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USER MANUAL: BATHALA

A Filipino Mythology-Inspired Roguelike Card Game Version 1.4.0 (The Diwa Restoration Update)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Introduction ........................................................... 3
  2. Game Overview & Story .......................................... 4
  3. Installation & System Requirements .......................... 5
  4. Getting Started: The First Run .................................. 7
  5. Controls & Interface (Desktop & Mobile) ................... 9
  6. Combat Mechanics: The Path of Cards ..................... 12
  7. The Three Chapters ................................................. 15
  8. The Mythical Bestiary (All Enemies) ......................... 17
  9. Items: Relics & Act-Specific Potions ........................ 21
  10. The DDA System: Adaptive Flow .............................. 24
  11. Landás: The Moral Compass ................................... 26
  12. Strategies, Tips & Troubleshooting ........................... 28
  13. Credits & Contact Information ................................ 30

1. INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Bathala! You are about to embark on a spiritual journey through the ancient, corrupted realms of the Philippines.

In an age where the anito (spirits) have been silenced and the engkanto (enchanted beings) have twisted the natural order, you step into the role of the Tagapagligtas—a chosen healer and warrior tasked with restoring cosmic balance (Kapwa). This manual serves as your sacred guide to navigating the corrupted forests, mastering the elemental poker combat, and unmasking the Great Impostor.

2. GAME OVERVIEW & STORY

Bathala is a roguelike deck-building adventure that fuses traditional poker hand formation with tactical elemental RPG combat.

The Lore

The supreme deity, Bathala, has vanished. In his absence, a False Bathala has claimed the throne—an abomination born from the perverted remains of the serpent Ulilang Kaluluwa and the winged spirit Galang Kaluluwa. This impostor has corrupted the ancient guardians (the Kapre, Bakunawa, and others), turning them into vengeful shades.

Your Mission

Navigate through three distinct mythological realms (Acts), reclaim the three Diwa Shards, and confront the False Bathala. Your journey is defined by Landás—your moral path. Will you show mercy to the corrupted, or will you conquer them with force?

3. INSTALLATION & SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Bathala is built on the Phaser 3 engine and is optimized for modern web browsers and mobile devices.

Recommended System Requirements

  • Browser: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge (Latest versions).
  • Processor: Dual-core 2.4GHz or better.
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM.
  • Storage: 200 MB (Web cache).
  • Mobile: Android 11+ or iOS 15+ recommended.

How to Launch

  1. Web Version: Simply open the official game URL.
  2. Mobile Support: The game automatically detects touch interfaces. For the best experience, use the Fullscreen Button located in the top-right corner.
  3. Local Run (Developers): Extract the game folder, run npm install, then npm run dev. Access the game at http://localhost:5173.

4. GETTING STARTED: THE FIRST RUN

The Tutorial Prologue

Your adventure begins in the Ancestral Plane. A guided tutorial will walk you through the core loops:

  • Selecting Cards: Choose up to 5 cards to form a hand.
  • Executing Actions: Learn when to Attack, Defend, or use your Special elemental ability.
  • Discarding: Master the art of the redraw to find the perfect hand.

The Five-Cycle Countdown

Time in Bathala is measured in Cycles.

  • 1 Cycle = 100 Actions (50 Day / 50 Night).
  • You have 5 Cycles to prepare before the Chapter Boss spawns.
  • Day: Enemies are passive. Map visibility is high.
  • Night: Enemies hunt you. Visibility is low, but rewards are greater.

5. CONTROLS & INTERFACE

Desktop Controls

  • Mouse Click: Select/Deselect cards, navigate nodes, and activate buttons.
  • Hover: View detailed tooltips for status effects, enemy intents, and relic powers.
  • Esc: Pause the game and access Settings.

Mobile & Touch Controls

  • Tap: Equivalent to Mouse Click.
  • Tap and Hold: View tooltips for cards and items.
  • Fullscreen Toggle: A dedicated button in the HUD allows you to lock the game to your screen's aspect ratio.

The Combat Interface

  1. The Hand (Bottom): 8 cards drawn from your 52-card deck.
  2. The Action Bar: Attack, Defend, Special, and Discard buttons.
  3. Enemy Intent (Above Enemy): Shows what the enemy will do next (Attack, Debuff, Buff, etc.).
  4. Status Tray: Shows buffs like Strength (🔥) and Dexterity (💨).

6. COMBAT MECHANICS: THE PATH OF CARDS

Poker Hand Bonuses

Your effectiveness in combat is multiplied by the strength of your poker hand. Each rank provides a base chip value (Ace/10/Face = 6-7, others 2-5).

