Game Rules

The Augur Clock is a Passive Gameplay Mechanic that keeps track of the amount of time left between the start of the Adventure and the impending Third Calamity.

The Goal: Time will naturally be consumed as Players move through the adventure. However, there are certain tasks that Players can complete such as Bolstering Allies that will help in “adding” time back to the Augur Clock in order to change the ending and completing the Demo Adventure – THE CRACK OF AN OVERTURE.

Function: The Augur Clock is broken down into 20 units where each Adventure will naturally take up a certain amount of Units on the Augur Clock until there is no time left – leaving players with the Worst Case Scenario. The number of units left on the clock will impact the outcome as follows:

• 0 Units on The Clock (Aided 0 Allies, Did Not Complete Demo) = Full Party Death is Guaranteed. Vanguards will be memorialized, Massive Destruction is eminent, requiring a great deal of repair and reconstruction. The Governors leave, leaving the people of Azraeém to essentially fend for themselves indefinitely.
• 2-4 Units on The Clock (Aided 1 to 2 Ally, Did Not Complete Demo) = Full Party Death is Highly Likely with the guarantee of the sacrifice of One to Two Party Members to succeed – leaving them to be memorialized. High Destruction is eminent, requiring a substantial repair and reconstruction. The Governors remain, however it’s clear that the there is deep resentment and the tone of the future is darkened indefinitely.
• 6-8 Units on The Clock (Aided 3 to 4 Allies, Did Not Complete Demo) = Full Party Death is Not Likely with 0 to 1 Party Members being sacrificed. Low Destruction is eminent, requiring a noticeable repair and reconstruction. The Governors remain, however there is great hesitancy towards growth and renewal.
• 10 Units on The Clock (Aided All Allies, Completed Demo) = Full Party and Individual Party Member Death is completely avoided, leaving them to help establish The Vanguards as a protective Military for all of Azraeém. Low Destruction is eminent, requiring minor repair and reconstruction. Governors remain providing guidance into a brighter New Age.

Combat in Ash and Flowers of Azraeém is intended to be agile, dynamic and lethal while embracing the natural chaos of leaving room for fate to help direct the flow of energy. Below are the basic requirements and rules for engaging in Combat.

Requirements: Identifying Tokens for every Player and Foe involved in combat and A Standard RWS Tarot Deck, a Standard RWS Derivative (Modern Witch Tarot, Supernova Tarot, etc.) or an Digital Standard RWS Tarot Randomizer

Turn Order: In order to decide the order of combat, all tokens will be placed in the Token Pool and a token will be pulled at the start of a turn. Once that Player or Foe has completed their actions, a new token will be chosen at random until everyone has had a turn. When everyone has an opportunity to perform at least 1 Action, all Tokens will be returned to the Token Pool to choose who will go again.

Combat Stage: Due to the reach of influence that magic has within Azraeém, all Combat Stages will take place in a space no larger than 80-Feet in any direction. Playable Characters (And Opposing Forces) will have the ability to Flee from Combat. However, re-engaging will mean that any damage done in the previous round of combat to the Opposing Force will be healed.

Combat Oracle: The Tarot Deck will be used to decide on the moves of any oppositional force that you are in Combat with. Each Oppositional Force that you engage with will come with a list of moves and abilities that will align with a certain type of tarot card that will be drawn.

Not all Oppositional Forces will require the full tarot deck to engage in Combat with. BBEG style battles will require the Full Tarot Deck while Lower Threats will require at minimum the Pips.

The type of moves that each type of card is associate with is as follows:

• The Fool and The World = ✦✦✦✦✦ Moves. These are highly lethal abilities with a wide reach of damage and influence that have a high probability of TPK
• The Emperor and The Empress = ✦✦✦✦ Moves. These tend to be highly lethal with a wide reach of damage and influence that have a high probability of causing great harm to all Party Members
• The Hanged Man, Wheel of Fortune, Strength, Temperance, Hierophant, Hermit, Magician and The Lovers = ✦✦✦ Moves. These tend to have a moderate level of lethality with no more than 50-Foot reach any any direction that focus primarily on weakening Party Members through means such as Sapping, Paralysis and the like.
• The Tower, The Moon, The Sun, The High Priestess, The Devil, Judgement, The Chariot, Death and Justice = ✦✦✦ Moves. These tend to have a moderate level of lethality with no more than 50-Foot reach any any direction that focus primarily on causing high amounts of damage to Party Members that are personalized to the Opposing Force.
• The 16 Court Cards = ✦✦ Moves. These focus are moves that focus on Buffing Allied Foes/Self and Debuffing Players
• The Four Aces = ✦ Moves. These tend to focus on minor moves that focus on Influencing the nearest target to the Opposing Force.
• Cards 2 to 4 in all Suits = ✦ Moves. These tend to be attacks with a low level of lethality.
• Card 5 in all Suits = ✦ Moves. These focus on immobilizing/grappling/restricting the closest Playable Character.
• Cards 6 to 9 in all Suits = ✦ Moves. These are Low to Mid-Sized attacks that focus on sabotaging at least 1 to 2 Playable Characters within a certain distance.
• Card 10 in all Suits = ✦ Moves. These tend to focus on a Mid-Sized attack on the closest Playable Character or provide a some kind of Substantial Healing to itself or other Allied Foes

Due to the probability of the Opposing Force choosing a move that could cause a TPK, they are only allowed One Move per turn, where as Playable Characters are allowed to choose up Three Moves depending on the number of Actions associated with the move per turn.

