Spell Saga Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Getting Started
• Card Types
  • Enemy cards
  • Folk cards
  • Hero cards
  • Item cards
  • Place cards
  • Place cards - Rooms
  • Spell-Song cards
  • Story cards
• The Play Area
  • Four Standard Card Piles
  • Hero Pile
  • Item Pile
  • Place Pile
  • Story Pile
  • Three Random Card Piles
  • Action Pile
  • Armor Pile
  • Source Pile
• Moving Cards into Play Area
  • 1) See if the card is Acknowledged
  • 2) Cycle Source Cards
  • 3) Move the card into the correct card PILE
  • Hand
  • Action Pile
  • Attaching
• Order of Play
  • Turn Structure
    • Mandatory Steps
    • Free Steps
• How to Battle
  • 1) Item Lock
  • 2) Compare Source
  • 3) Attacks & Armor
    • Enemy Pile
    • Hero Pile
  • 4) Prize or Penalty
• The Last Rules
• Glossary

Getting Started

Spell Saga: tabletop novel is a game about growth & identity. The objective of the game is to explore.

To start the game, Search the DECK for all (6) cards with a gold star in their upper left corner, then set them up in the above manner, before Shuffling the DECK.

The game is played with tokens representing your heroes as they visit different places. We recommend having a different token for each hero. (WARNING! take care of any token small enough to become a choking hazard).

You lose the game if your starting hero (The Last Minstrel) ends a turn without any Armor. You win if you reach the end of the deck, which will be found by exploring and managing to survive.

Spell Saga is played by one person. During the game this player will search a medieval/post-apocalyptic landscape for magical items, mysterious heroes, and powerful enemies, all in hopes of finding clues as to how the world ended.

The Game is designed to be played as a campaign. The Player can choose to start with Deck One: The Highlands* and continue through decks 2 and 3, to the last deck, known as The Ending.**

*Players may also start with a 25 card deck called The Prelude, but this is meant for advanced players.

**Decks 3 and The Ending available 2019.

NOTE: IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO WATCH A VIDEO EXPLANATION OF THE RULES, YOU CAN FIND THIS AND MORE at SPELLSAGA.com

Card diagram (page 1): Source Cost; Card Type; "The middle of the card may feature anything from Story narration, Description of the Places you Visit, or even artwork representing Heroes, Enemies, & Items."; Card Name; Card Rules; Card Number. "Some Place cards will have a mark instead of any descriptive text. This is called a Directional compass."

Card Types

There are seven main Card Types in Spell Saga. Each will affect the game in different ways.

Enemy cards

ENEMY cards represent the hazards of gameplay. A game of Spell Saga ends when The Last Minstrel has zero ARMOR cards. One of the few ways to lose ARMOR is to be attacked by an ENEMY.

Quick Notes:

• ENEMY cards have no PILE for their own, & so may not be purchased or Moved into play.
• ENEMY cards Attack when Acknowledged in the ACTION PILE.

Folk cards

FOLK cards represent strangers who carry helpful information. In Deck One, each FOLK card may transform into powerful ITEM cards.

Quick Notes:

• FOLK cards are always Free to Play, if they are Acknowledged.
• FOLK cards have no PILE of their own, and are Attached to PLACE card being Visited.

Hero cards

Hero cards represent who the Player controls while playing Spell Saga.

Quick Notes:

• The More HERO cards in play, the more cards the player draws.
• The More HERO cards in play, the more the player is Attacked.
• Additional HERO cards will often grow the limits of how many ITEM or SOURCE cards a HERO or Player can carry.
• Traveling with multple HERO cards is called a BAND OF HEROES.
• Different HEROES may Visit different PLACES at the same time (see 4 Turn Structure).

Item cards

In the game of Spell Saga, the cards that help you change the rules, Attack, or Defend are called ITEM cards. Most ITEM cards are activated by flipping them (Face-Down) for a turn, to denote usage. Most ITEMS can be used indefinitely. Certain powerful ITEMS may require further payment or even losing them to use it.

