Perfect Draw

9999 A Card Game Anime Roleplaying Game By Nora Jean Haynes and Iris Cassandra Saintclaire

1 Perfect Draw! is a tabletop role-playing game built on the Powered by the Apocalypse framework. Combining trading card game mechanics with collaborative storytelling, the game looks to create narratives based on card-game toy anime such as Yu-Gi-Oh!, Duel Masters, and CardFight! Vanguard. In these stories, the game itself is an extension of the characters and their struggles. Their fights tell the story of conflicts between each other’s personality and ideals; their decks serve as a reflection of their core beliefs and self. Perfect Draw! uses open-ended card creation, actionoriented moves, and mechanics which centre the characters’ struggles to help create these kinds of impactful conflicts. To play Perfect Draw!, you’ll need a small group of people (3-4 is recommended). Most of these people will act as Players, taking the role of the primary protagonists in the story. Simultaneously, one person will act as the Judge, responsible for controlling the world around the players. For this game, you’ll need something to represent cards; this can be done digitally, by cutting paper into the shape of cards, or any other method that works for you. Additionally, you’ll also want a way to modify and make cards as you go (such as a pen or pencil). Printed or digital versions of rules references and each player’s Playbook are also recommended; these are included later in this book. and Iris Cassandra Saintclaire By Nora Jean Haynes

2 Chapters Chapter 1: Playing the Game Basics of Play Stats Roleplaying a Card Game Anime General Moves Enter a Dangerous Situation Reveal a New Possibility Brandish Your Skill Investigate Your Surroundings Convey Your Ideals Understand Someone’s True Feelings Take a Moment to Recuperate Resolve Baggage Become Vulnerable Overcome Your Weakness How Baggage Works Chapter 2: Card Game Combat How Card Games Work Types of Cards The Player’s Turn Card Combat General Moves Begin Card Game Combat Use Your {Ace} Card Risk Everything to Win Take Control of the Game Decide the Outcome of a Clash Counter Your Opponent’s Play Protect Against a Response Draw the Perfect Card Reflect After a Card Game Keywords The Opponent’s Turn Opponent’s Moves Crib Sheet Running a Card Game Designing an NPC Encounter Player vs. Player Battles Multiplayer Battles Chapter 3: Your Deck & Card Creation Staples Generic Staples Adding Cards to Your Deck Premade Card Creation Custom Card Creation Volatile Card Creation Chapter 4: Character Creation Making Your Character Playbooks The Resolved The Prodigy The Glowing The Rogue The Ally The Spirit The Medium The Destined The Idealist The Turncoat Advancement Chapter 5: Shuffle City An Overview of Shuffle City Card Games in Shuffle City Threats to Shuffle City Notable Locations in Shuffle City People of Shuffle City Chapter 6: Judge’s Handbook Your First Session Resolving Problem Cards Involving Players Outside the Card Game Running Short Campaigns Group Size Special Keywords Replicating Other TCG Effects Starting With Experienced Players Making NPC Encounters Scarier Optional Playbook Staples Modifying Card Games Credits General Moves Crib Sheet Card Combat Moves Crib Sheet Enemy Combat Moves Crib Sheet 4 4 5 6 7 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 22 23 26 28 28 31 33 34 35 36 36 38 39 40 40 42 43 44 48 53 54 56 61 62 64 64 65 66 67 73 81 82 82 86 92 98 104 110 116 122 128 134 140 146 148 148 150 150 157 160 194 194 197 199 200 201 201 206 207 207 208 209 210 Ap. A Ap. B Ap. C

3 How to Read This Book Perfect Draw! contains a set of rules to help guide and play the game; these rules have been designed and tested to encourage stories reminiscent of card game toy anime. However, you’re encouraged to make changes if they suit the game or story you’re playing better than the rules as written! A large portion of the book is dedicated to recommendations and tips for playing the game; you can choose to take them to heart or ignore them depending on what works best for everyone at the table. If you’re a Player, we recommend you read:  Chapter 1: Playing the Game: This chapter covers several core mechanics of the Perfect Draw!, such as the basics of play and the baggage mechanic, as well as several tips on roleplaying card game anime stories.  Chapter 2: Card Game Combat, skipping the The Opponent’s Turn and Running the Game sections: This chapter describes the basics of how the card game combat system works. If you’re familiar with other games that utilise the Powered by the Apocalypse framework, this is where most new rules are likely to be explained.  Optionally, Chapter 3: Your Deck & Card Creation: This chapter describes everything you need to know about making cards in Perfect Draw! Reading this section isn’t strictly required, as your Judge should be able to help you through the process. That said, it can be useful if you want to design your cards in advance and it can also make early sessions easier for the Judge.  Optionally, Chapter 4: Making Your Character: This chapter describes how character creation works in Perfect Draw! This can be a great way to plan your character, but also isn’t strictly necessary to read as you should be making characters at the table with the Judge and the other players. If you’re a Judge, we recommend you read:  The whole book at least once: It’s okay to skim through some less universally relevant sections - such as the premade cards and playbooks - but understanding the rules and system as a whole will help you significantly in running your game. Additionally, knowing where to find certain tools if you need to reference them will help speed up play.  Any section of the book that wasn’t clear on your first readthrough: Advice from the Judge’s Handbook, details of playbooks your players are using, and any rules you don’t feel confident in are generally all worth giving a second look.

4 Basics of Play Perfect Draw! has two primary roles: the Player(s), and the Judge. At the start of the game, players will select Playbooks that define their character by determining initial stats and granting unique abilities. Following that, each player will need to take the time to either make cards using the Card Creation rules in Chapter 3, or select one of the premade decks provided with the playbooks. All Players have access to each of the General Moves and (while in a card game) Card Combat General Moves in addition to abilities gained from their Playbooks. Players take the role of the stories’ heroes, with the power to define how their character acts and affects the world around them. The Judge will act as the world, as well as the nonplayer characters within that world. The Judge is responsible for helping guide the story for the Players; describing what they see as they encounter new situations, facilitating gameplay, and taking the role of any NPCs the Players may interact with. Resolution When a Player describes an action taken by their character that has potential for interesting complications, the Judge may ask them to use a Move. (Players may also suggest to the Judge that they’d like to try and use a Move; the Judge has the final say as to whether it’s necessary.) Moves often require rolls; when a player is asked to roll, they roll 2d6 (two six-sided dice). If a player is asked to “roll +[Something]”, they roll and add the value of the noted attribute. (For instance, if you were asked to roll+Passion, you would roll two six-sided dice, then add the value of your “Passion” stat in your Playbook to the result.) This chapter covers the basic rules of play for Perfect Draw!, as well as details for resolution, baggage, gameplay outside of card game combat, and roleplaying tips. Chapter One Playing The Game

5 Baggage During play, players will often be asked to Take Baggage. In Perfect Draw!, baggage represents the core struggles that your character is dealing with, and has a number of effects. When you take baggage, you describe a problem the player character is experiencing and write it down. Usually, this problem will have something to do with the situation you gained the baggage from, though this doesn’t always have to be true. When you use a move and have any amount of relevant baggage you’ll apply -1 to the roll for each. If you have any amount of relevant serious baggage, you’ll set the value of the roll modifier to -1 instead, ignoring any bonuses the player might have. Finally, when you Resolve Baggage (such as by confronting its source or it no longer being an issue), you’ll gain experience. Card Game Combat When a card game is initiated, both the Player(s) and the Judge follow the rules specified in the Card Game Combat section of this book. As you start the game, if you have any baggage that is relevant to the fight, you gain Advantage. This resource can be used for powerful effects in the middle of the card game. During combat itself, the player may do any of the actions allowed during their turn: this includes drawing a card from their deck, playing a card, playing a staple, and attacking with any warriors they control. Additionally, players may utilise Card Combat General Moves during card games. (They still have access to General Moves, as well.) Players dictate exactly what Card Combat General Moves they use and how they affect the fight itself. On the enemies turn, the Judge uses moves described in the The Opponent’s Turn section of Chapter 2 to represent their plays and how they attempt to win. Stats Characters in Perfect Draw! have three primary stats. These stats help quantify what aspects of life your character excels in and where they may have room for improvement.  Passion: Represents your character’s will and resolve to attain their goals; their energy and determination.  Skill: Represents your character’s intellect and talent regarding both the game and the world beyond that; their ability and proficiency.  Friendship: Represents your character’s empathy and their connections to the world and other people; their caring and social skills. Depending on how high or low each stat is on the player’s character sheet, different moves will be either more or less likely to go well for the player.

