Nebularun

Print-and-play space card game

Parameters

Card Type

Pack ID (seed)

Power Tier

Rarity

Select a type, enter a seed, and generate.

Components

Card Types

There are four card types:

Starship — the ship the player commands.
Crew — the crew members operating the ship.
Equipment — hardware mounted on the ship.
Cargo — items carried in the ship’s hold.

Packs

Crew and Equipment cards are organized into packs. Each pack is a complete printed set for one crew member or equipment piece containing three groups of cards:

Group	Quantity	Purpose
Permanent	1	Placed on the table before the game; shows base stats
Basic	At least 5	Shuffled into the deck at game start
Upgraded	One or more	Replace basic cards when the player spends resources

Cargo cards are the exception — they are individual cards, not packs.

Permanent Cards

A Permanent card is any card that starts on the table before the game begins and is never shuffled into the deck. Every pack has exactly one Permanent card — the card that presents the base stats of that crew member or equipment piece.

Permanent cards are identified by a printed Permanent symbol on their face. This symbol makes it immediately clear that the card belongs on the table, not in the deck.

The Player Deck

Each player owns one customizable deck. The deck is built from packs according to the rules below.

Minimum Size

A deck must contain at least 48 cards. Cargo cards do not count toward this minimum.

Required Packs

Pack type	Quantity
Starship	1 (player selects one card from it as their active ship)
Crew	At least the Starship’s Required Crew stat and at most its Max Crew stat
Equipment	Equal to the selected Starship’s Equipment Slots stat

Additional Packs

Beyond the required packs above, the Starship’s Max Additional Packs stat determines how many extra packs of any type may be added to the deck.

Item Cards

Item cards are optional individual cards added on top of the deck. They do not count toward the 48-card minimum. The number of Item cards a player may include is limited by the Starship’s Cargo Capacity stat, which can be increased by equipped equipment.

Item cards may be loaded into the deck before the game starts or acquired during play. During play, items are acquired in three ways:

Found at a location — the location’s printed loot list is collected when the player explores or occupies it.
Given by an NPC — the NPC’s printed loot list is offered as a reward or trade during an interaction.
Taken by destroying a location or NPC — the loot list is collected when the location or NPC is destroyed.

Card Rules

Starship Cards

The Starship pack contains 12 StarshipCards split across two hull frames:

Standard frame (6 cards) — the stock, mass-produced version of the hull: one basic ship and its upgraded versions.
Named frame (6 cards) — a distinct named variant of the same hull, with its own identity and stat spread: one basic ship and its upgraded versions.

Before the game begins the player selects one card from the pack to be their active ship. That card is placed on the table as the Permanent and carries the Permanent symbol. The remaining eleven cards stay in the player’s collection, out of play.

The player may only select a basic ship at the start. Upgraded versions within the same frame are unlocked through progression and may replace the active ship when the player spends resources.

The Starship card defines the following printed stats:

Stat	Description
Hull	Maximum hull points; the scale is exponential — a small shuttle is 1, a cruiser-destroyer is ~4, a space station is 10
Shields	Shield tokens available each turn (0–5); each spent token blocks all damage from one incoming attack; tokens refresh at the start of every turn
Evasion	Evasion rating (0–5); if higher than the attacker’s evasion, a Pilot crew member may be exhausted to completely avoid all damage from one incoming attack
Energy Capacity	Energy available each turn to power equipment
Required Crew	Minimum number of Crew packs the deck must include
Max Crew	Maximum number of Crew packs the deck may include
Equipment Slots	Number of Equipment packs the deck must include
Max Additional Packs	Extra packs the player may add beyond the required set
Cargo Capacity	Base number of Item cards the player may carry

Crew Cards

Each Crew pack represents one crew member. The number of Crew packs in the deck must equal the Starship’s Required Crew stat exactly.

Each Crew pack contains one Permanent Crew card that presents the crew member’s stats. Like the Starship card, it carries the Permanent symbol and is placed on the table before the game begins — it is not part of the shuffled deck.

