The Master Alchemist of the kingdom of Evenfall has called a contest that will decide who her new students will be. Teams of alchemists compete for the title by capturing the souls of strong enemies, summoning them at the right time in battle, and molding them into powerful magics. Will you be the next students?
Tetralchemia is a stand-alone card game for 1-4 players. The aim of the game is to score as many points as possible while trying to balance your resources to maximize your score, survive, and get in the way of other players.
Both print-and-play and physical versions are available, printed and sent by DriveThruRPG.
Print and play version: you'll get a code to redeem the PDF files of the game, in two versions: 3x3 front/back layout and 2x4 gutterfold layout. Both verisons come in high (600 dpi) and compressed formats. The game features 54 cards, ENG/ITA instructions and a printable tuckbox. A couple of extra cards contain the game's markers that must be cut out, and you'll need 5 of your own six-sided dice.
Printed version: you'll get a code to redeem the print and play PDF files of the game, and to buy the printed physical version at a discounted price. The printed version features 54 cards in a custom tuckbox. You'll need 5 of your own six-sided dice and some markers (you can print and cut the markers from the pnp files or you can use anything, like coins or meeples).
Preparation
A - Shuffle the 16 Heroine Cards to form the Heroine Deck and place it face down, then draw 4 cards and deploy them face up in the Team Area.
B - Take a Recipe Card and place it with the face bearing the Sun symbol up.
C - Have the dice and 3 counters ready.
D - Shuffle the 30 Enemy Cards to form the Enemy Deck and place it face down, then draw 4 cards and place them face up in the Enemy Area.
E - Keep the room for the discarded cards of both decks.
F - Keep the room for the Army Area, where you will place the Enemy Cards you capture.
Phases
A round consists of 5 phases to be played in order. After the last one, start again from the first one.
[ 1 ] Roll
Roll 4d6 trying to get the results shown on the bottom of an Enemy Card. After the roll you may make a Reroll once, rerolling any number of dice. The Reroll is not mandatory.
When Sun or Moon symbols are shown at the bottom of an Enemy Card, it means that as many equal results are needed. E.g., 3/3/sun/sun means that any two 3's and any two numbers equal to each other (also any two other 3's) are needed, and sun/sun/moon/moon means that any two pairs of equal numbers are needed.
[ 2 ] Modify
You can use Heroine Cards, previously captured Enemy Cards, and previously crafted recipes to modify the dice result, in order to capture an Enemy Card from the Enemy Area. You aren't forced to modify the dice result. You can alternate the use of captured Enemy Cards, Heroine Cards and recipes at will.
Heroine Cards: use any number of Heroine Cards at will to modify the dice results, using the power of the symbol at the top right, according to the following table. You can use multiple Heroine Cards on the same die. Once used, a Heroine Card is rotated about 30 degrees clockwise and goes to Rest. Heroine Cards at Rest cannot be used.
Captured Enemy Cards: use at will any number of Enemy Cards that you have previously captured and placed in the Army Area to change the results of the dice, using their symbol power in the upper right corner, according to the table above. You can use multiple Enemy Cards on the same die. Once used, an Enemy Card is discarded.
Recipes: apply the effect of the previously crafted recipe you use, then remove the counter from it. The effects of recipes are explained in the Alchemy phase.
[3] Capture
Compare the results of your dice with the dice symbols at the bottom of the Enemy Cards placed in the Enemy Area.
If your dice show the results of one or more Enemy Cards, choose one and capture it, placing it face up in your Army Area. From now on, you can use the captured card to modify the dice in the Modify phase or to craft recipes during the Alchemy phase.
In addition, choose a Heroine Card at Rest which lower left symbol matches the captured card's upper right symbol: straighten that Heroine Card back Ready.
If you cannot capture any Enemy Cards from the Enemy Area, then one of your Heroines is defeated: remove a Heroine Card from the Team Area and place it in the discards. If you have no more Heroine Cards in the Team Area, the game ends with your defeat.
If you have captured the last Enemy Area card and there are no more cards in the Enemy Deck, you have won! Calculate the score.
