Dungeons and Deuces – Rules v 0.9.2 Dungeons and Deuces is a free roleplaying game that uses regular playing cards to resolve encounters. The core game mechanics are similar to a game of Poker Poker,, and drawing encounters is based on Black Jack. The result is an easy-to-learn game that balances luck and strategy. strategy. ntended for !-" Players, but may be played with # or $.
Materials and Getting Started •
The Game Master (GM) and each Player needs their own Deck of standard playing cards. o
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't least ( Deck of )nemies *printed from our site+ o
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ou may mi and match )nemy ets or keep them as separate Decks.
Deck.4 Optional / The 01 also may use an additional Deck of playing cards as the 23oot Deck.4 o
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%emove &okers from all decks and shuffle them.
This Deck is optional but recommended5 otherwise you will need pen and paper. paper.
Optional / 6lass 6ards *printed from our site+, important resource for new Players. o
Players pick a 6lass and start at 3evel (.
Target Difficulty •
Target Difficulty 7 ( Player 7 $ 8 # Players 7 (9 8 ! Players 7 ($ 8 :" Players 7 #9 o
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4 Players may re;uire the 01 to use # Decks of cards
Encounter Difficulty 7 The Difficulty of all )nemies Drawn added up
Results •
f )ncounter Difficulty is 3) than Target Difficulty o
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Players go first *no Initiative Draw re;uired+
f )ncounter Difficulty is )<='3 to Target Target Difficulty o
Players go first *no Initiative Draw re;uired+
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Treasure: The cost of 3oot is reduced by one card at the end of the )ncounter *explained in Loot section+
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f )ncounter Difficulty is 0%)'T)% than Target Difficulty o
Treasure: The cost of 3oot is reduced by one card at the end of the )ncounter
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Initiative Draw/ 01 and a Player Draw the top card from their Decks. The side with the
higher value card goes (st. %eturn cards to the bottom of the D ecks. Players >in on Ties
Encounter Setup Players •
Players Draw a ? card @and at 3evels ( and #5 't 3evel ! and above, Players Draw A cards. o
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Players must Discard if their hand-sie eceeds (9 cards at any time
f a Player has no Discard Pile, they must Draw and Discard the top card from their Deck
Enemies •
01 Draws )nemy 6ards ( at a time o
Ceep Drawing until the Encounter Difficulty is within ! of the Target Difficulty
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3ike Black Jack, Players choose to have the 01 Draw an additional )nemy 6ard or tay
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Draw @ands for each of the )nemies as indicated by their )nemy 6ards
)nemies begin with Basic 'bilities and gain their )lite ability when marked )3T) •
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They remain )lite at 3evels higher than when they become )lite
The 3evel of the )nemies is e;ual to the c urrent Player 3evel
)ach of these )nemies is treated as its own separate hand
Targeting and Turn Order •
)very )ntity or Player on a side gets to Attack before it becomes the other sides turn. Turn Turn order is decided by the Players or 01 in the case of )nemies and may change each turn.
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The 01 must target the Player with the highest card on top of their Discard Pile for 'ttack. o
This card is referred to as the Players Treat !ar"
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f cards of the same value, targeting is at 01s discretion
01 may target a Players controlled )ntities, or #ets , rather than the Player
)nemy 'bilities may be used on any Player of the 01s choice.
o!"at •
Pair, Triple, Eour of a Cind, or $-card Poker @and *or skip their turn+. Attacker can Play a ingle, Pair,
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The Defen"er must match the @and Played in number of cards. *=nless otherwise stated+
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' single may only be successfully countered with a ingle of e;ual or greater value, a pair with a pair, pair, a triple with a triple, a four of a kind with a four of a kind, or a $ card hand with a $ card hand.
ou can 'ttack an enemy with a valid hand of any sie, regardless of how many cards they have left. f they canFt Defend it, they are Defeated *unless they >in as a result of an 'bility+.
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f you cant Defen" the amount of cards Played with a valid hand, you must still Play an e;ual amount of cards, but you cant Tie or >in regardless of the value of cards Played.
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' $-6ard @and is Galid HI3 HI3 if all $ cards are used, such as with a Eull-@ouse, E ull-@ouse, traight, and Elush.
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'll cards Played are Discarded *unless otherwise stated+.
