Game Code/Resolution System

Card System

Elder Tale Online uses a Card-Based resolution system. This is largely used for combat encounters, but also enables larger-scale projects, such as building towns.

Each character has 2 Classes (A Primary and Secondary one) which combine into a Title - as well as a non-combat Profession. This is often indicated as [ Primary / Secondary ]. Example: [ Heavy Blade / Bard ].

Each Class provides a rate of (Attack, Defense, and Utility) Card Points, as well as Concept Potential. Concepts are an abstract idea of the capability of a character to perform certain actions. See the Concepts tab for more information.

• Classes
• Titles
• Professions
• Races
• Kingdoms
• Concepts
• Card Costs
• Card Anatomy
• Card Combat
• Card Effects
• Card Customization
• Card Trading
• Advancement
• Relics
• Projects
• GMed Scenes

Classes

There are 12 classes in total, with various attributes to them. A character has a Title which is a combination of two Unique classes (You can't be Heavy Blade + Heavy Blade). The Primary class gives its full benefit, but the Secondary class gives half the points. Both the Primary and Secondary classes pass their full suite of Concepts. Duplicates give a bonus to the amount of Card Points a character provides for Projects.

To give context to the Points Gain rate. At the game's opening, everyone starts with a Percentage of 30 points from their primary class, 15 points from their secondary class, plus another 11 free points for each deck for a total of '33', to spend on cards. This is adjusted up after approval automatically to bring new players in line with the player-base and not get too far behind.

So for instance, a [Heavy Blade/Bard] would have:

Type	Primary	Secondary	Free Starting Points	Total
Attack	12 (40% of 30)	3 (20% of 15)	11	26
Defense	12 (40% of 30)	6 (40% of 15)	11	29
Utility	6 (20% of 30)	6 (40% of 15)	11	23

Class Table

Class Name	Grants Concept Potentials	Magical/Physical	Attack Points Gain	Defense Points Gain	Utility Points Gain
Heavy Blade	Physical, Handle Animal, Armor Forging, Fire, Water, Earth, Light, Shield, Melee	Physical	40% [12 or 6]	40% [12 or 6]	20% [6 or 3]
A Physical class primarily focused on Damage and Defenses, with a focus on being a front line combattant.
Blademaster	Physical, Weapon Forging, Fire, Earth, Air, Shield, Evasion, Ranged, Melee	Physical	33.33% [10 or 5]	33.33% [10 or 5]	33.33% [10 or 5]
A versatile Physical class, known for their access to many types of weapons.
Hunter	Physical, Hunting, Tracking, Water, Earth, Air, Dark, Evasion, Ranged	Physical	60% [18 or 9]	20% [6 or 3]	20% [6 or 3]
A Physical class with an extreme focus on Damage, often found being a rear line combattant.
Twin Blade	Physical, Sneaking, Ledgerdemain, Fire, Water, Air, Dark, Evasion, Melee	Physical	40% [12 or 6]	40% [12 or 6]	20% [6 or 3]
A Physical class primarily focused on Damage and Defenses, often found on the front lines.
Crusader	Physical, Magical, Law, Pharmacy, Fire, Water, Light, Shield, Melee	Physical & Magical	20% [6 or 3]	60% [18 or 9]	20% [6 or 3]
A class split across the Magical and Physical, with an extreme focus on Defense.
Bard	Physical, Magical, Song, Negotiation, Air, Dark, Evasion, Melee, Ranged	Physical & Magical	20% [6 or 3]	40% [12 or 6]	40% [12 or 6]
A class split across the Magical and Physical, with a focus on Defense and Utility.
Druid	Physical, Magical, Handle Animal, Water, Earth, Shield, Evasion, Melee, Ranged	Physical & Magical	33.33% [10 or 5]	33.33% [10 or 5]	33.33% [10 or 5]
A versatile class split across the Magical and Physical.
Godhand	Physical, Magical, Scripture, Law, Earth, Air, Light, Evasion, Melee	Physical & Magical	40% [12 or 6]	20% [6 or 3]	40% [12 or 6]
A class split across Magical and Physical, with a focus on Attack and Utility
Acolyte	Magical, Divination, Song, Fire, Water, Air, Light, Shield, Ranged	Magical	20% [6 or 3]	40% [12 or 6]	40% [12 or 6]
A Magical class with a focus on Utility and Defenses. Known for their healing.
Enchanter	Magical, Enchanting, Alchemy, Fire, Earth, Air, Dark, Evasion, Ranged	Magical	20% [6 or 3]	20% [6 or 3]	60% [18 or 9]
A Magical class with an extreme focus on Utility. Known for their debuffs.
Sorcerer	Magical, Appraisal, Cryptography, Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Shield, Ranged	Magical	40% [12 or 6]	20% [6 or 3]	40% [12 or 6]
A Magical class with a focus on Damage and Utility.
Summoner	Magical, Handle Monster, Fire, Water, Earth, Shield, Evasion, Melee, Ranged	Magical	33.33% [10 or 5]	33.33% [10 or 5]	33.33% [10 or 5]
A versatile Magical Class. Known for their temporary summons.

Titles

A combination of classes has a title. The columns (Left to Right) are the primary, the rows (Up to Down) are the secondary. For the most part, the actual named 'Title' has no direct effect on the character, but it's an IC way to refer to someone's character's class combination. As an example, a [Heavy Blade / Bard] is known as a Standard Bearer.