6 Roleplaying a Card Game Anime Over the years, card game based toy anime have accumulated a number of tropes. Perfect Draw! is designed to make these tropes easy to play with and lean into. However, games of Perfect Draw! tend to shine best when Players and the Judge lean into these tropes as well. Here are just a couple of tips for roleplaying card game anime-style narratives:  Take the game seriously: This isn’t just a children’s card game; card battles in these stories can easily prove as serious as any life-threatening fight. Depending on the stakes, plot, and event, your characters could easily find themselves braving the risk of injury or death.  Keep the stakes high and personal: Every battle should drive the story forwards and mean something personal to the Player(s) participating in them. There’s no such thing as a throwaway fight; each and every battle should mean something to your character’s arc or the ongoing story.  A card game is more than mechanics: When playing a card game, a character’s deck typically acts as a proxy for their personality or beliefs. Battles shouldn’t just represent a game being played, but also a clash of ideals and willpower. Try and emphasise the stakes the card game while your in the midst of battle!  Play the fool: A good battle of wits is about what you don’t know just as much as what you do. Opponents shouldn’t know the protagonists’ strategies and be completely prepared for them unless there’s a specific reason for it. Likewise, it can be fun as a player to make mistakes based on things that your character doesn’t know, even if you as the player do.  Card games decide everything: From tiny disputes to worldshaking calamities, nearly everything in the story can be solved through card games. This might be an accepted fact of the setting, or perhaps card games just hold some kind of unique power that helps them overcome these threats. In short, there should be a reason why card games are the primary form of conflict resolution in your setting, rather than violence.  Work together with your rivals: Card games can tend to encourage rivalry between different people, and the player characters are no exception. This is a great chance to play off of each other and create interesting stories - don’t shy away from it. With that said, while your characters might not necessarily be friendly with each other, it’s important that they still work together in some fashion when it counts.

7 General Moves General Moves are a set of actions all Players have access to that act as the primary form of resolution within Perfect Draw!. Players aren’t required to say that they are performing a specific move; they just say what they do in character, letting the Judge decide whether a roll of a move is required. It’s okay (and even encouraged) for players to recommend and suggest certain moves; in the case of moves such as Become Vulnerable, Resolve Baggage, and Overcome Your Weakness, these are the most likely ways for these moves to occur. However, it is ultimately up to the Judge to decide whether a move or roll is actually required. If it wouldn’t be interesting or relevant for your character to fail at their action, there’s no need to use any of the moves at all; it simply happens. Otherwise, roll to find out how things go, using whichever move best fits the circumstance. Some moves may ask you to gain baggage. Baggage acts as hurdles or conflicts for your character to overcome; this can be anything from a wounded hand to a crush on someone to being embroiled in a conspiracy. When you gain baggage, define what that baggage is, then add it to your character sheet in the baggage section (or upgrade existing baggage to serious baggage, if appropriate.) Baggage carries both pros (such as acting as a source of gained experience and other resources) and cons (such as impairing relevant rolls). More information on baggage can be found later in this chapter. If a Player makes a general move outside of combat and it is relevant to any baggage, they take -1 to the roll for each relevant piece of baggage (this cannot reduce the overall roll modifier below -1). If the move relates to serious baggage, the roll modifier is instead set to -1, ignoring any bonuses that character might have. Check the end of this book for a crib sheet containing all of the general moves in a two-page spread ready to be printed out and played with at the table. Online copies of this sheet are also availiable for free at itch.io.

8 Using Enter a Dangerous Situation Your Judge will often tell you to roll Enter a Dangerous Situation when your character has done something reckless, or has been put at risk of damage or other consequences from an NPC or event. Some examples of times it would be appropriate include:  You’ve run headfirst into a burning building to try and save someone inside  You’ve been attacked by the lackeys of the mob boss you were trying to track down  In anger, after beating your opponent in a card game, your opponent has destroyed the glass floor you both stood on If your character rolls a 10 or above, you succeed in what you intended and escape unscathed; however, rolling below 10 will result in you being asked to select a complication. Each complication will make more or less sense in different situations - it’s best to consider and discuss with your Judge which option makes the most sense for pushing the story forward. Enter a Dangerous Situation When you do something reckless or are forced into a dangerous situation, state your objective, and roll+Passion. Apply any baggagerelated penalties. On a 10+, you succeed without creating any issues for yourself, protecting yourself and attaining your goal in the process. On a 7-9, you succeed, but at a cost. Select one complication from the list below:  You’re hurt or forced to sacrifice something along the way. Describe how this happens and why it matters in the here and now  You only delay the problem, letting it become worse in the future  You create a new immediate problem in the process On a 6 or less, you fail and suffer for it; gain baggage.

9 You’re hurt or forced to sacrifice something along the way: It generally makes the most sense to select this option when someone or something is in physical danger. Selecting this option could mean anything from wounding your leg to giving up on something your character was aiming to accomplish or protect. These things should generally be less significant than baggage would be, meaning their relevance should primarily be tied to the scene itself and not a wider character arc. They should still represent a real sacrifice; if you’re hurt, it means leaving yourself vulnerable in some way, and if you’ve sacrificed something, it’s gone (at least for now). You only delay the problem, letting it become worse in the future: This option generally makes the most sense when the situation could have consequences you weren’t prepared for. For instance, it may represent finding a way to keep a crumbling caveway open temporarily, or having fought someone off at the cost of having them swear revenge. This means that the problem hasn’t been truly resolved; if it’s relevant, it‘s likely to flare up again in the future. You create a new immediate problem in the process: This option can make for a good fallback in situations where nothing else fits. It represents any miscellaneous mistake or chain of events that happen in the act of your character achieving their goal. This could mean something such as breaking an important nearby object or attracting unwanted attention. It’s important to be wary when using this option to not create problems that would require another Enter a Dangerous Situation roll immediately; the Judge should instead lean on creating more abstract or minor problems. When you roll a 6 or less, you don’t succeed; this generally represents falling short of achieving your goal despite trying your hardest. Whatever you were attempting to accomplish doesn’t occur; your Judge will describe the consequences. The baggage you gain should generally be related to this failure. For instance, if you ran headfirst into a fire, it’s likely that your character was burned or otherwise wounded. If you’ve been attacked by an antagonist’s lackeys, it’s possible you were robbed of your belongings. If the glass floor under your feet collapsed, you may be wounded, or perhaps unscathed but feeling guilt and responsibility over your opponent’s fate after you defeated them.

10 Using Reveal a New Possibility When your Judge tells you to Reveal a New Possibility, this generally represents you helping someone achieve something they couldn’t otherwise. This is thematically similar to the “help” action in other TTRPGs; however, rather than give a benefit to their roll, the Reveal a New Possibility move instead creates or reveals a new option or avenue that was previously unavailable. Mechanically, revealing a new possibility also serves as a way to solve difficult problems through aiding another. While it requires the work of assisting someone else and giving them the spotlight to actually follow through with the action, it can help create new solutions to problems you otherwise couldn’t overcome. Some examples of when it would be appropriate to Reveal a New Possibility are:  A friendly card store owner is having difficulty making ends meet  Another player’s character is trapped in a locked room with no escape  A friend’s most treasured keepsake has gone missing without a trace Depending on whether you roll 10+ or 7-9, either you or the Judge will have the chance to describe the revealed opportunity. In either scenario, you get to describe your character’s actions and how they make this possible. However, if you’re describing the scenario you have the chance to make it as convenient as you like. In comparison, if the Judge is describing it, they have the opportunity to introduce complications into the mix. Either way, this will grant you a solution to the other party’s problem. Reveal a New Possibility When you help someone overcome an issue they couldn’t complete themselves, describe how you help them, and roll+Passion. Apply any baggage-related penalties. On a 10+, you reveal a new opportunity to them. Describe this possibility you create, and how it aids them. On a 7-9, you still reveal a new opportunity to them, however, the Judge describes what this possibility is instead. On a 6 or less, your plan fumbles and gets in the way; gain baggage.

11 When you roll a 6 or less, you fail to find a new possibility; or worse, your plan makes things even more difficult. The baggage gained should typically be related to either the scenario at hand, or how it was fumbled. For instance, if you failed to help your local card store owner, you may have wasted their time and made their financial situation worse. If you couldn’t help a friend escape a locked room, you might feel guilt from not being able to help them. If you couldn’t discover a way to find a friend’s keepsake, you might end up exhausted and drained from searching for too long.

12 Using Brandish Your Skills Your Judge will generally ask you to Brandish your Skills when you’re attempting to use a talent or skill set you’re experienced in to overcome a situation. Remember - if it’s something minor you could do normally, you simply do it without needing to roll. Brandish your Skills should typically be rolled only in circumstances where you are doing exceptionally difficult applications of those skills, dealing with other ongoing stressors, or are otherwise facing complications that even someone of your skill level might have a chance to fail. Some instances where it would be appropriate to roll to Brandish your Skills include:  You’re a skilled hacker trying to decrypt highly classified government data  You’re a skilled dressmaker trying to use your expertise to make disguises, an application you’re unused to  You’re a skilled parkour artist, trying to jump across buildings while also being shot at The best case scenario for this move is succeeding without issue; however, rolling anywhere below a 10 means that some problem will arise. You have the choice of what this complication looks like - which of these options you choose will depend on what makes the most sense for the circumstances: Brandish Your Skills When you use your expertise in difficult circumstances, describe how you make use of your expertise, and roll+Skill. Apply any baggage-related penalties. On a 10+, your skills pull through; you succeed proficiently and without issue. On a 7-9, problems arise; select one complication from the list below. Things don’t work out the way that you intended; describe how  You only delay the problem, letting it become worse in the future  You create a new immediate problem in the process On a 6 or less, you fumble your attempt and make things harder in the process; gain baggage.

