Crush Em Game Rules — The Pen Is My Sword

DOMINATE. OVERPOWER. CRUSH.

In the world of The Generalist, Neo-Los Angeles has become a battleground of immense proportions. The Pact of Pantheons have been completely ruptured as Overpowereds spring out of nowhere to do battle with one another! Whatever has empowered these poor souls has also declared that only one of them will KEEP those abilities, and only after defeating all others of their ilk.

Completely warping the world in a mighty battleground, Overpowereds of all types are wreaking havoc against one another, employing noteworthy characters of might against each other in an attempt to become the ultimate survivor.

This is certainly not merely a deathmatch, nor a simple card game.

This is the ultimate battle of domination, to come out on top of them all. Only one will survive.

Only one will live to CRUSH THEM ALL.

All players become “Overpowereds.” There are two major fields to be aware of - the “Overpowered Field” (where the players are currently mid-attack) and “Battle Field.” The action takes place on the Battle Field, with the intention of either dominating, overpowering, or absolutely crushing the other Champion.

Once the Champion has been defeated, the winning Overpowered Player’s attack hits and destroys the loser.

With an eye for either a quick card combat game or an advanced roleplaying experience, Crush ‘Em is sure to be fun for either beginner or advanced gamers!

2) OVERVIEW

As Overpowered, players assemble characters to fight for them on the Battle Field. Characters are represented by character cards, and are classed as either Champions or Allies of the Champion. The aim of the game is to defeat the enemy Champion in one of three ways. Other cards you can play will allow you to change who your Champion is, or perhaps even have multiple Champions.

Loss Conditions
In a game like this, victory and loss do not inexactly end the game. While at it’s most basic, loss and victory are simple things, in the more advanced play where Champions and Allies both can ascend to become Overpowereds themselves, the game can go completely off the rails and only the “end condition” will satisfy who won the game.

Loss is defined as thus: if your Champion has been knocked out, converted, destroyed, or taken “out of this dimension” and there are no grimoires, cards, organization abilities, or modifications that can allow a new Ally to step in and become the new Champion or any other condition that would otherwise halt the proceedings, then you have lost.

Victory Conditions
In Crush ‘Em, there are three basic ways to win the game:

>DOMINATE - either influence the enemy Champion or Overpowered Player to give up or convert to your side. This is harder to do then it sounds, especially considering the Elan levels involved. Another way to Dominate is to somehow get the Champion off of the playing mat entirely, “exiling them outside of this dimension,” with no other way to make them playable or able to be brought back. When this happens, the onus is on the Player with the exiled Champion to point out that they DO have a way to bring them back, and play will resume until this card/card effect can be activated.

>OVERPOWER - to raise either YOUR HP (if Avatar or other cards are used) or Champion’s HP to 1000000.

>CRUSH - bring the opponent’s Champion’s HP down to 0, with no other way for them to survive being sent to the garbage/KO piles.

There may even be other, secret ways to win, but these are the three main points of victory.

Note: there are some Character cards that can continue to operate even after death, or being moved outside this dimension, or even moved onto the Overpowered Field.

Unless stated otherwise, it takes three sets of play (that is three confirmed victories for a single player) to win a full game in tournament play. In 1 on 1 play, whoever achieves confirmed victory first wins.

Unless otherwise noted, this Grimoire considers standard play to be Tournament play.

Quickplay

Begin - acknowledgment that it is now your turn. If this is Turn 1 of a new set, then Player 1 can immediately seek out and place a Champion (level 1) onto the field. If this is the first turn for either player, they may draw five cards to their hand.

Draw Card - you may draw a card from your General Pile.

Quest Phase - you may Train character cards, perform blacksmithing/alchemy, worship for Faith Levels, train in Martial Arts, or play Event cards. Every character card on the field gets a Quest Phase, but if they train/perform blacksmithing/alchemy or perform acts of Worship, they cannot attack/defend unless otherwise noted on a card.

Place Phase - you may set down any form of card onto the Battle Field or, if they’re supposed to go there, on the Overpowered Field or even Garbage. Remember: you can only "normal summon" one character card per round onto the Battle Field...unless otherwise noted!

Battle Phase - you declare an attack, deciding which attacking character cards targets which defending character cards (or any other "standard action" attacks). The defender declares defenses (either accepting the attackers as declared or adding/changing defenses depending on defensive actions available), or simply takes the attack to the targets being attacked. Once an attacker has attacked, they must "tapped" (or moved slightly ajar) to represent that they have committed to an attack. A character that has committed themselves to attack, or defense, cannot untap until that controlling character's next official round.

Attack Resolution - That champion/target character card loses HP per (attack - defense), taking into consideration all other factors.

Post Phase - The phase right after Resolution, right before End phase.

End - your turn is now done.

Special Modes of Gameplay

[UNBOUND] - should both Champions achieve 1000 gnosis of Elan, the game becomes [UNBOUND], recognizing that both opponents are now at the highest form of existence. The Pact of Pantheons is ignored for this battle alone and all abilities and skills, no matter how game breaking, can come to full effect.

The stage is now Duel Stage. While Duel Stage is in effect, then the Champion can attack the Player directly instead of simply allowing THEIR Player to attack. Should the attacking Champion connect, then the game ends and the attacking Player wins.

BALLROOM BLITZ - should there be more than one Player present, then the simple one on one mechanics now become a group battle. 1) Roll a die to determine who goes first (paying heed to any card, grimoire, or modification that improves initiative), and begin the flow of turns from fastest to slowest unless stated elsewhere or 2) simply determine who goes first and go counterclockwise from there.

Each Player must determine who they are attacking, unless they have attacks that can target multiple targets during their turn.

Gameplay continues as normal until only one Overpowered Player wins.

3) BASIC CARD STATS

Name - name of the characters

HP - Hit Points, the life force of the characters. When the character runs out of HP, they are placed in then they are dead and cannot return until the next game (unless stated otherwise by card or Grimoire effect), and are then placed in the Garbage Pile. If there are no other Champions or Allies (who can become Champion due to card effect, Grimoire or mod) on the Battle Field, the Player has lost. Note: certain modifications, abilities, and other training can enable a Character to build up HP beyond their total max. This temporary pool of HP is simply known as “temporary HP,” and may or may not vanish depending on circumstances. Unless otherwise noted, all temporary HP is lost at the Begin phase of your opponent.

NOTE: there are certain techniques and spells which "KO" a target, no matter what their HP are. Should a character card be placed in KO status, then they go to the KO Pile, not the Garbage Pile. Summon Creatures sent to the KO Pile are, instead, sent to the Garbage Pile.

EP - Energy Points, the energy force of the Champion. EP is used to cast spells, psionic abilities, utilize weaponskills, or any other number of things.

Note: certain modifications, abilities, and other training can enable a Character to build up EP beyond their total max. This temporary pool of EP is simply known as “temporary EP,” and may or may not vanish depending on circumstances. Unless otherwise noted, all temporary EP is lost at the Begin phase of your opponent.

ELAN - measured in units of “gnosis,” Elan is the stuff of reality. Those with Elan higher than 0 are considered more real than the masses. Please review the Elan List to see where your Champion is. All Overpowered are considered “1000 gnosis” at all times unless stated elsewhere.

