Official Rulebook

Introduction

Disciple: A Journey is a tabletop deckbuilding game with a mixture of adventure and roleplaying. You start by picking a style of martial arts to learn. You will have a beginning deck and skills deck. As you play through the many events in the game, you will build on your beginning deck with new skills in hopes to reach the end of your journey and defeat the final boss. Are you ready, Disciple?!

Playstyles

Solo

This style allows a player, also called a Disciple, to play by themselves. A Disciple will select their beginning martial arts school and follow the adventure drawn from the event deck until the Disciple is defeated or they defeat the final boss and are victorious. See Solo Playstyle.

Co-Op

This style allows two Disciples to play together. Each Disciple will select a beginning martial arts school and the corresponding event deck. Then together they will follow the adventure drawn from the event deck until all Disciples are defeated, or they have defeated all final bosses and are victorious. See Co-Op Playstyle.

Versus

This style allows two Disciples to compete against each other. Each will start with a full skills deck and will take turns using skills to attempt to defeat their opponent. It ends when one Disciple is defeated and the other is victorious. See Versus Gameplay.

Campaign

This style allows for many Disciples to play together, led by one Campaign Leader (CL). The CL will create an adventure by combining event cards from all styles selected by participating Disciples. The CL is responsible for enemy attacks and action events, while Disciples can respond in a more role-playing style. See Campaign Gameplay.

What's in a Card

This next section will label and describe all the parts of the different cards used in Disciple. There are Skill cards, Style cards, and Event cards, which include Enemies. The event deck will also be covered in this section.

Skill Cards

Skill cards have 6 different types. These are played by paying their energy cost. Energy comes in 4 colors: gray, blue, red and green. Any color can be used for gray costs, but only matching colors can be used for the other color costs. The types, from left to right, are:

GenericUpperbodyLowerbodyGrappleStanceStyle

Most skill cards will be played and discarded as soon as their effects resolve. Some Generic cards called States will stay in play until replaced by another State card. You can only have one Stance card in play at a time. If you play another Stance, the first is discarded and the new one enters play. The same applies to Style cards.

CommonUncommonEpicLegendary

Skill cards also have 4 Rarities, from left to right: Common, Uncommon, Epic, Legendary

The Rarity of a card comes with its own rules for Skills Deck construction:

• Common cards may have no more than 4 copies
• Uncommon cards may have no more than 3 copies
• Epic cards may have no more than 2 copies
• Legendary cards may have only 1 copy
• A deck cannot have more than 10 of each rarity, regardless of type (e.g. 10 Upperbody Legendaries, or 5 Generic and 5 Grapple)

Skill cards have other parts to be aware of:

1. Title: Name of the card
2. Cost: Color and amount of Energy of that color needed to play this card
3. Rarity: The border of the Title and Description shows the rarity of the card
4. Effects: The effects of the card when played
5. Description: Tells you what style and category the card belongs to
6. Type: The border shows the type of the card

Event Cards

Event cards include enemies, healing stations, and others. Non-enemy and enemy cards have similar parts, but enemies have unique elements.

Non-enemy card parts:

1. Title: Name of the Event card
2. Effects: The effects of the Event, often a choice of options
3. Group: The Group number this Event belongs to
4. Style: The style this card belongs to

Enemy-specific parts:

1. Name: Name of the enemy
2. Vitality: Lowered by Damage. If it reaches 0 or less, you lose.
3. Attacks: Enemy attacks and special effects. Color of words indicates type — Blue: Upperbody, Red: Lowerbody, Green: Grapple, White: None
4. Group: Group number this enemy belongs to
5. Type: Border color indicates enemy type — light gray for Minions, dark gray for Minibosses, black for Bosses
6. Description: Tells the style and type of enemy

Style Cards

Style cards contain several pieces of information about the style you are currently playing. They are double-sided, with a list of Keywords on the back. If using more than one style, keep both style cards to reference Energy allotment.

1. Style: The name of the style represented on the card
2. Energy Allotment: The type and number of common Energy cards a Disciple of this style starts with in play
3. Starting Deck: The list of cards to be added to the Starting Deck when playing Solo, Co-Op, or Campaign

Attack Patterns

Attack Patterns tell you how the Enemy attacks during their turn. Draw the top card of the Attack Patterns pile at the beginning of the Enemy's turn. Draw only one card unless otherwise directed by cards or keywords. If an Enemy attacks multiple times in one turn, draw the next card at the time of each subsequent attack. At the end of the Enemy's turn, the drawn cards go back on the pile and the pile is shuffled.

