# DECKNFORGE — v2.0 Playtest Edition

> *"Without teamwork, your band will never survive the dungeon. Without betrayal, you'll never claim the coppers."*

**3–5 wizards. 60–90 minutes. A persistent legacy card game built from a standard deck of playing cards.**

You are a wizard. Adventurers drift between your tower and the towers of rival wizards, accumulating spells in their gear over their lifetimes. You send your band into the dungeon to fight monsters together — but the wizard whose hero lands the killing blow on a beast takes the coppers. Wizards work together because the alternative is total wipe. Wizards betray each other because coppers are coppers.

Your deck is your band. Inscriptions on cards are permanent. Bands drift between wizards over time. Every game leaves marks on the deck that the next wizard inherits.

---

## 1. GLOSSARY

These terms are used precisely throughout the rules. If a word appears below, it means exactly what's defined here.

- **Band** — A wizard's deck. Has a permanent name. Drifts between wizards.
- **Hero** — A J, Q, or K card. J=11, Q=12, K=13. Cannot be Converted to a buff.
- **Item** — A 2–10 card, any suit. Can be Converted to a buff.
- **Monster** — An Ace or Joker card. Removed from the combat deck. Built once during band creation, never changed.
- **Boss** — One of the 6 Monsters drawn at dungeon setup. Fought in order.
- **Minion** — A Monster from the leftover Minion Pool, summoned during a fight.
- **Inscription** — A permanent ability written/stickered on a card. Earned post-game. Lasts until that card is Faded.
- **Blessed** — A card with at least one inscription on it.
- **Label** — A permanent modifier stickered on a Monster. Adds difficulty + reward.
- **Plot** — Step 1 of a round: every wizard plays a card face-down.
- **Reveal** — Step 2 of a round: all played cards flip simultaneously.
- **Tactic** — A disruptive action a wizard takes during the Tactics step, paid for by discarding cards from hand.
- **Damage** — Boss HP reduction. Default = sum of revealed card face values + inscription effects.
- **Convert** — Sacrifice a played Item to trigger its suit's buff effect. Committing the card.
- **Commit / Committed** — Any card removed from your combat deck for the rest of THIS dungeon (no recovery this dungeon, but it returns to the band's deck for the next dungeon). Cards become committed when: revealed for damage, Converted for a suit buff, discarded for a Tactic, or discarded to dodge. **Every card you play this dungeon is gone until the dungeon ends.** Tracked as a face-up "committed pile" next to your combat deck.
- **Killing Blow** — The reveal that drops a Boss from positive HP to ≤ 0 HP. Highest face value among the killing round's reveals takes credit (suit tiebreak: ♠ > ♥ > ♣ > ♦).
- **Party wipe** — All wizards in the fight are immediately reduced to 0 HP simultaneously. Triggers the game LOSS condition. Most commonly caused by the **DOOM** monster label: if a Boss with DOOM is still alive at the end of round 5, party wipe.
- **Coppers** — Post-game currency. Spent on inscriptions in the Turning phase.
- **Glory** — Lifetime kill count of a band. Etched on the box. Bragging rights only — no game effect.
- **Dungeon** — A single game session: 6 sequential Boss fights.
- **Fading / Drifting / Turning** — The three post-game phases (see Part V).

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## 2. WHAT YOU NEED (per wizard)

- 1 standard deck of playing cards with both Jokers (54 cards)
- A fine-point Sharpie
- This rulebook + 1 sheet of Avery 18294 labels
- Scrap paper for tracking HP and band Glory. **A d20 works great for HP** — set to 20 at the start of each fight, rotate down. Set it aside or flip flat when you hit 0.
- **A pocket of pennies (~30 each)** — these are your **Coppers** (currency). Any small token works: pennies, glass beads, poker chips, dried beans. Each wizard keeps theirs in front of them at the table.
- A 6-sided die for round counting (only needed when a Boss has the DOOM label or another round-tracked effect)

### Card breakdown (per band)

| Card | Count | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Aces + Jokers | 4 + 2 = 6 | Monsters (removed from combat deck) |
| J / Q / K | 12 | Heroes |
| 2–10 | 36 | Items |
| **Combat deck** | **48** | All non-Monster cards |

---

## 3. BUILDING YOUR BAND (one time per deck)

### Step 1 — Name your band
Write a name on the box. Permanent. The name passes between wizards forever.

### Step 2 — Build your monsters
For each of your 6 Monsters (4 Aces + 2 Jokers):

1. Pick a creature label from the sheet. Apply it. Write the creature's name on the card.
2. Draw 3 random Items from your deck.
3. **HP = sum of the 3 face values.** (Boss HP scales × players in the dungeon.)
4. **ATK = ⌈average of the 3 ÷ 2⌉.** Minimum 1.
5. If two of the 3 drawn Items share a rank → this Monster is a **Legend.** Mark a ⭐ on the card.

