The Wyrd Conclave

Faction Overview

The fae do not declare war. They simply appear, and settlements die. Tricksters, oath-keepers, and reality-benders who find the post-apocalypse endlessly amusing. Masters of bargains and contracts, they pilot Caskets woven from living wood and crystal, bending space and stealing faces with equal ease.

Core Mechanic: Bargain Tokens

The Wyrd Conclave manipulates reality through Bargain Tokens...a resource earned by making deals and spent to warp reality itself.

Bargain Token Economy

• Generation: Bargain Struck (2/turn passive), Fae Bargain (3 if enemy accepts), Phase Cut (1 on kill), Between Moments (3 tokens, store for later phases). (Balance Update Oct 19: Increased Bargain Struck from 1/turn to 2/turn, added Between Moments ability)
• Spending: Stolen Face (3 tokens), Reality Bending (3d6 damage, ignores Defense, 2 tokens), Mirror Self (5 tokens)
• Maximum: 10 tokens (tokens persist across missions)
• Strategy: Force enemies into lose-lose choices, bank tokens for emergency survival

Reality-Bending Abilities

• Reality Bending (2 Wyrd tokens): Deal 3d6 damage (10.5 avg), ignore all Defense. Pure reality manipulation. (Balance Update Oct 19: Increased from 2d6 to 3d6 damage)
• Stolen Faces (+2 Defense when using stolen ability): When using an ability copied from Stolen Face, gain +2 Defense this turn. (Balance Update Oct 19: Increased from +1 to +2 Defense)
• Between Moments (3 Wyrd tokens): Store 3 Wyrd tokens to use in future phases. Action economy advantage. (Balance Update Oct 19: NEW ABILITY)
• Illusory Double (×2 in deck, 1 Wyrd token): Create decoy at your location. If attacked, decoy becomes real and attacks back. (Balance Update Oct 19: NEW CARD)
• Shimmer Step: Teleport 8 hexes and attack (impossible positioning)
• Price Paid: Spend all tokens to survive death (bargain with fate)
• Impossible Geometry: Phase through terrain and enemies (ignore physics)

Playstyle

1. REALITY BARGAIN (Token Generation)

Frame Type: Scout (6 SP per turn)

Complexity: Very High (meta-manipulation, rule-breaking mechanics)

Strategy: Reality-bending control through illusions, teleportation, and temporal manipulation. Force enemies into bargains with hidden costs. Steal identities and abilities. Rewrite combat outcomes through time manipulation. Every mechanic breaks normal game rules...high skill ceiling, extremely rewarding when mastered.

Win Conditions

• Bargain Economy: Generate massive tokens, force enemies into deals, snowball advantage
• Identity Theft: Steal enemy cards with Stolen Face, build deck by absorbing enemies
• Illusion Army: Create Mirror Selves and confuse enemies (they attack fakes while you strike)
• Temporal Manipulation: Rewind bad turns, take extra turns, redirect damage through time

Key Casket Types

Fae Blade (Primary Weapon, 6 cards, 1 Equipment Slot)

• The Masquerade (Trickster Frame): Light Scout chassis (6 SP), piloted by Mockingbird. Excels at illusions, teleportation, and stolen identities. Primary weapons focus on Bargain generation and reality manipulation.
• Changeling Frame: Medium chassis (5 SP), impersonation specialist that steals enemy abilities through Stolen Face. Can become any defeated enemy, inheriting their cards and tactics.
• Contract Keeper: Heavy Vanguard (4 SP), binds enemies in supernatural oaths with horrific penalties. Forces enemies into lose-lose bargains...refuse and suffer the Coward's Mark, accept and owe impossible debts.
• Mirror Walker: Scout chassis specializing in illusion multiplication. Creates Mirror Selves (perfect duplicates) that enemies cannot distinguish from the original. Excels at confusion warfare.

