Open for Business.

Finally re-organized this mess of blogs into more accessible pages. All skill sets are up, although some classes are less complete than others. The Fire classes are the most complete; others are playable to at least Level 3. My next objective should be to come up with at least the first Bonus Skill and the first Ability Update for everyone. Might also figure out a way to upload a template for character sheets - could even create a different character sheet for each class, so that the player doesn't have to figure out the shop inventory.

As always, testers are welcome to experiment with what I have so far.

Happy holidays, folks.

Storm Mage's Skills (In Progress)

This is the skill set for the Spiritual Thunder class, the Storm Mage. The Storm Mage can detect and influence changes in the environment (i.e the draw pile). Gaps in the list indicate levels that have not been developed yet. The "Bonus Skill" list denotes skills that can be obtained through slipstream rounds.

Lvl. 3: Thundershower (<3^) - Attack with 1 <3 (regardless of the enemy's type). Draw two (^2-10) to three (^J-A) cards from the top; if you find any other <3, you may attack any other monster with them for 1/2 the card's value.
Lvl. 6:
Lvl. 9:
Lvl. 12:
Lvl. 15:
Bonus Skills
Lvl. 4:
Lvl. 7:
Lvl. 10:
Lvl. 13:
Ability Updates:
Lvl. 5: At any time during your round (even after your attack), you may choose to take two cards off the top of the deck and move them to the bottom.
Lvl. 10:
Lvl. 15:

Notes On Playing

For those who are considering testing this game, I have a few pointers on general gameplay.

Character Sheet

Before starting play, you'll want a sheet of paper to keep track of your character. You'll want this info down - your name, class, and level; your max Hold, Hand, and Base; your initial Ability and Skill, with open spaces for more; Exp. to level up; Gold; a space for Inventory; your class's Shop. 

Dyherd the Hunter's character sheet.
Notice the corner for bonuses.

When I've sustained half damage from an attack, I tend to flip that attack card upside-down, and I write the actual damage I've taken next to my Base. If monsters have received more or less damage than what my attack cards show, I find a blank spot on the page and jot down the monster's active Base and the damage it's taken.

I keep track of Gold and Item Bonuses in the top right-hand corner of my page.

Once you've got this sheet laid out, you shouldn't need any reference materials - at least, until you start learning skills and abilities.

Misc. Rules

Ethereal Imbalance - if, on the initial draw, two active Bases appear that would normally cancel each other out (i.e a <310 and a ^10), pick up these Bases, shuffle them back into the deck, and re-draw them.

Context of the Game

Some of you might be wondering what sort of background/world/context this game exists in. At any rate, I have, so here's a general idea...

So there's this valley, which connects the villages in the highlands with the larger cities in the lowlands. Lately, a dense fog has enveloped the valley, which has bereft the land of any form or stability; anyone who attempts to enter this haze is dismembered at once. A handful of individuals, however (i.e you) are pioneering a series of devices that will enable adventurers to explore the chaotic valley. These brave souls hope to find the source of the flux warping the valley and return order to the land.

Don't ask exactly what Base is...I imagine some sort of suit/transport device that provides a form for the character. So, when the Base of anything is destroyed, the individual exposed is immediately ripped apart by flux. The act of drawing cards represents the notion of flux - of seizing wayward currents of energy and harnessing them into attacks. When you level up, you master a bit more control over your surroundings.

Monsters, I reckon, wouldn't have conventional shapes. They wouldn't exactly be "monsters", but latent concentrations of ether that have adapted to the flux with quasi-stable forms. The higher the Base, the more solid the monster.

I'm not exactly sure how to explain the shop, either...perhaps some sort of telekinetic device that can summon items from the towns/cities to your character's inventory. That said, I probably ought to change the currency from gold into some sort of unit of ether/force. And, in a slipstream, the high currency of flux present hinders communication with the outside.

...I don't know if this helps anyone actually play the game. But it helps me as a developer to get some rough idea of the context.

Winter Warden's Skill Set (In Progress)

This is the list of skills that the Water Physical class, the Winter Warden, can learn. The Winter Warden is the hardiest of the classes, and can resist severe amounts of damage. Gaps in the list indicate levels that I have not yet developed skills for. The "Bonus Skill" list indicates skills that may be obtained through slipstream rounds (see the Advanced Rules).

