Second edition was built around PvE. That was the right call at the time., but it meant PvP and Horde Mode were left on older foundations, with different objectives, different structure, and enough friction between the three modes that switching between them felt like starting over.
This update fixes that.
What changed
PvP now uses the same objectives as PvE
The old PvP mission list was 17 named scenarios. Some were good. Some were repetitive. A few were genuinely awkward at the table. As a set, they had no coherent logic.
PvP now uses the same nine objectives as PvE: three archetypes (Control, Activate, Destroy), three variations each. At mission start, each squad secretly rolls their own objective and pursues it independently. Both squads reveal simultaneously, then play four turns.
This means PvP games have genuine asymmetry built in. You don't know what your opponent is chasing until it's in play. The best PvP scenarios from the old list still work here, and the ones that didn't are gone.
Horde Mode is now a PvE variant
The old Horde Mode was its own system: a custom enemy roster, a wave table, turn events, a separate upgrade economy. A lot of rules overhead for a mode that's supposed to be a brutal, replayable solo challenge.
The new Horde Mode runs on PvE:
- Enemy squads come from the standard NPC factions
- Each wave is a stripped-down PvE mission with one objective
- Battlefield effects replace the old turn events
- The three-act structure stays: nine waves, TL increases every three waves, and you keep going until you can't
Clearing a wave quickly earns bonus MP - spend it between waves on Spoils of War, field dressings, and surgery. The pressure is constant because HIT doesn't reset between waves.
Downed units revive at full HIT
Horde Mode keeps the Downed mechanic. Units that reach 0 HIT are laid on their side rather than removed, can't be targeted, and can only Move, Dash, or attempt a revival until someone gets to them.
The old rules returned revived units at 1 HIT. The new version returns them at full HIT, with one new Injury applied. This matters: 1 HIT meant a revived unit was usually a liability; full HIT means they're actually back in the fight, which is what the mechanic is supposed to feel like.
The Deceased condition still works the same way: roll an Injury a unit already has, and they're gone permanently.
All injuries now apply -1 max HIT
This one follows directly from the injury work we did in the last update. The six injury names are still on the table (Recovered, Broken Arm, Nerve Damage, Crushed Leg, Damaged Armor, Deep Wound), but they all have the same mechanical effect: one less maximum HIT for the rest of the operation.
Tracking six different stat penalties across nine waves or nine missions added cognitive load without adding meaningful differentiation. -1 HIT is visible every activation. Nobody forgets they're running low. The stakes are the same; the bookkeeping is lighter.
Why now
When we playtested with groups who hadn't read the rules before, the split into separate books for each mode was the first point of confusion. Players picking up Horde Mode had to context-switch between the Horde Mode PDF and the PvE PDF to understand the objectives. Players moving from a PvE campaign to a one-off PvP match were starting over from scratch.
Everything now lives in one Missions PDF, with one quick reference that covers setup, objectives, battlefields, and scoring for all three modes.
Download the updated Missions PDF and let us know how it plays.