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docs/rules.md

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+# slay the spire: board game rules
+
+cooperative rogue-like deckbuilder for 1-4 players. each act takes 60-90 min.
+players win by defeating the final boss. if any player hits 0 HP, everyone loses.
+
+---
+
+## overview
+
+- each player picks a character, starts with a simple deck, and improves it
+  by adding/removing/upgrading cards throughout the run
+- the party travels up a map, hitting encounters, events, merchants, campfires,
+  elites, and a boss at the top
+- the game is divided into acts (I, II, III, optionally IV). you can stop after
+  any act and save your progress
+
+## characters
+
+each character has a unique starter deck, player board, and mechanics.
+
+**ironclad** (red, easiest) - strength-based fighter with exhaust synergies.
+starts with the most HP. strength (max 8) adds +1 damage per hit.
+
+**silent** (green, easy) - poison and shiv specialist.
+poison (max 30 across all enemies) deals 1 HP loss per token at end of turn,
+ignoring block. shivs (max 5) are tokens that deal 1 damage each, usable
+anytime you could play a card.
+
+**defect** (blue, hard) - orb channeler. uses lightning, frost, and dark orbs
+placed in slots on the player board. orbs trigger end-of-turn effects and can
+be evoked for stronger effects. any orb can go in any slot.
+
+**watcher** (purple, hardest) - stance-based fighter with miracles.
+stances: neutral (no effect), calm (gain 2 energy when leaving), wrath (+1
+damage on all hits, but take 1 damage at end of turn). miracles (max 5)
+are tokens that give 1 energy each, usable anytime.
+
+## setup
+
+1. each player picks a character, takes their player board, starter deck,
+   card rewards deck, and rare rewards deck. shuffle the decks.
+2. player board: energy cube at 3, block cube at 0, HP cube at max
+3. prepare shared decks: encounters, elites, summons, events, relics,
+   potions, boss relics, daze, status, curses. shuffle each (except summons).
+   keep "1st encounter" cards separate from the encounter deck.
+4. randomly choose an act I map board. place it on the table.
+5. shuffle map tokens face-down. dark tokens on dark spaces, light on light.
+   flip them all face-up.
+6. place character figures on the lowest open space of the map.
+7. randomly choose an act I boss. place it face-down at the top of the map.
+8. place boot meeple at bottom of map next to the first encounter.
+9. neow's blessing: each player draws 1 neow's blessing card. gain the red
+   reward, then choose 1 of the 3 blue rewards.
+10. set up the 1st encounter and start combat.
+
+### setup for acts II and III
+
+- swap all card decks (encounters, elites, events, etc.) for the next act's
+  versions. shuffle them. summons deck carries over.
+- new map board, new boss.
+- all players heal to max HP.
+- shuffle your card rewards deck (include any skipped cards). don't shuffle rares.
+
+## the map
+
+move the boot meeple up the map after finishing each room. follow the paths -
+you choose which fork to take. room types:
+
+**encounter** - fight monsters. 1st encounter uses special "1st encounter"
+cards (one per player row). other encounters draw 1 card per player from the
+encounter deck.
+
+**elite** - harder fight. 1 elite in the bottom row, with summons in each
+player's row if the elite has them.
+
+**event** - draw from event deck. options in [yellow brackets] are choices -
+each player picks one independently. "pay" or "give" options require you to
+already have the thing.
+
+**campfire** - each player independently chooses: rest (heal 3 HP) or smith
+(upgrade a card).
+
+**treasure** - each player gains a relic.
+
+**merchant** - place 3 relics and 3 potions on the merchant board. each player
+reveals top 3 of their card rewards. players can buy:
+- items (relics/potions) for their gold cost. top-left relic is on sale (-1 gold).
+- cards: common 2g, uncommon 3g, rare 6g
+- card remove: 3g, once per merchant per player
+- you can spend your gold on another player's purchase.
+
+**boss** - fight the act boss at the top of the map. beat it to clear the act.
