X-ODUS Rise of the Corruption reference sheet

Overview

• 1–4 players control 3–4 Ships; 3 Ships recommended minimum [p.4 — Setup]
• Cooperative: all players win or lose together [p.2 — Goal]
• Goal: find all Precursor Keys, activate them on the Main Rift, defeat any Avatars there [p.2 — Goal]
• Lose if the Corruption marker reaches 'Rise of the Corruption' before sealing the Rift [p.2 — Goal]
• Core loop: explore systems, fight Enemies, level up Ships, race against the Corruption timer [p.20 — Game Phases]
• Each turn: Action Phase → Corruption Phase → End Phase [p.20 — Game Phases]

Setup

Per Ship

1. Choose a Ship mat; take its Augmentation cards; place Level 1 Augmentation face up in leftmost top slot [p.4 — Ship Mats]
2. Place Hull markers (white face up) as indicated on mat [p.4 — Ship Mats]
3. Place Max Energy marker on the third slot (marked |); Level marker one slot left of it [p.4 — Ship Mats]
4. Place Action marker and XP tracker in leftmost XP slot; take 1 Scrap (2 on First Jump difficulty) [p.4 — Ship Mats]
5. Take Ship dice of the color shown on your mat [p.4 — Ship Mats]

Global

6. Shuffle Exploration, Ship Module, Precursor Module, and Damage cards separately; place near board [p.4 — Explorations, Modules & Allies]
7. Choose 2 Ally cards; shuffle; place next to Exploration cards [p.4 — Explorations, Modules & Allies]
8. Place Corruption marker on first slot ('The X-ODUS begins') [p.4 — Corruption and Avatars]
9. Select 8 Precursor Signal cards per difficulty; pick 4 at random; place face down on Corruption mat with a Key marker each [p.4 — Corruption and Avatars]
10. Shuffle Enemy cards by level; stack descending (level 4 bottom); draw top 4 to form Enemy deck [p.4 — Enemies]

4-Ship board: pick 6 of 7 Corrupt tiles; place 1 as start; shuffle 12 blue + 12 orange into 6 stacks of 4; Main Rift in bottom stack; 1 red tile in each other stack [p.5 — 4-Ship Setup]

3-Ship board: remove 5 systems marked with white dot; form 5 stacks instead of 6; one fewer Avatar in play [p.5 — 3-Ship Setup]

Turn structure

1. ACTION PHASE

1. Ships play in any order (or as Fleets); each must use ALL actions before the next Ship/Fleet starts [p.20 — Action Phase]
2. Perform available actions (see Actions section); track with Action tracker [p.20 — Action Phase]
3. Any Ship may Strain once per turn (0 actions, gain +1 action, Damage Roll before turn ends) [p.21 — Strain]

2. CORRUPTION PHASE

4. Advance Corruption marker by 1; if new red slot reached, draw Avatar card and shuffle 4 reserve Enemies into deck [p.22 — Corruption Phase]
5. Roll Avatar die for each Avatar not already engaged; Avatars move toward closest Ship; if Avatar engages a Ship, that Ship performs a Damage Roll immediately [p.22 — Avatars Move]

3. END PHASE

6. Flip blue Pacified markers to red; discard red ones [p.23 — End Phase]
7. Disband all Fleets [p.23 — End Phase]
8. Each Ship recovers all available Energy [p.23 — End Phase]
9. Shuffle unengaged Enemies back into deck [p.23 — End Phase]
10. Reset all Action trackers [p.23 — End Phase]

Actions

Combat

Trigger: detected in Enemy system, or voluntary engagement [p.15 — Engaging an Enemy]

Each Attack Round:

1. Choose strategy: Offense (roll all dice) / Defense (roll 1 die) / Disengage [p.16 — Combat Strategies]
2. Activate 'Before an Attack Roll' Modules [p.16 — Combat Sequence]
3. Roll dice [p.16 — Combat Sequence]
4. Activate 'After an Attack Roll' Modules [p.16 — Combat Sequence]
5. Sum hits per Ship; Fleet sums all Ships' hits; subtract Enemy Shields; deal remaining damage to Enemy Hull [p.16 — Combat Sequence]
6. If Enemy survives — retaliation: each Ship counts its own misses = Hull lost [p.16 — Enemy Retaliation]
7. Critical miss (both dice show ✕): draw a Damage card [p.9 — Damage Card]

