I'll be adjusting these rules and filling stuff out over the next few days as I get things polished up and answer questions. Ask questions if you don't understand something, please!
Basic Rules:
Players create their Decks:
1 Character Deck
1 Frame Deck
1 Weapon Deck
2 Augment Decks (Must be of different types)
There is a limit of one of each Deck per game, so we can't have two people both using the Brawler frame or the Heavy Armor augment.
Hand Size is 5 Cards
Game Play Order:
Draw next Story/Plot Card
If End Of Act Card is Drawn
All Players Shuffle their Hands, Discard, and Decks back together.
Follow any additional Instructions on Card
Draw any additional Cards needed (Usually NPCs, but could be additional Plot or Story cards)
If Non-Combat
Discard - Players may discard any remaining cards in their hand (Except Wounds)
Draw - Players draw back up to their hand limit (Usually 5 Cards)
Armor Cards may be played during this phase to Discard Damage cards & Draw new ones. They are then returned to the player's hand.
Repair & Heal cards may also be played at this time
If a Player has ONLY Damage and/or Wound cards they are Defeated and cannot participate in the encounter
Play Cards to meet the Challenge (Players are not required to play cards if they cannot succeed)
Gain White/Black Token for Success/Failure
If ALL players are Defeated, game is over
If Combat
Determine Party Order
Combat Rounds until Victory/Retreat/Defeat
Discard - Players may discard any remaining cards in their hand (Except Wounds)
Draw - Players draw back up to their hand limit (Usually 5 Cards)
Armor Cards may be played during this phase to Discard Damage cards & Draw new ones. They are then returned to the player's hand.
Repair & Heal cards may also be played at this time
If a Player has ONLY Damage and/or Wound cards they are Defeated and cannot participate in the encounter
Enemy Units Attack
Players play Defensive/General cards (General cards are Draws, Discards, etc), and may use Defensive Abilities
Players take Damage and Wound cards as needed for any damage that gets through
Players Play Offensive/General cards and Abilities OR Players Retreat
Remove Health from damaged enemies
Remove enemies with 0 health counters
If All enemies are defeated, Gain White Token
If Retreated, Gain Black Token
If ALL players are Defeated, game is over
Rest & Recover
Players may either remove 1 Damage card from their Hand or Discard pile OR discard 1 Wound from their Hand
Challenges:
Non-Combat - Non Combat challenges are resolved by meeting or exceeding the requirements for the challenge. Most of these challenges are group challenges, but occasionally it will be a single-player challenge wherein the other players are unable to assist.
Each Challenge will require the players to match a set number for one or more of the Non-Combat categories: Diplomacy, Wealth, or Work. Each separate category represents a Test. The Difficulty of each Test(Small, Average, Large) will give the required value and is based on the number of players. (For instance, an Average Test for Four players requires a total of at least 8 in that test to succeed.) The Difficulties can be different for each Test within a given Challenge.
Alternative, some Challenges may provide a Keyword that will give an Automatic Success to the Test: Engineer, Flight, Stealth, etc.
Non-Combat challenges are single-shot affairs, the players either succeed or fail with a given hand of cards. Success usually provides a White Story Token, and Failure a Black Story Token. There may be additional effects after the Success or Failure.
Combat - Combat challenges pit the players against one or more Enemy troops. Combat goes until all enemies are defeated, the players retreat, or all players are defeated.
Players set their Combat Order at the beginning of the Combat from 1 -> X (x is the number of players). This combat order determines what order the players attack in as well as which player is targeted by a given enemy. Combat Order can be adjusted during the Combat by players discarding a card to move up or down a spot in the order.
Enemies are handled Mechanically, and will play out their turns in the same fashion each turn until defeated. Each enemy will, during their turn attack a specific Combat Position. This is stated as First (1), Last (X), or an adjustment to one of the two. First + 1 would represent the player in the Second Combat Order position, Last -2 would represent two up from X (so, 2 in a 4 player game). If the adjustment would go up past 1 or down past X, it stops at that point.
Enemy Attacks: When enemies attack the Players may react to avoid taking damage. This is done by playing Defense cards of a single type to counter the Enemy's attack. There are three categories of Attack and Defense: Melee, Ranged, and Magic. Ideally, players would use the corresponding Defense to an Attack. I.e. Melee Defense vs Melee Attack. However, if needed players can use another Defense type at a penalty. In order to prevent damage, the player will need to provide additional defense cards of that type in accordance with the chart below.