NOTE: Elan carries over from set 1 to 2, or even 3. So long as you're playing the same game against the same opponent, your (and your opponent's) individual characters keep what gnosis of Elan they've collected. This is known as “Elan Carryover.”

Attack - the base attack score of the character. This can be enhanced or decreased depending on card effects, equipped Gear, and more. Upon declaring an attack, this card will clash with a targeted card's defense score, lowering that defense score by the current Attack score (ATK - DEF). "Basic" attack is any melee (unarmed or armed with a weapon) attack and can be blocked by any melee defense. "Special" attacks are any energy-based attacks, and can only be blocked by character cards with Special defenses learned. These special defenses may be increased or decreased depending on type of energy the attack uses versus type of energy the defense uses.

Defense - the base defense score of the character. Is lowered by the number of attacks in a single round, refills at end of combat phase. Once DEF score hits 0, all damage dealt to this character card is dealt to HP (unless otherwise noted).

If a Champion’s HP lowers to 0, they’re sent to the Garbage Pile and the Player they represent loses the game, forfeiting their place as an Overpowered in existence.

Range - Determines if this card is inherently Long Range or Close Range. All character cards are considered Close Range unless stated here.

NOTE: If an Item or Gear changes this card's Range, then character card's ATK is REPLACED by the Item or Gear's ATK score instead of enhanced. This can be changed through various mod cards or training/faith methods.

Speed Check - Speed (outside of movement and combats) is dealt with on a 1-10 scale, with 1 being the slowest and 10 being the fastest. Speeds faster or slower than this can be achieved, and is considered slower/faster than is normally allowed by the laws of reality. Yes, Mabel, you can go faster than the speed of light here.

NOTE: The average speed a normal human being can move at is Speed Check 3. A trained athlete or soldier can move at Speed Check 5.

At 10 “Time Stop” occurs, allowing the character to act before any other attack during Attack Resolution.

NOTE: There is no way to go into speeds over 10.

NOTE: Some card effects and Grimoire will point-blank state if a character go into speeds over 10 or not.

NOTE: No this isn’t a paradox, shut up.

Race - the starting Race of the character card is natively on all level 1 cards. From then on, race and gender (which is noted in the image, otherwise declared here) can be changed upon upgrading/evolving the character card to level 2.

Once a character card hits the Battlefield, the Racial bonuses/blonuses are immediately activated. These bonuses/blonuses remain unless otherwise dealt with by card effects or more.

Style - what kind of specific fighting style, if any, the character is associated with, whether it be a certain school of Magia, martial arts, or whether or not they can use weapons or armor.

Flavor Text - something regarding the character themselves, such as a quote or a hint regarding their stronger abilities. Can also declare what type of abilities the character is associated with (the four basic food groups of attacks or even fifth one, special ones, etcetera).

Skills - some characters come with pre-packaged skills that they can access before Evolution.

Back (advanced abilities) - some characters are simply more skilled or have access to more abilities than normal. You can find these on the back of the card, and can usually be used only during certain situations.

Fortitude Save (FORT) - ATK + 1d20. Whenever a character card (Champion or Ally) take more than 50% of their total HP as damage from a single attack source, they must roll a Fort Save. If they fail, the character card is immediately KO’ed. Certain techniques can also force a Fort Save.

To succeed, this character card must have a FORT combined score that is higher than 50%+5 of the FORT total.

For instance, an ATK of 12 and a total of 20 (a maximum 1d20 roll) would equal 32. Controlling player must acquire a score of 21 (16+5), or 12 + 1d20 and roll higher than 9.

Reflex Save (REF) - DEF + 1d20. Certain defense abilities and skills can grant a character card the chance to mitigate great damage through swifter than normal reactions. If this character card succeeds, then damage is halved before it takes effect. Unless otherwise noted, this can be done if a single attack would deal greater than 50% of this character card’s HP total.

To succeed, this character card must have a REF combined score that is higher than 50%+5 of the REF total.

Will Save (WILL) - EP Total + 1d20. Certain spells rely on having a powerful mind or preying upon those who are weak-minded. In order to determine a character card’s current mental strength when the situation calls for it, roll a 1d20 and combine it with the character card’s EP Total.

To succeed, this character card must have a WILL combined score that is higher than the attacking character card’s WILL.

4) GM’s/Judge-Knights

During casual play, there are no need for GM’s. The presence of a GM may be accepted if both players agree to such.

Otherwise, the presence of a GM is necessary for moderation during tournament or official events.

Advanced Play may require the presence of a GM.

While the Pact of Pantheons remains bent during this time, the GM’s have appeared in order to present an unassailable bulwark of judgment. None quite knows from where they come from, only that their word is Law.

Their power is as great as all Overpowereds, and should their wrath be kindled they can easily invade a fight with a Judge-Knight champion card and render their judgment as actual actions within the game. Should the offending player be unable to withstand their attacks, then the game will end at their hand on behalf of their chosen player.

The Game Masters are the storytellers, the weavers of dreams and the arbiters of execution and judgment alike.

Do not force them from their neutral stance.

You, Overpowered, have been warned.

5) THE BATTLEFIELD

OVERPOWER FIELD

Nothing, you idiot, Dr. Dre is dead, he’s locked up in my basement.

BATTLE FIELD (considering this is from only two players stage)

Garbage Pile - all Creature cards who have hit 0, Summoned Monsters who have been defeated or banished, and all other used cards go here.

(Anywhere off of the mat is considered “out of this dimension”/Exile and is not the same as death)

KO Pile - Creature Cards who have been knocked out through various means are sent to this pile. They are NOT dead, and may return to battle within the described amount of rounds.

Note: Summoned Monsters who have been KO'ed are sent to the Garbage Pile.

Deck Pile - up to 40 cards minimum stacked here.

Side Deck - is kept off the playing mat unless certain conditions have been met.

Starting Hand - You can draw up to five cards.

Character Area - this is where you place Champions, Allies, and Summons. All equips are placed under the specific Champion they’re equipped too. Ditto with all abilities, attacks, skills or anything else activated that is originated from that Champion. In order for a continuous spell or ability to be “active,” they must be attached to a Character Card, whether it be Champion or Ally. In games where a player has more character cards or tokens than they have space on the Battle Field, then they may continue placing such off the mat while still having them be active on the Battle Field. You may only set one character card at a time (normal set) down once per round.

Grimoire Area - your active Grimoire is placed here. You can only have one Grimoire (outside of the Online Grimoire) at a time, unless modified by a card or Grimoire.

Background Area - where you place a Background card to shift the background.

6) DECK RULES

You can have up to ten cards in your hand. Any cards beyond that MUST be sent to the garbage pile.

The basic deck that is active on the Battle Field must be at least 40. The side deck (or Overpowered Deck if the right conditions have been met) cannot be more than 20.

There are ways around any of these rules through the use of Grimoires, mods, special cards and more.

Upon your Champion achieving Overpowered level, you can riffle the Side Deck into the game.

Upon meeting certain conditions (found in the Grimoires or other modification cards), you can riffle the Side Deck into the game.

You can only have one character by that character’s name on the field on your side. If you convert a character of the same name from the enemy’s side, this rule is suspended.

