-------------------------- C.A.R.D.S. CORE RULES 1.32 --------------------------
Created by Leonard Tai vtky@pc.jaring.my 26Sep98
http://www.oocities.org/Tokyo/Flats/2807/cards/
Requirements : At least 1 pack of playing cards. Players: 1-3 per pack + 1 Game Master (GM).THE CARDS & WHAT THEY SIGNIFY
'Jack/Queen/King' = One use of a player special ability. The player loses one of these cards per use of his ability. 'Ace & 2-10' = One Hit Point per card. The player loses one of these cards per wounding. 'Jokers' = Treasure.THE ROLE OF A GM
A GM (Game Master) controls all aspects of the game except the players themselves. He should:
PLAY PREPARATION
1)Divide deck into 4 types (Spades, Hearts, Clubs & Diamonds), and take the 3 Jokers out. 2)Every player picks a type: Spades = Fighter Hearts = Cleric Clubs = Thief Diamonds = Mage Special Abilities: FIGHTER = Win a test or single opponent automatically per use. CLERIC = Recover to full HP. (Draw back enough cards randomly from his discarded pack to fill his initial number of cards.) THIEF = Steal a card from an opponent or NPC, and add it into the thief's pack per use / Gain a Joker card from the GM's deck per use. MAGE = Reveal anyone's pack, including the GM's once per use. OR Let the mage see his own deck during the duration of one test / single combat opponent per use. 3)GM takes the last remaining pack. 4)GM sticks the 3 Jokers into his pack. The Jokers are counted as treasure.OPTIONAL LEVEL SYSTEM
5) a)No level advancement, every player starts with a full deck of his type. (Ace, 2-10, Jack, Queen, King.) b)Simple level advancement. Allows level advancement from 1-3. First level, Randomly pick 3 cards out of 'Ace & 2-10', randomly pick one 'Jack/Queen/King'. Randomly add 3 'Ace & 2-10' cards and one 'Jack/Queen/King' card per level advanced. All cards from player's deck. The [1st level] should consist of: 3 cards with values from 'Ace & 2-10', and 1 card that is either 'Jack/Queen/King'. The [2nd level] should consist of: 3+3 = 6 of 'Ace & 2-10', and 1+1 = 2 of 'Jack/Queen/King'. The [3rd level] should be: Total of 9 cards of 'Ace & 2-10', and the Jack, Queen, and King. Players draw from the deck which the previous level was drawn from. (This is to prevent any one player from being too weak or too powerful, and also to prevent decks from being messed up). The cards the player draws during player advancement have to be kept, no matter how high or low in value it is. c)Normal level advancement. Allows level advancement from 1-10. First level, randomly pick 1 card out of Ace & 2-10, add one random card from 'Jack/Queen/King'. Add one 'Ace & 2-10' per level advanced, and add one 'Jack/Queen/King' every 3 levels. All cards from player's deck. The player's deck refers to the original deck from which all the player's cards are drawn from, as was explained above. [Level 1 hand]= 1 card of value 'Ace, 2-10', and 1 card of value 'Jack/Queen/King'. [Level 2 hand]= 2 cards of value 'Ace, 2-10' (1 added), and 1 card of value 'Jack/Queen/King'. [Level 4 hand]= 4 cards of value 'Ace, 2-10' (1 added), and 2 cards of value 'Jack/Queen/King' (1 added). ...and so forth. This is the player's starting deck. The other cards in his deck are out of play for the duration of the game. NOTE: After every game, the Players gain a level, and are restored to full strength. NOTE: Spare cards from the player(s') respective deck(s) is/are out of play until the player(s) acquire(s) them through level advancement. 6) Start game!TESTS & FEATS
This ability check doesn't come into play unless the player tries to do something extraordinary. Mundane actions such as sitting down and looking at a sign do not require a feat/test check, while doing things such as moving a very large boulder, stealing someone's underwear while he's still wearing them and such amazing feats do. 1) Player/GM declares feat/test/combat accepted/forced upon player. 2) Player randomly draws a card from his 'Ace & 2-10' pile, otherwise he may choose to use his special ability, in that case he will randomly draw one card from his 'Jack/Queen/King' pile. 3) If the player randomly drew a card from his 'Ace & 2-10' pile, read on. 4) If the player randomly drew a card from his 'Jack/Queen/King' pile, read. 5) According to the situation, the GM will choose or randomly pick a card from his entire pile. If the GM or Player picked a Joker, he will note the pick and pick another card until a non-Joker card is picked. 