Digital playtest rules

Version digital-0.4. This implementation follows the separate rule sheet’s two-leader setup, neutral recruitment and 23-willpower victory. It does not use the alternate five-clients-each rules printed among the cards.

The contest

Each wizard receives twenty shuffled spells. The initiative winner starts with Apa Nochis; the other starts with Sarapion. Eight villagers begin neutral. Each round, both wizards take an offensive turn. At setup and before each later round, click the visible dice control to roll initiative.

At the start of your turn, use the Draw button beside your face-down stack to reveal one spell per client. With no clients, draw one spell, as approved by the game’s author. You must complete this draw before casting spells or ending your turn. Cast any number of available attack spells, then end your turn.

After an attack is declared and any counterspell is chosen, click the visible dice control to roll 2d6 plus spell strength against 2d6 plus willpower. The dice faces and totals remain visible before play continues. The owner of a targeted client may add one defensive spell. Neutral villagers cannot receive counterspells. Attack must strictly exceed defense; ties change nothing.

A successful attack recruits a neutral villager. A rival’s client returns to the village and must be recruited with another successful attack. Used offensive and defensive spells each return to the bottom of the caster’s own deck.

Win immediately when your clients total at least 23 willpower, or when you recruit your rival’s original leader from the village. Simply returning that leader to the village does not win.

Provisional choices for this playtest

The following choices make an automated game possible. They are implementation assumptions, not newly confirmed rules from the author.

• Both wizards reveal one initial spell before the first turn, allowing an initial defense. This opening spell is separate from the normal turn draw, so each wizard also draws at the start of their first turn.
• Unused revealed spells remain available without a hand limit. Both players can see all revealed spells. Future draw order is hidden.
• Initiative uses 2d6 per player, rerolling ties. Turns can include multiple attacks on the same target. Victory is checked after every resolved attack.
• If a draw deck contains fewer spells than requested, draw what remains. Empty decks do not reshuffle; each spent spell returns to the bottom of its caster’s own deck.
• Spells 1–20 are attacks; spells 21–40 are defenses. Offensive spells can target neutral villagers or opposing clients. Spells explicitly naming a man, male or woman are limited to that gender; other spells have no gender or occupation restriction.
• By the author’s direction on October 22, 2026, defensive spells counter every offensive spell regardless of attack category. Explicit gender restrictions apply: “To Heal and Protect a Woman” can protect only female clients. This major playtest decision is flagged for later reconsideration. Healing is treated as a counterspell, not a separate recovery action.
• Optional words of power are recorded in the chronicle but do not change the dice.

Spell compatibility

Spells whose titles explicitly specify a gender work only on that gender. Otherwise, offensive spells can target any neutral villager or opposing client, and defensive spells can counter any attack on your own clients.

Saving and online matches

Computer games are saved in the browser used to play. Online matches are stored on the server; private resume links allow a player to return on another device. Possessing that link grants control of that seat. Share only the invitation link with your opponent. Matches expire after 14 days without a move.

The computer uses the same rules and cannot inspect future draw order. In computer play, every computer draw, spell, defense and end-turn action pauses with a description and a Continue button. Initiative and attack resolution never advance at computer speed: the human player clicks the dice control. Online moves and dice are resolved by the server, with checks to prevent stale or simultaneous moves from overwriting each other.