Primary ---> Secondary      ¦     V	Heavy Blade	Crusader	Godhand	Hunter	Twin Blade	Blademaster	Druid	Acolyte	Bard	Sorcerer	Summoner	Enchanter
Heavy Blade		Paladin	Iron Fist	Warlord	Legionnaire	Zweihander	Guardian	Cleric	Herald	Revenant	Dreadnought	Warlock
Crusader	Exemplar		Enforcer	Inquisitor	Zealot	Chevalier	Strider	Evangelist	Commander	Rune Knight	Sentinel	Exorcist
Godhand	Barbarian	Justicar		Woodsman	Assassin	Pugilist	Avatar	Monk	Orator	Wavebreaker	Emissary	Hexer
Hunter	Beastbane	Demon Hunter	Shadowfist		Stalker	Marksman	Ranger	Scout	Minstrel	Scourge	Seeker	Outrider
Twin Blade	Whirling Blade	Templar	Lightspeed Fist	Pathfinder		Gladiator	Disciple	Warpriest	Scoundrel	Waveblade	Corsair	Infiltrator
Blademaster	Juggernaut	Champion	Martial Artist	Sniper	Blade Dancer		Wildblade	Paragon	Duelist	Eldritch Knight	Mastermind	Shadow
Druid	Harbinger	Vanguard	Avenger	Warden	Harrier	Ronin		Tender	Shepard	Witch	Medium	Bewitcher
Acolyte	Sentry	Devout	Asura	Shrine Archer	Dervish	Liberator	Heretic		Bishop	Savant	Conjurer	Astrologian
Bard	Standard Bearer	War Chanter	Aerialist	Howling Arrow	Rogue	Bladesinger	Earthsinger	Hymnist		Virtuoso	Conductor	Symphonist
Sorcerer	Blackguard	Holy Knight	Wavebender	Spell Fletcher	Ninja	Magic Knight	Geomancer	Hierophant	Trickster		Arcanist	Archmage
Summoner	Lord	Tactician	Spirit Caller	Beastmaster	Mystic	Warmaster	Chloromancer	Thaumaturge	Muse	Elementalist		Artificer
Enchanter	Spellblade	Lightbringer	Ki Master	Arcane Archer	Slayer	Arcane Warrior	Naturalist	Diviner	Charlatan	Magus	Necromancer

Professions

Professions are what allow a character to excel in another field outside of combat, giving them more ready access to participation in certain kinds of jobs. A profession can heavily inform the kind of approach you wish to take to certain roleplay situations. There's rumors of mysterious 'EX Professions' which are supposed to be special.

All characters begin with 1 profession at application.

Profession	Grants Concept Potentials
Farmer	Farming	Herbology	Physical
Trapper	Hunting	Capture Animal	Physical
Animal Handler	Capture Animal	Handle Animal	Physical
Alchemist	Herbology	Alchemy	Physical
Miner	Mining	Metalworking	Physical
Sculpter	Woodworking	Artisany	Physical
Maid	Cooking	Tailoring	Physical
Doctor	Pharmacy	Etiquette	Physical
Messenger	Song	Etiquette	Physical
Scribe	Scripture	Appraisal	Magical
Blacksmith	Weapon Forging	Armor Forging	Physical
Jeweler	Accessory Forging	Enchanting	Magical
Friar	Brew	Divination	Physical
Craftsman	Construction	Mercantile	Physical
Ombudsman	Law	Negotiation	Physical
Archeologist	Cryptography	Cartography	Magical
Investigator	Searching	Ledgerdemain	Physical
Tracker	Tracking	Searching	Physical
Monster Handler	Capture Monster	Handle Monster	Magical
Scout	Searching	Sneaking	Physical
Thief	Legerdemain	Sneaking	Physical

Races

Each character begins with one of the nine Races. These give a minor benefit, and often inform the Kingdom choice as well.

Race	Concepts
Cait Sith	Air	Mercantile
Gnome	Earth	Mining
Human	Fire	Negotiation
Imp	Dark	Legerdemain
Pooka	Earth	Appraisal
Salamander	Fire	Hunting
Spriggan	Dark	Sneaking
Sylph	Air	Searching
Undine	Water	Diving
Were Fang	Water	Transformation

Kingdoms

Each character is part of a Kingdom, or is an Outcast. Without membership of a Kingdom, one does not have access to the Concept it provides.

Kingdom	Grants Concept Potential
Eastal Free League	Air
Fourland Dukedom	Water
Holy Empire Westelande	Fire
Ninetails Dominion	Earth
Realm of Uruk	Dark
Ezzo Empire	Dark (Historically)
Outcasts	Dark (Historically)

Concepts

A Concept is a generic term related to the Card based Resolution System. They relate to a character's ability to do something. They span from the basic 'Physical' tag, to indicate a character is capable of Physical based combat, to more complex words like 'Data Drain', which would be a special ability related to the Power Paths.

Concept Terms

In summary, your character holds Concept Potential (a list of Concepts), which give access to Concept Points by means of buying the right cards with the Requirements your character meets.

Concept Potential

Typical cards will often require a certain Concept to be available on a class or character. For instance, 'Firebolt' card may require a character with the 'Magic' Concept Potential, as well as 'Fire' Concept Potential.

Concept Potentials come from the following sources: Class, Kingdom, Relics, and Race, and are used by Card Requirements.