6) The Player and the GM will reveal their picked cards and pit them against each other. Whichever card has the higher value from the deck wins the test. Value table: Ace -> 10 -> 9 -> 8 -> 7 -> 6 -> 5 -> 4 -> 3 -> 2 -> Ace Note:(Ace is the only value higher than a 10 and 10 is the only value lower than an Ace. For instance a 9 is still higher in value to and Ace.) EXAMPLE: Jack the Fighter wishes to bash a door open. He announces that he is going to do so and decides not to use his special ability. He randomly picks a card from his 'Ace & 2-10' pile. The GM randomly picks a card from his entire pile. They both compare their cards picked. The GM has an Ace, and Jack has a 10, so Jack fails the test and fails to open the door. 7) If the player succeeds in his test, he completes his task, and the GM will also hand him the Joker(s) (if he picked any) as a reward. 8) If the player loses, he fails the task and depending on the GM and the situation, may randomly lose a card from his 'Ace & 2-10' deck as a penalty. If the player picked a Joker, he will also lose the joker(s) to the GM. (He dropped/spoiled his treasure while bashing the door.) This is seen as a failed attempt. EXAMPLE: Nick the Thief fails to open a lock chest and instead springs its trap. Thus he loses a card from his 'Ace & 2-10' deck when the chest explodes, wounding him. If the player survives, he may choose to attempt the test again. He may only repeat a test for a maximum of 3 times. The above system works in a looped manner. *Optional Rule* Make the player Role-play by having player(s) re-think his / their method of performing a test or feat every time, before allowing them to attempt it. Perhaps the GM could provide clues in the form of descriptions to nudge player(s) towards a logical / creative solution. 9) If both values are the same, nothing happens, unless the GM or the Player picked a/some Joker(s) from his pack before-hand, whence he will have to give the Joker(s) to the other party. COMBAT
1) The GM will arrange his deck himself beforehand to control the difficulty of the NPC or enemy under his control, or he can just pick cards from his deck randomly. This example assumes that a player is in combat with one of the NPCs under the GM. 2) The GM / Player may decide to use his special ability in combat, in which case refer to. Otherwise read on. 3) The GM and the Player randomly picks from his 'Ace & 2-10' deck. If the GM picked a Joker, he will note the pick and pick again until he has obtained a normal 'Ace & 2-10' card. Whoever has the initiative gets the first swing. In this case, assuming that the PC attacked the NPC first, the PC has the first swing. 4) The GM and the Player compare the cards they picked. Value table: Ace -> 10 -> 9 -> 8 -> 7 -> 6 -> 5 -> 4 -> 3 -> 2 -> Ace Note:(Ace is the only value higher than a 10 and 10 is the only value lower than an Ace. For instance a 9 is still higher in value to and Ace.) 5) Whoever has the higher value wins the round. If the player with the first swing wins, the loser's card is out of play. The winner's card is shuffled back into his own deck. If the player with the first swing loses, he doesn't have to lose his card. If the GM or Player has picked one or more Joker(s) that round, and lost to the opposing party, he will give the Joker(s) to him. 6) If both values are the same, the round ends in a draw, unless either GM or Player picked Joker(s). In that case, lose the Joker(s) to the combat opponent. (Dropped treasure in combat). 7) Return to step 2, with the other player having the swing. (It is the other player's turn to swing). 8) Combat continues until the GM's NPC or monster has no more 'Ace & 2-10' cards left, or the players have no more 'Ace & 2-10' cards left, signifying death. Of course, surrendering is an option, and its effects and availability is up to the GM. EXAMPLE: Tina the Cleric and Jack the Fighter fight an Orc together. Jack swings first, randomly draws a '7' while the Orc also randomly draws a 'Joker', then draws again and gets a '7'. Both blows are countered, and it was stalemate. However, the Orc drew a 'Joker', and since it was a stalemate, must give the 'Joker' to Jack. It dropped an item of treasure in the clash of swords, and Jack picks it up. Tina now swings, randomly draws an 'Ace' while the Orc randomly draws a '4'. The Orc hits Tina and Tina loses the card. It is now the Orc's turn. It decides to press its advantage on Tina, and randomly draws a '4' against Tina. Tina, who randomly draws a '3', gets hit and loses the '3' card. Jack, aware that Tina is in danger of dying because she has only 1 'Ace & 2-10' card remaining, decides to use his special ability. The orc, who doesn't have any special abilities, cannot counter Jack, so it suffers the full effects of Jack's roundhouse punch. The orc automatically loses all its 'Ace & 2-10' cards and collapses. The fight ends. USING SPECIAL ABILITIES