All players may have up to 4 of the same of any named card in either deck. So you can have only 4 level 1 Boxers, 4 level 1 Bounty Hunters, etcetera. You may play all four cards of the same name on the field at any point in time.

You may only set one character card onto the battlefield (Normal Set) once per round, unless otherwise noted.

Only Long Range capable character cards can be Normal Set directly into the Back Row, and only behind a character card in the Front Row.

VARIANT RULE - You may only have one “named” character cards and variants in the Main Deck, and one more in the Side Deck.

NAME RULE - You may only have one “named” character on your side of the field at any point in time.

STACKING RULE - Unless otherwise noted no abilities, special attacks, techniques, Magia, or Gear of the same name stacks.

CHOICE RULE - Not all attacks are covered by the “Basic ATK” score on the card. Upon your Battle Phase, you must choose whether you are going to simply perform a Basic Attack (including with whatever weapon/s the character is equipped with), cast a spell, perform a Special Attack, utilize a psionic ability, or more.

MULLIGAN RULE - You may Mulligan (taking your entire hand, putting it into the deck, then riffing and drawing a new hand minus a card) only on the first hand you draw. Unless otherwise noted (by player agreement, for instance), a player may only Mulligan twice.

7) POSITIONING AND PLACEMENT

Crush ‘Em is, at it’s core, a battle card game with RPG elements. When one dives down deeper, though, one will find a dearth of strategy and on-the-fly tactics that result from the customization of one’s decks and what cards one has at their disposal.

Positioning and Placement of the cards should always be kept in mind. Player 1 determines which is “Right” (where the two players place their Champions on the mat), and all allies will be to the left of that Champion.

Because of this, there are inherent advantages to being on the edges of this placement, even if the placement of “live” cards or tokens go off the mat - whoever is at the end will gain the advantages of not being flanked.

There is also the issue of targets “in front of” the character card. At that point, it would be either of the two flanking that particular card.

Advantageous positioning and placement SHOULD be something a player (even an intermediate or starting one) should be aware of, at least. Even a +1 benefit or bonus can be seriously exploited either for or against the player, all depending on the battlefield and those involved and playing.

Game Flow

Game Flow begins with the Dice Clash to determine who is Player 1 and Player 2, unless the two simply agree on who gets to go first.

On Player 1’s turn, they abstain from drawing but get to place their Champion first - during this turn (unless otherwise noted by some other cards, or even battle mats), they cannot attack but simply place a Champion, possibly place an ally (you can Normal Set one character card per round, unless otherwise noted, after all) if you have one in your hand, and go from there.

It is only on the Player 2’s turn that attacks and defense really come into play. From here, Player 2 not only gets to draw but can also declare attacks - Player 1 can defend all they want with as many creatures as they want (including tag-teaming attackers), but only after Player 2 has declared which attackers are targeting which of Player 1’s cards.

Combat resolution comes in, end of turn comes in, and Player 1 can now decide whether or not they want to commit themselves to fighting back or simply building up their cards after drawing their first card.

Cards that are committed to attack (unless otherwise noted) canNOT defend until the controlling player’s next turn! If there are no active defenders to block attackers, then the Champion is going to take damage from each attacking source, provided they can overcome that card’s DEF.

Do keep that in mind.

There is no single way to achieve victory - the strategy of the deck is mitigated by the tactics one has access to immediately. In some cases, one SHOULD commit themselves to rushing a single Champion with many allies. In other cases, it’s best to strengthen and customize the cards on the battlefield in order to unleash powerful skills and abilities.

Unless otherwise noted, both players may only seek out and set level 1 character cards to be their chosen Champion.

The Law of the Right

Character placement is always set “to the right,” but which right is…right?

That part’s easy: whoever wins Dice Clash and claims Player 1 status.

Champions are placed “to the right” of Player 1, with the Champion of Player 2 to the “left” of that Champion, and thus the game revolves around that. Because of the advantageous positioning, Player 1 does NOT get to draw on the first turn, and Player 2 can have access to attacking first.

“Unless Otherwise Noted”

This is a general catch-all due to the nature of the game itself. Some cards have inherent abilities (such as the Martial Artist having the martial adherent ability without needing the skill or the benefits of a Trainer or Dojo - it’s printed right there on the card) that can help determine what they can and cannot do, and there are many other methods (Mod Cards, backgrounds, Trainers, special battle mats, Grimoire of any sort) that can change what certain cards can and cannot do.

In the case of truly clashing card rules and without the presence of a GM/Judge-Knight, the answer is simple: Dice Clash. Whoever a raw, unmodified Dice Clash (whoever rolls highest) determines the rule that lasts for all three sets of the game. Please make sure to write the result in your notepads!

All cards in the game can be improved or outright changed due to many different factors and methods. This is a card game that stresses customization, tactics and overall strategy as well as a good ol’ fashion knuckle-up beatdown.

It all depends on what yer gonna do…unless otherwise noted~!

8) QUEST PHASE ACTIONS

A part of the natural flow of the game, Quest Phase actions are a part of the more RPG aspects of the game. At this phase you can declare one of the following for each character card you have on the field:

A certain character or Champion card may Train in martial arts, acquiring a new level of martial art. This can only be done if they have the Martial Adherent skill and has an associated Martial Art declared upon hitting the field.

A certain character or Champion card may attempt to gain Faith Levels, increasing their total Faith Table bonuses. This can only be done if they have declared one of the Pantheon as their patron deity upon hitting the field and has the appropriate skill(s).

A certain character or Champion card may perform a Blacksmithing, Alchemy, Infusion or Enchantment at this point. This can only be done if they have the appropriate skill to do so.

On their turn, a Player may set down and activate an Event card.

9) CARD TYPES

Character - Character cards are either the chosen Champion or Allies, and can be placed at one per round unless otherwise specified. Summoned Characters also count as Allies and, with the right card effects, Champion.

Basic Character Cards can come with varying skills and even inherent abilities depending on rarity/special occasions. Skills are randomized depending on card print run, so keep your eyes open for the optimal basic cards for YOUR playing style!

>Champions and Allies - each Player has at least one Champion on the Battle Field at any point in time in order to be viable for the game. Any other Character or acting creature on the Battle Field afterwards is known as an “Ally.” Allies can be defeated, turned, destroyed, or knocked out at any point in time - if the Champion is KO’ed, defeated, turned, or destroyed then the Overpowered Player they’re connected to loses the game.

>Overpowered Avatar - there are certain grimoire, cards, and modifications that allow the Player to act on the Battle Field (or even from the Overpowered Field) as either a Champion or an Ally. It is not beyond the realm of possibility for an Overpowered Avatar and Overpowered Champion to be playing at the same time.

>Summoned Creatures - unlike normal Champions and Allies, Summoned Creatures can only be brought to the battlefield through meeting certain conditions. Contracts, Conjuration Magia, and certain Events are a few examples.

Magia - magic spells which draw from spindled mana. Underverse champions and allies cannot spindle mana like normal humans, and cannot use Magia if their EP ever hits 0.

Ki Abilities - kinetic energy that allows for special martial arts attacks and techniques.

