2024: Original release
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