A Crew pack contains 17 cards in total:

Group	Count	Description
Permanent (Tier 1)	1	The crew member ID card; placed on the table before the game
Tier Variants (Tiers 2–5)	4	Higher-tier versions of the Permanent; replace the current tier by spending resources
Basic Skills	6	Starting skill cards shuffled into the deck
Upgraded Skills (level I)	4	Stronger version; replace basic skills via resources
Upgraded Skills (level II)	2	Most powerful version; replace level I skills via resources

The 6 basic Skill cards and 6 upgraded Skill cards (4× level I, 2× level II) each represent an ability performed by that crew member. When played from hand, the printed effect is resolved — the action is thematically carried out by the crew member whose pack the card belongs to.

Each Crew card has a role that determines their area of expertise:

Role	Specialty
Pilot	Speed and evasion
Engineer	Hull repairs and energy efficiency
Gunner	Weapon damage and accuracy
Medic	Hull restoration and debuff removal
Scientist	Scanner range and resource yield

Each Crew card also prints:

Stat	Description
Skill	Proficiency in their role (1–5)
Morale	Starting morale; used for checks under pressure (1–5)
Loyalty	Resistance to manipulation and defection events (1–5)
Special Ability	A unique ability that triggers under specific conditions

Equipment Cards

Each Equipment pack represents one piece of equipment. The number of Equipment packs in the deck must equal the Starship’s Equipment Slots stat exactly.

Each Equipment pack contains one Permanent Equipment card that presents the equipment’s stats. Like the Starship and Crew cards, it carries the Permanent symbol and is placed on the table before the game begins — it is not part of the shuffled deck.

An Equipment pack contains 13 cards in total:

Group	Count	Description
Permanent	1	The equipment ID card; placed on the table before the game
Basic Actions	6	Starting action cards shuffled into the deck
Upgraded Actions	6	One card per upgrade tier; replace basic actions via resources

The 6 basic Action cards and 6 upgraded Action cards each represent an ability performed by that equipment piece. When played from hand, the printed effect is resolved — the action is thematically carried out by the equipment whose pack the card belongs to.

Every Action card carries a printed crew role symbol indicating which crew member is required to play it. A player may only play an Action card if the corresponding Permanent Crew card is on the table.

Equipment belongs to one of the following types:

Type	Function
Weapon	Deals damage to enemies
Shield	Absorbs incoming damage
Engine	Improves speed and evasion
Scanner	Reveals hidden events and enemy stats
Reactor	Provides additional energy for other equipment

Each Equipment card also prints:

Stat	Description
Energy Cost	Energy drawn from the ship’s Energy Capacity to use this equipment
Stat Bonus	Stat modifiers applied while the equipment is active
Effect	Text describing what the equipment does when activated

Equipment can increase the ship’s Cargo Capacity through its Stat Bonus (listed as a cargo_capacity bonus on the card).

Item Cards

Item cards are individual items found or loaded into the ship’s hold. They are optional and do not count toward the 48-card deck minimum.

Each Item card prints:

Field	Description
Effect	What happens when the card is used or traded
Consumable	Whether the card is discarded after use

Items are acquired during play in three ways: found at a location, given by an NPC, or taken when a location or NPC is destroyed. In each case the acquiring player adds the listed item cards to their hold, subject to their ship’s current Cargo Capacity. Excess items may be discarded at the player’s choice.

Game Setup

Assemble your deck according to the deck construction rules.
Search the deck for all Permanent cards and set them aside.
Place each Permanent card face-up on the table in front of you.
Shuffle the remaining deck.
Draw 7 cards to form your opening hand.

Energy

Energy represents the ship’s available power each turn and is tracked with physical energy tokens.

The Starship card prints an energy symbol showing the ship’s base energy per turn. Some equipment cards in play may display additional energy symbols, increasing the total pool.

At the start of each turn the token pool is fully restored to the total number of energy symbols shown across all cards in play under the player’s control. Unused energy does not carry over to the next turn.

Energy tokens are spent to activate equipment and other effects that list an energy cost. A player cannot activate an effect whose cost exceeds the number of tokens remaining in their pool.

Taking a Turn

Start of Turn

At the start of their turn the player:

Straightens all exhausted cards, restoring every crew member to their upright position and making them available to use again.
Restores the energy token pool to the total number of energy symbols shown on all cards currently in play under their control.
Restores shield tokens to the values printed on the Starship card plus any bonuses from cards in play. All NPCs in the encounter zone also have their shield tokens restored and their exhausted NPC cards straightened at this time.

