Perfect Draw

100 Celebrated Expertise You have a particular expertise that helps you stand out in the world and acts as the lens for how you connect with people. Select one: Fashion, Singing, Streaming, Acting, Magic Tricks, Robotics, When you would Brandish Your Skills in a way related to this expertise, you may always treat the roll as if you rolled 10. Explain how you use your skill in a flashy and powerful way to solve your problem. After using this, you cannot do this again until you complete a battle. Gift Card Before any other player Begins Card Game Combat, you may share with them a card from your deck, and add it to their deck. Before you start a card game, other players can share a card with you. Start with that card on the top of your deck. All cards are returned to their owners’ decks after the game. My Friends are my Power When you Begin Card Game Combat you start with an additional Advantage for each player that has baggage related to the combat. Hopeful Companion So long as you’re together with a friend, when you Enter a Dangerous Situation, you can roll with +Friendship instead of +Passion. Social Butterfly When you meet someone new, you may decide you already know them. Roll+Friendship. Apply any baggage related penalties. On a 10+, you’ve been friends for a long time. Describe something you know about them. On a 7-9, you’ve met before. The Judge will describe something you know about them. On a 6 or less, you have a bad history with them. The Judge will describe how. Gain baggage. Helping Hand When another player uses Overcome Your Weakness and is able to remove baggage because you believed in them and helped them, you gain a non-serious benefit from the list of your choice. Guardian Angel Someone is out to protect you; whether it’s a shady society, an old friend, or something more mysterious. Whenever you get into trouble, you can roll+Friendship. Apply any baggage related penalties. On a 10+, they come to help and grant you a new opportunity. On a 7-9, they come to help, but they’ll be unable to help you again until you next complete a battle. On a 6 or less, they come to help, but instead make the situation more difficult; gain baggage. Abilities Select three abilities from the list here: 100

101 101 Combat Tension Questions Staples Have you lost at least half your life in this card game? Has something or someone you care about more than yourself been put at risk? Has your opponent used your baggage to gain an advantage over you? Create a {Normal} warrior with your choice of {Blocker}, {Teamwork} or {Sniper} 1. Add two staples from the generic staples list. Rename all staples. Cards in my Deck You can add any of the cards in your deck here so you can reference them, even while you’re in the middle of card game combat. Otherwise, feel free to use this space for notes or ideas.

102 Roleplaying The Glowing The most important part of playing The Glowing is an emphasis on your connections with the people around you - you draw friends and enemies together in a way that helps resolve situations with kindness rather than strife. You’re the kind of person to ask if a villain needs a friend rather than hurt them, and whether it feels silly or not, you should play with a belief in the innate goodness of people. Feel free to make up stories of how you’ve already done this in the past and detail the people you know and care about already, but as you play The Glowing more, you should be able to grow a supporting cast of people who you’ve helped in your adventures. With a starting +2 Friendship you’re very skilled at both understanding and persuading people to back down from dangerous ideals; however, your -1 Passion makes it difficult for you to accomplish dangerous tasks on your own. It’s okay to rely on other players and NPCs for your character and let your relationships shine - when someone else steps forward to aid you in your time of need, the connection and history that made this possible means you share the spotlight with them! Some character traits that can fit The Glowing particularly well include being friendly, jovial, fun, empathetic, anxious, and comforting. Take the time when interacting with someone new to try and understand their struggles and how you can help them - and don’t be afraid to rely on other people when you need it. Leaning into these traits can be a great start to roleplaying The Glowing in a memorable and fun way! If you’re having difficulty deciding on what abilities to choose during character creation, Hopeful Companion, My Friends are my Power, and Celebrated Expertise are great starting places. Example Deck Spirit Samurai My big sister, who raised me for years, gave me this deck before she mysteriously disappeared. My Ace was a card I always asked to borrow from her. Gimmick: Advantages whenever you win a clash. Recommended Staples: Magic Weapon, Reconsider Starting Deck Spirit Samurai Masamare Warrior | {Normal} {Ace} Masamare may always roll to Decide the Outcome of a Clash, even against cards it couldn’t otherwise. Whenever a Spirit Samurai wins a clash, draw a card. Spirit Samurai Mubanshee Warrior | {Strong} {Piercer} 2 Spirit Samurai Mubanshee cannot attack the opponent directly. Spirit Samurai Hideyokai Warrior | {Normal} When this is played, draw a card. Crossroads Killing Invocation Target warrior battles another target warrior. (If they would roll to clash, they are both destroyed instead. You may choose two opposing warriors with this effect.) {Strengthen} one of those warriors if they are both owned by different players. Normal Warrior with Ace (2EP) Can always clash (Powerful) Draw card on clash win (Powerful 2, Leans into Gimmick) Strong Warrior (0EP) Piercer 2 (Powerful 2, Leans into gimmick) Can’t attack directly (Weakness) Normal Warrior (2EP) Draw a card (Powerful, Consistent) Invocation (3EP) Warriors clash (Powerful, Versatile 2, Leans into gimmick) Strengthen (Powerful)

103 Running The Glowing When running a game with The Glowing, it’s important to give them the opportunity to make friends with not just amiable people, but also villains and characters who appear bad at first glance. Try to avoid including people who are evil without motive, and try to make sure that the motivations behind their evil acts are possible to empathise with. It’s better to have a villain that is misguided or going too far for their ideals than one with unreasonable darkness plaguing their soul. Some key actions that you should take when running a game for The Glowing include:  Have a villain show weakness in their convictions  Design problems so that they can’t be solved by the players alone  Challenge the things that they may be hiding from people close to them  Show the ways that their presence has changed the world for the better  Reward them for putting others before themself  Hint at the answers to questions they hold dear to them The abilities that The Glowing takes can mean changing your strategies for running them, and some may require input on your part. Here’s some guidance on running the game with those abilities involved: Celebrated Expertise: When a player chooses a Celebrated Expertise you should try and find opportunities for it to matter. Even if it’s something that seems silly, try and create situations where it’s the answer to problems. When working with the player on an expertise that isn’t listed we recommend choosing a creative hobby of some kind - that said, if the player really wants to be especially good at taxes, then by all means let them. Social Butterfly: This ability helps to represent the player’s presence as a friendly and sociable person within the world. Remember that if the player rolls a 7-9, you should still give them something positive and useful that they know about the person they’re interacting with; such as a hobby they have or a detail that hints to the player they’re hiding something. If they roll a 6 or less, feel free to describe something that makes the situation more difficult, or a reason that they dislike the player. Gift Card: This ability lets players avoid one of the main costs to making cards in Perfect Draw! by allowing them to keep temporary cards in their deck if those cards are made by another player. It can be worthwhile planning enemy encounters to incentivize using another player’s card, such as through a gimmick countered by another player’s deck - especially when that combination of players cooperating would be notably thematic or impactful. Note that a lot of players can tend to design cards which reference traits of their cards not shared by others’ decks; we recommend being very lenient with this. If a player’s card reads “Fish you control gain {Piercer} 1”, and all the warriors in that players deck are fish, when that card is given to another player, it may be worth allowing it to function for that player’s warriors. You can say that the card specified an additional group alongside fish that includes the other player’s warriors, or you could say the player also happened to have a card that lets their cards act as fish. Helping Hand: This ability encourages The Glowing to focus on helping other players resolve their baggage, backing their allies up in tough situations. Be careful to balance the amount of spotlight you give the Glowing and the other player; The Glowing should be a part of that player’s big moment, but decidedly have less focus compared to the one actually overcoming baggage. Guardian Angel: When working with The Glowing to design their guardian angel, remember that you’re making a major NPC. This character is going to come up a lot over the course of play, and they should not only be fun, but also invested in the world and story almost as much as the players are. If the player ever rolls 6 or less on this move and the guardian angel gets in the way, you should take this as an opportunity to expand on the character, giving The Glowing a chance to interact with them in new ways. Hopeful Companion: This ability lets The Glowing overcome dangerous situations, so long as they’re with a friend. You should let the player define what a friend means to them. My Friends are My Power: Because this ability relies on the number of people with baggage, it can get substantially stronger if your game has a high number of players. Perfect Draw! is generally recommended for 2-3 Players in the first place, but if you have four or more active players, it may be best to impose a maximum of three on this ability.

104 The Rogue You’ve always got a trick up your sleeve and you never leave home without a backup plan. Your mission may seem impossible, but you’re smart - you know you can overcome any challenge that comes your way with expertise. and finesse. Example Archetypes: Card game hitman with years of experience, Charlatan with a few tricks up their sleeve, Hacker who knows government secrets Select one stat and increase its value by one. Name: Pronouns: Hair: Obscuring, Uncannily normal, Suave, Clothes: Average, Sneaky, Protective, Game Tools: Customised, Hidden, Unorthodox, Other: Experience: Once each box has been ticked, advance. Look Passion Skill Friendship 0 2 0 104 Advancement: When you advance, take one of these options:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Increase one of your stats by one Tick the box of the option you picked. You cannot take an option with all boxes ticked. Major Advancement: Once you have selected three advancements, you may also select these options upon advancing instead:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Create a new {Ace} card (You may now gain the benefits of the Play your {Ace} Card move twice per game)  Complete your character’s final goal. Retire your character.

105 Your Struggles:  You used to work for a shady organisation of some kind: why did you leave?  You used to have a partner you were fond of: why haven’t you seen them in a long time?  You know of a treasure few others do. It is guarded by someone: what makes it special?  Gain baggage. Your Friends:  Another player is the target of a mission: why haven’t you completed it? Ask them if they know.  Another player helped you complete a job: how did they do it? Ask them why they helped.  You outsmarted another player, and they owe you something: how? Ask them what they owe you.  You and that player each gain baggage. Deck Archetype: (Suggestions: Swarms of Undead, Draconic Hackers, Sci-Fi Bounty Hunters) Select one reason this deck is important to you:  This deck was assigned to you by a previous benefactor who you no longer work with  Your deck represents your personal view on the world, however harsh it may be  It was designed to counter the strategy of an enemy that you have a long history with  Describe your deck’s gimmick: (Suggestions: Remove effects of opponents’ cards, Powerful toolbelt of cards with niche effects, Control the game by setting traps to disrupt my opponents’ gameplan) Create four cards for your deck. One of these cards is your {Ace}. Describe why your Ace is important to you in particular: Fill in if the baggage is serious. Create Your Deck Answer One Question for Each Section Baggage o o o o o o o o o o o 105

