Happy February! Today is the first Monday of the month, which is the scheduled day for rules updates. There are no functional changes this month, so, if you just wanna bail out of the article now, go for it. But we did do some work, and I'm happy to walk you through it.
Here's what's covered in this month's Recent Rulings Document.
Hippocratic / Plague Ship relocation
When you encounter Hippocratic Oath or Tarellian Plague Ship, you have to relocate a MEDICAL. Everyone knows that you're allowed to send an OFFICER as long as he has a Medical Kit (which must be sent along for the ride). Everyone equally knows that you're not allowed to send a Quantum Drone (highest CUNNING) with a Borg Vinculum (for skill-sharing) and a Bio-Med Drone (for MEDICAL skill). But why not? If you have the unprinted ability to send some cards along to help meet the requirements, why can't you send others?
We've rewritten these entries to be a little clearer (and added a cross-reference from Spock's Brain, which does the same thing) (except whoops that cross-reference isn't in the RRD because I forgot to include it). Basically, both these cards are simply applying the Equipment rules: whenever a personnel moves (even when relocating), he may carry any equipment present along with. But they can't take other cards (like personnel). This Glossary revision won't change any gameplay, but hopefully will make the existing gameplay a little easier for many players to grok.
All changelings are shape-shifters
Did you know this? It makes sense, you may not have ever thought about it, but did you know it's an actual rule? If you didn't happen to bump into the "changeling" Glossary entry, you probably didn't! Since this is a general, game-wide rule, it has now been added to the Rulebook's list of "special" characteristics, alongside "hand weapon" and "matching commander."
Other Rulebook updates
We formally migrated the cloaking and phasing rules into the Rulebook, added a tip box reminding beginners that they really should bring their own docking sites if they want to invade an opponent's Nor, and copied a rule about discarding cards from hand from the Glossary into the Rulebook, along with the usual typos and corrections.
Temporary Rulings updates
The Rules Committee discussed Seek Hidden Reliquary for months and just could not come to a resolution on whether it allows artifacts to seed at space missions. With very strong arguments on both sides of the question, we finally agreed that it was genuinely ambiguous and should be fixed through clarifying errata, rather than a new Glossary entry. At some point in the next few months, it will be fixed that way. (The erratum will affirm Design's intent for the card, and our current temporary ruling: Seek Hidden Reliquary will only allow you to seed artifacts at planet missions.)
The other temporary ruling states that the Organized Play Guide is incorrect about scoring in a game where the time limit is hit and neither player has solved a mission (but one or both players have scored negative bonus points). The player with the most points wins. This should go into the OPG very soon. It was expected for February but was delayed.
Just a heads-up / coming attractions: Project Storm (a full-sized expansion set inspired by the final chapter of Deep Space Nine) is heading off to Art soon. We anticipate that Project Storm's release day will include a rules supplement, with modest changes to a couple of long-standing game concepts. (You may even be able to guess which, based on the theme of the set.)
Thanks for reading! Be sure to tell us on the forums what you think of everything we've done this month. Hopefully you're happy, but, if you're not, we want to hear that, too. Until next month, we'll see you on the spaceline!
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