The Rules

The Vessel: A standard 52-card deck + 2 unique Jokers (Death and the Demon).

The Vitality: Each player tracks life on dice — 4d6 for 24 HP in Knife Fight Mode, 5d6 for 30 HP in Descent Mode.

The Inventory: A limit of 5 item cards (Weapons and Potions) may be held in hand. Excess must be discarded or swapped immediately.

The Bounty: Sword Tokens and Blood Stone Gems are kept in a separate Bounty Pile and do not count toward the hand limit.

• Each player begins with: 7 Blood Stones and 2 Sword Tokens
• The Altar begins with: 3 Blood Stones
• Total Blood Stones in play: 17 — they migrate between players and the Altar but are never created or destroyed during play
• Sword Tokens in play at start: 4, rising to a maximum of 14 as Elite Monsters are defeated

The bag contains 25 Blood Stones and the tin contains 20 Sword Tokens. The extras exist for house rules. During a Descent game, 17 Stones and 14 Swords are the hard caps.

• Each player begins with: 6 Blood Stones and 1 Sword Token
• The Altar begins empty
• Total Blood Stones in the system: 12 — all stone movement is directly player to player
• Sword Tokens in play at start: 2, rising to a maximum of 12 as Elite Monsters are defeated

Healing cards used between rooms only (see Zero-HP exception in Combat).

• 2–10: Heal face value
• Jack: Heal 11 HP
• Queen: Heal 12 HP
• King: Heal 13 HP
• Ace: Restore 15 HP

Blood Stones may also be spent for healing between rooms — 1 Stone = 1 HP.

Weapons used to negate incoming damage. Stackable. Each weapon breaks after one use and is removed from play.

• 2–10: Weapon of face value
• Jack: 11-point weapon
• Queen: 12-point weapon
• King: 13-point weapon
• Ace: A 15-point masterwork blade

Sword Tokens may be spent mid-combat for +1 damage per Sword against regular monsters. Stack multiple Weapons and Swords to meet a monster's value — excess points are lost.

Monsters that deal immediate damage when drawn.

• 2–10: Monster deals face value damage
• Jack: 11 damage
• Queen: 12 damage
• King: 13 damage
• Ace: 15 damage

Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of Clubs or Spades are "Elite Monsters" — defeating them earns rewards (see Section VI).

• Spend ALL heart cards in your possession immediately against the 20 damage. Excess healing is wasted.
• Sword Tokens may then be spent as bonus damage after healing is exhausted.
• Each Sword does 3 damage against Death.
• Any remaining damage hits the drawer.
• No negotiation. Death just really wants to kill you.

• Spend ALL Blood Stones in your possession against the 20 damage. Excess Stones are wasted.
• Sword Tokens may be spent as bonus damage BEFORE overflow transfers. Each Sword does 3 damage against the Demon.
• Any unabsorbed damage transfers DIRECTLY to your opponent.
• Hearts cannot be used mid-combat against the Demon.
• The Demon doesn't just kill you. It uses you to kill your friend.

• Jokers must be drawn as part of the player's first card pick.
• If two monsters are drawn alongside a Joker, combat the first monster normally — the Joker then acts as the second monster after the first is resolved.
• If both Jokers are drawn by one player, roll a d6: 1–3 means Death is fought first, 4–6 means the Demon is fought first. The second Joker automatically becomes the other Sovereign.
• If your deck uses identical Jokers, roll a d6 when any Joker is drawn: 1–3 = Death, 4–6 = Demon. The second Joker drawn becomes the remaining version.

Deal 5 cards face up on the table.

• Both players roll a d6. Higher roll picks a card first.
• On a tie, highest current HP goes first.
• The Mercy of the Pit: If you are behind in HP, add +1 to your roll.

• The winner picks 2 cards.
• The loser picks 1 card.
• Alternate picking cards one at a time.
• 2 "Ghost" cards remain on the table.

Before the Ghosts are resolved, either player may pay to clear the table:

• 1 Blood Stone or 1 Sword Token: Discard one Ghost card to the Looming Pile.
• 2 Blood Stones or 2 Sword Tokens: Discard both Ghost cards to the Looming Pile.

The "Looming Pile" is a face-down stack set aside — it becomes the final phase of the game.

If no player pays to bury the Ghosts:

• Roll initiative again.
• Highest roll must take one Ghost card.
• Lowest roll must take the final Ghost card.
• If forced to take a Heart or Diamond and your hand is full (5 items), you MUST discard an existing card immediately to make room.

• Monster damage is dealt IMMEDIATELY when drawn.
• Weapons reduce incoming damage in real time, then BREAK after use.
• Stack multiple Weapons and Sword Tokens to meet a monster's value — excess points are lost.
• Weapons can negate damage — spend them to survive to the end of the room.
• Healing cards and Blood Stones can ONLY be used between rooms.
• Zero-HP Exception: If you reach 0 HP, a Blood Stone may save you before the next room opens — heal immediately to survive.

• Earn 1 Sword Token from the supply (up to the 14-token cap in Descent / 12-token cap in Knife Fight).
• Earn 1 Blood Stone.

• Earn 1 Sword Token.
• Earn 2 Blood Stones.

Claiming Blood Stones:

• Take from The Altar first.
• If the Altar is empty, steal directly from your opponent.
• If the total Stones in play are already at the mode maximum (17 in Standard / 12 in Knife Fight), no new Stones enter — continue without collecting.

Using Sword Tokens:

• Spend mid-combat for +1 damage per Sword against regular monsters.
• Spend for +3 damage per Sword against Death or the Demon.
• Unspent Swords score 2 points each at Final Reckoning.

• Jokers are added into the SECOND shuffle only — they do not appear in the first pass.
• Play through the main deck once.
• Shuffle and play through the main deck a second time — Jokers are now in play.
• After the second deck is exhausted, shuffle the "Looming Pile" separately and play through it as the final phase.
• The first player to reach 0 HP who cannot immediately heal is "lost to the pit."
• If both players survive all three phases, proceed to Final Score Tally.

• Jokers are included from the first shuffle.
• Play through the main deck once only.
• After the main deck is exhausted, shuffle the "Looming Pile" and play through it as the final phase.
• The first player to reach 0 HP who cannot immediately heal is "lost to the pit."
• If both players survive, proceed to Final Reckoning Tally.

• Current HP remaining: 1 point per HP.
• Hearts in hand: score face value.
• Weapons (Diamonds) in hand: score face value.
• Sword Tokens: 2 points each.
• Blood Stones: 2 points each.

"The highest total transcends the Seventh Circle."