106 Independent Contractor When someone wants you to do something or tries to control you, roll+Skill. Apply any baggage related penalties. On a 10+, you may ask two questions from the following list. On a 7-9, ask one instead. The Judge answers truthfully:  How can I exploit this for my gain in a way they don’t intend?  How much would they be willing to offer to have me cooperate?  How far are they willing to help to make things easier? On a 6 or less, they control the flow of conversation; gain baggage. Thieves’ Tools Whenever you need a tool to help you overcome an obstacle, roll+Skill. Apply any baggage related penalties. On a 7+, you’re well prepared and have the tool on you already. On a 6 or less, your supply of tools has run dry, and you’ll need to purchase more tools to use this move again. The Judge will tell you how you can find more tools. Gain baggage. An Expert’s Insight When you have the time to study an area or person carefully, you may Understand Someone’s True Feelings by rolling with +Skill instead of +Friendship. Sideboard You have a special “side deck” made up of three cards. Make them now. You do not draw from this deck; instead, when you would use the “I know exactly the card for you” option on A Trick Up Your Sleeve, you may choose to swap a card from your hand with one of the cards in your side deck. When you do this, that card you swapped in is now part of your deck. (The card you swapped out remains in your side deck until swapped back in with the same effect.) Counterspell Varient When you Counter your Opponent’s Play, you may add your Skill to the roll as well as your Combat Tension. Additionally, you can spend prep instead of Advantage when you Counter your Opponent’s Play. Extra Prepared When you gain prep from rolling A Trick Up Your Sleeve, gain one additional prep. You always have a set of information, an expertise, or a hunch about any enemy you confront. When you encounter an enemy, roll+Skill. On a 10+, you hold the informational high ground; gain 2 prep. On a 7-9, your information was incomplete; gain only 1 prep. On a 6 or less, your information was false in some way; gain 1 prep, but the Judge describes a way things go wrong. Lose all prep when you encounter a new enemy, or the previous enemy is no longer an immediate threat. You can spend prep in the following ways: But I’ve already set my trap: spend one prep to reveal a trap, stopping the enemy from completing a particular non-card game action; describe what action. I know exactly the card for you: spend one prep to replace one of your generic Staples with another from the generic Staple list. This was all part of the plan: when you roll a 6 or less on a roll, you may spend one prep to make a reroll; describe how your failure was part of your ruse. Abilities A Trick Up Your Sleeve You have “A Trick Up Your Sleeve”. Select two abilities from the list here: 106 (Requires: A Trick Up Your Sleeve) (Requires: A Trick Up Your Sleeve) X

107 Combat Tension Questions Staples Have you lost at least half your life in this card game? Has something or someone you care about more than yourself been put at risk? Has your opponent used your baggage to gain an advantage over you? Target opponent {Fumbles}. Add two staples from the generic staples list. Rename all staples. 107 Cards in my Deck You can add any of the cards in your deck here so you can reference them, even while you’re in the middle of card game combat. Otherwise, feel free to use this space for notes or ideas.

108 Roleplaying The Rogue When playing the Rogue, the number one thing that you should keep in mind is your mission. Whether it’s a duty assigned to you by someone else or something you seek for your own reasons, your goal should be to achieve your mission at any cost. Ideally, this mission should be long-term and difficult; the “Your Struggles” and “Your Friends” sections of your playbook can help give you some suggestions. Try and come up with something that a normal person would consider impossible, such as toppling a corrupt government or accomplishing the heist of the century. If your goal seems very achievable on the face of it, work with your Judge and the other players to raise the stakes - while toppling a small business is relatively easy, it becomes much more intimidating if that small business is the operating front of an underground mafia. Ideally you want to shoot for something that will only be achieved at the very end of your campaign or arc. With a starting +2 Skill, you’ll have little trouble dealing with many of the technical threats that come your way. Your ability to have “A Trick Up Your Sleeve” only furthers this, since encounters will always give you options other characters simply don’t have. Try and lean into how you’ve prepared for the scenario when you encounter them - taking a moment to flash back to the research you did or the hunch you had can be really impactful. Some character traits that can fit The Rogue particularly well include being mysterious, fixated, charismatic, reserved, and intuitive. When interacting with someone, try to prioritise how they can be of use to you, even if this eventually proves to be for the worse - it’s okay to have problems that you’ll need to unlearn later. Leaning into these traits can be a great start to roleplaying The Rogue in a memorable and exciting way! If you’re having difficulty deciding on what abilities to choose during character creation, An Expert’s Insight and Thieves’ Tools are great starting places. Example Deck Ghosts in the Machine This deck was designed for my missions and helps me complete them. My Ace is the one card I’ve kept from my old deck before giving it to my sister. Gimmick: Control the game by setting traps to disrupt my opponents’ gameplan Recommended Staples: Silence, Fireball Starting Deck Spirit Samurai Kojiwraith Warrior | {Weak} {Ace} Whenever you lose a clash, target opponent {Fumbles}. Ghost Program Trojan Item | {Normal} {Inconspicuous} When an opponent plays a card, you can sacrifice this to counter the play of that card. Ghost Program Counterhack Item | {Weak} {Inconspicuous} When an opponent declares an attack, you can sacrifice this card to counter the attack. If you do, they can’t attack this turn. {Followup} Purgatory Code Library Item | {Normal} At the beginning of your turn, draw an extra card. Weak Warrior with Ace (4EP) Force fumble on clash lose (Powerful 2, Versatile 2) Normal Item (3EP) Inconspicuous (Powerful) Counter effect (Powerful, Versatile, Consistent, Leans into Gimmick) Weak Item (3EP) Inconspicuous {Powerful} Counter Attack (Powerful, Consistent, Leans into Gimmick) Followup (Powerful, Versatile) Normal Item (3EP) Draw card each turn (Powerful 2, Consistent)

109 Running The Rogue When running a game with The Rogue, you should always find ways to allow them to interact with their goals. Complicate the plans they already had to get what they wanted, give them risky routes to achieve what otherwise seemed impossible, and incentivise them into collaborating with allies’ objectives and interests by creating connections between their goals and The Rogue’s mission. Take the time to consider what the player wants to do and allow them to be proactive about their plans instead of just responding. Some key actions that you should take when running a game for The Rogue include:  Giving them hard choices between what they want and what others need  Have villains be surprised by the tricks the player pulls out  Challenge their convictions in achieving their mission  Give the player the upper hand whenever they work for it  Let the player hide things from the other characters (not the other players)  Have influential people offer the player aid in exchange for favours The Rogue’s A Trick Up Your Sleeve ability helps depict them as perpetually prepared, even when against foes their player knows nothing about. This means that The Rogue almost always has some amount of preparation when facing a villain, and this is okay and encouraged! Even if the player rolls a 6 or less, despite The Rogue facing a detrimental snag in their plan of some kind, they’ll still have one point of prep to work with. Rather than simply throwing a threat at the player in these situations, try revealing a flaw or incorrect belief within The Rogue’s planning and logic. The other abilities that The Rogue takes can mean changing your strategies for running them, and some may require input on your part. Here’s some guidance on running the game with those abilities involved: Independent Contractor: If a player took this ability, you should make sure that player has the opportunity to use it; lean closer into the villains wanting to control or buy off The Rogue if possible. Note that if the player rolls a 6 or less, the other person controlling the conversation doesn’t mean that The Rogue can’t still pick what to do - it simply indicates that party being able to take away The Rogue’s upper hand in some way, such as by leveraging their baggage. Sideboard: This powerful ability expands on The Rogue’s “A Trick Up Your Sleeve” ability, allowing them to make silver bullets for exactly the moment they need them; this lets them circumvent the downsides of having hyper-specific cards stuck in one’s deck after creating them. This ability also requires an upfront amount of card design, so it’s best to recommend other abilities to players that have difficulty with card creation. An Expert’s Insight: This ability heavily encourages “detective” or “investigator”-esque investigations of people. Try and consider what “having time to study” means within your campaign. A campaign set within a weekend could count it at 30 minutes; comparatively a campaign set over the course of an in-story year could count it at two whole days. Generally, consider the amount of time necessary to study a place or person as half the amount of time the players would need to Take a Prolonged Rest. Counterspell Variant: This ability raises The Rogue’s ability to Counter your Opponent’s Play from a move with inherent risk to something that will almost always be successful. This is okay! Just keep in mind that it may mean your NPCs’ second Establish a Plan to Win actions might occur more often. Extra Prepared: A player that takes this ability is going to get a lot more value out of “A Trick Up Your Sleeve”. It may be worth discussing with the player what in the fiction makes them stand out even more as someone who can take on any situation. Thieves’ Tools: When a player uses this ability, they’ll always be able to find the tool they’re looking for; however, if the player rolls a 6 or less, their stock of tools will run out afterwards, and you’ll need to tell them how they can find more. This should be something that will take some effort, but not a whole adventure. Note that the tool needs to actually help with the task at hand to count.

110 The Ally The people around you seem so focused on card games, but life’s got more to offer than that alone! You’ve got a career, hobbies, friends… so you’ll strike a healthy balance to aid how you can from the sidelines, and follow your heart through it all. Example Archetypes: Teacher responsible for managing these rowdy teens, Local card shop owner, Hobbyist that gets last place every time they play Select one stat and increase its value Name: Pronouns: Hair: Normal, Pretty, Overdone, Clothes: Punk, Mysterious, Unusual, Comfortable, Game Tools: Normal, Unkempt, Classic, Other: Experience: Once each box has been ticked, advance. Look Passion Skill Friendship 0 0 2 110 Advancement: When you advance, take one of these options:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Increase one of your stats by one Tick the box of the option you picked. You cannot take an option with all boxes ticked. Major Advancement: Once you have selected three advancements, you may also select these options upon advancing instead:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Create a new {Ace} card (You may now gain the benefits of the Play your {Ace} Card move twice per game)  Complete your character’s final goal. Retire your character.

111 Your Struggles:  Someone wants to shut down something that matters to you: why, and how can you stop it?  A friend of yours disappeared under strange circumstances: what is your theory on how?  You swore off something important in your past: what was it, and why did you swear it off?  Gain baggage. Your Friends:  You know another player is hiding something from you: why don’t they reveal it? Ask them what.  Another player thinks you could be doing more: what do they see in you? Ask them why they care.  Another player helped you establish yourself: how did they do this? Ask them what they expect from you.  You and that player each gain baggage. Deck Archetype: (Suggestions: Goblin Warband, Mech Fighters Maximum, Heroes of Fantasy Land) Select one reason this deck is important to you:  This deck was either once owned, or gifted to you by a close friend - you’ll always treasure it  You identify and resonate with something simple and aesthetic about your deck  You built it to work well with or against a friend’s deck in multiplayer games  Describe your deck’s gimmick: (Suggestions: Reuse your cards’ effects by returning them to the hand, Universal effects that you take full advantage of, Gaining life and benefiting from high life totals) Create four cards for your deck. One of these cards is your {Ace}. Describe why your Ace is important to you in particular: Fill in if the baggage is serious. Create Your Deck Answer One Question for Each Section Baggage o o o o o o o o o o o 111