Return the Items to the deck.

**The Legend rule.** Every band has at least one Legend. If after building all 6 monsters none qualified as Legends through item pairing, choose one of your monsters and mark it ⭐. Your tower's signature beast.

### Step 3 — Inscribe your starting band
You have **30 coppers** to spend on starting inscriptions. Inscribe between **3 and 6** cards in your combat deck.

**Costs:** Common 5c · Uncommon 10c · Rare 20c · Mythic = not purchasable (earned only)

Examples:
- 6 Commons (30c, 6 inscribed cards)
- 4 Commons + 1 Uncommon (30c, 5 cards)
- 2 Commons + 2 Uncommons (30c, 4 cards)
- 1 Common + 1 Rare (25c, 2 cards) — leaves 5c for next Turning, but only 2 Blessed cards = fragile band

**Rule:** 1 inscription per card maximum. Mythic only on Heroes.

### Step 4 — First wizard
Last wizard to be in a literal underground space (basement, parking garage, crawl space) goes first.

---

## 4. THE DUNGEON (each game)

### 4.1 Build the dungeon
1. Pool ALL wizards' Monster cards.
2. Shuffle face-down.
3. Draw 6 → these are your Bosses, fought in order.
4. Remaining cards = Minion Pool.
5. **Boss HP = written HP × number of wizards.** (Minion HP unchanged.)

### 4.2 Combat setup
- Every wizard draws 12 cards from their own combat deck.
- Every wizard starts at 20 HP.
- Flip the first Boss face-up. Note its HP, ATK, and any labels.

### 4.2a Between-boss reset
When a Boss dies, before flipping the next Boss face-up:
- Each wizard refills hand to 12 cards.
- Each wizard's HP resets to 20.
- **Committed cards stay committed** for the rest of the dungeon (no recovery between boss fights). They return to your deck for the next dungeon.
- Active wizard rotation triggers (see Step 3 — Tactics for the catch-up rule).

### 4.3 Round structure (9 steps)

**Step 1 — Plot.** Every wizard plays 1 card face-down.

**Step 2 — Reveal.** All cards flip simultaneously.

**Step 3 — Tactics.** Starting with the active wizard, going clockwise, each wizard MAY take ONE Tactic (or pass). Tactics are paid by **discarding cards from your hand**, not coppers.

Each Tactic resolves immediately, before the next wizard decides. Cards modified by a Tactic show their new value to everyone before the next wizard chooses. One full pass around the table; once you pass or act, you're done for this round — no taking it back, no reactions to later Tactics. Modifications stack: a Spiked card that gets Foiled adds both modifiers.

**Active wizard rotation.** The active wizard stays the same for the entire boss fight. When that boss dies (or the fight ends), the active wizard role passes to the wizard with the **fewest coppers** at that moment. Ties broken by fewest personal Glory this dungeon, then by clockwise from the current active wizard. The new active wizard is active for the entirety of the next boss fight. (For Boss 1, the wizard who was last in a literal underground space is active.)

This is a deliberate catch-up mechanic. Trailing wizards get first-mover Tactics privilege and first crack at adding labels, giving them an opportunity to claw back without changing any actual combat numbers. Combined with the Drifting draft (which rewards winners), this keeps the dungeon feeling open until the end.

| Tactic | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| **Spike** | Discard 1 card | +3 to your revealed card's face value |
| **Foil** | Discard 2 cards | −3 from another wizard's revealed card (minimum 1) |
| **Snipe** | Discard 1 Hero | Swap your revealed card with another wizard's revealed card |
| **Brace** | Discard 1 card | You take 0 boss damage this round (your card still deals damage) |

*("Discard" here means commit the card — it goes to your face-up committed pile for the rest of this dungeon.)*

A wizard may take only one Tactic per round. Cards discarded for Tactics are **committed** for the rest of this dungeon.