Lvl. 3: Freeze Jab (^ ) - Does 1/2  damage to 1 monster (regardless of type), and ignore 15 (^2-8) to 20 (^9-A) damage from that monster.
Lvl. 6:
Lvl. 9:
Lvl. 12:
Lvl. 15:
Bonus Skills:
Lvl. 4:
Lvl. 7:
Ability Updates
Lvl. 5:
-----(Co-op Only - At this point, before drawing a monster attack, you may choose to take the attack instead of flipping a coin.)
Lvl. 10:
Lvl. 15:

Martial Artist's Skill Set (In Progress)

These are skills which the Physical Thunder class, the Martial Artist, learns in the game. The Martial Artist specializes in countering and reacting to enemy attacks. Gaps indicate levels which I haven't created skills for yet. The "Bonus Skill" list includes skills which cannot be earned through levelling up.

Lvl. 3: Meditate (<3^) - If a monster should attack you in your next turn, you will still take damage - but take the monster's attack card and add it to your Base (regardless of whether or not you've reached your maximum).
Lvl. 6: Thread the Needle (<3u) - Any time that a monster attacks you on your next turn, you may retaliate with either the <3 or the u, regardless of the enemy's type.
Lvl. 9:
Lvl. 12:
Lvl. 15:
Bonus Skills:
Lvl. 4:
Lvl. 7:
Lvl. 10:
Ability Updates:
Lvl. 5: When performing a skill that anticipates an enemy attack, you may declare an element besides one you are weak to. These attacks now do 1/2 damage to you, regardless of whether you'd be normally weak to them or not - and you may now react to these attacks with your skill.
-----(Co-op - At this point, before drawing an enemy's attack, you may choose to take the attack instead of flipping a coin.)
Lvl. 10: If you're performing a skill that anticipates an enemy attack, you may hold the effects of this skill for one more turn.
Lvl. 15: Pick one other element besides <3. Enemy attacks of this element do 1/2 damage back to the enemy.

Advanced Rules

This rulebook contains alternate modes of play and additional rules.

Slipstreams (or, How to Earn Bonus Skills)
At level 4, you may attempt one slipstream round per level. In a slipstream, you engage in a chain of battles, without healing or shopping in between. Start with four monsters; add another for each consecutive battle. After defeating eight monsters, add a Base to one monster in the next round, and so on. The number of rounds you go through is equal to your level. You do not receive any experience during these rounds, but you do still earn Gold Bonuses; however, the gold may not be collected until the end of the slipstream, and you will only receive half of the earnings. No penalty for losing a slipstream – just no gold is gained, and you cannot attempt it again until the your next level. Upon completing a slipstream, earn an additional 5 gp for each round completed.
Also, on every 3^rd Slipstream (starting with the 1^st – so, at 4, 7, 10, etc.), you may earn a new bonus skill; if you lose at the level in which the skill appears, you may still attempt to win it at the next level. However, if you lose three slipstreams in a row, the Skill will be replaced by a new one.

Multi-player
The game could possibly be played with two people, either cooperatively or competitively.

Cooperative
You and a partner engage in monster battles together as a team. Simply double the number of monsters that the higher level character would normally encounter. Players only receive exp from the monsters they've killed themselves. The Gold Bonus, however, is distributed equally.
Turn order is determined by class. From fastest to slowest: Martial Artist, Sea Mystic, Hunter, Pyrotechnic, Storm Mage, Soldier, Herbalist, Winter Warden. If you are both the same class, flip a coin to determine who will go first.
On your turn, instead of attacking or holding. you may also choose to transfer one of your Held cards to your partner (given, of course, that your partner has the capacity to accept one more Held card).
On each enemy's turn, flip a coin. If heads, direct the attack to the faster character. If tails, direct it to the slower.

Head-to-Head
You may also duel other characters in battle. Up to four characters can engage in one battle at a time (on one deck, anyway - for more players, add another deck). No exp. may be earned from these battles; however, the winner takes a fraction of each loser's gp, proportionate to the number of players present (ex. in a two-player battle, the winner gets half of the loser's gp; in a three-player battle, the winner takes one third of each loser's gp, and so forth).