Quick Notes:

• ITEM cards are Moved into ITEM PILE of HERO card using them.
• HERO cards may not hold more ITEMS than their ITEM LIMIT.
• If a HERO is Cycled, any other HERO may claim (1) of their ITEM cards before the start of the next turn.

Place cards

PLACE cards are used to enforce turn structure. From the beginning of the Turn, until they Move to start a new turn, that HERO is said to be "Visiting" the PLACE card. Each PLACE cards will have special rules. It is important to note some PLACE cards have Mandatory Card Rules, and others have Free Card Rules. Look for the following symbols:

Mandatory Card Rule Symbol: ~ Mandatory Rules must be followed as soon as you Visit a PLACE, before performing the rest of your turn.

Free Card Rule Symbol: (&) Free Rules may be followed at any time while Visiting a PLACE, or not at all.

Quick Notes:

• PLACE cards are put anywhere in the PLACE PILE, in a circle.
• Cards in PLACE PILE may only be detached if they are Attached to a PLACE currently being Visited.
• Rules that begin with ~ are Mandatory, rules that begin with (&) are optional.
• HERO Tokens may move Clockwise or Counter-Clockwise in the PLACE PILE.

Place cards - Rooms

Some PLACE cards also count as Room cards. These are Moved into play and Attached to each other in numerical order, in the direction of the compass.

A group of Room cards must be entered or exited only through their "Entrance" card, which will be clearly marked as "Room 1 ~ Entrance" under the Card Name. When moving a Room card into play, it must be Attached to a group of Rooms it shares a common name with.

The exception to this rule is the following: if during the game two or more PLACE cards become Attached, they are then considered a group of Rooms.

Room cards may be moved into play without an Entrance card, but may not be Visited without playing & Attaching an Entrance card.

Quick Notes:

• PLACE cards that share a name are considered Room cards.
• Room cards are Attached in numerical order, in the direction of the Compass of the card it is Attaching to.
• If a PLACE card becomes Attached to another, it becomes a Room of the first.

Spell-Song cards

SPELL-SONG cards are free to Move into play without being Acknowledged or purchased. Having no PILE to call their own, SPELL-SONG cards are played from the HAND or ACTION PILE, before being lost back into the Deck.

Story cards

STORY cards represent the growth of your hero. The more STORY cards you have, the more you can do in the game.

The Play Area

Unlike many tabletop games, there is no board or character sheet used to progress through the story. Instead, Spell Saga make use of a Play Area, which is set up at the beginning of each game. This Play Area will continually be added to as more cards are Drawn from the DECK.

The Play Area is composed of various card PILES. Each PILE has a specific function that represents a part of the game (such as the ARMOR PILE representing how much damage a HERO can handle before dying).

Figure caption: "In the figure to the right, we can see the outline of an entire game of Spell Saga. The PILES found in the shaded area are considered within the Play Area of the game." The figure labels the piles STORY PILE, PLACE PILE, ITEM PILE, HERO PILE, SOURCE PILE, ACTION PILE, DECK and ARMOR PILE.

Four Standard Card Piles

The Play Area has many Card Piles throughout the game. Four of these are made up of the cards you choose to put into them.

Hero Pile

All HERO cards Moved into play will be kept in the HERO PILE, and each will be represented by HERO TOKENS in the PLACE PILE.

There is a limit to the amount of HERO cards allowed in play at any given time, and this is known as the HERO LIMIT, which is found on the Starting HERO card.

Item Pile

Most HERO cards will have an ITEM PILE to the side of them. This is where ITEM cards are Moved into play.

The amount of cards allowed in a Hero card's ITEM PILE is listed on each HERO card as their ITEM LIMIT. ITEM PILES are not shared between HERO cards, but ITEM cards be Moved from one ITEM PILE to another once per turn.

When a HERO reaches their ITEM LIMIT more cards can be added by getting rid of their old ITEMS at any time.