Concept Points

Concept Points are the Concepts on cards multiplied by the Card Cost, are used for Project Requirements. These are the representations of how far your character has spent time to get good at doing that concept. For instance, a character with a 'Hammer' card, which has a 'Construction' Concept attached to it - may use it for a 'Construction' requiring Project.

Concept List

Though this list is not exhaustive, a generic list of Concepts can be found below:

GATHER	CREATE	COMMUNICATE	DISCOVER	COMBAT	TACTICAL	POWER PATH
Farming	Enchanting	Negotiation	Appraisal	Bludgeoning	Handle Animal	System Protection
Woodworking	Scripture	Legerdemain	Slashing	Handle Monster	Sneaking	Data Drain
Hunting	Armor Forging	Law	Searching	Piercing	Tracking	Legend
Capture Animal	Weapon Forging	Mercantile	Diving	Fire	Transformation	Hacker
Capture Monster	Accessory Forging	Etiquette	Cryptography	Water		Oracle
Herbology	Metalworking	Song	Cartography	Earth		Loremaster
Mining	Tailoring		Divination	Air
	Artisany			Dark
	Alchemy			Light
	Cooking			Melee
	Brew			Ranged
	Pharmacy			Physical
	Construction			Evasion
				Shield
				Magical

Concept Primer

Concept Primer

The following is a primer on the various non-combat abilities and a minimum of what they can be used for. Note that the following list is not exhaustive and that there are uses for these concepts outside of what is written here.

Gather

Concept	Description
Farming	A buffing ability which increases the number and rarity of item drops from all plants.
Fishing	A buffing ability which increases the number and rarity of item drops from sea creatures.
Hunting	A buffing ability which increases the number and rarity of item drops from beasts and monsters.
Capture Animal	The ability to create traps or snares which can be used to capture animals.
Capture Monster	The ability to create traps or snares which can be used to capture monsters.
Herbology	The ability to gather and understand the properties of herbs and other such plants.
Mining	The ability to gather and understand the properties of raw ores, precious gems, and stones.

Create

Concept	Description
Enchanting	Used to imbue items with magical properties.
Woodworking	Used to create wooden weapons such as staffs or bows. Can be used to craft other wooden products, including furniture.
Armor Forging	Used to create armor using metal or certain heavy monster drops.
Weapon Forging	Used to create weapons using metal or certain heavy monster drops.
Accessory Forging	Used to create jewelry, precision tools, items, or fashion headgear.
Metalworking	Used to create miscellaneous objects out of metal such as horseshoes or chains. Can be used to experiment with combining metals and/or heavy monster drops to create new alloys.
Tailoring	Used to create items or armor using cloth, leather, and certain light monster drops.
Artisany	Used to create drawings, paintings, sculptures, and other works of art.
Alchemy	Used to create poisons and status effect potions, or transfer traits from one item to another.
Cooking	Used to create meals by chopping, combining, and heating ingredients.
Brew	Used to create beverages, including alcohol. Can flavor potions from other professions.
Pharmacy	Used to diagnose and treat illness, or inspect status effects. Can create healing potions.
Construction	Used to create large structures such as buildings, boats, or other civil works.

Communicate

Concept	Description
Negotiation	Knowledge of how to convince people to agree with your ideas or plans.
Scripture	Knowledge of lore and writing.
Law	Knowledge of the laws and their enforcement.
Mercantile	Knowledge of business practices.
Etiquette	Knowledge of proper behavior in social situations.
Song	Knowledge of music and skill in musical performance.

Discover

Concept	Description
Appraisal	Knowledge to analyze objects and identify special properties.
Legerdemain	Knowledge of pickpocketing, picking locks, and other sleight of hand.
Searching	Knowledge of how to find hidden objects or information within a single location.
Diving	Knowledge of undersea exploration. Skill in swimming, holding your breath.
Cryptography	Knowledge of symbols, runes, and numbers. Skill in puzzle solving.
Cartography	Knowledge to create and interpret maps. Skill in navigation.
Divination	knowledge in reading subtle signs which give insight to past, present, and future.

Combat

Concept	Description
Fire	A combat ability that encompasses heat and manipulation of flame. Can apply the 'burning' status.
Water	A combat ability that encompasses cold and manipulation of water. Can apply the 'drowning' status.
Earth	A combat ability that encompasses plant control and manipulation of earth and stone.
Air	A combat ability that encompasses electricity and manipulation of winds.
Light	A combat ability that encompasses healing and manipulation of light.
Dark	A combat ability that encompasses the arcane arts and manipulation of darkness.
Physical	A combat ability that represents the Adventurer's general physical fitness. This can include strength, endurance, and dexterity in a general sense.
Magical	A combat ability that represents the Adventurer's general magical ability. This can include how much mana they have, the strength of their spells, and their general skill with the arcane.
Ranged	A combat ability that encompasses all aspects of shooting physical or spell attacks at range. This includes visually tracking a target, aiming, and launching both physical or magical attacks.
Melee	A combat ability that encompasses all aspects of close ranged physical or spell attacks. This includes utilizing weapon or touch-based spell attacks as well as skill in close quarters fighting.
Shield	A combat ability that encompasses utilizing both physical and magical shields and barriers to reduce incoming damage.
Evasion	A combat ability that encompasses utilizing raw speed to reduce incoming damage. Also tightly aligned with an Adventurer's movement speed.

