Core Rules

Status: draft. Values marked (placeholder) are tunable and live in data/rules-config.json.

A cooperative card game in which players face an entity rather than a single villain, similar in spirit to the villains in Marvel Champions. The central theme is omen: players and the entity both generate and spend it, and the players can only stay ahead of it for so long. The game should feel overwhelming.

The Entity

Players don't face one villain. They face an entity, which could be a creature (the Kraken), a concept (a plague, a curse) or a group of enemies. Each scenario is a story the players play through and need to win.

An entity has three parts:

• Entity deck: the shuffled deck revealed by the omen system. It is the scenario's base deck plus the cards of the chosen modules.
• Story beats: key story cards set aside at the start of the game, in order. Over time they are added to the entity deck, taken out of it, or put onto the board, so the story changes as the game goes on.
• Entity board: cards the entity sets up at the start of the game, like the villain setup in Marvel Champions. These are persistent effects, minions and other things in play that the players deal with.

Advancing the story

The current story beat advances when its trigger is met. Triggers are defined per beat. Typical examples:

• Players complete an objective, such as destroying certain board cards.
• A specific entity card resolves.
• Under consideration: the entity deck runs out (not decided, see 05-decisions-and-open-questions.md).

When a beat advances, its effects resolve. These can include shuffling cards into the entity deck, removing cards from it, changing the board, and raising Dread.

Winning

Each scenario defines its own win condition, usually completing the final story beat. Some entities (a plague) have no health and are beaten purely through the story.

Making aggression matter

Aggressive decks must always have something meaningful to hit, even when the entity itself has no health or is immune:

• Board pieces have health. Outbreaks, carriers, tentacles and minions can be damaged and destroyed.
• Kills advance the story. Destroying certain board cards counts towards advancing a story beat.
• Kills bleed off omen. Destroying a board card removes omen from the pool (1, placeholder). This is a pressure valve, and it interacts with Dread: bleeding too much omen risks revealing too few cards.
• Weak points (idea): a beat can expose a weak point that must be damaged to complete it.

Shop

During deck building, not all of a player's cards start in their deck. Some go into a shop. As the game goes on, players can purchase these cards or acquire them through other means.

When purchasing cards from the shop, those cards go on top of the players deck

Gold

• Gold is the main resource. Players spend it to play cards, buy from the shop, play Response cards and use town actions.
• Gold does not carry over. Unspent gold is lost at the end of the round (see turn structure).
• Some decks have a gold pouch that stores up to 2 gold between rounds.
• Some cards generate extra gold.

Town

Players have access to a town. Town actions include:

• Heal X
• Buy a potion
• Upgrade a card

Timing: players can use the town at any point during the player phase. Each player can take each town action once per round. Every town action adds omen to the pool, so recovery has a real cost. Each action also costs an additional gold for each other town action used.

Each scenario defines its own town (districts, costs, and how the scenario's board state affects them).

Omen

Omen is the escalation engine.

• The omen pool holds omen counters. They build up as players play cards and use town actions.
• Entity cards have an omen cost.

Start of the player phase:

1. Reveal cards from the top of the entity deck until their total omen cost meets or exceeds the omen pool.
2. Empty the omen pool.

Empowered (overshoot): if the total omen cost exceeds the pool, the last revealed card gains +1 effect strength for each point of excess.

Dread: if fewer than X cards are revealed, a strongly negative effect triggers (for example, add 5 omen). This stops players keeping omen artificially low or taking tiny actions to slow the game. X starts at a scenario-defined value and increases as the game goes on, for example when story beats or storyline cards trigger.

X-cost cards: these drain all remaining omen, and their effect scales with X (for example, create X tentacles).

Some player characters can generate and spend omen too.

Entity cards, arrows and the storyline

Entity cards come in two layouts:

• Single-effect cards: one effect. Predictable.
• Split cards: two halves, each with its own effect. Volatile.

Every entity card, single or split, has an arrow on its right edge, pointing at the top or bottom. When revealed cards are laid out in a row (the storyline), a card's arrow points at the top or bottom half of the card next to it. A split card resolves the half indicated by the arrow of the card immediately before it. The arrow on a single-effect card has no effect on itself, but still tells the next card which half to use.

Because the arrows are visible as soon as the storyline is revealed, players can see which half of every split card will resolve, and plan around it.

Every entity card also has a type and may have traits (see 03-card-types.md).

The storyline is the line of revealed entity cards (working name). Storyline cards resolve and are then discarded.

Redirect: some player characters can change an arrow in the storyline, which changes which half of a split card resolves. This is character-specific (a cleric or seer, for example), not something every player can do. The exact forms of Redirect are not final (see 04-keywords-and-terminology.md).