+
+## your deck
+
+### card types
+
+- **attack** - deals damage to enemies
+- **skill** - blocks damage and other utility effects
+- **power** - stays in play for the rest of combat (not discarded after playing)
+- **curse** - bad cards added to your deck. can't be transformed.
+- **status / daze** - bad cards added by enemies. removed from your deck at
+  end of combat.
+
+### card rarity (banner color)
+
+- starter (gray border) - your starting cards
+- common (gray banner) - 2 copies of each exist
+- uncommon (blue banner)
+- rare (yellow banner)
+
+### energy
+
+energy is used to play cards. pay the cost in the top-left corner.
+max 6 energy. resets to 3 at the start of each turn.
+x-cost cards: spend any amount of energy (including 0), effect scales with
+amount spent.
+
+### card piles
+
+- **draw pile** - shuffle your deck at the start of combat. draw from here.
+- **discard pile** - played cards go here. when draw pile is empty, shuffle
+  discard into a new draw pile.
+- **exhaust pile** - exhausted cards go here. can't be used again this combat.
+  returned to your deck at end of combat.
+
+## combat
+
+### combat setup
+
+**encounters** - 1 enemy per player row.
+
+**elites** - 1 elite in bottom row. summons (if any) in each player's row,
+to the right of the elite.
+
+**bosses** - treated as being in ALL rows. placed to the right of the board.
+boss HP scales with player count (listed on boss card).
+
+enemy HP: put a cube on the starting HP number (yellow outline). enemies
+with 11+ HP use 2 cubes on the HP board.
+
+### combat round
+
+rounds repeat until combat ends. each round = player turn, then enemy turn.
+all players act simultaneously during the player turn.
+
+#### player turn
+
+**1. start of turn**
+- reset energy to 3, block to 0
+- draw 5 cards (no max hand size)
+- roll the die (determines enemy actions and relic triggers for this round)
+- resolve start-of-turn abilities (relics, powers, die triggers)
+- start-of-combat abilities trigger only on turn 1
+
+**2. play phase**
+- play cards, use potions, activate abilities in any order
+- discuss strategy openly (encouraged!)
+- to play a card: pay energy, choose targets, resolve effects top to bottom,
+  then discard (or exhaust, or place as power)
+- effects with the area-of-effect symbol hit all enemies in one row AND
+  the boss (if present)
+- players can target any enemy, not just ones in their row
+
+**3. end of turn**
+- end-of-turn abilities trigger
+- discard all remaining cards in hand
+
+#### enemy turn
+
+**1. remove enemy block** - all enemies lose their block tokens
+
+**2. enemy actions** - enemies act row by row, top to bottom, left to right
+within each row. bosses always act last. each enemy takes one action:
+- *single action* - same action every turn
+- *die action* - action depends on the die result rolled during player turn
+- *cube action* - tracks progress down a list. cube slides down each round.
+  gray actions at the bottom don't repeat.
+
+enemies target the player in their row. area-of-effect enemy actions hit
+all players.
+
+**3. move cube actions** - slide cubes down for any cube-action enemies
+
+### end of combat
+
+triggers when all monsters are dead (unless an on-death ability summons more).
+
+1. end-of-combat abilities trigger
+2. gain rewards from the enemy card (encounters: from your row's enemy.
+   elites/bosses: all players gain rewards)
+3. reset your deck: return powers, discard pile, exhaust pile to your deck.
+   remove status/daze cards back to their decks.
+4. reset player board: block and energy to 0. lose all tokens except gold.
+   defect removes orbs. watcher enters neutral stance.
+5. clear enemies back to their decks. summons return to summons deck.
+6. players may switch rows before next combat.
+
+## rewards
+
+gain rewards in any order. you may skip any reward. you can look at all
+rewards before making final decisions.
+
+**card reward** - reveal top 3 of your card rewards deck. add 1 to your deck
+or skip. return unchosen cards to the bottom.
+- golden ticket: when revealed, also reveal top card of your rare rewards.
