19. Unpredictable Research
This rule inserts an element of chance into technological development. There’s no guarantee your scientists will be able to make that
breakthrough you need, right when you need it. When using this
special rule, players do not use the normal production sheet, but
must copy the special one provided in the scenario book.
19.1 RESEARCH FUNDING
During the Economic Phase, instead of purchasing a technology
level (per 7.5), you must spend CPs to fund research. You may do
this in increments of 5 CPs, and each increment is called a “grant.”
Each grant allows you 1 die roll. For example, if you spend 10 CPs
on funding, you roll two dice. Funding must be specific to each
technology. You must note on your production sheet the number of
grants allocated to each technology type (such as tactics, movement,
attack, and so forth). You must allocate all of your technology rolls
to specific technologies before rolling any dice.
19.2 RESULTS
After you roll each die funded by your grants, you note the sum
of the die rolls on the production sheet. If the sum is equal to or
greater than the cost of the technology level, you immediately
acquire that technology (you may apply it to spaceships you purchase this turn).
EXAMPLE: A player who purchases 5 research grants is attempting to research Attack Level 1. He spends 25 CPs, allocating 4 of
the grants to that technology by circling numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4
underneath “Attack 1” on the production sheet. He allocates the
5th grant to a different technology. He rolls the first four dice and yields 7, 5, 6, and 8 for a total of 26. Since it only requires “20” to
research Attack 1, the research on that technology is completed and
“ Attack 1” is circled. The extra 6 points (20-26) are wasted. Had
the rolls yielded 7, 5, 6, and 1 (for a total of 19), the research would
have not been completed. During the next Economic Phase, he
would have had to purchase another research grant and allocated
it to “Attack 1” (by circling the number 5). In this case, success
the following turn would be guaranteed because only 1 would be
needed to get to 20. Sometimes it is wise to allocate more research
rolls than you think you might need if you absolutely have to have
that technology that turn.
19.3 RESEARCH FUNDING LIMITS
An empire can not go from a zero commitment in research to an
all-out commitment overnight. For this reason, a player may only
purchase a maximum of two more research grants than he purchased
the previous Economic Phase.
EXAMPLE: A player spent 15 CPs to purchase 3 research grants.
The next turn he may purchase 0 to 5 research grants. Note that if
he does purchase 0 research grants, the following turn he will be
able to purchase a maximum of 2.