Place Pile

The PLACE PILE represents the places you will travel in the world of Spell Saga, as well as the people you will meet. PLACE cards are kept in a circle within the PLACE PILE, and new PLACE cards are Moved into this circle anywhere the Player wishes. The exception to this rule is ROOM cards, which are Attached to one another in numerical order, in the direction of the compass upon the card.

FOLK cards have no PILE of their own, and are kept in the PLACE PILE, as they represent the people met while Visiting each PLACE.

If a FOLK card is Acknowledged, it is Moved to the PLACE you are currently Visiting, and Attached (see more about Attaching below).

Figure caption: "In the figure to the right, the first (6) Starting cards of DECK One: The Highlands have been Set-Up to begin the game. this is how Deck One should begin each & every time."

Story Pile

The Story Pile represents how much The Last Minstrel has grown through his journey. Story cards are moved into this PILE at any time, without having to purchase them. Each STORY card will add a limited benefit to the game until the next STORY card is played. The Amount of cards in this PILE will affect what cards a Player can Acknowledge before purchasing, how much SOURCE a Player can hold at any time, & How much damage the Last Minstrel can take before the game is over.

Three Random Card Piles

There are also three Card PILES considered outside of the PLAY AREA. Each is made of randomly Drawn cards, and none has a specific Card Type that belongs to it.

Figure caption: "In the figure to the right, we can see the outline of an entire game of Spell Saga. The PILES found in the Non-shaded area are considered outside of the Play Area of the game."

Action Pile

Action cards represent random chance in the game of Spell Saga. Any card Drawn into the ACTION PILE is considered an ACTION card. When a card is Acknowledged in this PILE, it can be purchased and Moved into play, with the exception of ENEMY cards.

Enemy card have no PILE of their own, & Attack the HERO PILE when they Drawn into the ACTION PILE. ENEMY cards are never paid for, and are generally only dealt with when they appear in the ACTION PILE.

Armor Pile

ARMOR cards are Drawn whenever a card is Moved into the STORY PILE, they belong in their own PILE below the DECK. This is called the ARMOR PILE, and it is kept (Face-Down). Because of this, a Player will often be unsure which cards are in this PILE. The game is over at the end of any turn where The Last Minstrel has zero cards in their ARMOR PILE.

Source Pile

The SOURCE PILE is considered the bank for the Player. Each turn cards may be Drawn to this PILE, and any cards Moved into the PILE are considered SOURCE cards (these cards are used to purchase other cards). These cards are generally kept (Face-Down) and because of this, a Player will often be unsure which cards are in this PILE.

Quick Notes:

• There is a limit to the amount of cards a Player can Move into their SOURCE PILE, & this is known as the SOURCE LIMIT. This amount will be stated in the Card Rules of the Starting Hero card (Additional HERO cards will allow The Player to have a larger SOURCE PILE).

Moving Cards into Play Area

It is important to know how to purchase cards, as this will be the principle mechanic of Moving cards into play. There are three steps to Moving a card into the Play Area.

Figure caption: "In the figure to the right, both the ITEM card in HAND & the ITEM card in the ACTION PILE have a SOURCE COST of (3). Since the STORY PILE has at least (3) cards in it, both of these ITEM cards are considered Acknowledged, & either one or both could be Moved into the PLAY AREA by Cycling the appropriate amount of cards from the SOURCE PILE. As The Player in this diagram has only (3) cards in their SOURCE PILE, they can only afford (1) of these ITEM cards."

1) See if the card is Acknowledged

Every card will have a SOURCE COST in the upper left corner of the card. This number is used in two different manners; the first is to Acknowledge or Ignore the card.

For each card they hope to Purchase and Move into play, the player must check the card's Source Cost against the amount of cards in their STORY PILE. If the amount of cards in the Story Pile is equal to, or greater than the SOURCE COST of the card, it must be considered Acknowledged. If the player does not have enough card in the STORY PILE to "see it", the card is considered Ignored.

