Rules engine

The Character Card Game System

Chosen's identity comes from the way resource strategy, character identity, elemental relationships, and board tactics interlock on a 9x9 battlefield.

1. Circle as team engine

A Circle shares deck, hand, discard, Channel Zone, generated resources, Gate control, and other team possessions. Cards are played by a specific Chosen, so source, position, range, line of sight, and elemental context still matter.

2. Source threshold and Aptitude

To play affinity cards, a source Chosen checks personal Affinity plus Circle Threshold. Aptitude limits how deeply that Chosen can personally execute an affinity without making the affinity native.

3. Multimodal card decisions

Most cards are not single-use tactical buttons. A card can be a played effect, future Channel value, or defensive Offering depending on the moment and card permissions.

4. Relationship-based Offering

Offering is defensive elemental prevention. It has no universal base block: the value depends on elemental relationship, so defensive card choice rewards understanding the board and opponent.

5. Tactical board reality

Movement, range, line of sight, adjacency, Gates, AP/MP, SPD order, forced movement, Contest, Clash, and Crush make battle spatial and cinematic.

6. Story-compatible checks

The same stats, affinities, traits, and elemental identities can support story-mode Element Tests, Moribito trials, scenario obstacles, and solo PvE decisions.

Current core numbers

Rules with enough shape to teach and test.

Constructed deck: 30-card shared Circle deck, normally up to 3 copies per card name.
Tutorial deck: 20-card Circle decks can teach generic actions before full elemental play.
Battlefield: 9x9 grid split into nine 3x3 regions with elemental Gates in matching regions.
Stats: ATK, FORT, RNG, MOB, INT, SPD, and LIFE define combat profile.
Round flow: Yin/Yang phase, Gate Control, refresh AP/MP, Ready Channel cards, draw, then activate by SPD.
Fatigue: If a Circle cannot draw enough cards, it takes fatigue damage assigned among allied Chosen.

System promise

One rules spine for PvP, solo PvE, and campaign play.

The goal is not to maintain a separate tactical game and a separate story game. Chosen uses the same Chosen sheets, modules, cards, affinities, timing, and board language across formats.

Read the rulebook summary →