Realms Apart Studios – Home of Duels of the Runemasters Customizable Card Game (CCG)

Duels of the Runemasters: Primers

1. Introduction

Welcome to the beginning of our series of “Primers” on the various elements of Duels of the Runemasters. Duels of the Runemasters isn’t a “simple” game, but it is pretty easy to learn and offers some really great strategic, customizable gameplay. These Primers are designed to introduce players and potential players alike to the various elements that make up a game of DotR. Eventually we’ll get into talking about the game’s rules and how to play as well. But we’ll begin by going over each of the primary game components: Cards, Runes, Terrain and player Characters. Each of the first four articles in the series will discuss one of these components in some detail as well as giving an overview of how it is used in the game.

The first article in the series will focus on the player’s Character and will be released within a week. We will follow with -biweekly articles focusing on each of the other components before diving into game-play and the rules. On the off weeks we’ll be adding new art work to our Wallpapers section featuring stunningly beautiful in-game art. We hope the series will be informative and fun as we lead up to the launch of Duels of the Runemasters on the iPhone and iPad late this year. You’ll be able to ask questions in the comments and we’ll be sure to respond. You might even wind up in our FAQs!

Watch for the first article next week!

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2. Your Character

The Character Sheet

A player’s character is their representative in the world of Duels of the Runemasters. Character Sheets like those seen in Dungeons and Dragons or even World of Warcraft are used to keep track of everything there is to know about your character from his or her name to their vital statistics like Strength (STR), Intelligence (INT), Dexterity (DEX) and Life Points (LIFE), among others. The character sheet is also where equipment cards are placed whenever any new item is equipped.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, we’ll dive into the details of the character sheet. If you click the image of the character sheet shown here, a larger version will open in a new window to allow you to see the details as we review the sheet and what everything is for. We’ll start with all the data in the middle of the sheet before moving on to the various equipment slots. So here goes…

At the very top center of the Character Sheet is the DotR logo. That’s just there so you remember what game you’re playing until you get hopelessly addicted and can’t get the game out of your head

Character Portrait

Beneath the logo is the Character Portrait for your character. There are 18 possible combinations of Race/Class/Gender available in the first edition game. Your character portrait, by default, will represent the choices you’ve made as you create your character. In other words, if you’ve created a Male Dwarven Wizard, your character portrait will look like the one pictured in the sample Character Sheet we’re working with. We have tentative plans to also allow players to add their own images as the character portrait if they wish, but this feature may be implemented in a later free update to the base game.

Name

After the portrait comes the Character Name. This is set by the player at the time the Character is created and can be anything the player would like.

Race and Class

The Character’s Race and Class come next. These are important choices because some races and classes offer bonuses and penalties to base stats. For instance, Dwarves are very strong in Moridia, so they get a +1 STR modifier just for being Dwarves, however, they are also stocky and a bit slower, so they also get a -1 DEX penalty. Likewise, the choice of class can affect a Character’s combat stats such as ATK, DAM and DEF. For example, Warriors are trained fighters so they get a +1 on their base ATK and DAM score, but they are often the most reckless as well, so they get a -1 penalty to DEF.

Stats

Following the Race and Class listings are the Character’s stats, both basic (STR/INT/DEX) and combat (ATK/DAM/DEF) as well as their LIFE points.

Basic Stats

A Character’s basic stats define their baseline physical and mental capabilities and are represented by values assigned to Strength (STR), Intelligence (INT), and Dexterity (DEX). These scores must have a minimum value of 1 and can have a maximum value up to 6. When a player is first defining his or her character, they are given 10 Stat points to be assigned to STR/INT/DEX in any way the player sees fit. Each must have at least a value of 1.

Strength (STR) represents a Character’s physical prowess and relates to how much damage a character can do as well as affecting their ability to hit their targets. Some types of equipment (weapons, armor) are very large and heavy and carry certain STR requirements. For example, certain two-handed swords require a strength of at least 4 to equip. Some really high-end equipment may even require a strength of 5.

Intelligence (INT) represents a Character’s mental and intellectual capacity and relates to the character’s capabilities when it comes to magic (Spells and Enchantments). Some spells and enchantments are very powerful and require certain minimum INT scores. For example, an Enchantment that allows players to draw extra cards every turn may require an INT of 4 or 5 in order to be cast.

Dexterity (DEX) measures a Character’s speed and agility. Some types of equipment carry certain DEX requirements in order to be equipped. Likewise, DEX can also affect a character’s movement rate on the map (game board). Character’s with a high DEX score have the potential to move more than one tile in a single turn.

That covers the basic stats. Next we’ll move on to…

Combat Stats

Combat Stats are the values that come into play during, well, combat. Attack (ATK), Damage (DAM) and Defense (DEF) make up a Character’s Combat Stats. Each can have a value in the range of 1-6. All Characters begin with a base of 2 for each score. However, a Character’s base value for each score is affected by both his or her class as well as the values of their basic stats.

For example, Wizards focus their efforts on mental capabilities, and therefore suffer from a -1 to ATK. On the upside, they gain +1 to both DAM and DEF due to their enhanced mental prowess. On the other hand, Warriors focus heavily on the physical and they gain +1 to ATK and DAM due to their brute strength, while suffering from a -1 to DEF. Likewise, basic stats can also affect Combat Stats. Characters with low STR scores (1-2) suffer -1 penalties to both ATK and DAM while Characters with high STR (5-6) gain +1 bonuses to the same.

Players should carefully consider the choices they make when defining their base stats and choosing their Race and Class. These choices affect your Character in combat as well as defining which cards are available and usable by him or her during the course of the game.

Life Points

The final value listed on the Character Sheet is Life points (LIFE). This value represents the general heath of your Character. Whenever you take damage it is subtracted from your current LIFE total. If a Character reaches zero LIFE, he or she looses the game.

Equipment Slots

In columns down the left and right edges of the Character Sheet are columns of small square icons which represent the Equipment the Character currently has equipped. Next time, we’ll get into a discussion about the Equipment slots which will lead nicely into the following article all about the game’s Cards.

Come back in two weeks for the next installment in our Duels of the Runemasters: Primers series and we’ll finish up our discussion of the Character Sheet with an in-depth look at the Equipment slots and how they work. And don’t forget to check in next week for the newest addition to our Wallpaper Gallery in Extras!