Aether Captains: Clockwork Cabal

Overview

Aether Captains: Clockwork Cabal is a solo game in the Aether Captains steampunk universe, designed by Todd Sanders. Unlike the base game’s aerial combat focus, Clockwork Cabal is a city exploration game where the player must locate all 6 parts of the mysterious Antikytheria device before time runs out. The game uses a card-based city map that builds as you explore, with dice rolling and resource management mechanics.

New Components

• 54 cards (City Sector cards, Location cards, Player cards)
• 1 player pawn
• 1 twelve-sided die (d12)
• 13 small wooden cubes (eurocubes)

Setup Changes

This is a standalone game within the Aether Captains series, not a traditional expansion requiring the base game. Set up the starting city sector card and place the player pawn on it. Prepare the card decks (City Sector, Location, Player). Set initial values for health, knowledge, and strength on the Player card.

Rule Changes

City Exploration

• City Sector cards form the map of the city, laid out as tiles as the player explores
• The city is built procedurally as you progress through the game
• Movement is from sector to sector using the player pawn

Locations and Events

• Location cards present events that must be resolved at each stop
• Locations contain challenges, encounters, and clues to finding the Antikytheria parts
• Successfully resolving locations may reveal one of the 6 Antikytheria parts

Resource Management

• The Player card tracks health, knowledge, strength, and items found
• Knowledge and strength are spent to overcome challenges at locations
• Items found during exploration provide bonuses or special abilities
• Health depletes when challenges are failed or dangers are encountered

Dice Resolution

• The d12 is rolled to resolve encounters and challenges
• Results are compared against difficulty thresholds modified by the player’s current stats
• Higher knowledge or strength provides better odds of success

Victory and Defeat

• Win: Locate all 6 parts of the Antikytheria before time runs out
• Lose: Run out of health or fail to find all parts before the city deck is exhausted

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• The procedurally generated city means each game plays differently
• Resource management between knowledge and strength creates tension — spending one stat weakens your ability in that area for future challenges
• Items can offset stat deficiencies but are limited
• The game is designed for quick solo play sessions (~20 minutes)
• As a standalone game, no components from the base Aether Captains game are required

Player Reference

Stats

| Stat | Use | |——|—–| | Health | Survival; game ends if depleted | | Knowledge | Intellectual challenges and discoveries | | Strength | Physical challenges and combat | | Items | Special abilities and stat bonuses |

Card Types

| Card Type | Function | |———–|———-| | City Sector | Map tiles forming the explorable city | | Location | Events, challenges, and Antikytheria part discoveries | | Player | Tracks stats and inventory |

Win/Loss Conditions

| Condition | Result | |———–|——–| | Find all 6 Antikytheria parts | Victory | | Health reaches 0 | Defeat | | City deck exhausted without all parts | Defeat |