112 While card games are an important part of your life, they’re far from everything, and you have dreams and aspirations beyond them alone. Define your life outside of card games: Name a career or aspiration: Name a hobby: Name an important person: When you use a move related to one of these aspects of your life, you can mark it. When you do, you may roll the move with +3, instead of the normal stat. When you spend time focused on the marked section, unmark it. When you Take a Prolonged Rest, you may choose to unmark all marked sections instead of choosing another option. (Suggestions: Gaming, Fashion design, Sports, Writing, Gardening) (Suggestions: Your parent, Your partner, Your younger sibling, Your protege, Your work rival) Darksteel Citadel You own a place that holds importance to the game you all play: maybe it’s a card shop, library, or well stocked basement. Select two benefits. It is mobile: You can bring it with you wherever you go. It is popular: Not only you and your friends frequent there. If you want to find someone related to card games, you’ll find them here eventually. It is entirely your own: No management or other force will ask you to do anything or threaten the shop. It is well stocked: Whenever you need to find something related to card games, you have it in stock. It is comfortable: The location has all the amenities you could possibly need to spend all of your time there. Friend in Distress When you would Enter a Dangerous Situation, you may instead choose to be taken captive if possible. If you do, gain baggage. When you do this, your friends will have the opportunity to save you. After using this move, you cannot do this again until you complete a battle. Symbol of Friendship You have a connection with your allies that means you’re always there for each other. You and your allies can always enter the scene when someone starts a card game. Additionally, you can sense and even communicate simple feelings with each other, even when you’re not together. Trade Binder At any point, you can offer someone to trade them a card. When you do, note their name in one of the slots here: 1: 2: 3: Players with their names listed here can use your gimmick instead of their own when making a card for any reason. Other players can only have one card in their deck using your gimmick. When you create a card, you can use the gimmicks of players or NPCs listed here instead of your own. For each person listed, you can only have one card using their gimmick in your deck. If you offer to trade with someone else and your slots are full, you can remove someone so long as there are no cards in yours or their decks that use each others’ gimmicks. Stronger Together Your allies gain +1 to all rolls made to help you while you’re in battle and they’re not. You gain +1 to all rolls made to help your allies while they’re in battle and you’re not. We Have One Thing You Don’t When you Reveal a New Possibility while your allies are in danger, you may roll+Friendship instead of +Passion. Abilities Normal Everyday Life You have “Normal Everyday Life”. Select two abilities from the list here: 112 X (Suggestions: Teacher, Singer, Lawyer, Engineer, Car racer)

113 Combat Tension Questions Staples Have you lost at least half your life in this card game? Has something or someone you care about more than yourself been put at risk? Has your opponent used your baggage to gain an advantage over you? Target opponent chooses a warrior or item they control and destroys it. Add two staples from the generic staples list. Rename all staples. 113 Cards in my Deck You can add any of the cards in your deck here so you can reference them, even while you’re in the middle of card game combat. Otherwise, feel free to use this space for notes or ideas.

114 Roleplaying The Ally More so than any other playbook, The Ally’s life outside of card games is a central focus of their story, and something you should keep in mind while playing. Due to your Normal Everyday Life ability, you’ll be at your strongest when card games are secondary to your life proper. You should be with the other players more because you like them or they need you rather than just because you all play card games. Take a moment to consider what responsibilities your character might have - if card games aren’t the biggest thing in your life, what is? It’s likely that while other characters are taking villains head-on, you’ll be cheering them on from the sidelines; if that’s the kind of thing you’re looking for, this is the playbook for you. Remember that this can make the times when you do stand up to fight and take things seriously even more impactful, so let those moments be big and exciting. Your starting +2 Friendship makes you very good at understanding people and pushing them onto the right path. This is a great chance to demonstrate how grounded your character is compared to others - representing Friendship moves by giving out homegrown wisdom or seeing pain from a very real perspective can highlight what you do best. Additionally, your ability Normal Everyday Life gives you the opportunity to be wellrounded in ways that other characters aren’t - if you’re a doctor or have a child, then you can always roll fairly well on things related to this fact. Some character traits that can fit The Ally particularly well include being practical, empathetic, wise, authoritative, dependable, and compassionate. It’s likely that you understand things intuitively in a way other people don’t, that you come off as experienced in worldly things - centre this when possible and really let yourself be the rock that holds your community together. Leaning into these traits can be a great start to roleplaying The Ally in a memorable and meaningful way. If you’re having difficulty deciding on what abilities to choose during character creation, We Have One Thing You Don’t and Symbol of Friendship are great starting places. Example Deck Adventuring Party I’m a big fan of Tabletop RPGs, so this deck lets me express my fandom in them. My Ace reminds me of the character I played in my most recent campaign. Gimmick: Reusing cards’ on-play effects by returning them to the hand. Recommended Staples: Salve, Summon Army Starting Deck Level 6 Fighter Warrior | {Normal} {Ace}, {Overwhelm} When this card is played, {Strengthen} all other warriors you control for this turn. When this card dies, return it to your hand. Level 4 Wizard Warrior | {Weak} When this card is played, draw a card. When this card dies, return it to your hand. Level 5 Cleric Warrior | {Weak} When this card is played, gain 1 life. When this card dies, return it to your hand. Level 4 Thief Warrior | {Weak} When this card is played, deal 1 damage to an opponent. When this card dies, return it to your hand. Normal Warrior with Ace (3EP) Overwhelm (Powerful) Strengthen (Powerful) Return to Hand (Powerful, Consistent, Leans into Gimmick) Weak Warrior (3EP) Draw card (Powerful, Consistent) Return to Hand (Powerful, Consistent, Leans into Gimmick) Weak Warrior (3EP) Gain Life (Powerful, Consistent) Return to Hand (Powerful, Consistent, Leans into Gimmick) Weak Warrior (3EP) Deal Damage (Powerful, Consistent) Return to Hand (Powerful, Consistent, Leans into Gimmick)

115 Running The Ally If you have a player using The Ally in the game, then it’s very important for a grounded world outside of card game shenanigans to exist in your world. While demons may be knocking on the players’ doors, you need normal people to exist and play out normal lives in the background. The Ally should be the bridge between these worlds, and you should give them ample opportunity to go back and forth between interacting with each of them. Some key actions that you should take when running a game for The Ally include:  Create over-the-top enemies that need to be shown reality  Present the player with hard choices between their responsibilities and friends  Give characters with real-world problems the player can empathise with  Let big enemies put the players’ livelihood into question and in danger  Corroborate any advice they give to other players; let them be right  Have their hobbies and careers matter to the narrative in unexpected ways The Ally’s Normal Everyday Life ability encourages the player to frequently return to spending time on activities outside of the main narrative; you should give them ample opportunity to do this, even if it means sacrificing time to focus on it. When working with the player to decide on the three parts of defining their life outside of card games, let the player pick absolutely anything they want, so long as a normal person could do it. Ideally, you also want to make sure that these subjects are likely to come up in the narrative - a career as a cargo ship captain isn’t very likely to be important in a campaign set in the desert, for example. The other abilities that The Ally takes can mean changing your strategies for running them, and some may require input on your part. Here’s some guidance on running the game with those abilities involved: Darksteel Citadel: This ability gives the player a really powerful resource and base of operations. Allow The Ally’s player to define whatever they want regarding this space, but note that the benefits they didn’t take are, importantly, things that space will lack - you can use this to cause complications in the story when it would make sense. Try and centre games around this location when possible. Trade Binder: One aspect of The Ally being more grounded then other players is a more realistic relationship to TCGs compared to other players. This ability lets The Ally trade cards with other players as one might in real life, letting them access the gimmicks of other players’ decks. Note that this ability can work with NPCs as well as other players - this is to make the ability more useful in campaigns with less players. If the NPC this skill is used on was never an opponent and never really had a gimmick, you can make one up with the player using this ability, come up with one as is appropriate for the character, or select one from the People of Shuffle City section later in this book. Friend in Distress: The Ally is a playbook that helps from the sidelines more often then fighting head on, so it can be fairly common for them to get compromised by a villain’s plot. This ability lets the player ensure this happens; circumventing an Enter a Dangerous Situation roll, spurring the plot, and giving them an opportunity to gain experience all at once. Note that this ability gives the other players an opportunity to save The Ally; this should be something that is possible to do immediately and pushes the story forward. Symbol of Friendship: This ability lets the players always be at least somewhat aware of each other. Players can “feel” what each other are feeling, meaning they may be able to comment on what happened in another scene while they were away. Additionally, whenever a battle starts, players are always able to join the scene even if they couldn’t otherwise. Feel free to make up whatever justifications you need for this to make sense. We Have One Thing You Don’t: This ability can help The Ally get other players out of danger much more easily. If a player’s taken this ability, it may be worth putting other players in danger more often, giving them more chances to support their friends in a pinch. Stronger Together: This ability encourages players, and especially The Ally, to be more interactive with each other while one of you is battling. You should always let players get creative with ways to help others while in a battle. This could mean directly cheering their friends on, fending off minor villains while one person battles the boss, or anything else that makes sense. When possible, the player using this should highlight primarily how the aid is possible because of the players’ friendship.

116 The Spirit On a fundamental level, you’re not quite like everyone else that inhabits this world - you’re special. Whereas they might be made of flesh and bones, you differ; composed of data, thought, magic, or something else unique from humanity. Example Archetypes: The demon on your shoulder acting as a bad influence, Card game spirit with a valiant mission, Your lost and lonely imaginary friend Select one stat and increase its value by one. Name: Pronouns: Hair: Ethereal hair, No hair, All hair, Clothes: Quirky, None, Unique, Game Tools: Customised, Magic powers, Yourself, Other: Experience: Once each box has been ticked, advance. Look Passion Skill Friendship 2 0 0 116 Advancement: When you advance, take one of these options:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Increase one of your stats by one Tick the box of the option you picked. You cannot take an option with all boxes ticked. Major Advancement: Once you have selected three advancements, you may also select these options upon advancing instead:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Create a new {Ace} card (You may now gain the benefits of the Play your {Ace} Card move twice per game)  Complete your character’s final goal. Retire your character.

117 Your Struggles:  Your old world is gone or inaccessible: what kind of world was this, and what people lived there?  You have forgotten your old self: what is the only memory you have of who you were?  You have a cosmic opposite of the same nature as you: who are they, and why do you hate each other?  Gain baggage. Your Friends:  One of the other players first discovered you: what do they mean to you? Ask them the same thing.  Another player is tied to your origin intrinsically: how do you feel about this? Ask them the same.  Another player helps you feel normal and comforted: how? Ask them why they do this.  You and that player each gain baggage. Deck Archetype: (Suggestions: Cartoon Critters, Datascape Dogs, Angelic Warlords) Select one reason this deck is important to you:  Your deck represents your connection to the card game you play and its origins  Your deck represents your aesthetics and what it is that makes you distinct  Your deck is a warped version of someone else’s deck, changed to better match you  Describe your deck’s gimmick: (Suggestions: Avoid combat by attacking my opponent directly, Gain bonuses for copying my opponents’ plays, Form a multi-card combo that will likely win the game if fulfilled) Create four cards for your deck. One of these cards is your {Ace}. Describe why your Ace is important to you in particular: Fill in if the baggage is serious. Create Your Deck Answer One Question for Each Section Baggage o o o o o o o o o o o 117