1) The GM / Player declares his use of his special ability in a combat or test. 2) The GM / Player randomly draws a card from his 'Jack/Queen/King' deck. 3) If his opponent has any 'Jack/Queen/King' cards left, he may use it counter read step 4. If he doesn't have any, or chooses not to, read step 5. 4) Compare the two 'Jack/Queen/King' cards from both Player and GM. Highest value wins the duel: Jack -> King -> Queen -> Jack Whoever wins the duel succeeeds in getting his special ability to work on the opposing party. Both cards are discarded from play. If both values are the same, nothing happens. Both cards are discarded from play. End the round. 5) The ability of the caster/user works on the target. The card is discarded from play.WOUNDS & DYING
1) Whenever a player runs out of cards from his 'Ace & 2-10' deck, he is dead and out of play for the duration of the current game. 2) Whenever a player recovers from his wounds, cards are drawn from his discarded deck of the same type. He may not gain more cards than his initial number of cards at the start of the game. 3) If a character died, he may rejoin the player in the next game as a new player at level 1, or be resurrected and lose one level to join the next game.TREASURE
Depending on the game and the GM, collecting all 3 Jokers may mean that: -The Players win in their quest (Such as when in a quest to collect enough gold to pay a ransom) ; or -The Players gain the ability to use ANY of the 4 special abilities ONCE. After use, the 3 Jokers are returned to the GM, who will reshuffle it back into his deck.QUESTS
A GM can rely on quick-thinking and a good imagination to create a quest and its story-line as he goes along, or he can search for plot lines to incorporate into his game. Another alternative to all this is the use of some adventure modules and plot guides that I have written. I will try and create adventure modules for the system whenever possible. The Random Quest Generator utilizes a separate pack of cards is used. The cards are shuffled and laid out on a table one by one as the party moves along the corridors of a dungeon to create a totally random map with pre- prepared encounters.
GAME EXPANSION
CARDS is an easily expandable system. Just add in another pack of playing cards or two, and you can accomodate more players, more NPCs, more monsters, and more level advancements. However, do remember that CARDS' strength is in its simplicity and speed of play. Playing with too many players and packs of cards may slow the pace down and complicate the game. When played without the Random Quest Generator, CARDS is something of a collaborative story-telling game with rules. With it, CARDS becomes a traditional tiled map Dungeons and Dragons game. Sooner or later I'll get around to creating a Science-Fiction version of CARDS. I would recommend a 1 pack original CARDS game for novice GMs. It is the easiest to learn and to play. I have written the following expansion modules for CARDS so far: *RANDOM QUEST GENERATOR FOR THE CARDS SYSTEM *SABER MARIONETTE J MODULE -Saber Marionette R Add-on *SLAYERS MODULE -Slayers Episode-based Add-ons *CHILDREN OF THE BLUE STAR MODULESYSTEM PROS & CONS
Pros: -The Players & GM will be able to figure out what their opponent and their own hand is over the course of a combat, with simple deduction. Thus they will be able to plan their combat strategy with individual players. Example: The players have seen Tina the Cleric pull an 'Ace' out of her deck during combat before, so when Jack keeps being pummeled by the GM's Evil Mage who was seen using a '10', the players decide to have Tina fight the GM, even though she isn't that good at fighting, because she has a chance at winning. Similarly, observant players will notice that some fight may not be won, or are too difficult. In that case they must find alternative solutions to reach their objective, and flee. -The GM can plan the difficulty of the individual encounters beforehand just by adjusting his personal deck. For difficult encounters he can pick more number of cards at higher values, and vice-versa. -Easily expandable by adding in more packs of cards. Cons: -This is a very GM dependant system. Since it was a system meant for non-formal play, the GM has to think of adventures, quest details and interaction fairly quickly. -Much detail has been sacrificed for faster game speed and simpler play. Additional rules can be found at the CARDS main page to increase the rules' complexity though.END OF DOCUMENT