Signature Cards

Faction Cards (Choose 6 from 10)

• Fae Bargain: Force enemy into lose-lose choice. If they refuse, gain 1 Bargain token. If they accept, gain 3 Bargain tokens but they choose a debuff for you. The choice is always bad, but the reward is worth it.
• Stolen Face (3 Bargain tokens): Copy an enemy's card permanently. Look at their hand, steal one card, and if you kill them this mission, keep it forever. When using a stolen ability, gain +2 Defense this turn. Identity theft incarnate. (Balance Update Oct 19: Added +2 Defense when using stolen abilities, increased from +1)
• Between Moments (3 Wyrd tokens): Store 3 Wyrd tokens for use in future phases. Break action economy limits. Time banking. (Balance Update Oct 19: NEW CARD - action economy advantage)
• Illusory Double (×2 in deck, 1 Wyrd token): Create decoy at your location. If attacked, decoy becomes real and attacks back for 2d6 damage. Punish aggression. (Balance Update Oct 19: NEW CARD - defensive counterattack)
• Reality Bending (2 Wyrd tokens): Deal 3d6 damage (10.5 avg), ignore all Defense. Pure reality manipulation attack. (Balance Update Oct 19: Increased from 2d6 to 3d6 damage)
• Reality Fracture (4 Bargain tokens): Rewind your entire turn. Undo all actions, restore spent SP, try again. Time manipulation at its finest.
• Shimmer Step (2 SP): Teleport up to 8 hexes and immediately attack. Impossible positioning that breaks combat geometry.
• Mirror Self (5 Bargain tokens): Create a perfect duplicate. Enemies cannot tell which is real. Both can attack. If one dies, the other survives.
• Price Paid (0 SP, Reactive): When reduced to 0 HP, spend all Bargain tokens to survive with 1 HP per token spent. Bargain with death itself.

Primary Weapon: Whisperblades (12 cards)

• Phase Cut: Deal 3 damage, ignore armor. If this kills the target, gain 1 Bargain token. Blade that cuts through reality.
• Impossible Geometry: Move through enemies and terrain as if they weren't there. Attack from inside obstacles. Physics is negotiable.
• Bargain Struck (Passive): Gain 2 Bargain tokens at start of turn. Automatic, no cost, always active. Fae passively manipulate reality. (Balance Update Oct 19: Increased from 1 token to 2 tokens per turn)

Secondary Equipment (Choose 6 from 5)

• Stolen Armor: +2 Defense. Changes appearance to match the last enemy who attacked you. Confuses enemies.
• Reality Anchor: Immune to being moved or teleported by enemy abilities. You control your position, not them.
• Trickster's Cloak: Teleport 4 hexes as a Reactive action when attacked. Dodge by vanishing.

Support Units

Starter Units (Choose 1)

• Shimmer Phantom: 1 HP illusion decoy that draws enemy attacks. When destroyed, teleport your real Casket to the Phantom's location. Perfect bait-and-switch.
• Bargain Broker: 10 HP support unit that generates Bargain tokens. Offers enemies deals mid-battle. Token economy accelerator.
• Stolen Soldier: 12 HP doppelganger that copies enemy units. Becomes a mirror of your opponent's forces. Identity theft on the battlefield.

Unlockable Units

• Mirror Legion: Self-replicating unit. Creates copies when attacked. Enemies must kill ALL copies. Exponential multiplication.
• Temporal Echo: Time-displaced clone from the future. Acts TWICE per turn (at turn start and turn end). Violates temporal causality.
• The Un-Thing: Eldritch horror that shouldn't exist. Enemies who look at it take sanity damage. Corrupts reality around it. Nightmare made manifest.

Mirror Shield (Secondary Equipment, 3 cards, 1 Equipment Slot)

• Reflection Block (1 SP): +3 Defense. If you block 5+ damage, gain 1 Wyrd Token.
• Mirror Parry (2 SP): +4 Defense. Reflect half damage back to attacker.
• Shatter (3 Wyrd Tokens): Destroy shield, teleport 6 hexes in any direction (emergency escape).