118 Multiple I Play... Me! One of the cards in your deck is you or an aspect of you. Create a new card and add it to your deck; this card has {Ace}, and must be either a warrior or item. You can use Play Your {Ace} Card an additional time per game. Once per battle, Whenever this card is destroyed during card game combat for any reason, gain baggage. Born for a Reason Your body or being wasn’t created for the same purpose as a humans body. Select two of the following tools or make something new with your Judge: Shovel, Power Socket, Sword, Gun, GPS, Telephone, Lockpick, Musical Instrument, Rope, , You are always treated as if you have this tool on you, no matter the circumstance. Unreal Presence While you have a body that can interact with the world just like everyone else, you can also choose to take on a more unreal supernatural form that doesn’t interact with the world in the same way as humans. Select 2 benefits: You can’t be hurt. You’re invisible. You can move through physical boundaries. You can switch in and out of this form at any time so long as you’re not in direct danger. My Final Form The version of yourself you show to others has always been a glamour of sorts to keep them comfortable. Select two advantages your true form has that your normal visage does not: Physically Strong, Flight, Extreme Size, Burning Presence, , When you reveal your true form, roll+Passion. Apply any baggage related penalties. On a 10+ choose one. On a 7-9, choose two.  You frighten someone you didn’t intend to.  You can’t return to your normal visage easily.  You break or hurt something important. On a 6 or less, you fail to assume your true form, gain baggage. Unholy Strengh When you Overcome Your Weakness, you may choose two benefits instead of one. On My Father’s Side Select three additional descriptors from the Unusual Origin list. You aren’t human; you might look human to an outside observer, but you’re something else entirely. Describe what that inhuman thing is: This origin grants you understanding of the world and abilities to interact with the world in ways that humans simply can’t. Select three of the following descriptors matching the type of inhuman thing that you are: Whenever you or another player interacts with something new that shares a descriptor with you or is related to one of your descriptors, you may choose to roll+Passion. Apply any baggage related penalties. On a 10+, you may describe the outcome of the encounter. Feel free to make it as convenient as you like. On a 7-9, instead describe one fact about the thing being interacted with, and then the Judge may describe the outcome of the encounter. On a 6 or less, you were wrong in some way and gave incorrect information. Gain baggage. Abilities Unusual Origin You have “Unusual Origin”. Select two abilities from the list here: 118 X Magical Divine High-Tech Cursed Demonic Ancient Aberrant Psychic Natural Alien Dead Imaginary (Requires: Unusual Origin) (Examples: Faerie, Angel, Ghost, Talking Animal)

119 Combat Tension Questions Staples Have you lost at least half your life in this card game? Has something or someone you care about more than yourself been put at risk? Has your opponent used your baggage to gain an advantage over you? Look at the top card of your deck. You may play it or add it to your hand. Add two staples from the generic staples list. Rename all staples. 119 Cards in my Deck You can add any of the cards in your deck here so you can reference them, even while you’re in the middle of card game combat. Otherwise, feel free to use this space for notes or ideas.

120 Roleplaying The Spirit The first thing you need to figure out when you’re playing The Spirit is “what are you?”; the second thing you need to figure out is “what about this makes you stand out from normal people?”. Don’t be afraid to be quirky - being weird and having a strange perspective on the world is part of the fun of playing The Spirit. Your Unusual Origin ability means that you’ll always be able to have input on matters resonant with your nature, and you can always make whatever you’re doing make sense in context later on. Feel free to get strange about it and lean into the tropes of whatever non-human thing that your character is. Your +2 Passion makes you very good at doing dangerous things and unlocking new possibilities. Unlike other high Passion characters, it’s possible that many of your Passionbased actions could be derived from your unique nature and perspective on the world. Additionally, your ability always lets you take over from the Judge and give insight in things that relate to your descriptors - go all out and recontextualise the world in a way that you think would be fun or create something that’s really convenient for you and the other players. Some character traits that fit The Spirit particularly well include being eccentric, absentminded, esoteric, naive, enthusiastic, and hopeful. It’s also true that you’re going to be playing as something non-human in nature - depending on your origin, it may be worth playing with the tropes associated with that nature. For example, for a player who wrote in Dog as one of their natures, traits of loyalty and courage might be ones to explore. Leaning into these traits can be a great start to roleplaying The Spirit in a memorable and interesting way! If you’re having difficulty deciding on what abilities to choose during character creation, Unholy Strength and either Unreal Form or My Final Form (depending on what kind of nonhuman thing you are) are great starting places. Example Deck B.B.H. (Building Blocks of Hope) When I escaped my capture, I copied someone elses deck and made it my own. My Ace represents my core being as a spirit of hope. Gimmick: Become stronger when you have less life. Recommended Staples: Summon Dragon, Silence Starting Deck B.B.H. Hope Soldier Warrior | {Normal} {Ace}, {Overwhelm} This warrior can attack the opponent directly. {Followup} You can only play this card if you have less then half your starting life. B.B.H. Magician Warrior | {Normal} When this is played, If you have less than half your starting life, give each warrior or item your opponent controls {Underwhelm} until your next turn. Otherwise, give only one card {Underwhelm}. B.B.H. Rebellion Invocation Create 2 {Weak} warriors with {Teamwork}. If you have less than half your starting life, create {Normal} warriors with {Teamwork} instead. B.B.H. Planning Invocation Gain 3 Life. You can only use this card if it’s the last card in your hand. Normal Warrior with Ace (3EP) Overwhelming, Followup, and Attack Directly (Powerful 3, Versatile, Consistent) Only on half health (Weakness, Leans into Gimmick) Normal Warrior (2EP) Give underwhelm (Powerful, Versatile) Extra on half life (Leans into Gimmick, Powerful) Invocation (3EP) Create warriors (Powerful 2, Consistent) Create normal warriors instead (Powerful, Leans into Gimmick) Invocation (3EP) Gain 3 Life (Powerful 3, Consistent) Only if last card (Weakness)

121 Running The Spirit Any player choosing The Spirit is saying something important about the plot or cosmology of the campaign. By being something other than human the spirit is always going to stand out as strange - this makes it necessary as a Judge to leverage this aspect of the character for the story. It could be worth talking with the player in private about some of your plans with the plot so that they can interact with it more keenly - it can make a lot of sense for The Spirit to be the impetus for a lot of the starting plot a lot of the time. Some key actions that you should take when running a game for The Spirit include:  Introducing other non-human characters and threats they can know about  Letting them be a font of knowledge when it comes to the plot’s biggest moments  Confirming the threats that they’ve warned other players about  Highlighting the ways their inhuman nature impedes interacting with humanity  Leaning into any weirdness that The Spirit portrays  Never denying something that The Spirit has said about their descriptors The Spirit’s “Unusual Origin” ability will let the player take some of the power away from you as the Judge whenever something related to them comes up. You should absolutely let this happen as often as possible and be generous with what is considered within the same descriptor as The Spirit. If something is too much for you to deal with as the Judge, talk with The Spirit’s player about how you could make it work or what complications would be fun to add that make it easier for you. When working with the player on their descriptors, if none of the examples fit then you can work with them to make a new descriptor - if you do this try and make sure that it’s both broadly applicable and also fairly specific. It should refer to a lot of things but also not everything - use the example descriptors as a reference. The other abilities that The Spirit takes can mean changing your strategies for running them, and some may require input on your part. Here’s some guidance on running the game with those abilities involved: I Play… Me!: For characters with a close connection to the card game itself, this ability can be a great way to represent the connection. It also gives the player a second card with {Ace} much earlier then other characters, with the complication that it also results in baggage if it’s ever destroyed. Moments where the player plays themselves should be exciting moments in the narrative; try and consider what this might represent in the fiction and the player’s journey when it comes up. Born for a Reason: This ability can help represent some of the ways The Spirit’s nonhuman body could prove useful for various purposes. If none of the included examples work and you make something new up with the player, try and lean into tools that other people could access if they had the time, but aren’t likely to always have on their person. Unreal Presence: This ability can let the player interact with the world in new and strange ways - note that whichever option the player doesn’t pick is also a downside to the ability. Leverage the player’s ability to still be hurt, seen, or obstructed when something goes wrong, or when it would be uninteresting for this ability to entirely circumvent a problem. My Final Form: When a player uses this ability it should be treated as a big moment - while the powers given from it should be able to solve many of the problems at hand, they’re always going to leave complications in their wake. Lean into their power and the danger that comes with it as much as possible. If the player rolls a 6 or less, then they can’t assume their true form - it may be worth asking the player why this may be before coming up with an answer yourself. If the example abilities don’t quite fit with the player’s character, then you can work with them to come up with something else - these abilities should feel powerful and keenly associated with what non-human thing the players character is. Unholy Strength: Overcoming Your Weakness is usually already a fairly significant action on the player’s part, and this ability makes it even more powerful. When roleplaying the player overcoming their weakness, lean into how their non-human aspects make them able to accomplish more than others. On My Fathers’s Side: This ability allows the player to have even more descriptors than usual. The usual advice for the “Unusual Origin” ability still applies. If the player has taken this ability partway through a campaign, take some time to roleplay how they discovered their more complex nature.

122 The Medium You are blessed and cursed with a unique power, something that makes you stand out in a supernatural way. Your power, whether you like it or not, has shaped your life to this moment, and almost certainly will shape it again in the future. Example Archetypes: Hated middle child with psychic abilities, Anxious 20-something hiding their power, Magical soldier controlled by malicious people Select one stat and increase its value by one. Name: Pronouns: Hair: Shifting, Chaotic, Eccentric Clothes: Non-traditional, Protective, Strange, Game Tools: Obscure, Dangerous, Your Powers, Other: Experience: Once each box has been ticked, advance. Look Passion Skill Friendship 2 1 -1 122 Advancement: When you advance, take one of these options:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Increase one of your stats by one Tick the box of the option you picked. You cannot take an option with all boxes ticked. Major Advancement: Once you have selected three advancements, you may also select these options upon advancing instead:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Create a new {Ace} card (You may now gain the benefits of the Play your {Ace} Card move twice per game)  Complete your character’s final goal. Retire your character.

123 Your Struggles:  Someone wants to control you and your power: who are they and why do they want you?  Another person taught you everything you know about your powers: how did they let you down?  Your power separated you from society: why were people afraid of your powers, and what do you still fear?  Gain baggage. Your Friends:  You hurt another player with your powers: how did you hurt them? Ask them if they’ve forgiven you.  You used your powers to protect another player: why? Ask them what made them afraid.  Another player has kept a secret for a long time: what is the secret? Ask them why they confided in you.  You and that player each gain baggage. Deck Archetype: (Suggestions: Psychic Monks, Knights of the Void, Ancient Gods From Beyond the Stars) Select one reason this deck is important to you:  Your deck was what helped you realise the powers you are now cursed by.  Your deck is linked closely to a trauma caused by your powers and reminds you of it.  Your deck was manifested by your powers, and is an extension of them  Describe your deck’s gimmick: (Suggestions: Actions cause collateral damage to all players, Discard cards for overpowered effects, Leave yourself vulnerable in the early game to gain significant power later) Create four cards for your deck. One of these cards is your {Ace}. Describe why your Ace is important to you in particular: Fill in if the baggage is serious. Create Your Deck Answer One Question for Each Section Baggage o o o o o o o o o o o 123

124 You have a supernatural ability. Select two of the supernatural powers below, or work with your Judge to create two that fit your character: Super Strength, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Animal Transformation, Technopathy, Element Control, Weapon Manifestation, Portal Creation, , . You have these powers and can use them in simple ways without complications. When you use your powers in the face of a challenge, Roll and add +1 for each relevant baggage you have. On a 10+, you’re able to use your abilities to succeed without complication. On a 7-9, you succeed, but must select one option from the list below:  You cause substantial collateral damage to the area around you  You are overtaken by a force with its own will  Something or someone you care about is hurt, lost, or destroyed On a 6 or less, you succeed, but must select two options from the list instead. Archmage Ascension When you roll your Storm Conduit ability, you can choose an additional complication from the list. If you do, you can select one of these benefits:  Imbue your powers into the area around you, changing it forever.  Transform into a manifestation of your powers, allowing you to use them in stronger ways.  Break the rules of reality in order to do something seemingly impossible. Clairvoyant Divination So long as you have a piece of a place or person (a deck for a person, a book for a library, etc) you can Understand Someone’s True Feelings or Investigate Your Surroundings for things that you cannot otherwise interact with. Combat Trained When you would spend Advantage, you can instead roll your Storm Conduit ability. Dark Card Games When you or someone else begins a card game, you can do any number of the following:  Change the area around you to be more suitable for battle and those watching  Allow any number of people to watch the fight that aren’t physically there.  Establish that the loser will face supernatural consequences (such as losing memories, becoming cursed to stay in one place, or becoming unable to battle again) Hidden Power Replace one of your generic staples with a staple from another Playbook. When you could replace a generic staple for another generic staple, you may choose to instead replace the staple gained with this ability with one from another Playbook. Apex of Power Select two additional powers from the Storm Conduit list, or create two new powers with your Judge. Abilities Storm Conduit You have “Storm Conduit”. Select two abilities from the list here: 124 X (Requires: Storm Conduit)

125 Combat Tension Questions Staples Have you lost at least half your life in this card game? Has something or someone you care about more than yourself been put at risk? Has your opponent used your baggage to gain an advantage over you? Lose 1 life. Draw 2 cards. Add two staples from the generic staples list. Rename all staples. 125 Cards in my Deck You can add any of the cards in your deck here so you can reference them, even while you’re in the middle of card game combat. Otherwise, feel free to use this space for notes or ideas.