**Step 4 — Resolve damage.** Sum all revealed card values:
- **Item or Hero:** face value (J=11, Q=12, K=13)
- **Plus inscription triggers** (e.g., Sharp adds +1 to that card's value, Banner adds +1 to all your cards this round)

Apply the total to the Boss. After damage resolves, **all revealed cards are committed** — whether they dealt damage, were Converted for a buff, or were modified by Tactics. Played cards do not return to your hand or deck this dungeon. Move them to your face-up committed pile.

**Step 5 — Killing Blow.** If Boss HP reached 0 or less:
- Killer = the wizard whose revealed card had the highest face value (suit tiebreak: ♠ > ♥ > ♣ > ♦)
- **Killer earns:** +3 Coppers, +1 Coppers per overkill damage (capped at +5c overkill). Plus the Killer chooses ONE: *Rally* (all heal 5) | *Surge* (Killer draws 3) | *Momentum* (next Boss starts at HP −10).
- **All other wizards:** +1 Coppers (assist).
- **All wizards:** +1 Glory toward the band.
- **Killer specifically:** +1 personal Glory (tracked separately for the Drifting draft order).
- If the Killing Blow was on a Legend Boss: next Fading draws 2 Blessed cards, choose 1 to fade; the other is unfaded.
- Skip steps 6–8. Next round begins with the next Boss revealed.

**Step 6 — Boss attack.** Boss deals ATK to ALL wizards. Each wizard:
- Take the damage to HP, OR
- Commit 1+ cards from hand whose combined face values are *strictly greater* than the attack to dodge.

Wizards who used Brace this round take 0 regardless.

**Step 7 — Pressure check.** If 0 damage was dealt to the Boss this round → **ALL wizards take 2 damage** (no dodging this damage). This is the only "stalling" deterrent. Use it sparingly.

**Step 8 — Minions strike.** Active Minions attack each wizard for their own ATK. Same dodge rules. Minions can be dodged or eaten just like a Boss.

**Step 9 — Refill.** End of round. Each wizard draws **2 cards** (or to a 12-card hand limit, whichever is fewer — if you have 11 cards, draw only 1; if you have 12, draw 0). If your deck is empty, you skip Plot next round (no card played, no contribution, no damage taken from Pressure). You may still be hit by Boss attacks.

*Mid-round draws (Sturdy, Quick, Bright, Club Convert, Surge bonus, Minion kill rewards) happen immediately when their trigger fires, not at Refill. Step 9 is the steady +2 trickle on top of those.*

### 4.4 Buffing (alternate to attacking)
Instead of dealing damage with your revealed card, you may **Convert** the card. Convert = trigger the suit buff. The card is **committed** for the rest of this dungeon.

| Suit | Convert effect |
|---|---|
| ♠ Spade | +1 shield per Spade lost in this dungeon, applied to all your incoming damage |
| ♥ Heart | Heal HP equal to ⌈face value ÷ 2⌉ |
| ♣ Club | Draw 2 cards |
| ♦ Diamond | Plunder Coppers equal to face value (kept post-game) |

**Heroes (J/Q/K) cannot be Converted.** Items only.

A Converted card contributes 0 damage to the Boss this round.

### 4.5 Adding labels (Monster modifiers)
**Not in your band's first dungeon.** Labels are unavailable until the band has completed at least one dungeon. (This is permanence titration: players need to know the loop before they can permanently mutate it.)

Starting from your band's second dungeon, when a Boss is revealed for the first time in this band's history:

The active wizard MAY add 1 label from the shared 15-label pool (Avery 18294, Column 1) onto the Boss card. The wizard picks a difficulty tier and gains a reward immediately:

| Tier | Reward |
|---|---|
| 🟢 Easy | +1c + (draw 1 OR heal 1) |
| 🟡 Medium | +2c + (draw 2 OR heal 2) |
| 🔴 Hard | +3c + (draw 3 OR heal 3) |

**Risk:** if the Boss survives the round in which a label is added, the wizard who added it takes 1 damage.

Each Monster can hold a maximum of **5 labels lifetime**, and at most **2 labels per single dungeon** (added on consecutive rounds by different wizards going clockwise). After 2 in one dungeon: no more this fight. The labels are permanent — written on the card forever.

If a wizard has no label they want to contribute, they pass; the option moves clockwise.

### 4.6 Escalation (Minions)
End of each round (after Pressure check, before next Plot): draw 1 from the Minion Pool. The drawn Minion is summoned and fights from now until end of this Boss fight.

- **Minion Pool empty?** Boss gains +1 ATK permanently (this fight only).
- **Killing a Minion:** killer draws/swaps up to hand limit (12). Plus Minion coppers = ⌈face value ÷ 2⌉. Plus +1 Glory.
- **When a Boss dies:** all active Minions are also defeated.