Tactical

Concept	Description
Handle Animal	The ability to tame, train, and control an animal.
Handle Monster	The ability to train, and control a monster.
Sneaking	The ability to blend into the environment and hide from the notice of others.
Tracking	The ability to follow a person or animal over long distances by noting subtle clues from the environment.

Card Costs

There are four levels of cards: Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Epic, each more expensive than the last. It is important to look at the rules for building a deck when you are looking at your next purchase. But in general, it's wise to have a spread of common cards.

Note that the cost is deducted based on the type of card. So the example above of a [Heavy Blade / Bard] with 26 Attack Points, 29 Defense Points and 23 Utility Points, can not immediately buy a Rare Card. But they could buy various Uncommons in their decks - due to the requirement of each deck having a minimum of 10 cards in them.

Rarity	Cost
Common	2
Uncommon	5
Rare	13
Epic	34

Card Anatomy

Rarity	This decides the cost, as well as the potency, of the overall card. In ascending order, they are: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic.
Type	Cards come in three types, which heavily inform the mechanics of a card. They are: Attack, Defense, and Utility. Attack cards generally do damage, Defense cards generally reduce damage, and Utility cards do things like Healing, Buffing, or Debuffing.
Requirements	The required Concept Potential on your character, in order to purchase this card.
Concepts	The Concepts this card conveys. Some cards can convey a new Concept that your character doesn't have, but all of them convey the same Concepts as their Requirements by default. These Concepts are used to calculate your 'Concept Points' when you are doing a 'Project'.
(Energy) Cost	The amount of Energy expended when playing this card.
Hits	Seen on both Offense and Defense cards. It informs you how often the card calculates Damage or Defense-increase for. For example, if a card is a: 2x8 card, it means it does 8 Damage, 2 times - for a total of 16. If you have a buff that gives you a +1 in Power, that would mean you would do 2x(8+1) damage. In other words, 18 damage. As a general rule, the higher the Hit Count, the lower the card's default damage. But they gain a higher amount of potency through buffs. **In short, higher hit is higher risk, higher reward**. It is important to note that there are also Random Hit cards, and Area Hit cards. These do damage amongst multiple selected targets, with a maximum amount of targets equal to the amount of 'Hits' on the card.
Effects	Effects on cards can be things like, '2 rounds of +2 Power' or 'Thorns for 1 round'. They are generally described in a card's description. See the Combat tab for more details.
Damage	The amount of damage that will be done per Hit. See Hits for more details.
Defense	The amount of defense that will be gained per Hit. See Hits for more details. Defense is basically Temporary HP. Damage will subtract from Defense before it subtracts from HP.
Heal	The amount of HP that will be restored to the target.
Face Down	Cards that are Face Down do not show their name in the opponent's Queue or during the announcements of card plays. It will only tell them its Type and its Rarity.
Single Use	Single Use cards are cards given out as resources from Minigames or Scene Rewards, and the moment they are played, 1 count of them is removed from your deck(s). These can range from cards aimed at Projects, which have low to no combat impact, or powerful combat items that have limited uses - such as a special effect on a Magic Sword.

Card Combat

Gameplay Setup

A player takes the lead in creating a Combat Session.

+card/create

Players then join the session.

+card/join Session Number

The player that goes first has 2 energy to use. Someone who is targeted by an attack will gain 1 energy for the standard total of three. Starting in round 2, unless there's an exception, the game keeps the 3 energy max going.

Basic Gameplay Cycle

The basic gameplay cycle is as follows.

0. Player 1 checks his Queue for incoming cards, and strategizes based on what is incoming.

+card/queue

1. Player 1 plays up to their Energy in cards. Some cards cost 1 energy, some cost 2. The player will be playing both Defense, Utility and Offense cards during this time in one go. As such, if you are waiting for other players who still have to attack you, wait for them to do so.

+card/play Card
+card/play Card=Target,Target2
+card/play Card=Target,Same Target,Same Target

2. Player 1 indicates they are done, which will run everything in their Queue in the order of: Utility, Defense, Attack. This command will afterward reset their energy, **discard** their hand, and draw a new hand of cards.

+card/done

3. Player 2 starts the same actions. Go around until everyone has played. If a split-off is required, create multiple combat sessions.

Order of Operations

When the +card/done is given, the turn proceeds in the following order:

• All Effects without <Hit Duration> are activated.
• All Round Duration values decrease by 1.
• Utility Cards are activated
• Defense Cards are activated
• Incoming Attack Cards are activated
• Outgoing Attack Cards become Incoming Attack Cards for next turn
• End Turn
• Cards are dealt, 2 (+/- Draw Up and Draw Down) from each of the Utility, Defense, and attack decks, to the next player.

Win Condition

The win condition is, in general, simple. If someone's HP drops to 0, they are out. It is possible to go beyond 0 HP as a condition. See below under 'All In'.

Effects

When you apply an Effect, make sure to look at the important details of those effects. The Trigger, Intensity, and Duration.

Example of Piercing Strike card.

[Applies <Guard Down> to target, <on activation> (Lowers Guard Power by <1>) for <2 hit(s) / 2 round(s)>]

• The Effect is the buff/debuff being applied. <Guard Down>
  • For a list of common effects, see the Card Effects tab.
• The Trigger is when it starts taking effect. <on activation>
  • On activation: The card activates on normal Order of Operation (Utility, Defense, Incoming Attack)
  • On play: The card activates immediately.
• The Intensity is how intense the effect is, and is usually accompanied by a description of the effect within parentheses. <1>
• The Duration is how long it lasts. This can be expressed in either Hits or Rounds. <2 hit(s) / 2 round(s)>
  • Hit Duration is how many 'hits' or either an Damage or Defense type card it'll affect, until it disappears.
  • Round Duration is how many 'rounds' (The amount of times you press Done) it remains.
  • If there is both a Hit and Round Duration, whichever one is first met, makes the effect disappear.