Psionics - extremely powerful but with extremely powerful drawbacks. While Psionics don’t require EP to be cast (unless stated otherwise, you may only use Psionic abilities and attacks once during your turn), each time they’re actively used you must roll a dice from the Psychic Burnout chart. If you successfully burn out, then that Champion cannot access ANY psionics unless a card, grimoire, or modification is used. Please note that such recovery is INCREDIBLY rare.

Spiritual Faith - not all characters worship a god or goddess. If they do, they can gain access to powerful weapons, abilities, and more through Faith Tables. As fragmented as the Pact of Pantheons is during this time of trials, the Pantheons STILL exist and are in full operation.

Weaponskills - certain characters can perform certain attacks if they have the proper fighting style, martial arts, and weapon equipped.

Unregistered Energy - while the “Four Basic Food Groups” of energy are a thing, there is a fifth known simply as Unregistered or Unknown Energy. For example, Morrow Kind’s “Song Magic” is neither magia, Ki ability, psionic or spiritual in nature, yet can still be cast without drawing from EP nor causing Burnout. Abilities that cause silence CAN affect him, though, and is covered in his Grimoire.

Martial Arts - special stances and schools of attack and defense that can improve a Champion or Ally on the Battle Field.

Summons - drawing from the EP, Conjuration Magia is a very specific and special school of magic that allows a Champion to summon forth powerful allies, equipment, consumable items, and even change the shape of the Battle Field itself. Once a Champion’s EP hits 0, though, anything Summoned is immediately dispelled.

Cartomancy - a special form of Unregistered Energy, Cartomancy revolves around the usage of Tarot (minor or major arcana) to cast spells, abilities, and allies. Comes with it’s own Grimoire and specialized rules.

Backgrounds - the Battle Field or Overpowered Field. It’s generally considered that the game is taking place in Neo-Los Angeles on a particular hubworld version of Earth. With the proper gnosis, techniques or abilities, the Background can be changed to something more favorable to the character. This is covered in individual cards or grimoire.

Note: not all Champions or Allies are affected by the Background shift. Certain characters, such as Cypher, Alek Beers, or Thomas Duder are completely immune to Interdimensional Sickness. Many characters gain bonuses and benefit from a Background shift - for instance, any Fire-based character will gain benefits for shifting the background to the Elemental Plane of Fire. This is covered in the specific character grimoire, card, or modification.

Items - consumable or usable items that help the Champion. For instance, if your Champion is down 100 hp, and you have a HP Up Potion attached to them on the field, you can activate it and send it to the Garbage, giving your Champion 100 hp back. Consumable items can be cast “from the hand” only during that Player’s turn, but items “equipped” to a particular character card can be used at any point in time (one “Free Action” per phase of a round). Any given character card may only equip up to two potion/consumable items unless otherwise noted.

Equipment (aka Gear Cards) - a myriad of Equipment can be equipped to your character, but you can only have one of the following in each “slot”: Left Hand, Right Hand, Greaves, Shoulders, Head, Bracers, Boots. You cannot equip a main weapon in the off hand unless the character is Ambidextrous.

There are three more slots to be aware of: left hand ring, right hand ring, neck, and waist. These are considered “miscellaneous” slots compared to the “main” slots found above. You can only equip on item at a time.

It is a general practice that “whole set” cards are stronger than individual gear cards.

Modification - rare, powerful cards that exist beyond Grimoire. Modification cards literally modify any other cards, or even the game itself, upon being placed on the Field.

Quick Play - Quick Play cards can be set and activated at any point in time as a Free Action or Counter.

Grimoire - powerful booklets that further outline cards used in the game.

Mods - special cards that change the effects of the game or specific cards they’re attached to.

Race - due to the Chaos Shift occurring within the world, while many people start off as one gender or race, there is no guarantee during this ever-shifting time that one will remain that by the end of the game. A character’s race (and gender) can be purposefully shifted during the card’s upgrading, at level 2.

Level 2 Race Shift - please note that upon upgrading any character card, you must then declare the Race Card alongside it. This does not work with certain Variants and Named Cards.

Event - Special cards that can come into play either through the General Deck (up to 2 maximum), Side Deck (1 maximum), or during Tournament Play or Story Event Play.

Event Cards are specific cards that can change the tide of battle and the story of your fight upon being set. Once the conditions are met, an Event Card can be put into play during your turn.

You can also introduce exciting Midboss or Boss characters in the middle of the fight through Event Cards (controlled by the player who Activated the card).

More on Storyline Events

There IS a reason why so many people have suddenly become Overpowered, and that reason will be doled out via the website and special yearly tournaments.

Some event-specific cards can only be acquired through these tournaments.

Note: anything the Grimoire does NOT change from the original card is regarded the same.

10) UPGRADING AND EVOLUTION

As soon as Place Phase begins, the player can “upgrade” character cards, background cards, or even spells, abilities, items and equipment.

Unless you have a grimoire, card, or modification of some sort stating so, you can only upgrade one level at a time per turn.

For the most part, there is a major difference between Evolution and Upgrading. Upgrading is a natural process of the native character cards, whereas Evolution occurs when a character card grows in Elan. In order to obtain the highest powers found within the game, the character card will need to grow in Elan and acquire gnosis. There are various ways to do this, and these can be found in the Online Grimoire.

11) SKILLS

Skills can be found on the Back Information section of any character card. These skills are inherently known by the character, and can be utilized immediately upon hitting the battlefield.

Skills determine what a character card can do. If the player has Overlayed (or Evolved) a character card, then the topmost character card is considered to have both their own printed, inherent skills (if different) as well as those of the bottom card they’re laid on/evolved from.

There are ways to increase the amount of skills available to a character card, but that (as always) is determined by finding and utilizing the proper cards to do so.

Please note: all basic character cards come with randomimzed skills. While some mixes will do better with some play styles, still others may be better or worse for you personal, customized deck. Be on the lookout for the basic character cards with the best mix of skills for you!

12) ELAN AND GNOSIS

In the world of Crush ‘Em (and related works), there are those who are “more real than real,” affecting reality with their very thoughts and actions.

It is the difference between a mere god and a higher god. It is the path to ultimate power in the entire multiverse.

Each level of reality, gained through a specific total of Elan, dictates what that person is. Most NPC’s are at 0 gnosis.

Upon gaining 1 point of Elan, they suddenly find themselves in the position of the PC. The distance from 0 to 1 and from 999 to 1000 is far, wide, and almost impossibly vast to cross, and yet...cross it they do.

Perhaps it is by their own volition. Perhaps it is the Will of Existence. Perhaps they survived an attack from another Overpowered.

There are millions of ways to acquire Elan, but this is well-known - upon achieving that level, accepting it means you can no longer rise any further. For those who may have it in them to become an Overpowered, this is a sweet trap.

To others, achieving enough Elan to become a Higher God is merely the beginning, a footpath to greater goals...

The Elan System
(Gnosis - Event)

50 - a high king can be found with this total on the average.

75 - a truly powerful hero or heroine can be found around here.

100 gnosis- You can now become a god. You can govern and gather worshipers and grow strong, in the sense of gods at least.

Inherent bonus: x2

300 gnosis - You can now become a Higher God. They function in handling and guarding the rebirth-regeneration cycle of gods as they die, live, are worshiped and lose worshipers to one another.

