Wyvern Trading Card Game

TCG deck The Wyvern TCG is an RPG semi-parody designed for relatively large groups of people. The object of the game is to reach level 25 and the Hall of Fame while trying to keep your oppenents from reaching the same goal.

Starter decks and booster packs may be purchased in the card section of the Floriana Toy Shoppe. More cards are being added all the time, so check often to see if a new edition is out. Once you have a deck, register it at the registration table in the shop by typing register. It will be reigstered to you to keep others from taking your cards.

Deck construction rules

80 cards, no more, no less: 40 item, 40 monster.
No more than 4 of a particular card.
You must validate your deck for legal play. Do this by typing validate_deck. This also validates specialty decks. You may unvalidate a deck by typing unvalidate_deck.
Although summoning is not enabled yet, once it is, you may set a monster as summoned by typing setsummon <#>.

Setup

Players start with their race and class.
Shuffle your deck by typing shuffle.
Draw 4 cards face down from your deck.
You can then play any items you want, to either give you combat bonuses or to hurt your opponents.
Once all items are played, turn order is established by rolling dice, highest going first and play moving counterclockwise.

Turn Build

First, the player "kicks open a dungeon door" (draws a card face-up from their deck).

If the Card is a Monster

The player fights it using their combat level. Combat level is your character level combined with your item bonuses. So, for example, if you are a level 2 with +3 armor and +2 boots, your effective combat level is 2 + 3 + 2 = 7. So, you can beat any monster less than level 7. Only paladins can win ties.

If you cannot defeat the monster, you may play an item such as a potion to give yourself the upper hand. So, in the aforementioned example, if you were fighting a level 10, you would need another +4 to defeat it, unless you are a paladin, in which case you would need +3. So, you could play, for example, a potion of flame shield to give yourself +5 and have a combat level of 12 for that turn. However, you may only play potions, scrolls, wands, etc. You may not equip weapons or armor during a combat.

Backstabbing and Helping

However, this is a game of backstabbing, so another player might not want you to defeat the monster. They could play, for example, a potion of strength to give the monster +3, and it would be level 13 to your level 12.

If you find yourself against a monster that you cannot defeat, you may ask a player for help. To ask for help, simply negotiate a treasure split for defeating the monster. Levels cannot be split, and you can only have one player's help per turn. Once the other player agrees to help you, add your combat levels together to fight. So, in the example, if you ask for help from a combat level 7 player after negotiating a treasure split, your levels would be 19 to the monster's 13.

However, let's say another player really wants you to lose this fight. They play Ancient on it, which gives it a +10. Now it is level 23 to your group's 19. You ask other players if they would want to play potions or other items on it, which doesn't count as helping, but nobody does. Since you cannot ask another player for help and you have no other items to play, you must run.

Running Away and Bad Stuff

To run away, roll a die. You escape on a roll of 5 or better. Some items have bonuses to running away; add this number to your roll. If you fail to run away, you suffer the Bad Stuff on the card, and your partner suffers no penalty. This Bad Stuff might be losing levels, items, or even just dying.

Death

There are two ways to die: going below level 1 and just plain dying. (e.g., - The monster eats you alive. You die.) Either way, the other players in the game may 'loot your body' in the order that you choose by taking one item from the ones you have in play. If you have no items in play, they may draw two cards from your hand.

If a player dies by losing levels, they restart at level 1 and lose all items in play and their hand, but not their race or class. A player who dies by being eaten, etc. keeps their level, race, and class and loses everything else. Dead players re-enter the game on their next turn , starting by drawing a new hand and playing any items they can. Then they start their turn as normal.

If the Card is a Curse

Curses are cards that cause negative effects to one or more members of the party. If you draw a curse by kicking open a door, it affects you immediately. However, if you draw one from defeating a monster, etc., you can play it during a combat or any time during your turn against another player, and it will affect that player immediately.

If a player draws a monster or curse, their turn ends once they defeat or run away from the monster or the curse takes effect. However, if they do not draw a monster or curse, they can play cards from their hand. These can be items or even monsters. If you play a monster from your hand, you fight it, so playing a low-level monster can be basically a free level unless the other players enhance it. You can do this as many times as you wish during your turn, as well as play items, but normal combat rules still apply (e.g., - you cannot equip weapons or armor while in combat). Once you are done playing cards, draw another face down from the deck to end your turn.

Item Rules

You may only have 5 cards in your hand at a time unless you are a dwarf.
You only have 2 hands, and all weapons take 1 hand unless specified otherwise.
You may only wear 1 helm, 1 armor, etc. unless you cheat with a card or the other players don't catch you.

Leveling up

You can level up either by defeating monsters or by selling items. If you defeat a monster, you usually gain 1 level, but some especially hard monsters give you more. If you sell 1000 gp worth of items in a single turn, you go up a level. You can do this multiple times a turn, e.g., sell 4000 gp worth of items.

Winning the game

Once a player reaches level 25, the game is over and they win. You can only win the game by defeating a monster. You cannot sell or use an item to reach level 25, unless specifically stated otherwise.

Racial benefits

Humans are immune to 'lose your race' and start with +1 in combat and magic.
Elves have +1 to run away and gain a level for helping a player defeat a monster.
Halflings have -1 to run away and can sell 1 item per turn for double its value.
Nagas have -1 to run away and +1 in combat and magic.
Rakshasas start with +1 in combat and gain another +1 for every 5 levels after that.
Giants have +1 in combat and can wield 2-handed weapons in 1 hand.
Pixies start with +1 in magic and are immune to paralysis, slow, and confusion.
Dwarves can have 6 cards in their hand and can hold any number of big items.

Game quirks

Specialty decks (All fire, all ice, all whip, all melee...) start with a +2 bonus.
Dual specialty decks start with a +1 bonus
Specialty good decks (can have specialty alignment as well as specialty element/weapon) gain +2 for each specialty evil deck in play, and vice versa.
Specialty decks must be declared before the game to gain any bonuses
1 monster per deck may be set (before the game) as a summon, which will automatically allow the owner to control it to do whatever he wishes. However, if the owner decides to fight the summon, they no longer control it and the summon has +5 out of anger.
Rule disagreements should first be settled by following the cards. If this still causes confusion, it may then escalate to loud, angry arguments, with the GM having the last word.