### 4.7 Game end
- **All 6 Bosses defeated → WIN.**
- **All wizards reach 0 HP in any single fight → LOSS.**

A wizard at 0 HP is removed from this fight only; their HP resets to 20 for the next Boss. (No permanent character death. Per Cutthroat Caverns: keep everyone alive until the end.)

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## 5. POST-GAME CYCLE

Record Coppers and Glory for each wizard before anything else.

- **Coppers** is yours, follows you. It can ride with you into any band you join, but cannot be merged across bands you own.
- **Glory** is the band's, etched on the box at the end of every game.

### Phase 1 — The Fading
1. Each wizard separately: shuffle YOUR Blessed cards face-down.
2. Draw 1.
3. Cross out ALL inscriptions on that card. It is no longer Blessed (until re-inscribed).
4. **0 Blessed cards remaining?** Your band fades into legend. Retire the box. The band's name is permanently retired. Choose ONE inscription from this band's history to keep — it is added to your next band as a starting heirloom inscription on a card of your choice.

### Phase 2 — The Drifting
1. All decks gather in the center of the table.
2. **Draft order = personal Glory earned this game** (kills you personally landed). Tiebreaker: highest face value of a single Killing Blow this game. Tiebreaker 2: more total Coppers this game.
3. In draft order, each wizard picks a deck. You may pick your own.
4. You inherit everything in the box: Blessed cards, Monster labels, deck name, Glory total, label history. Everything except Coppers notes (those follow the wizard).

### Phase 3 — The Turning
Spend Coppers on new inscriptions. Add to any cards in your inherited deck. Unspent Coppers carries to the next Turning.

Inscription rules:
- 1 inscription per card maximum.
- Mythic only on Heroes (J/Q/K).
- Mythic inscriptions are not purchased — they are awarded by Legend kills (see 4.3 Step 5).
- A faded card can be re-inscribed.

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## 6. THE BOOK OF WIZARDNESS

15 inscriptions, 4 tiers. Costs are used in The Turning.

### Common (5c) — small, reliable buffs
- **Sharp** — This card's face value +1.
- **Sturdy** — When you dodge with this card, draw 1.
- **Glint** — When this card is revealed, gain 1 Coppers (max 3c per fight from all Glints combined).
- **Quick** — When this card deals damage to a Boss, draw 1.
- **Bright** — When this card is revealed, the wizard to your left draws 1. *(Cooperative inscription. Builds table goodwill — and reciprocal obligations.)*

### Uncommon (10c) — meaningful triggers
- **Echo** — This card's Convert (suit buff) effect doubles. Heart heals 2× face/2. Diamond plunders 2× face. Etc.
- **Banner** — When this card is revealed, ALL your cards this round get +1 face value.
- **Blood Money** — When this card lands a Killing Blow, +3 Coppers extra.
- **Vampiric** — When this card hits a Boss for damage, heal 2 HP.
- **Thorns** — When you take damage from a Boss while this card is in your hand, deal 1 back to the Boss.

### Rare (20c) — band-shifting
- **Ascension** — This Item permanently counts as a Hero. (Cannot be Converted; can hold Mythic.)
- **Doublestrike** — When this card is revealed, you may immediately reveal another card from your hand. Both contribute to damage.
- **Phoenix** — When you would reach 0 HP and this card is in your hand, return to 1 HP and discard this card (lose its inscription temporarily; it returns at next refill).
- **Wizard's Will** — Once per dungeon, after Reveal, swap any two wizards' revealed cards. (Free; no Tactic cost; no card discarded.)
- **Reaper's Mark** — When this card kills a Legend Boss, gain a free Mythic inscription on any card.
- **Slippery** — Any Tactic targeting this card costs +1 additional discarded card.
- **Hunter's Edge** — When this card hits a Boss, deal +1 damage per 10 HP the Boss is currently missing (rounded down).
- **Pierce** — When this card hits a Boss, ignore any damage reduction from monster labels (e.g., TOUGH, RESILIENT). Pure damage gets through.
- **Mercenary Pact** — When another wizard lands the Killing Blow on a Boss this card damaged this fight, gain +2c extra (in addition to the standard 1c assist).
- **Wildcard** — When this card is Converted, you may treat its suit as any of the four suits.