13 Things don’t work out the way that you intended, describe how: This option generally makes the most sense when you are trying to do something confusing and difficult. It represents running into a snag in your execution that may make things more difficult than a flawless success; such as finding information that leads you in an unexpected new direction, or disguising yourself in a way that makes you attract attention from passersby while still keeping your identity hidden. You only delay the problem, letting it become worse in the future: This option generally makes the most sense when you’re trying to solve an immediate problem. For example, if you were trying to stop a bomb from exploding, you may have found a way to gain your team more time, but it’s a stopgap measure that only postpones a solution for a later time or for someone else to solve. You create a new immediate problem in the process: This option generally makes the most sense when accomplishing something of risk, but it could also represent inadvertently causing other issues in the wake of your actions. For example, finding the information you might successfully hack into the corporation’s mainframe, but this might attract unwanted attention in the process. If you fail, you’ve fumbled the act of using your skills and made the situation worse in the process. The baggage you gain should be related in some way. For instance, if you were accessing classified data, it may be that the government has traced your location and put you on a watch list. If you made a disguise, you may have used up all your fabric and failed to make anything of use in spite of it. If you were jumping across buildings, you may have tripped and broken your leg in the process.

14 Using Investigate Your Surroundings Your Judge will generally ask you to Investigate your Surroundings when you’re taking the time to try and understand a location, organisation, or other appropriate situation. If answers would be too obvious or take little effort to discover, there’s no need to roll. Here are some examples of times it may be appropriate to investigate your surroundings:  You can’t seem to find a friend amidst a busy mall  You’re trying to investigate a villain’s plot through a series of strange happenings  You’re investigating the root cause of the strange crater in the middle of town Rolling a 7 or above means you’ll be able to ask at least one question - two, if you roll 10 or above. Each of the questions available to ask have a blank area in them (“ ”) which you can use to represent the noun or phrase of your choice. This should be something related to the subject you’re investigating. You get to choose which question(s) you want to ask, with each having different reasons you might want to ask them. Investigate Your Surroundings When you investigate an area or an ongoing situation, describe what you do to uncover this information, and roll+Skill. Apply any baggagerelated penalties. On a 10+, ask two questions from the list below. The Judge answers truthfully. On a 7-9, same as the above, however, only ask one question.  What don’t I understand about ?  What happened at ?  What could we do to stop ?  Why is happening? On a 6 or less, you make a mistake in your investigation; gain baggage.

15 What don’t I understand about ?: Asking what you don’t understand about the situation or location is a safe choice for times where your character has little or no idea as to what’s going on. This is the chance for the Judge to tell you something that helps you understand it better. Some example answers: “Your friend from the local game store was here when the situation occurred” or “The people who did this were very careful, they didn’t seem to want to damage anything as they searched the place.” What happened at ?: This question generally makes the most sense when attempting to trace or reconstruct past events, such as “What happened at this power plant three hours ago?” or “What happened at the coffee shop to make it this messy?” Some example answers: “Your rival Jennifer raided it in an attempt to find something” or “The villainous team set off a blast which disabled all card game devices.” What could we do to stop ?: This question is generally most appropriate when you already understand the general situation, and are trying to ensure that something doesn’t come to pass, happen again, or get worse than it already is. Some example answers: “Blocking the windows and doors would prevent the foes from escaping again” or “Making it to the tower before they do could prevent the portal from opening.” Why is happening?: This question generally makes the most sense when trying to discern the motive behind an event, or understanding the mechanism behind something can’t yet make sense of. Some example answers: “The villainous team are targeting local game stores in an attempt to destabilise the game” or “The portals are powered by the sacrifice of good people; someone ‘virtuous’ must die for one to be opened.” If you fail, you find no useful information in your investigation, make a mistake, or otherwise cause problems for yourself. The baggage gained from this should be related to the investigation in some way. For instance, if you fail to find your friend, you may be out of contact with them for the foreseeable future. If you’re investigating a villain’s plot, you might find yourself distracted with incorrect information. If you were investigating the town’s crater, something important might fall into it and be damaged in the process.

16 Using Convey Your Ideals A Judge will typically tell you to Convey Your Ideals when you’re trying to convince a character to act against their normal behaviour. This move can represent you making a speech, sharing a secret that shifts their understanding, completing a favour to coerce them, or just about anything that could get them to change their mind. It would be appropriate to Convey Your Ideals when:  You need to get past the security guard who’s just doing his job  You’re attempting to convince your allies to do something risky for the sake of good  You want to show your sibling that using card games for evil is wrong No matter whether you roll a 10+ or a 7-9 with this move, you will always have to select at least one complication, frequently two. The appropriate complication will depend on the character and the method you’re using to convince them. Convey Your Ideals When you attempt to convince someone to act against their own ideals or desires, state your convictions, then roll+Friendship. Apply any baggage-related penalties. On a 10+, you’ve successfully made them listen to your words. Select only one complication from the list below. On a 7-9, you can still convince them, but select two complications instead.  You must first show them the value of your convictions in a card game  You need to help them with something before they can do what you ask  While they may be willing to do as you ask, they interpret it in their own manner; the Judge will describe how They ask you to make a compromise for them to agree with you They need time; they won’t help you just yet, but will in the future On a 6 or less, they don’t care or don’t trust you; gain baggage.

17 You must first show them the value of your convictions in a card game: Card games within Perfect Draw are a powerful way to demonstrate one’s convictions in what they believe. Because of this, it can be an effective persuasive tool when used. Generally, this option will make the most sense when your goal is to make someone believe in the value or credibility of an ideal. You need to help them with something before they can do what you ask: This option makes the most sense when a character might have a duty or errand preventing them from aiding you. Your Judge should tell you what you need to do in order to help them; once you’ve achieved that, they’ll follow through. While they may be willing to do as you ask, they interpret it in their own manner; the Judge will describe how: This option generally makes the most sense when you’re trying to change their mind over a moral conviction, or to do something fairly complex. Either way, selecting this option means that the Judge has the opportunity to complicate the results beyond what you were intending. For instance, if you were convincing someone to help defeat a villain, they may do so only to become the new villain in their stead. Similarly, if you were convincing someone to break the law in order to topple a corrupt corporation, they might be convinced that this branch was actually the problem, not the corporation as a whole. They ask you to make a compromise for them to agree with you: This option generally makes the most sense when the person you’re trying to convince is significant to the story. In this scenario, the Judge will present you with two options; either accepting that the character is unwilling to do as you ask, or having to make a compromise of some kind in order to make them cooperate. The scale of the sacrifice required for the compromise will generally be balanced with what you’re seeking to get out of this character. They need time; they won’t help you just yet, but will in the future: Finally, this option generally makes the most sense when you’re trying to convince someone to change their ways in general. These changes typically don’t happen all at once, but as a slow realisation over time, even if it proves inconvenient for the players. If you fail your roll, you’re unable to convince them; perhaps they don’t care, they’re too stubborn, your argument was unconvincing or enraged them, or something else. The baggage you take should be related to the person you were trying to convince or the ideals you were attempting to convince them of. If you were trying to sweet-talk a security guard, you may have simply made them alert their higher-ups. If you were trying to get your allies to accept a risky plan, they may have argued back in a way that left you shaken in your convictions. If you wanted to convince your sibling to cease using card games for evil, you may fail and feel depressed for not being able to help someone important to you.

18 Understand Someone’s True Feelings When you empathise with someone to understand their situation and feelings, describe what you do to uncover this information and roll+Friendship. Apply any baggage-related penalties. On a 10+, ask two questions from the list below. The Judge answers truthfully. On a 7-9, only ask only one question.  What do you desire most at this moment?  What is similar about you and me?  What can we do to help you?  What reason do you have to do what you’re doing? On a 6 or less, you misunderstand in some way; gain baggage. Using Understand Someone’s True Feelings Your Judge will generally tell you to Understand Someone’s True Feelings when you try and learn something about a person. Generally, this move represents the results of your process, allowing you to answer specific questions about them. It would be appropriate to Understand Someone’s True Feelings when:  A friend appears to be hiding something about a new acquaintance  You’ve captured a villain’s goon and are questioning them about their boss  A card game opponent inadvertently reveals a weakness in their evil convictions As long as you roll at least a 7, you’ll get to ask at least one question; in the best case scenario, you’ll be able to ask two. You get to choose which questions you’d like answered, each being best for certain circumstances. Note that questions are heavily biased towards empathy and caring above all else.

19 What do you desire most at this moment?: This question generally makes the most sense when looking to understand what matters to a character, rather than merely their actions alone. The answer to this question will often give an avenue to understand a character’s motives, and through it a potential way to help them or find a solution to the conflict between you and them. What is similar about you and me?: This question generally makes the most sense when trying to grow closer to someone. The answer to the question will often reveal a way in which you can empathise with them and approach them in a new way. What can we do to help you?: This question generally makes sense when regarding someone who is clearly in some form of distress. The answer to the question will usually be something you can do to alleviate their ongoing or current issues. What reason do you have to do what you’re doing?: This question generally makes the most sense when you’ve caught someone doing something evil, suspicious, or otherwise at odds with what you believe makes sense. The answer to this question will usually reveal the impetus behind their actions, giving you an avenue to further understand them and take action off of that information. If you fail the roll, you make some kind of misunderstanding such as making an unfair or hasty assumption, mishearing a crucial detail, or drawing a false conclusion from behavioural cues. For instance, if your friend appeared to be hiding something, you may have said something insensitive while trying to provoke them into speaking. If you’ve captured a villain’s goon, maybe you fail to realise they’re feeding you false information. If you notice a show of weakness in a villain’s convictions, maybe in questioning it they tempt you to aid them, rather than the reverse.

