Campaign Engine, Missions & Endgame Scoring

1. Campaign Structure & Macro-Spacing

A campaign in Away Team consists of 3 to 5 fixed, story-driven Campaign Missions arranged in a linear narrative arc (e.g., *Operation: Iron Dawn* or *Operation: Apex Extraction*), interspersed with optional Side-Missions.

Macro-Spacing Across Time & Space

• Distinct Deployments: Campaign Missions take place across distinct global or orbital locations separated by days or weeks of in-world preparation. Returning to HQ between missions represents extracting from one theater of operations to analyze intelligence, treat trauma, and outfit the strike team for the next phase.
• Coherent Retry Framing: Campaign Missions are framed around achieving an operational objective (*Sabotage the Relay*, *Extract the VIP*). If a mission fails, the narrative records that the squad was forced into an emergency retreat before securing the objective. Retrying a failed mission represents launching a Second Assault Wave against an alerted target (or pivoting to a secondary target, such as extracting Dr. Kaelen in *Apex Extraction*).

2. Campaign Difficulty Levers & Special Protocols

Each Campaign Dossier defines five structural parameters:

• Mission Sequence Length: 3 Missions (Standard/Initializer) to 4–5 Missions (Complex/Hard).
• Maximum Doom Threshold (DOOM): Typically 3 to 4 DOOM points. Note that individual stage failures never add DOOM—Stage failures inflict local tactical blowback (HP damage, static die loss, downstream stage difficulty $+1$). DOOM is added strictly when an entire Mission fails (or when a campaign rule explicitly triggers it). If DOOM reaches the campaign threshold, the Agency suffers immediate Operational Collapse (Game Over).
• Global Retry Budget: Easy campaigns allow free mission retries (limited only by the DOOM track), whereas hard campaigns enforce a strict Global Retry Cap (e.g., max 2 total retries across the campaign).
• Side-Mission Windows & Lockouts: Campaigns specify when Side-Missions are open, capped, or locked out (e.g., after clearing Mission 3 in *Apex Extraction*, Side-Missions lock out permanently prior to the finale).
• Special Deployment Tags:
• Continuous Drop / No HQ: Links two consecutive missions (e.g., Mission 2 $\rightarrow$ Mission 3 in *Apex Extraction*). Upon clearing Part A, the squad skips HQ Downtime entirely, carrying their surviving HP, unspent static dice, equipped gear, and remaining consumables directly into Part B.
• Facility Safehouse Protocol: When a campaign or mission sequence takes place entirely inside a monolithic mega-complex, HQ Downtime is reframed in-situ as retreating to a Secured Sub-Level Safehouse with portable stasis pods and terminal-hacked 3D supply fabricators.

3. Side-Mission Theme System

Every Side-Mission card carries 1 to 3 Environment & Context Theme Tags. A Campaign Dossier lists its Allowed Themes, ensuring only narratively compatible Side-Missions enter the Intel Array market:

• 🏙️ Urban: Corporate arcologies, neon nightlife districts, syndicate black markets, transit hubs.
• 🛰️ Space: Orbital stations, derelict satellites, zero-g shipyards, high-orbit communication spires.
• 🌲 Planet: Wilderness incursions, alien jungle biomes, surface outposts, mountain passes.
• 🔬 Facility: Subterranean bio-labs, automated factories, containment sectors, reactor bunkers.
• 💼 Covert: Executive suites, diplomatic galas, encrypted data centers, political safehouses.

4. Operative Equipment Slots

During Step 8 of HQ Downtime (Loadout), each deployed operative can equip items from their Faction's Armory Cache up to their physical slot capacity:

• Hands (Hand L + Hand R — 2 Hand Slots): Can hold up to two 1-Handed items OR one 2-Handed item (some Multi-Slot Rigs such as the *Weapon-Mount Utility Frame* or *Titan Dreadnought Chassis* grant a 3rd 1 Hand slot).
• Wearable Slots (Head, Body, Legs, Pack — 1 Slot Each): Single-slot wearables occupy their respective slot; Multi-Slot Rigs occupy 2 or 3 combined slots (e.g., Head + Body or Head + Body + Legs).
• Complex Slot (Complex — 1 Slot): Holds 1 deployable turret, autonomous drone, or heavy siege rig.
• Consumable Slots (`2 Slots` Baseline): Each operative can carry up to 2 single-use Consumables (expandable via Pack items like the *Field Logistics Backpack* or *Master Quartermaster Frame*, or the *Deep Pockets* perk).

5. Campaign Victory & Final VP Audit

When the squad clears the final Climax Stage of the campaign's last mission, the campaign ends in Collective Survival, and Factions immediately conduct the Final Executive Audit to determine the individual winner:

• Accumulated Score Track VP: VPs earned throughout the campaign from completing Open Agendas (+2 to +4 VP each) and HQ sponsorships.
• Political Influence Power (PIP): Every PIP on your Faction Dashboard converts at `1 PIP = 2 VP`.
• Personnel Loyalty (LOY): Every point of LOY on your living bench operatives AND Dead Pool martyrs converts at standard `1 LOY = 2 VP`, plus +3 VP for every operative who reached Loyalty Tier 4 (10+ LOY Corporate Icon).
• Tiered Secret Objectives: Reveal hidden Secret Objective cards and award +15 VP (1st Place), +10 VP (2nd Place), and +5 VP (3rd Place) (minimum 1 unit required to qualify).
• Tie-Breaker: Highest remaining PIP, then highest remaining CR, then most living operatives.