Monster Sport
In this mode, you and a friend engage in two separate monster battles simultaneously. To win, you must finish your battle before your opponent does. No gold bonus or exp is awarded for these rounds, nor are there any penalties for losing. However, when a monster is defeated without overkill, two more monsters must be added onto the opponent's playing field. If there is only 1-3 points overkill, one monster is added to the opponent's playing. If you find a run in your hand, then you may take a card from your opponent's hand and do whatever you want with it (discard it, Hold it, use it, etc.).

(Developer's Note - I haven't the slightest idea if these multiplayer modes are any good. Might come back to these if I can ever find someone to test this with.)

Sea Mystic's Skill Set (In Progress)

This is the Skill Set for the Water Spiritual class, The Sea Mystic. The Sea Mystic can manipulate Base and damage cards on the field. Gaps in the chart indicate levels that have not been developed yet. The skills under "Bonus Skills" can only be acquired through slipstream rounds (see Advanced Rules).

Lvl. 3: Rushing Tide (^z) - Switch Base with 1 monster. 
Lvl. 6: Jet Stream (^<3) - Move two (^2-8) to three (^9-A) damage cards (these could include your own) on the field to other targets. Disregard monster types. 
Lvl. 9: Saltwater Rub (^^^) - Choose two damage cards on the field. Discard them.
Lvl. 12: Riptide (^^ ) - Switch three Base with three monster Bases.
Lvl. 15: Charybdis - (^^^^) - Pick up all enemy base and damage cards on the field, and turn them face down. Shuffle, then redistribute them in the same groups as before (i.e a 2-base monster remains a 2-base monster; a monster that had one damage card will still have one damage card). If any damage card exceeds an active Base, that Base is destroyed.
Bonus Skills:
Lvl. 4:
Lvl. 7:
Lvl. 10:
Lvl. 13:
Ability Updates:
Lvl. 5: Turn your Base cards face up. For all Skills and Abilities that deal with manipulating Base, you may now include these cards. You may also switch two Base cards with ^ per turn.
Lvl. 10: Turn all monster Base cards face up. For all Skills and Abilities that deal with manipulating Base, you may now include these cards. You may also switch three Base cards with ^ per turn.
Lvl. 15: Choose 1 other suit. You may now switch any of your Base cards with cards from this suit.

Hunter's Skill Set (In Progress)

These are skills which the Physical Earth class, the Hunter, can learn in the game. Gaps in the chart are levels that I haven't created skills for yet. The "Bonus Skill" list contains skill that must be acquired through slipstream rounds (see Advanced Rules).

Lvl. 3: Capture (z<3) - Do 1 z damage to 1 monster (regardless of the target's type); if this defeats the enemy, put 1 card from the enemy (the active Base, or any damage cards currently attached) into your Hold, and return anything else to the deck.
Lvl. 6: 
Lvl. 9:
Lvl. 12:
Lvl. 15
Bonus Skills
Lvl. 4:
Lvl. 7:
Lvl. 10:
Ability Updates:
Lvl. 5:
Lvl. 10:
Lvl. 15:

Herbalist's Skill Set (In Progress)

These are all the skills which the Spiritual Earth class, the Herbalist, can learn in the game. The Herbalist can heal his/her own wounds and inflict crippling ailments upon monsters. Gaps in the chart indicate levels that I have not devised skills for yet. The skills under the "Bonus Skills" list can only be acquired through slipstream rounds (see Advanced Rules).

Lvl. 3: Ivy Bind (z<3) - Does 1/2 z damage (regardless of the target's type) and paralyzes the enemy for 2 (<32-7) to 3 (<38-A) turns.
Lvl. 6: Vitamins (z^) - Draw two more cards. Use these to either remove damage with and/or add to your Base. 
Lvl. 9: Poison Dust (zzz) - Pick 3 monsters. Whenever one of these monsters attack, they suffer 1 (High z4-7), 2 (High z8-J), or 3 (High zQ-A) damage. 
Lvl. 12:
Lvl. 15:
Bonus Skills:
Lvl. 4: Scavenging (zu) - Add 5 (z2-6), 10 (z7-J), or 15 (zQ-A) gp to the Item Bonus, then redeem it at once. 
Lvl. 7:
Lvl. 10:
Ability Updates:
Lvl. 5:
Lvl. 10:
Lvl. 15:

Soldier's Skill Set (In Progress)

This is the set of skill which the Physical Fire class, the Soldier, can learn. The Soldier specializes in dealing massive amounts of damage to a single target. Gaps in the list indicate levels that I haven't composed a skill for yet. The bottom list of "Bonus Skills" contain skills which must be acquired through slipstream rounds (see Advanced Rules).