20 Using Take a Moment to Recuperate Your Judge may ask you to Take a Moment to Recuperate whenever you spend a prolonged time in rest. This will scale differently depending on context and situation - in a campaign taking place over the scale of a tournament this could mean the night between games, while in a campaign centralised within a single day it could mean as little as a half-hour or less of sitting down. Generally it’s appropriate so long as the players are choosing to let time pass while focusing on other actions; in that time, an enemy’s plot or some other situation could advance unimpeded. Players have a couple of options for how they can spend their time recuperating, with each having very different purposes and benefits: Take a Moment To Recuperate When you take a prolonged rest away from any danger or strife, each player may choose one option from the following list to describe how they spend their time.  Define a new baggage. Describe what has changed to make this relevant.  Create a new card and add it to your deck. If you make a new {Ace}, remove a card with {Ace} from your deck.  Remove a card from your deck. This cannot be your {Ace}.  Replace a staple in your staples list with another from the generic staples list. Additionally, each player should take a chance to check their baggage and see if any are no longer relevant. If they have been resolved, remove it and gain experience. (This is not possible for serious baggage.) Then, the Judge may describe in what way an enemy’s plans or another potentially troublesome part of the world has progressed in the meantime, without the players’ intervention. The players may then choose to each pick an option once more, repeating this process any number of times. For each time they repeat, the Judge may describe an additional way that a threat has had the chance to progress without the chance for interference.

21 Define a new baggage. Describe what has changed to make this relevant: While baggage has some downsides, it acts as the primary source of experience in Perfect Draw! as well as a way to define plot points and arcs you may wish to explore. While you can always gain baggage from occurrences in the narrative, you might use this time to define a new detail that’s come to light outside of the main narrative that you’re interested in exploring. Create a new card and add it to your deck: Adding new cards to your deck allows for more variable options and less instances of decking out, though it can also introduce more inconsistency to the deck. If you’ve noticed a hole in your deck and want to resolve it without having to use advantage mid-battle, this is the best time to do it. When doing this, follow the rules for card creation described in Chapter 3 of this rulebook. You may instead also replace your {Ace} with a new {Ace} - this is useful to express a shift in your character’s priorities and behaviours on a more significant level, as expressed through the most important card of your deck. Remove a card from your deck: This is the primary method of removing cards from your deck as a player. If a card has proved extraneous to your strategy, is no longer thematic for your character, or you simply want to keep your deck size low for consistency’s sake, this option provides a means to do so. Replace a staple in your staples list with another from the generic staples list: Similar to removing a card, replacing a staple lets you change out options in the case that your strategy has changed or you wish to try something new. Simply remove one staple from your list and add another in its place. Once each player has selected an option, they may all do so again; this counts as an additional use of the move, and the Judge may advance the state of affairs again as appropriate. It’s possible for the Judge to allow players a number of uses of the moves while there are no events going on in the background. If this is the case, they should state it beforehand so that the players are aware that they won’t incur any antagonistic actions or consequences.

22 Using Resolve Baggage Similar to becoming vulnerable, if you feel at any point during the game a piece of baggage is no longer applicable to your character, you can discuss with your Judge whether it’s appropriate and relevant to Resolve Baggage. If they agree, resolve it and mark experience. You’ll also check your baggage at the end of every battle and during rests, so don’t worry about keeping track of this too closely. Resolve Baggage isn’t usable on serious baggage, which can only be resolved using the Overcome Your Weakness move. Resolve Baggage When baggage is no longer relevant because it has been resolved and is no longer an issue, remove it from your character sheet. Mark experience. This is not possible for serious baggage. Using Become Vulnerable At some points in the game it would be appropriate for your character to gain baggage due to an event within the narrative, but nothing asks you specifically to gain that baggage. When this occurs, discuss with your Judge as to whether it’s appropriate for your character to Become Vulnerable; if they agree, add the baggage to your character sheet. Become Vulnerable If you and the Judge agree that your character has done or experienced something that would give them baggage, gain baggage as appropriate.

23 Overcome Your Weakness When you attempt to overcome your weakness so you can push past your own limitations, choose an appropriate baggage from your sheet. Check whether the baggage has fulfilled any of the following conditions: I am facing the source of my baggage head-on Overcoming this baggage is necessary to help someone or something dear to me Someone close to me has put effort into believing in me and helping me overcome this baggage. So long as you have fulfilled one condition for normal baggage, or all three conditions for serious baggage, describe what you do to overcome it; additionally, for serious baggage, describe how this marks a permanent change for your character. Then, choose one of the following benefits. If you resolve serious baggage, gain the serious benefit instead.  Use your newfound strength to overcome the immediate threat: Gain +1 to the next roll you make. Serious: Instead, define a threat. Gain +1 to all your rolls until the threat is resolved. This lasts as long as you are actively confronting the threat.  Confront someone or something otherwise difficult or nighimpossible to face: The Judge defines how this becomes possible, and the conditions of the confrontation. Serious: You may instead create the perfect conditions to confront your target. Describe what these conditions are and the benefits of succeeding in your confrontation.  Get what you want out of the situation: Declare something that your character wants to avert or avoid coming to pass. Note that doing so needs to be possible within the bounds of the fiction, without clashing with characters’ traits or motivations. The chosen situation can no longer happen; the Judge describes how. Serious: Instead, declare something your character wants to happen that is possible in the situation. It happens; the Judge describes how. In addition to the benefit you chose, remove the baggage from your character sheet and mark experience. If you resolve serious baggage, instead you advance (do not remove any experience marks. If you don’t want to take any advancement options immediatly you can choose to advance at a later time instead). 23

24 Using Overcome Your Weakness Unlike most moves in Perfect Draw!, Overcoming Your Weakness is something you may choose to do without the direct input of your Judge. So long as you fulfil the conditions required, you can always use this move. First, your character needs to have baggage they’re looking to overcome. This could be as simple as pushing through your broken leg, or as complicated as facing your abuser headon in battle. This is fairly easy to do for regular baggage, as you only need to fulfil one condition; however, serious baggage requires having all three conditions fulfilled. In exchange, the reward for overcoming serious baggage is more significant, and it serves as the only way to remove serious baggage. Either way, using this move allows you to mark experience and achieve things otherwise inaccessible for your character, so it’s typically worth pursuing where possible while playing. Each condition needs you to fulfil a different requirement in the narrative. The exact way this may play out will vary depending on the nature of the baggage, but you’ll always need to put in the narrative legwork to make overcoming your weakness possible.  I am facing the source of my baggage head on: In the case that your baggage was directly caused by someone, this would mean challenging or being in a position to face that person directly. Otherwise, it may mean something like standing in the same place as what hurt you, or thematically facing your fear.  Overcoming this baggage is necessary to help someone or something dear to me: If you would otherwise be unable to protect someone or something important because of your baggage, then you fulfil this condition. This may mean anything from having to push past a grievous injury to jump in the way of a fight, or needing to give up on your pride to admit you were wrong and grow.  Someone close to me has put effort into believing in me and helping me overcome this baggage: This condition is considered fulfilled as long as someone else (such as a player or NPC) has specifically tried to help you overcome the relevant baggage. This could mean treating a wound, comforting you in a sad moment, or anything else that could assist in dealing with the baggage. They don’t have to be doing it in that exact moment for this to work; as long as someone has done so in the narrative, this condition is considered fulfilled.

25 Once you’ve fulfilled these conditions, you can select one of the three payoffs. If you resolve regular baggage, you receive the first benefit; if you resolve serious baggage, you instead gain the more powerful Serious effect. Each of the payoffs have different reasons you may want to utalise them depending on the scenario:  Use your newfound strength to overcome the immediate threat: Using this payoff generally makes the most sense when you’re using another move in a pivotal moment. For example, if you’re trying to Convey Your Ideals to someone and want to increase your chances of success, you can try to Overcome Your Weakness for a relevant piece of baggage to add an additional +1. If you use the Serious effect of this baggage, you instead define a threat that you’re looking to overcome. You’ll gain +1 so long as you are actively confronting that threat, so it makes sense to use this option on something important to the character.  Confront someone or something otherwise difficult or nighimpossible to face: Using this payoff generally acts as a way to solve a problem. Sometimes certain things or people you want to confront or deal with are out of reach; by using this move you can gain the ability to confront them. Usually the Judge will describe how, often making the circumstances unideal in some way or another. However, if you use the Serious effect, you get to describe it instead. This means you can make the circumstances as perfect as you would like - go all out, this is your big moment.  Get what you want out of the situation: This payoff generally makes the most sense when you’re trying to get something immediate out of the scene and want things to go your way. You declare something you don’t want to happen that isn’t already inevitable, and the Judge will describe how it occurs. This could let you do something like not letting someone leave a room or not letting a guard find you while you sneak into a building. Because it needs to be possible and reasonable, you generally can’t do something that would go against the character’s basic motivations, although you can make those motivations harder to achieve. If you use the Serious effect of this payoff, you can instead state something you want to happen and the Judge describes how it goes. Feel absolutally free to make it as opportune and convinient as you like. Finally, you’ll gain an amount of experience depending on what baggage you resolved. If it was regular baggage, you gain one experience as normal. If it was serious baggage, you gain the ability to advance immediatly. If you don’t have any advancements you want to take for the time being, you may instead choose to advance at an appropriate time later in the campaign.