### Mythic (earned only) — band-defining
- **Royal Decree** — While this Hero is in your hand, all your other cards are +1 face value.
- **Legend Etched** — This card cannot be Faded. (Can still drift to another wizard.)
- **Tower's Memory** — When you Drift to a new band, you may bring this card with you. (Breaks the "bands inherit everything" rule for one card.)
- **The Patron** — When this card is revealed, choose: heal another wizard 5, or steal 2c from another wizard. (Pure mercenary.)
- **Untouchable** — This card cannot be targeted by Tactics (not Foil, not Snipe).

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## 7. PLAYER COUNT TUNING

| Players | Boss HP × | Starting hand | Inscription budget | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Solo) | × 1 | 14 | 40c | No betrayal layer. All Coppers go to you. Pressure rule still applies. |
| 2 | × 2 | 12 | 30c | Smaller budget = harder early game. |
| 3 | × 3 | 12 | 30c | Sweet spot. |
| 4 | × 4 | 12 | 30c | Sweet spot. |
| 5 | × 5 | 14 | 30c | ~90 min play. |

---

## 8. PLAYTEST WATCHLIST

After each session, ask:

✅ Did wizards hesitate before revealing high cards? *(Tension = working.)*
✅ Did anyone use a Tactic before round 4? *(In-fight interaction = working.)*
✅ Did the table audibly react when a Tactic resolved? *(Emotional engagement = working — Covert's "engage emotions or no story" test.)*
✅ Did at least one Killing Blow get sniped by Foil/Snipe/Spike? *(Greed loop = working.)*
✅ Did anyone regret adding a label? *(Risk/reward = balanced.)*
✅ Was the final Boss fight loud at the table?

If a NO appears, here are the levers to tune:

| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Tactics never used | Card-discard cost too high | Reduce Foil to 1 card discard |
| Kills feel unearned | Highest-card rule too random | Add: Killing Blow goes to the player who dealt damage equal to Boss HP at start of round, with high-card as tiebreak |
| Wizards never add labels | Reward too small vs risk | Raise Easy reward to draw 2 |
| One wizard runs away with Coppers | Snowball | Cap session Coppers at 25; excess converts to Glory |
| Game stalls | Pressure rule too soft | Raise no-damage penalty from 2 to 3 |
| First-time bands feel empty | No labels yet, no kill rivalry yet | This is intentional (Daviau titration) — first game IS the tutorial |
| Last-place wizard checks out | No comeback path | Add: lowest Glory at end of round 4 draws +1 next round |

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## 9. APPENDIX A — LABEL SHEET CONTENTS

The Avery 18294 starter sheet contains 60 labels in 4 columns of 15:

**Column 1 — Monster Labels (15)**: 5 Easy, 5 Medium, 5 Hard. Stuck on Boss/Minion cards. See `DeckNForge_Label_Sheet.html` for full text.

**Column 2 — Common Inscriptions (15)**: 3 copies each of 5 Common effects (Sharp, Sturdy, Glint, Quick, Bright).

**Column 3 — Uncommon Inscriptions (15)**: 3 copies each of 5 Uncommon effects (Echo, Banner, Blood Money, Vampiric, Thorns).

**Column 4 — Rare + Mythic (15)**: 10 Rare inscriptions (1 each) + 5 Mythic inscriptions (1 each, earned only).

When you run out of label types you use most often, print a second sheet biased toward those. If you want blanks for custom inscriptions or band-naming, edit the HTML and replace specific labels.

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## 10. APPENDIX B — DESIGN PROVENANCE

For curious wizards: where each rule comes from.

- **Tactics paid in cards, not coppers** — Magic: The Gathering (Richard Garfield). "No bad cards" — every card has at least two uses.
- **No labels in first dungeon** — Risk Legacy (Rob Daviau). Permanence must be earned.
- **Glossary section** — Cutthroat Caverns post-mortem (Curt Covert). Define terms once, use religiously.
- **Tactics never deal HP damage to other wizards** — Cutthroat Caverns (Covert). Passive aggression only.
- **Glory etched on box** — Pandemic Legacy (Daviau). Persistent narrative.
- **Decks ARE the character** — Pathfinder Adventure Card Game (Mike Selinker). Inscriptions = level-ups.
- **Highest face value = Killing Blow** — Cutthroat Caverns. High control, no dice rolling.
- **Mythic inscriptions earned, not bought** — Magic rares + PFACG loot. Gives Legend kills meaning.

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*"Some decisions just make you who you are." — Rob Daviau, on why legacy works.*