Guider — Player Companion

How to ACT — What players can do

When your turn comes, ACT is your chance to shape the scene. Use these suggestions as prompts → roleplay first, mechanics second.

Observe & Investigate
Look around, ask the narrator focused questions, search a specific object, request a hint.
Interact with NPCs
Converse, persuade, lie, trade → describe your approach and roll if prompted.
Prepare & Craft
Ready an item, set a trap, assemble a quick ritual → narrate the steps; ask for limited die checks if necessary.
Team Support
Give another player aid, shore up morale, share a resource, or give actionable advice that affects a roll.
Risky Ideas
Intentionally accept a risk to gain story leverage → say what you want to do and why.
Use Ability or Item
Short summary of ability and the expected immediate effect; narrator determines the specifics.

Tip: keep ACT descriptions short and vivid. The narrator will convert description into mechanical effects.

Resolving Cards → Quick flow

Reveal: Show the map card to everyone. Read the title & effect aloud.
Clarify: Ask the narrator for any unknown terms or hidden requirements.
Decide: Players choose options; if a requirement exists, ensure it is met before resolution.
Resolve: Execute the outcomes (reward, damage, status changes). In disputes, narrator rules.
Record: Update resources (coins, life, stamina, madness, soul) and get ready to move to the next player.

If a card is ambiguous: ask. The narrator prefers to interpret in favor of story →→→ but mechanically consistent rulings are fair.

Resolve immediately: do not defer a card for later, unless the narrator allows.

If a card says "must", treat it as enforced game-state, not an optional prompt.

Use ACT to change the conditions post resolve (e.g. bribe a guard after revealing).

Tiny Tutorial: A Short Example

You have just finished Dawn and it is your turn in the morning zone. You ACT: "I use my arcane mastery to search the nearby hollowed wall for a hidden compartment." Narrator says: resolve 10 → player will roll a dice and add their arcane stat to score equal to or greater than 10 to succeed. They succeed. Narrator: your latent senses reward you, hidden away in the compartment was a coin. ACT finished → player must now reveal. You then REVEAL a Bravery card: "A Discovery! Moss-Covered Altar → Offer an item or offer a coin."

Players discuss: because of ACTing previously, you found a coin and can pay the coin, resolve the corresponding effect to show the current A and C cards → the narrator describes the scene of the altar adjusting your path forward. You discard the C card as it is a Fight card and replace it with another face-down C card. Having revealed and acted, your turn is finished and the next player begins their turn.

This micro-example shows how ACT can shape the reveals — smart ACTing enables card choices.

Narrative Tips for Better Play

Be concise — short, evocative phrases beat paragraphs during tense turns.
Ask for clarity early. If rules are unclear, the narrator can offer quick rulings to keep the game moving.
Use ACT to set conditions before revealing a card (reduce risk or stack reward).
Accept failure as opportunity — narratively, failures often produce richer scenes.

Card Anatomy — Spell

Type

Spell (universal term) / Spellcast (must be cast forth from the user) / Enchant (persistent, attaches to a target) / Seal (persistent, attaches to a place) — Spells must be cast on the user's turn, but anything with the word 'quick' can be used at any time.

Subtype

Light, Arcane, etc...

Cost

Appears on the left side, usually in the form of icons.

Behaviour

Appears on the right. Shows a simple depiction of how the spell functions.

Effect

The main text describes the effect of using the spell. Can also entail additional effects requiring additional costs or other requirements.

Resource Glossary

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Life

Your hit points. If 0, you die but are still narratively present.

Stamina

Action resource; use for action moves and resolves and some cards.

Empower

Typically used for enhancing cards.

Mana

Spell resource; use for spells and most cards.

Energy

Spell resource; use for spells and some cards.

Madness

A dangerous meter. High madness causes forced madness effects and narrative complications.

Soul

While unknown to the player, the narrator will keep track of how much of your soul is siphoned off and trapped inside the game.

Coins

Spendable currency for items and actions and NPC interactions.

Potency

Grants mana; improves effectiveness of spells.

Mastery

Grants energy; unlocks additional effects for spells.

Tinge

Calculate by combining mana and potency.

Arcane

Calculate by combining energy and mastery.

Note: please reference the Rules page.

Card Anatomy — Map

Type

Adventure / Bravery / Challenge — dictates difficulty & reward flavour!

Subtype

Camp, Discovery, Event, etc...

Effect

Immediate and often narrative results; may include rewards or penalties.

Night

Indicates special night behaviors or added dangers.

Rewards

Coins, items, or story advances.

Subtypes Explained

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Camps offer a moment to relax. Players may interact with each other freely, greatly extending the possibilities of an ACT. NPCs may also have special dialogue, or enable other effects during a camp. The narrator can also freely describe the scene and if players recover any additional stats.
Discovery cards present the players with a few choices, and players may choose to do nothing at all.
Event cards force players to engage with a scene of some kind, where they must choose one option. Narrators may need to enhance the event to be relevant to the players, or consult a lorebook.
Fight cards denote a mandatory encounter.
Story cards require the narrator to progress the story in some way.
Quest cards will begin or conclude a premade quest, or a custom quest as explained by the narrator. Note: if any map card has a choice denoting it must be retained, the card remains on the board until the end of the cycle (e.g. dawn), then the player who revealed it will keep this card until it is concluded.

Night Effects & Random Effects

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Night cards often escalate danger and change card resolution order: they may override, supercede, or amplify the card. Plan ACTs to mitigate night penalties. To be clear, if a card has a night effect, it must be activated when played during the night phase. In addition, as the cycle increases, there will be higher chances of certain random effects happening during a player's turn. Pay attention as they can influence your decision making or alter a reveal entirely.

Rewards & Stacking

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Rewards can be immediate or conditional. When a card doubles rewards or references the reward pile, apply modifiers in the order listed on the card. Ask narrator if order is ambiguous.

Extra: Quick Resolution Cheatsheet

If a card triggers: 1) read effect aloud, 2) identify requirement, 3) players discuss, 4) narrator adjudicates and resolves. Use this cheat to speed play.

TBD: breakdown of all 12 card types.

Open Rules Characters