26 How Baggage Works During Perfect Draw!, you will often be asked to gain baggage. Baggage represents details that matter to a player’s story, and define their interactions with the world and those around them. Baggage can be utilised by players for mechanical and storytelling benefits, and can be resolved to mark experience and further their character’s development. However, baggage also increases the difficulty of performing actions relevant to the baggage. When a character gains baggage, you are allowing that part of the character to become a highlighted aspect of the story, potentially having a substantial impact on the character or the world around them. It is also stating that this is part of the character that may be “resolved” in time. Resolving baggage is the primary method of gaining experience in Perfect Draw!. Gaining Baggage When you’re asked to gain baggage, describe the new detail that has become plot-relevant. This can be something new (gaining an injury, being hunted by an antagonist, etc.), or a detail that you are only now making relevant to the story (a hidden secret, a familial connection to a villain, etc.). Write the baggage on your character sheet, in the baggage section. Baggage can be positive or negative, so long as the baggage is something the character has yet to resolve. For instance, “A headstrong trust for friends” could serve as baggage just as much as “no medication for my illness”, as both could be made relevant within the fiction, such as a villain using that character’s trust to put a friend at risk. If you gain baggage while already carrying baggage of the same nature (such as being wounded while your character already has baggage called “Injured”), the baggage can instead become serious, representing it becoming a continuous issue in the plot. Whether baggage becomes serious, or is instead defined as two separate instances of baggage, should be a conversation between Player and Judge. (For instance, in a story with a lot of physical fights, an injury to the hand and an injury to the foot may be best defined as separate baggage - whereas in a game where this is less common, making the existing baggage serious may be more appropriate.) Baggage helps decide what becomes plot-relevant in the fiction, and players have final control of what baggage they create when gaining baggage. If you have something you’d rather not be spotlighted for your character, or something you’d prefer saved for a later time, it’s best not to make that baggage. Similarly, serious baggage denote details that will become long-term problems and may eventually be resolved in full, so only make baggage serious if you’d like it to define your character for the foreseeable future.

27 Disadvantages of Baggage When you make a roll for a General Move, for each piece of baggage your character has that is relevant to the action, you take a -1 to the roll. This cannot reduce the modifier of a roll below -1. (For instance, if your character normally has a +1 to Friendship, and rolls+Friendship with one piece of relevant baggage, they would instead roll with +0. If they had three pieces of relevant baggage, they would only roll with -1, instead of -2.) When serious baggage is relevant to a roll, you always roll with -1, no matter the amount you would have otherwise rolled with. Benefits of Baggage While baggage can spur complications within the fiction and apply penalties to rolls, they also provide the stakes and relevant factors keeping the story interesting, acting as a source of motivation and determination. When you overcome baggage, you’ll gain experience, or advance if the baggage was serious. Additionally, in battle, players are able to use Advantage gained with relevant baggage to affect the card game itself. Baggage can also act as an indicator to the Judge that you want something in the narrative to come up more. This is an opportunity for your character to have their moment and take the spotlight. Resolving Baggage By default, baggage can be resolved in one of two ways;  Through rendering it moot in the course of the narrative (such as time passing to heal an injury, or losing a crush on someone after a time), represented by the Resolve Baggage move, and by periodic checks whenever players Reflect After Card Game Combat or Take a Prolonged Rest.  Through overcoming and confronting the baggage, as represented by the Overcome your Weakness move. Serious baggage can’t be made moot. Even if isn’t an immediate problem anymore, the feelings and traumas surrounding it should still be ever present. To overcome serious baggage you need to use the Overcome your Weakness move and fulfil all of the conditions. When any of these happen, the player will mark experience or take an advancement as appropriate, and then remove the relevant baggage from their playsheet.

28 In Perfect Draw!, most conflicts are decided by card games; card games serve as the primary form of combat between characters within its settings, rather than swords, guns, or other non-game forms of violence. Chapter Two Card Game Combat How Card Games Work In real life there are a huge number of different trading card games that all have unique mechanics all their own. When playing Perfect Draw! however, we assume that there is only one trading card game or atleast only one that’s important to either the world or your story arc. The way the card game works as described in this chapter is considered an abstraction. In fiction, players might draw many more cards, summon many more warriors, or use card types that don’t exist in this book. However, when we initiate card game combat in Perfect Draw! we use the rules of this chapter to represent that game. Feel free to talk about the fictional card game in whatever way you want! Winning a Card Game Players win a card game by reducing their opponent’s life to zero. The opponent wins if the player’s life is brought to zero instead. A character’s starting life is contingent on the significance of the battle, as detailed in the Starting a Card Game segment later in this chapter. Some card effects may also grant players or NPCs additional ways to win the game - these should be specified on the card itself. If the opponent no longer has any reasonable way to win using their gimmick, the Judge may allow the player battling them to describe how they win from this point forward. Drawing the Game On rare occasions, it’s possible for two or more competitors to win or lose at the card game at the same time. This could be because they both went to 0 life, or because another win condition was reached by both competitors at the same time. When this happens, the game is declared a “Draw”. In a draw, both competitors either need to fulfil anything defined as the stakes of the battle, or neither of them do.

29 Spaces in a Card Game During battle, players will use cards in a number of ways to help overcome their opponents. These are generally represented by physical cards that players will interact with and use during the course of combat. In a card game, there are four primary spaces a card can reside in:  The Deck: A player’s deck is made up of the cards created during character creation, and/or through moves that create a card. Cards in the deck cannot be interacted with until they are drawn, unless another effect explicitly states otherwise. If you draw a card from the deck when your deck is empty, you may shuffle your graveyard into your deck before you draw. When you do this, you lose 1 life.  The Hand: The hand makes up the majority of cards the player can play each turn. Within the fiction of the game, your player characters hold more cards than the Players physically do; this includes cards such as their Staples and cards used within the fiction to Counter your Opponent’s Play. Cards are added to the hand by drawing them from the deck, or by way of card effects.  The Field: When a card is played, it is put onto the field. While on the field, its effects become active, and it may take actions based on its card type. When an invocation is played to the field, it is immediately put into the graveyard.  The Graveyard: When a card is destroyed or discarded, it goes to the graveyard. Cards in the graveyard cannot be interacted with unless an effect states otherwise. Effects can create more spaces for cards to exist beyond these four; the rules for that space should be specified by the appropriate cards. Starting a Card Game When a player or group of players first initiate a card game with an NPC opponent, the players first shuffle their respective decks, then decide together with the Judge whether the battle is Filler, Significant, or a Finale. The significance of the battle defines how much life competitors will have, how many cards players draw at the beginning of the game, how many times NPCs can use response moves (actions that interrupt their opponents’ plays), and what threat moves they can use (narrative actions that increase the stakes of battle).

30 If a battle is Filler, then competitors begin the battle at 2 life and 1 random card from their deck in their hand. NPCs can use a response move once, and lash out against losing once as their threat move. If a battle is Significant, competitors start with 3 life and 2 random cards from their deck in their hand. NPCs can use response moves twice, and can use lash out against losing and reveal your backup plan once each as threat moves. If a battle is a Finale, competitors start with 4 life and 3 random cards from their deck in their hand. NPCs can use response moves three times, can use lash out against losing twice and reveal your back up plan once. Then, decide who takes the first turn. Generally, this will be the competitor who initiated the battle: however, rock-paper-scissors, a coin flip, or anything else is also a valid method of deciding. Finally, resolve how much Advantage the participating players start with. Players gain 1 advantage for each instance of relevant baggage they have to the card game at hand. Before the battle begins, if the player has spent time preparing for this fight, then they can choose to Create a Card following the card creation rules in Chapter 3 and shuffle it into their deck. Ending A Card Game When a card game finishes, any stakes of the fight resolve; for instance, if a character made a deal based on whether they won or lost the game, they are now required to fulfil the appropriate end of the bargain. Then, each player (whether involved or uninvolved in the card game) should check their baggage list. If any baggage has been resolved or is otherwise no longer relevant, resolve it and mark experience. This is not possible for serious baggage. Finally, any players involved in the fight mark experience on their character sheet. Starting Life Starting Cards Response Moves Lashing Out Backup Plans Filler 2 1 1 1 0 Significant 3 2 2 1 1 Finale 4 3 3 2 1

31 Types of Cards In Perfect Draw!, players have a deck made of cards. These cards are represented physically by cards you will create over the course of the game. Cards come in various types that define the way they function. Warrior Cards The most common type of card in Perfect Draw! are Warrior Cards. These cards act as continuous forces on the board, able to attack your enemies and defend you against oncoming threats within the game. They serve a similar role to Monster Cards in Yu-Gi-Oh!, Creature Cards in Magic: The Gathering, and Minions in Hearthstone. A Warrior Card will usually be represented by a living entity such as a person, an animal, or an alien being. However, anything with the ability to reasonably attack, defend, or otherwise exert force upon the world, such as a machine or supernatural force, can be a Warrior Card. Warrior Cards have a “Strength”. There are three levels of strength a Warrior Card can have:  {Weak} A Warrior without any exceptional combat ability beyond what a regular person might possess. Opponents lose no life when taking damage from {Weak} warriors.  {Normal} A Warrior that can stand its own in a fight, with combat abilities far above that of a normal person. Opponents lose 1 life when taking damage from {Normal} warriors.  {Strong} A Warrior with combat abilities surpassing that of an army of normal people. Opponents lose 2 life when taking damage from {Strong} warriors. During the owner of a warrior’s turn, that warrior may choose to attack. (By default, a Warrior Card may only attack once per turn.) If the opponent has no warriors in play, then that opponent can be attacked directly, making them lose life depending on the warrior’s strength. Note that if an opponent controls only items, warriors may still choose to attack that opponent directly; otherwise, they may only target a warrior or item for their attacks. Warriors do not have to attack all at once; cards can be played and effects can be activated in between their attacks. A {Strong} warrior will always defeat a {Normal} warrior if it attacks or is attacked by that warrior, unless stated otherwise by a card’s effect; the same is true for a {Normal} warrior defeating a {Weak} warrior. When a warrior is defeated, it is removed from the field and put into the graveyard. When a warrior attacks another warrior of equal strength, the player rolls Decide the Outcome of a Clash to discover which warrior is defeated.

