Crypt Shyfter

Solo card play (could possibly be played coop- each player would need their own deck). The
game is played with a normal deck of playing cards (jokers included), a pencil, and paper to
map the dungeon and track stats.

This game is super challenging- Ive only beaten the game once, and it took a little over an hour.

Objective: Collect 3 artifacts (one from each level of the dungeon). If a player dies, they may
sacrifice an artifact to resurrect themselves, but then they must descend deeper into the
dungeon to find artifacts on more dangerous levels

Dungeon setup: Monsters on level 1 have HP equal to their face value. Damage dealt is equal
to the card flipped over during the attack round. Add +1 to HP and attack damage for each level
of the dungeon (ex. Monsters on level 2 have face value +1 HP, monsters on level 3 have face
value +2 HP. An attack that shows 10 on level 3 does 12 damage (face value of 10 + 2 for the
dungeon level).

Character creation

Players can choose between 2 characters: warrior and wizard

Warrior: To build a warrior, draw 2 cards.

The first card represents HP- just take the face value (ex. A 9 of hearts is 9 HP). Players should
start with between 6-10 HP. Discard any cards outside of that range unless youre going
hardcore mode. Having less than 6 HP makes the game super deadly, and more than 10 makes
you really powerful out of the gate.

The 2nd card is your shield. Take half the face value. Drawing a 4 gives you 2 defense. Every
time youre attacked, subtract 2 from the damage you take.

Wizard: Draw 2 cards.

The first card is HP, just like the warrior.

The 2nd card represents magic. If you draw a 5, you get 5 spells. Draw 5 more cards and place
them facedown in front of you. This is your mana pool. These can be used to attack and defend.

Gameplay

Every game starts in the first room of a dungeon youve descended into from the ceiling. You
begin in a square room with 4 doors.
Choose a direction and flip over a card off the deck to find out what the room looks like. Aces
are staircases leading down. 2s are rooms with 2 doors, 3s rooms with 3 doors, and 4s are giant
4-door chambers. Monsters will not attack in a 4, and you regain full HP when you enter one.

If you draw any cards above 4, discard them until you draw a room. Whenever your deck runs
out, reshuffle the cards in it.

Every time you enter a new room (one that isnt a 4), you automatically enter combat. Flip over a
new card off the deck- this is your monster. Its HP is equal to the face value.

Combat

The player and monster flip over one card each from the deck. Highest number attacks first.

Monster combat: When a monster attacks, both the monster and the player flip over a card off
the top of the deck. If one card is red and the other is black, the attack misses. If both cards are
the same color, the attack is a hit. Monsters deal damage equal to the face value of the card
they flip UP TO THEIR HP. So if a 3 HP monster hits with a 5, he can only do a max of 3 (unless
hes on level 3 since he gets +2 to his HP!)

Warrior combat: When a warrior attacks, both the monster and the player flip over a card off
the top of the deck. If one card is red and the other is black, the attack misses. If both cards are
the same color, the attack is a hit. Warriors deal damage equal to the face value of the card they
flip. A king is 13 damage, an ace is 1 damage. If a warrior takes damage, his shield can absorb
some of the impact. This makes him invincible against some low level enemies- a warrior with 3
defense can immediately discard any monsters of 1, 2, or 3 HP and search for treasure, as
theyll never get past his armor.

Wizard combat: The wizard is by far the harder of the two characters to play. The wizard can
check for combat just like the monsters and warriors, but on a hit, the wizard always only deals
1 damage, regardless of the face value. To offset this, the wizard has magic. Instead of making
a normal attack, he can flip up a card from his spell pile and deal this much damage
automatically- no miss, no block, just a straight hit. The wizard also has no shield- if a monster
hits and does, say, 6 damage, the wizard can flip up one of his spells. If its a 2, he blocks 2 and
only takes 4 damage. If its a 6+ he blocks all damage completely.

Dropping to 0 HP kills you. Either sacrifice an artifact or restart.

Loot:

Every time you kill a monster, check for loot! Draw 2 cards. If their total is higher than 12, you
find loot! Draw a new card- this is your loot. (Lower than 12 and you get no loot).
HEARTS: Healing potions equal to their face value. These can be used any time. You cannot
exceed your starting HP.

SPADES: Weapons- add +1 to the damage you do on attacks (both magical and physical).

CLUBS: Armor- add +1 to your armor (yes, wizards can gain armor this way)

DIAMONDS: You found an artifact! Now find a staircase and go down to the next level. Even if
another creature drops a diamond on this floor, it doesnt count towards your goal- re-draw a
new treasure.

XP & Level up:

You get XP every time you kill a monster. XP is equal to the monsters HP. Every 20 XP you
level up as a warrior. Every 15 XP you level up as a wizard.

When you level up, spells and HP return to their max. You can also add +1 to HP, spells,
damage, or armor, your choice.

Wizards can spend 1 XP to gain 2 spells back. This means they level up slower, but it always
gives them access to powerful spells if they need them.

Backtracking through the dungeon:

Whenever you enter a new dungeon room you immediately enter combat. However, if you enter
a room youve already cleared, you may not have to fight. Check for wandering monsters by
drawing a card. A face card is a wandering monster- flip over the next card in the deck and
thats the monster HP you fight.

Once youve collected all 3 artifacts, you need to return to the entrance to win- hopefully you
arent killed on the way out!

Shyfters:

The jokers in the deck are Shyfters- the evil masters of this amorphous dungeon youre crawling
through. These guys are tough! They have 20 HP and 20 magic.

When a shyfter fights, they flip a card from their magic pile. A red card heals them equal to half
the face value (a 6 gives them +3 HP). Shyfters CAN go over their starting HP with heals. A
black card deals straight damage that players can attempt to block as normal.
Players attack as normal and shyfters block as normal monsters. The unique thing about
Shyfters is that their magic pool and HP are combined. So while theyre casting spells, theyre
slowly weakening themselves. When a Shyfter runs out of cards, theyre dead. Your damage
causes them to lose cards, and their spells cause them to lose spells. Only the Shyfters healing
spells keeps them from losing cards too fast.

When a shyfter is killed, remove the joker from the game and breathe a sigh of relief.