Melee - Melee 0, Magic +1, Ranged +2
Magic - Magic 0, Ranged +1, Melee +2
Ranged - Ranged 0, Melee +1, Magic +2
For example, someone trying to use Magic Defense to stop a Melee Attack of 3 would need to play 4 Magic Defense to avoid all of the damage. The +1 means that the first point of Magic Defense played is basically ignored. Playing 3 Magic Defense in this scenario would prevent only 2 Damage to the player.
Players may use Defense Boosts (+1/2/3 cards) to aid another player in Defending against an attack. The must all be of the same type as the Defense the Defending Player is already using.
Damage and Wounds: When players are unable to prevent all of the enemy's attack, they gain Damage and Wound cards. Generally, a player takes Damage cards equal to the amount of damage that was not prevented and puts them in his discard pile. However, if the player was unable to defend an attack at all they instead get a single Wound card which goes directly into their hand. Note that even a Defense that blocks 0 damage will still result in Damage cards instead of a Wound.
Player Attacks: Once all Enemy attacks have been resolved, players get to counter attack. In Combat Order, each player may begin an Attack against an Enemy using Attack cards from their hand of a specific type. Other players may also add in Attack Boosts (+1/2/3) of that type to aid the attack. The total attack value is then reduced by the enemy's Defense value for that type of attack, and any unreduced damage is removed from the enemy's health. Once an enemy's health goes to 0 it is removed from the battle.
Retreat: Instead of attacking, the players may instead opt to retreat from a battle. Doing so involves a retreat Challenge listed on the Story Card, generally a Non-Combat check (such as Average Work). The players must complete that task in order to retreat, and cannot mix Combat actions with that task. Note that players must decide to retreat before playing any General Cards (such as Draw 2). If the players fail to retreat, the combat continues as normal.
Card Abilities:
Most cards have two sets of abilities, Combat and Non-Combat, although some have a single ability than can be used in either situation (or during a different phase).
Non-Combat - These are simply represented as Diplomacy 1/2/3, Wealth 1/2/3, Work 1/2/3, or a combination of the above. If a card has multiple types, only one can be used at a time. For example, if a card has Wealth/Work 1 then you may use it as either Wealth 1 or Work 1, but not both.
Combat - Combat cards have four types: Attack, Attack Boost (+), Defense, and Defense Boost (+) and may be Melee, Ranged, Magic, or a combination of the above. Attacks may be used to start an attack or add to the value of an attack you have already started. Attack Boosts may only be used to add to an already started attack, but may be played on yourself or another player. Defense and Defense Boost cards work the same way when defending from an attack. Like Non-Combat cards, if a card has multiple options for type only one can be used at a time. Combat cards may only add to Attacks/Defenses of the same type.
Chains - Chains are a special type of attack. They must begin with an attack that has the Chain Start keyword. Mid-Chain cards can then be played onto that attack to add the Chain Boost to the attack even if the base attack type of the card is different from the attack. If the base type is the same as the attack, it will add to it like a normal Attack Boost in addition to the Chain Boost. Chain End cards work similarly, but only one Chain End may be used in a chain. Other Chain End cards work like normal Attack Boost cards.
Armor - Armor cards have a special ability which allows them to be played during the Draw phase. When played, they allow you to discard a Damage card and draw a replacement. Each Armor card can only be played once during the Draw Phase. They return to your hand at the end of the Phase and may be played for their Defense value during the Combat Defense phase.
Defend - Defend cards can be played to take an attack meant for another player yourself. When doing so, you gain 1 Defense from the Defend ability in addition to any defensive stats the card already possesses.
General - Many Cards, such as a Draw 2, are General use and can be played during a Non-Combat challenge, during a Combat Defense phase, or during a Combat Attack phase. If a card lists a specific phase on it, it may only be used during that phase.
Specific card wording will trump any of the general rules.
Deck Abilities:
Characters, Frames, and Weapons all have an Ability on them. Some of these are Keywords that can be used in Non-Combat challenges. Otherwise, they are usually a Discard ability that provides a small but specific bonus. Each Deck's ability may be used once per turn.