If there are multiple instances of an effect, the one with the highest intensity acts. As such, it is discouraged to stack effects that do the same thing.

All In

It is possible to put a Memory down, before you drop to 0 HP. This will allow you to keep fighting beyond 0 HP. But each drop in HP has a chance of disabling the person, and permanently erasing that Memory from their memories. The higher level a Memory is, the longer one will stay up.

Card Effects

• Gain Defense: Raises your defense by # as if you played a defense card with 1 hit.
• Start Guard: Sets the character's Guard to # at the start of their round
• Guard Up: Increases the Guard Power by #
• Guard Down: Lowers Guard Power by #
• Attack Up: Increases Attack Power by #
• Attack Down: Lowers Attack Power by #
• Blind: Reduces Guard Power and Attack Power by #
• Harm Self:Harms the caster by # damage, ignoring guard
• Thorn Bind: Does # damage for each incoming hit that beats Guard.
  • This deals damage to a defender when the defender has 0 Guard.
• Thorns: Returns # damage for each incoming Hit that does not beat Guard
  • This deals damage to an attacker when the attacker has at least 1 Guard.
• Type Resist: Adds # defense against <COMBAT CONCEPT> Concept based cards.
• Retaliate: If the effected attacks a target other than the caster (CASTER NAME HERE), take # damage
• Doom: Dooms a character, disabling them from healing

Tick Cards

For these cards, Intensity is reduced by one at the start of the round at the same time as Round Duration.

• Heal Over Time: Gives # Heal Over Time. Heal Over Time raises up to max HP, for as many points as there is Intensity left.
• Poison: Gives # Poison. Poison damage ignores defenses, for as many points as there is Intensity.

Hand Manipulation

Each of these cards effect a <TYPE>: Attack, Defense, Utility, or Random.

• Draw Up: Increase the amount of <TYPE> drawn by # at draw phase
• Draw Down: Reduce the amount of <TYPE> cards drawn by # at draw phase
• Draw: Immediately draws # <TYPE> card
• Discard: Randomly discards # card(s) from the enemy deck and puts them into their appropriate discard pile(s)

Clutter Cards

These cards place a Clutter Effect Card into the target's specified deck until played. When played, they are removed from combat

• Burning: Adds # [Burning] card(s) to the top of the player's [<TYPE>] deck
  • On Discard, inflicts Self Harm 2.
• Curse: Adds # [Cursed] card(s) to the top of the player's [<TYPE>] deck
  • On Play, player must discard 1 card from a random deck.
• Drowning: Adds # [Drowning] card(s) to the top of the player's [<TYPE>] deck
  • On Discard, inflicts Guard Down 3 for 1 hit / 2 rounds.
• Bleeding: Adds # [Bleeding] card(s) to the top of the player's [<TYPE>] deck
  • On Discard, inflicts Self Harm 2.

Card Customization

You can create custom cards through the +job system. This will create in a Project that will result in your new custom card. As such, they go into the Project category.

NOTES: In order to not overwhelm card staff and to allow more steady progression, there is a limit of two (2) custom cards and/or unique items allowed per calendar month.

Recommended format for card projects:

<A brief description of how your character will go about developing their new technique. Include any current techniques/single-use cards you may be referencing or using in the creation of your new technique.>

Card Name: <Insert Name Here>
Rarity: <Uncommon/Rare/Epic>
Cost: <1 or 2>
Type: <Attack/Defense/Utility>
Description: <The description that will go on the card>
(Optional) Requirements: <A list of concepts>
(Optional) Grants: <A list of concepts>
(Optional) Function: <What you might like the card to do>

Note: Optional items represent a request. Staff may or may not be able to provide you with the items that you are requesting, depending on card/game balance.

Sample Card Submission:

+job/request cards/Card: Sample Form=Hiro (Jun Sumisu) has been developing his martial arts skills. He wants to create a new demonstration form which he can use to impress the [[Landers]] with his skill. When used in combat, it would have the secondary effect of possibly throwing his opponents off their guard.%r%rCard Name: Sample Form%rRarity: Uncommon%rCost: 1%rType: Utility%rDescription: A series of martial arts motions that is meant to impress onlookers. It can also serve as a distraction, drawing the eye away from the source of real potential damage.%r(Optional) Requirements: Physical, Melee%r(Optional) Grants: Physical, Melee, Negotiation%r(Optional) Function: An uncommon utility that lowers my opponents guard and offers a good bonus to negotiation for projects!

---

Unique Items

NOTE: This section is a WIP (Work in Progress) and is not considered to be official until this message is removed by Liminality.

Unique items represent specialized gear and equipment that Adventurers make or have made for themselves. These represent weapons, armor, jewelry, or other accessories which have special meaning to the Adventurer. Examples of Unique items are: a sword crafted from a piece of meteorite, a piece of leather armor made from wyvern hide, or a ring with an elemental crystal. Unique items belong solely to the Adventurer who owns the item and can allow them to perform some ability (card technique) associated with that item.

