The Rules of BATTLECARDS

Even as you read this, Nightrun and the Deceptiquan are revising and improving the rules and card designs for maximum enjoyment during gameplay. Here are the rules as they were in 1997.

Theme:

Object:

Card Descriptions

1. Battlefields:
   These are the territories that the characters fight over. some territories have special affects on certain warriors that battle on them (i.e. fighting at the ark gives all autobots a special power boost). If at any time a player has no battlefields in play, and doesn't bring out another during his/her next turn, then that player loses the game.

2. Characters:
   These are the warriors themselves. They are the troops that are gathered and used to conquer and defend battlefields. There are many different armies, ranging from the Autobots and Decepticons from The Transformers, to the Veritech, Zentradi, Robotech Master, and Invid armies of Robotech, to the Servo, Tech, and Vector armies of Metalface. Each character has a Power value, a Skill value, and a class designation. Power determines how much punishment the character can dish out and withstand before being 'scrapped'. Skill determines how many different actions the character is able to perform during battle. The class designation determines what kind of actions the character can perform.

3. Actions and Special Actions:
   The Actions are used to alter the course of any particular battle. Actions subtract from a character's skill points, but add an additional power boost to the character.
   Special Actions require skill levels equal to the character's skill level, but instead of fighting, the character would have the option to alter the course of battle in another way (Ressurecting a dead warrior, calling for backup, disrupting the circuits of the attacking character, etc.). These are specific to whatever class the character fits into.
   Some Special Actions are specific to one particular character. Each character has one, and no one else can use it except that character.

4. Transformations:
   These allow a character to convert into another form. They can be placed, replaced, or taken off any time before or after battle, but once battle begins, the character is stuck in whatever form the player put it in prior to the battle. On the transformation card is a free action which can be used only when the card is used, in which case, all actions and special actions are forfeited for that battle (unless, of course, the player has a card which allows him to combine bioshell actions and regular or special actions). Some characters (Usually Veritechs and Triplechangers) have multiple Transformations.
   Note: in the T-bot version, these cards are also called Bioshells.

5. Intangibles:
   Intangibles can change the game in many different ways. A player may use an Intangible card at any point in the game, regardless of who's turn it is. Because of the vast variety of Intangibles, there are only two rules: 1 once an Intangible is used, it must be discarded immediately. If the Intangible says 'Play until discard', it stays down until it is destroyed by another card. 2 If the word NOW appears on the card, it must be played as soon as it is drawn, or as soon as it is available to be used. If a NOW card is not used immediately, the card becomes null and void, and must be discarded. If any NOW cards is in a player's hand at the beginning of the game, then they must be used within three turns of the game's beginning.

Class Designations

1. Tactical These are commanders, leaders, Strategists, and tactitians.
2. Combat These are the warriors, gunners, assaulters, and supporters
3. Science These are the Mechanics, Scientists, Medics, and Engineers.
4. Relay These are the communicators, couriers, fuelers, and transporters.
5. Covert These are the spies, recon, scouts, saboteurs, and trackers.

Gameplay

• 1. Each player customizes a 50 card deck, with at least 10 characters and no more than 8 battlefields. 3 battlefields are taken out, and the rest of the deck is shuffled.
• 2. Each player sets up an 'area' by laying the three battlefields in front, and drawing eight cards from the deck. then the player places all characters that were drawn in a 'homecamp' area which is usually directly behind the three battlefields. . After that, the player determines where the 'scrapile' for destroyed cards will be, as well as the area for 'claimed' area for conquered battlefields. At that point, the player can either draw more cards until he/she once again has eight, or he/she can elect to begin play.
• 3. On a turn, the player draws a card (Maximum amount of cards in a hand is eight). The plaer could choose to use a card that he/she has either drawn or is in hand, but only one of each type of card may be brought out per turn. After doing that, the player could choose to lay claim to an opponent's battlefield. The target battlefield is placed directly between the two players, and a character from the player's homecamp is placed on it. The Defnding player can either concede the battlefield, or defend it. If the opponent defends the battlefield, then a character fromt he opponent's homecamp is placed on the battlefield, so that both characters are fully visible. if they already haven't been used, Action and intangible cards may be cast to enhance either character. After all the cards are cast, the battle is over, and the character with the highest power wins. The winning character is put back into the home camp, and the losing character is put into the scrapile. once a character is scrapped, then all bioshells and special actions specific to that character are removed from the game.
  If the battlefield was successfully conquered, then it is put in the player's claimed area. If it was successfully defended, then it is put back with the other battlefields. A new battlefield can be placed as soon as it is drawn. All actions and special actions used are then placed into the scrapile.
• 4. Intangibles can be used at any time, during any player's turn.
• 5. if at any time a player has no battlefields in play, the player has to draw a battlefield in his/her next turn, or that player loses. If a player's deck runs out, then that player loses the game.

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