PLAYTEST v0.6 · FREE · ONE DECK PER PLAYER, NO JOKERS
HALCYON ACES
A standard 52-card deck replaces dice. Suit is identity, stats are how many cards you draw, and every card you play drains your stamina, so the tension mounts as your deck runs dry.
“Each card you play leaves your deck thinner. Managing your deck is managing your character's endurance.”
From Introduction, core principles.
Four rules of thumb
Anime-inspired fantasy with swords, sorcery and spirits. Colourful heroes with signature moves, dramatic reversals and escalating stakes.
Every card matters
High-stat characters draw more options but burn through cards faster.
Suit is identity
When the card's suit matches the stat, your power surges into the result. That's Resonance.
No class, all choice
A sword-swinging fire mage and a sharpshooter who heals allies are equally possible.
Damage is effort
Every point your result beats the enemy's Guard by becomes damage.
Each stat is a suit
Draw cards equal to the called stat (minimum 2), play one, compare it to the DC. If the suit matches the stat, add the stat to the card.
♥Heart
Persuasion, deception, performance, leadership and the healing arts. Also the willpower to resist a Siren's call.
♣Body
Melee, athletics, stealth, and resisting physical effects. Kicking down a door, leaping a chasm.
♦Mind
Investigation, crafting, ranged precision, lore and strategy. Threading arrows through gaps in armour.
♠Spirit
Spellcasting, sensing magic, communing with spirits, resisting curses. And gut instinct.
Kael climbs the cliff
Kael has Body 3. The GM calls a Body check at DC 9. Kael draws three cards. The Q♣ resonates for 15, but he plays the plain 9♦, which meets the DC, and saves the Queen for a tougher check. The other two go to the bottom of his deck.
Q♣ → 12 + Body 3 → EV 15, saved for later
5♣ → 5 + 3 → EV 8, short
Trait Trees
Each tree has a key stat. Buy Tier 1 at stat 2, Tier 2 at stat 3, Tier 3 at stat 4. Mix trees freely: your combination of choices is your class.
Pick your way in
New player
- Introduction: the fantasy and what you need
- Card Resolution: draw, choose, resolve, compare
- Character Building: about 15 minutes
- Combat: zones and three actions a turn
Game master
- Fatigue & Resting: pacing by card budget
- GM Toolbox and the Bestiary
- Starter Scenario, ready to run
Mid-session
- Quick Reference
- Techniques catalogue
- Draw simulator to settle an argument
- 2–4 hours a session
- 52 cards per player, no jokers
- 3 actions per turn
- 15 minutes to build a hero