Lvl. 3: Parry (uz) - Receive 1/2 damage from the next attack.

Lvl. 6: Sharpen (u<3) - Attacks now do +4 damage.
Lvl. 9: Pierce (uuu, for two-Base or greater monsters only) - Destroy the monster's current active Base, then do 1 u and 1/2 another u damage to the next active Base.
Lvl. 12: War Cry (uu^) - Negate up to 1/2 uu in overkill penalties. 
Lvl. 15: Master Stroke (uuuu) - Does 1/2 of total cost damage to 1 monster. If it is a multi-Base monster, carry the overkill damage into the next Base.
Bonus Skills
Lvl. 4: First Aid (u^) - Remove 1/2 ^ damage from yourself.
Lvl. 7:
Ability Updates
Lvl. 5: The damage of your u attacks can now be adjusted (that is, reduced or amplified) by a max of 2 points.
Lvl. 10: Increase the range of the previous update to 4. 
Lvl. 15: Choose one other suit. The damage of these attacks may be adjusted by a max of two points.

Pyrotechnic's Skill Set (In Progress)

This is the list of every skill which the Spiritual Fire class, the Pyrotechnic, can learn. The Pyrotechnic specializes in dealing damage to several monsters at once. The gaps indicate levels I haven't composed a skill for yet. The bottom list called "Bonus Skills" contains skills that are acquired through slipstream rounds.

Lvl. 3: Flash Bomb (uu) - Does 1 u damage (regardless of enemy's type) to 1 monster, and disables that monster for 1 turn.
Lvl. 6: Refuel (u<3) - Attacks that connect may now do +2 damage for the duration of the round. (Does not alter the damage dealt by other skills.)
Lvl. 9: Crowd Pleaser (uuu) - Does 1/2 damage of total cost to 3 monsters (regardless of their type).
Lvl. 12:
Lvl. 15: Incinerate (uuuu) - Destroy the active Base of 1 monster. Attack the remaining monsters with 3 u.
Bonus Skills
Lvl. 4: Barrage (u<) - Fire 1 Firecracker at one monster, then do 1 u damage to the same or a different monster.
Lvl. 7:
Lvl. 10: Finale (Au) - Draw six cards. If any of them can be effective against any of the monsters on the field, attack with them. Discard any cards that aren't used.
Ability Updates
Lvl. 5: Can Hold 2 u from the hand per turn.
Lvl. 10: When attacking multiple monsters, you may add +1 damage to each target involved in your attack.
Lvl. 15: Increase the bonus from the previous update to +3.

Item Charts

As stated in the Rulebook, players can buy items for their characters between battles with their gp. Your character's class determines the items available for purchase.

Item	Price	Description	Classes
Potion	5	Restores 1 Base.	All
High Potion	15	Restores 2 Base.	All
Twisted Root	25	Restores 3 Base.	Herb
Poison Dart	20	Prevents 1 monster from attacking for 1 turn (2 for Herb)	Herb, Hunt, Martial
Hallucinogen	22	For 1 turn (2 for Herb), 1 monster targets another monster.	Herb, Sea, Martial
Energy Reserve	20	Increase Hold capacity by 1.	All
Magnet (a)	30	Grants the ability to draw the top card and use it immediately.	Pyro, Sea, Storm, Hunter, Herb
Magnet (B) (Available after buying above)	40	Grants the ability to draw from discard instead of the deck.	Storm, Herb, Sea
Magnet (z) (available after buying above)	60	Grants the ability to hold up to two cards from anywhere in the discard pile.	Storm, Herb
Orb of Absorption	40	Grants ability to hold enemy attack cards of 1 suit (pick which suit upon purchase). Can’t hold attacks that hit.	Storm (max 3), Pyro, Sea, Martial (max 2), Herb, Hunt, Sold, WW (max 1)
Flux Control	40	Hold 1 card of 1 suit from your Hand instead of attacking.	Storm (max 3), Pyro, Herb, Hunter (max 2), Sold, Sea, Mart, WW (max 1)
Cat’s Lives Base	9	Guaranteed active Base of 9 at start of next battle. (Find it before drawing enemies.)	Herb, Sold, WW, Pyro, Hunt
Queen’s Grace Base	15	Guaranteed Queen Base at start of next battle.	Sold, WW, Herb
Candle’s Cross Base	22	Guaranteed A and 2 active Base at start of next battle.	WW
Ether Sword	55	1 suit’s attacks now always connect. (Choose which suit upon purchase.)	Soldier (max 3), WW (max 2)
Ether Specs	55	Can now always attack 1 suit of monster. (Choose which suit upon purchase.)	Hunter (max 3), Martial (max 2)
Frost Mantle	60	Reduce all < attacks by ½.	Sea, Martial, Herb, Storm
Magma Gauntlets	60	Reduce all u attacks by ½.	WW, Sold, Pyro, Hunter
Gaia Belt	60	Reduce all z attacks by ½.	WW, Sold, Herb, Hunt
Static Scarf	60	Reduce all <3 attacks by ½.	WW, Martial, Pyro, Storm
Firecracker	15	Inflicts 5 damage to 1 monster (6 w/ Pyro)	All
Spark Shower	18	3 damage to all monsters (4 w/ Pyro)	All
The Big One	25	10 damage to one monster	Pyro
Show Stopper	28	7 damage to all monsters	Pyro