1. Minion Attack Pattern: Light gray border
2. Miniboss Attack Pattern: Dark gray border
3. Boss Attack Pattern: Black border

What's in a Deck

To keep gameplay fun and fair, there are rules for building a Skills Deck. All default decks already adhere to these rules, but they must be observed when adding expansions or during Versus.

Skills Deck Rules

Except for Versus and Campaign, Skills Decks may only consist of cards from a single martial arts style.

• Decks must have at least 60 cards
• Decks may only have up to 10 unique skills of each rarity
• Decks may only have up to 4 copies of any common card
• Decks may only have up to 3 copies of any uncommon card
• Decks may only have up to 2 copies of any epic card
• Decks may only have up to 1 copy of any legendary card

Keywords

The following is a list of keywords and terms used in Disciple: A Journey.

Card Types

Upperbody

A card with a blue border

Lowerbody

A card with a red border

Grapple

A card with a green border

Generic

A card with a gray border

Punch

An Upperbody card with 'Punch' in the description box

Elbow

An Upperbody card with 'Elbow' in the description box

Kick

A Lowerbody card with 'Kick' in the description box

Knee

A Lowerbody card with 'Knee' in the description box

Choke Hold

A Grapple card with 'Choke' in the description box

Joint Lock

A Grapple card with 'Joint' in the description box

Pressure Point

A Grapple card with 'Point' in the description box

Stance

A card with a white border and 'Stance' in the description box. Stances remain in play until removed by another Stance or the Rocked debuff. Only one Stance can be in play at a time.

Guard Stance

A Stance card with 'Guard' in the description box

Control

A Stance card with 'Control' in the description box

Mount

A Stance card with 'Mount' in the description box

Style

A card with a black border and 'Style' in the description box. Styles remain in play until removed by another Style. Only one Style can be in play at a time.

State

A Generic card with 'State' in the description box. States remain in play unless replaced by another State.

Common

A card with a gray Title and Description border

Uncommon

A card with a silver Title and Description border

Epic

A card with a gold Title and Description border

Legendary

A card with a black Title and Description border

Buffs

Power

Followed by a number. Adds that number to the next damage dealt this turn. Does not count as a separate attack.

Guard

Followed by a number. Lowers damage taken (including Submit damage) by 1 for each count of Guard. Fades at the beginning of the next turn. Example: Disciple applies Guard 5 and ends turn. Enemy attacks for 3 damage. Guard stops all 3 — Guard is now at 2. Enemy ends turn. Disciple loses all Guard at the beginning of their new turn.

Clinch

When Clinch is applied, if the next attack is Upperbody it applies Rocked on hit; if it is Lowerbody it applies half the damage dealt as Submit; if it is a Grapple, it deals damage equal to the full amount of Submit applied by that card (instead of the usual half) and then applies Clinch. Clinch remains active until the next attack triggers it or until end of turn. If the attack has no type, apply Weakened.

Feint

When you apply Feint, your next damage dealt ignores the opponent's Guard. This is different from Expose in that the opponent's Guard will still apply to any damage not dealt immediately after Feint is applied. Example: Enemy applies Guard 5. Disciple applies Feint and deals 3 Damage — Enemy's health lowers by 3. Disciple then deals 2 Damage — Enemy's Guard stops it.

Combo

The cards listed after Combo cost 1 less to play if played right after the card containing Combo.

Flow

Triggered if the card was listed in a Combo on the card played just before. If Flow triggers, resolve the actions after the colon, up to an empty line.

Lock It In

The cards listed after Lock It In are the condition and must be in play for it to trigger. When triggered, the attack card becomes a state card and remains active. The card remains active until the opponent causes damage equal to the number listed after Lock It In, or the condition is no longer met.

Focus

This card resolves when played and at the start of every turn it is active.

Debuffs

Exposed

When Exposed is applied the opponent loses all Guard.

Rocked

When Rocked is applied the opponent must discard any Stance card they have in play. If the total Rocked applied in one turn exceeds the enemy's limit, the enemy is knocked out and you win. Minions: limit 2. Minibosses: limit 3. Bosses: limit 4.

Submit

When Submit is applied, if the amount of Submit applied in a single instance is higher than the opponent's current vitality, the opponent taps and you win. Otherwise, the opponent's vitality is lowered by half the Submit applied, rounded up.