Modules

Scenarios use modules, as in Marvel Champions, so no two plays feel the same. A module is a themed set of entity cards (and sometimes board cards) that is shuffled into the entity deck at setup. Each scenario requires a set number of modules (usually 1 to 3) and recommends some of them. Players can pick different modules for variety. See 06-modules.md.

Player interaction

Players interact with the storyline and the entity board to mitigate what is happening, for example by:

• Defending against damage
• Dealing damage
• Preventing other effects

Damage

Most damage goes towards the first player, however there are cards in players decks that can prevent this or players can help try and defend for each other

Turn Structure

Status: draft. Numbers marked (placeholder) are tunable.

Setup

1. Choose a scenario and its modules (see 06-modules.md). Set up the entity: board cards, entity deck (the base deck plus the chosen modules' cards, shuffled), and story beats in order (beat 1 face up). Cards that story beats add later stay set aside.
2. Each player builds their deck and shop pile, draws a starting hand, and takes their gold pouch if their deck has one.
3. Set the omen pool to 4 (placeholder, so the first reveal isn't empty) and Dread X to the scenario's starting value.
4. Give the first player token to any player.

Round

A round has two phases. Players act first, then the entity.

Player phase

1. Reveal. Reveal cards from the top of the entity deck until their total omen cost meets or exceeds the omen pool. Then empty the omen pool.
   • Empowered: if the total exceeds the pool, the last revealed card gains +1 to the first number in its effect per point of excess.
   • Dread: if fewer than X cards were revealed, the scenario's Dread effect happens now, after the pool is emptied. A pool of 0 reveals no cards, so it always triggers Dread.
   • X-cost cards: the card's cost equals the omen still unmatched, so it ends the reveal.
   • Revealed cards form the storyline, laid out in a row in reveal order. Each card's arrow points at the half of the next card it applies to, so the active half of every split card is visible now.card.
2. Actions. Players act in any order and can pass. They can:
   • Play cards. Each card played adds omen equal to its omen icons (0 to 2, placeholder).
   • Buy from the shop.
   • Use the town.
   • Attack board cards and mitigate the storyline (defend, prevent, Redirect).
3. Ready and draw. Players ready exhausted cards and draw up to the hand size on their character
4. Gold. Each player generates the gold on their character card upto there remaining max.

Entity phase

1. Board upkeep. Board cards resolve their "start of entity phase" effects.
2. Storyline resolves. Resolve each storyline card in reveal order. Single-effect cards resolve their effect. Split cards resolve the half indicated by the arrow of the card immediately before them in the storyline. The first card in the storyline uses the arrow of the top card of the discard pile (the last card resolved), or the default arrow (top) if the discard pile is empty (placeholder). After the whole storyline has resolved, discard the cards in order, so the last card resolved is on top of the discard pile. Players can play Response cards (paying gold) while a card would resolve.
3. End of round.
   • Add 1 omen to the pool.
   • Discard cards in the story line.
   • Pass the first player token left.

Timing rules

• Story beats advance immediately when their trigger is met, mid-phase if necessary.
• Redirect can be used at any time before the affected split card resolves.
• Cancelled cards stay in the storyline until the end of the entity phase with their effect negated, so their arrow still counts (placeholder).
• Kills bleed omen: when a board card is destroyed, remove 1 omen from the pool (placeholder).
• "The first player" is the target of any entity effect that doesn't name one.

This is potential idea but balancing might be an issue:

• Empty deck: shuffle the discard pile into a new entity deck and raise Dread X by 1 (placeholder, not final).

Card Types

Status: draft. Decision to confirm: type per half vs. type per card.

Every entity deck card has a type and may have traits. Types are shared across all scenarios, so character cards can be written once ("cancel an Attack") and work everywhere.

Types

Traits

Traits are extra tags printed on entity cards and board cards. They are scenario-specific (for example Tentacle, Storm, Deep, Minion) and are used for targeted effects, such as "deal +1 damage to Tentacles".

Rules

• Split cards have a type per half. A split card's current type is the type of the half indicated by the arrow of the card before it. Redirect can therefore change a card's type, not just its effect. (Decision to confirm. The alternative is one type per card.)
• Single-effect cards have one type.
• Dread effects and board effects aren't cards, so they have no type.
• Board cards use traits only. Types apply to entity deck cards.

Example character cards (placeholders, character design is not started)

• Ward (Attack): Prevent up to 3 damage from an Attack.
• Lookout (Summon): When a Summon is revealed, remove 1 omen from the pool.
• Purge (Curse): Cancel a Curse effect. Add 1 omen.
• Harpoon (Tentacle trait): Deal 2 damage to a Tentacle. Deal 3 if it was created this round.

