Keywords

Revision as of 08:51, 24 October 2012

Keywords give the player information about a card's properties or effects in compact form. They are used most often for game mechanics and rules that come into play repeatedly on many cards, like Armor or Holy . Because using a keyword is shorter than writing out the whole explanation, more text can be written on a card. Players are expected to learn and recognize these words, but for many Blue Manchu also provides a helpful tooltip on mouseover, and quite a few cards do write the full rules when space permits.

Arcane

This paragraph describes the use of 'Arcane' as a keyword, for other uses see Category:Arcane items.

Arcane describes a type of Magic associated with manipulating the state or layout of the board, for example, moving a character using teleportation. This keyword may also be used for magic that cannot be categorized as any other type. Often this keyword appears above a card's rules box and designates how other cards might interact with it, e.g. a card that redirects a the effect of an Arcane card to another target.

Armor

This paragraph describes the use of 'Armor' as a keyword, for other uses see Category:Armor cards.

Armor describes a card effect that prevents or mitigates damage done to a character's Hit points. It is always followed by a number representing the amount of damage against which the card protects. If another card would do less or equal damage than the Armor rating, then that damage is reduced to zero. If another card would do greater damage than the Armor rating, then that damage is reduced by the same amount as the rating. Note, however, that many cards with the Armor keyword also roll for Chance before the Armor will activate, and some may have special rules that only protect against certain types of damage. Some damaging cards may have rules that allow them to ignore Armor.

Burst

Burst describes a card that copies its effect to all squares of a given distance around the target location; this keyword is always paired with a number showing the distance the Burst may reach. Burst is counted outward from the target in all directions, including diagonals, to any square in the given distance that has line of sight with the targeted square: unless otherwise specified, this is independent of the sight of the character who played the card. The Burst area may also exceed the range of the card (which is used to find valid targets). This means a Burst card may affect squares a character could not normally target.

Chance (Roll)

Chance is rarely written as a keyword, but it appears on many cards as an icon that looks like a die. The number of pips (spots) displayed on the icon shows what number, or greater, must be rolled on a six-sided die before that card's effects will activate. Chance is often found on Blocks, Armors, and other defensive cards.

Chance #	⁄	Probability of success
1+		6/6, or every time
2+		5/6, or around 83%
3+		4/6, or not quite 67%
4+		3/6, or exactly 50%
5+		2/6, or slightly over 33%
6+		1/6, or a little less than 17%

Crushing

Crushing decribes a type of damage associated with blunt or rounded weapons and projectiles. Often this keyword appears above a card's rules box and designates how other cards might interact with it, e.g. a card that increases damage when a Crushing card is played.

Damage

Damage describes a card effect that reduces one or more character's Hit Points. This keyword is often represented by an icon, especially on Attack cards. Damage is always paired with a number showing the size of the Hit Point reduction. Some cards will also have another keyword to differentiate types of damage, e.g. Crushing or Poison.

Electrical

Electrical describes a type of damage usually associated with Magic . Often this keyword appears above a card's rules box and designates how other cards might interact with it, e.g. a card that reduces Electrical damage by half.

Magic

This paragraph describes the use 'Magic' as a keyword. For other uses, see Magic.

Magic describes card effects that are non-physical or supernatural, such as a healing or teleportation. Most cards will have another keyword to differentiate types of magic. This keyword usually appears above a card's rules box and designates how other cards might interact with it, e.g. a card that forces a character to discard when a Magic card is played.

Piercing

Piercing describes a type of damage usually associated with pointed weapons or projectiles. Piercing damage generally ignores or reduces the effect of Armor, though not in all cases. This is calulated as a reduction to a defensive card's Armor rating, so that a card with Armor equal to or less than the Piercing damage is rendered completely ineffective. However in the case of multiple defensive cards, Piercing cannot reduce the cumulative Armor by an amount greater than the Piercing itself. This keyword may appear in a card's rules box or above it.

Range

Range may be written or displayed as an icon, and describes the distance, in squares counted from the character that plays the card, at which a valid target may be found for the card's effect. Unless otherwise specified, Range may be counted in all directions including diagonals to any square that has line of sight with the character's square. Range is always paired with a number showing how many squares to count; by convention cards with a Range of zero omit this keyword. Zero range cards can only target the character or the character's square.