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Players may use an 'bility and8or 'ttack once on their turn unless the 'bility reads Instead of Attacking Attacking, in which case the 'bility can only be used in place of ( 'ttack. o
f the Player can 'ttack # or more times thanks to the effect of another 'bility, only ( 'ttack is consumed when using the 2Instead of Attacking4 'bility.
Evaluation •
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Eor ingles, Pairs, Triples, and Eour of a Cinds, only the value of the cards matters. o
6ards may eceed the value of an 'ce with 'bilities or 3oot.
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)amples/ a A beats a ?5 a
$ 6ard hands are decided by Poker rules *suits dont matter+. o
" of a kinds cannot be Defended by $ card @ands
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>ild 6ards or value ad&ustments take effect before combat is resolved and may be c hained.
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'bilities can raise a cards value higher than an 'ce.
Resolution •
The winner of a 6ombat hand Draws cards e;ual to the amount of cards that he8she Played.
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f 6ombat is a Tie, both the 'ttacker 'ttacker and Defender Draw cards as if theyd >on. >on. o
Both >ins and Ties are considered success in 6ombat for Drawing purposes
Victory and Defeat
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' Player or )nemy is Defeate" when they have no cards left. o
Player8)nemy Player8)nemy controlled-entities are IHT Defeated when t heir master is Defeated
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f all Players are Defeated, they must shuffle their Discard Piles back into their Decks.
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=pon Gictory all remaining cards left in players players hands are Discarded. o
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Remember to finish battles and draw to the end – this is XP after all!
f the last remaining Player is Defeated at the same time as the last enemy, Players >in
Ene!y Types #$asic% Elite% $oss& •
$asic: 6an only use the Basic *top+ 'bility5 cannot 'ttack with " or $ 6ard hands.
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Elite: 1ay use both Basic and )lite *bottom+ 'bilities5 cannot 'ttack with " or $ 6ard hands.
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$oss: 1ay use both Basic and )lite 'bilities5 6'I 'ttack with " or $ 6ard hands.
'oot •
There are ! tiers of 23oot4 and ! ways to ac;uire it
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>henever a Player receives 3oot, they draw a card from the %oot Deck
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>henever the Player Draws a card from their own deck through the normal flow of the game with the same suit and value as a 3oot 6ard they own, it has the following special properties/
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!ommon K The card may be played as itself or ( value higher.
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&are K The card counts for two its kind *may be played as a Pair by itself or with other cards+.
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E#ic K >3DL The card can count as any card.
3oot cards are placed net to the Players Deck face-up as a reminder/ o
Keep track of tiers howeer o"#d like – location$ orientation$ etc%
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If o" don#t hae an extra Loot &eck$ sh"ffle the '( deck$ &raw a card and make a note of which card is &rawn on a piece of paper) paper)
How to get loot •
't the )nd of an encounter 3oot is given to Players according to the number of #s in their @ands. o
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Pair of #s 7 !ommon 8 Three #s 7 &are 8 Eour #s 7 E#ic
Players can only have up to $ pieces of loot at once, but they can trade up for improvements
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Trade Trade # !ommons for ( &are 8 Trade # &ares for ( E#ic
'eveling (p •
>hen a Player goes through their entire Deck, all Players 3evel =p. o
Their Discard Piles are reshuffled and become their Decks.
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f a Player runs through their Deck in the middle of an )ncounter, )ncounter, they shuffle their Discard Pile, draw a new Threat 6ard, 6a rd, and continue to use it as their Deck5 however, however, 3eveling doesnFt occur until after combat, at which point the rest of the players must shuffle their Discard Piles back into their decks.
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At %evel ' Players Initial Draw i*e g rows to +,
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3evels also grant access to new 'bilities as described by the 6lass 6ards.
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-PTI-.A%: /or a faster0#ace" game1 level u# after every Encounter, Encounter,
)ddition )ddit ional al * Opti Optional onal Rules Order of Operations •
'bilities, 'ttacks, and Defenses all occur in the order that they were presented. o
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'bilities marked * Disru#t+ have the capacity to change or prevent the last action taken.
ou may not blurt out an action while another Player or the 01 is in the middle of performing an action. o once the intent has been declared, nothing can occur before that action is presented ecept a Disrupt 'bility.
