Techniques are your signature moves—active abilities that go beyond a basic Strike. Every character starts with one Technique from their Starting Template and can design more during Advancement (2 AP each, designed with the GM). A basic Strike is reliable and efficient, costing 1 action with no strings attached. Techniques cost more actions, require specific Traits, and burn cards—but they inflict status effects, hit multiple targets, heal allies, reshape the battlefield, and deal devastating bonus damage when you play a face card.
Technique Anatomy
Every Technique has a standard structure. Understanding these properties helps you choose the right Technique for the right moment—and design your own when the time comes.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Affinity | The governing stat. Draw cards equal to this stat. Resonance applies if the played card's suit matches. |
| Requirements | Traits, weapons, items, or stat minimums needed to learn this Technique. |
| Action Cost | How many of your 3 actions it costs (1–3). Some Techniques use your Reaction instead. |
| Targets | Single (1), Dual (2), Sweep (all enemies in a zone), Self, or specific ally targets. |
| Range | Engaged, Near, or Far. |
| Effect | A rider: status, forced movement, healing, terrain change, buff, debuff, or creative consequence. |
| Bonus Damage | Flat damage on top of difference-based damage. For support Techniques, this is bonus healing. |
| Check | What the target defends with: Guard (physical), Resolve (magical/mental), or flat DC. |
The Activation Rule
- Number Card (2–10): Activate either the Effect or the Bonus Damage—not both. You choose after seeing the result.
- Face Card or Ace (J, Q, K, A): Activate both the Effect and the Bonus Damage.
This is the core tension of Techniques. Number cards force a choice between control and raw damage. Face cards give you everything—but they're rare and precious. Building a character around Techniques means building a character who cares deeply about the face-card-to-number-card ratio in their deck.
Body Affinity
These Techniques draw on Body (Clubs). They favor melee fighters, weapon masters, and front-line combatants who want to do more than swing and hope. Resonance applies when you play a Club.
Blazing Arc
A sweeping, flame-wreathed blade strike that cleaves through two enemies.
Lunge
A sudden forward thrust that drives your enemy backward.
Earthsplitter
You bring your weapon down with earth-cracking force, splintering armor and resolve alike.
Iron Fortress
You plant your shield and extend its protection, becoming an immovable wall.
Whirling Barrage
A relentless storm of strikes that tears through everything within arm's reach.
Shield Bash
The rim of your shield connects with jaw-rattling force.
Avalanche Drop
You hurl yourself downward with your weapon leading, crashing into your target like a landslide.
Viper Strike
A quick, surgical cut aimed at exposed joints and arteries.
Grapple Slam
You seize your opponent and hurl them into the ground with bone-jarring force.
Counterstrike
You turn defense into offense, punishing an attacker's commitment. Trigger: enemy attacks you in melee.
Mind Affinity
These Techniques draw on Mind (Diamonds). They favor tacticians, ranged combatants, and characters who control the battlefield through precision and planning rather than brute force. Resonance applies when you play a Diamond.
Mind Lance
An invisible thread of psychic force pierces the target's focus.
Viper Shot
A precise shot aimed to wound and weaken over time.
Pinning Shot
Your arrow pins cloak to earth, sleeve to wall, boot to floor.
Suppressing Fire
A hail of bullets forces everyone in the zone to keep their heads down.
Analyze Weakness
You study the target's stance and gear—then share the opening with your allies.
Coordinated Strike
A shouted command, a pointed finger—your ally strikes on your word.
Ricochet Shot
The shot bounces off stone, steel, or air itself to strike a second target.
Trap Wire
A nearly invisible wire strung at ankle height, connected to a concealed trigger.
Disabling Shot
You don't aim for the body. You aim for the hand.
Tactical Withdrawal
A disciplined fall-back, covering each other as you reposition.
Heart Affinity
These Techniques draw on Heart (Hearts). They serve healers, empaths, beastmasters, and characters who lead through force of personality. Heart Techniques tend to heal, buff, debuff, or manipulate—they're the Techniques that make a party more than the sum of its parts. Resonance applies when you play a Heart.
Heartmend
Warm light flows from your hands, mending wounds and purging affliction.
Rallying Song
Your voice carries over the chaos, and those who hear it fight harder.
Soothing Presence
A calming warmth settles into the target's body, slowly coaxing wounds closed.
Thorn Whip
A lash of thorned vine seizes the target and drags them to you.
Beast Surge
Primal energy floods your muscles. Your eyes narrow. The predator wakes.
Provoke
A cutting remark, a mocking gesture—the enemy's focus snaps to you and only you.
Words of Power
You speak a sentence of binding authority, and the targets' strength drains from their limbs.