Actions

During their turn a player may do any combination of the following:

Play a card from hand — place a card from the hand onto the table and resolve its effect as printed.
Activate a board action — trigger an action printed on a card that is already in play on the table (including Permanent cards).

There is no set order between these two options; the player may interleave them freely within their turn.

Exhausting a Crew Member

Whenever a crew member is used — either to meet the crew requirement of an Action card played from hand, or to activate a printed ability on a board card — the player must first turn that crew member’s Permanent card 90 degrees clockwise. This indicates the crew member is exhausted and unavailable until they recover.

An exhausted crew member cannot be used again until their card is straightened. Exhausted cards are restored at the start of the player’s next turn.

End of Turn

At the end of their turn the player draws 1 card from their deck. Then:

Solo game — the next turn begins immediately for the same player.
Multiplayer game — play passes to the next player, who then takes their turn. Turns continue in order until the game ends.

The Scenario Deck

Players play against a scenario deck that represents the star system being explored. The scenario deck is assembled from three kinds of packs, mirroring the structure of a player deck.

Scenario Packs

Pack	Quantity	Contents
Agenda	Exactly 1	The overarching story: narrative stages, win and lose resolutions, and pack requirements
NPC	One or more	A threat in the star system and its encounter cards
Location	One or more	A place in the star system and its exploration cards

The Agenda Pack

The agenda is the story of the scenario. It defines how the scenario begins, how it escalates, and every way it can end.

The Agenda pack contains three kinds of physical cards:

Card type	Quantity	Setup
Scenario Setup card	Exactly 1	Placed face-up at setup as the pack assembly reference
Stage cards	One per narrative act	Stacked in order beside the table; current top card always face-up
Resolution cards	One per possible ending	Kept face-down; flipped and read aloud when triggered

Scenario Setup Card

A single card that summarises all the packs required to assemble the scenario deck. It prints:

Field	Description
Required NPCs	An ordered list of NPC entries
Required Locations	An ordered list of location entries

Both NPC and location lists follow a four-way pattern:

Named — specifies an exact name tied to the background story. The scenario must include a pack whose Permanent card carries that exact name.
Typed — specifies a class or type. Any pack of the matching class or type satisfies the entry.
Open — specifies neither name nor class/type. Any pack satisfies it.
Role-based — specifies a narrative role (e.g. Antagonist, Traitor). The scenario does not include a dedicated pack for this slot. Instead, at campaign setup the players select an NPC already present in the campaign and assign it that role for the duration of the scenario.

Role-Based NPC Slots

A role-based slot casts an existing campaign NPC as a particular narrative function in the scenario.

Role	Narrative function
Antagonist	Primary threat or villain for this scenario
Traitor	NPC that secretly turns against the player
Informant	Source of intelligence or hidden knowledge
Rival	Competing presence; not always openly hostile
Ally	Temporary supporting NPC
Target	NPC the player must protect, rescue, or capture
Wildcard	Any NPC; fully open narrative role

The slot may also print a preferred status to narrow the selection pool:

Preferred status	Draw from
Unused	NPCs not yet introduced in the campaign
Friendly	NPCs currently allied with the player
Neutral	NPCs with no active allegiance
Hostile	NPCs currently opposing the player

Stage Cards

Each stage card is a narrative beat describing what is happening in the story at that point. Stage cards carry story text only — the conditions that end the scenario are on the resolution cards.

Resolution Cards

Each resolution card represents one possible ending — victory or defeat. Resolution cards are kept face-down during play. When an encounter or exploration card’s effect references a resolution card’s ID, that card is flipped face-up and read aloud. The scenario ends immediately.

Every Agenda pack must include at least one win resolution and at least one lose resolution.

NPC Packs

Each NPC pack represents one active threat in the star system.

The NPCCard (Permanent) is placed face-down in the encounter zone at setup. It flips face-up the first time one of that NPC’s encounter cards is drawn. It prints:

Stat	Description
Class	The NPC’s broad classification; used to match generic setup slots
Hull	Hit points; reduced by player attacks
Attack	Damage dealt to the player’s ship each Encounter Phase while active
Evasion	Evasion rating (0–5); scenario NPCs always exhaust to evade when able
Special Ability	Unique ability triggered under the printed condition

Location Packs

Each Location pack represents one place in the star system. Location types include:

