From 26958ac19585800c00054f88ef563c1ee0342526 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Jared Miller Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2026 15:23:12 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] Add rules --- docs/rules.md | 419 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 419 insertions(+) create mode 100644 docs/rules.md diff --git a/docs/rules.md b/docs/rules.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5e4ef6d --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/rules.md @@ -0,0 +1,419 @@ +# 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.