HISTORIC: The Road Eternal is a grim-dark TTRPG that runs on cards. It is made for one shots, meaning single sessions of play, with variable time lengths to allow for a short 2 or less hour game, a 3 hour game, or up to 4 hours of play. The game does not have to be set down after a run though, and players can reprise their same characters and items to play until they fall, or until victory.

Games begin for players with choosing your Road.
Each Road, or class, is found in its own tuckbox with its character art on the outside of it. Inside the tuckbox is a set of cards with matching card backs. The first thing you will do is pull out your Road's cards, and find two cards: Your Road's Tool, such as the Maker of Hands' The Gilt Hammer; then you'll grab your double-sided Paths card.

For the Maker of Hands, you'll be able to choose between The Hand, or The Eye. Each has a small bit of lore text that helps you know what the playstyle will be on that path, an ability, then a card checklist. You'll want to go through your deck and remove the cards it tells you to (the other path's cards), then add in Generic cards from the Generic Actions and Trinkets decks as listed on the Path card.
Path cards also determine your starting stats, which are kept track of on spinner dials on your Road's tuckbox.
You'll then shuffle all remaining cards in your deck and slide it back into your tuckbox.

You'll then be dealt a random Trait card. Trait cards have a core theme, like the Perfumer/Incenser card here. Read each side, then decide which one you want to have be your trait. Then, you slot it into your tuckbox at the bottom of your deck. Your chosen side of the card will stick out of the box, all of its text legible. This gives you a bonus ability to call on during play whenever you need it. Perfumer can help allies draw cards from their decks, while Incenser can heal allies.

Once all players have a Road, Path, and Trait chosen, and their decks prepared and shuffled into their boxes, play begins.

The Story Leader, a single player who will run the game for the rest of the group, acting as the world and helping to determine how the world reacts to played cards, has their own cards to rely on. Campfire cards are how the games begin, with your team gathered around a campfire. At this time, players draw up to their full handsize, anywhere from 5-7 cards depending on the Road/Path.

The Campfire's ability goes into effect. Campfires may give you a safe night, giving you armor for your mind and soul for the next delve. They may interrupt you with an ambush, prompting a fight before you even start dungeon delving. But no matter their effects, any player may now activate their own Campfire Abilities, or Rest abilities.

Then, when players are comfortable, they Ride the Road. The Story Leader draws another prompt card from the Riding the Road deck, sharing how the travel goes, and what dungeon mouth they end up at by the end of their ride. This will determine what resources may be found before entering the dungeon, and what form the dungeon may take.

The Riding the Road Deck will determine which kinds of Delve cards are drawn, and in what order, for the upcoming dungeon. These are modular, and can grow in size based on the length of the game or dungeon desired by players, Long, Medium, or Short.

Each back of a Delve card represents a different kind of Delve experience there. Left to right, we have Aeonic, Barrows, Malefact, Ancient Ruins, and the Horrid Dark. Each has its own kind of enemies, events, encounters, and more, and the front of each card can have options for how difficult something may be, or they may care about the cards that came before or after them to set up different scenes and events.

A delve is made up of a set of these cards, 5-10 in a row. Each one is revealed, read and interpreted by the Story Leader, then placed forward onto The Storyline.

As Delve cards are played down, players will either be faced with an immediate obstacle, or they may have the option to run through the room without stopping. In any case, they may choose to take other Actions or use Trinkets, both card types that once used, are placed on the Storyline. In this case, the Story Leader revealed The Hive Hums delve card, which let players know that the room seems alive with pulsing meat and bone. If they choose to run on, they will go to the next Delve card. (If they take any actions here, they are attacked! Something only the Story Leader know for now.)

One player, not thinking they were in danger, played a Take Rest card to draw some more cards and make use of two Rest abilities on Trinkets they had, one to heal allies with their Black and Bleed Candle, and one to choose the next room with The Waning Map. While they do get those things done (whenever a card is played, it goes into effect), the trap is sprung, and the Story Leader lets players know that they are under attack by Malefact Scouts! This leads to another player taking the initiative and playing an Attack! card, using their Gilt Hammer Tool (as the Maker of Hands) to begin the assault.

While Actions and Trinket cards are played on the Storyline when used, they often rely on, refer to, or make room for the use of equipment in the form of Tools or Relics, or the use of your Path or Trait abilities. These kind of cards remain on the table next to your deck at all times, while Actions and Trinkets live in your hand. By staying on the table, visible, they will always be around to be referenced. These items are your most used, and will benefit you in many ways throughout play.

When reaching the bottom of your second or third Delve in a session, or at the midpoint AND end of your fourth Delve, you will face bosses. These are powerful entities that offer the greatest loot to players when defeated, and the greatest chances to put stickers on cards without dying or needing specific cards.
Bosses are themed to the final room you come across during a Delve, with 3 different bosses per Delve type.

Once a dungeon delve is complete, either by finishing the last room or by defeating the boss, if there was one, the delve is over. The delvers return to the surface, make camp, then ride the road again to a new delve.  Delvers may die during their travels, having chances to revive if they have a Beacon card. If not, they may fall for good in a session. Because the game tends to play out as one-shots, meaning single session games, losing a player character is an acceptable loss.

When a character dies for good, they can add history to their cards by adding stickers to them, adjusting their abilities, adding more damage, adding new abilities, and more. These are limited by the difficulty of the danger you were felled in. Additionally, there are some cards for support Paths that can grant immediate sticker usage.

In this way, you may even have a better time fighting future bosses!