32 Items Items are similar to Warriors, but cannot attack, and can’t defeat an opposing warrior when they Decide the Outcome of a Clash. Additionally, if only items are on one side of the battlefield, the opposing competitor can still attack the item’s owner directly with warriors. Items represent non-living things that nonetheless have power over the battlefield. Usually, this will mean a literal item, such as a weapon or a pillar of magical power, but an item can also include things such as a place or an idea. As with warriors, Item Cards can be attacked and defeated. If an item is defeated, it is put into the graveyard. Invocations Invocations are cards that don’t create permanent fixtures onto the battlefield. They don’t have a strength rating, and they go to the graveyard immediately upon being played. When you cast an invocation, you may forgo your ability to play a staple this turn to play the invocation in addition to another card. This allows you to play one card of any kind (Warrior, Item, Invocation) alongside that invocation, rather than one card and one staple. You may only do this as many times as you can play a staple this turn (usually only once). Invocations often represent an action being undertaken or a spell being cast, but can represent many things, such as an event or the presence of something supernatural. Staples Staples are a unique type of card that aren’t contained within your deck and cannot be created; instead, your character gains their staples based on their Playbook and a selection from a list of generic staples later in Chapter 3. Staples are generally much weaker than the cards you will make for your deck, but make up a series of generic effects that can help pull your deck together. Warriors created by staples are tokens by default, meaning they are played directly onto the battlefield, with no effects unless otherwise stated. They’re not added to your deck afterwards, and don’t go to the graveyard once destroyed (they are instead removed completely from the game). During the player’s turn, they can play one staple, in addition to their one card per turn. Players can not play the same staple they played the last time they played a staple.

33 The Player’s Turn During the player’s turn, there are various actions they can take: Draw a Card: You can choose to draw a card. This can be done only once per turn. When you would draw a card, you can choose to Draw The Perfect Card instead as described later in this chapter. You do not draw a card if this is the very first turn of the game. If you would draw a card while no cards are in your deck, you may instead shuffle your graveyard into your deck and then draw. When you do this, lose 1 life. Play a Card From Your Hand: You can play a single card from your hand onto the field. This can only be done once per turn. Alternatively, you may instead choose to discard a card from your hand to play an additional staple. Play a Staple or Invocation: You can use a single staple from your staple list. You can not use the same staple you used last time you used a staple. If you have an invocation in hand, you may play that instead of casting your staple for the turn. Attack With Warriors: Each warrior on the turn player’s field may make an attack (you do not have to attack with all of them). If the opponent has no warriors in play, they can be attacked directly; otherwise, one of the warriors or items must be attacked. Items do not prevent direct attacks if only items are on the field. If a warrior attacks a warrior or item that is has less strength than it, it defeats that warrior or item; if they have the same strength, they instead Decide the Outcome of a Clash. When attacking the opponent directly, warriors deal different damage when attacking directly based on their power:  {Normal} warriors deal 1 life worth of damage.  {Strong} warriors deal 2 life worth of damage.  {Weak} warriors do not damage players’ life. Warriors cannot attack during the first turn of the game. Additionally, certain card text may allow additional actions to be used as part of your turn. The details for this should be specified on the card itself.

34 Card Combat General Moves Card Combat General Moves or CCG Moves are moves dedicated for use during combat; all Players involved in a battle have access to them during card game combat. Unlike General Moves, most CCG moves are either used intentionally by the player, or as a mechanical consequence of the game. In combat, the Judge will typically be busy running the NPC opponent, so players should keep track of the CCG moves available to them. Several CCG Moves reference your Tension and your Advantage. These are both mechanics exclusive to Card Game Combat that dictate the emotional and mechanical flow of the battle:  Your Tension is equal to however many “Combat Tension” questions you’ve been able to cross off during this battle. Your Combat Tension questions are in your Playbook.  Your Advantage is a resource used to leverage certain key moments in the card game. You gain it at the start of the fight based on how much baggage you have, and can gain more throughout the fight through the Risk Everything to Win move. Otherwise, CCG Moves act exactly the same as General Moves. Check the end of this book for a crib sheet containing all of the card combat general moves in a twopage spread ready to be printed out and played with at the table. Online copies of this sheet are also availiable for free at itch.io.

35 Using Begin Card Game Combat Before the battle starts, the players and Judge should define the stakes of the battle (what happens when either competitor loses). These should be made clear to the players, even if their characters aren’t aware of it in the fiction. Then, each involved player should check their baggage and gain Advantage for each relevant baggage they have. Players should be considered having “prepared for the fight” as long as they had time to know the fight was coming and didn’t spend it in other ways. Cards added in this way are shuffled into the deck and don’t cost any Advantage. Finally, you should follow the rules laid out in the Starting a Card Game section, including deciding whether the fight is a Filler, Significant, or Finale fight. (A short cheatsheet for this information is included below.) If the battle is just a friendly spar with no real stakes, or irrelevant to the plot (i.e. eliminating minor foes in the preliminary matches of a tournament), it’s recommended that you have a player roll Brandish Your Skills instead of battling. Starting Life Starting Cards Response Moves Lashing Out Backup Plans Filler 2 1 1 1 0 Significant 3 2 2 1 1 Finale 4 3 3 2 1 Begin Card Game Combat When you initiate card game combat with one or more opponents, first define the stakes of the battle for each player; then, check each player’s list of baggage. For each relevant baggage for this battle, that player gains 1 Advantage. Finally, decide on whether the fight is a Filler, Significant, or Finale fight, and decide the order of competitors’ turns. The first competitor then begins their turn. If a player prepared for the fight, they can Create a Card, and shuffle it into their deck before the fight starts. Remember that warriors cannot attack if it is the first turn of the game, and that players do not draw a card if it is the first turn of the game.

36 Play your {Ace} Card When you’re behind in a game and play a card with the {Ace} keyword, describe how this card makes you feel reassured in yourself. Gain 1 Advantage. You can only gain this benefit once per card game. Risk Everything to Win When it looks like you may lose and you put everything on the line to win the battle, do one of the following and roll+your Tension.  Reveal a truth about yourself or the world certain to make your life harder in the future.  Destroy or lose something precious to you that will be difficult, or potentially even impossible, to retrieve or mend.  Create an obstacle by your own hands that will make it difficult to complete your character’s goals.  Put yourself in real danger; defining real and permanent changes to your body, freedom, or personhood. On a 10+, gain baggage and gain 2 Advantage. On a 7-9, gain baggage and gain 1 Advantage instead. On a 6 or less, just gain baggage. Using Play Your {Ace} Card During deck creation, you’ll mark one of your cards as your {Ace}; this is the card in your deck most important (personally or otherwise) to your character. Once during each battle, while you are losing the card game and you play your {Ace} card, you gain a one free advantage. Generally, you should consider yourself behind if an onlooker could reasonably assume you were going to lose. Alternatively, you may have one or more indicators of being behind, such as: lower life total, having a major plan demolished, your opponent having an overwhelming amount of warriors, or something else similar. 36

37 Using Risk Everything to Win Risking Everything to Win is a tool players may use to overcome overwhelming odds in card game combat. So long as it looks like you may lose, you can add a complication in the narrative to tilt the odds in your favour. Depending on your roll, you may gain 2 Advantage, 1 Advantage, or none at all; no matter what, you take baggage. It’s a risky choice, but you can always use the move again and take another complication if you desperately need a way to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. Each of the complications have different effects on the narrative; generally, you should try and pick the one most interesting for the story you’re telling. Reveal a truth about yourself or the world certain to make your life harder in the future: Choosing this generally means revealing a secret about your character or someone they care about. This secret should risk hurting someone close to you or otherwise make your social connections harder to maintain. For instance, you might reveal your character is secretly in love with someone you suspect doesn’t reciprocate, making their friendship uncomfortable in the process; you could reveal that you’ve been a double agent infiltrating the party all along, and even if you like them now, it still means revealing your lie. It’s okay to make something up and retcon it to be true if you feel like it would be appropriate to the story. Destroy or lose something precious to you that will be difficult, or potentially even impossible, to retrieve or mend: Generally, this means removing something already defined in the narrative as important to you; while it may be possible to repair, replace, or mend it, it won’t be easy to do. For instance, you might charge at the foe and accidentally break a locket with the one remaining picture of your older sister in it; you might give up the plot-critical artefact and have an enemy snatch it up in the process; you might have your heirloom duelling equipment damaged and short out after the battle. Create an obstacle by your own hands that will make it difficult to complete your character’s goals: Selecting this option generally means your character has an important goal they’re working towards, but have decided to sacrifice or neglect it in order to win; generally, something that won’t be worked out in the span of this battle alone. For instance, you might hit an alarm in the middle of a prison break, alerting security in the process; alternatively, a brave action may have led to you becoming sick or injured. Put yourself in real danger; defining real and permanent changes to your body, freedom, or personhood: Generally speaking, this option means that your character is putting themselves in harm’s way, losing something in the process. The things this can constitute are vast, but they should always be meaningful and likely permanent. For instance, your character might intentionally walk into an enemy’s trap to get close to them, severely wounding their arm in the process; alternatively, they might sacrifice an important memory to a demon in order to call upon it for aid in battle.

