All tags serve a strict mechanical purpose.

1. Domain Triggers

Determine which stat to use (Cost: 0 Durability).

• [Melee] [Ranged] [Force] -> ♠ Combat
• [Stealth] [Mobility] [Mechanic] -> ♣ Finesse
• [Endure] -> ♥ Resilience
• [Science] [Medical] [Social] [Perceive] -> ♦ Knowledge

2. Synergy Triggers

Grants +2 Bonus if matching Enemy/Environment.

• [Bio] Flesh, beasts, plants
• [Bot] Robots, AI, turrets
• [Eldritch] [Time] Anomalies
• [Chem] [Rad] Hazards
• [Dark] [Urban] [Wild] Zones

3. Keyword Rules

Tags that invoke specific hard-coded rules.

• [Tool] Spend 1 Dur for Auto-Success/Bonus.
• [Armor] Spend 1 Dur to Negate 1 Wound.
• [Consumable] Destroyed at 0 Dur.
• [Provision] Required to Rest or Heal.
• [Medical] Required to Cure Status.
• [Loud] Trigger threat on fail.

1.1 Game Concept

This is a survival horror game that scales to your group. It can be played GM-less (a macro-scale where one turn is hours or a whole day, and cards control the AI and world) or in a GM'ed Mode (zoomed in, moment-to-moment gameplay where a turn is just a few seconds). You are Survivors in a world collapsing under the strain of temporal and dimensional anomalies. Your goal is to survive, build a defensible Base, and explore the shifting, hostile landscape. Death is common, but your Base is a persistent legacy that carries over to new characters.

1.2 What You'll Need

• Two Standard 52-Card Decks: Draw Deck (Checks, Focus, Loot, AI) and World Deck (Map Generation).
• Tokens/Minis: To represent characters and enemies.

1. Draw Background: Draw 1 card from Draw Deck and select the matching Background. This determines starting Gear, Trait, Tags, and Domain Bonuses.
2. Assign Core Domains: You have 1 additional point to add to any one Domain. (Max Domain score is 5).
   • Combat (♠): Fighting and physical health.
   • Finesse (♣): Agility, speed, and stealth.
   • Resilience (♥): Endurance and inventory capacity.
   • Knowledge (♦): Intellect, perception, and technology.
3. Calculate Vitals:
   • Action Points (AP): 24 + (Finesse × 2)
   • Max Grit: 5 + Combat
   • Inventory Slots: 5 + Resilience
   • Focus Points: 2 + Knowledge
4. Gather Gear: You begin with your Background items and 1 Supply Stack (5 Provisions).

The game is played in Days. A Day consists of players spending AP. The Day ends when all players Rest.

3.2 Resting & Upkeep

• Consume 3 Provisions: Deduct 3 durability from a Supply Stack. If you cannot, you become Starving.
• Recover Grit: Restore Grit to max (Unless Starving or Exhausted).
• Reset Focus: At the start of each day, you draw a number of Focus Cards equal to your Focus Points. Discard unused Focus Cards from the previous day.

All challenges are resolved using this system. All rolls are player-facing.

4.1 Card Values

Each card has a numerical value, used for focus and other mechanics.

4.2 Making a Check (Calculated)

• Grit: Spend X Grit to add +X to the result.
• Focus Bonus: Discard Focus Cards to add their Intensity. You may only spend a number of cards equal to 1 + Domain Score.
• Tag Synergy Bonus: Gain a +2 Bonus for every active Tag you possess that logically matches the target. Tool Tags cost 1 Durability to apply this way.

4.3 The Chance Draw (Risky)

If you cannot hit the TN (or wish to save resources), draw 1 card.

4.4 Assisting

Spend 1 AP to Assist another player. Provide EITHER your Grit OR your Focus points to add to their total. Limit 1 assist per check.

Combat is a fluid exchange of resources without turns.

5.1 The Zones

• Ranged Zone: Safe from immediate retaliation. Attacks with [Ranged] get Synergy.
• Engaged Zone: Up close. Attacks with [Melee] get Synergy.