Character Creation and Levelling Up

There are eight classes in the game, two for each element. Half are Physical, the rest are Spiritual - the former are better at attacking, while the latter wield more control over their Hand and Held cards. All classes start with one unique ability (i.e a skill that's always in effect) and one skill.

Fire (u)

Pyrotechnic (Spiritual) – Can hold 1 u instead of attacking.

1^st Skill: Roman Candle - uu - Does 1 ½ damage of total cost to two monsters (regardless of type)

Soldier (Physical) - u attacks always work.

1^st Skill: Sear - uu - Does damage of 1 u and ½ of other u to one monster (regardless of type).

Earth (z)

Herbalist (Spiritual) – Can draw and hold top discard (if z) instead of attacking.

1^st Skill: Mild Tonic - zz - Remove damage equal to ½ total cost, or create base with ½ total cost.

Hunter (Physical) – Any attack works on z monsters.

1^st Skill: Subdue - zz - Does damage of 1 z (regardless of type), and reduces damage from monster by ½ other card for the rest of the battle.

Thunder (<3)

Storm Mage (Spiritual) – Hold <3 attacks (that don’t connect).

1^st Skill: Rain Scent (<3<3) - Draw two (if neither <3 is over 10) or three (if one <3 is over 10) cards from the top of the deck. Rearrange them in any order you like, then place them back on top of the deck.

Martial Artist (Physical) – Enemy <3 attacks (that connect) do ½ damage to enemy (but will still harm – NO bonus deductions for counter KOs)

1^st Skill: Reflex – <3<3 – Attack with 1 <3 (regardless of type); if that monster (or the next one, if slain) attacks in the next turn, attack with the other <3 (also regardless of type).

Water (^, or spade)

Sea Mystic (Spiritual) – Replace ^ with current base of attacking (old base is held; does not remove damage).

1^st Skill: Whirlpool - ^^ - Switch the base of 1 monster with 1 ^; do damage of other ^ to same monster (ignore type; discard old base)

Winter Warden (Physical) – Enemy ^ attacks do ½ damage.

1^st Skill: Frost Shield - ^^ - Ignore up to ½ damage of total cost.

All classes begin with two Hand and two base. Spiritual classes can Hold up to one card. Hunters, Martial Artists, Pyrotechnics, and Sea Mystics always go first; Herbalists, Storm Mages, Soldiers, and Winter Wardens go after the first monster. 

Levelling Up
Your first level-up requires 5 exp; every subsequent level-up requires 5x(level) exp. Until Lvl. 7, gain 1 base per level. Every 3^rd level, gain a new skill. Every 4^th level, increase Hand size. Every 5^th level, update your ability.

Rulebook: Overview and Battle Mechanics

Right. So if you're reading this blog, you probably know how a RPG typically works. But for those that don't, I'll try to be as rudimentary as possible. Key terms are introduced with italics.