Benefits of a Unique Item

1. Your character gets a neat weapon, armor, or accessory which can add flavor to roleplay.
2. The item gets a special ansi-coloration, making it stand out in scenes.
3. The item may be commented on by NPCs in some circumstances.
4. The abilities associated with a unique item can never be taught/learned and will never become public.

Making a Unique

1. Acquire a single-use card which they want to use as the basis for their unique item.
2. Submit a card request, stating that you want to create a unique item. Include the item's name, any descriptive details about the item, and the ability you are requesting. Include all of the standard card-fields associated with a card request.
3. Submit a ansi-color code for your unique item by attaching it to the card job. Use the command: ]+job/comment ###=<your ansi-colored item name>
4. You will be assigned a project to create the item and its associated card. A single-use card of at least the same level as the card being created is required to be used in the project.
5. When completed, you will be provided the ability to purchase your new card. Cards can be accessed by using the ability name. If your item is: Storm Dragon Armor - Repelling Spark, you can purchase/interact with it using +card Repelling Spark

Limits

Limits are put in place to help spread out staff time and focus. They will be expanded as more players develop unique items and it becomes more common.

• Current Limit: 2 Items
• Ability Limit: 2 Abilities (cards) per item

FAQ

1. What if I don't have a single-use card of the right rarity for the card I want to create?
   • You can combine lower-level cards together to meet this requirement. Note the card point costs under +help Card Catalogue.
2. If I add a new ability of the same rarity to my unique (a new card request), do I need to invest more single-use cards?
   • No, you only need to invest a single-use card when creating your unique or when upgrading it to have a higher level rarity ability.
3. When I created my Unique, I set it at the 'Uncommon' rarity. I want to make a new 'Rare' ability. How do I do that?
   • Submit a request as normal, and note that you are upgrading your unique. You will need to invest the difference in card points by submitting single-use cards to the project. Note the point costs under +help Card Catalogue.
4. Can I make a unique for a spell or combat ability?
   • No, Uniques specifically represent equipment. You can still create custom cards for your other combat abilities and spells, however.

Advancement

Card Points

During active RP, people gain Card Points over time. These card points are spread at the 'rate' of your character's class. Someone with more Defense points will gain more Defense Card Points than they might other types.

There is also a catch-up mechanic that ensures people remain at least somewhat competitive, even when they are not actively RPing.

Relics

It is viable to earn Relics through Roleplay as Story Rewards. See the Relics tab for more information on Relics.

Single Use Cards

Similar to Relics, you can earn Single Use cards through RP. These are, as their name implies, Single Use. They're often useful for Projects or Combat - but the moment they're committed or played, they disappear from your ownership.

Gaining Concepts

Work in Progress: This information is being provided as a Beta on Concept advancement.

An Applicant earns 1 Non Combat, 1 Combat, and 1 Power Path Point every 3 Months (12 weeks) of Activity on each Adventurer. Activity, in this case, is defined as getting the weekly Active RP bonus for a total of 12 weeks. This information will be denoted on their sheet. We'll refer to these as 'Activity Points' or 'Advancement Points', or in short: AP. Some paths can be started on, if they have a plot progression component, before getting the required AP. Inquiries go into the 'Progression' Job Category.

Note: No two progression paths may be run concurrently. The effort of a 'strange mood' or 'training' requires the character's full focus. The only exception to this is Power Path which can be run along side other progressions.

Non Combat

Learning a Special Profession for a +1 to an existing stat, up to a maximum of 4 in that Concept

Cost: 1 Non-Combat AP, up to twice a year.

This comes with a Plot related profession: Moonlight, Sage, or Pioneer.

Earning a Relic for a 0->1 to a new stat

Cost: 3 Non-Combat AP, up to once a year.

Comes with a new or upgraded relic.

Combat

Learning a Special Profession for a +1 to an existing Combat Stat, up to a maximum of 4 in that concept.

Cost: 1 Combat AP, up to twice a year.

This comes with a non-Plot-related profession.

Earning a Relic for a +1 to an existing Defensive Combat Stat, up to a maximum of 3 for defensive Concepts.

Cost: 3 Combat AP, up to once a year.

Comes with a new or upgraded relic.

Earning a Relic for a 0->1 to a new stat

Cost: 3 Combat AP, up to once a year.

Comes with a new or upgraded relic.

Power Path

Learning a Power Path (Hacking, Oracle, etc) for +1 to an existing stat

Cost: 4 Power Path AP (Only 1 path can be learned), up to once a year.

Learning a Power Path +1 adds a Power Path Aspect.

This comes with a Plot related progression.

Learning a Power Path (Hacking, Oracle, etc) for a 0->1 to a new stat (Max One per person)

Cost: 3 Power Path AP (Only 1 path can be learned), no relevant cooldown

Comes with 1 Aspect.

Comes with a new Relic.

This comes with a Plot related progression.

Relics

Relics are permanent additions or enhancements to your character. They can be something as simple as a special Mining Pick that gives you the Miner Concept, to something as extravagant as an armor that starts every round off with 2 Guard already prepared, but also gives a permanent Guard Down to indicate how slow that person moves in that armor.

Characters can have any number of Relics. But admin will look at the strength and range of those relics before rewarding further relics to a character.

Projects

Projects are this game's way of representing a single person, or a group's, longer-term goals that might need admin work. This can range from doing the research to start a story, deciphering a secret code, to constructing a new town in an area, to creating a new custom card.