Inherent bonus: x3

500 gnosis - You are a Beyonder. The powers of a Beyonder lays in sheperding their given sector and galaxy cluster, namely in maintaining the veils of reality as they stand.

Inherent bonus: x4

700 gnosis - You are a Rising Force. You can completely write anyone out of the fabric of reality that has a gnosis less than 400 (even high gods), and whole universes are at your disposal. Overpowered elements are beginning to be usable at this level.

Inherent bonus: x5

900 gnosis - You are Empowered. Anyone that is 700 gnosis or under you can be destroyed at a moment's notice. Reality itself and all that exists at a gnosis less than yours can be manipulated to your whim, and only a Rising Force or another Empowered can harm you.

Inherent bonus: x7

1000 gnosis - You are Overpowered. You are peerless, unmatched, and flawless. Your very thoughts can affect reality itself on a macrocosmic scale.

Inherent bonus: x10

13) THE PACT OF PANTHEONS - BENT BUT UNBOWED

Those who awaken to their nature as an Overpowered are incredibly rare - not every dimension spits out an Overpowered. Despite this, there are thousands known traversing and interacting with all of existence.

To govern them, and to ensure the fair dealings between themselves and the rest of all realities, and to safeguard them all, the Pact of Pantheons were created.

The Pact of Pantheons are a system of laws and rules that govern how gods interact with one another, those of higher Elan, and those of lower. The Pact of Pantheons can almost guarantee destruction to even an Overpowered who dares betray them.

And yet, the current situation is that the Pact of Pantheons lay broken, with random Overpowered erupting all over Neo-Los Angeles and elsewheres.

While they are “broken” they are not destroyed - while it’s true that Overpowereds can directly affect Character Cards, Character Cards cannot easily affect Overpowereds. Even more so, the power of Overpowereds versus Character Cards have been “watered down” - they can no longer just obliterate reality with a wink of their eye.

That is the point of the game itself - to figure out which one will walk away with supreme power at the cost of the lives of others.

The Pact of Pantheons, broken..but still valid.

Still here.

14) THE FORMS OF ENERGY

In the world of Crush ‘Em, there exists a frightening myriad of energy types and sources.

NOTE: Yes we realize that that’s the wrong usage of the word “energy,” but if it’s good enough for the Amerifed Government it’s good enough for here!

While the sources may differ (and there are even different types of the same energy!), the American Federation Government has noted there are five noteworthy forms of energy:

Ki Ability - a special bio-energy that connects the body of the user to the world itself, connecting them through a natural form of energy-laden veins running throughout the world. This is a natural offshoot of the Ley Lines that exist, and links Ki Abilities quite closely to Mana.

Through martial arts and special training, Ki energy can be harnessed to perform many miraculous attacks and unbelievable feats of strength. The expression of Ki energy, though, is always through the body itself as the focus.

Magia - the process of spindling “mana” into usable magic, expressed as “Magia” (the correct term for magic spells, so the Order of Magi say), is the main focus of magic-users. Whether it’s the standard internal alchemy found in most who are able to instinctively do it, or the inability to spindle normally or at all (found in those of Underverse origin and the undead), mana is a raw force found traveling through the planet in arteries known as “ley lines.” This naturally occurrence phenomenon is something of an offshoot of the very Dragon Veins that power Ki users.

Through specific training, magic-users can affect their surroundings or within (either through their own body as the focus or through a myriad of Gear, especially wands) themselves utilizing this powerful force.

Psionics - psychic energy is one of the oldest known to the common citizens, and has had a longer history, rivaling Spiritual Faith itself. Found in almost all humans (and other humanoids and offshoots), the power and ease of use of Psionics is mitigated by the horror of Burn Out. With each use of psychic energy, there is a chance that the psionic user can lose the ability forever. The rate of recovery from Burn Out is less than 1%, and never twice in a row for a single user.

While psionics can be improved through training, even THIS carries the constant and ever-present threat of Burn Out.

Out of all four registered energy forms, Psionics are considered the most “human” of all, with the source of energy and usage originating entirely from within the user. That’s not to say that external forces or sources can be used, but on the average the power of a psionic is entirely based and sourced internally.

Unknown - the fifth “registered” energy source is simply known as Unknown. Obtenebration Magia and Song Magic fit under this, as well as Frank’s “Overkill.” If an energy form or source appears that does not fit the Four Basic Food Groups, it’s lumped and registered into this fifth form with HIGHLY specific notes.

15) BLACKSMITHING

Not all items can simply be equipped. First, they must be made. By combining certain Gear together, you can “create” powerful equipment which can then be equipped. Stronger blacksmiths can even summon these powerful items from either of the decks. The way to bringing forth named, rare, or uber-powered Gear is through Blacksmithing. A single Ally or Champion with the Blacksmithing skill can honestly turn the tide of battle by empowering Gear to be equipped by the party, as well as Upgrading equips already equipped to target cards.

>Upgrading - Blacksmith characters have the ability to give up a Battle Phase to “upgrade” one piece of Gear currently equipped to any card. This Upgrade counts as +1 and improves all stats of the Gear by 1.

NOTE: certain modifiers and cards can change this base number.

>Basic Blacksmithing - Blacksmith characters can give up their Quest Phase and sacrifice two Gear cards from the players hand (sending them to the Garbage Pile) in order to seek out a new Gear Card directly from the deck and put it in the player's hand. For level purposes, the level of the new card must equal (or be lower than) the levels of the sacrificed cards.

16) ALCHEMY

Much like blacksmithing, only with biological components. To higher levelled alchemists, even other Allies (yours or opponents) can become components for all-mighty elixirs with mega spell-like effects!

>Dissect - Alchemist characters have the ability to give up a Battle Phase to “dissect” an Ally. If an Alchemist gets the last hit before KOing a target card, this card is considered “killed” (via vivisection) instead. Cards that are dissected can be used in place of alchemical reagents. This can only be done once per alchemical mix.

>Mix - Alchemist characters can give up their Quest Phase and, following the recipes found on the cards themselves or the Online Grimoire, can sacrifice components (HP/EP/sending cards to the garbage pile) in order to seek out a new Potion/Alchemical Mix/Reagent directly from the deck and put it in the player's hand.

17) ARTIFICING/INFUSING

Not everyone can artifice or infuse Gear with spell-like effects, whether it be through potions or spells. The technique of Artificing is for Gear what Infusing is for Alchemy.

By committing a free action, a character with the Artificer skill can transform any Gear (under Artifact level) into an Artifact, allowing that spell card to have extra added effects (damage, healing, whatever the spell was) to the affected Gear. This can be done at any time (during your turn’s free action).

NOTE - when spell effect usually casts damage, this is added as extra damage to weaponry, and added defense against similar spells (Fire gets bonus as defense against Fire, Divine against Divine, Dark against Dark).

By committing a free action, a character with the Infusion skill can “infuse” Magia, Ki Abilities, or Weaponskills, or Special Attacks into any Alchemical product (this is done during the creation of the product). Any character who drinks an Infusion immediately learns whatever Magia, Ki Ability, or Weaponskill that has been Infused within the potion, and are able to use them as if they had been trained successfully. This does not count towards the once per round rule of training.

