Under Legend: Aetherium Ascension

Story Background

In the forgotten realm known as the "Under Legend," ancient elemental powers have crystallized into pure Aetherium. Five powerful elemental lords—Viridian, the Voice of the Forest; Cronia, the Observer of Spacetime; Ignis, the Incarnation of Fury; Terra, the Guardian of Earth; and Aurum, the Gilded Alchemist—have awakened from their long slumber. They were all "Chosen Ones" from the old world, but now they hold different visions for the future. An ancient prophecy reveals that any lord who gathers forty-two units of pure Aetherium will gain the power to reshape the world. To realize their own ideal world, a hegemonic war over the elemental mines begins now.

Game Objective

The objective of the game is to be the first lord to collect 42 or more Aetherium. Players achieve this by using unit tokens to occupy elemental mines on the map, which generate resources each turn. Players must also use the cards in their hand to engage in tactical battles with opponents to conquer key strategic locations.

Setup

• Place the game board ("The Genesis Crucible") in the center of the table
• Each player chooses a Commander and takes the corresponding 1 Commander token and 8 Unit tokens of their color
• All players place their Commander token on the "Central Shrine" at the center of the map
• Each player receives 5 initial Aetherium
• Each player takes an identical 20-card starting deck, shuffles it to form their draw pile, and draws a starting hand of 3 cards
• All players roll a die to determine the starting player

Turn Flow

1. Collection Phase: Each mine you control produces 2 Aetherium
2. Action Phase: You may perform one "Move" or "Draw" action for free. Afterward, you can pay Aetherium to perform additional actions:
   • Move (1 Aetherium)
   • Draw (2 Aetherium)
   • Summon (see card cost)
3. End Phase: Announce the end of your turn

Combat System

• Movement: After paying the cost, roll a die and move one of your tokens up to the number of spaces rolled. Each token can only move once per turn
• Combat: Triggered when a token moves into a space occupied by an opponent. The attacker goes first, and players take turns attacking until one side is eliminated
• Terrain Buffs:
  • Resonance: When fighting on a mine, units of the matching element gain +1 ATK
  • Generative: At the end of your turn, each of your units on its "generative" terrain heals 1 HP
• Elemental Counter: Fire → Metal → Wood → Earth → Water → Fire. Attacks with a countering element deal double damage

Win Condition

At the beginning of your turn, if you possess 42 or more Aetherium, you immediately win the game.