The only exception to this is The Star Tarot Card. When drawn, this will allow The Opposing Force to draw Two Cards that depending on the combination will yield a different effect:

• Two Major Arcana = Complete Combat Reset
• Major Arcana and Minor Arcana = Players are able to uncover a weakness about the Opposing Force (if any)
• Two Minor Arcana = A Weakened State is triggered as described on the Opposing Force’s provided information for One Round.

Once a card has been drawn for the Opposing Force, the card will be placed in a discard pile to prevent it from being drawn again.

Playable Character Attacks: Player Attacks done using a Physical Weapon that is not Magic Related automatically lands, leaving the amount of damage done as the only thing they’ll need to calculate.

However, due to how Magic Forward the world is, any Magic Based Attacks will need to roll for effectiveness against the Opposing Force to see whether or not it lands against the Foe’s defined Perseverance.

The Deathseer mechanic is how Playable Character Death is handled in the game. Once a character is considered Dead, so long as party members are able to get their body to a Death Spring within 2 Days, the Playable Character is able to be revived. However, there are consequences and limitations to the frequency of this feature.

Requirements: Playable Character is considered Dead and there are no other means of revival.

The Limitation: Playable Characters are able to be brought back from the dead up to 3 Times via Death Spring. After that, the Playable Character is considered permanently dead.

Technicalities: Deathseer is treated as an Influence that has multiple levels of severity depending on the number of times a Playable Character has been brought back. The details regarding the level of severity are as follows:

1. DEATHSEER 1 – Regardless of what your Natural Inclinations or Sensitivities were prior to death, once you have been brought back, you are find yourself Sensitive to Raw Magic and take a-2 Penalty to all Raw Magical Effects. Healing is also weakened, causing a -2 Penalty to all healing effects regardless of it’s source. However, you are also permanently rendered Numb 1, giving you a +2 Bonus your Instinct Perseverance to Magical Attacks or Influences that would alter your state of mind or focus.
2. DEATHSEER 2 – You are now rendered Highly Sensitive to Raw Magic and Sensitive Concocted Magic and take a -3 Penalty to all Raw Magical Effects and -2 Penalty to Concocted Magical Effects. Healing effects have a difficulty of working on you, taking a -3 Penalty in effectiveness. You are also now Sensitive to Bright Light where you will be rendered Dazzled 1 for One Hour after entering Bright Lighting. However, you are permanently Numb 2, giving you a +3 bonus to your Instinct Perseverance against Magical Attacks that would alter your state of mind or focus. This detachment from life also gives you a +3 Bonus to Charisma and Reflex.
3. DEATHSEER 3 – You are now rendered Extremely Sensitive to Raw Magic and are Highly Sensitive to Concocted Magic, taking a -4 Penalty to all Raw Magical Effects and a -3 Penalty to Concocted Magical Effects. Healing effects take more to work on you, now taking a -4 Penalty in effectiveness. You are Highly Sensitive to Bright Light where you are rendered Dazzled 2 for One Hour after entering Bright Lighting and are also Sensitive to Attacks that deal Elemental Damage, taking a -2 penalty to all Perseverance against them. You are also more fragile, taking a -2 Penalty to your Armor and Fortitude. You are now permanently rendered Numb 3, giving you a +4 bonus to your Instinct Perseverance against Magical Attacks that would alter your state of mind or focus. This general apathy towards your physical existence has also given you a +4 Bonus to Charisma and Reflex.

Mitigating Effects: Players are able to perform the ritual Soul Heal in order to mitigate the effects of Deathseer 1 which will halve the penalties and bonuses rendered. However, this can only be done on the first time of Revival. Upon Successful Completion of the ritual, the Playable Character can choose from the following three Deathseer Feats:

1. HYMN FOR THE LOST – The divide between Life and Death has been thinned for quite some time, and having had access to the other side leaves you open to hearing those who have been long gone. When entering a designated space, roll a 1d20. If you receive a 15 or Higher, you will be able to see if there are any lost souls in the vicinity who are willing to speak and provide you with additional information on your journey. If you roll less than a 15, you will have failed to make contact. 3 Day Cooldown.
2. SCYTHE’S EDGE – Having met face to face with Death before has made you sensitive to when it is just around the bend. This Feat will give you a Reaction to protect an Ally from being downed. Roll a 1d20 + 5 against the Foe’s Fortitude. Upon Success, the amount of damage that your Ally would have received will be halved. Upon Failure, the attack is not obstructed, leading the Ally to taking full damage. 3 Day Cooldown.
3. RESTING WITH PEACE – Sleep for you is a complex experience that allows you to not only dream but to also visit the land of the dead. When taking a long rest, you are able to connect with the other side to make new connections. Roll a 1d20 to verify the success in building a connection. If you’ve received a 15 or Higher, you have found a way to find a Lost Soul who will be willing to aid you in a future battle of your choosing. If you roll Lower than a 15, you will have failed to make any contact. 3 Day Cooldown.

These abilities cannot be compounded and are permanent. If the Ritual is failed, you will still be rendered Deathseer 1 as originally designed.