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: