A Plain Blow
licence unresolved
Deal 5.
✠ The catalog
Every card, every foe, every affliction — the same data the game runs on, nothing held back. The paintings are a different matter: a file whose licence the tree cannot prove is not published here, and its plate says so.
134 cards
Deal 5.
GUARD 5.
RECOIL 10. Deal 30. WRATH 2. If you already paid VITAE this turn, deal 14 more and gain 1 more WRATH.
Deal 45. STAGGER 3. Lock the next stance of the foe. BACKFIRE ALL — burst 16 for every rung you have ever denied, then the ledger is cleared. FLOW: with 2 spells already resolved this turn, deal 55 more and gain 5 CHARGES.
Deal 16. Inflict POISON 6 for 4 turns. Heal 12.
Apply QUARTER 2 for 2 turns. PLEA 8. CLEANSE 1.
Deal 16. EVENTIDE — with an even number of cards left in your draw pile, deal 14 more and gain 1 Soul.
GUARD 20, then arm RIPOSTE 18 with parry 6.
PURGE this card from the fight. Its FREE line costs you 2 VITAE and mills 2.
GUARD 10. Gain 3 CHARGES.
Deal 12. Gain 5 CHARGES.
RECOIL X of your own choosing, at least 6. Afflict POISON 1 for each 1 VITAE paid. WRATH 4.
Whenever the foe deals you damage it gains BLEED 8. Whenever your GUARD fully blocks its attack it takes 15 damage. Costs 1 die. Attaches to the enemy.
Deal 6. Afflict DOOM 3 — it swells each time the foe acts.
GUARD 12. THORNS 4.
Whenever an affliction on the foe expires or is consumed, gain 1 SOUL and PLEA 4.
Deal 30. PIERCE. RUPTURE ALL: consume every affliction on the foe and detonate. SIPHON 50%.
IMMOLATE 3: burn the 3 lowest cards in your hand, then deal 40 and Heal 22. FALLEN: deal 30 more.
Deal 22. STAGGER 2. Apply BACKFIRE 8 for 3 turns. If the foe drew blood since your last turn, STAGGER 2 more and gain 5 CHARGES.
Deal 11. ECHO. REQUIEM 14: also Deal 12.
IMMOLATE 2: burn the 2 lowest cards in your hand, then deal 26 and gain GUARD 24. FALLEN: draw 2.
The foe's wounds refuse to close: its POISON, BLEED and DOOM no longer lose duration, and its HEAL fails. Costs 1 die. Attaches to the enemy.
Gain 6 SOULS. REAP ALL. 26 damage per Soul spent. SIPHON 50%. PLEA 20.
Inflict BLEED 15 for 3 turns. GUARD 70. Arm RIPOSTE 70 with parry 25. Deal 8 x 5.
PLEA 24. Gain 2 SOULS. In FLOW, after 2 other spells this turn, PLEA 10 more.
At the end of each round in which the foe dealt you no damage, gain BARRIER 12 and THORNS 4 for 2 turns.
Deal 12 × 6. FLAY 6. EXECUTE at 35%: while the foe is that low, this damage is doubled.
Deal 6. RECALL 1.
GUARD 10, then arm RIPOSTE 6 with parry 3.
Deal 24. Apply DOOM 3. FESTER 2: every affliction on the foe gains 2 intensity.
PURGE this card from the fight. Its FREE line bleeds you for 3.
Heal 8. Draw 2. CLEANSE 1.
MILL 4. Draw 2. Conjure a Cinder into your hand.
GUARD 14. Gain THORNS 6 for 2 turns.
Deal 8. CHAIN 4 — your next hit lands for 4 more.
GUARD 12. Inflict BLEED 4 for 3 turns.
Deal 16. FALLEN: deal 14 more and draw 1.
Deal 20. FORGE a dead X die into a WILD ghost die (no X: +1 Conviction).
Whenever you pay RECOIL, the foe loses twice that much VITAE. Costs 1 die. Attaches to the enemy.
Deal 30. BACKFIRE ALL — burst 9 for every rung you have denied this fight, then the ledger is cleared. FINALE 1 — with at most 1 card left in hand, deal 20 more and gain 4 CHARGES.
Reroll every spent die in your tray. Gain 2 Conviction. Deal 6.
RUPTURE 1 affliction. Its remaining damage lands now. Gain 3 SOULS. A matching die adds 1 more Soul.
REAP ALL. 14 damage per Soul spent. SIPHON 50% of the harvest. An X die may power this. Gain 4 SOULS and PLEA 12, and RECOIL 6.
PURGE this card from the fight. Its FREE line costs you 3 VITAE.
PLEA 16. Apply QUARTER 3 for 3 turns. With 3 heart dice spent this fight, HEAL 12.
GUARD 60 (persists). Gain THORNS 30 for 4 turns. FORETELL 3.
GUARD 16 (persists). FORETELL 3.
Deal 24. Apply BACKFIRE 6 for 3 turns. FINALE 1 — with at most 1 card left in hand, deal 16 more and STAGGER 2.
REPLAY your last spell 3 times. TWIN — your next spell this turn resolves its payload twice. RECALL 3 cards from your discard pile. MILL 4. REQUIEM 30: deal 55 more and draw 3.
GUARD 40 (persists). Gain THORNS 20 for 3 turns. Deal 24.
GUARD 22 (persists). FORETELL 3. Draw 2.
REPLAY your last spell 2 times. RECALL 1 card from your discard pile. MILL 3.
PURGE this card from the fight. Its FREE line puts DOOM 2 on you.
Inflict DOOM 5. It grows each time the foe acts. Gain 2 SOULS.
Deal 6. Gain 3 Charges. STAGGER 1.
Deal 7 to the foe 4 times. Gain 4 CHARGES. FLOW — with 2 spells already resolved this turn, deal 14 more and gain 4 CHARGES.
RECOIL 4. Draw 2 and gain 2 Conviction.
Deal 6. Apply MARK 2 for 3 turns. Gain 3 CHARGES.
Deal 7. Apply MARK 3 for 3 turns.
Deal 11. STAGGER 1. Apply BACKFIRE 4 for 3 turns.
Deal 11. RECALL 1 card from your discard pile.
Inflict DOOM 3. It grows each time the foe acts. Gain 1 SOUL.
Deal 8. MILL 3.
Deal 7. Inflict POISON 4 for 3 turns.
Deal 16. The foe's next stance locks and stands revealed. AMBUSH — as your turn's first spell, STAGGER 1 and gain 4 CHARGES.
RECOIL 6. Deal 24. OVERKILL: every 4 VITAE spilled past the kill returns 1 Conviction.
Deal 7. WRATH 1 — every hit you land deals 1 more for the rest of the fight.
PLEA 38. Heal 30. Apply QUARTER 4 for 3 turns. Gain Grace Momentum 2 for 5 turns, and each stack adds 12 percent to the PLEA you deal.
Whenever STAGGER or BACKFIRE denies the foe a rung of its telegraph, gain 2 CHARGES and deal 4 to the foe.
GUARD 12, then arm RIPOSTE 12 with parry 4.
Apply MARK 10 for 5 turns. Deal 40. Gain 9 CHARGES. SENTENCE at 10 — deal 60, consume every MARK stack for 14 damage apiece, STAGGER 3 and draw 3. CONDEMN at 12 wins outright against a lesser foe. An elite demands 24, a boss 40, a unique 60.
GUARD 30 (persists). Gain THORNS 15 for 3 turns. Inflict DOOM 8, growing +1 each time the foe acts.
Inflict DOOM 12. Gain 5 CHARGES. SENTENCE at 12 — RUPTURE every MARK for 8 apiece, STAGGER 2, draw 2. CONDEMN at 14 wins outright against a lesser foe. An elite demands 24, a boss 40, a unique 60.
Deal 3 × 4. Inflict BLEED 4 for 2 turns.
MILL 3. Heal 5. Draw 1.
Deal 9 × 5. Inflict BLEED 10 for 3 turns. FLAY 3.
Deal 13. Apply QUARTER 2 for 2 turns.
MILL 4. Draw 2. REQUIEM 12: GUARD 18.
Deal 7 damage 4 times. Gain 2 SOULS. OVERKILL grants 1 SOUL for every 8 excess VITAE.
REQUIEM: at the end of each round, the foe loses 1 VITAE for every 2 cards in your discard pile. Costs 1 die. Attaches to the enemy.
RECOIL 5. Deal 18. Powered by a dead die it deals 12 more, grants WRATH 1, and costs 4 more VITAE.
Deal 34. AMBUSH — as your turn's first spell, STAGGER 2 and gain 8 CHARGES.
Deal 14. OMEN — stake 2 Conviction on the foe stance up to 2 phases out; on a hit, deal 12 more and STAGGER 1.
GUARD 18. EVENTIDE — with an even number of cards left in your draw pile, also gain THORNS 6 for 3 turns.
Inflict POISON 15 for 4 turns. FESTER 8. PROLONG every affliction on the foe by 3 turns. Deal 20. PIERCE. RUPTURE ALL. SIPHON 50%.
Deal 3 to the foe 4 times. Gain 3 CHARGES.
Deal 45. RECALL 2 cards from your discard pile. TWIN — your next spell this turn resolves its payload twice. REQUIEM 24: Deal 25 more and Draw 2.
BARRIER 12. Draw 1. Take DOOM 2 on yourself.
GUARD 24. Gain THORNS 12 for 3 turns.
GUARD 12. Gain THORNS 6 for 3 turns. Inflict BLEED 6 for 3 turns.
Deal 5 × 4. FLAY 3.
Deal 8. Inflict DOOM 3 for 3 turns. ECHO.
RECOIL 20. Deal 70. WRATH 5. OVERKILL: every 5 VITAE spilled past the kill returns 1 Conviction. FALLEN: deal 30 more and Heal 30.
IMMOLATE 5: burn the 5 lowest cards in your hand, then deal 85 and draw 4. RECALL 2 cards and their FREE lines fire now. REQUIEM 36: deal 60 more and gain WRATH 4.
Deal 20. Flips every BLEED on the foe to POISON and every POISON to BLEED, each 3 harder. Heal 16.
At the end of each round, the foe gains PLEA equal to 3 times the number of Souls you hold. Costs 1 die. Attaches to the enemy.
Apply QUARTER 8 for 4 turns. Gain Grace Momentum 4 for 6 turns, and each stack adds 12 percent to the PLEA you deal. PLEA 70. Heal 30. CLEANSE 3.
Deal 14. PROLONG every affliction on the foe by 2 turns.
Deal 4 damage 3 times. MILL 2.
Afflict DOOM 20. IMMOLATE 4: burn the 4 lowest cards in your hand, then deal 75, Heal 35, draw 3 and gain WRATH 4. Powered by a dead die it deals 55 more and costs 15 more VITAE.
REAP 3. PLEA 18, apply QUARTER 3 for 3 turns, and KINDLE a heart die. With 3 heart dice spent this fight, gain 2 SOULS.
Bank the powering die in your Reserve. PIP 2: every Reserve die ripens. FORETELL 2.
Heal 22. GUARD 36. Gain 3 SOULS. KINDLE a heart die.
Heal 12. Draw 1. KINDLE a mind die. With 3 mind dice spent this fight, CLEANSE 2.
IMMOLATE 2, then Deal 20 and Draw 2.
Deal 14. Apply BACKFIRE 6 for 3 turns. FLOW — with a spell already resolved this turn, deal 8 more and gain 4 CHARGES.
IMMOLATE 3, then Deal 34 and Draw 3. REQUIEM 16: Deal 22 more and Heal 22.
Deal 15. Apply MARK 4 for 3 turns. On a matching die, gain 4 CHARGES.
GUARD 14. MILL 2. Draw 1.
Whenever you pay RECOIL, gain WRATH 1 and deal 6 to the foe.
GUARD 26, then arm RIPOSTE 24 with parry 8.
KINDLE a wild die (it joins your Reserve for this combat). Heal 12. Draw 1.
GUARD 36. Arm RIPOSTE 36 with parry 12. Gain THORNS 15 for 2 turns.
Deal 18. TWIN — your next spell this turn resolves its payload twice.
Deal 10. Apply DOOM 4.
Whenever you RECALL, REPLAY, or TWIN a card, the foe loses 8 VITAE and you MILL 1.
Deal 20. Spend every CHARGE — 1 MARK for every 3 spent, draw 1 for every 4 spent. OMEN — stake 2 Conviction on the foe stance up to 2 phases out; on a hit gain 6 CHARGES and STAGGER 2.
Deal 9. FESTER 1: every affliction on the foe gains 1 intensity.
Deal 8. Gain 1 SOUL.
Deal 14. FORGE a WILD ghost die that plays beside your drafted die, spent for good.
At the end of each round, FESTER 2: every affliction on the foe gains 2 intensity.
RECOIL 30. Deal 90. WRATH 8. OVERKILL: every 3 VITAE spilled past the kill returns 1 Conviction and heals 100 percent of the excess. FALLEN: deal 60 more, gain 3 more WRATH and Heal 40.
RECOIL 3. Deal 9. Afflict DOOM 5 — it swells each time the foe acts.
Deal 20. CHAIN 8 — your next hit lands for 8 more. FLOW — with a spell already resolved this turn, CHAIN 6 more and gain 3 CHARGES.
GUARD 60. Arm RIPOSTE 60 with parry 20. Gain THORNS 20 for 3 turns.
Inflict BLEED 15 for 4 turns. Deal 16 x 6. FLAY 8. EXECUTE 45%: while the foe is that low, this damage is doubled.
PURGE this card from the fight. Its FREE line costs you 2 VITAE.
PLEA 8. Heal 5.
GUARD 8 (persists). FORETELL 2.
Deal 14. RECOIL 5.
Deal 6. Inflict POISON 3 for 4 turns.
RECOIL 6. Deal 5, 4 times. WRATH 3. Powered off-colour it deals 8 more and costs 3 more VITAE.
Deal 8. Inflict POISON 3 for 3 turns.
At the end of each round, inflict DOOM 3 on the foe and gain 2 CHARGES. Costs 1 die. Attaches to the enemy.
78 foes · 24 portraits published under an attribution licence
level inormal
It only watches — whatever it does next, it has watched you do first.
hp 38
level isimple
It is all appetite and no argument — it simply chews toward you.
hp 23
level iisimple
It repeats its last argument on a loop — cold, toothy, and rehearsed.
hp 28
level iinormal
A creature of pure mourning. It acts on feeling, not calculation.
hp 46
level iiinormal
It goes for your footing first — everything it does is leverage.
hp 54
level iiinormal
Grief moves it more than hunger — the sea returned the feeling parts.
hp 54
level ivnormal
It leads with feeling — the grudge does the talking.
hp 62
level vnormal
It calculates its hunger — every request is a trap already sprung.
hp 70
level vinormal
It does not attack so much as incubate — the danger is the countdown.
hp 78
level vielite
He answers everything with the cleaver — force is his entire rhetoric.
hp 109
level viboss
A grievance with a crown — he answers everything with feeling first, and the feeling is old.
hp 160
level viielite
She works on the feelings first — the bargain is already half-made in your chest.
hp 120

level viiiboss
He answers every motion with a jamb — where you would step, a threshold has already been installed.
hp 220
level viiielite
A cold calculator of crossings. Only at the end does the pole swing on feeling.
hp 132
level ixnormal
It measures and portends — every knock is a calculation about your ending.
hp 102
level xunique
It grieves what it knows — the prophecy hurts it more than you can.
hp 260
level xinormal
It begs with a raised fist — the asking and the taking are one motion.
hp 118
level xiinormal
It consults before it strikes — three small gods, all of them owed.
hp 126

level xiiboss
It files before it strikes — by the time the blow lands, your counter is already catalogued under errata.
hp 220
level xiinormal
It fights the way it cries: continuously, and at you.
hp 126

level xiiinormal
It wants a grip, then a vein — deny it the first and it never reaches the second.
hp 134
level xiiinormal
It moves on pure feeling — stopping, it fears, would finish the erasing.
hp 134
level xivelite
The cane is a metronome — he strikes on beats you have not learned yet.
hp 199
level xivnormal
It remembers being winged — the fury is all forward.
hp 142

level xivnormal
She grieves at you until the water agrees — pity is the current she pulls with.
hp 142

level xvnormal
It holds the roof the way it holds a grudge. Deny it the third line, or the gallery closes.
hp 150

level xvnormal
It counts the rungs before it counts your ribs. The ninth always gives.
hp 150

level xvnormal
The fee comes first and the fist explains it — pay attention to the hand that is not open.
hp 150
level xvnormal
It counts your errors through whichever eye you fail to watch.
hp 150
level xvielite
It stands its ground because it IS its ground — the curse assembles one word per skull.
hp 221

level xvinormal
He buys positions, not fights — every round you spend is a debt he is already reselling.
hp 158
level xvielite
It thinks in loose threads — and every thread it loses, it takes from something else.
hp 221

level xviboss
He argues in your grammar — every stance you take, he has already taken it better, and returned it used.
hp 270

level xvielite
He works to a wage-clock only he can hear — interrupt the shift and the pick answers.
hp 221

level xvinormal
It strikes, hangs, and waits — the hooks are its pantry and its patience is stocked.
hp 158
level xviielite
Pure study moves it — the flesh was a distraction it graded and discarded.
hp 232

level xviielite
The contract is already signed — the knife is only the delivery, and it is punctual.
hp 232

level xviinormal
It strikes once and trusts the current to cover the second — deny the current its cover.
hp 166

level xviielite
It breathes a warning before it breathes worse. The cloud says stop, then says nothing at all.
hp 232
level xviiiboss
The verdict is felt before it is reasoned — the red court rules from the chest.
hp 330

level xviiiboss
He weighs before he rules — every stance you take goes on the scale, and the scale is his.
hp 350

level xviiinormal
It closes the case before you finish reading it — object to the stamp, not just the blow.
hp 174

level xviiinormal
It reads your stroke before you finish it — change the rhythm or match its price.
hp 174
level xixelite
The armor swings on muscle memory — the oath does the aiming.
hp 255

level xixnormal
He prices the match before you've made it — refuse the appraisal, not just the fee.
hp 182

level xixnormal
It does not chase — it waits at the bottom for the current to bring you to it. Break the pull before it seats.
hp 182

level xixnormal
It copies your every motion into triplicate before it answers — refuse the form, not just the blow.
hp 182

level xxnormal
It reads every angle of the claim before it reads you — refuse the file, not just the figure.
hp 190
level xxnormal
It throws itself forward — its will is elsewhere, holding the leash.
hp 190

level xxelite
She mourns you before you've earned it — refuse the grief before it becomes a current.
hp 266
level xxielite
Everything she does is affection, scaled wrong — the choosing came from the heart.
hp 277

level xxielite
He fights like a promise that's owed, not earned — refuse the debt, not just the blow.
hp 277
level xxiielite
It feeds on wanting — the whole fight is an appeal to your appetite.
hp 288

level xxiiboss
He reads the crossing like a ledger — every stance you take is an entry, and entries get audited.
hp 350
level xxiiielite
Coils first, questions never — it swallows counterarguments whole.
hp 300
level xxivelite
It could fly and chooses to crawl — everything it does is a pointed refusal.
hp 311

level xxivboss
He rules before he fights — every stance you take is a motion he has already denied.
hp 490
level xxvboss
A cellar-thing of pure muscle — the courtesy is over.
hp 500
level xxviboss
Every move a reasoned counter — the web was drafted before you arrived.
hp 360
level xxviielite
What remains of it is the part that says no — force, distilled.
hp 344
level xxviiiboss
Cold administration — every strike is a decree, countersigned.
hp 540
level xxixelite
Courtesy is the weapon — the feelings are real, which is the trap.
hp 367
level xxxelite
Two minds, one patient argument — they disagree only about which of them loves you less.
hp 378
level xxxielite
The same metronome, colder — the river taught him new beats.
hp 389
level xxxivelite
The tally continues without a reason — cold arithmetic, self-sustaining.
hp 423
level xxxvielite
A plague with posture — it spreads by main force now.
hp 445
level xxxviiielite
It thinks in shapes language was built to avoid.
hp 468
level xlelite
A furnace with a genealogy — everything he does is a hammer blow.
hp 490
level xliielite
It administers rather than rages — the contract is the cage.
hp 512
level xlivboss
Grief that learned sorcery — every curse arrives still weeping.
hp 670
level xlvboss
The two voices agree now — consensus, it turns out, was the threat.
hp 700
level xlviboss
A fire gone white with age — it burns the way glaciers move: entirely.
hp 950
level xlviiboss
The smoking mirror calculates — it shows you the you that already lost.
hp 630
level xlviiiboss
Appetite promoted past restraint — the violence is administrative.
hp 860
level xlixunique
It is not cruel. It is punctual, and it has already read your schedule.
hp 1010
level lboss
Each fly is a small opinion. Together they are policy.
hp 880
level lunique
It feels everything it never got to be — the grief predates the griever.
hp 1200
level cxunique
It cannot be read from inside any system you carry. Every tell is consistent. None is complete.
hp 2210
29 effects
CLEANSE Type buff · Category special · Tier 0 · Duration permanent · Stacking none
MARK Type buff · Category advantage · Tier 2 · Duration 3 rounds · Stacking none
MARK Type buff · Category damage · Tier 2 · Duration 3 rounds · Stacking none
CLEANSE Type buff · Category stat · Tier 2 · Duration instant · Stacking none
FORETELL Type buff · Category advantage · Tier 2 · Duration 3 rounds · Stacking intensity
GUARD Type buff · Category defense · Tier 2 · Duration 3 rounds · Stacking none
GUARD Type buff · Category defense · Tier 3 · Duration 1 rounds · Stacking none
PLEA Type buff · Category advantage · Tier 3 · Duration 99 rounds · Stacking intensity
MARK Type buff · Category advantage · Tier 2 · Duration 3 rounds · Stacking none
MARK Type buff · Category advantage · Tier 2 · Duration 4 rounds · Stacking none
MARK Type buff · Category advantage · Tier 2 · Duration 4 rounds · Stacking intensity
CLEANSE Type buff · Category stat · Tier 1 · Duration instant · Stacking none
HEAL Type buff · Category regeneration · Tier 2 · Duration 5 rounds · Stacking intensity
GUARD Type buff · Category stat · Tier 2 · Duration 3 rounds · Stacking none
GUARD Type buff · Category defense · Tier 1 · Duration 2 rounds · Stacking none
THORNS Type buff · Category defense · Tier 1 · Duration 2 rounds · Stacking intensity
HEAL Type buff · Category regeneration · Tier 2 · Duration 6 rounds · Stacking intensity
DRAW Type buff · Category advantage · Tier 3 · Duration 2 rounds · Stacking none
DRAW Type buff · Category advantage · Tier 3 · Duration 2 rounds · Stacking none
BACKFIRE Type debuff · Category control · Tier 2 · Duration 2 rounds · Stacking intensity
BLEED Type debuff · Category damage · Tier 2 · Duration 3 rounds · Stacking intensity
DOOM Type debuff · Category damage · Tier 2 · Duration 3 rounds · Stacking intensity
MARK Type debuff · Category stat · Tier 2 · Duration 5 rounds · Stacking none
BLEED Type debuff · Category damage · Tier 1 · Duration 3 rounds · Stacking intensity
MARK Type debuff · Category stat · Tier 1 · Duration 2 rounds · Stacking intensity
BLEED Type debuff · Category damage · Tier 1 · Duration 2 rounds · Stacking intensity
PETRIFY Type debuff · Category control · Tier 3 · Duration 1 rounds · Stacking none
POISON Type debuff · Category damage · Tier 2 · Duration 4 rounds · Stacking intensity
QUARTER Type debuff · Category stat · Tier 2 · Duration 2 rounds · Stacking intensity