Card combat system

Nine Worlds runs combat by way of exhaustion rather than elimination. During combat, opposing forces fight to overwhelm each other, exhausting cards that are beaten. Combat is as much a test of endurance as it is martial prowess.

When two players/sides perform combat, the cards involved in the fight are placed together on an area of the table, facing each other. This helps separate active cards from those outside the combat.

To determine which cards are involved, the attacking player(s) first puts their cards forward. The defender(s) then responds by putting forward their defending cards. Once combatants are set, the attacking player chooses whether to fight a skirmish or pose a challenge.

In order to pose a challenge, the attacker(s) must nominate either a creature with the attribute champion or an Avatar to fight the challenge. The defending player(s) can accept or decline the challenge. If accepting, a single champion or Avatar must be nominated. If declining the challenge, a single champion or Avatar must be marked with humility.

A challenge takes place before the main combat. The two cards involved in the duel are placed face-to-face and a combat cycle is performed between them. The winner of the duel is marked with pride.

Combat procedure

The defender(s) chooses to place their cards against the attacking cards. More than one card may defend against an attacking card, but any attacking card left without a defender can then be assigned against a defender. Ganging-up works both ways.

Once all cards are placed in such a way that they can fight, a combat cycle is performed.

A combat cycle involves a single run of calculations. Each grouping of cards is addressed once per cycle. Each card can receive temporary exhaustion during combat, falling into two subsets: fatigue and damage.

• Fatigue is applied when a card attacks. Some cards can attack multiple times within a cycle, each applying fatigue.
• Damage is applied when a card is successfully hit.

If a card receives a combined fatigue and damage total that meets or exceed its health, it is exhausted. The card is turned on its side and removed from combat.

Combat cycles are repeated until one side withdraws or has exhausted all its cards. Challenges are only ever fought once, before main combat.

Combat attack calculation will receive its own article, as it is likely to evolve as it is tested.