Disengage: perform 1 Damage Roll per Enemy in system; then hide (end turn, normal detection next turn) or flee (Jump/Blind Jump/Hyperspace Rush only) [p.15 — Disengaging an Enemy]

Fleeing an Avatar: if last Ship leaves Avatar's system, Corruption marker advances immediately [p.18 — Fleeing the System (Avatar)]

Defeating an Enemy: gain 1 Scrap per Enemy level per Ship; Pacify the system [p.18 — Defeating an Enemy]

Defeating an Avatar: placed on Corruption mat 3 slots ahead of Corruption marker; no Scraps gained [p.19 — Defeating an Avatar]

End of game

Win condition: activate all Keys on the Main Rift, then defeat any Avatars that reach it [p.24 — Winning the Game]

• When last Key is activated, all Avatars immediately move toward the Main Rift [p.24 — Last Key & Last Avatar Movement]
• If no Avatars reach the Rift → immediate win [p.24 — Final Fight & Victory]
• If Avatars reach the Rift → fight them; win if all defeated, lose if all Ships in system are defeated [p.24 — Final Fight & Victory]
• Game ends the turn the last Key is activated — plan accordingly [p.24 — Final Fight & Victory]

Lose conditions:

• Corruption marker reaches 'Rise of the Corruption' → immediate loss [p.24 — Rise of the Corruption]
• All Ships defeated simultaneously → immediate loss [p.24 — All the Ships Are Defeated]

Ship defeated (not all): lose XP per difficulty; re-enter with 2 Hull after 3 turns, or another Ship can Repair you immediately [p.24 — Ship Defeated]

Glossary

• Augmentation: Ship-specific dual-sided Module unlocked by leveling XP; choose one side permanently when unlocked; can't be salvaged or traded [p.7 — Augmentations]
• Corruption marker: tracks game timer on Corruption mat; reaching 'Rise of the Corruption' = instant loss [p.22 — Corruption Phase]
• Damage Roll: roll both dice; 1 ✕ = lose 1 Hull; 2 ✕ = lose 2 Hull + draw Damage card; otherwise safe [p.9 — Damage Roll]
• Detection Roll: roll both dice; any ✕ = detected and engaged with an Enemy [p.9 — Detection Roll]
• Fleet: 2+ Ships on same system acting together; same action, same target; limited to fewest actions among members [p.8 — Fleets]
• Pacified: system temporarily free of Enemies after all Enemies defeated; lasts 2 turns; no Detection Roll needed [p.18 — Pacify the System]
• Precursor Signal: special Exploration leading to a Precursor Key; doesn't need to be solved immediately; stays in play [p.14 — Precursor Signals]
• Rift: present in all Corrupt systems; Avatars treat all Rift systems as adjacent to each other [p.10 — Corrupt Systems]
• Scraps: game currency; gained from Scavenge, defeating Enemies, Explorations; spent on Modules, Repairs, Energy upgrades [p.7 — Scraps]
• Strain: 0-action once-per-turn ability; gain +1 action; must perform Damage Roll before turn ends [p.21 — Strain]
• Aggressive Engagement: when an Avatar reaches a Ship during Corruption phase, that Ship immediately performs a Damage Roll [p.23 — Aggressive Engagement]

FAQ

• Q: Do I need to spend an action to form a Fleet? — A: No, forming a Fleet is free and can happen anytime during your turn, even between Detection and Combat [p.8 — Timing to Form a Fleet]
• Q: Can I activate a Module during Combat without spending an action? — A: Yes, activating a Module never costs an action [p.8 — Activation Condition]
• Q: Can I reroll a die I already used to trigger a Module? — A: No, you can't reroll or ignore a die used to trigger another Module during the same attack [p.8 — Activation Rules]
• Q: Does a defeated Enemy retaliate? — A: No, defeated Enemies don't retaliate (except Level 2 Defender whose ability triggers before damage) [p.15 — Enemies Ability]
• Q: Do I perform a Damage Roll when I engage an Avatar during my Action phase? — A: No, Aggressive Engagement (Damage Roll) only applies when an Avatar engages you during the Corruption phase [p.23 — Aggressive Engagement]
• Q: Can I access a Precursor Key without spending an action? — A: Yes, accessing the Key is free once the condition is met; only instructions in [ ] cost an action [p.14 — Accessing the Key]
• Q: What happens if I run out of Exploration markers? — A: Move one from another system on the board, permanently losing that Exploration [p.10 — Corrupt Systems]