Shadow Council — Game Manual

Core Concepts

Dual Identity System

Public Identity — visible to all, determines your passive ability
Shadow Identity — only unknown to yourself, determines your true faction (decides victory)
Shadow identity is randomly assigned — only you don't know who you are
When a player is eliminated, their shadow identity is revealed

Victory Conditions

When the game ends, compare the surviving count of each shadow faction
Order Survivors > Chaos Survivors → Order Faction Wins
Chaos Survivors > Order Survivors → Chaos Faction Wins
Equal → Draw
The faction with higher zone totals gets +1 effective survivor (affects final outcome)
Passives don't trigger in Round 1 — to prevent opening zone changes from revealing faction clues. Triggers normally from Round 2 onward

Elimination Conditions

Gold ≤ 0 and empty hand → immediate elimination
Gold reaches zero → forced to discard 1 card each Shadow Phase (accelerates death)
Wrong guess on shadow identity → you are eliminated
Successfully dark assassinated → immediate elimination

Game Flow

Game Parameters

Players: 4–6 (can mix human + AI)
Total Rounds: 5
Starting Resources: 4 gold + 6 cards each
Actions Per Turn: 2 (playing 1 card = 1 action)

Event Phase

Draw a random global event affecting all players

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Passive Trigger

All surviving characters' passive abilities trigger automatically (skipped in Round 1, triggers from Round 2)

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Action Phase

Take turns in order, 2 actions each (play card / end turn)

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Shadow Phase

Zero-gold players discard → zone settlement → zone milestone rewards

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Guess Phase

Each player draws 2 cards → human guess → AI has 50% chance to guess (max 1)
4-player game: guessing only every 2 rounds (even rounds)

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Next Round / Game End

After 5 rounds, or when a faction is wiped out, or only 1 player remains

Character System

Order Faction

Character	Passive Ability (auto-triggers each round from Round 2)
General	Military Zone +1
Merchant	Gain 1 gold
Prophet	Draw 1 extra card

Chaos Faction

Character	Passive Ability (auto-triggers each round from Round 2)
Assassin	Discard 1 card to make any 1 player discard 1
Alchemist	Economy Zone +1
Spy	View 1 random surviving player's shadow identity keyword

️ Public Identity ≠ Shadow Identity! Your public identity is just a "mask" that gives you a passive ability. Your true faction is determined by your shadow identity, which may be completely different. For example, your public identity could be General (Order) while your shadow identity is Spy (Chaos).

Shadow Keywords

Peek, Poison and similar methods reveal a random keyword of the target, used to deduce their shadow identity:

Shadow Identity	Keywords
🗡 General	Blade, Sword, Halberd, Armor
💎 Merchant	Scale, Gold, Coin, Ledger
📜 Prophet	Eye, Star, Moon, Dream
💀 Assassin	Poison, Dagger, Shadow, Night
🧪 Alchemist	Bottle, Furnace, Flame, Mercury
👁 Spy	Mask, Mirror, Veil, Wind

Identity Assignment Rules

4 players: randomly pick 4 from 6 identities, ensuring 2 Order + 2 Chaos
5 players: randomly pick 5 from 6, ensuring 3 Order + 2 Chaos or 2 Order + 3 Chaos (50% each)
6 players: use all 6 identities (3 Order + 3 Chaos)
Both public and shadow identities are unique — one per player
Shadow identity is randomly assigned, independent of public identity, one per player

Card System

Four Suits

Military Economy Strategy Shadow

Each card type has 2 copies in the deck (64 total). Playing a card costs 1 action, 2 actions per turn.

Military Cards — Military Zone

Rally

Military Zone +3

Assassinate

Target discards 1 card

Siege

Military Zone +2, target skips next turn

Guard

Block 1 attack (until next round)

Conscript

Draw 2 cards

Charge

Military Zone +4

Scout

Reveal 1 card suit from target

Mutiny

Military Zone +2，Economy Zone -1

Economy Cards — Economy Zone

Tax

Gain 2 gold

Bribe

Steal 1 gold from target

Monopoly

Economy Zone +3

Invest

Economy Zone +2，Gain 1 gold

Bankrupt

Target loses 2 gold

Trade

Both you and target draw 1 card

Bounty

Gain 3 gold

Thrift

Economy Zone +1, draw 1 card

Strategy Cards — Strategy Zone

Peek

View 1 player's Shadow Keyword (only you see)

Forge

Fake playing any suit, +2 to that zone

Propaganda

Shadow Alley +2

Prophecy

Guess 1 player's Shadow Identity (correct: +2 Gold, wrong: -1 Gold)

Sow Discord

2 targets each discard 1 card

Insight

See all suits in target's hand

Scheme

Strategy Zone +3

Secret Order

Strategy Zone +2, draw 1 card

Reflect

Gain 1 clue about your own Shadow Identity

Shadow Cards — Shadow Alley

Disguise

Swap public identity with target (reverts after 1 round)

Poison

View 1 player's Shadow Keyword (only you see)

Chaos

All discard 1, then all draw 1

Dark Assassinate

Attempt to eliminate 1 player (requires no Guard; ignores Guard during Dark Night)

Eavesdrop

View 1 player's Shadow Identity (only you see)