38 Take Control of the Game At any point during card combat, you can spend 1 Advantage to do one of the following actions:  Draw 1 additional card at the beginning of your turn.  Place a card of your choice from your deck at the top of your deck.  Stay at 1 life when you would have lost your last life (you may Risk Everything to Win in response to losing your last life). Using Take Control of the Game Taking control of the game is one of the primary methods of spending Advantage accumulated in battle. Each of the options are fairly simple, but have different reasons you may want to use them. Draw 1 additional card at the beginning of your turn: Choosing this option is smart when you simply need more overall resources on your turn. Place a card of your choice from your deck at the top of your deck: Choosing this option makes sense when you have a card in your deck that could win you the game, and you need the luck to draw it now. Stay at 1 life when you would have lost your last life: Choosing this option generally makes the most sense when you would otherwise lose the battle. You can choose to use the Risk Everything to Win move if you have no Advantage.

39 Decide the Outcome of a Clash When two cards of equal strength battle each other, take a moment to describe what their clash looks like. Roll+your Tension. On a 10+, your card wins the clash. On a 7-9, both cards are of equal strength and neither wins over the other. Decide whether they both win the clash, or if neither do. On a 6 or less, your opponent’s card wins the clash. When a warrior wins the clash, the opposing card is destroyed. When an item wins the clash, it can’t be destroyed in this clash. Players can spend 1 Advantage to raise the result of this roll from 6 or less to 7-9, or from 7-9 to 10+. Using Decide the Outcome of a Clash To keep gameplay and card creation streamlined, Perfect Draw! only has three levels of strength for warrior and item cards; these can represent a vast range of card strength, but this also means there are a number of times when two cards on the field have the exact same value. To resolve this, when two cards of equal strength meet in combat, they clash. The player rolls to decide the outcome of the clash whether it’s their turn or not; if two players are involved, the attacking player should make the roll. In the best case scenario, the roll will be in the player’s favour and destroy the opponent’s card; in the worst case scenario, the attack will backfire in some way, destroying the player’s card instead. Otherwise, it’s possible the player will get the choice to either destroy both or neither; generally, deciding the option can be picked based on what’s most valuable for the player, or what they believe would be most appropriate for the story. Items can never destroy the opposing card in a clash; that means that if a {Normal} warrior attacks a {Normal} item, even if the player rolls a 6 or less, the warrior will not be destroyed. If they instead roll a 7-9, neither of the cards involved in the clash will be destroyed whether they both win or they both lose.

40 Protect Against A Response When your opponent uses a response move, roll+your Tension. On a 10+, you counter the response, allowing you to continue as you planned. On a 7-9, you can choose to spend 1 Advantage to counter the response. On a 6 or less, their response goes through successfully. Counter Your Opponent’s Play When an opponent uses a game action or a card activates an effect, spend 1 Advantage and describe how you attempt to counter the effect. Roll+your Tension. On a 7+, you counter the effect or game action. On a 6 or less, you fail to counter the effect. You cannot attempt to counter the same effect a second time. 40

41 Using Counter Your Opponent’s Play Countering an opponent’s play is one of the most powerful ways to spend Advantage, as long as it’s done at the right time; however, it can also be risky. As long as you roll a 7 or above, the move will allow you to counter the effect or game action your opponent is trying to complete. Some examples of actions you can counter include:  Your opponent playing a card  Your opponent attacking  Your opponent activating the effect of one of their cards If you rolled 6 or less, you’ve failed to counter the effect for one reason or another; you don’t regain any Advantage, and can’t counter that instance of that action again, even if you have the Advantage. Using Protect Against A Response Response moves used by NPCs represent ways the opponent can attempt to counter players’ cards and protect themselves, similar to an antagonistic version of countering an opponent’s play. Whenever they do this, players always have the chance to Protect Against a Response in return. On a 10+, the player may immediately nullify that response and continue with their plays; however, more frequently, the player will either have to spend Advantage to counter it, or be unable to counter it altogether.

42 Draw The Perfect Card When you would draw a card, you can choose to spend 1 Advantage instead. If you do, Create a Card and add it to your hand instead of drawing. This card is added to your deck after the battle, and remains part of it unless removed by other means (such as by the Take a Moment to Recuperate move). So long as you have a card with {Ace} in your deck or graveyard, you can spend 2 Advantage to create a new {Ace} instead. When you do this, remove a card with {Ace} from your deck or graveyard and create a new {Ace}, adding it to your hand. Then, create a new non-{Ace} card and shuffle it into your deck. Using Draw The Perfect Card Perfect Draw! gives players three different ways that they can create cards. Premade Card Creation and Custom Card Creation can both be fairly time consuming processes, so in the heat of battle such as when using the Draw the Perfect Card move, you should generally use the Volatile Card Creation rules instead. This style of card creation is designed to be quick and dirty so you can use the card in battle and then update it during downtime or between sessions. The short version of how Volatile Card Creation works is the player tells the Judge what they want their card to do in the battle, and then the Judge decides whether that seems fair or not. If it seems fine for this card game (and it only needs to be fine for this card game) then it gets drawn as a “Volatile” card and must later be created properly using one of the other card creation types. The rules for Volatile Card Creation are explained in depth in Chapter 3: Creating Cards alongside the rules for Premade and Custom Card Creation.

43 Reflect After A Card Game When you finish card game combat, each player involved in the battle marks experience. Then, each player (whether involved or not) should check their baggage list. If any baggage has been resolved or is otherwise no longer relevant, remove it from the list and mark experience. (This is not possible for serious baggage.) Using Reflect After Card Game Combat The end of card game combat in Perfect Draw! acts as a time to diffuse tension and look back on the time since the last battle (though not necessarily within the fiction). Many players’ abilities refresh once a battle has taken place, and it’s treated as a chance to check each player’s baggage to see if anything has been resolved. Often the battle itself is what has resolved the baggage, but even if that isn’t the case, you can still resolve the baggage and mark experience as normal if appropriate. Players involved in the fight also mark one experience by default, rewarding actively participating in battles.

44 Keywords This section contains a set of Keywords that you might use during your campaign of Perfect Draw!. You can, and are, encouraged to create your own keywords with the Card Creation Rules in Chapter 3; however, these keywords are a set of examples that are used throughout the Premade Cards and Staples in throughout the rest of this book. Keywords, along with a few other pieces of rules text, are marked with {curly brackets}. This denotes additional rules text to the card effect beyond its shorthand, such as what is shown in the example keywords here. Each keyword in this section also includes a description of how you might cost this effect using the Custom Card Creation rules. Keyword Crib Sheet  {Overwork} If a staple has overwork you can’t “Play a Staple or Invocation” next turn. If a card has overwork you can’t “Play a Card from your Hand” next turn.  {Strengthen} When a card is strengthened, {Weak} cards become {Normal}. {Normal} cards become {Strong}. {Strong} cards gain {Overwhelm}.  {Overwhelm} This card always wins clashes.  {Underwhelm} This card always loses clashes.  {Piercer} When this card defeats another card in battle, it deals damage to that cards controller equal to the the piercer value.  {Sniper} When this card deals direct damage to the opponent, it deals damage to that player equal to the the sniper value.  {Teamwork} Cards with teamwork can pair up with eachother and up to one card without teamwork to combine their strengh totals.  {Blocker} Cards with blocker can intercept attacks directed at other cards.  {Followup} You can play an additional card after this one.  {Inconspicuous} Cards with inconspicuous can’t be targeted for attcks unless it is the only possible target.  {Fumble} Describe an action you don’t want the opponent to take. You can counter that action for free until the start of your next turn.  {Pressure} For each instance of pressure, roll as if you had +1 to Tension while this is on the field.