Miscellaneous Optional Rules •
Players may G2A&D instead of 'ttacking or using an 'bility during their turn, which allows them to Discard a card and Draw a card
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'dd8subtract from Target Target Difficulty to ad&ust Difficulty
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Players may trade loot with each other
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Eeel free to allow a single Player to play # or ! classes K the game works best with #-! characters playing, although certain characters can do well alone.
+olding Being a punching bag is not a whole lot of fun, and an eperienced 01 will know when he or she is beaten, so feel free to concede an )ncounter to the Players by /ol"ing. •
' 01 can Eold at any time
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Players may may Draw cards e;ual to the number of cards that the )nemies had left when the 01 Eolds. This is to ensure they receive an appropriate amount of eperience and chance for 3oot.
usto! )"ilities 6ustom 'bilities add an optional layer of customiation to classes. ncorporating them into the game is easy/ •
)ach Player chooses a 6ustom 'bility at the beginning of the game
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Place the 6ustom 'bility card beneath your 6lass card so that only the chosen ability is visible.
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Iow your character can use that ability as instructed for the remainder of the game.
+or $eginners $egi nners , -uest for o o/er /er This is the simplest of all game types and is recommended for first time players. The ob&ective is to reach 23evel ?4 K in other words, go through your entire Deck as a 3evel $. f one of the Players manages to do this, the game is complete. Players reshuffle reshuffle their Discard Piles into back into their Decks if the whole Party is Defeated.
o!petitive Ga!e Types -uest for 'oot ' great fit for fans of Poker, 3uest for %oot introduces simple gambling mechanics. >hat you use as ci#s is entirely up to you, &elly beans, ;uarters, or human souls, the stakes are yours to decide. •
Players begin with an e;ual number of chips.
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The 01s initial chip count is e;ual to all of the players chips added together. o
)ample/ f there are ! players against the 01 with A chips a piece, the 01 starts with #( chips.
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If plaing for higher stakes$ these chips sho"ld be disb"rsed from a comm"nal pot)
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The game may begin at whichever 3evel is decided upon5 we recommend 3evel !.
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Before every )ncounter, Players draw their hand and place agers. o
)very Player must >ager at least ( chip at the beginning of an )ncounter *The Blind+. 't ( chip, their Target Target Difficulty is set to the standard $.
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)ach Player can >ager additional chips to increase their individual Target Target Difficulty by ( pe r chip.
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'll other Players must match the highest bid to participate in the )ncounter. )ncounter.
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The 01 still takes their Blind if they do not participate.
Hnce all >agers are set, add up the Target Target Difficulties of the remaining Players. o
*xample+ If of , Plaers$ two bid , and the third Plaer folds$ the -arget -arget &iffic"lt for the *nco"nter *nco"nter wo"ld be ./ 001234 2 01 2 344
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The 01 begins Drawing )nemy cards and continues Drawing until the Target Difficulty is met or eceeded. Players cant coose to 5stay6 7eneat te Target Difficulty, Difficulty,
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't this point, the Players may choose to raise, but do not have to match each others bet amount.
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's long as the combined raises dont bring the new Target Difficulty over the current Difficulty of the )ncounter, )ncounter, no additional )nemies are drawn.
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%egular nitiative %ules 'pply
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f a Player urvives the )ncounter, )ncounter, the 01 must pay them an amount e;ual to their bet. o
f a Player does not urvive the )ncounter, )ncounter, the 01 collects that Players bet.
Masters and Monsters This mode re;uires no 015 instead, control over the )nemies is divided amongst the Players. ts a great party game for eperienced Dungeons and De uces players. Players Players can win by defeating other players and keeping their monsters alive, but having the whole party wiped out isnt good for anyone. •
Begin at 3evel (. Players Draw Draw hands and flip over their Threat 6ards as usual.
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Then each Player Draws )nemy 6ards until they e;ual or eceed a difficulty value of $.
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'll )nemies hands are drawn from the same communal *nem deck. deck.
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Their cards are Discarded into the same communal *nem Discard Discard Pile.
Players A%A8 have nitiative in this mode. o
The Player that drew the lowest difficulty of )nemies goes first.
n case of a tie, the Player with more )nemies goes first.
f two or more Players drew the same difficulty and same number of )nemies, they must Draw the top cards from their Decks5 higher cards go first.
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' Player takes his or her @ero 6haracters Turn Turn first, then it s their )nemies Turn before before the net Player gets to go o
Hnce every Players @ero and )nemies have gone, the %ound is over. over.
