ChiAxis - Creative Arts Studio
01
Terrus TCG Basic Rules
Basics of your Den
Terrus is a game of city building, attack, defense, and politics.
A) Each player's deck of cards represents the center of their city and the home of their beasts (Shown here as back of Terrus card). All players' homes have the same amount of Vitae, 10. A player's Vitae can be increased by certain effects, and reduced by attacks both military and political. If your Vitae is ever reduced to zero, you lose the game.
B) Each player will begin the game with a special Den card attached to their home in the space directly above. These Den cards represent your alliance with a particular species and offers special bonuses to those Beasts in your city. The Den cards also provide a vital resource early in the game that helps you get started building your city.
02
Beasts in your City
Beasts are the protagonists to your civilization's development. They can be placed into your city during the Day phase when you "Recruit" them by paying a recruit cost and attaching them to an empty space on either your Home, Den, or a Structure in your City.
Beasts have special abilities, costs for purchase at the Market, costs for recruitment, and statistics including Attack, Intelligence, and Defense. See card type BEASTS for more info.
One crucial role for Beasts is the defense of your Home, Den or the Structure they are attached to. As such, you may move Beasts from around your city to provide the most efficient protection. For more info on the mechanics of Battle, go to point 06.
03
Structures that Shape your Civilization
Your city's shape is a maximum grid of 5x5 cards (see shape below of 25 total) with your Home (represented by your deck) in the very center. You may "Build" a Structure by paying its build cost at attaching it to an empty space next to your Home, Den or next to another Structure, keeping in mind the limits of the 5x5 grid. In this way, you can increase the size of your city and the capacity to house Beasts.
As your city grows there are a few rules:
1) You cannot connect cards in the city diagonally. They must be either vertical or horizontal, and can be lined up according to the crystal nodes on Den, Beast and Structure cards found at each of the cardinal directions.
2) You cannot move a Structure without a special ability so be extra sure where you want to build!
See card type STRUCTURES for more info!
04
Bartering at the Market
In all play formats there is a Market where you have to "Barter" for cards to add to your deck. The market cost is designated in the upper-right hand corner of each card where there is a wreath and a number called Fealty. You pay for it by discarding from your hand that many cards or generating value from other sources in your city like Beasts and Structures with special abilities.
In constructed formats, when you Barter for a card at the Market, it goes directly into your hand. In the deck-building format, it goes to your discard pile, which will eventually be shuffled into your deck once it runs out of cards.
05
Forging Items
During your Day phase you may also "Forge" an item from your hand by paying the Forge cost. The item must be attached to a Beast you control. Items can be valuable assets for your Beasts, giving them special abilities, or increasing their statistics.
Items can be transferred from one Beast to another but only once per turn during your Day phase. A Beast can only have one item at a time unless otherwise noted.
See card type ITEMS for more info!
06
Battle for Supremacy and Survival!
A key element of Terrus TCG is the survival of the fittest. Species have banded together to create different societies and many of them have developed bellicose tendencies! As such, you must master the arts of Battle, which includes attacking other cities and defending your city.
When you go to Battle, you may choose any number of Beasts in your city to make up the Army. Then, organize them in a particular order with the first Beast being designated as the Army Leader.
Then, beginning from the top of your opponent's city and moving in a clock-wise direction you will start a skirmish at the most outlying structure on their city grid. Depending on the configuration of their city, this may be their Den, or even their home.
As Battles occur in the Dusk phase of a turn, defending player will be the first to play a Dusk effect or action during a skirmish.
Once all desired effects and actions are taken, the attacking Army will add up their total Attack (ATK) and compare it to the defender's total Defense (DEF), which includes the DEF of each Beast attached to the Structure and the innate DEF of the Structure itself.
Defending player may then choose the order in which Beasts absorb the damage first, with the Structure at the end. Beasts that absorb damage equal to their defense are Buried in the Ravine. If the total ATK of the attacking army is more than the total defense, then the Structure is also Buried.
A Counter-Attack is also calculated with the Defender's Army Attack, dealing damage to the Beasts in the Attacking Army according to the order originally chosen at the start of the Battle.
Once both attack and counter-attack have been calculated in a skirmish, the Defending player may choose to "Fatigue" one Beast in the attacking army. Fatigued Beasts are removed from battle and must wait to return to their controller's city until their controller's next Dawn phase. The attacking player may choose to continue the battle and move on to the next most outlying Structure in the city in a clock-wise direction, beginning another skirmish. If the attacking player chooses to stop the Battle, all of the Beasts in the remaining army are fatigued until their next Dawn phase.
When an army reaches a city's Home, they do damage and reduce the Den's Vitae according to the excess attack over the DEF of the Beasts protecting it. A player's Vitae will be restored to 10 once a new season occurs so don't delay victory!
07
Voting Mechanics
The pen can be just as mighty as the sword! In Terrus there is a Voting mechanic that allows those Beasts of higher intelligence to dominate the game play.
Voting actions and abilities can be found on Beasts, Structures, and Actions, but there is also an Open Vote that can be called each turn at Dusk.
All Voting operates in the same way. At Dusk, a Vote is initiated. Then the opponent has a turn to increase the total Intelligence (INT) in their city. At the next Dawn of the player who called vote, add up the INT of all Beasts in their city and compare it to the total INT of Beasts in the Opponent's city. The Win and Loss consequences are then triggered.
The Open Vote can be initiated by any player during their Dusk phase as long as they have at least one Beast in their city. If the player that called the vote wins, they draw 1. If the player that called the vote loses, they discard 1. Most votes have an inherent risk to failure, although some are more forgiving than others!
08
09
Duels
A Duel is a contest of strength, wits, and/or fortitude between two Beasts. A normal Duel has three rounds based first on STR, then on INT, then on DEF. The winner must win best two out of three. Each round both players will place a face-down card from their hand on the table, then both players count to three together and either reveal (fight) or keep face-down(flight) their card. Fight means they commit the card, Flight means returning the card to their hand. Then both committed players will reveal their card and add the Fealty value to their relevant statistic for that round. Whichever player's has the highest added value wins that round. The committed cards are then placed in their player's discard pile. Once the duel ends, the consequences are triggered. Normally a loser of a Duel is buried, although can be different consequences detailed on the card that initiated the duel.
There are also special Duels that only include one round associated with a particular statistic. This will be designated as a STR Duel, an INT Duel, or a DEF Duel.
Finally there is an "Open Duel" mechanic, which invites participation in a Duel beginning with the next player to the left. The duel operates as a normal duel. If there are no players willing to duel, then there is usually a consequence detailed on the card.
The Path to Victory!
There are numerous ways to win the game, and new conditions will be added as new narratives and mechanics emerge with new sets.
1) Build a full city of 25 cards within the 5x5 grid and survive until your next Dawn phase.
2) Destroy another player's Home by reducing it to zero Vitae during a battle.