45 Overwork When you play a card from your hand with {Overwork}, you cannot use the “Play a Card from your Hand” turn action next turn. Similarly, if you play a staple with {Overwork}, you use the “Play a Staple or Invocation” turn action next turn. Overwhelm When a warrior or item with {Overwhelm} would Decide the Outcome of a Clash, it always wins. Underwhelm When a warrior or item with {Underwhelm} would Decide the Outcome of a Clash, it always loses. Costing This Effect: Overwork is a hugely detrimental effect normally, but becomes far less of an issue when played on the last turn of the game, before consequences can take effect. Given no unusual circumstances, it may be best to have Overwork count as a card’s significant weakness, and have any effects tied to it count as Inconsistent. Costing This Effect: Underwhelm is a detriment that can be used to represent that a warrior or item is particularly brittle in combat. A {Weak} card with {Underwhelm} will almost always die in combat. Giving a card {Underwhelm} can generally count as the card’s weakness. Strengthened When a warrior or item is {Strengthened}, its strength tier goes up by one (from {Weak} to {Normal}, or {Normal} to {Strong}). If a {Strong} card is {Strengthened}, instead give it {Overwhelm} while it remains {Strengthened} Costing This Effect: Strengthen is a keyword that lets you power up warriors and items; this can be used in various manners, such as buffing your cards (for instance, an Item that {Strengthens} another warrior while it’s on the field), or a payoff to other effects (for instance, “when this attacks the opponent directly, {Strengthen} permanently”). Strengthening isn’t typically too powerful if it only lasts for a turn; however, if the effect is permanent or affects multiple warriors, it may be appropriate to cost it as Powerful for the payoff of an effect. Costing This Effect: Overwhelm as a keyword makes your card punch above its weight in combat, acting as a great way to indicate the card is a little stronger then normal for its strength level. A {Strong} card with {Overwhelm} will win every clash it makes, assuming it isn’t up against another {Strong} card with {Overwhelm}. Generally, a permanent {Overwhelm} effect on a warrior can be costed as Powerful - and then it will be considered Consistent on {Strong} cards.

46 Piercer [x] When this warrior with {Piercer} [x] defeats another warrior or item in battle, it deals [x] damage to that warrior’s controller. Inconspicuous A card with {Inconspicuous} cannot be the target of attacks from opponents’ warriors while there are other possible nonplayer targets. Blocker When another warrior or item is attacked, a warrior or item with {Blocker} can intercept, redirecting the attack to them instead. Teamwork When a warrior with {Teamwork} attacks, it can attack alongside any number of other warriors that also have {Teamwork} and up to one warrior that doesn’t. When in a pool of this kind, two {Weak} warriors attack as if they were a {Normal} warrior, and two {Normal} warriors, four {Weak} warriors, or one {Normal} warrior and two {Weak} warriors can attack as if they were a {Strong} warrior. When attacking together, any attacking based effects (such as {Overwhelm} or {Piercer}) are gained from warriors with {Teamwork}. Warriors that have been a part of a teamwork pool can’t attack or join other teamwork pools. Costing This Effect: Piercer is a keyword that allows for inflicting damage when you defeat a warrior, rather than only when attacking directly. Generally, a card with Piercer can be counted as Powerful for each stage of Piercer it has (1, 2, 3 etc.). It should generally be considered Consistent on any warrior that’s likely to win clashes. Costing This Effect: Teamwork is a useful way to help decks that summon a large number of smaller warriors compete with decks that summon much larger warriors. By including warriors with {Teamwork}, the two cards can work together to take down larger targets. Generally, {Teamwork} can be treated as Powerful, but not Consistent nor Versatile. Sniper [x] When this warrior with {Sniper} [x] attacks a player directly, it deals [x] extra damage. Costing This Effect: Sniper is a keyword that lets your warriors deal extra damage when you attack directly. This makes it useful as a way to make a card feel dangerous and act as a good finisher. Generally, a card with Sniper can be counted as Powerful for each stage of Sniper it has (1, 2, 3, etc), and should be considered Inconsistent, unless it has a way to attack directly. Costing This Effect: Inconspicuous is a great way to help you feel safe that powerful effects won’t be destroyed without warning. You might create an item with {Inconspicuous} because it’s important to your strategy. This effect can generally be treated as Powerful, and possibly Consistent if it creates other targets. Costing This Effect: Blocker allows you to actively control which of your warriors are engaged in combat by your opponents. Cards with {Blocker} can protect the rest of your warriors and items. Generally, a card with {Blocker} and no other effects can be considered Consistent, and possibly Powerful if the warrior is likely to win clashes.

47 Fumble When you {Fumble} an opponent, describe a specific action they could take, a type of card they could play, or a kind of game action they could perform. Once between now and your next turn, If the opponent does as you said, players may Counter Your Opponent’s Play and NPCs may Use a Response Move without spending Advantage or using their limited response moves. Followup When you play a card with {Followup}, you may play an additional card from your hand this turn. Costing This Effect: Fumbling is a way to represent effects like forcing your opponent to discard cards, since they don’t use a physical deck. To do this, players describe the kind of effect, ability, or resource they are depriving their opponent from, and make it more difficult for them to do. Generally, forcing a fumble should be considered Powerful and Versatile, but not Consistent since it can do very little in certain scenarios. Pressure [x] While a card with {Pressure} [x] is on the battlefield, you roll with an additional +[x] whenever you roll+your Tension. Invocations that give {Pressure} [x] may specify how long the effect lasts for. Costing This Effect: Pressure is a unique keyword that interacts with the gameplay mechanics in a way that should normally be avoided. Pressure can be used to represent personal significance to the card’s owner, a particular reputation, or anything else that might give a card a sense of presence beyond the card game itself. In general, {Pressure} can be costed as Powerful and Consistent, but not Versatile. Costing This Effect: Followup is a way to let you play more cards than normal during your turn. It can also eat into your hand size pretty quickly, so a deck taking advantage of it may want several draw effects. Without restrictions, Followup should be cost as Powerful and Versatile, but not Consistent, as it still requires you to use the other cards as normal.

48 The Opponent’s Turn Unlike players, NPCs don’t draw cards and don’t have a hand or staples. Instead, the Judge will use a series of moves on their turn to create effects, based on that NPC’s Deck Gimmick. At the start of the game the NPC will Establish a Plan to Win on their turn, creating a tangible and difficult threat for the players to overcome. After that, on each of the NPCs’ turns, the Judge will use Power Card Moves and Simple Card Moves to put pressure on the player. Additionally, the opponent has a set of moves they can use in order to disrupt the protagonists’ plans known as Response Moves; these can be used to protect the NPC’s plan and prolong the game. Additionally, depending on the significance of the fight, the NPC may have a number of Threat Moves that increase the stakes of the battle of outside the game itself. Any action that a player could take with a card on the field (such as using a once per turn effect or attacking with a warrior) can still be done by NPCs at the appropriate times. The goal of the Judge when using these moves should be to create exciting fights where the players always have the possibility to win, but make sure that when the players do win that the fight feels close. The moves listed below are all intentionally fairly ambiguous, so you can always make more or less optimal decisions to help guide the fight in interesting directions. Establishing a Plan to Win On an NPC’s first turn in a card game combat, the NPC will start by establishing a plan to win. To do this, the NPC will play a card or series of cards that facilitates their gimmick and establishes a tone for the battle. These moves are presented on a roll-on table below. These can be used in a battle you hadn’t planned for the encounter, or if you’re unsure what the enemy could do next. That said, if you suspect the Players are going to battle with a particular NPC, it’s worth following the Designing an NPC Encounter guide later in this chapter, in order to pre-prepare that NPC’s plan to win (among other things). NPC Graveyards Because NPC’s in Perfect Draw! don’t use cards in the same way that players do, they don’t technically have a Graveyard zone. That said, this shouldn’t stop NPCs or players from using effects that reference the NPCs graveyard - just keep in mind if these types of effects are likely to happen ahead of time, and if they are, be sure to note down any cards that would have been sent to that NPCs graveyard during play.

49 Some ways an NPC may establish a plan to win include: 1 Create a Payoff: Play a {Normal} warrior or a {Strong} item that pays off a central play pattern or strategy of the deck; you may give that card a form of protection such as {Overwhelm}, an effect that activates if they are destroyed, or {Inconspicuous}. If their effect would only occur once a turn, the payoff could be: Create a {Normal} warrior, {Fumble} the player, Deal 1 damage to the player. If the effect might happen more than once a turn, the payoff could be: Create a {Weak} warrior, Gain 1 life, {Strengthen} a warrior. Use a Simple Card Move. 2 Create an Impenetrable Threat: Play a {Strong} warrior with up to three protection or power increasing effects such as: {Overwhelm}, Immunity to a card type, {Inconspicuous}, {Blocker}, Some amount of {Piercer} or {Sniper}, or the ability to attack directly. Use a Simple Card Move. 3 Severely Disadvantage the Player: Play an invocation, a {Normal} warrior, or a {Strong} item that makes it difficult for the player to play in a standard manner, such as: Giving all warriors {Underwhelm}, Punishing the opponent if they attack, changing the rules of the card game, or anything else that may mess up the players’ specific game plan. Use a Simple Card Move. 4 Put a Timer on the Game: Play a {Strong} item that will win you the game once X more turns have passed (X is equal to the players starting life total), or that will let you Combo Off in Y more turns (Y is equal to the players’ starting life total -1). (When you combo off, describe a scenario that can only be resolved by a specific type of answer, such as summoning infinite warriors or gaining infinite life. It happens. This should not win the game until the next turn. Be careful to ensure it’s possible for the player to disrupt or get around in some way.) Use two Simple Card Moves.