Keywords and Terminology

Keywords

• Dread: the penalty when too few cards are revealed. Its threshold X rises during the game.
• Redirect: change an arrow in the storyline, which changes which half of a split card resolves. Character-specific. Candidate forms (not final):
  • Flip: choose a storyline card. Its arrow counts as pointing the opposite way until the end of the round. (Current placeholder default.)
  • Swap: exchange two cards in the storyline, so different arrows precede them.
  • Remove: take a card out of the storyline, so the card before it and the card after it become neighbours.
• Empowered: the bonus an entity card gets from omen overshoot (+1 effect strength per point of excess).
• Response: a player card played while an entity card is about to resolve, paid for with gold. (Only mentioned in passing so far, needs a full definition.)
• Type: the general category of an entity card's effect (Attack, Hazard, Summon, Curse, Story).
• Trait: a scenario-specific tag on a card, used for targeted effects.

Terminology

• Entity: what the players face. A creature, a concept, or a group.
• Entity deck: the deck revealed by the omen system (base deck plus module cards).
• Entity board: persistent cards the entity sets up at the start.
• Story beat: a key set-aside card that shapes the scenario.
• Storyline: the row of revealed entity cards (working name; alternatives: chapter, scene, act, saga).
• Arrow: the marker on the right edge of every entity card, pointing at the top or bottom. It decides which half of the next split card resolves.
• Module: a themed set of entity cards (and sometimes board cards) that is added to a scenario's entity deck at setup.
• Omen pool: the counters players build up.
• Omen cost: the value on an entity card.
• Gold pouch: a deck feature that stores up to 2 gold between rounds.
• Town: the shared place where players heal, buy potions and upgrade cards.
• Shop: the set of cards set aside during deck building that players can buy during the game.

Decisions and Open Questions

Use this to tell what is a real design decision from what is a stand-in value. The platform should treat placeholders as easy-to-edit parameters.

Decided by the designer

• Cooperative, players vs. an entity (not a single villain). An entity can be a creature, a concept or a group.
• The entity has an entity deck, set-aside story beats that are added to and removed from the deck over time, and an entity board set up at the start.
• Not all entity cards are split. Some are single-effect.
• Arrows: every entity card has an arrow on its right edge, pointing at the top or bottom. It indicates which effect is active on the next split card. This is how the "arrow moves" between cards. Players can manipulate it, but only some characters can (Redirect).
• Storyline cards resolve and are discarded.
• Modules: like Marvel Champions, scenarios use modules to vary each play. Each scenario requires a set number of modules (usually 1 to 3) and recommends some. Players can choose others for fun. Examples: What Lurks Below (recommended for the Kraken) and That Which Comes From the Sky.
• Shop: some of a player's cards start in a shop, not the deck.
• Town: each player can take each town action once per round, at the end of the entity phase. Town actions add omen. Omen builds fast.
• Omen: players build the pool by playing cards. The reveal takes cards until their omen cost meets or exceeds the pool, then the pool empties. X-cost cards drain the remainder.
• Empowered: overshoot makes the last revealed card stronger.
• Dread: the name, and the rule that too few cards revealed (fewer than X) triggers a strongly negative effect. X rises during the game.
• Gold: does not carry over. Some decks have a gold pouch (about 2 gold). Cards can generate gold.
• Some entities, like a plague, have no health. Aggressive decks must still feel like they are achieving something.
• Entity cards have general types so character cards can affect them.
• "Omen" stays as the name. The pool is the "omen pool", the card value is the "omen cost".

Placeholders (invented to make things playable, tune in playtesting)

• Starting omen 4. Base gold 2 per round. Cards add 0 to 2 omen when played. Each town action adds 1 omen. End of round adds 1 omen. Each board kill removes 1 omen.
• Starting Dread X = 2, and Dread effect for the Kraken.
• All Kraken numbers: health, card counts, damage, omen costs, town costs, and every arrow direction.
• Gold is lost at end of round (the designer decided it doesn't carry over, the exact timing is mine).
• Empty deck: reshuffle and raise Dread by 1.
• Story cards can't be cancelled.
• Lose condition.
• The Kraken requires 2 modules with 1 recommended. Both example modules and all their cards. Module size of about 8 cards.
• First card of a storyline uses the arrow of the top card of the discard pile, or top if it is empty.
• Cancelled cards stay in the storyline, so their arrow still counts.
• Redirect defaults to Flip.