+  add that as an option. return golden ticket to bottom of card rewards.
+
+**upgraded card reward** - same as card reward but the chosen card is
+immediately upgraded.
+
+**rare reward** - reveal 3 from your rare rewards deck. add 1 or skip.
+
+**potion** - draw 1 from potion deck. keep (face-up, in front of you) or skip.
+max 3 potions. single-use items. some potions can be used outside combat.
+
+**relic** - draw 1 from relic deck. keep (face-up) or skip.
+
+**boss relic** - reveal 1 per player + 1 (or 3 if solo). each player may
+take one.
+
+**gold** - gain gold tokens equal to the value shown. spend at merchants or
+events. you can pay for other players' purchases.
+
+**trading** - potions can be given to other players outside combat.
+nothing else can be traded.
+
+## remove, upgrade, transform
+
+**remove** - take a card out of your deck permanently. keep it in a removed pile.
+
+**upgrade** - flip a card to its upgraded side (green text). cards are
+double-sided: normal on one side, upgraded on the other.
+
+**transform** - remove a non-curse card from your deck, then add the top card
+of your card rewards to your deck. if it's a golden ticket, add the top rare
+instead and return the golden ticket to the bottom.
+
+## items
+
+items are small cards kept in front of you.
+
+**relics** - persistent effects. some have die-triggered abilities.
+some are "once per combat" or "once per room" (flip face-down when used,
+flip back after).
+
+**boss relics** - same as relics but from the boss relic deck.
+
+**potions** - single-use. max 3 at a time. some usable outside combat.
+
+## keywords and abilities
+
+**area of effect (AoE)** - affects all enemies in one row, always includes
+the boss.
+
+**ALL enemies** - targets every enemy in every row, including boss.
+
+**block (max 20 for players)** - prevents 1 damage per point.
+player block resets at start of player turn. enemy block resets at start
+of enemy turn. does NOT prevent "lose X HP" effects.
+
+**daze** - bad card placed on top of your draw pile. returns to daze deck
+when exhausted.
+
+**energy (max 6)** - resource for playing cards. all character energy symbols
+are equivalent.
+
+**ethereal** - if still in hand at end of turn, it's exhausted.
+
+**exhaust** - card is removed from play for this combat. goes to exhaust pile.
+returns to your deck at end of combat.
+
+**hit** - damage icon on cards. hits are affected by vulnerable, weak, and
+strength. "damage" effects (like "lose HP") are NOT hits.
+
+**multi-hit** - multiple hit icons on one card/action. all hits target the
+same enemy (unless stated otherwise). all are affected equally by strength,
+vulnerable, weak. remove vuln/weak token only after the full multi-hit
+resolves.
+
+**retain** - card is not discarded at end of turn. cards "forget" they were
+retained once they leave your hand.
+
+**scry X** - look at top X cards of your draw pile. discard any of them.
+put the rest back on top in the same order.
+
+**strength (max 8)** - +1 damage on each hit per strength token. enemies
+can also gain strength.
+
+**unplayable** - can't be played. if an effect tries to play it, discard it
+instead.
+
+**vulnerable (max 3 per target)** - when attacked, damage from each hit is
+doubled. token removed after the attack resolves. add strength before doubling.
+
+**weak (max 3 per target)** - each hit in the attack deals -1 damage.
+token removed after the attack. for AoE or multi-hit attacks, only 1 weak
+token is consumed.
+
+**weak vs vulnerable** - if attacker is weak AND target is vulnerable, the
+effects cancel out. attack is unaffected. remove 1 weak from attacker and
+1 vulnerable from all affected targets.
+
+**poison (max 30 total across all enemies)** - at end of turn, enemies lose
+1 HP per poison token. ignores block. poison stays until the enemy dies.
+
+## triggered abilities
+
+**on death** - triggers when the enemy with this ability dies.
+
+**start of turn** - triggers at start of player turn.
+
+**start of combat** - like start of turn, but only on turn 1.