Type	Examples
Planet	Colony world, alien biosphere, barren rock, oceanic world
Moon	Mining outpost, hidden rebel base, tidally locked wasteland
Space Station	Trading hub, military outpost, research platform, refugee haven
Asteroid Field	Mining zone, ambush terrain, smuggler’s route
Nebula	Navigation hazard, hiding spot, sensor-dead zone
Debris Field	Ship graveyard, salvage ground, old battlefield
Deep Space	Open void on a long transit, isolation, sensor silence
Jump Point	Hyperspace corridor entry, wormhole, contested transit node
Anomaly	Spatial rift, gravitational singularity, uncharted phenomenon
Starship	Derelict vessel, active ship, allied or hostile craft
Gas Giant	Massive planet with exotic atmosphere and crushing gravity

The LocationCard (Permanent) is placed face-down on the table at setup and flipped face-up when the players first reach that location. It prints:

Field	Description
Type	The kind of place this is
Connections	Other location IDs the player can travel to directly from here
Effect	Any special rule that applies while the player is at this location

The Encounter Deck

The encounter deck is assembled at setup by combining all encounter cards from every NPC pack and all exploration cards from every Location pack. Shuffle this combined set to form the encounter deck.

The Encounter Phase

After the player completes their turn (including drawing a card at the end), an Encounter Phase occurs:

Reveal the top card of the encounter deck and resolve its printed effect. If the effect references a resolution ID, the scenario ends immediately.
Every active NPC in the encounter zone attacks the player’s ship. For each incoming attack, resolve in order:
- Evasion check: if the player’s evasion is higher than the attacking NPC’s evasion, the player may exhaust a Pilot crew member to avoid all damage from that attack entirely.
- Shield check: if evasion was not used and the player has shield tokens remaining, spend one token to block all damage from that attack.
- Hull damage: if neither evasion nor shields stopped the attack, the NPC’s printed attack value damages the player’s hull directly. Hull damage persists until repaired by a card effect.

Attacking NPCs

The player may attack an active NPC using Skill cards and Equipment actions during their turn. Before an attack resolves, check evasion: if the NPC’s evasion is higher than the player’s evasion, the NPC may exhaust its NPCCard to completely avoid all damage from that attack. Scenario NPCs always exhaust to evade when they are able.

Each point of damage dealt reduces the NPC’s hull. When an NPC’s hull reaches 0 it is defeated: remove it from the encounter zone and discard its NPCCard.

Progress Tokens

Progress tokens are a general-purpose counter placed on a card — an NPC, location, or any other target — by encounter or exploration card effects. They track how far a threatening event has advanced.

Each card that uses progress tokens prints the threshold at which the event resolves. When the printed threshold is reached, resolve the effect or trigger the stated resolution immediately.

Progress tokens are removed from a card when it leaves play. Unless a card effect states otherwise, there is no limit to how many progress tokens a single card can hold.

Modes of Play

One-Off

Select a single scenario and build a deck to face it. One-offs are self-contained: there is no carry-over between games. This is the fastest way to learn a new scenario or introduce new players to the game.

Campaign

A campaign is a series of connected scenarios set in the same sector of the galaxy. Between games, the state of your ship and crew persists — resources remain in the hold, upgraded cards stay in the deck, and the results of previous scenarios shape which scenarios become available next.

A campaign is built around a sector: a named region of the galaxy with its own history, factions, and locations. The scenarios in a sector form a branching story arc — which branch you follow depends on whether you won or lost each previous scenario and what choices you made during play.

Progression

Resources

Resources are gathered during play and stored as Item cards in the ship’s hold. Each resource card has a printed resource value that indicates how much it is worth when spent.

Upgrading the Deck

Resources can be spent to upgrade the deck. To upgrade, the player replaces a basic card in the deck with an upgraded card from the same pack, discarding the replaced card and spending the required resources.

Upgraded cards are printed in the same pack as the basic cards they replace. Each upgraded card indicates on its face what it supersedes and how many resources are required to make the swap.

Between Games (Campaign Only)

Record the outcome — note whether the scenario was won or lost and which resolution triggered the end.
Apply disposition changes — read any disposition changes printed on the triggered resolution card and update your campaign log accordingly.
Retain items — Item cards remaining in the hold carry over to the next game.
Spend resources — use retained resources to upgrade deck cards now or save them for later.
Choose the next scenario — the sector’s branching structure will list which scenarios are unlocked based on the outcome.