With Weaponskills, the drinker must still wield a weapon that matches the Weaponskill.

NOTE - this DOES get around any kind of suppression regarding training. The drinker has “learned” the special effect alongside other beneficial bonus/blonus associated with the Infusion, and needs no Training to learn it.

18) VARIANT CARDS

There are special cards known as “Variant” cards. Normally Variants of character cards exist with specific pros and cons to their usage.

While Variant characters are the most numerous, there are nonetheless variant cards of any card type in the game.

Variant Grimoire Sample

Dash the Evil - Level 3 Variant (evolved from Dash level 2)

”I find it appalling that YOU are the true monster of The Shop, Frank. To that end, I’m going to do the world a favor and kill you. I’m not going to eat you, I’m just going to kill you. Very fast, very efficiently, and right now.”
Gnosis: 25: 500
EP: 500
Organization: None (no longer benefits from The Shop organization)

SCHADENFREUDE: While any Frank Todd character Level 3 or lower is on the Battle Field, Dash the Evil gains Schadenfreude ability. Any time a Frank Todd character takes damage, Dash the Evil gains the same amount in HP and EP.

FUCK YOU, FRANK: Dash the Evil can take a “Frank Todd” character on the Battle Field hostage. Upon doing so, any damage done to Dash the Evil is done to the hostage Frank Todd instead.

DENY HISTORY: During the Begin Phase, Dash the Evil must either roll a six sided dice or flip a coin. Should the coin come up heads, or the dice land on an even number, then Dash the Evil is negated for this round. Whatever Dash the Evil has been evolved from now takes place. Upon the next Begin Phase for this player, they must once again flip a coin or roll the dice. If the coin comes up tails or lands on an odd number, then Dash the Evil once again becomes active. If the Frank Todd hostage has been somehow taken off of the field, then Dash the Evil must once again choose a new hostage. This counts as a free action.

Kitty - Level 1 Variant (can be played instead of Frank Todd Level 1)
”Everything that is mine is his, and everything that is his is his. I am the Secondary, and he is the Primary. And that, my friend, is very comforting to me.”

DOUBLE TROUBLE: while Kitty is on the Field, any attack he utilizes is immediately mirrored by any single Frank Todd card on the Battle Field or Overpowered Field. This does not count as that Frank Todd’s attack this turn.

SWITCHBACK: Immediately sacrifice half of your current EP total to summon Frank Todd Level 2 to the field. Frank Todd - Enraged is now theChampion. This Kitty card is now attached to the Frank Todd - Enraged Level 2 card and can act normally as an ally. Note: when SWITCHBACK has been used and Kitty is attached to this particular Frank Todd - Enraged Level 2 card, this Kitty cannot be targeted by any attacks save Psionic. All damage taken by Kitty is taken by Frank Todd - Enraged Level 2 instead. When the attached Frank Todd makes an attack, this Kitty can also make an attack. This counts towards Dualspelling.

EARLY BREAK: This grimoire can be played without consideration of Grimoire Restriction. When a Grimoire is played afterwards, this Grimoire does not have to be sent to the Garbage Pile.

19) GRIMOIRE

Tiny booklets that modify or expand on a single character card, equipment, event or more. There are more than a few variants, and some Grimoire can even transform the Overpowered into a playable Avatar champion, existing on both the Overpowered Field and Battle Field.

Every Champion that can also become Overpowered will need a Grimoire to aid in their evolution.

Certain Evolution variants require having a Grimoire. There are special Grimoire that are only available through the official website, and certain homebrews that have been accepted by (Publisher).

Note: anything the Grimoire does NOT change from the original card is regarded the same.

“Active” Grimoires will take up the Grimoire slot on the Battle Field. You can only have one Grimoire active at a time, unless specified elsewhere by the Grimoire, Card, or Mod used.

The Grand Grimoire: Online Grimoire Rules and Rulings

Maintained by the Developers, the Online Grimoire contains all known information regarding Crush ‘Em. You may use the Online Grimoire a a normal Grimoire, which does not count towards Grimoire slot totals (but DOES count towards Grimoire totals during checks). In this case, you are effectively using two Grimoires without any mods.

NOTE: You MUST have an active connection to the Online Grimoire, through smartphone, laptop, or some other internet-capable device in order to use the Online Grimoire. Unless agreed upon by all Players, you cannot share devices.

20) ORGANIZATIONS, RELIGION, AND MERCHANTS

In the world of Crush ‘Em, there are various Organizations that the characters may be a part of. Please note that these various Organizations have their own agendas, pros and cons, bonuses and blonuses. In order to join these Organizations, you must have the proper card to play and meet the requirements of those Organizations.

The same can be said about Religions. Where Organizations are inherent within the character cards themselves, Religion is something a character card must seek out, usually through specific Events. Once joined, the Player may acquire Faith Levels (through highly specific requirements) to make their way up the various Faith Tables, gaining extra bonuses and blonuses.

Merchant House cards are considered the same as Organizations or Events. Merchant Houses (including the various Black Markets) can be accessed by either Player once put into play, and can only be accessed in any phase before Battle Phase.

Note: all Merchant House, Organization, and Religion information can be found on the Online Grimoire.

More On Organizations, Religion, and Merchant Houses

By collecting Champions of the same Organization, the Overpowered Player can put them in play and both characters will gain bonuses from any active Organization Grimoire. This requires strategy, though, since you can only equip and utilize skills/abilities of one Champion during Battle phase (unless you have a card, mod, grimoire, skill or ability that states otherwise).

There are certain Champions, or Evolved Champions, that gain access to advanced combinations only when certain circumstances have been met. For instance, if Frank Todd and Dash are on the Battle Field at the same time, they have access to Advanced Shop Combinations, Advanced Shop Summoning Techniques, and if both Frank Todd -The Generalist- (Evolved) and Dash -The Generalist- (Evolved) are on the field, they can access the other’s special skills and abilities as if they meet the requirements for those skills and abilities.

While on the same Battle Field, all characters that are aligned with The Shop can attack during the attack phase or defend during the defense phase.

Please note that there are very few Religions and Merchant Houses which also enjoy this benefit.

Please note that it is possible to have any one character on your field can have a Religion, join an Organization, AND benefit from Merchant Houses. Do be aware of certain Events or pre-requisites which may stop this, though.

If the opposing Player (or you) notices that you have a Character (or Characters) on the field with conflicting Religion, Organization, and/or Merchant House then that Character (with all cards connected to them) is immediately sent to the Garbage Pile.

21) SPECIAL RULES

The #1 Rule of this Game is as follows: everything is as stated, UNLESS stated elsewhere by card effect, Grimoire, or mod.

FIRST Rule - if you go first, you cannot draw a card. You also cannot attack first.

First Round Rule - any champion that hits the Battle Field cannot attack the same round they’ve been placed.

Interdimensional Sickness - upon shifting to a background alien to them, the affected Champion cannot attack until the next turn. They also take twice as much damage, and various other factors can come into play too depending Grimoire, modification, and card. Some character cards come pre-equipped with invulnerability to Interdimensional Sickness, and -most- Overpowered are already invulnerable.