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Turn and once during a @eros Once per -"rn abilities can be used once during an )nemys Turn Turn every %ound.
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Players cannot 'ttack 'ttack their own )nemies, nor can their own )nemies 'ttack them. o
Hther than that, )nemies must follow the same targeting rules as when played by a 01.
-he Plaer with the highest -hreat 5ard m"st be targeted for Attack$ Attack$ tho"gh Abilities ma be "sed on an alid target)
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Te first Player to get 596 E#ic %oot car"s wins, 0, is good for a medi"m d"ration game4 o
's usual, 3oot is gained by the amount of Deuces in a Player s hand at the end of an )ncounter5 # 7 6ommon 3oot 8 ! 7 %are 3oot 8 " or more 7 )pic
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There are additional ways to ac;uire Deuces for loot at the end of an encounter/
Defeating a Player with your )nemies adds # Deuces
urviving an )ncounter adds ( Deuce per urvivor •
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o if ! Players urvived, each of them receive ! Deuces
's usual, Players can trade up # 6ommons for a %are or # %ares for an )pic.
Duel of te Duos This is a great mode for a ;uick competitive game between # Players. t re;uires no 01 or )nemy Deck. Players Draw a hand for each of their chosen 6lasses. 6o -hreat 5ards are re7"ired) •
)ach Player Draws ! @ero 6lasses and ! 6ustom 'bility cards at random. o
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They choose # out of the ! @ero 6lasses and which # 6ustom 'bilities to use.
Draw for nitiative or concede nitiative. o
The Player without nitiative may Draw an etra card for ( of their @eroes.
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Both of a Players @eroes have their turn before it becomes the other Players turn.
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>in an )ncounter by Defeating both of your opponents @eroes.
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Begin at 3evel (. Both Players gain a 3evel after each )ncounter. )ncounter. Te 7est out of wins;
ooperative ooperativ e ,T ,Traditional raditional -uest Traditional
Special Encounters pecial )ncounters cards are comprised of ! sections (. etup/ etup/ The top portio portion n of the card card tells the the 01 how many many cards cards and and hands to to Draw Draw as well as as other preparations needed to be made at the beginning of an )ncounter. )ncounter. #. 'bilities/ 'bilities/ The middle middle portion portion of the card display displayss the 'bilities 'bilities and )ffects )ffects contained contained by the pecial )ncounter. )ncounter. ince some )ncounters may contain multiple entities, abilities may be attributed by first naming the entity to which it belongs. !. ecret/ ecret/ The bottom bottom portion portion is hidden hidden from Playe Players rs view view by placing placing a card over over it. This section section can contain an optional weaknesses or hidden 'bilities that the pecial )ncounter might have. t is revealed once the Players discover discover it.
+i1ed and Rando! Encounters ' Traditional Traditional
difficulty. The 01 may choose which /i
These encounters form barriers of passage for players and work well for boss or special encounters5 they can even be used for things like traps or trick walls.
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Eied )ncounters may list an )nemy or pecial )ncounter, 3evel, and 1odifier.
1odifiers are added to or subtracted from the $-per-Player standard Target Target Difficulty. Difficulty. *o -# would make the Target Difficulty !-per-Player, or M( would make the Target Difficulty ?-per-Player+ •
)ample (/ Boss Iame, 3G3 $, -# o
Players face the pecial )ncounter listed and 3evel $ )nemies
drawn to 1odified Target Difficulty •
)ample #/ 3G3 ", M( Players face 3evel " )nemies drawn to 1odified Target Difficulty
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)ample !/ Boss Iame, -(
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Players face the pecial )ncounter listed and )nemies of their
current level drawn to 1odified Target Difficulty •
)ample "/ -( o
Player face an )ncounter of their 3evel drawn to 1odified Target
Difficulty o
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Eied )ncounters abide by nitiative Draw N 3oot Bonus rules *regardless of 3G3+
&an"om/ tandard 2Black Jack %ules4 drawing for an encounter o
0ood for when Players are traveling or to set up an impromptu battle
Roleplaying and creativity are re/arded •
's the 01, youre encouraged to reward Player Player creativity and good roleplaying.
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f a Player is attempting to overcome an )ncounter in a creative way, way, you can grant them a bonus to their nitial Draw ie.