Weakened

Opponent must discard a card from their hand at random. During Solo, when Weakened is applied by the Disciple, the Enemy draws two attack cards and the Disciple may choose which one the Enemy uses.

Stun

Opponent taps 1 energy card. During Solo, when Stun is applied by the Disciple, the Enemy skips the first attack in their next Attack Pattern.

Utility Terms

Player

The living person playing the game.

Disciple

The player.

Enemy

The Minions, Minibosses, and Final Boss in the event deck and Boss Mat.

Opponent

The one fighting the currently active fighter. The Disciple is the Enemy's opponent; the Enemy is the Disciple's opponent.

Apply

Set the buff or debuff to active. Whether it applies to the current fighter or their opponent is implied by the card text. When in doubt, do what feels right.

Damage

Lowers health of opponent.

Attack

An action that generally deals damage. If text reads "Attacks deal 2x Damage" the damage is doubled. If text reads "Attacks two times" there is one attack, then a second.

Deals

Implies Attack. "Deals 2 Damage twice" is two attacks. "Deals 2 Damage. Deals 4 Damage." is also two attacks. "Deals 2x Damage" is one attack with double damage.

Skills

Any card that can be played by the Disciple.

Energy

The currency used to play cards. Comes in blue, red, green, and gray. Any color can pay gray costs. Gray can only pay gray costs. All other colors can only be paid by matching energy. To gather Energy, tap an Energy card for the amount listed. Unused Energy fades at End of Turn.

Vitality

Your health. Reaches 0 or less, you lose. Disciples start with 25 Vitality in Solo and Co-Op, 50 in Versus, and a CL-decided amount in Campaign. Vitality does not automatically replenish at end of combat.

Counter

A Counter card has the keyword 'Counter:' followed by a trigger action and response. In Solo, Co-Op, or Campaign, place the counter face up. In Versus, place it face down to keep the trigger secret. Counters are discarded when triggered and resolved, or at the next Beginning of Turn for the player who played them.

Solo Setup

This is the default playstyle — the style in which the game was originally conceived. The Disciple chooses a martial arts style and then flips through the event deck on a deckbuilding adventure full of minions, bosses, and opportunities to grow stronger. Begin your journey!

Event Deck

1. Separate Event cards, Skills cards, Attack Patterns, and Style card.
2. Separate Event cards by Group number.
3. Place the Boss face down.
4. Shuffle all Group 4 cards and place them face down on top of the Boss card.
5. Remove the Group 3 Miniboss from the Group 3 cards. Place it face down on top of the Event Deck.
6. Shuffle remaining Group 3 cards and place them face down on top of the Event Deck.
7. (Optional) If you want the option to learn a second Martial Arts Style, place the Group 2.5 card face down on top of the Event Deck.
8. Remove the Group 2 Miniboss. Place it face down on top of the Event Deck.
9. Shuffle remaining Group 2 cards and place them face down on top of the Event Deck.
10. Remove the Group 1 Miniboss. Place it face down on top of the Event Deck.
11. Shuffle remaining Group 1 cards and place them face down on top of the Event Deck.
12. Event Deck is complete. Place it in front of you with enough space to play cards.
13. Shuffle the Attack Patterns and place them face down to the right of the Event Deck, leaving space between for an Active Event card.

Starting Deck

1. Search for and gather the cards listed under Starting Deck on your Style Card, making any listed choices as you gather.
2. Shuffle and place face down to your right — this is your Draw Deck. Leave space below it for a Discard Pile.
3. Shuffle the remaining skills and place face down to your left — this is your Skills Deck, which you draw from to build your deck as you play.

Complete Setup

1. Place the Style Card in front of you.
2. Place your starting Energy Cards in front of you below your Style Card.
3. Flip over the top card of the Event Deck and place it face up between the Event Deck and the Attack Pattern pile as the first Active Event.

Solo Gameplay

If the active Event card is a non-enemy card:

• Follow the instructions on the card.
• If new cards are added to or removed from the Draw Deck, shuffle it.
• Flip over the top card of the Event Deck, placing it face up on the old Active Event.
• Continue until the Active Event is an Enemy.

When playing Solo, Disciples always go first.

Beginning of Turn

On the first turn only: Draw five cards from the Draw Pile to collect your first hand.

On all other turns:

• All Guard fades.
• Discard any non-triggered Counters.
• Resolve any "at Beginning of Turn" actions.