+
+**start of next round** - triggers during next player turn's start-of-turn.
+
+**end of turn** - triggers at end of player turn (not enemy turn).
+
+**end of combat** - triggers when combat ends.
+
+**once per combat** - usable once during any player turn. flip item face-down
+when used.
+
+**once per room** - usable once per combat or event. can affect die results.
+
+**die relic abilities** - trigger on specific die results at start of turn.
+found on relics and boss relics only.
+
+## cards from other characters
+
+if you get cards from another character:
+- use their tokens the same way (shared token limits)
+- transform: new card comes from YOUR card rewards deck
+- golden tickets from other characters' rewards: rare comes from THAT
+  character's rare deck
+- stances and orbs from other characters: gain the prismatic shard special
+  relic. start each combat in neutral stance. defect doesn't gain extra orb
+  slots this way.
+
+## playing copies
+
+when a card is played multiple times (by an effect), copies are free to play.
+copies can have different targets. copies are affected separately by
+vulnerable, weak, and single-use bonuses. copies can't be copied.
+copies resolve first, then the original goes to discard.
+
+## golden rule
+
+when a card's text contradicts the rules, the card wins.
+
+## optional rules
+
+**the last stand** - if a player dies during a boss fight, other players can
+keep fighting. enemies in the dead player's row target the nearest player
+below (or above if none below). if at least 1 player survives the boss,
+the party wins. if a player dies, you can't continue to the next act.
+
+**sequential turns** - if simultaneous play doesn't work for your group,
+take turns in order starting from bottom lane (lane 1), going left. die is
+only rolled on the first player's turn. your abilities/triggers only happen
+on your turn.
+
+**choose your relic** - when gaining relics from elites or treasure in
+multiplayer, reveal relics equal to player count. each player picks one.
+
+## act IV (unlockable)
+
+requires collecting 3 keys during act III:
+- **ruby key** - all players skip actions at a campfire room
+- **sapphire key** - all players skip a relic at an elite or treasure room
+- **emerald key** - defeat a burning elite (replaces one encounter on the map)
+
+act IV has its own map (on the back of the boss card) and boss.
+
+## ascension (difficulty scaling)
+
+unlocked after beating act II boss (or act III solo). each level adds a
+modifier that stacks with all previous levels:
+
+1. harder elites (replace with ascension elites)
+2. -1 max HP
+3. harder events (add ascension events)
+4. potion limit reduced to 2
+5. start with ascender's bane curse
+6. heal only 4 HP (not full) after boss in acts II+
+7. harder encounters (replace with ascension encounters + summons)
+8. card removes cost 4g at merchant
+9. lose 1 HP at game start
+10. harder bosses (use ascension boss deck)
+11. harder act IV boss + ascension elites in act IV
+12. even harder elites (replace with ascension 12 elites)
+13. double act III boss (fight a second random boss after the first)
+
+## daily climb (optional mode)
+
+roll die twice, gain one random modifier from each group:
+
+**positive modifiers:** all star (5 random colorless cards), shiny (5 random
+rares), heirloom (random boss relic), transformed (all card rewards become
+transforms), vintage (encounter card rewards become upgraded card rewards),
+prismatic shard (start with prismatic shard, card rewards pull from
+different characters' decks)
+
+**negative modifiers:** terminal (lose 1 HP end of combat), insanity
+(transform a random card end of combat), uncertain future (map tokens
+hidden until you land on them), cursed (start with 2 random curses),
+deadly events (lose 2 HP after each event), night terrors (can't rest)
+
+## quick start (joining late / starting at act II+)
+
+use the quick start table to catch up players joining at later acts.
+gives scaling amounts of gold, card rewards, transforms, relics, potions,
+upgrades, and a merchant visit based on starting act.
+
+## achievements
+
+tracked across runs. examples: hit strength limit (8), hit poison limit (30),
+play 7 shivs in one turn, have 7 powers in play, beat act III with each
+character, beat a boss on turn 1, beat act III with a 5-card deck.