Overview

In order to commit to a project, you put in a +request with admin using the Project category.

+job/request Project/Decrypt this Book=I got an encoded book from Liminality in scene 1234. I want to decrypt it.

Admin will from there-on create a Project that is assigned to you. From there, you can invite others to aid you. Projects will have two components:

Concept Point Requirements

You must commit cards to the project. These can not be in your decks at that time, and will be taken from your ownership during that time, until the project is completed. This is to represent that your character is dedicating a (significant) amount of their time to this project, and would not be fully battle capable if distracted from this.

If you yourself do not have cards that relate to the requirement, you can seek out allies to help you with this. If you commit more points to it, it will influence the time it takes.

Minimum Concept Points: The minimum amount of card points committed to making any progress on the project. These are expressed per concept required. The ratio is important when you want to speed up a project, as you need to increase all concepts in order to improve the time.

Time

The amount of time that your project will take depends on the amount of Effort needed to do the work. Effort is an expression of both difficulty and the quantity of work.

Minimum Time: There is a Minimum amount of Time that you can't get around by putting in more Concept Points. You can refer to it as the 'too many cooks in the kitchen' time that you simply can't get around.

Initial Time: This is the amount of time the project will take, presuming you will meet the amount of Concept Points required. Doubling the number of committed Concept Points generally will mean a halving of the time.

Card Trading

During the course of play, Applicants may acquire a number of Special (single-use) cards from duties, festivals, or special events. Staff generally encourages players to use these rewards as part of projects, or to take inspiration from them to create their own Custom Cards. However, we understand that sometimes these rewards are just not what is needed at the time.

As such, any Special (single-use) card can be traded in, with the following limitations/exceptions:

• Any card traded can only be replaced with a single-concept card of the same rarity.
  Example: An Uncommon card granting Earth, Construction, and Artisany is traded in. You request to receive a card with Etiquette. You will receive an Uncommon card granting only Etiquette.
• You may NOT trade in cards for any Combat concept. (Only: Gather, Create, Communicate, Discover, or Tactical)
• You may NOT trade in cards for restricted/power-path concepts such as: Transformation, System Protection, Loremaster, Data Drain, Hacker, Oracle or Legend.

Sample Card Trade Submission:

+job/request cards/Card Trade=May I please trade in my 'Big Bag of Coins' card for an uncommon card with the concept 'Construction'. Thank you.

Simple GM Scenes

Summary

The simplified GM style uses the character's card stats and a simple 2d6 roll for resolving challenges.

Rolling

+roll Concept with Card Name

Setting a Target Number

In order to set the 'difficulty' of a task, this is a simple chart. Note that '2' is missing, as we expect people to be skilled at what they do, and a '2' always succeeds.

Target Number (TN)	Difficulty	Ex: Ranged	Ex: Melee	Ex: Scripture	Ex: Physical
3-5	Easy	Shooting someone point-blank	Cutting a training dummy	Answering a highschool level question	Opening a jar of pickles
6-8	Middling	Shooting someone semi-aware and moving	Piercing a Goblin	Answering a college-level question	Bodycheck someone
9-10	Difficult	Shooting someone bobbing and weaving	Wounding a powerful Lander	Answering a professional-level question	Kicking down a door
11-12	Really Difficult	Shooting someone behind very solid cover	Punching a Black rated Monster	Answering a doctorate-level question	Wrestling a Wyvern

Challenge Successes & Health

A challenge has a certain amount of 'successes' it needs to remove a 'dot' of progress. A simple challenge will only have 1 dot of progress. But if you need something to be a 'multi-round task', you can give it multiple 'dots' or 'hp'.

The big thing to keep in mind here is the following:

• If the number of Successes is not reached within a round, the progress resets (to represent momentum upon a task)
• Overage on successes per round does not contribute to Dot / HP progress (to scale something into guaranteed multi-rounds)
• Only allow each Unique Card (by name) to be rolled once per scene.

Examples

A door

Challenge: Door (Physical 7) - 2 successes, 1 HP

This door needs 2 people to succeed in a round to make progress on getting down this door.

Named Soldier

Challenge: John Swordman (Any Combat Concept 8) - 4 successes, 2 HP

'John Swordman' will last at least 2 rounds, and needs 4 people to hit a middling-to-difficult check to 'deal with them'.

Each round, depending on when John's turn is, John rolls Evasion or Shield or similar, to set the Target Difficulty for their rolls to 'avoid damage'.

Opening a Trapped Lock

Challenge: Trapped Lock (Legerdemain 12) - 1 successes, 1 HP

A critical lock that gets in the way of their retreat! If they fail to meet this challenge, you can either make it 'take longer, and the Adventurers all take 1 HP of damage' or add some other complication.

Running an On-Foot GM Scene

Starting things off

At the start of an encounter, each person gets <Rounds> amount of HP.

For larger scenes, it is recommended to use <3>.

@create HP Bar
@parent HP Bar=#809
@set HP Bar=!no_command
drop HP Bar
+hp/help

Creating your own HP bar will let you keep track of progress easily. Players and the GM can add notes.

Running an Encounter

Try to give everyone something to do. If they run out of successes to deal within a round, allow them to do things that lower the Target Number of an upcoming roll.