Some cards will have a blank cost, or a strange Card Type, and these will have their own special rules to Purchase or Move them, often found in their Rules Text.

2) Cycle Source Cards

Acknowledged cards are available to be Purchased. This step is completed by looking once again at the SOURCE COST of the card, and removing an amount of cards from the SOURCE PILE equal to that number. These removed cards are put under the DECK (Face-Down) in an important act known as Cycling.

3) Move the card into the correct card PILE

Once the card has been Acknowledged & Purchased, it is ready to be Moved into the correct PILE for its Card Type. It is important to remember that if a Card Type does not have it's own PILE (ENEMY, FOLK) it is not Purchased.

Figure caption: "In the figure to the right, we can see a FOLK card Attached to the PLACE card at the top of the PLACE PILE, as well as two Room cards Attached to the PLACE card at the bottom right of the PLACE PILE."

During the game, cards that are available to be Purchased are found in two different areas each turn: the HAND and the ACTION PILE.

Hand

There is no maximum HAND size, the player may hold as many cards as they like. The HAND represents cards that Drawn from the DECK & not played yet. If a card is in your HAND is Acknowledged, it may be Purchased and Moved into the Play Area at any time.

The HAND is not considered a PILE. IE There is no HAND PILE.

Action Pile

Each turn, cards will be Drawn (Face-Up) into the ACTION PILE. These cards will only be available until the end of any turn. Any cards Acknowledged in this PILE may be Purchased as if they were in your HAND, and Moved into the Play Area.

It is important to remember cards Purchased from the Action Pile are always moved into the Play Area, and never the HAND.

Attaching

In Spell Saga, some cards are not just simply Moved into Play, but are meant to be Attached to other cards. This is represented by two or more cards pushed together at the edges.

The two most common cards that use Attaching are PLACE cards which designate themselves as Rooms of other PLACE cards, and FOLK cards, which Attach themselves to Place cards.

Attached cards do not need to follow one another when Moved, but must follow one another when Cycled.

A Player may choose to keep two or more cards Attached when Moving an Attached card from one PILE of the Play Area to another.

Order of Play

Mandatory Actions

1. Move to an Adjacent Place card
2. (Face-Down) Item cards are Flipped (Face-Up)
3. Read & Follow Rules of Place card
4. Draw (1) card for each Hero
5. Move Drawn card into Hand or Source Pile
6. Draw (1) Action card for each Hero card
7. Acknowledge or Ignore cards in Action Pile
8. Battle Acknowledged Enemy cards

Free Actions

1. Use or Switch Item cards
2. Move cards into Play Area

Turn Structure

Mandatory Steps

Every turn has the same (8) Mandatory Steps, which must be performed by the Player in a specific order.

1) Move to an Adjacent Place Card

Move the HERO token* from one Place Card to an Adjacent PLACE card.

2) Reset ITEM PILE

(Face-Down) cards in the ITEM PILE are flipped (Face-Up).

3) Read & Follow Rules of Place Card

The third step involves reading the rules of the PLACE your HERO is visiting. Rules marked with a ~ before them are mandatory, rules carrying a (&) symbol are to be followed at the player's discretion.

4) Draw (1) card for each HERO

Count the amount of cards in the HERO PILE and Draw that same amount of cards from the DECK (without looking at them).

5) Put Drawn card into HAND or SOURCE PILE

Without looking at the cards Drawn in step (4) the player makes one of two choices: Move the card (Face-Down) into the Source Pile, where it can be used as currency.

or

Move the card (Face-Up) into your HAND, where it can be Acknowledged and Purchased.

6) Draw (1) ACTION card for each HERO

Just like step (4) Count the amount of cards in the HERO PILE and Draw that same amount of cards from the DECK. Then, Move these Drawn cards to the ACTION PILE, where they will be revealed (Face-Up).