If you have no cards in the Draw Pile and need to draw, shuffle your Discard Pile into a new Draw Pile and draw the needed cards.

Action Phase

• Play a card from your hand by paying its Energy Cost. Tap untapped Energy to gather the needed amount. Once played, reduce your gathered Energy by the card's cost.
• Apply any active buffs and debuffs.
• Account for any Guard the opponent may have when dealing damage.
• If playing an Energy Card, place it alongside your other Energy Cards, untapped, and it remains until end of combat.
• Card effects resolve in the following hierarchy: Stances, Styles, States, Buffs, Debuffs, Skills.
• Once a card is played and its actions resolved, place it face up in the discard pile (unless it is a Stance, Style, or State).
• If the card has an "until End of Turn" effect, you may leave it in play for tracking.
• Continue playing cards until you have no cards in hand, no untapped Energy, cannot afford any cards in hand, or choose to stop.

If you have no cards in the Draw Pile and need to draw, shuffle your Discard Pile into a new Draw Pile.

End of Turn

• You may no longer play skill cards.
• All "End of Turn" effects fade; discard those cards.
• Untap your Energy Cards.
• Draw 3 cards from the Draw Pile, stopping if your hand reaches 8 cards.
• Any unused Buffs (such as Combo or Clinch) fade.

After you complete your turn, it is your opponent's turn.

Beginning of Enemy's Turn

• All Enemy Guard fades.
• Draw an Attack Pattern from the top of the Attack Pattern pile.
• If the Disciple has applied Weakened to the Enemy: draw a second Attack Pattern and choose which one the Enemy uses. Repeat for each additional Weakened applied.
• If the Disciple has applied Stun to the Enemy: ignore the first Action in the Attack Pattern. Repeat for each additional Stun applied.

Enemy Action Phase

• Resolve remaining Actions in the Attack Pattern one by one.
• Account for any Guard the Disciple may have.

Enemy End of Turn

• Any unused buffs (such as Combo or Clinch) fade unless otherwise specified.
• You and the Enemy continue to take turns until one of you is defeated.

If you are Defeated:

• Pat yourself on the back for making it this far.
• Dust yourself off.
• Try again. From the beginning.

If you Defeat the Enemy:

1. Draw three cards from your Skills Deck. Pick up to one to keep and add it to your Draw Deck. If the enemy was a Miniboss, draw five and pick up to two. You may choose not to pick any.
2. Place unchosen cards at the bottom of your Skills Deck in any order.
3. Shuffle together your hand, Discard Pile, cards still in play, Draw Deck, and Energy Cards played this combat. Place the shuffled deck to your right. Untap your default Energy Cards.
4. Flip over the top card of the Event Deck and follow the next Active Event.

The Journey Continues!

Learning a Second Martial Arts Style (Group 2.5 Event)

If you encounter the Group 2.5 event:

1. Remove the cards listed in the Starting Deck of the new Style Card from the new Martial Arts Skills Deck and shuffle them into your Draw Deck.
2. Count the total skills remaining in your current Skills Deck without looking at the faces.
3. Shuffle the deck, then remove half the skills from the top without looking at the faces. Set these aside, out of play.
4. Shuffle the new Martial Arts Skills Deck, then remove the same number of cards from the top without looking at the faces.
5. Shuffle this new pile into your current Skills Deck.
6. Place the combined Skills Deck face down in the Skills Deck space to your left.
7. Your Energy Allotment is always a set of 3 Energy cards that stay on the board in play at all times. Pick any 3 colors from the combined Energy Allotments of the two Martial Styles you've learned to be your new Energy Allotment. Replace your current Energy cards on the board accordingly.

Congratulations — you are now a Disciple of two schools!

Co-Op Setup

The Co-Op or cooperative playstyle allows players to take on a single adventure together by combining Event Decks and tackling multiple events at the same time. While setup and Enemy interaction differ slightly from Solo, each player's turn follows Solo rules.

1. Decide player order (first to last). This is the turn order and event resolution order.
2. Remove non-enemy event cards from all but the first player's Event Deck.
3. If no one plans to learn a second style, remove the Group 2.5 event card from the first player's Event Deck as well.
4. Each player sets up their individual deck according to Solo setup rules.

Co-Op Gameplay

The first player flips the top card of the Event Deck and places it between their Event Deck and Attack Pattern pile.