Background Shift - the act of background shifting is a powerful ability that only those with the proper training or Elan to do so. Cherish character cards who can inherently change the background (including background cards) to a battlefield of that's advantageous to your side.

Radio Rule - should a radio be playing and a song or band associated with your character comes on, you get +1 damage reduction, +1 Regeneration, +1 Refresh, and your main Champion gains +10 gnosis per round (on your Begin phase).

The Radio Rule kicks in ONLY with either your local radio station, or randomized mixes from Judge-approved playlists.

Please consider the Battle Radio for all your music-based Crush 'Em needs.

Pact of Pantheons Law - should one Champion achieve 1000 gnosis of Elan, they can Evolve to Overpowered status themselves. While they are Overpowered and their opponent is not, they may NOT bring to bear any but basic attack and defense (unless they have a grimoire, card, or mod that states otherwise). On the other hand, the opponent can do no damage to them unless they have a grimoire, card, or modification that can allow them to do so.

Pocket Dimensions - some special packs come with Pocket Dimensions in them. This can count as a Background Shift or even improve the Champion somehow through added modifications and benefits.

Psychic Burnout - each time a psychic ability is used, the user might lose the ability to use all psychic powers. Instead of drawing from EP, roll a dice as per the Burnout chart, unless stated otherwise via card, grimoire, or modification. Should Psychic Burnout occur, the character cannot use psychic-based abilities/skills/gear until the end of the set.

NOTE: The Cheating Dick mod does not affect this chart.

Burnout Chart (by character Level)
Level 1 - 1d10, burnout on even numbers
Level 2 - 1d20, burnout on 1-5
Level 3 - 1d20, burnout on 19-20
Level 4 - 2d20, burnout on 30-40
Level 5 - Burnout never occurs

Pimp Rule - only characters with the Pimp job can ever access more than two rings at a time.

Job Specific Equipment - only characters with the specific job can wield certain job-specific equipment. For instance, only Pimps can wear Knuckle Rings.

22) KEYWORDS/STATUS EFFECTS

Free action - an action that is taken that does not count towards the end of the current phase.

Dualspell - when two spells of the same name, type, or ability are cast by at least two characters of the same team (Champion + anyone else), the spell effects are squared. Both characters must have the same speed checks.

Summon - a special type of character card connected to a summoner brought to the game through Conjuration Magia.

Dispel - the official term designated to “getting rid of” a Summon. This is not destruction or death. This DOES count towards KO designation.

Blonus - a bonus that sucks.

KO - When a Champion or Ally takes damage from particular (a martial arts attack, for instance) or suffers an attack that deals more than 50% of their total HP in damage and they fail their fortitude save, they are considered knocked out, but able to be brought back. They are still alive and certain characters can make them viable again. KO’ed characters are sent to the KO Pile. Unless otherwise noted, KO’ed character cards can come back from the KO pile (with the HP/EP they had left) in 1d6 rounds, not counting the round they were knocked out.

Death - When a Champion or Ally reaches 0 HP, then that character is considered “dead” and cannot be brought back -at all- until the next game. Dead characters are sent to the Garbage Pile, along with all equipment, spells, named character Grimoires and any other card connected to them.

Exile - When a character is somehow sent off of the playing mat, they are considered knocked out of this dimension and unable to get back in through normal means.

Converted - certain characters utilize charm and charisma rather than direct attacks. Should the Champion be “converted” to fight for the opposing side, this counts as a loss to the Player they represent.

Overkill - By doing damage far beyond what the character card currently has in a single attack from a single source, this is considered Overkill. During specific events, tournaments, and story modes this can net you bonuses, blonuses, and more.

NOTE: Not to be confused with the “Overkill” inhabiting Frank Todd.

Stun - the character with this status effect cannot take attack or defend this round.

Paralyze - the character with this status effect cannot make -any- action this round. This includes any cards attached to them.

Bind - the character with this status effect cannot defend. You cannot add new equipment or use Ki abilities.

Silence (Type) - a specific form of suppression that stops a character card from being able to utilize abilities of that particular type. While Silence (Type) is active, the Type it focuses on can never be activated.

Negate (Type) - a specific form of counter that actively stops a particular type of attack or skill, as if the attack or skill had never been activated.

Berserk - cards that have the Berserk status deal double ATK damage but cannot defend, cannot utilize anything other than basic attacks, and MUST launch basic attacks with each combat round. They can do nothing else BUT attack in the Combat Round.

Dice Clash - when two cards, abilities, skills, characters, or concepts directly clash with one another, then the Players may choose to Dice Clash in order to settle which one is “active,” completely negating the other one.

Both players roll 1d20. Depending on pre-agreed upon rules (Highest or lowest wins, some other method) by the Players, the winner gets to choose which of the two is active and which is now “dormant.” This dormant card/ability/skill/character/concept can become active if the currently active clashing card is no longer active.

Crit Success - in the case of a rolled 20, the player who rolled it immediately wins. If both have rolled a 20, then they must re-roll to determine who wins.

Crit Failure - in the case of a rolled 1, the player who rolled it immediately loses. If both have rolled a 1, both lose and both character cards involved are sent to the Garbage Pile.

Cross Training - Not all character cards come trained for everything (except for Frank Todd cards). Most have specific abilities or draw from specific energy sources that they are comfortable with.

With the appropriate Training Cards, you can cause your chosen Champion or Ally to be able to utilize energy sources, abilities, skills and techniques they normally would not be able to. Once learned, they can utilize this new training throughout the game (until the start of the new one).

Cross Training attempts are done before the Battle Phase.

23) BATTLE RADIO

Maintained by the Three Nine Group, the official playlists used by the Judge-Knights that can affect the current game randomly.

Be on the lookout and listen up not only for your chosen leitmotif, but also given day and time bonuses to certain factions as declared by the DJ’s.

The Crush ‘Em Battle Radio can help turn the tide of battle…or simply bury you!

In order to fully utilize the Battle Radio:

>Before each match, declare your leitmotif, the song that best represents you or your deck, and write it down on your notepad.

>While official tournaments can have up to 5 songs per person, it’s best to keep it to 1 for ease of use.

>Upon your leitmotif being played, your cards immediately gain Atk+10/Def+10, and +10 advantage to all effects.

>If you choose only one song, the HP and EP of your current character cards/Champion(s)/summoned creatures immediately gain +1/2 total HP/EP as a bonus.

>Each DJ gets a chance to randomly choose a faction during their playlists. That faction immediately gains the benefits and bonuses as if the Leitmotif had played (so Atk+10/Def+10 and +10 advantage to all effects once that faction has been declared).

>Each DJ can also randomize the effects of bonuses granted to chosen factions (double martial arts Training points, faith points, tripled bonuses from successfully completed Events, etc).

24) TREASURY TABLE

1 - draw a card.

2 - draw two cards. Play one of them immediately, even if you don’t meet the requirements to activate it.

3 - immediately search your deck for a character card. Place that card upon the battlefield immediately, then reshuffle your deck.

4 - immediately search your deck for a ability card. Place that card upon the battlefield immediately, then reshuffle your deck.

5 - choose a character or Champion card on the field. Double their martial arts points immediately.