Bargain Sigil (Accessory, 3 cards, 1 Equipment Slot)

• Faustian Deal (0 SP): Offer bargain: "I take 3 damage now, or gain 3 Wyrd Tokens at start of next turn."
• Hidden Cost (1 Wyrd Token): When enemy uses ability, force them to pay +1 SP for all actions next turn.
• Contract Fine Print (2 Wyrd Tokens): Enemies with Bargain Debt cannot draw cards next turn.

Recommended Builds

Build #1: Mirror Assassin (Scout Frame, 29 cards)

• 10 Universal Core
• 6 Wyrd Faction Core
• 6 Fae Blade (1 slot)
• 3 Mirror Shield (1 slot)
• 2 Wyrd Tactics (0 slots)

Playstyle: Teleport behind enemies, steal tokens, phase strike to escape. Maximum mobility.

Build #2: Ability Thief (Assault Frame, 33 cards)

• 10 Universal Core
• 6 Wyrd Faction Core
• 6 Fae Blade (1 slot)
• 6 Twin Pistols (1 slot)
• 3 Bargain Sigil (1 slot)
• 2 Wyrd Tactics (0 slots)

Playstyle: Copy 3 enemy abilities, use them better than they do. Mid-range generalist.

Build #3: Contract Enforcer (Heavy Frame, 34 cards)

• 10 Universal Core
• 6 Wyrd Faction Core
• 6 Fae Blade (1 slot)
• 3 Mirror Shield (1 slot)
• 6 Reinforced Plating (1 slot)
• 3 Bargain Sigil (1 slot - optional)
• 2 Wyrd Tactics (0 slots)

Playstyle: Tank that forces enemies into bad choices. Survive long enough to curse everyone.

Build #4: Reality Bender (Fortress Frame, 37 cards)

• 10 Universal Core
• 6 Wyrd Faction Core
• 6 Fae Blade (1 slot)
• 3 Mirror Shield (1 slot)
• 6 Assault Rifle (1 slot)
• 3 Bargain Sigil (1 slot)
• 2 Wyrd Tactics (0 slots)

Playstyle: Maximum versatility. Generate tokens, teleport, copy abilities, hold objectives.

Notable Figures

Mockingbird (The Mirthless)

A fae noble who wears stolen faces like masks. They change identity mid-conversation, speaking in the voices of your dead loved ones. Mockingbird finds tragedy hilarious and comedy tragic. They pilot "The Masquerade" - a Casket that reflects what you fear most.

The Bargain-Keeper

An ancient fae contract lawyer who enforces deals made centuries ago. Appears in settlements demanding payment for oaths their ancestors swore. Those who refuse? Their shadows are taken as collateral. The shadow-less cannot enter buildings or cast reflections. They fade within a year.

Lady Shimmer-In-Twilight

A fae duchess who treats war as theater. She narrates battles like a play, critiquing combatants' performances. "Poor form! That parry lacked panache. Two stars." If you displease her, she erases you from memory - everyone forgets you existed.

Faction Relations

Faction	Status	Notes
Church of Absolution	HOSTILE	Church considers fae "demons from beyond Veil." Fae find Church dogma hilarious.
Dwarven Forge-Guilds	DISTRUSTFUL	Dwarves hate fae tricks. Fae prank Dwarven forges for entertainment.
The Ossuarium	NEUTRAL	Fae fascinated by undeath as "creative loophole to mortality rules."
Elven Verdant Covenant	DISTRUSTFUL	Elves remember pre-Veil fae invasions. Fae mock elven seriousness.
Nomad Collective	FRIENDLY	Nomads trade stories for safe passage. Fae respect good storytellers.
The Exchange	NEUTRAL	Fae trade in favors, not Credits. Exchange finds them unprofitable.
Vestige Bloodlines	DISTRUSTFUL	Fae view mutations as "ugly evolution." Vestige hate fae arrogance.
Emergent Syndicate	NEUTRAL	Fae study Syndicate transformation as "fascinating experiment."
Crucible Packs	DISTRUSTFUL	Volcanic honor code clashes with fae trickery. Mutual contempt.
Draconid Remembrance	HOSTILE	Fae time manipulation offends Draconid linear historical records.