126 Roleplaying The Medium The Medium is a very angsty playbook at its heart - your character is going to be powerful, but will also have a lot of potential for collateral damage. Your “Storm Conduit” ability means you’ll hurt or even destroy things you care about, with few ways to prevent this; lean into the pain and drama there when possible! Let your character be uneasy about getting close to people, or fall hard for any false promises of relief. When you use your abilities, go all out on making them seem as cool and as powerful as possible. Your +2 Passion makes you very good at getting into trouble and solving impossible problems - for you, this may even represent you using your power in strange ways. Your +1 Skill demonstrates a developed expertise, while your -1 Friendship expresses how your powers leave you estranged from others. As long as it’s possible with your powers, your “Storm Conduit” ability can solve most obstacles that are in your way - but it risks collateral damage. Try and use the ability as much as possible anyway! Some character traits that fit the Medium particularly well include being angsty, antisocial, anxious, depressed, and easy to anger. These can all seem like very negative traits, but while they might be what’s revealed on your surface, you should also come up with positive things to reveal as people break through your shell. Leaning into these traits can be a great start to roleplaying The Medium in a memorable and interesting way! If you’re having difficulty deciding on what abilities to choose during character creation, Combat Trained and Push Past Your Limits are great starting places. Example Deck Ultraviolence Light My deck is a representation of my supernatural power to create deadly beams of hardlight. My Ace is what lets me enter the battlefield and fight opponents directly. Gimmick: Actions cause collateral damage to you and your opponent Recommended Staples: Summon Knight, Salve Starting Deck Regalia of Ultraviolence Item | {Weak} {Ace} You are a {Strong} warrior with {Pressure} 1. (You can attack. You clash with enemies that attack you as if you were a warrior before you take damage. You only take damage if you lose the clash.) Radiance of Ultraviolence Invocation Destroy all warriors and Items on all competitors’ fields. If something you control was destroyed, gain 1 life. Emanation of Ultraviolence Invocation Target warrior you control and target warrior your opponent controls are both {Strengthened}, gain {Piercer} 1, {Sniper} 1, and can attack an additional time. This lasts until the start of your next turn. Revival of Ultraviolence Invocation Gain 2 Life. Weak Item with Ace (5EP) Become a warrior (Powerful 3, Consistent, Leans into Gimmick) Pressure 1 (Powerful, Consistent) Invocation (3EP) Destroy all warriors and items your opponent controls (Powerful 3) Destroy all warriors and items you control (Weakness, Leans into Gimmick) Conditional life gain (Powerful) Invocation (3EP) Buffs (Powerful 4, Versatile 2, Leans into Gimmick) Opponent Buffs (Significant Weakness) Invocation (3EP) Gain 2 life (Powerful 2, Consistent)

127 Running The Medium When running a game for The Medium, it’s important to stress any damage they’ve caused, so they have opportunities to face their pain and grow from it. Have people they hurt show that hurt openly and have them ruin solutions to problems with collateral damage. That said, it’s also very important as a Judge to be extremely aware of the player’s limits when you do this - have a discussion with The Medium’s player about what boundaries shouldn’t be crossed, in addition to your general discussion with players regarding potentially triggering content. If things ever seem to be going too far, back off; take moments to highlight the good The Medium has done with their powers too, where possible. Some key actions that you should take when running a game for The Medium include:  Have people try and use or take advantage of the player’s power  Destroy precious things and hurt precious people  Create problems that could be easily solved through powers  Let someone look up to and empathise The Medium despite all their pain  Introduce villains that show the darkness that The Medium could become  Reveal strange truths about the origins of their abnormal powers The Medium’s Storm Conduit ability makes it possible for them to solve almost any problem - but it always comes with a fairly significant risk. Presenting problems that the player’s abilities can easily solve can create interesting dilemmas as they weigh whether using their powers is worth it or not. Remember that simple uses of their ability don’t require a Storm Conduit roll - only notable tasks where the possibility of failure would be interesting - so allow the player to flavour The Medium’s actions in fun ways based on their abilities to their heart’s content. If none of the example abilities quite work, then you can work with the player to create a new power. If you do this, try and make it something with a lot of destructive potential as well as powerful applications for problem solving. The other abilities that The Medium takes can mean changing your strategies for running them and some may require input on your part. Here’s some guidance on running the game with those abilities involved: Push Past Your Limits: This ability lets the player do even stronger things with their abilities at the cost of even more collateral damage. All of these upsides are rather open-ended in what they mean, but you should generally lean into whatever the player assumes it means and what seems the coolest and most powerful at the moment. Remember that the player is making a pretty big sacrifice to use this power; the moment they’re done taking advantage of it, there’ll likely be consequences left in their wake. Card Games with Dangerous Powers: When a player takes this ability they gain the power to transform card games, using them for supernatural or abnormal effects whenever they want. Note that while The Medium is always the cause of these effects on the card game, the competitors are always the ones who get to define what the stakes look like. All players involved (Judge included) must agree to the stakes, supernatural or not. Clairvoyant Divination: This ability lets the player learn information when only a remnant of something is around. Note that this doesn’t just mean conjecture from a crime scene or realisations from questioning people related to the topic at hand - anyone can do that. This ability lets you use arbitrarily connected details to formulate complete pictures as if the person or event was right there. Hidden Power: By design, playbook-specific staples are stronger than standard staples, This option is the main way to access staples from other playbooks in Perfect Draw! - this means that The Medium can do this fairly easily through a standard ability selection, while other characters would have to take this through using the ‘Take an ability from another playbook’ advancement. Combat Trained: This ability gives the player another way to theoretically access infinite advantage in combat. Players can already use the Risk Everything to Win ability to gain advantage, but uses of Storm Conduit doesn’t always require a sacrifice - even if the sacrifice is often of a different scale. Apex of Power: Choosing this will allow the player to solve even more problems then they otherwise could with their Storm Conduit ability. Generally at this point the player should be versatile enough to handle almost any tricky situation if they truly want to - let them!

128 The Destined You’re a part of something greater than yourself; pulled into a game of fate whether you like it or not. Your destiny is known to you and plagued with calamity. Despite this, the cursed object that marks your destiny grants you the resolve and ability to overcome it. Example Archetypes: Ancient hero with an evil following them, Kid who made a pact with a dark power, Time traveller from the future with a dire message Select one stat and increase its value by one. Name: Pronouns: Hair: Large, Strange, Aggressive, Clothes: Punk, Mysterious, Unusual, Game Tools: Out of place, Ancient, Supernatural, Other: Experience: Once each box has been ticked, advance. Look Passion Skill Friendship 1 1 0 128 Advancement: When you advance, take one of these options:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Increase one of your stats by one Tick the box of the option you picked. You cannot take an option with all boxes ticked. Major Advancement: Once you have selected three advancements, you may also select these options upon advancing instead:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Create a new {Ace} card (You may now gain the benefits of the Play your {Ace} Card move twice per game)  Complete your character’s final goal. Retire your character.

129 Your Struggles:  You know someone who holds a similar mark of destiny to yours: why are they hunting you?  A conspiracy of people related to your destiny want you gone: how do they intend to do this?  You know someone who may know more about your destiny: who are they and what do they study?  Gain baggage. Your Friends:  Another player helped you discover your destiny: how? Ask them why they helped and why.  Another player is tied to your destiny in a way they don’t yet know: how? Ask them why they deny it.  You met another player but they can’t remember you: what happened? Ask them why they don’t recall.  You and that player each gain baggage. Deck Archetype: (Suggestions: Underworld Saviors, Warriors of Fantastical Realms, Space-Time Magi) Select one reason this deck is important to you:  This deck is what started you on the path to your destiny, and represents that destiny  It represents the kind of person you were before you were set on your destined path  It represents a power that has been forgotten by modern people and you still know.  Describe your deck’s gimmick: (Suggestions: Reincarnate my warriors by discarding, Effects that revolve around a single powerful item in my deck, Significant effects that take several turns to pay off) Create four cards for your deck. One of these cards is your {Ace}. Describe why your Ace is important to you in particular: Fill in if the baggage is serious. Create Your Deck Answer One Question for Each Section Baggage o o o o o o o o o o o 129

130 Spirit of the Cards You can see and hear the spirits of your deck. While invisible to everyone else, they are cooperative and willing to do anything you ask of them that doesn’t put them in danger. Select two of the following benefits: They can go anywhere, allowing them to hear and see things far away from you. They can manifest, allowing them to make themselves temporarily physical, visible to others, and able to interact with the world. They can teach you, allowing you to ask them questions. If it is about card game lore or culture, the judge must answer correctly. They can support you, allowing them to help you emotionally; they can support you when you Overcome Your Weakness. Plot Armour Fate aligns itself to keep you safe. When you roll a 6 or less, you may choose to reroll. Mark a box below when doing this: When all boxes are marked, you cannot use this ability. When you complete a battle, unmark all boxes. Destined to Win Add +1 to all rolls you make that use Combat Tension. Advanced Ritual Arts You know of powerful rituals that are old or secret. When you prepare a ritual, select one of the following:  Communicate with something or someone  Travel somewhere unreachable instantly  Create a copy of something without supernatural nature Then roll+Skill. Apply any baggage related penalties. On a 10+, your Judge will define one thing necessary to complete the ritual. On a 7-9, they will instead define two things. On a 6 or less, the ritual fails in some way. Gain baggage. It’s Time to Duel When you would Enter a Dangerous Situation, you may instead choose to initiate a card game, so long as the danger or its source is something that could be battled. Enhanced Mark You may select one additional power that your Mark of Destiny grants you. Something terrible is going to happen in the future, a danger on a world shattering scale. Describe that danger: You have a mark that ties you to this destiny. This mark makes it clear, to those that know of it, that you are connected to the danger described above: it could be a symbol, object, card, or anything else that makes sense. Describe it here: Your mark grants you a unique and strange power. Select one of the following: Search your deck for a card and add it to your hand immediately. Ask the Judge any one question that they must answer truthfully. Name something you would like to go in your favour. It does. Appear exactly where you need to be Whenever you use the ability granted by your mark, lose a battle, or turn down the call for heroic action, mark the destruction track: Destruction Track: When you win a battle or discover something new about your destiny, remove a mark from the destruction track, unless it is full. When the destruction track is full, your destiny comes to bear. Work with the Judge to define the significance of this and its repercussions; it could be a single major moment or a calamitous event taking place over a period of time. Gain serious baggage. Lose this ability and any abilities that require it. Advance a number of times equal to the number of abilities you lost. Abilities Mark of Destiny You have “Mark of Destiny”. Select two abilities from the list here: 130 X (Requires: Mark of Destiny)

131 Combat Tension Questions Staples Have you lost at least half your life in this card game? Has something or someone you care about more than yourself been put at risk? Has your opponent used your baggage to gain an advantage over you? Draw 2 cards. Put one card from your hand on the bottom of your deck. Add two staples from the generic staples list. Rename all staples. 131 Cards in my Deck You can add any of the cards in your deck here so you can reference them, even while you’re in the middle of card game combat. Otherwise, feel free to use this space for notes or ideas.