Sectors

A sector is the setting for a campaign. It defines:

A name and background establishing the region of the galaxy and its history.
A set of scenarios with branching connections between them — each connection specifies which outcomes from the previous scenario unlock it.
Persistent factions and locations that may appear across multiple scenarios, accumulating reputation and consequences.

A sector is designed to be played through multiple times. The branching story means that some scenarios may never be reached in a given campaign, leaving parts of the sector unexplored until the next run-through.

Tracking Your Campaign

There is no required method for tracking campaign progress. Use whatever works for you — a notebook, a phone, index cards, or simply the physical arrangement of your card collection.

Recommended: Box Organisation

The simplest and most tactile method is to organise all your printed packs directly inside the box you store them in. Divide the box into labelled sections so the physical layout mirrors the state of your campaign at a glance.

Player Deck Sections

Section	Contents
Active deck	Cards currently in the shuffled portion of the player deck
Active permanents	The ship, crew, and equipment permanent cards in play
Retired cards	Basic cards replaced by upgrades; set aside but not discarded
Unused packs	Crew, equipment, and item packs not yet part of the current deck

Sector Sections

Create one section in the box per sector you own or are playing. Within each sector section, divide NPC and location packs by their current status:

NPCs

Undiscovered — packs the player has not yet encountered; kept face-down
Neutral — discovered NPCs at relationship value 0
Friendly — NPCs with a positive relationship value
Antagonist — NPCs with a negative relationship value

Locations

Unvisited — locations not yet explored in this campaign
Known — locations the player has visited at least once

Example Layout

[ Active deck ] [ Active permanents ] [ Retired ]

[ Sector: Kerath Reach ————————————————————————— ]
  NPCs:      [ Undiscovered ] [ Neutral ] [ Friendly ] [ Antagonist ]
  Locations: [ Unvisited ] [ Known ]

[ Sector: The Outer Veil ————————————————————————]
  NPCs:      [ Undiscovered ] [ Neutral ] [ Friendly ] [ Antagonist ]
  Locations: [ Unvisited ] [ Known ]

[ Unused packs ]

NPC Relationships

Default Neutrality

Every NPC pack in a player’s collection starts each campaign as unknown and neutral. The NPC’s class describes what kind of being it is, but does not predetermine how it behaves toward the player. An NPC has no relationship value until it is discovered.

Discovery

An NPC is discovered the first time one of its encounter cards is drawn from the encounter deck. At that moment:

Flip the NPC’s permanent card face-up in the encounter zone as normal.
In your campaign log, record this NPC as discovered at a relationship value of 0 (Neutral).

The Relationship Track

Value	Disposition	Meaning
+3	Friendly	Staunch ally; may provide aid, information, or safe passage
+2	Friendly	Willing to cooperate; broadly sympathetic to the player
+1	Friendly	Cautiously warm; open to negotiation
0	Neutral	Unknown or indifferent; behaviour follows the encounter card
−1	Antagonist	Wary or resentful; likely hostile when encountered
−2	Antagonist	Actively working against the player
−3	Antagonist	Sworn enemy; attacks on sight and may pursue across scenarios

Shifting the Needle

Resolution cards may print one or more disposition changes — instructions to shift a named NPC’s relationship value up or down after the scenario ends. These shifts are applied during the between-game steps.

Example: a resolution card reads “The Keth Armada withdraws, respecting your strength — shift the Keth Armada +1 Friendly.” Even if the Keth were attacking you throughout the scenario, they leave with a grudging respect.

Shifts are applied after the scenario resolves, not during play. The value is always clamped to −3 … +3.

Only discovered NPCs can have their relationship shifted. If a disposition change references an NPC that has not been encountered in this campaign, it has no effect.

Relationship Effects in Play

An NPC’s current disposition is a storytelling guide and a scenario-building tool. When assembling a scenario that includes an NPC with an existing relationship:

Friendly NPCs may start face-up, provide loot without a fight, or have their attack value reduced.
Antagonist NPCs may start face-up, have additional encounter cards added to the deck, or trigger extra effects on their encounter cards.
Neutral NPCs behave exactly as the scenario cards specify.

Specific effects are always printed on the relevant cards. The relationship track informs which scenarios and connections are unlocked in a sector’s branching structure — some paths only open once a key NPC becomes Friendly or Antagonist.