The Card Game RULES 15-30 Min. Age Players minutes 14+ 2-6 YOUR ADVENTURE The call of adventure and glory is strong for those brave enough to stand and fi ght, or who use cunning and strategy to survive. Which type of adventurer are you? RPG Battles: The Card Game, allows you to take on the role of one of six different adventurers. From the Fighter to the Ranger, Paladin to Rogue, Monk or Sorceress. Each Charac- ter possesses unique special abilities you may use to tip the scales in your favor and be the last player standing. GAME OVERVIEW Each Player starts the game with a Character card that has 3 Hit Points of health. In the card deck are Monsters and Traps that deal damage to your health. You play the game by taking turns drawing cards until someone draws a Monster or a Trap. When a Monster card is drawn a battle ensues. During the battle, if your Character loses all its Hit Points of health you are dead and out of the game. How To Win You win by being the last surviving Player Character. If you lose all your Hit Points, you die and lose. If you are the last Player not dead, you win. Other cards in the deck make you stronger and harder to kill or help you survive battles and heal damage. SETUP Place all Jumbo Character cards face up on table. 1 Players roll a d20 die to see who goes fi rst selecting a Character card until everyone has a Character. Place face up on the table with the corresponding Special Ability card next to Character card. Place 3 Health Tokens on the bottom of each Character card. Remove all the Monster, Trap, Teleport, and 2 Dagger cards from the deck. Shuffl e the remaining cards and deal 4 cards face down 3 to each Player. These cards are held privately in each Player’s hand. (NOTE: The Sorceress receives 2 additional cards for a total of 6.) Give 1 Teleport and 1 Dagger card to each Player. The 4 Dagger card is immediately equipped face-up onto the Character card in the Weapon slot. The Teleport card goes into your hand, giving you 5 cards to start the game. Insert the remaining Monster, Trap and Teleport cards 5 back into the deck and shuffl e. Set aside any excess Dagger cards; they won’t be used. Place the deck face down in the middle of the table. This is your draw pile. Leave space for a Discard pile. Each Player rolls a d20 die. Highest Player goes fi rst, and 6 play rotates clockwise around the table. Initial Character Setup Central Central Draw Discard Pile Pile Character Card Special Ability YOUR CHARACTER Each Character card has four main elements: Armor: The top left of the Character card has a slot for 1 armor. On your turn, you may equip an Armor card from your hand by placing it in the Armor slot. Your Armor Class (AC) is your base Armor in the lower left corner of your Char- acter card, plus any Armor bonus from equipped Armor cards or modifi ers from other cards or effects. Weapons: The top right of the Character card has a 2 Weapon slot. You begin the game with a Dagger. On your turn, you may equip a Weapon card from your hand by placing it onto your Character’s Weapon slot. You can have only one weapon equipped at a time. On your turn, you may change weapons by unequipping a weapon: either discard it or bring- ing it back into your hand, and then equip a weapon card from your hand. Your Character must always have a weapon equipped. Hit Points (Health): Each Character starts the game with 3 3 Hit Points. Add and subtract Health Tokens as you lose and gain Hit Points (HP) throughout the game. You may never have more than 3 Hit Points at any given time. If you lose all your Hit Points, your Character is dead and you’re out of the Game, unless you have a Raise Dead card. Special Ability: Each Character has a Special Ability. 4 You start the game with your Special Ability displayed face up on the table next to your Character. Some abilities are one-time use; once used, fl ip over the Special Ability card to indicate the ability is expended. You may only possess the Special Ability that corresponds with your Character. TAKE YOUR TURN Your turn has three phases: Play, Draw, Discard. PLAY: If you wish, play a card from your hand by placing 1 it face up on the Discard pile. Follow the instructions on the card unless interrupted by a card played by another Player. You can play as many cards as you wish, limited to those you hold in your hand. DRAW: Unless a card that is played allows you to skip 2 the Draw phase, you must draw a card from the top of the draw pile on your turn. The new card goes into your hand unless it is a Monster or Trap card. If you draw a Monster, Battle begins. If you draw a Trap card, the Trap is triggered. Battles and Traps must be resolved im- mediately when drawn. DISCARD: You may hold no more than fi ve cards in your 3 hand by the end of your turn (7 if playing the Sorceress.) Play or discard any excess cards before the next Player’s turn. NOTE: If a card is played that forces you to draw more than one card and you draw any combination of Monsters and Traps, resolve Traps fi rst, followed by Monsters in descending order by Monster’s attack bonus. MONSTER BATTLE When a Monster card is drawn, a Battle begins. The Monster attacks the Character of the Player who drew the Monster card unless a card is played that changes who the Monster attacks, such as the Teleport card. Follow these steps: Determine Who Plays the Monster: The other Play- 1 ers roll a d20 and the Player with highest roll plays the Monster. Determine Initiative: The Character and the 2 Monster roll a d20. Highest roll gets to attack fi rst. NOTE: If the Character is equipped with a Ranged Weapon, such as a Longbow or Crossbow, or other card or Special Ability that specifi es they get to attack fi rst, fol- low the directions on the card, regardless of Initiative. Roll Your Attack: To attack, roll a d20. Add your Base 3 Attack plus any weapon modifi er that may apply. If the result meets or exceeds the Defender’s Armor Class (AC), you score a hit and the Defender loses one Hit Point (HP). (In the case of a Critical Hit, Defender loses two Hit Points. See Critical Hit rules on next page.) Defender Attacks: If the Defender is still alive, it’s their 4 turn to attack. The battle continues, alternating attacks until one Character or Monster loses all Hit Points and is removed from the game. Changes To Defender: Re-Roll Initiative If one Player Teleports away, the Monster targets another Player as described on the card. When the new target is de- termined, re-roll Initiative to determine who goes fi rst, just as if it were a new Battle. The Monster’s Hit Points don’t reset. Other Actions in Battle Play Anytime: Some cards may be played at any time (even if it’s not your turn). When played, the effect applies immedi- ately, unless cancelled by another Player using a Dispel card. Critical Hits: If you roll a “natural 20” (meaning a 20 on the die) the attack is a Critical Hit and immediately deals two Hit Points of damage. This applies for both Characters or Monsters. Multiple Attacks: If you play cards that allow multiple Attacks, conclude each attack before rolling the next Attack. TRAP CARDS When a Trap card is drawn it takes effect immediately. Follow Card Instructions: Each trap has 1 instructions to resolve what happens. If All Characters Die From the Trap: If a Trap kills all 2 remaining Characters in the game, the game is over but the tie must be broken. The Players whose Characters were killed by the Trap each roll one d20 and the high roller wins! DISCARD PILE When you play or discard a card, battle a Monster or trigger a Trap, place the card face-up on top of the Discard pile for all Players to see. Follow the instructions on the card and apply any effects, unless interrupted by a card played by another Player. RUN OUT OF CARDS? If you run out of cards in the Draw pile, shuffl e all the cards in the Discard pile and place the deck face-down and resume the game. Repeat this process whenever you run out of cards in the Draw pile. SAMPLE GAME SESSION You are playing the Rogue in a two person game with another Player with the Paladin. Play cards from your hand; end your turn by drawing a card and discarding excess cards. On your turn, you believe the top card in the Draw pile is 1 a Monster. To avoid drawing a card to end your turn you play a Crystal Ball card to see the top 3 cards. You see that you were right: the next card is a Minotaur 2 Monster. Drawing that would start a Battle, so you play a Haste card which ends your turn without drawing and forces the next Player to draw a card.