7) Acknowledge or Ignore cards in Action Pile

Any cards found in the ACTION PILE must be Acknowledged or Ignored, this is performed by comparing the SOURCE COST of the card against the STORY PILE. Acknowledged cards stay in the ACTION PILE until End of Turn.

8) Battle Acknowledged ENEMY cards

Whenever an ENEMY card is Acknowledged in the ACTION PILE it must be Battled.

In the case of Multiple HERO Tokens, the player can choose to move any or all at the same time. Just remember, each time a place is visited, the eight mandatory steps of Turn Structure must be followed.

Free Steps

In addition to the seven Mandatory Steps that make up a turn, The Player may choose to perform any of the following Free Steps at any given moment, and may do so as many times as they like.

Use ITEM card

At any time during your turn, you may use any and all ITEM cards in the ITEM PILE. The only exception to this rule is if an ENEMY card is Acknowledged in the ACTION PILE.

Purchase & Move cards

At any time during your turn, you may Purchase any amount of Acknowledged cards from HAND and/or ACTION PILE, and Move them into the Play Area.

How to Battle

Figure caption: "In the figure to the right, an ENEMY card with a SOURCE COST of (3) has been found in the ACTION PILE. Since The Player has at least (3) cards in their STORY PILE, the ENEMY card is considered Acknowledged, & must be Battled. Since The Player has an amount of cards greater than the SOURCE COST of this ENEMY card, The Player gets to Attack first."

Because they have no PILE of their own, it is impossible to Purchase an ENEMY card. Therefore, the SOURCE COST they carry is used only to Acknowledge or Ignore them. Battles happen whenever an ENEMY card is Acknowledged in the ACTION PILE. This is the eighth Mandatory Step in a turn.

There are (4) steps to every Battle. The most important thing to remember is the PILES are considered to be in Battle, not the cards. In this way, it is easier to say the HERO PILE and the ACTION PILE are Attacking one another. This may seem an unnecessary description, but it will be important when there is more than one HERO or ENEMY in the Battle.

1) Item Lock

If an ENEMY card is Acknowledged in the ACTION PILE, each HERO card may only use (1) ITEM card until the ENEMY is defeated. This rule is known as Item Lock.

2) Compare Source

In Spell Saga, the entire HERO PILE Attacks the entire ENEMY PILE, which is important to remember if there are multiple HERO or ENEMY cards present. To see which PILE goes first, The Player will compare their SOURCE PILE against the SOURCE COST of the Acknowledged ENEMY card.

If the amount of cards in the SOURCE PILE is equal to or greater than the SOURCE COST of the ENEMY card, the HERO PILE will attack first.

In the event of multiple ENEMY cards, the SOURCE PILE will be compared to the ENEMY card with the highest SOURCE COST.

Figure caption: "In the figure to the right, We see The Player is going to use their ITEM to Attack the ENEMY. If it does not inflict an amount of Damage equal to or greater than the ENEMY card's ARMOR NUMBER, the ENEMY will get a chance to Attack. When the ENEMY Attacks, it uses it's ATTACK NUMBER to subract & Cycle an amount of cards away from the HERO card's ARMOR PILE."

3) Attacks & Armor

Normally both the HERO PILE & ENEMY PILE each get to Attack only once before damage is calculated. But if the HERO PILE Attacks first and for an amount that would defeat the ENEMY card, the ENEMY card loses its chance to Attack.

Enemy Pile

How an ENEMY Attacks: The next step is to read the rules of the ENEMY card, as some cards will add special conditions to the Battle.

When an ENEMY attacks, just look at the ATTACK NUMBER, located on the right of the card. This is the amount of ARMOR cards each HERO will have to CYCLE from their ARMOR PILE.

Quick Notes:

• HERO cards with ARMOR NUMBERS must be Attacked for an amount greater than their ARMOR NUMBER before being Cycled.
• (In other words, any HERO with an ARMOR NUMBER must have this number reduced past zero before it needs to be Cycled).
• When surviving an Attack, Hero cards carrying ARMOR NUMBERS with the phrase "regenerating" are considered to be reset at the beginning of the next Turn as if no Attack occurred.