6 - choose a character card on the field. They are now a second Champion card. Should the first Champion card be knocked out, they immediately become the new Champion without any loss condition.

7 - select a card from your opponent’s hand. They must immediately discard that card.

8 - select a card from your opponent’s hand. They must immediately play that card.

9 - select a card from your opponent’s hand. They must immediately play that card on YOUR side as if under your control.

10 - riffle your Side Deck into your Main Deck immediately. Draw a card from the bottom and a card from the top.

11 - immediately play a new Event. Your champion is granted 100% completion rate of that event.

12 - free reroll on the treasure table. You now have twice the benefits and negatives of this roll.

13 - immediately discard your hand.

14 - choose a single card that you KNOW is in your main deck. Add it to your hand.

15 - choose a single card that you KNOW is in your garbage pile. Add it to your hand.

16 - Level up one character or champion (by one level) on the battlemat. Reshuffle your deck after leveling.

17 - The next song on Battle Radio is considered your leitmotif. If your leitmotif actually comes up, then you get x5 the benefits.

18 - select one character card on the field. Return that character card to the controlling player’s hand.

19 - every card in your KO pile is immediately awakened and placed back on the battlemat.

20 - your Champion’s HP and EP are now filled to double their total maximum.

25) CRUSH ‘EM FAQ’S

Q: What’s the difference between counters, negates, and interrupts?
A: While they’re similar, they are NOT the same! Counters are a response to an action, mostly an attack, with a counter-response (mostly a…attack, actually). Depending on the Speed Check of the attacks/actions, one action will occur followed by the other action immediately. Counters are considered free actions that do not count towards overall free action count unless otherwise noted.

Negates, on the other hand, simply nullifies the original action that triggered this response and replaces it with a new action. This could be COMBINED with a Counter, though, and will be noted either on the card itself or whatever card combination/online grimoire rulings that exist.

An interrupt is closer to a negate, in that it simply stops the action about to be taken. In vary rare cases, a secondary effect may occur but the initial damage/action is “halted” by the interrupting action. A negation, though, would shut down the entire thing.

Q: Why should I roll the dice?
A: Philosophically speaking, this is one of the most important RPG elements of the game. The presence of dice, the X-factor of the game, is important because some of the most brilliant moments, the greatest points of fun to be found in such an activity, is in the absolute randomization of Critical Success and Critical Failure.

Even the strongest of people will have moments of weakness, and those who are generally the weakest may have the strongest moment at the time. This is best represented by the rolling of the dice!

Plan for what you can plan for, but ultimately it may be up to Fate (unless you have a build that says otherwise!) to genuinely outperform anyone else.

So, if a 1d20 “did it hit” roll is called for, be prepared for the excitement!

Q: What, exactly, are inherent evolution/levelling bonuses?
A: Levelling allows a card to gain access to greater and more powerful skills (while retaining the old, unless otherwise noted!), the ability to have higher-levelled abilities/techniques/gear attached to them and, above all, simply improves the base card that you’re levelling. In certain cases, it can even be used to magnify certain attacks (especially through the Martial Arts tables!).

Evolution, on the other hand, is the gaining of Elan to, ultimately, give the card access to undeniably powerful variants of themselves, should you have those cards in your Side Deck. You can literally evolve cards into Gods, HIgher Gods, or more - all the way up to the undeniably strongest cards at 1000g of Elan (or 1000.1, but we’ll talk about later!), the Overpowered and Overpowered Primevals!

While evolving, each time a new plateau has been breached, the card now gains certain inherent bonuses (HP total/EP total/DEF and ATK score minus Gear upgrades) ranging from x2 all the way to x10!

Both are key to building up the strength of your cards, whether they’re basic, special named, or variants!

Q: What’s the difference between levelling and evolution?
A: Levelling is literally higher levels of basic cards, evolution is increase in gnosis to achieve higher forms. BOTH can technically achieve higher powers and abilities, but evolution is (mostly) the only way to achieve Overpowered status.

Q: I want to do this combo. Can I do it?
A: Sure ,go ahead! Will one card work with the other? Naturally, go for it.

While there are sure to be certain “banned combinations,” Crush ‘Em was designed to be played from day 1 to the final releases of the various themed packs.

All will be tournament legal, all will be considered, with the Online Grimoire always there to be updated regarding specific details about card combinations, upgrades, secret updates and more.

Q: What is an LCG? How is this an LCG?
A: Living Card Games are card games meant to be expanded on and added to. Crush ‘Em is designed with “DLC Packs” (themed packs based on the multiverse of Crush ‘Em and the various works in Massive Entertainment Publishing/Extreme Existence multiverse) in mind, to be released officially throughout the year for the next five years.

Not all cards found in the original/first Online Grimoire will be released at first, and it’s meant to be drip-fed until the Publisher decides otherwise.

Q: I thought this was a TTRPG/Battle Card game hybrid system?
A: Holy shit, you know what that means?!

Q: What exactly IS a TTRPG/Battle Card game hybrid again?
A: I KNEW IT okay, listen here you little shit. A TTRPG (Table Top Role Playing Game) is that good ol’ dungeons and dragons mess, right? Call it whatever you want, play it from whatever source books you want (BESM, GURPS, Shadowrun, White Wolf stuff, thousands of indie stuff, whatever), play it with whatever type of dice you want (d4 systems, Tri Stat systems, the creator’s preferred d20 systems), it’s always going to boil down to two or more people on a table with pen and paper, using their imaginations to weave a story together with a main keeper of rules, storytelling, and providing a world for them to interact with.

Battle Cards, on the other hand (Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokemon, ESPECIALLY Legend of the 5 Rings and more!), are a bit more simple with somewhat rigid rules that the players follow in order to determine a clear-cut winner in the match.

Now combine it! The Crush ‘Em hybrid game system allows for the somewhat “softer” rules of TTRPG’s to be combined with the main gameplay of battle cards, with the Online Grimoire being provided as a generalized, living GM.

For the tournaments, we will have exciting Judge-Knights to help provide a more fleshy/humanoid GM, but still one that can help make calls and determine how the rules are being exploited…and exploit them you will!

We WANT you to discover new basic cards with powerful (or weak and useful!) skill combinations! We WANT you to discover your own min-maxed card attachments that bring forth powerful, over the top attacks, effects, and more.

We WANT you to discover the pleasant rush of adrenaline when you’ve pulled off that mega mamma-jamma combo that leads your cards to victory…or even a satisfying defeat.

Q: So I heard you have an Avatar card which will allow >me< to be playable in the game? How do we go about figuring out the stats and such?

A:

AVATAR [UNBOUND]
Level: 5
Affiliation: Crush ‘Em
HP: 5d20 x 10
EP: 5d20 x 10
Elan: 1000
ATK: 5d20 x10
DEF: 5d20 x 10
Speed: 10
Style: OVERPOWERED
Race: OVERPOWERED

YOU have entered the battle not only as a chosen participant but also a chosen fighter. Should your Champion fall, YOU may take their place.

When this card hits the field, you may attach 1d6 chosen ability cards from your Side Deck or Main Deck. You may attach 1d6 Gear cards from any source on your side of the battlefield, including Exile.

(Back Information)

Refer to Avatar Grimoire for more details.

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