132 Roleplaying The Destined When you choose to play The Destined, you’re making a big impact on the campaign. By taking this playbook, it’s now true that something dangerous is on the horizon - something that you are, in some major way, tied to. Due to your Mark of Destiny ability, you’ll gain some amount of power over things other players simply can’t interact with, without any rolls required - but each time you use these powers, you’ll also bring your destruction closer and closer. Ideally you do want the danger to come about eventually, but you should aim to have it align with a climactic moment in your campaign for maximum dramatic impact. Remember that passing up heroic actions is another way to progress the Destruction Track, so be careful ignoring things that other players could turn a blind eye to. Your +1 to both Skill and Passion mean that you’re fairly good at both getting things done and getting into danger. While your Mark of Destiny ability can solve a lot of problems you might have, it’s also very important to use it with caution where possible. Clearing your Destruction Track requires winning battles or learning new things about your destiny - work towards doing these things as often as possible so you can make the most use of your ability where it counts. Some character traits that fit the Destined particularly well include being cool-headed, determined, knowledgeable, protective, and committed. Knowing that danger could come about because you didn’t stop it can weigh on a person, and The Destined is no exception. Try and give them moments where they sacrifice safety and happiness for themselves in the name of the greater good. Leaning into these traits can be a great start to roleplaying The Destined in a memorable and evocative way! If you’re having difficulty deciding on what abilities to choose during character creation, Destined to Win and Plot Armour are great starting places. Example Deck Chthonian Thaumaturgy This deck represents a power that has been lost to the people of the modern world. My Ace reminds me of the same curse I am forced to bear. Gimmick: Effects that revolve around a single powerful item in my deck Recommended Staples: Fireball, Silence Starting Deck Torches of Hekate Item | {Weak} {Ace} When you use one of your staples for the first time on your turn, you may use it a second time immediately. Torches of Hekate always starts as the top card of your deck. Path of the Triple Goddess Invocation Choose one: -Gain 1 life -Create a {Normal} warrior -Destroy target warrior with the most power an opponent controls Medea, Priest of Hekate Warrior | {Normal} When you play this card, choose one: -Target {Weak} item gains {Inconspicuous} while this is on the field. -Put a {Weak} item from the graveyard onto the field. Empousa, Chthonian Guard Warrior | {Strong} {Overwork} You may play this card from your graveyard. Weak Item with Ace (5EP) Double staples (Powerful 2, Consistent, Versatile, Leans into gimmick) Start on top of deck (Powerful, Consistent) Invocation (3EP) 3 choices (Versatile 2) All 3 choices (Powerful) Normal Warrior (2EP) Choice (Versatile) Both choices (Powerful, Consistent, Leans into gimmick) Strong Warrior (0EP) Overwork (Significant Weakness) Play from graveyard (Powerful, Consistent)

133 Running The Destined A player choosing The Destined as their playbook is going to have a fairly major impact on your game. Whatever the player describes as the oncoming danger should ideally happen at some point during the campaign, and be foreshadowed frequently before then. If the player chose something disruptive to the plot or the other players, it may be worth discussing a more appropriate alternative for the campaign with them. Otherwise, just try and couple any other stories into the oncoming danger where you can. Some key actions that you should take when running a game for The Destined include:  Foretell the ways that destiny coming to pass could be catastrophic  Introduce villains that have a similar connection to the oncoming danger  Create hard choices around sacrifices for stopping destiny coming to pass  Let magic and strange things manifest across the world  Allow uneasy alliances to be made for the sake of the greater good  Make filling the Destruction Track a big moment in the campaign The Destined’s Mark of Destiny ability should always be a consideration when playing a campaign including them. When the Destruction Track is close to being completed, it’s worth considering what the oncoming danger occuring could mean for your campaign. If you want the oncoming danger to come faster, you can present more opportunities for heroic action that the player can turn down, or otherwise encourage the player to use their ability more. If you want the oncoming danger to be staved off for a time, you can give the player opportunities to learn new details about their destiny, or give them chances to get into battle with villains. The other abilities that The Destined takes can mean changing your strategies for running them and some may require input on your part. Here’s some guidance on running the game with those abilities involved: Destined to Win: This ability is a rarity among abilities in Perfect Draw! because it makes The Destined unequivocally better at card game combat. Be sure not to increase the difficulty of fights just because of this - let the ability be a direct boon to express their talent. It’s Time to Duel: While this ability lets The Destined create battles whenever they would Enter a Dangerous Situation, this only works if the cause for the danger is something that could feasibly be battled. If a player jumped into a burning building, then it’s probably impossible to battle the fire. Note that if a player has taken this ability it may be more important to consider gimmicks for less notable characters. As a fall-back, you can always use one of the example gimmicks and roll-on move tables from this book or ask your players for a moment while you figure out an appropriate course of action. Spirit of the Cards: When a player takes this ability, you should take a moment to talk with them about what form these spirits take. Is it a specific card from your deck; if so, which one? If it’s many spirits, can you hear the spirits of other people’s cards? These questions can help inform which options the player chooses. Note that any options the player doesn’t select are downsides and act as things the spirits can’t do no matter what. Advanced Ritual Art: This ability gives the player a grab bag of different magical options for their toolkit - though only if they have the necessary preparations. As the Judge, you define these “necessary things”, letting the act of gathering or arranging them act as small quests for the player to use their magic. You should scale the difficulty of these quests based on the impact of what they’re doing - if the players simply want to talk to each other, then it may only need you to gather in a specific location. Comparatively, if the players are trying to copy the keys to a bank vault, they may be required to battle against a particularly powerful foe. Plot Armour: This ability gives the player the opportunity to reroll failures once between each battle. Be wary that if the player gets into battle too often, it’s very likely that they’ll almost always succeed on their rolls - it may be worth finding appropriate chances to give them baggage via other methods so they can still level up at a rate similar to the other players, to avoid this ability becoming a detriment to the player if used. Enhanced Mark: This ability improves on the Mark of Destiny base ability of The Destined by giving them an additional power and expanding their Destruction Track. To expand the destruction track, simply draw an additional box next to the existing destruction track.

134 The Idealist Many people drift through life without something to truly believe in. But not you. There’s something you care deeply about, a dream you will strive and fight for. While not everyone is like you, there are others who maybe you can convince. Example Archetypes: Conspiracy theorist close to the truth, Activist with a bleeding heart, Online blogger posting about discourse Select one stat and increase its value by one. Name: Pronouns: Hair: Well groomed, Messy, Boring, Clothes: Approachable, Traditional, Iconic, Game Tools: Old, Personalised, Strange, Other: Experience: Once each box has been ticked, advance. Look Passion Skill Friendship 1 0 1 134 Advancement: When you advance, take one of these options:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Increase one of your stats by one Tick the box of the option you picked. You cannot take an option with all boxes ticked. Major Advancement: Once you have selected three advancements, you may also select these options upon advancing instead:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Create a new {Ace} card (You may now gain the benefits of the Play your {Ace} Card move twice per game)  Complete your character’s final goal. Retire your character.

135 Your Struggles:  You lost someone who instilled your ideology into you: how are you going to fulfil their last wish?  You have an ideological rival whom you despise: what power or resource of theirs do you fear?  An organisation is looking to stop your efforts: what did you do to make them angry?  Gain baggage. Your Friends:  You’ve known another player since youth: what do you look up to in them? Ask them the same.  Another player helped you against an ideological opponent: how did they help? Ask them why.  Another player could be a powerful ally to your cause: why? Ask them what they disagree with from your cause.  You and that player each gain baggage. Deck Archetype: (Suggestions: Foresthome Critters, Shooting Star Magical Girls, Wooden Shrine Maidens) Select one reason this deck is important to you:  Your deck represents the ideals that you hold so close and acts as a weapon to fight for those ideals  Your deck once belonged to someone close to you before they died at an early age  You build your deck around a single card that matters to you in a deep and personal way  Describe your deck’s gimmick: (Suggestions: Take control of opponents’ warriors, Protect my most important game pieces from being killed, Win without reducing my opponent to 0 life) Create four cards for your deck. One of these cards is your {Ace}. Describe why your Ace is important to you in particular: Fill in if the baggage is serious. Create Your Deck Answer One Question for Each Section Baggage o o o o o o o o o o o 135

136 Selfless Squire You have a protege who trains under you and believes in your cause. So long as you won’t put them in particular danger, they will do what you ask without additional requests. Select two benefits your protege has: They are experienced and won’t require any assistance They will always be available no matter the circumstance They can blend in with your enemies without standing out They are willing to do even life threatening tasks My Greatest Enemy If your opponent exemplifies, forwards, or encourages your opposed ideology, your rolls made with Combat Tension are made with a minimum of +2. Share the Pain Whenever another player gains baggage, you can choose to gain the same or an appropriatly related baggage. Propogandist When you Convey Your Ideals, you may select one fewer option then you would otherwise need to select. After using this, you cannot do this again until you complete a battle. Mask Change You have a secondary persona, such as a superhero personality or another you. Only those you tell know you are the same person. You can swap between these personas at any time including in battle, so long as only people that know can see you. Select two cards from your deck: these cards are removed from your deck whenever you swap to your second persona. Create two cards using the create a card rules. For each card with {Ace}, you may create a new card with {Ace}. These cards are added to your deck when you swap to your second persona. Shuffle and replace any cards in your hand if you did this in battle. When you return to your primary persona, swap that persona’s cards in your deck with the originals. Twin Ideologies Select an additional ideology for your The Thing I Believe In ability, or work with the Judge to create your own. The bonuses and penalties of both ideologies can stack. You follow an ideal that fundamentally informs everything you do. It’s a philosophy that tells you what matters and what you oppose. Select one of the following ideologies, or work with your Judge to create your own: When you do something that exemplifies, forwards, or encourages your ideology, you gain +1 to any rolls related to that action. When you make an action that exemplifies, forwards, or encourages your opposed ideology, you take -1 to that roll. Law (opposing: crime) Humanity (opposing: industry) Friendship (opposing: solitude) Safety (opposing: danger) Destiny (opposing: free will) Justice (opposing: falsehood) Freedom (opposing: hierarchy) Individuality (opposing: similarity) Comfort (opposing: chaos) (opposing: ) Abilities The Thing I Believe In You have “The Thing I Believe In”. Select two abilities from the list here: 136 X (Requires: The Thing I Believe In) (Requires: The Thing I Believe In)

137 Combat Tension Questions Staples Have you lost at least half your life in this card game? Has something or someone you care about more than yourself been put at risk? Has your opponent used your baggage to gain an advantage over you? {Overwork} Gain 1 Life. Target opponent loses 1 life. {Strengthen} target warrior. Add two staples from the generic staples list. Rename all staples. 137 Cards in my Deck You can add any of the cards in your deck here so you can reference them, even while you’re in the middle of card game combat. Otherwise, feel free to use this space for notes or ideas.