5.2 The Combat Loop

5.3 The Collapse

If you hit 0 AP during combat: Combat ends immediately. You skip to Rest. You take 1 Auto-Wound while retreating. Next day, you DO NOT recover Grit.

6.1 Clearing Locations

Locations have Approaches (Obstacles). Succeed on the check to clear it.

• Number Cards (2-10): Safe. Only trigger Threats if you fail a [Loud] check.
• Face Cards (J, Q, K, A): Occupied. Trigger a Threat Event immediately upon entering.

6.2 The Great Shift

At the end of every 7th Day, a temporal storm arrives.

1. Recall: Characters in Base/Shelter are safe. Outside: TN 18 check or swept away.
2. Reshuffle: All non-Base locations shuffled back.
3. Recenter: Deal a new world around Bases.
4. Weekly Event: Draw 1 card for the Weekly Event Table.

Establish Base on [Shelter]: Project Check (TN 12 / 5 Successes).

With the right equipment, you can learn to understand and replicate strange technologies and mutagens.

Researching Bionics

To research a bionic, you need a Bionics Lab and a Bionic Schematic. Researching is a project (12 AP, TN 14 ♦). Each bionic also requires a specific item to be researched, which is consumed in the process. Once researched, the bionic can be crafted at the Bionics Lab.

Crafting Bionics

Crafting a bionic is a project at the Bionics Lab (TN 13, 4S) and costs 5 Supplies.

Researching Mutations

To research a mutation, you need a Chem Station. Researching a mutation is a project (12 AP, TN 14 ♦). Each mutation also requires a specific biological sample (e.g. from a creature) to be researched, which is consumed in the process. Once researched, the mutagen can be crafted at the Chem Station.

Crafting Mutagens

Crafting a mutagen is a project at the Chem Station (TN 14, 5S) and costs 6 Supplies. The result is a single dose of a random mutagen.

Combat AI

• [Aggressive]: Pulls you to Engaged if you end turn Ranged.
• [Tracking]: Reposition requires TN 12 Agility Check.
• [Pack Tactic]: +1 TN per other matching enemy type.
• [Area]: Counter-Attacks hit ALL players in the zone.

Status Effects

• Exhausted: Max Grit = 1 AND Action costs +1 AP.
• Starving: Cannot recover Grit. At 0 Grit = Wound.
• Infected: Cannot recover Grit. Wounds don't heal.
• Sick: Max Grit halved.

Stacking Rules

Bonuses from different sources STACK. Scars STACK (double penalty). You CANNOT stack identical Knacks.

9.0 Death

A character dies when their inventory is completely filled with Wounds. Items drop. Base and Upgrades persist.

10.0 Game Modes

• Standard: Normal play.
• Hardcore: Map rings. Center=0, Ring 1=All enemies are Elites, Ring 2=+2 TN & all enemies are Elites.
• Nightmare: +1 Difficulty to all checks every Week.

11.0 Elite Enemies

In Zone 2/3, Face Cards are Elites. Draw a 2nd card for a buff.

• ♠ Vicious: +1 Wound dealt on failure.
• ♣ Swift: Activates twice during Attrition.
• ♥ Juggernaut: +3 Resolve (HP).
• ♦ Shielded: Costs 2 AP to Attack.

A high-risk endgame "Dungeon Crawl" mode accessible via the Signal Repeater upgrade.

12.1 Setup & Rules

• Cost: 12 AP to open the gateway. Each step into an unrevealed tile costs 2 AP.
• The Deck: Shuffle the Anchor Location with 23 random World Cards to create a 6x4 Grid face-down.
• Zone 3 Physics: All checks suffer +4 TN.
• Rich Soil: Forage yields 1 Item AND 3 Supplies.
• Instability: Spades and Clubs act as threats here, not just Face Cards.

12.3 The Scan (New Action: 2 AP)

Flip all face-down cards orthogonally adjacent to you without moving. If a revealed card is Spade/Club, draw an Encounter Card immediately and place it sideways. Combat only begins if you choose to Move into that tile.

12.4 Victory

Finding the Anchor reveals the Guardian (Elite Boss, 10 Resolve). Defeat it to clear the Fracture, gain a Loot Cache (3 Items of the Anchor's suit), and return to Base.