Overview
The game is comprised mostly of a series of battles between your character and "monsters". At the outset, the player chooses one of the eight classes for their character; each class has a unique set of abilities and skills. Winning battles net you experience (or exp), gold points (or gp), and occasionally items. After so much exp, your character gains a level, and receives certain benefits. After each battle, you can spend gp on items that can either be used in battle or grant new abilities.

So far, there is no end objective. But there will be.

Battle Mechanics
Each participant in battle is represented by one or more cards, collectively known as Base. To initiate a battle, draw out the number of monsters you wish to fight, then draw out your own Base (two cards to begin with - so I generally start with two, one-Base monsters). Only the first Base, or the active Base, should be face up - the rest of the Base is face down. Each enemy Base is worth 1 exp; each monster has a 10-gp Gold Bonus, and each additional Base after the first increases the Gold Bonus by 5 more gp (more on Gold Bonus later - but a one-Base monster would have a 10-gp Gold Bonus and be worth 1 exp, a two-Base monster would have a 15-gp Gold Bonus and be worth 2 exp, a three-base 20 Gold Bonus and 3 exp, and so on).

On your turn, draw two cards - this is your Hand. These cards will be used to attack your enemies. To attack, however, your card's suit - or element - must be strong against a monster's Base. Diamond (Fire) is strong against Club (Earth), which is strong against Heart (Thunder), which is strong against Spade (Water), which is strong against Fire. The value of the card you attack with indicates the amount of damage you'll inflict on the enemy; for face cards, J =11, Q=12, K=13, A=14. To defeat a monster, you must inflict enough damage to equal or exceed the value of its active Base(s). You can only attack once per turn - the remaining cards are discarded (i.e - set aside in a separate pile). All destroyed Base cards (and any damage attached) are also discarded.

However, every time you defeat an active Base with an attack that exceeds that Base's total value, the difference between the two (or overkill) is subtracted from the total Gold Bonus. Overkill damage does not carry on to the next active Base (if there is one).

If your Hand contains any pairs or runs, you gain a 10-gp Item Bonus (more on this at the end).

Instead of drawing your Hand, you may use an item from your inventory instead. Also, if your class has the ability to do so, you may also choose to, after drawing your hand, save one card for future use (these are Held cards). However, your character can only hold so many cards at once; if you have reached your maximum, yet wish to Hold a new card, you must first discard one of your old Held cards.

After or before drawing, you can combine two or more cards from either your Hand or your Held cards (or both) to perform a skill instead of attacking. Each class starts with one skill and will gain more as the game progresses.

On an enemy's turn, draw one card. This is the enemy's attack, and will inflict damage on you if your active Base is weak to the element of that attack. Any ineffective attacks are discarded. If the enemy has sustained any injuries, it will attack one more time for every card of damage it has received. Should the enemy's attack card make a pair or run with its active Base, then attach this to the enemy and draw another card - this attack does 1/2 damage to you, regardless of its element. However, if you can defeat this enemy's active Base in the next turn, add 5 gp to the Gold Bonus (I call it a revenge bonus).

When every enemy Base is defeated, or all your Base is destroyed, the round is over. If you have won, add up all the exp you've earned and collect the Gold Bonus. If you have won any Item Bonuses, you may redeem the total amount of those bonuses for any number of items equal to that value (ex. if I've won one 10-gp Gold Bonus, I can trade that in for any number of items worth 10 gp). If you have lost, you do not earn any gp, exp, or items, and lose 1/2 of the gp you own.

After a battle, you may trade in the gp you've won for items from the Shop. Your class will determine the items available in the Shop.

So...that's the basic mechanics of the game. Any questions so far? Drop me a line. Next on the chopping block - character classes.

Current Updates/Progress

Here I'll record my progress, and state what I'm currently working on.

12/20 - Was a bit preoccupied with baking and shopping yesterday, but I managed to fix the rules to pages, and put up the Pyrotechnic, the Herbalist, and the Soldier. Just got the Hunter up - now I'll see if I can't have all the classes up by the end of today.

12/19/2011 - After a busy, busy summer and school semester, I've finally decided to tinker with this again. Still not sure if the Storm Mage's first skill is any good - been having ill luck with Chane in my test runs. : / Anyway, Sea Mystic's basic skill set is completed. Can't wait to play with that class some more.

And - holy crap - just realized I can make pages instead of these tacky blog posts. Will certainly have this page re-organized before this day is over.

