Time: 40% of session (varies by grid size and player count)
Players navigate a card-grid dungeon to gather ingredients and face challenges. The exploration uses a standard deck of playing cards with variable dungeon sizes and limited turns, forcing strategic choices about which encounters to pursue.
Core Mechanics
Card-Grid System
- Variable dungeon sizes: Small (5x3) to Extra Large (5x6)
- Limited exploration turns: Players have fewer turns than total cards
- Strategic choices: Can’t explore everything - must choose wisely
- Face-down grid: Cards are laid out and flipped as players explore
→ For detailed mechanics, see Exploration Phase Mechanics
Three Challenge Types
All encounters fall into three categories (matching the exploration stats):
- Foraging - Finding and identifying quality ingredients
- Combat - Battling for proteins, defending the party
- Social - Negotiating with merchants, bribing guards, charming NPCs
Discovery happens through narrative. Puzzles were removed as unclear.
→ See Character Mechanics for stat details
Card Meanings
Red Suits = Foraging
- Hearts ♥ - Proteins and main ingredients
- Diamonds ♦ - Vegetables and side ingredients
Black Suits = Encounters/Events
- Spades ♠ - Social encounters (NPCs, rivals, side quests)
- Clubs ♣ - Environmental events (traps, mishaps, disasters)
Face Cards (Special Encounters)
Face cards are high-stakes, suit-specific encounters:
Jacks - Traveling Merchants
- Hearts/Diamonds: Sell their respective ingredients
- Spades: Choose any table + discount
- Clubs: Choose any table but double cost
Queens - Rare/Important Encounters
- Hearts/Diamonds: Rare ingredients
- Spades: Side quest (help NPC for reward)
- Clubs: Saboteur NPC (tries to hinder you)
Kings - Epic/Extreme Encounters
- Hearts/Diamonds: Epic ingredients (very difficult)
- Spades: Rival chef (competition/battle)
- Clubs: Disaster event (comical chaos)
Face card quantity scales with dungeon size (3 in small dungeons, up to 10 in largest).
Resolution System
→ See Character Mechanics for complete details
Quick reference:
- Roll d20 + stat bonus for all challenges
- Group decides who rolls based on narrative
- Specialists have automatic +2 in their specialty stat
- Everyone can attempt everything
Resource Constraint
- Limited inventory space forces choices about what to carry
- Can be upgraded through progression
- Always a present consideration
What’s Decided vs. In Progress
✅ Decided:
- Grid sizes and scaling
- Turn limit system
- Face card types and scaling
- Three challenge types (Foraging, Combat, Social)
- Card suit meanings (Red = Foraging, Black = Encounters/Events)
- Card number meanings (numbered card tables complete)
- d20 + stat bonus resolution (see Character Mechanics)
🚧 Still Designing:
- Movement rules (needs playtesting)
- Specific encounter tables by genre
- Forager’s exploration limit bonuses
→ See Exploration Phase Mechanics for current design progress