  • High Card: x1.0 (+0 Bonus)
  • Pair: x1.2 (+3 Bonus)
  • Two Pair: x1.3 (+6 Bonus)
  • Three of a Kind: x1.5 (+10 Bonus)
  • Straight: x1.6 (+12 Bonus)
  • Flush: x1.7 (+15 Bonus)
  • Full House: x2.0 (+20 Bonus)
  • Four of a Kind: x2.2 (+25 Bonus)
  • Straight Flush: x2.5 (+35 Bonus)
  • Royal Flush: x2.8 (+40 Bonus)

Elemental Suits & Special Actions

Each suit corresponds to an element. While Attack and Defend use your raw hand power, the Special action (x0.6 damage) unleashes a signature elemental debuff on the enemy:

Suit Element Special Action Elemental Effect
Apoy Fire 🔥 Apoy Fury Applies Burn (6 damage/turn for 3 turns)
Tubig Water 💧 Tubig Cascade Applies Frail (Reduces enemy block by 50%)
Lupa Earth 🌿 Lupa Quake Applies Vulnerable (Enemy takes +50% damage)
Hangin Air 💨 Hangin Gale Applies Weak (Enemy deals -50% damage)

Elemental Affinities

Enemies often have an elemental soul that reacts to your cards:

  • Weakness (1.5x): If you attack with an element the enemy is weak to, you deal 50% more damage.
  • Resistance (0.75x): If the enemy resists your element, your damage is reduced by 25%.

Status Effects Reference

Effect Icon Description
Strength 🔥/💪 Each stack adds +3 damage to your Attack actions.
Dexterity 💨 Each stack adds +3 block to your Defend actions.
Vulnerable ⚠️ Target takes 50% more damage from all sources.
Weak 📉 Target deals 25% less damage per stack (max 50-75% reduction).
Frail 🧱 Reduces Block gained from Defend actions by 50%.
Burn 🌋 Target loses 6 HP per turn. Stacks increase duration.
Fear 😨 The terror of the forest causes you to randomly discard cards.
Stun 💫 The spirit's power is overwhelming—skip your next turn.
Seal 🔒 Divine chains prevent you from using Special actions.

7. THE THREE CHAPTERS

Chapter 1: The Enchanted Forest

  • Theme: Lupa (Earth) and Hangin (Air).
  • Setting: Ancient Balete groves corrupted by rot and shadows.
  • Goal: Hunt the Kapre Shade and reclaim the Lupa Diwa Shard.

Chapter 2: The Submerged Barangays

  • Theme: Tubig (Water) and Apoy (Fire).
  • Setting: Sunken coastal villages and volcanic trenches.
  • Goal: Calm the Bakunawa and reclaim the Tubig Diwa Shard.

Chapter 3: The Skyward Citadel

  • Theme: Multi-Elemental Mastery.
  • Setting: Floating divine palace in the celestial clouds.
  • Goal: Unmask the False Bathala and restore the Heavens.

8. THE MYTHICAL BESTIARY (COMPLETE ENEMY LIST)

ACT 1: THE ENCHANTED FOREST (10 ENEMIES)

Common Creatures:

  1. Tikbalang Scout: Backward-hooved trickster; confuses targeting and weakens.
  2. Balete Wraith: Spirit of the haunted fig; grows stronger as it takes damage.
  3. Sigbin Charger: Nocturnal goat-like feeder; unleashes a burst attack every 3 turns.
  4. Duwende Trickster: Mound-dwelling goblin; steals your Block and disrupts your draw.
  5. Tiyanak Ambusher: Demon baby; uses wails to cause Fear and deals critical hits.
  6. Amomongo: Ape-like cave dweller; fast attacks that cause Bleed.
  7. Bungisngis: One-eyed laughing giant; applies a laugh debuff and deals high damage.

Elite Guardians: 8. Tawong Lipod: Invisible wind beings; uses wind-veils to stun and evade. 9. Mangangaway: The Wicked Sorceress; casts hexes, poison, and weakening spells.

Chapter Boss: 10. Kapre Shade: The giant of the balete; uses cigars to poison and strengthen his strikes.

ACT 2: THE SUBMERGED BARANGAYS (10 ENEMIES)

Common Creatures: 11. Sirena Illusionist: Enchanting mermaid; heals allies and charms the player. 12. Siyokoy Raider: Webbed sea predator; possesses high armor and splash damage. 13. Santelmo Flicker: Ghostly fire spirit; dances with high dodge and applies Burn. 14. Berberoka Lurker: Swamp giant; banishes cards from your hand into the depths. 15. Magindara Swarm: Vicious sirens; adaptive hunters that attack in quick successions. 16. Kataw: Merman king; summons sea minions and heals his court. 17. Berbalang: Astral ghoul; detaches its spirit to weaken your deck.