Repeat until the first player draws an Enemy:

1. Resolve all Non-Enemy Events in player order. Each player may make their own choice when resolving.
2. If cards are added to or removed from Draw Decks, shuffle them.
3. First player flips the next Event card.

When the first player draws an Enemy, all other players also flip their top Event card. All players begin combat with all Enemies shown.

Player turns in Co-Op:

• Follow Solo turn order within the agreed player order.
• All players take their turn, then all enemies take their turn.
• Enemies target the player who last dealt damage, applied Submit, or applied Rocked. If that player is defeated before the enemy's turn, the enemy targets the first player in the chosen order.
• Counters may be triggered regardless of Enemy Target, unless the trigger specifically states "when attacked" or "when taking damage."
• Fight continues until all Enemies or all Players are defeated.

If all Players are defeated:

• Pat yourselves on the backs for making it this far.
• Dust yourselves off.
• Try again. From the beginning.

If all Enemies are defeated:

1. Any players defeated during the fight are resurrected to half the vitality they had at the start of the fight.
2. Each player draws three cards from their Skills Deck and may select one to add to their Draw Deck. If the Enemy was a Miniboss, draw five and choose up to two. All unchosen cards go to the bottom of the Skills Deck.
3. Players shuffle together their hand, Discard Pile, cards still in play, Draw Deck, and Energy Cards played during combat, and place the shuffled deck on the Draw Deck space.
4. The First Player flips the top card of their Event Deck.

The Journey continues!

Learning a Second Martial Arts Style (Co-Op): Follow the same steps as Solo. Your Energy Allotment is always a set of 3 Energy cards in play at all times — pick any 3 from the combined allotments of both styles and update the board accordingly.

Versus Setup

Versus allows two players to compete against each other with customized Skills Decks. It does not include an Event Deck, final boss, or the usual deckbuilding from Skills Deck to Draw Deck.

Players compile their own custom Skills Deck according to the Skills Deck rules, with these addendums:

• Decks may consist of cards from up to 2 martial arts styles
• There is no limit to the number of unique common cards allowed
• Versus decks must still meet all deck limit rules, including the 60-card minimum

If a player builds a Skills Deck with 2 martial arts styles, they must decide their Energy Allotment from the combined allotments of both styles. Example: A player combines Boxing (BBB) and Karate (BRG). They may choose any combination of those colors for a new allotment of 3. Since red and green each only appear once in the originals, they cannot appear more than once in the new allotment. (BBG) is acceptable; (GRR) is not.

Players start with 50 Vitality.

Versus Gameplay

To decide who goes first, each player pulls a random skill from their deck. Most epic wins. If rarity is the same, highest cost wins. If costs are the same: all types beat Generic; Upperbody beats Lowerbody; Lowerbody beats Grapple; Grapple beats Upperbody. If types are the same, both players draw another card.

Player turns are the same as Solo Gameplay.

• If a player's Vitality reaches 0, that player is Defeated.
• If a player has no more cards to draw at the end of their turn, that player is Defeated.

Campaign Setup

Campaign gameplay allows players to play as a group with a Campaign Leader (CL) controlling the narrative and events. The following are more guidelines than hard rules — parties and the CL may adjust to fit gameplay and narrative.

1. Players follow the same setup as Solo gameplay for their Player Mats.
2. The CL receives the Event Decks from each player to ensure a balanced mix of Enemies and Events.
3. The CL keeps Attack Pattern draws behind a curtain but must honor any applied Weaken or Stun by announcing roll values or skipping the proper number of attacks.
4. Player Order is decided by the CL, set for the duration of the campaign.

Campaign Gameplay

• The CL guides the group through an adventure using provided events and Enemies.
• Unless specified through narrative, non-Enemy Events apply to all players.
• The CL decides the number of Enemies committing to a fight and who each Enemy targets. Enemy Attack Patterns are still decided by Attack Pattern draws.
• A fight is complete when all Enemies are defeated or all Players are defeated.

When a fight ends:

• Players not defeated during the fight may draw 5 skills and choose 2 to add to their Draw Deck. Remaining skills go to the bottom of the Skills Deck.
• Defeated players are revived to half their starting Health total. They may draw 3 cards from their Skills Deck and add 1 to their Draw Deck. Remaining cards go to the bottom.
• If all players are defeated, the campaign ends.

The CL controls, through narrative, when each player or the group may learn a second martial arts style. Follow the Solo rules for learning a second style.