Description

Ascet is a minimalist playing card game with roleplaying overtones that encourages diplomatic, mnemonic and maths skills with the use of simple mechanics that use cards, a d8 and a d10 dice (included in the deck as a card to cut, fold & paste). Inspired in the popular medieval theme of the ascetic monk that withdrew from society in search for enlightenment which has caught the imagination of master painters like Hieronymus Bosch, Salvador Dali, Albrecht Dürer, Max Ernst and Cezanne to name a few. Players will take turns to interpret an anchorite while the rest of the players take the role of demons seeking to lure him with
Gameplay:

Each player will have 4 virtues: Compassion, Humility, Faith and Temperance. The Virtues have numerical values between 1 and 10. Additionally, players have in their hand temptation cards corresponding to the 4 virtues.

Players take turns playing their Ascet while the rest play the demons. Each demon presents a temptation card to the Ascet, and the Ascet chooses one of the presented temptations to overcome. They roll an 8 sided die for minor temptations and a 10 sided die for major temptations. If the result is equal or lower than the corresponding virtue, the Ascet overcomes the temptation and ascends one step in the Stairway to Enlightenment. Otherwise, the demon who proposed the temptation receives an additional card. Afterwards, all demons receive one card, regardless of success or failure.

if the roll was a 9, regardless of success or failure, the Ascet gets a Revalation, which may allow them to increase one of the virtues by 1.

The first player to ascend 5 steps on the Stairway to Enlightenment wins.