Cards of Fate

Bring your favorite cards, characters, and inspirations. Cards of Fate is a Perfect Draw! PbP RPG where players start with personal decks, earn titles, trade cards as currency, and explore a dangerous virtual world shaped by story and choice.

The World is a Deck… and Someone Has Shuffled It

No one remembers how they arrived inside the Vast, the hyper-immersive virtual world that looks, feels, and reacts as if it were real. One moment you were living your ordinary life; the next, you woke to find a holographic Cardforge humming at your fingertips and a whisper in your ear:

“Play to survive. Draw to grow. The deck knows your fate.”

In the Vast, every challenge, conflict, and mystery is resolved through the Cards: powerful manifestations drawn from countless worlds:
• Legendary heroes of video games
• Comic book icons
• Cute critters from tabletop tomes
• Weapons, spells, and relics from forgotten fandoms
• Even characters no one recognizes… yet

The rules of reality bend around these cards. A single draw can rewrite the battlefield, reshape your fate, or awaken abilities you never dreamed of. The only limits are your skill, your imagination, and the courage to risk the unknown with every Perfect Draw!

What is the Vast?

The Vast is a sprawling network of themed domains: broken cities, crystalline wastelands, neon metropolises, haunted dungeons, and serene Arcadian plains. Each region is shaped by the stories of the cards that circulate within it. NPCs whisper about Glitches, areas overwritten by corrupted cards, and about the mysterious Dealer, the entity that oversees the eternal game.

Players must navigate these regions, forge alliances, uncover the truth of who brought them here, and build their personalized deck of power.

But be warned: The Vast rewards those who take risks, and it punishes those who hesitate.

About the Game Itself

You play as a real person (or so you assume) thrown into the Vast, now wielding a Cardforge you barely understand. Your deck is important to you, and it is a reflection of who you are and what you believe in!

We are using the Perfect Draw! system, a PbtA style game. I will do my best to have resources available to everyone that wants to play, but you are encouraged to support the people that made the game and at least check out the free resources at their website (they even have a card image generator for free).

New players welcome. Zero experience needed to play. We will walk through the basics of Perfect Draw! Posting rate recommended at least once per week. The game is intended for semi-solo play, meaning that each player can travel and duel on their own pace. You are welcome to travel with other players as well and participate in team duels, take turns, or simple inspire each other with the power of friendship.

You can check out the Information thread for all the info on your Basic Moves, Card Battle Moves, Card Creation, Character Creation, and more.

What is the Core Story?

The main story assumes that you were zapped into a virtual world with no memory of how or why; you just woke up here in the Vast with a Cardforge and a starter deck of cards from some game or story you like. And you are not the only ones. Others are here, plucked from their lives with no memory.

An older fellow that says he's been here for some time is the only one to offer any information. "You actually chose to be here. You made a deal with someone back in your real life to compete in this virtual game. If you win, you get one wish granted. Trust me, you give it enough time and you'll start to remember what that wish was. Your cards will even help you remember, if you let them. Trouble is, no one knows how to win. You're just going to have to find out how by getting stronger, and getting better cards of course."

What you will eventually learn, if you haven't already, is that there are bosses guarding secret treasures out beyond the starter town you landed in. Maybe they are guarding artifacts, or maybe they are guarding special cards. Whatever it is, you are pretty sure you will get some clues about how to win the game and earn that "wish" you wanted if you can defeat those guardians.

Of course, that might be hard considering no one actually has yet. But you won't let something like that stop you, right?

Game Tone & Themes

This is meant to be a fun game with lots of goofs and cozy moments, but also a serious undertone. You will be exploring the virtual world you find yourself in, battling friendly rivals and dangerous villains alike to reach your goal.

• Adventure meets metaphysical mystery

• High-cinema card battles with narrative storytelling (Card Dueling Anime feel)

• Identity, friendship, and the consequences of power

• A blend of fandom crossover, original lore, and emergent narrative

• Cooperative PbP play (I am NOT into PvP by direct or indirect means)

Why Play Cards of Fate?

Because every move you make reshapes the story.
Because every hand is a chance to become something extraordinary.
Because deep down, you want to see what the deck has planned for you.

So...are you ready to draw?