Open questions

1. Which arrow does a split card use? Current reading: the arrow of the card immediately before it in the storyline (every card has an arrow, and cards sit in a row so each arrow points at its right-hand neighbour). If instead a single card's arrow should carry over to the next split card past other single cards, the tie-break when several arrows precede a split card needs a rule.
2. First card in a storyline. Currently uses the last card resolved (top of the discard pile), or top if none. Alternatives: always top, or the player with the first player token chooses.
3. Redirect form. Flip, Swap or Remove (see 04-keywords-and-terminology.md), or a mix per character. Also how a flipped arrow is shown at the table (a token on the card).
4. Cancelled or removed cards and their arrows. Currently a cancelled card keeps its arrow. A card that leaves the storyline (Remove) does not.
5. Randomness. Arrows are visible as soon as the storyline is revealed, so the "random half" is now predictable and only reveal order is random. That is probably intended, but it makes Redirect and card sequencing the main levers.
6. Arrow design guidance. Whether the designer wants a rule of thumb for arrow direction (for example roughly half top, half bottom in a deck).
7. Module details: how many cards per module, whether a module can change setup, Dread or the story beats, whether modules have a difficulty rating, and whether a recommended module can be dropped.
8. Base deck vs. modules. The Kraken base deck already has Deep and Storm cards. It may need trimming so modules add flavour rather than overlap.
9. Type per half or per card? Currently each half of a split card has its own type, so Redirect can change a card's type.
10. Empty entity deck. Currently reshuffle plus Dread +1. The designer is not sold on "empty deck advances a story beat", so that is only an idea.
11. Dread only rises on beats. If players stall on a beat, pressure drops. Consider a second source, such as +1 every few rounds.
12. X-cost cards vs. Dread. An X-cost card drains all omen, so revealing it early can be the only card and trigger Dread by accident. Currently it skips the Dread check.
13. Empowered cap. A big overshoot could make one card very strong.
14. Kills bleeding omen could let aggressive decks trigger Dread on themselves. Keep the amount small.
15. Curse balance. Most omen and gold effects are Curses, so a character that cancels Curses is very strong.
16. Story cards can't be cancelled. Consider allowing cancellation of side effects only.
17. Naming overlap: "story beat" vs. "storyline". Candidates for the revealed line: chapter, scene, act.
18. Characters are not designed yet: health, hand size, deck size, starting hand, gold generation, and how characters use omen. Response cards are only defined in passing.
19. Shop details: currency (gold assumed), whether it is a face-up row, whether it refreshes or can be cycled, and what "other means" of acquiring shop cards are.
20. Town details: how potions and upgrades work.
21. Win and lose: whether every scenario ends on the final beat or some end on damage. Lose conditions are placeholders.

Modules

Status: draft. Numbers and module contents are placeholders. Data: data/modules/.

Modules work like the modular encounter sets in Marvel Champions. A scenario has a core (its base entity deck, board and story beats), and modules are added on top so that not every play of the same scenario feels the same.

What a module is

A module is a themed set of entity cards. It can also include board cards (the minions and effects its cards create) and a set icon printed on every card, so the deck can be separated after play.

A module contains:

• Entity cards: about 8 (placeholder). Every card has an omen cost, type, traits, an arrow and its effects, like any other entity card. A module card can be marked as added by a story beat, in which case it stays set aside until that beat advances.
• Board cards: minions or effects that the module's cards create (for example Drowned).
• Traits: the module's theme traits (for example Deep, Sky), so character cards can target them.
• Compatibility: the scenarios (or kinds of entity) the module works with.
• Setup effects (optional, none in the current examples): things that happen when the module is included, such as an extra board card.

How scenarios use modules

• Each scenario states how many modules it requires, usually 1 to 3.
• A scenario can list recommended modules. These are the intended experience. The remaining slots are free.
• Players can swap a recommended module for another compatible one, or fill the free slots as they like, for a different game.
• At setup, shuffle the cards of every chosen module into the entity deck with the base deck. Cards added by story beats stay set aside.

Example (The Kraken): requires 2 modules. What Lurks Below is recommended and the other slot is free. Players who want something different can choose That Which Comes From the Sky for the free slot.

Example modules (placeholders)

What Lurks Below

Theme: things in the dark water. Traits: Deep, Drowned. Board card: Drowned (3 health, deals 1 damage to the first player each round).

That Which Comes From the Sky

Theme: storms, lightning and things that fall or fly. Traits: Sky, Storm. Board card: Stormcrow (2 health, adds 1 omen when created, deals 1 damage to the first player each round).

Design notes

• Deck size and pacing. Every module adds cards, so a longer deck means the entity deck runs out later. Keeping modules about the same size (8 cards) keeps them comparable.
• Story beats reference cards by name. A beat that shuffles in "3 Howling Gale" refers to a scenario card. Modules should not be required by beats. If a beat should react to a module, the module's own cards can be marked as added by that beat.
• Traits do the cross-module work. Character cards that target traits (Tentacle, Deep, Sky) get a different meaning depending on which modules are in the deck.