Searching a Room for Clues

When doing a search through an area, set target numbers to search for clues on multiple things, like a Computer, a Cabinet, etc. If they don't succeed the Target Number, it is okay to say they don't find anything in that room. If it's an important clue, give them another go next round. Or, if they don't find the critical information, have the HP dots represent 'Party Morale', and lower it by 1 for the group for not getting what they expected to find.

Challenge: Written Secrets (Cryptography 11) - 1 successes, 1 HP

Challenge: Search The Room (Searching 9) - 4 successes, 1 HP

Challenge: Open Locked Drawers (Legerdemain 8) - 2 successes, 1 HP

A round of battle

When doing a combat round, consider creating 2 enemies to split amongst. Set their TNs to hit to 7 or 8, and set the successes to 'everyone, half, rounded down, minus 1'. So for instance, if you have 9 players, set your TN at 7, and require 4 successes to overcome the opponent. If they fail to overcome the encounter in that 'round', roll a Combat Concept and set the DC to defend. If the players responding to that Target Number fail to succeed, they lose an HP.

Challenge: John Swordman (Combat 7) - 4 successes, 1 HP

Challenge: Hajime Ippo (Combat 8) - 4 successes, 1 HP

A Big Boss Battle

When doing a boss battle, use the above rule of thumb. But set the encounter's <HP> to 3 if the boss goes first, or 4 if the players go first. You can balance the pressure by rolling twice, and taking the highest. If the enemy team manages to win a round and has an extra roll or two, you can let them create interference - lowering the TN for 1 round, or maybe making the boss roll twice to attack, and take lowest. Feel out what you prefer.

Challenge: Biggy Bossmang (Combat 8) - 4 successes, 3 HP

Challenge: Right Handmang (Combat 7) - 4 successes, 3 HP

Example Combat

Players roll before they pose, to help the GM prewrite.

Challenge: John Swordman (Combat 7) - 2 successes, 2/2 HP
Challenge: Hajime Ippo (Combat 8) - 2 successes, 2/2 HP

[OOC] Player A says, "Johny, with gun"
[DUTY - INFO] Player A rolls 2d6 + 3 (Ranged with Tremor) for a Total of 9.
[DUTY - INFO] Player A challenged an easy Ranged challenge and Barely Succeeded (9/7) at it.
[OOC] Player B says, "Johny, running in with a sword"
[DUTY - INFO] Player B rolls 2d6 + 2 (Melee with Hammer Strike) for a Total of 14.
[DUTY - INFO] Player B challenged a simple Melee challenge and Heavily Succeeded (14/7) at it.
[OOC] Player C says, "Johny, flame-punching him in the face"
[DUTY - INFO] Player C rolls 2d6 + 10 (Fire with Ragnarok's Wisdom) for a Total of 21.
[DUTY - INFO] Player C challenged a near-guaranteed Fire challenge and Heavily Succeeded (21/7) at it.
[OOC] Player D says, "Jimmy, using my special wind bow"
[DUTY - INFO] Player D rolls 2d6 + 3 (Air with Shock) for a Total of 8.
[DUTY - INFO] Player D challenged an easy Air challenge and Barely Succeeded (8/7) at it.
[OOC] Player E says, "Jimmy, throwing daggers at him"
[DUTY - INFO] Player E rolls 2d6 + 2 (Ranged) for a Total of 11.
[DUTY - INFO] Player E challenged a simple Ranged challenge and Succeeded (11/7) at it.

<player poses follow>

<gm pose>

[OOC] GM says, "Jimmy and Johny are both down 1 HP. They are attacking by means of Fire - so roll Evasion or Shield to defend. They are challenging, so they will take the highest of two rolls."

[DUTY - INFO] Liminality rolls 2d6 + 5 (Fire) for a Total of 12.
[DUTY - INFO] Liminality challenged a near-guaranteed Fire challenge and Succeeded (12/7) at it.
[DUTY - INFO] Liminality rolls 2d6 + 5 (Fire) for a Total of 11.
[DUTY - INFO] Liminality challenged a near-guaranteed Fire challenge and Succeeded (11/7) at it.


[OOC] GM says, "Target Number is 12"

[DUTY - INFO] Player A rolls 2d6 + 1 (Evasion) for a Total of 3.
[DUTY - INFO] Player A challenged a simple Evasion challenge and Heavily Failed (3/7) at it.
[OOC] Player A says, "I got hit. Down to 2 HP."
[DUTY - INFO] Player B rolls 2d6 + 1 (Evasion) for a Total of 3.
[DUTY - INFO] Player B challenged a simple Evasion challenge and Heavily Failed (3/7) at it.
[OOC] Player B says, "I got hit. Down to 2 HP."
[DUTY - INFO] Player C rolls 2d6 + 1 (Evasion) for a Total of 12.
[DUTY - INFO] Player C challenged a simple Evasion challenge and Heavily Succeeded (12/7) at it.
[OOC] Player C says, "Safe."

Challenge: John Swordman (Combat 7) - 2 successes, 1/2 HP
Challenge: Hajime Ippo (Combat 8) - 2 successes, 1/2 HP

<we start again at the top of the round>

General Tips

Prewrite

As poses and numbers come in, start writing up the response ahead of time. Don't wait for the last pose to come in before you start writing your big GM pose.

Succeed Together

As a GM, it is your job to knit and entwine player actions. Especially in a boss encounter. If a character fails a roll, but the whole team succeeded a challenge, set them up narratively to help someone else succeed. Make things feel good. Help the characters interact together.