5/29/2011 - Martial Artist's partial skill set up. Notice that this class earns an additional ability in co-op mode - I might have the Winter Warden (who isn't up yet) earn an ability similar to this. That, of course, invites other classes to have co-op only benefits; with a little ingenuity, I might come up with something for every other class. We'll see...

Haven't played the game in a while; today, however, is a gloomy enough day to discourage going out. The Winter Warden is, I think, the only class I haven't experimented with, so I'll try to have at least a Lvl. 3 skill up by the end of today.

5/27/2011 - Been slow to post lately, but many classes are up now (albeit w/ skeleton skill sets), and the  Advanced Rules are also up. Trust me, I've tried a slipstream, and it's intense. Definitely a challenge worthy of a new skill. But I have never been able to try any of the multiplayer matches...so anyone who wants to give that a spin, please tell me how it goes.

5/22/2011 - About to post up a series of skill sets that will be mostly empty - but they WILL have the Lvl. 3 skill! :P At any rate, I'm getting these up so I can work on them further. Might flesh 'em out a bit more tonight, too.

5/21/2011 - Set lists up for the two Fire classes. Soldier class is entirely operational - I just haven't developed many Bonus Skills for it yet. And I'm thinking that some classes may have less Bonus Skills to learn than others. So, the Soldier may be finished, after all. Eh...nah, it needs at least one more. At any rate, I'm thinking of posting up some Notes on Playing that may aid any testers with getting into the game. And I also need to get up the Advanced Rules, which will include the procedures for acquiring Bonus Skills.

5/20/2011 - Characters and Levelling Up finished yesterday - Item Charts up today. That's not exactly every item I've concocted - there's some advanced gear that I haven't even experimented with yet. At this point, it would be possible to play up to Lvl 2...but how worthless would that be? So now I just need to hash out the Skill Charts. I'll try to have at least each Lvl. 3 skill up tomorrow.

Been thinking lately that an actual website would serve for displaying all this much better than a blog...but, at least, this format IS a bit more interactive. And no use really establishing myself if the game's no good yet, I s'pose.

5/19/2011 - Overview and Battle Mechanics finished. A little longer than I expected - hope I haven't boggled any minds yet. Trust me, once I set these rules down, I never had to glance at them again - but maybe that's 'cause I'm the creator. : / Anyway, tried to be as straightforward and thorough as possible. Character Creation is next, then I'll probably set down the Item Chart.

5/18/2011 - Introduction posted today. Now composing the Overview and Battle Mechanics post. Might get it done tonight, might not. But that'll be out soon. Next I'll publish info on Character Creation, which will entail descriptions of each of the eight character classes.

In the books, I'm hashing out skill sets for each class. Also testing out my characters in game play, and brooding on advanced rules (such as multiplayer modes). 

Statement of Intent (or - the Inevitable Introduction)

So I've been into this project of mine lately...

Y'see, I've always had this hobby of planning RPGs. The maps, the characters, the items, the monsters, all that jazz. Only problem was, I never had a particular medium in mind. And my ideas were usually far too ambitious to be confined to pen-and-pencil.

I forget how or when I mused about the notion of a playing card RPG. I started plotting my first two years ago - but the plans quickly grew convoluted. I had a navigation system, a bit like the Java-based Dragon's Court, worked out for the  first world, and a bevy of items. The battle system worked on chance - a certain range of cards could hit, which could increase/decrease with upgrades and the enemy's Evasion stat. One could also "Hold" cards from accidental runs. Enemies had prescribed move sets, which were also determined by random card draws.

The problem, of course, was that I wanted this card RPG idea to be convenient...a little game that could be played with just a deck, paper, and minimum reference materials. That was not happening with this first project - I had pages of room details, with patches of storyline - and of course, every monster would be a page. I don't intend to scrap it just yet - but I needed something simpler.

So, about a month ago, I just had a bolt of inspiration. Stats aren't necessary - monsters don't need move sets. Hell, who needs a world map? Fancying myself as a fire-mage type - a pyrotechnic - I hashed out my first battle. From there the rules simply fell into place.

This blog series lays out the plans I've developed so far for this card RPG (which has yet to be named). Once I've developed far enough, I'll be asking any readers who care to give these rules a spin and drop me some feedback.

I haven't the slightest idea what will happen with this idea. But we'll see, won't we...?