Ersum
Ersum is a very popular card game throughout the world of Ish'ae. While rules and ruling vary from game to game, nation to nation, the basics are relatively simple.
The creation of Ersum is credited to the Court of Miracles. Using imagery and concepts understood by any novice in the court, someone created a deck of cards. In those cards were Major and Minor symbols of arcane power, referred to as Major and Minor Arcana. The game became very popular, as it was easily adaptable for bets and wagers. The pass time eventually fell into the hands of the servants of the court, and thus the legacy of the game has maintained to this day.
Due to the ease use and transportation, Ersum has traveled throughout the world of Ish'ae faster than many other games. It also helps that many gambling establishments took the easily carried game.
The rules for "classic" Ersum are as follows.
1. Each player chooses a minor arcana deck. Shuffle and draw four cards.
2. Shuffle the Major Arcana, and play facedown in the center. Each player draws two Major arcana cards.
3. Decide who plays first. This changes each round, going clockwise.
4. The first player plays a Major Arcana, face up, in the centre of the table. This decides the win condition for this round.
That player draws another Major Arcana, and puts it in their hand. If there are no more Major Arcana cards left, that player
draws Minor arcana instead.
4b. If anyone was to make a wager, now would be the time.
5. The player to the right of the first player, plays a card. They must play a card, and cannot choose to pass this turn.
6. Going clockwise, each player plays a card or passes for two rotations, ending on the player who played the Major Arcana.
6b.Players can only play cards that are equal or higher to the last card played. Ace being 1, and King
being highest. Ace can reset the table to 1 at any time, and is the only card that can be played
regardless of the last played card. You don't have to play a card, and can pass the turn.
6c.If a player plays a minor arcana card, they immediately draw a new card from their stack. They must have six cards
in their hand at all times (usually two major and four minor arcana). If they are ever have less than six cards, they must
draw a new minor arcana card. If they run out of cards to draw, they may reshuffle their discard pile to make a new
minor arcana deck.
7. At the end of the round, if a player has fulfilled the win condition, they take the Major Arcana card in the centre. This card
is kept aside, as a point counter for that player. If no one has fulfilled the win condition, that Major Arcana is moved out of
play
7b. If there was a winner, they take the pot of wagers on the table. If there was no winner, those winnings are moved
to a side "victory pot".
8. All minor arcana cards are returned to their respective players in a discard pile.
9. If all Major Arcana cards have been played, the game has ended. The winner is the one with the most Major Arcana cards
in their win pile.
9b. The winner overall also takes the side "victory pot". In the event of a tie, the "victory pot" is split.
10. If step 9 has not been met, first player status moves to clockwise to the next player. Return to step 4.
"Classic" win conditions for each Major Arcana.
0 The Fool- Last player to play a 2.
1 The Magician-Odd numbers only (face cards don't count), last person to play a card wins.
2 The High Priestess- Face cards only, last player to play a card wins
3 The Empress-Last player to play a queen card wins
4 The Emperor-Last player to play a king card wins
5 The Hierophant- Last player to play a King on a Knight or Page wins
6 The Lovers-Last player to play a queen directly on a knight wins.
7 The Chariot- Last player to play a page wins.
8 Strength- Last player to play knight card wins.
9 The Hermit- Player with the lowest total card value (face cards count as 10), but not 0, wins
10 Wheel of Fortune- Even numbers only (face cards don't count), last player to play a card wins
11 Justice- Odd numbers only (face cards don't count), last player to play a card wins.
12 The Hanged Man- Last player to play an ace directly on a face card wins
13 Death- Last player to play an ace wins
14 Temperance- Prime numbers only (face cards don't count), last person to play a card wins.
15 The Devil-Last player to make the next player pass a turn, wins.
16 The Tower-Every card played must directly follow the last card played. Last person to play a card wins.
17 The Star- Last player to play a 10 wins.
18 The Moon- Last card played wins.
19 The Sun- Player with the highest total card value (Face cards count as 10), wins
20 Judgement- Last player to play the same card as the last card played, wins
21 The World- Last person to play a card wins
Significance
Once was a cultural tradition of both Mirabelle and Estrella, but is now a worldwide phenomenon.
Rarity
Common.
Base Price
10sp for a standard deck. Finely made velum cards cost upwards of 10gp.
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