138 Roleplaying The Idealist The core of The Idealist is the titular ideal that drives your character’s actions and worldview. This ideal could be a belief in justice, freedom, humanity, or any other number of beliefs - express why this core aspect is so key to your character’s behaviour when playing them. You may also want to consider how the opposing ideology factors into the equation, and why your character refuses to give into it or embody it. Whatever you believe in real life, you should lean as hard as possible into your character’s ideal and pursue it in the story, whether for good or for ill. Your +1 to Passion and Friendship makes you fairly good at both conveying to others the worth of your ideology and overcoming whatever dangers stand in your way. Your The Thing I Believe In ability makes you excel at anything that forwards your ideology - and, conversely, very bad at any task that would ask you to go against your morals. You should take this as an opportunity to exemplify, forward, and encourage your ideology at every possible opportunity. Some character traits that fit The Idealist particularly well include being charismatic, two-faced, forceful, devout, and single-minded. Depending on your ideology, you may want to focus on other traits as well - someone who believes in Safety above all else may be anxious or overly protective, someone who believes in Humanity may be fascinated by others, and so forth. Leaning into these traits can be a great start to roleplaying The Idealist in a memorable and interesting way. If you’re having difficulty deciding on what abilities to choose during character creation, My Greatest Enemy and Propagandist are great starting places. Example Deck Shining Glade Insects Just like me, these insects work to keep their home safe no matter the circumstances. My Ace is the strongest of these warriors and one I see myself in. Gimmick: Protect my most important game pieces from being killed Recommended Staples: Summon Dragon, Reconsider Starting Deck Shining Glade Paladin Moth Warrior | {Strong} {Ace} Target warrior or item gains {Inconspicuous} and can’t attack while this is on the field. Shining Glade Beetle Blockade Invocation Create three {Weak} warriors with {Blocker}. Shining Glade Spider Knight Warrior | {Normal} When Spider Knight attacks, remove a warrior an opponent controls from play. Return it to the field at the end of their next turn. The Shining Glade Item | {Weak} {Pressure} 3 Strong Item with Ace (1EP) Protect and hide effect (Powerful, Versatile, Leans into Gimmick) Invocation (3EP) Creates three blockers (Powerful 3, Consistent, Leans into Gimmick) Normal Warrior (2EP) Remove warrior (Powerful 2, Versatile 2, Leans into Gimmick) Weak Item (4EP) Pressure 3 (Powerful 3, Consistent)

139 Running The Idealist The Idealist is going to be a very focused character by nature - most of what they do is going to centre on the primary conflict between their ideology and its opposed ideology. Finding ways to centre this conflict as a key theme for the whole campaign can be a useful way to help the Idealist fit keenly within the narrative. Note that some conflicts can be potentially triggering to other players, so it’s best asking if other players are okay with the key ideological conflict The Idealist has chosen for the story. Some key actions that you should take when running a game for The Idealist include:  Introduce villains that represent everything The Idealist fights against  Complicate the players’ ideology and reveal grey morality  Create real opportunities for the player to change the world  Let the player convince NPCs to aid them in their cause  Leverage the beliefs of people close to The Idealist, whether they agree or disagree  Give the player the moral high ground against villains The Idealist’s The Thing I Believe In ability requires consideration about what “exemplifies, forwards, or encourages’’ means in your game. Generally you should be rather lenient when it comes to giving the player a bonus for leaning into their ideology - but at the same time, you should be consistent with opposition to those things being deemed leaning into the opposing ideology. If a player staying home is considered leaning into -“Safety”, then a character leaving town should be considered “Danger”. It’s possible The Idealist’s ideology may change or become more complex over time - if it does, work with the player to change what their ideology means. When defining a new ideology with a player, you should try and choose very wide and open-ended topics that could come into active conflict within your campaign. The other abilities that The Idealist takes can mean changing your strategies for running them and some may require input on your part. Here’s some guidance on running the game with those abilities involved: Selfless Squire: When a player takes this ability, they should create a new NPC or choose someone who makes sense from the existing NPC cast - this person is now their protege. This character should become fairly central to the supporting cast and be easily accessible whenever needed. Note that whatever choices the player doesn’t choose act as downsides that can cause complications during play. Mask Change: This ability grants the player the ability to have two separate personas, each with different cards in their deck. Logistically, this can cause some complications depending on the method by which you’re playing Perfect Draw! (such as with sleeved cards, or online) - if using two different sets of cards would cause any issues, we recommend just making one card be treated as the other while the player is in their lessoften used persona. You should be lenient with what “only people that know can see you” means - if a player wants to swap mid fight, give them an opportunity to jump off stage before swapping personas and continuing with their battle. My Greatest Enemy: This ability gives the player a big head-start whenever confronting enemies that fit in with their opposed ideology. If the player’s taken this ability, you should try and introduce villains that exemplify the player’s opposed ideology whenever possible. Share the Pain: By allowing the player to take baggage whenever another player gains baggage, The Idealist can fight for and alongside other players’ causes. That said, it’s also possible for the player to end up taking the spotlight away from the player that originally gained the baggage, so you should be careful to always direct attention to the primary person involved in the conflict when possible. Propagandist: This ability makes the player’s Convey Your Ideals move much more powerful; unlike most players it’s now possible for them to convince people without any additional requirements, and even when they do roll 7-9 they’ll only face complications other players would have normally faced on a 10+. This has the potential to lower the stakes and drama on some otherwise impactful moments - you should take this as a chance to double down and express impact through roleplay. Twin Ideologies: This ability gives The Idealist a second ideology. Make sure that the new ideology is sufficiently different from the original - it shouldn’t be particularly easy to get a +2 unless the circumstances align.

140 The Turncoat You’re well aware of the fact that you used to be a villain. It’s not something you can just erase… you’re simply trying to make amends for it. The darkness that lives inside of you is something you’ve since overcome, but your past still exists, haunting you even today. Example Archetypes: Petty criminal who hurt someone badly, Dark wizard with moral aspirations, Misguided youth who was shown the light Select one stat and increase its value by one. Name: Pronouns: Hair: Fashionable, Brooding, Shady Clothes: Punk, Cloaked, Dark, Game Tools: High-tech, Broken, Personal, Other: Experience: Once each box has been ticked, advance. Look Passion Skill Friendship 0 1 1 140 Advancement: When you advance, take one of these options:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Increase one of your stats by one Tick the box of the option you picked. You cannot take an option with all boxes ticked. Major Advancement: Once you have selected three advancements, you may also select these options upon advancing instead:  Take an ability from your Playbook  Take an ability from another Playbook  Add a new staple to your Staple List  Create a new {Ace} card (You may now gain the benefits of the Play your {Ace} Card move twice per game)  Complete your character’s final goal. Retire your character.

141 Your Struggles:  You betrayed someone important to you: how did you hurt them, and have they forgiven you?  An old ally from your villainous days wants you to help them: what with, and why do you not want to refuse?  A henchman or protege still believes you’re the same as before: do you believe them?  Gain baggage. Your Friends:  Another player is the reason you changed your ways: how? Ask them why they cared.  Another player never stopped believing in you: why were you close? Ask them how you hurt them.  You tricked another player into working with you: how? Ask them how they feel about that time.  You and that player each gain baggage. Deck Archetype: (Suggestions: Demon King’s Arsenal, Orbital-Laser 0451, Puppetstring Circus) Select one reason this deck is important to you:  Your deck was a part of your evil plot that you’ve now thankfully given up on  Your deck is a dark and twisted version of another player’s deck from when you had a vendetta against them  You deck is a reformed version of a deck you used to pilot, it’s much kinder then before.  Describe your deck’s gimmick: (Suggestions: Silence my opponent’s warriors so they can’t act, Items that win the game over time if not dealt with, Recur and reanimate cards from my graveyard) Create four cards for your deck. One of these cards is your {Ace}. Describe why your Ace is important to you in particular: Fill in if the baggage is serious. Create Your Deck Answer One Question for Each Section Baggage o o o o o o o o o o o 141

142 You have a history of villainy and evil you’re trying to put behind you. Whenever you take baggage, you can instead choose to describe something terrible you did in your past and list it below. Whenever you do this, you also need to choose another character (either a player or an NPC) to add to the “Person” section. Once you do this, decide whether that person was an -“Accomplice” or a “Victim”. Accomplices are people who helped you do terrible things, whereas victims are people who were hurt by the things you did. Terrible Thing: Person: (accomplice/victim) Terrible Thing: Person: (accomplice/victim) Terrible Thing: Person: (accomplice/victim) During character setup, describe a terrible thing you did in your past and choose another player. Ask that player whether they were a victim or accomplice. Whenever you attempt to defeat, overcome, or compel to goodness an accomplice, gain +1 to any rolls you make. If you succeed, remove the terrible thing and gain experience. When you seek forgiveness from or try to compensate a victim, gain +1 to any rolls you make. If you successfully made up for the terrible thing you did, remove it and gain experience. Self Improvement When you remove a terrible thing from your list for any reason, select one of the options from Take a Moment to Recuperate. You can use that option without the Judge progressing any enemy plans. Take a Stand When you expose someone’s hypocrisy, roll+Skill. Apply any baggage related penalties. On a 10+, choose two. On a 7-9, choose one.  They admit that they did wrong.  Someone that they hurt becomes your ally.  You don’t anger them or cause them to think badly of you. On a 6 or less, you fumble and make things worse; gain baggage. Embracing Your Darkness When you do something terrible to get what you want, name a victim or accomplice. You achieve your goal and affect the world in a substantial way. Add this to your list of terrible things and take serious baggage. We’re Not So Different... When a villain does something reminiscent of one of your terrible things, you can always treat rolls of 6 or less as if they were 7-9 when you Understand Someone’s True Feelings or Convey Your Ideals. Underworld Prestige When you use your history as a villain to get what you want, either by intimidating someone innocent or tricking a villain into thinking you’re on their side, roll+Skill. Apply any baggage related penalties. On a 10+, you succeed. On a 7-9, you succeed but choose one:  You need to hurt someone or something you care about in order to make them believe you.  An ally falls for your lie as well.  Something damages or obstructs your presentation as a villain. On a 6 or less, they see right through you. Gain baggage. This is Personal While in a battle with a victim or accomplice and you Risk Everything to Win, roll with double your Tension. Abilities My Dark Past You have “My Dark Past”. Select two abilities from the list here: 142 X (Requires: My Dark Past) (Requires: My Dark Past) (Requires: My Dark Past) (Requires: My Dark Past)

143 Combat Tension Questions Staples Have you lost at least half your life in this card game? Has something or someone you care about more than yourself been put at risk? Has your opponent used your baggage to gain an advantage over you? Create a {Strong} warrior. Sacrifice a warrior. Add two staples from the generic staples list. Rename all staples. 143 Cards in my Deck You can add any of the cards in your deck here so you can reference them, even while you’re in the middle of card game combat. Otherwise, feel free to use this space for notes or ideas.

