Crystal Cardinals

The card game the taverns play, named for the four cardinal sides of a card — north, east, south and west. Sit down at any Tavern: you and your opponent hold five cards each and place them in turn on a board of nine. Every card has four sides, from 1 to A (ten).

• Place a card beside one of theirs with a higher facing number and theirs becomes yours. An equal number takes nothing.
• Elements. Every card is made of one of the seven — Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Light or Dark — and every card is weak to one of them. Place a card against one that is weak to its element and its facing number counts +2 on that side alone: a 3 takes a 3. The card's own numbers never change, and the bonus helps only on the side where the two cards actually meet.
• A beast's element is the one it shrugs off in a fight, and it fears the same element that wounds it there — the table and the battlefield agree. Where the bestiary is silent the wheel decides: Fire fears Water, Water fears Lightning, Earth fears Wind, Wind fears Fire, Lightning fears Earth, Light fears Dark, Dark fears Light.
• When the board is full, whoever holds more cards wins — the card left in a hand counts.
• Nothing is staked. No card, gold or item ever changes hands at the table.

Where to play: the card table stands in every Guild Hall — Guild Hall - Dakuban Branch (46, 65); Guild Hall - Jia Migos (25, 26); Guild Hall - KiRoni Branch (64, 80); Guild Hall - Koltz Branch (69, 58); Guild Hall - Leaule Branch (28, 11); Guild Hall - Northern Branch (40, 83). Step onto the tile and choose Card table, or open it from inside the hall.

Your cards are your bestiary

Every ordinary beast of the overworld is a card — 594 of them. Slay 25 of a beast and its card is yours, including every beast you had already slain that many of. Each card wears its beast’s own likeness, with its four numbers set round it like the points of a compass. A card’s sides come from the monster itself: its top from strength, its right from accuracy and dexterity, its bottom from defence, its left from intelligence and spirit; the more dangerous the beast, the higher the four add up (12 to 30). Cards cannot be traded or bought.

Everyone starts with five cards — the five weakest in the realm: Shore Crab, Tide Gull, Cave Skitter, Driftwood Husk, Slime. They are yours to keep. Choose a deck of five under My cards; take a card out without putting another in and the tavern lends you a plain one for the empty place.

The regulars

Regular	How they play	Deals you in after
Old Marta	Plays for the company. Forgets what she has put down.	Anyone
Captain Rell	Takes every card he can reach. Beat Old Marta three times and he will deal you in.	3 wins over Old Marta
The Quiet Man	Never leaves a weak side open. Beat the Captain five times first.	5 wins over Captain Rell

The first win of the day against each regular pays a purse: a quest’s gold at your own level. Titles: 10 wins — Card Sharp, 50 wins — Tavern Champion, 200 wins — Master of Cardinals. Guests may play, but win no purse.

Against other players

Under Other players you can open a seat that anyone may take, or challenge one player by name. You sit down at a Tavern; after that, both of you play your moves from anywhere, whenever you are next in the realm — the two of you never need to be online together.

Table	The cards
Own decks	Each of you brings the five chosen under My cards. Your bestiary is your strength.
Mirror hands	You are both dealt the same five cards. Nothing but play decides it.

• Each move has 24 hours. Let your clock run out and the game is your opponent’s. An untaken seat or challenge lapses after 48 hours.
• You never see the other hand — only how many cards it holds.
• You may be in 5 games at once, with 3 seats waiting. Guests cannot sit down against players.
• Nothing is staked and nothing is paid: no gold, experience or item. A win is a record, a place on the ladder and, in time, a title: 10 wins — Table Rival, 50 wins — Card Duelist, 200 wins — Grandmaster of Cardinals.
• The ladder starts everyone at 1,000. Only the first finished game between the same two players each day moves it; every game still counts on your record.
• A player who has you on their ignore list cannot be challenged by you, and a challenge that is turned down cannot be sent again that day.