Demon Cards

One of the pastimes of the inhabitants of Mistone is a card game known as Creatures, or Demon Cards by those who believe the game is of evil origins. In years past, Hlint's Wild Surge Inn sported a Card Emporium, and it's been rumored that the Demon Hole Tavern in Arnax also had one. The game is easy to play yet many enjoy the combination of luck, strategy, and planning. Though shunned by those seeking the more visceral thrills of the combat arena, most residents are happy pitting imaginary creatures against each other.

The goal of Creatures is simple- defeat your opponent's avatar. As the avatars are immobile game pieces with no combat ability, this can be a bit of a challenge. Instead, cards are played by each side to summon creatures which do battle with your opponent's creatures and their avatar. When one avatar falls, the game is over.

An expert player is aware of the game's complexities. Each creature has a casting cost as well as an attack and defense rating. In order to play the card, you must have enough magic available to cover the card's casting cost.

Magic is generated by magic generators, created by playing a magic generator card. You can only play one generator per cycle, which limits the amount of magic available to you early in the game.

There are no clear turns in Creatures, as both players play cards continuously throughout play. What limits the speed of the game are cycles. At the beginning of every cycle a new card is drawn for each player. If a player has more than eight cards, the non-generator card(s) in the far left of your hand will be discarded. Any magic generators that have had their power used up by casting spells will be replenished. It's also a time when an additional magic generator may be put into play.

At the beginning of the game, every player gets seven cards. The first move of the game is to play a magic generator. After the generator begins producing power, you can start summoning creatures. You can summon as many creatures in your hand as you have magic from your generators. You can never have more than forty cards in a deck, though you can have as few as one card. However, if you run out of cards before either avatar has been killed, you lose.

There are non-creatures you can play as well. These spells are cast just like creature cards, but instead have a variety of effects on the game. Read the descriptions carefully.

Certain creature cards can be sacrificed to produce different effects. To sacrifice a creature, click on the gallows object to the left of the cards.

To purchase your first set of forty cards, simply speak to the Game Store Owner. Expansion sets cost fifty gold pieces and get you five more cards.