Lore: The Uninvited Guests

Origins: Refugees from Sanity

The fae are not from Earth. They are from the Feywild - a parallel dimension where physics is polite suggestion and causality is a rude joke. Before the Sundering, the Veil Accords kept them contained. The Material World was boring. Predictable. Logical.

Then Theslar activated The Engine (Year 0). Reality tore. The Veil shattered. For the first time in millennia, the Feywild and Material World bled together. The fae poured through like water through a cracked dam.

They found a broken world. Cities in ruins. Survivors desperate. Magic running wild. To the fae, it was paradise. Finally, the Material World was interesting.

Philosophy: The Game Must Continue

The Wyrd Conclave does not want to "win" the war. Victory is boring. They want the game to continue indefinitely. They sabotage peace treaties, resurrect defeated factions, and keep conflicts balanced. If one side gets too strong, the fae help the underdog - not out of mercy, but to prolong the entertainment.

To a fae, mortals are chess pieces. Watching you struggle, suffer, and die is delightful. They make deals knowing you'll fail. They offer help that makes things worse. They're not evil - they're amoral. Your pain is their comedy.

The Shimmerlands: Territory of Madness

Where the Feywild overlaps with the Material World, you get the Shimmerlands - zones where reality is negotiable. Gravity shifts direction. Colors taste like sounds. Your reflection argues with you. Clocks run backwards on Tuesdays.

Mortals who enter Shimmerlands rarely return unchanged. Some forget their names. Others return speaking in riddles. A few come back improved - faster, stronger, cursed with knowledge they didn't want. The fae call it "enlightenment." Mortals call it madness.

Major Events

Year 3 - The First Bargain

A desperate Church commander, surrounded by Abominations, accepted a fae bargain: "We'll save your battalion in exchange for one favor, to be called in later." The fae saved 200 soldiers. Fifty years later, they called in the favor: "Kill the Church's High Cardinal." The commander did. The Church has never trusted the fae since.

Year 89 - The Court of Stolen Children

The fae established the Court of Stolen Children - a territory where they raise human orphans as their own. These "Changelings" grow up thinking they're fae. They pilot Caskets made of living wood and crystal. The Church calls them abominations. The fae call them "adopted family." The Changelings? They don't know what they are.

Year 287 - The Prank War

A Dwarven engineer insulted a fae duchess, calling her "frivolous." She declared a Prank War. For six months, Dwarven forges produced cursed weapons: swords that sang lullabies mid-swing, shields that apologized when hit, Caskets that only moved backwards. The Dwarves sued for peace. The duchess accepted their surrender... and turned their king into a teapot for a year. "He needed to learn humility."

Year 412 - The Bargain of Names

The Exchange tried to negotiate a trade agreement with the Wyrd Conclave. The fae agreed - in exchange for "a name." The Exchange Guild Proctors thought they meant a signature. The fae meant their actual names. Three Guild Proctors lost their names that day. They still exist, but no one remembers them. Records erase themselves. Faces blur in photographs. They are ghosts in their own lives.

Current Goals (Year 437)

The Wyrd Conclave wants the war to last forever. They secretly fund losing factions, leak intelligence to underdogs, and assassinate leaders who sue for peace. War is their entertainment. Peace would end the game.

However, a troubling development: The Engine's instability is growing. If it explodes, reality might stabilize. The Shimmerlands could close. The fae would be trapped in the Material World - or worse, sent back to the Feywild. For the first time in centuries, the fae are worried.

Some fae want to stabilize The Engine (to keep their playground intact). Others want to detonate it (to see what happens). The Conclave is fractured. Civil war is brewing. And when the fae fight each other? Reality itself takes sides.

Schisms & Renegade Courts

The Wyrd Conclave has always been fractured...fae politics are labyrinthine bargains and betrayals. These Schisms enable mirror matches...Wyrd vs Wyrd, trickster vs trickster. Both sides wield reality-bending power, but their rules of theater differ profoundly.