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 3rd Slipstream (starting with the 1st – 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.
Bosses (Flux Generators)
To win the game - that is, to dispel the flux that has mangled the region - you must defeat the four flux generators. These multi-Base monsters possess their own Abilities, and can perform Skills on certain attack cards. You may challenge them at any time, so long as you meet certain prerequisites.
Terrain Obstructor
Prereqs: Must have a hold of 3. Must defeat two 2-Base monsters in one encounter.
Base: 7
Ability: Immune to all z attacks.
Skills
Dirt Reducer (z2-6) - Deals damage, regardless of your Base. If you have any Held z cards, discard them all. If you have a z Base, this does 1.5 damage. (With a Familiar - if neither of you or both of you have a z Base, then flip a coin to determine who receives the damage. Otherwise, this attack targets the individual with a z Base.)
Reverse Earth (zJ-A) - Deals damage, regardless of your Base. Then, draw 3 cards. If any of these are z, these cards also deal 1/2 damage. Afterwards, discard the three cards, even if they have inflicted damage. (If you have a Familiar/ally, flip a coin before each z to determine who receives damage.)
Reward: 20 XP, 85 GP (max).
Sky Diffractor
Prereqs: Must defeat 4 2-Base monsters in one encounter. Must complete one Slipstream.
Base: Two double, six single.
Ability: If attacked by <3, 1/2 damage is reflected back to the attacker.
Skills
Whiteout (<3 2-7) - On the next turn, neither you nor your ally can attack or use skills. You may still use an item, however. If anyone has a <3 Base, that individual is disabled for two turns.
Blinding Void (<3 9-K) - This does 1 <3 damage, regardless of the opponent's type. Deal 2 additional damage for every <3 on the field (excluding the attack card). (If you have a Familiar/ally, flip a coin first to determine who takes the attack.)
Reward: 40 XP, 150 GP.
Weather Dissolver
Prereqs: Must defeat Sky Diffractor. Must complete two Slipstreams. Must own at least one Familiar.
Base: Four double, four single.
Ability: Held ^ lose 1/2 their value when played.
Skills
Desiccate/Soak (^2-8) - Remove any damage cards from Dissolver. If there are no damage cards, take 1 ^ from the discard pile and attach it to Dissolver as an inactive Base. If no ^ can be found, this skill reverts to a regular attack.
Drought/Deluge (^10-A) - Remove all ^ from the opposing side (including Base, Held cards, and damage). If there are no ^ on the opposing side, pull 1 (^10-Q) to 2 (^K-A) from the Discard pile and attack with these AND the attack card, ignoring the target's Base. If no ^ can be found in the Discard pile, this reverts to a Base-ignoring attack. (If with a Familiar/ally - flip a coin before each ^ to determine who receives damage.)
Reward: 55 XP, 180 GP.
Life Annihilator
Prereqs: Must defeat Weather Dissolver. Must defeat 150 monsters after defeating Weather Dissolver.
Base: Eight double.
Ability: Whenever a u appears as your (or your ally's) Base, destroy it.
Skills
Incinerator (u/z2-9) - This attack connects full power, regardless of your Base, ability, or armor items. (If with a Familiar/ally, flip a coin first to determine who receives damage.) In addition, you (and your ally) may not draw from the discard pile by any means for five turns.
Fiery Desolation (u/z10-A) - Draw four additional cards. All five cards deal damage, regardless of the target's base. (If with a Familiar/ally, flip a coin for each card to determine who receives damage.)
Reward: Game completion.
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).
If an enemy launches an attack which both of you are susceptible to, flip a coin to determine who receives that attack. (This includes critical attacks.)
Neither of you may use Familiars in this mode of play.
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). Familiars are permitted in this mode - but players cannot deploy another Familiar if their active Familiar is defeated.
--->You may also play this mode with Familiars only. Each play may deploy up to two Familiars at a time, and can switch to another Familiar if one is knocked out. Defeat all of a player's Familiars to knock them out of the game.
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 (or simply outlast your opponent - whichever comes first). 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 1-2 points overkill, one monster is added to the opponent's playing field. 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.). Familiars are not permitted in this mode - unless, of course, you pit your Familiars against each other.
(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.)
