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Archaic Realms TCG 1.1

A faction-locked, hero-driven 1v1 trading card game. Built solo over two years. The first public playtest — now in its second major release.

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You played v1.0, you told us what wasn't working, and we rebuilt it. Every change came directly from our first community playtest:

• NEW: The Gear System — Quest rewards are now Gear that equips to your Heroes across three slots (Armor, Weapon, Support). 12 unique designs, fully scripted, with the Attune keyword unlocking bonus effects.
  
• Hero Defense removed — Heroes had been feeling unkillable. Defense now comes from Gear armor, so every Hero is on a fair clock.
  
• Stronger thresholds — Threshold 1 awards 2 RCP, Threshold 2 awards 3 RCP. Every combat engagement matters more.
  
• Two-Hero lineups — Down from three. Both choices stay meaningful the entire game.
  
• Augments on Allies only — Hero power now comes from earned Gear, not Augment stacking.
  
• Three new Heroes — The Undying Watcher (Shadow), Auros the Vanguard, and Sera the Spell-Sworn (both Divine).

See the Change Notes tab for the full v1.0 ➜ v1.1 breakdown. This is what community-first development looks like.

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Archaic Realms is a 1v1 TCG where you command a 2-Hero lineup and race your opponent to 11 Realm Control Points. Pick a faction, build a deck, earn Gear through Quests, and fight for control of the Realm. There is no booster-pack chase and no pay-to-win — every competitive card is in the box. Fairness first.

• Two factions — Shadow vs Divine, the first two of six planned.
  
• Eight Heroes — four per side. Each game you bring two into the Realm.
  
• The Gear System — 12 unique Gear designs that power up your Heroes through Quest rewards.
  
• Realm Quests — a shared 16-card objective pool both players draw from.
  
• Faction Objectives, the full keyword set, and the complete core loop.

This mod runs the rules engine for you, so you can focus on the decisions:

• One-button setup — decks shuffle, hands deal, Quests fill.
  
• RCP, Unstable Archaic Energy, and Hero HP tracked live on-screen — no tokens or dice.
  
• Gear equipping, Armor absorption, Attune triggers, and live ATK display all handled by the engine.
  
• Keyword triggers, HP thresholds, combat damage, and Vault rewards resolve automatically.
  
• Colour-coded combat highlights and a turn log keep the board readable at a glance.

• Players: 2 (1v1)
  
• Length: ~15–30 minutes
  
• Setup: Sit down (P1 = Divine, P2 = Shadow), press Setup Game, and play.

Most actions are right-click menus on cards. A full how-to-play guide is on our website.

Archaic Realms launches on Gamefound in September 2026, with prelaunch in July. What ships is shaped by what gets said now — v1.1 is direct proof of that. Found a bug, a broken combo, or a card that feels off? Tell us in the feedback channel on Discord.

• Discord: https://discord.gg/ZPKNrVZtuh
  
• Website & full rules (v4.0): https://www.thearchaicrealms.com/how-to-play.html
  
• Get launch updates: https://www.thearchaicrealms.com/#notify

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Requires the Tabletop Simulator base game. Only the host needs to load the mod. Some cosmetic polish is still in progress — if anything gets stuck, the right-click menus and the ⚙ Adv button will get you moving again.