Empathic Shield
You feel every blow your allies take. Sometimes, you take it for them.
Spirit Bloom
Flowers of pure life energy blossom at your allies' feet, their fragrance carrying restoration.
Burning Conviction
You dig deep into reserves you didn't know you had. It costs something. It's worth it.
Spirit Affinity
These Techniques draw on Spirit (Spades). They serve mages, exorcists, mystics, and anyone who channels supernatural force. Spirit Techniques tend to deal high damage at range, inflict debilitating status effects, and control zones of the battlefield. They're the most card-hungry Techniques in the game—powerful, but they'll thin your deck fast. Resonance applies when you play a Spade.
Arcane Bolt
A concentrated lance of arcane energy streaks toward its target.
Frost Chains
Chains of crystallized mana erupt from the ground, freezing targets in place.
Soul Fire
A pillar of spectral flame engulfs the target, burning body and spirit alike.
Spirit Shatter
A shockwave of raw spiritual energy staggers all nearby foes.
Consecrate Ground
Sacred light seeps into the ground beneath your feet, sanctifying the earth itself.
Banishing Light
An eruption of divine radiance hurls the target away and sears their sight.
Spirit Ward
An invisible lattice of protective energy settles over the target.
Eldritch Storm
The sky darkens. Lightning made of pure mana rains down on everything in the distance.
Void Grasp
A tendril of nothingness reaches out, sealing the target's voice and dragging them close.
Wyrdstep
You fold through the space between moments, reappearing wreathed in fading shadow.
Multi-Affinity & Advanced Techniques
These Techniques require Traits from two or more trees, representing advanced cross-discipline mastery. When a Technique lists two affinities, the player chooses which to use when activating. This determines your draw stat and which suit triggers Resonance. Choose the affinity that best fits your current hand—or the stat where you're strongest.
Spellblade's Wrath
Your blade ignites with arcane fire. The strike is steel and sorcery fused into one.
Nature's Judgment
Thorned vines of golden light erupt from the earth, binding all enemies in nature and divinity.
Shadow Hex
A flickering rune of shadow latches onto the target's eyes and soul, clouding both.
Commander's Gambit
Half strategy, half inspiration—and all conviction.
Wrath of the Wild
You channel the fury of a cornered beast into a single devastating blow.
Final Requiem
Light and shadow dance as one. A hymn ripples outward—enemies burn, allies mend.
Technique Design Guidelines
Players are encouraged to design custom Techniques during Advancement (2 AP each, designed with the GM). The catalog above provides templates, but the system is built for creativity. Here are the balancing principles:
| Factor | Low Power | Medium Power | High Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Action Cost | 1 action | 2 actions | 3 actions |
| Targets | Single | Dual | Sweep |
| Range | Engaged only | Near | Far |
| Effect | Minor (1-round status, small buff) | Moderate (2-round status, forced move) | Major (multi-status, zone, summon) |
| Bonus Damage | +1 to +2 | +3 to +4 | +5 or stat-scaling |
| Requirements | 1 Trait, low stat | 1–2 Traits, stat 3+ | 2+ Traits from different trees, stat 4+ |
The Power Budget & the Basic Strike Rule
The fundamental design test: a Technique's total value should always exceed what you'd get from spending those same actions on basic Strikes. A 2-action Technique must hit harder than two Strikes, hit more targets, or apply a meaningful condition. A 3-action Technique must justify giving up your entire turn. If it doesn't, redesign it.
- 1-Action Benchmark: Moderate damage to a single target with a minor rider (1-round status), or equivalent damage to a basic Strike plus a useful utility effect.
- 2-Action Benchmark: Significantly harder than two Strikes (bonus damage +3 or higher), hits multiple targets (Dual or Sweep), applies a meaningful condition (2-round status, forced movement), or combines moderate damage with a strong effect.
- 3-Action Benchmark: The centerpiece of your turn—high damage plus a major effect, a sweeping battlefield change, or a powerful combination that reshapes the fight. If the table doesn't react, it's not worth the investment.
If too strong, increase action cost, narrow targets, raise the DC, or require a rarer Trait combination. If too weak, remember that number cards only get Effect or Damage—a Technique with a strong Effect and modest damage still shines when you play a face card.
Player Technique Worksheet
When designing a Technique, answer these questions in order:
- What does it look like in the fiction? Start with the fantasy.
- Which stat governs it? That's your affinity.
- What Traits make it possible? Those are your requirements.
- How much of your turn does it consume? That's your action cost.
- Who does it affect, and how far away? That's targets and range.
- What happens on a number card? That's your Effect.
- What happens on a face card? Effect plus Bonus Damage.
- What defends against it? Guard for physical, Resolve for magical/mental, DC for non-targeted effects.