Critical Roll: if you manage to capture an Enemy Card with the first roll only, without using the Reroll or any other modifier, you can draw a Heroine Card from the Heroine Deck and place it Ready in the Team Area, provided you don't already have 4 Heroine Cards. Alternatively, you can straighten a Heroine Card at Rest and make it Ready again.
[4] Alchemy
If you want, you can discard captured Enemy Cards from your Army Area whose symbols in the upper right corner correspond to the ingredients needed to craft a recipe in the Sun Recipe Card. If you do, place a marker on the crafted recipe. You cannot have more than one recipe of the same type crafted at the same time. The recipes on the Sun Recipe Card are:
[5] Draw
If there are fewer than 4 Enemy Cards in the Enemy Area and if the Enemy Deck still has cards, draw and place in the Enemy Area the Enemy Cards you need to reach 4 cards. If there are already 4 Enemy Cards in the Enemy Area, skip this phase.
Score
At the end of a Single Player game, your points are equal to the sum of the Enemy Cards in your Army Area plus 2 points for each Heroine Card in your Team Area. Add 4 additional points if you didn't craft the Philosopher's Stone recipe. The maximum score is 42.
If you want to play a cooperative game, any number of players can take turns playing one turn each using the rules for Single Player. However, the most fun challenge takes place when the players face each other!
Preparation
Each player, up to a maximum of 4, prepares as described in the rules for Single Player, but in addition he also takes a Moon Recipe Card and keeps 6 counters ready. The Enemy Area and decks are in common, but each player has its own Team, Army, and Score Area.
The game is played in two parts: Gathering and Battle.
Gathering
Clockwise from a randomly drawn player, each player takes turns performing the sequence of the five phases as described in the Single Player rules. In this first part of the game, each player tries to capture and save Enemy Cards and craft recipes to be strong for the Battle.
There are only two differences from a Single Player game:
Moon Recipe Card: each player is able to craft three new recipes shown on the Moon Recipe Card, which can only be used in the Battle.
Scars: losing the last Heroine Card doesn't eliminate a player from the game. He keeps the last defeated Heroine Card face down in his Score Area: it's a Scar that will cost him a penalty in the final score. If, thanks to a critical roll, the player should draw a new Heroine Card, he'll deploy it in the Team Area. Should he again lose the last Heroine Card from the Team Area, he will accumulate an additional Scar.
Battle
When there are no more cards left in the Enemy Deck and the last Enemy Card from the Enemy Area is captured, the Battle begins.
Each player keeps his Team Area, Army Area and both Recipe Cards as they are. The Enemy Deck is gone, and what possibly remains of the Heroine Deck is kept on the table.
Each player takes one of his Enemy Cards from his Enemy Area and places it in his Vanguard.
Clockwise from a randomly drawn player, the player on turn tries to capture one of the Enemy Cards that the other players have deployed in their Vanguards. To do so, he uses the normal modes of capture: roll and Reroll, use of his Enemy Cards from his Army Area, use of his Heroine Cards from his Team Area, and use of his previously crafted recipes.
In addition, he can use the power of his Vanguard cards once per turn; if he has multiple cards in his Vanguard, he can use each power once per turn.
If the player on turn succeeds in capturing an Enemy Card from another player's Vanguard, he places it in his own Score Area. If he fails to do so, he chooses one of his Heroine Cards, which is defeated and discarded as usual. Even during the Battle, losing the last Heroine Card doesn't end the player's game but causes him a Scar.
When a player has no more Enemy Cards in his Vanguard, he immediately chooses an Enemy Card from his Army Area and deploys it in his Vanguard. If a player runs out of Enemy Cards in his Army Area and Vanguard, he still continues to play.
During the Battle, players can no longer craft new recipes, but can spend previously crafted recipes, including those from the Moon Recipe Card, which are:
End of the game
The game ends when only one player still has cards in his Vanguard.
Score
Each player calculates his score. Whoever has the most points wins. Those with the same score are tied.
+ 5 points to the player who still has cards in Vanguard;
+ 1 point for each Enemy Card in the Score Area;
+ 1 point for each quartet of Enemy Cards in the Points Area with the four different element symbols;
+ 1 point for each Enemy Card in the Points Area bearing the Quintessence symbol;
- 3 points for each Scar in the Score Area.