Change Log
- References to a “run” have been replaced with the term “run”.
- Document has been renamed from “Runs” to “Runs.”
This game (and roguelikes in general) is played in runs. A run in this game is called a run. A run is a single playthrough of the game, beginning with hitting the start button and ending with victory or defeat. All events between involve procedurally generated challenges, thoughtful build composition and skilful application of game knowledge.
Overview
The absolute highest-level overview of a run is as follows:
- The player chooses the conditions for the run (their party of characters, their equipped abilities, any Difficulty Modifiers, an optional seed, etc) and hits the start button.
- The party progresses through three district maps, each filled with different kinds of rooms (combat, shop, etc.)
- There is always a boss in the final room of a district. After beating the boss, you move straight to the next district.
- If the party clears the final district and chooses to escape (see Looping), they win the run.
- If the party wipes at any point before that, they lose the ramapge.
See Gameplay Loops and Gameplay Processes for diagrams outlining the flow and sequence of a run.
See also: Randomness.
Resources
Tritanite Shards
The player will collect and spend shards throughout the run. Shards aren’t attributed to any particular character. It’s a global resource that applies to the whole party/run.
Party Health
The only “state” that persists about party members between combat encounters is their current health, their stats, and their items.
- Health can only be regained by healing in-battle, buying a health pack from a shop, or by completing a district (health is fully restored at the start of each district).
- Stats can be improved at shops.
- Items are gained from battle rewards, buying them from shops, or getting them at random encounters. They can be lost at any time, such as from the Expiration Date difficulty modifier.
Looping
When the boss of the final district is defeated, the player must choose to either:
- Escape, ending the run as a victory, or
- Loop, returning to the start of the first district and continuing the run with all of their progress up to this point.
If the player fails during a loop, the whole run is considered a failure. They must decide whether it is worth the risk to loop.
Each time they beat the final boss, they make the decision again. There is no limit to how many times you can loop.