Hero Pile

To Battle an ENEMY just check your ITEM PILE, as each Spell Saga DECK contains several ITEM cards which allow a HERO to Attack.

ENEMY cards have an ARMOR NUMBER on the bottom of the card, which must be Attacked by an equal or greater Attack Number for the ENEMY to be defeated.

4) Prize or Penalty

Most ENEMY card has a PRIZE & PENALTY. If an ENEMY card is defeated, you will follow the rules for the PRIZE, before moving the ENEMY card from the ACTION PILE to your HAND.

If an ENEMY is not defeated, you will have to follow the rules of the PENALTY, before Cycling the ENEMY (Face-Down) under the DECK.

The Last Rules

The mechanics of Spell Saga are designed to be simple. The only advanced gameplay occurs when a card breaks the rules of this book, or a player uses a combination of cards to do so. Just remember, the two golden rules of Spell Saga is as follows:

1. The rules text of cards are allowed to break the rules of the game.

2. If you manage to use a card that breaks a rule in Spell Saga, that card continues to break the rule until it is Cycled.

Spell Saga is also a game about interpretation. If a player believes they can use a certain combination of cards to manipulate the rules of the game, they are encouraged to do so.

The second column of this page is narrative flavour text ("You are now a traveler in a world that has ended...") and is not transcribed.

Glossary

Acknowledge/Ignore Each card has a number in the top left corner. This is called a SOURCE COST. A card may be purchased by a player for use in the Play Area if the number of cards in the STORY PILE are equal to or greater than the SOURCE NUMBER upon the card. If a card has a higher SOURCE NUMBER than a player has cards in STORY PILE, it is considered "ignored".

Action Card/Action Pile An Action Card is any card in the ACTION PILE, these cards must be (Face-Up) at all times. Acknowledged cards in this PILE may be Purchased and Moved directly into play. ENEMY cards found in this PILE must be Battled once Acknowledged.

Armor Pile/Number The Armor Pile denotes the amount of damage your Hero cards can handle before being Cycled from the Play Area. Some cards have an ARMOR NUMBER instead, and sometimes this Number may be (regenerating), which means any Damage toward them is erased at the End of a Turn.

Attach Some cards have the ability to connect to other cards in the Play Area. These cards often have rules that are activated if Attached to the right card, and may even transform into new cards once Moved.

Band of Heroes When there is more than one HERO card Visiting the same PLACE this is known as a Band of Heroes.

Battle A Mandatory Step whenever an ENEMY card is Acknowledged in the ACTION PILE. A Battle takes place between the HERO PILE & ACTION PILE, never between a HERO & ENEMY.

Cycle The act of Moving a card (face-down) beneath the Deck. Whenever a card leaves play in Spell Saga, it is Cycled (Face-Down) under the deck.

Flip Item cards are often turned (Face-down) to denote usage, and then turned (Face-Up) at the beginning of each Turn.

Mandatory Steps The order of operations that must be performed each turn. Free Steps may be performed or ignored at a player's discretion.

Move The act of putting a card in the Play Area is called Moving.

Pile Specific parts of Play Area where cards with shared types are grouped together.

Play Area Composed of various PILES. Anything not in HAND, DECK, or SOURCE PILE.

Source Source is a magical power used as currency. Each card has a SOURCE NUMBER that must be Acknowledged by having enough cards in STORY PILE. Once a card is considered Acknowledged, it may be purchased by Cycling cards from Source Pile, before Moving it into Play.

Source Limit The amount of cards you may have in the SOURCE PILE, based on the SOURCE LIMITS printed on each HERO card.

Turn During the game, a turn starts when moving any HERO token to a PLACE card within the PLACE PILE. A turn ends when after each Mandatory Action has been performed.

Visiting Each turn begins by Moving to an Adjacent PLACE card. When a HERO token is Moved in such a manner, it is considered to be Visiting the PLACE card.