Dark Alley

Shadow Alley +3

Conspiracy

Shadow Alley +2，Gain 1 gold

Brainwash

Swap target's public & shadow identity

Zones & Gold System

Four Zones

Zone	Matching Suit	Allegiance
Military Zone	Military Cards	Order
Economy Zone	Economy Cards	Order
Strategy Zone	Strategy Cards	Chaos
Shadow Alley	Shadow Cards	Chaos

Zone Effects

Each Shadow Phase: compare Order zones (Military+Economy) vs Chaos zones (Strategy+Shadow Alley)
Leading side → all surviving players get rewards (faction not revealed):
- Order zone lead → all +1 gold
- Chaos zone lead → all draw 1 card
Milestone Rewards:
- Economy Zone every 5 points → all +1 Gold
- Strategy Zone every 5 points → all draw 1 card
Game End: faction with higher zone total gets +1 effective survivor (affects victory)

Gold Effects

Start with 4 gold each
Gold reaches zero → forced to discard 1 card each Shadow Phase
Gold ≤ 0 and empty hand → immediate elimination
Gold can be gained via Economy Cards, or stolen/deducted
Correct prophecy: +2 gold, wrong: -1 gold
The side with more gold has advantage in a draw
Spend Gold to view Shadow Keyword: price increases per round — Round 1: 3 Gold, +2 per round (R2: 5, R3: 7, R4: 9, R5: 11)

Event System

Event List (1 random per round)

Event	Effect
Tax Collector	All players lose 1 Gold (or Military Zone -1 if broke)
Dark Alley Riot	Shadow Cards have double effect this round
Diplomatic Banquet	Military Cards cannot be used this round
Border Conflict	Military Zone auto +2
Market Boom	All players gain 1 Gold
Divine Oracle	Each player gets 1 free Peek
Plague	Player with most cards discards 2
Arms Race	Military Cards +1 effect this round
Donation Season	All +1 Gold, Economy Zone +1
Dark Night	Dark Assassinate/Poison ignores Guard
Memory Fragments	Each player gets 1 free Reflect
Judgment Day	Player with fewest cards discards all, draws 3

Guess System

Guess Rules

In the guess phase at the end of each round, human players guess normally (can skip)
AI Limit: each round, 50% chance 1 AI gets to guess, 50% chance no AI participates
4-player game: guessing triggers every 2 rounds (Rounds 2, 4, 6), odd rounds skipped
Choose a player + guess their Shadow Identity
Correct → target is eliminated
Wrong → you are eliminated
Eliminated players' Shadow Identity is revealed, usable for deduction

Deduction Clue Sources

Strategy Cards"Peek" — View target's Shadow Keyword
Shadow Card "Poison" — same as above
Shadow Card "Eavesdrop" — directly view target's Shadow Identity
Strategy Card "Reflect" — gain a clue about your own Shadow Identity
Spy Passive — view 1 random player's Shadow Keyword each round
Eliminated Players — Shadow Identity revealed, use elimination logic

Deduction Tips: Shadow identities are randomly assigned. Collect clues through Reflect, Peek, and Eavesdrop. Combine with eliminated players' revealed identities to use elimination logic and narrow down possibilities.

Special Mechanics

Disguise

Shadow Card "Disguise" swaps your public identity with the target
Lasts 1 round, automatically reverts at the start of the next round
During the swap, both players' passive abilities follow the public identity

Brainwash

Shadow Card "Brainwash" swaps the target's public & shadow identity
This is a permanent effect，directly changes faction allegiance
A brainwashed player may suddenly find they've switched factions

Guard

Military Card "Guard" makes you immune to 1 attack
Lasts until the start of the next round
During Dark Night event，Dark Assassinate/Poison ignores Guard

Siege

Military Card "Siege" makes the target skip their next turn
Also Military Zone +2

Resource Summary

Resource	Initial	How to Obtain	Effect
Gold	4	Economy cards, passives, zone rewards	Zero → discard, 0 gold + 0 cards = elim, prophecy ±
Hand	6	Draw 2/round + Conscript/Trade etc.	Playing produces effects, 0 cards + 0 gold = elim
Military Zone	0	Military Cards	Order zone value, affects victory
Economy Zone	0	Economy Cards	Order zone value, +1 gold every 5 pts
Strategy Zone	0	Strategy Cards	Chaos zone value, draw 1 every 5 pts
Shadow Alley	0	Shadow Cards	Chaos zone value, affects victory
Guard	None	Military Card "Guard"	Immune to 1 attack

Strategy Tips

Find Your Faction

Prioritize using Reflect cards to learn about yourself
Spy passive auto-Peeks 1 player's Keyword each round, watch the log
Use eliminated players' Shadow Identity for elimination logic

Zone Strategy

If you know you're Order Faction, play Military/Economy Cards to push zones
If you know you're Chaos Faction, play Strategy/Shadow Cards
When unsure of faction, use Strategy Cards to investigate before committing

Guess Strategy

Only guess when confident — wrong guess kills you
Revealed Shadow Identities can be excluded to narrow possibilities
Eavesdrop is the most direct confirmation method

Survival Protection

Keep Gold > 0 to avoid forced discards
Keep Hand > 0 to avoid elimination
Use Guard at critical moments to block Dark Assassinate