144 Roleplaying The Turncoat The central questions regarding The Turncoat’s character and motivation are “What dark past did I lead?” and “Why do I regret it?” It’s okay to not have all the details at first - in fact, leaving that space open to be filled over time may be beneficial - but it’s very worth figuring out some parts of your past at least. Your dark past allows you to reframe a lot of characters in the narrative as either victims or accomplices from your past; try and choose possibilities that add drama and emotional stakes to the story. Note that whatever you did in your past, it should be possible for the other characters and players to have forgiven you: be careful to avoid anything that players have mentioned as triggering or request to be absent from the campaign. This will naturally vary from campaign to campaign, but as a rule of thumb we recommend avoiding any events that any players at the table might have had real-life traumatic experiences with. Your initial +1 to Skill represents your past expertise as a fierce antagonistic figure, while your +1 Friendship indicates how you’ve done your best to atone and improve. Your My Dark Past ability defines misdeeds you did in the past, granting you additional bonuses whenever you try to make amends for something you did wrong. Making up for your past should be at the front of your mind as much as possible while you’re playing The Turncoat. Some character traits that fit The Turncoat particularly well include being remorseful, powerful, intimidating, strangely empathetic, and overly conscious. Considering how you used to act when you were a worse person can be a good idea as well, since regressing to your earlier, negative behaviours can create intensely impactful story moments. Leaning into these traits can be a great start to roleplaying The Turncoat in a memorable and emotional way. If you’re having difficulty deciding on what abilities to choose during character creation, We’re Not So Different... and This is Personal are great starting places. Example Deck Web Tapestries of the Spider Queen I used to run this deck as the leader of my gang, today I’ve made some changes so that it’s kinder. My Ace reminds me of my goal to find happiness. Gimmick: Recur threats from my graveyard Recommended Staples: Reconsider, Summon Knight Starting Deck Arachne, Finding Happiness Warrior | {Normal} {Ace} When Arachne enters the battlefield, summon an item from your graveyard to the battlefield. Once per turn, you can return Arachne to your hand. Web Tapestry of Peace Item | {Normal} {Overwhelm} Equip this to an opponent’s warrior. It can’t attack and loses all effects while this is equipped to it. Web Tapestry of Love Item | {Normal} Equip this to an opponent’s warrior. You control that warrior so long as this is equipped to it. Spider Queen’s Loom Invocation Discard your hand. Draw that many cards. {Followup} Normal Warrior with Ace (3EP) Return from Graveyard (Powerful 2, Versatile, Leans into Gimmick) Return to Hand (Powerful) Normal Item (3EP) Opponent’s warrior can’t attack, loses effects (Powerful, Versatile) Overwhelm (Powerful) Normal Item (3EP) Control opponents warrior (Powerful 2, Versatile) Invocation (3EP) Discard, redraw (Powerful) Followup (Powerful, Versatile)

145 Running The Turncoat When running a game for The Turncoat, you should make sure to listen closely when they describe their dark past and the events therein. Ideally, you want to utilise any thematically resonant details of their past that they’ve mentioned consistently throughout the game. Note that it may be important to rein in the scope and intensity of The Turncoat’s ‘terrible things’ relative to the campaign you’re in - for instance it may prove hard for the players to work together and connect with one another if The Turncoat once laughed while killing an innocent child. Keep a careful eye on whether players are uncomfortable with anything going on, and ask The Turncoat to lessen what happened in the past if needed. Some key actions that you should take when running a game for The Turncoat include:  Put their past evil acts in the focus of the narrative  Make both victims and accomplices antagonists whenever possible  Give the player control over the past, and let them define how they messed up  Create moments where they can achieve forgiveness and make up for the past  Tempt the player with reasons to fall back into amoral past behaviours  Listen to details from the player’s stories and use them whenever you can The Turncoat’s My Dark Past ability encourages the player to have history with both NPCs and their fellow players. When The Turncoat’s player first makes their character, they’ll need to make at least one ‘terrible thing’ to begin with, and ask another player whether they were an accomplice or victim. Without specific baggage to base this on, players can sometimes be caught off guard at having to come up with something - in these situations, something generic like “I robbed the local card store” is a fair jumping-off point. If you’re trying to decide whether a particular action made by The Turncoat fulfils the criteria of “attempting to defeat, overcome, or compel to goodness” an accomplice or “seeking forgiveness from, or trying to compensate” a victim, consider the player’s intention - if that’s the main reason they chose to take that path of action, it should count. The other abilities that The Turncoat takes can mean changing your strategies for running them and some may require input on your part. Here’s some guidance on running the game with those abilities involved: Self Improvement: This ability grants additional benefits when the player removes an event from their list of terrible things. Note that this can let the player remove cards from their deck much faster then other players - if the player does this, encourage them to make thematic choices that change their deck over time. We’re Not So Different...: This ability can sometimes prove mechanically unusual because it encourages players to keep around multiple Terrible Things rather then removing them. It’s worth trying to find opportunities where succeeding on the Understand Someone’s True Feelings or Convey Your Ideals roll would allow them to remove that terrible thing anyways in order to streamline gameplay. Take a Stand: Because this ability allows the player to call out hypocrisy in a more direct and impactful manner than other players, if a player’s taken this ability, you should try and create encounters where NPCs are acting under hypocritical pretences. Give them conflicting ideas or faulty justifications; this can lead to exciting and interesting story moments! Embracing the Darkness: From a purely mechanical standpoint, this move offers a massive benefit in the form of accomplishing a goal while gaining baggage and a terrible thing, both of which are sources of experience. To balance this, it’s important to really emphasise the sheer impact on the narrative and consequences it brings when the player uses this ability - it should be a large, even harrowing moment. Underworld Prestige: Because this ability relies on people still thinking of The Turncoat as someone with villainous potential, it’s worth keeping the character’s darkness or redemption in question if they take this ability. It’s important that the player is always making a deception when they use this ability, but one that NPCs or even players could conceivably believe as true. This is Personal: Because this ability gives the players benefits when they fight with a victim or accomplice, you should give the player opportunities to fight with these characters whenever possible. Put these characters in the player’s way and give them motivation to bring them to blows with The Turncoat, or fight alongside them.

146 Advancement When players fill their experience tracks, the can choose to advance. When advancing, choose one option from the Advancement section on your Playbook and mark the box. If you can’t mark a box for that option, you can’t choose that option for your advancement. Once you have made at least three advancements, you may instead choose advancements from the Major Advancements section on your Playbook. If a player chooses not to advance when they fill their experience track, they can choose to fulfil that advancement at any time in the future. You can’t gain experience while your experience track is full. Each Playbook has the same advancement options, described here: Take an ability from your Playbook When you take this advancement, you may choose any of the abilities on your Playbook that you don’t already have, and have your character gain them. Take an ability from another Playbook When you take this advancement, you may choose any ability from a Perfect Draw! Playbook and take it. Add this move to your sheet in whatever way you prefer (copy/paste, cutouts, writing): it is now a part of your Playbook. Certain moves will have requirements to take them (For example, The Rogue’s Extra Prepared move requires A Trick Up Your Sleeve); to take these moves, you will need the required move first. Add a new staple to your Staple List When you take this advancement, you may choose any generic staple from the generic staples list, and add it to your staples list in addition to your other staples. This means that the first time you take this, you’ll have four staples, and the second time, you’ll have five. Increase one of your stats by one When you take this advancement, choose one of your stats (Passion, Skill, or Friendship), and increase its value by one: it is now permanently increased by that amount. Changing Playbooks If for whatever reason, you feel like your characters story has changed enough that their playbook no longer fits them, you and your Judge can choose to change your playbook. When you do this, check how many advancements you’ve already completed and make a new character with the same number of advancements. You should keep the same name and deck you’ve been using already. The Judge should be lenient with you if you need additional “Take an ability from another Playbook” options for your character to still make sense.

147 Create a new {Ace} card This is a special advancement option that can only be after unlocking your major advancements. When you take this advancement, you may immediately create a new card using the card creation rules described in Chapter 3. This card has {Ace}. Shuffle it into your deck. You do not need to answer why it is important to you on your sheet, but it may be useful for you to. You also unlock the ability to use Play Your {Ace} Card twice in the battle instead of the usual one time. If you could use it twice or morez by other means, you can instead use it an additional time. Complete your character’s final goal. Retire your character. This is a special advancement option that can be taken once per character, and only after unlocking your major advancements. When you take this advancement, you first “Complete your character’s final goal”; this means that whatever goal the character currently has (defined by you) is completed and accomplished successfully. This is your chance to be bombastic and special, to redefine the world around you in a significant way, and to leave behind an impact that won’t be forgotten. Work with the Judge to decide what this means for your character. You then “Retire your character”. Retiring can mean many things; it could be that your character died, has been injured enough to put them out of commision, or has simply moved on past the goals of the other players. Either way, retiring your character means you are no longer playing as them. Instead, create a new character. You may create this character as if they had already advanced once. If you took this advancement in the middle of a session, it may be useful to continue playing your character until after the session is over or another appropriate moment, retiring them once it ends and introducing your new character in the following session. New Options After Ten Advancements By default, Perfect Draw! offers ten advancement options that make your character stronger while including one final eleventh option that retires your character all togeather while letting them do something spectacular as a send off. This encourages the focus of the story to change over time - but some players in longer campaigns may want to keep their character around while still advancing and getting stronger. In these situations, we recommend adding additional boxes to “Take an ability from another playbook” once that player has marked each box other then “Complete your character’s final goal. Retire your character.” Each of these boxes should take a number of advancements to take then normal - starting at two, and increasing by one for each time the player has taken an advancement after the first 10. This will help to ensure the player never gets too much stronger then everyone else at the table.

148 This chapter describes “Shuffle City”; this is the default setting for Perfect Draw! and can be a great jumping-off point for your first sessions with the game. Shuffle City itself leans heavily into card game toy anime tropes with a modern, silly, and real-world TCG twist, so as to help players better relate to the world. This chapter includes details on the city’s culture, notable people alongside their decks, and plot hooks ready to be expanded on within your game. None of this is set in stone; feel free to shuffle things around and rework, remove, or add whatever you want if you choose to make Shuffle City the stage of your game! Remove whole organisations and add in new ones, change the way that people play card games, reorganise the history of the world, and place your characters somewhere in the middle so that they can be incredibly important! Try not to do something just because this chapter describes it as true; lean into ideas floated by the player and concepts they’ll find fun. If you’re making your own setting, which is something we definitely encourage, then you can use this chapter as a source for inspiration instead. Feel free to use any plot points or characters that you find interesting. Additionally, the decks described in this chapter can be a fantastic tool for decks that opponents in your own campaign can use as well (either use them as is, or modify them to match your character’s personality). An Overview of Shuffle City On the coast of a large and populous continent sits Shuffle City. This multicultural shipping hub acts as an entertainment centre for both the surrounding area and the world, with a particular focus on card games as its main export. The city is known for its heavily congested traffic, so pedestrians started playing card games while waiting for the chance to use the crosswalk. These “Crosswalk Games” later turned into a tradition from which the city gained reputation, culminating in the invention of the “Battle Disk” to facilitate card games while standing. When card games boomed in popularity around the world, Shuffle City benefited as the cultural touchstone everyone was aware of. Today, the city is dominated by card games; schools teach variations of card game studies, people in the city are constantly battling in the middle of the street, and the biggest corporations in the whole city focus on the development of both card games and card game tools. Chapter Five Shuffle City

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