Card monsters are strange creatures of indeterminate origin. Their resemblance to playing cards might point them to being the wayward minions of a yet-observed Casino Guardian, while others believe they may have crossed the thin boundaries of the world from a wondrous land. Or they could be a wizard’s party trick gone awry. Whatever the case, these bizarre humanoids are as thin and light as the cards they mimic. This allows them to bend themselves away from slashes (though they’re not as apt at dodging stabs), but they can easily be carried away by a good breeze. They also have a major weakness to fire.

Card monsters have a strict system of ranking. A lower number will always obey the command of a higher number, and face cards- Jack, Queen, and King- carry great authority. The rank of the card also generally indicates it’s physical and magical strength. Since their emergence in the world, it’s been found that they can easily be duped by others to do their bidding. It’s common for adventurers to take an article of clothing with a visible ‘K’ and the dominant suit of the region- this way, you could potentially build yourself a small army to aid in your travels. It should be noted that Kings will ignore you, unless challenged. Their troops also won’t suddenly join you, unless they have extras- every card army strives to have one of each number and face. In addition, some of your own troops may leave for another King if it has a more complete army than yours.

The four suits are inherently in opposition to each other, and are constantly at war for control of different regions. They’re rather vicious in this regard, dropping everything they’re doing to battle with enemy suits. Should the highest-rank card of a suit’s army be slain, the remaining cards of that suit will burn away.

Aces are so rare as to be considered mythical. It’s speculated that there is only one for each suit in the world. For this reason, they may be in hiding, as their downfall could mean the demise of their entire suit.