Elite Guardians: 18. Sunken Bangkilan: Shape-shifting sea witch; disrupts hands and shifts elements. 19. Apoy-Tubig Fury: Elemental manifestation; creates a clash of fire and water damage.

Chapter Boss: 20. Bakunawa: The Great Moon-Eater; devours your relics and weakens your resolve.

ACT 3: THE SKYWARD CITADEL (10 ENEMIES)

Common Creatures: 21. Tigmamanukan Watcher: Prophetic bird; grows in strength with every passing turn. 22. Diwata Sentinel: Nature goddess guardian; counters elemental moves with ease. 23. Sarimanok Keeper: Bird of fortune; nullifies special actions and buffs itself. 24. Bulalakaw Flamewings: Meteor spirit; rains down burning strikes and meteor blurs. 25. Minokawa Harbinger: Giant eclipse bird; steals your potions and evades in the air. 26. Alan: Winged forest spirit; dives from the sky to summon avian swarms. 27. Ekek: Nocturnal bird vampire; drains your health and evades attacks.

Elite Guardians: 28. Ribung Linti Duo: Twin lightning spirits; share damage and strike in tandem. 29. Apolaki Godling: Manifestation of the Sun God; challenges you with radiant fire.

Chapter Boss: 30. False Bathala: The Great Impostor; the ultimate fusion that nullifies all bonuses.

9. ITEMS: RELICS & ACT-SPECIFIC POTIONS

Relics (Passives)

You can carry up to 6 Relics. Examples include:

  • Agimat of Swift Wind: +1 Discard charge.
  • Babaylan's Talisman: Treats hands as one tier higher.
  • Tikbalang's Hoof: 10% Dodge chance.

Act-Specific Potions (Actives)

Potions are now themed after the creatures of each act:

  • Act 1: Healing Potion, Potion of Clarity (Draw 3), Elixir of Fortitude (+15 Block).
  • Act 2: Sirena Melody (Heal), Santelmo Spark (Burn All), Bakunawa Eclipse (25 DMG).
  • Act 3: Tigmamanukan Omen (Draw 3), Apolaki Sun (Heal 25), Coconut Sap (Heal & Cleanse).

10. THE DDA SYSTEM: ADAPTIVE FLOW

Bathala uses a Rule-Based Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment system to ensure players remain in a state of "Flow."

  • Calibration Phase: The first 3 combats of a run are used to calculate your PPS (Player Performance Score).
  • Tiers: The game shifts between Struggling, Learning, Thriving, and Mastering.
  • Adjustments:
    • Struggling: Enemies have -20% HP/DMG. Shop prices are 20% cheaper.
    • Mastering: Enemies have +15% HP/DMG and use more complex AI patterns.
  • Transparency: You can see the effects of DDA through in-game narrative cues and enemy behavior changes.

11. LANDÁS: THE MORAL COMPASS

Your choices after combat determine your Landás Score.

  • Spare (Mercy): Increases Spirit Fragment rewards (used for permanent meta-upgrades).
  • Slay (Conquest): Increases Gold (Ginto) rewards for the current run.
  • Endings: Your total score at the end of Chapter 3 determines the game's finale:
    • Daan ng Awa (Mercy): Restoration of light.
    • Daan ng Panlulupig (Conquest): A cold, empty throne.
    • Daan ng Timbang (Balance): The eternal turning of the world.

12. STRATEGIES & TROUBLESHOOTING

Pro-Tips

  1. Thin Your Deck: Use Rest Sites to Purify (remove) low-value cards (2s, 3s, 4s). A smaller deck means more consistent Aces and Kings.
  2. Element Matching: Align your Special actions with your relics. An "Apoy" focused deck with the Ancestral Blade relic is devastating.
  3. Night Pacing: Only take Elite fights at Night if you have a full health bar and a powerful potion.

Troubleshooting

  • Game won't load: Hard refresh the page, then make sure JavaScript is enabled in your browser settings.
  • Lag on mobile: Close background apps, switch to a stable connection, and use Fullscreen mode for smoother performance.

13. CREDITS & CONTACT

Developed by: Devlocke Based on the Research of: F.L. Jocano, D.L. Eugenio, and M.D. Ramos. Special Thanks:

  • Nitten Nair of Mythlok for mythological guidance.
  • Aylmer of Y Realm Studios for industry insights and support.
  • The Aswang Project for archival references.

Official Website: bathala.quest Play the Game: play.bathala.quest Community: Follow us on Facebook

Copyright © 2026 Devlocke. All rights reserved.