A Battle Played Through Cards Glyphrune is a solo tabletop RPG set in a dark medieval fantasy world. Choose a hero, build your deck, and travel across a world of branching roads, dangerous regions, and increasingly difficult battles. Glyphrune is not intended to feel like a traditional card game. It is an RPG battle played through cards. Your cards represent the actions available to you. Use them to attack enemies, create block, restore health, draw additional cards, gain energy, or apply effects that change the course of battle. Winning a fight is only part of the journey. You also have to survive what comes after it. Survive the Road Ahead Health must be managed across the full journey. Damage suffered during one battle can leave you vulnerable in the next, and death ends the entire run. Even a victory can cost more than you were prepared to lose. Healing cards can help keep you alive during combat, while rest stops provide opportunities to recover between encounters. Every turn presents a choice. The strongest move may not be the one that deals the most damage. It may be blocking an incoming attack, saving a useful card, restoring health before it becomes an emergency, or choosing a safer road because the next battle could end the run. Every card played should be worth considering. Choose Your Hero Choose from four heroes, each with a different starting deck and approach to combat. Knight The Knight is built around defense, guarding, and counterattacks. Absorb incoming pressure and turn a strong defense into an opportunity to strike back. Mage The Mage uses wards, energy, and elemental attacks. Manage your available energy and combine powerful actions to control the battle. Ranger The Ranger focuses on control, marks, and ranged attacks. Prepare enemies for precise strikes and limit their ability to dictate the fight. Warrior The Warrior has greater health and relies on strength and direct damage. End battles through force while managing the risks that come with an aggressive approach. Your hero is the character you play throughout the run. There is no named protagonist or chosen-one story. Your class, deck, and decisions define the journey. Read the Enemy Enemies reveal the actions they are preparing to use. This gives you an opportunity to respond, but it does not always provide an easy answer. You must decide which threat matters most and how much risk you are willing to accept. You may need to block an attack, defeat the enemy before it acts, restore health, prepare a stronger turn, or accept damage to preserve an important card. Knowing what is coming does not guarantee survival. It gives you the information needed to make the decision yourself. Travel Through a Dark Medieval World The world of Glyphrune is divided into distinct regions connected through an expanding world map. Travel through forests, deserts, mountains, ruined cities, frozen lands, storm-beaten coasts, fortified roads, and hostile keeps. Each region contains its own: Roads and branching routes Battle locations Enemies and encounters Rewards Rest opportunities Regional boss Routes branch as you travel. Instead of moving through a fixed list of battles, you decide which road to follow, and which risks to accept. One path may provide an opportunity to recover. Another may lead to a difficult battle and a more valuable reward. The farther you travel, the more dangerous the world becomes. Shape Your Deck Card rewards allow your deck to change during a run. Choose cards that support your hero and work well with the actions you already have. Adding more cards is not always an improvement. A deck filled with actions that do not work together can become unreliable when the journey becomes harder. Rest stops may provide choices such as: Recovering health Removing an unwanted card Preparing for improved reward options later Improving your deck is important, but survival also depends on keeping it focused. Every reward should serve a purpose. Prepare for Regional Bosses Each region ends with a boss encounter. The battles along the way give you opportunities to strengthen your deck and recover, but they can also leave you weakened before the final fight. You must decide when to take a risk, when to avoid unnecessary damage, and when your deck is ready to move forward. Defeating a regional boss opens the way to more dangerous parts of the world. The journey continues until your hero falls or reaches the end.