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ou can give 3oot or bonus Deuces to 3oot checks at the end of an )ncounter at your discretion.
(ni3ue 'oot •
6reate your own uni;ue pieces of 3oot for a campaign containing custom abilities
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Players who receive
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Items are #urcase" in so#s wit car"s from Discar" Piles, o
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Players with multiple
huffle Discard Pile before paying, draw desired amount with cards face down.
=okers count count as Ace >?s wen use" as Treat !ar"s,
Glossary •
Play/ %efers to cards used in 'ttack or Defense during 6ombat86hallenges.
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Attack/ 'ttacker chooses which cards and what hand sie to play. The 01 must target the Player
with the highest card atop their Discard Pile to 'ttack. •
Defen" / %espond to 'ttacks by playing hands of the same amount of cards. Hnly the target of
the 'ttack may Defend the 'ttack unless otherwise stated. •
Treat !ar"/ The card presently on top of the Players Discard Pile5 the Player with the highest
Threat 6ard is targeted by the 01 for 'ttack •
acrifice/ %efers to cards that are purposefully Discarded to activate 'bilities. All 8acrifices co"nt as &iscards$ b"t not all &iscards co"nt as 8acrifices)
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uccess/ uccess is achieved if you Tie or Play a higher hand than your opponents
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il" &ange/ 6ards may count as a value between this %ange but cant change suits. >ild %ange
displayed as O- denotes a min*O+-ma*+ range5 O may be negative. *xample+ a 9 of of :earts with a ;ild Range of <3<3 can co"nt as a /$ 1$ 9$ =$ or > of :earts) ' single-number >ild %ange with a
2M4 in front of it is additive, meaning its value is added to the ma of any eisting >ild %anges. •
Encounter / 'n entire battle from start to finish
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Player Turn/ The phase during which Players 'ttack. 'ttack. There is no set turn order.
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order. Enemy Turn/ The phase during which )nemies 'ttack. There is no set turn order.
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&oun" / %efers to both a Player Turn and an )nemy Turn.
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Disru#t/ This ability can be used to change or prevent the effect of the last action taken.
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Discar" Pile/ ' pile of Discarded cards separate from your Deck or hand.
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@an"/ 1ay refer to the cards a Player or )ntity have left, or to a set of cards that was Played.
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Entity/ ' player, enemy, summoned pet or boss.
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Enemy Difficulty Balue / The large number displayed in the top right and bottom left of an )nemy
card5 an approimation of the challenge presented by the )nemy •
Encounter Difficulty / The Difficulty Galues of all )nemies Drawn added up
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value is a guide guide for an )ncounter )ncounter of average average difficulty difficulty.. Eor ( player player the Target Difficulty/ This value Target Difficulty is $, for # players its (9, for ! Players its ($, and for " Players its #9, but this may re;uire the 01 to use an additional deck.
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it/ Draw an additional )nemy 6ard
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tay/ Draw no additional )nemy 6ards
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Ally/ n the case of Players, 2'lly4 refers to all Players. n the case of an )nemy, 2'lly4 refers to all
)nemies. 'n 'bility that targets an 'lly can target the user as well unless it reads 2another 'lly. 'lly.4 •
/ace !ar"/ Jack,
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.egate/ Discard all cards in an 'ttack that has been Iegated5 do not Draw as a result of Play
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eal/ ' sealed 'bility becomes unusable
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/ol"/ The 01 can concede an )ncounter at any time, allowing Players to Draw cards e;ual to the
amount that the )nemies had left. •
ummon/ >hen 2summoning4 an )ntity, Draw its cards from the top of your Deck and place it in
front of you. This entity is under your control and can act independently, using an 'bility and8or 'ttacking once on your turn. These )ntities are referred to as Pets. •
Pets/ Pets are summoned )ntities. =nless otherwise stated, they can 'ttack and8or Defend on
the turn in which they are summoned. They can benefit from their summoners 3oot 6ards. 't the end of an encounter, encounter, a Pets Pet s remaining cards are placed in their summoner s Discard Pile. •
urvive/ ' Player is said to have 2survived4 if they have ( or more cards left in their @and at the
end of an )ncounter. •
Initial Draw i*e/ The amount of cards a Player draws at the beginning of an )ncounter. ? at
levels ( and #5 A at levels ! and above.
