Chess of the Hidden Gates · World

Heaven and Earth as Board, All Things as Pieces

On the plains of Zhuolu, the Yellow Emperor wielded the Art of Hidden Gates and struck down Chiyou, Lord of War. But a soul that fierce does not die. Xuannü sealed it in a thousand-year game—the earth as board, mountains as lines, living things as pieces. The millennium ends. The seals crack. You carry a deck and a board. Step through the gate. First to move, first to play.

Xuannü, goddess of the nine heavens, granted the Yellow Emperor the Dunjia—the Art of Hidden Gates—to defeat Chiyou upon the plains of Zhuolu. The Lord of War fell, but his soul endured. Xuannü turned the world into a board: mountains as lines, rivers as boundaries, all living things as pieces—a thousand-year formation to imprison what death could not end.

The millennium nears its close. The formation's power fades. Energy leaks from the eight Gates. The beast-descendants within the mountains grow violent. The seals unravel, layer by layer.

Your masters are gone. The Dunjia survives in one lineage—yours. You are the final player. Each battle, you lay a formation. Each defeat, you tear it down and rebuild. The moment you step through the gate, you become the last piece on the board. The game ends two ways: the seal holds, or it shatters.

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The Three Schools

The game is a way. Its schools are without number. This era, three walk into the mountain.

The Unbridled · Horse Master

Rides a dead horse, chasing a living wind.

The horses of Zhuolu all died. His stood back up from the pile—no one knows what called it. Seven times it threw him. The eighth, it stopped and waited. He rides without reins; the bridle snapped long ago, and he holds the broken end between his teeth. The horse finds its own path. He never stays on one tile twice. When Momentum rises, there's nothing left but hoofbeats and a spear already through you.

"Pieces stand and wait to die. I pass through."
"Wind's passed. Pieces scattered. …Is there another gust?"

The Last Pawn · Pawn Commander

Slowest soldier—walked the farthest step.

He was the slowest soldier to survive Zhuolu. Others charged; he pitched camp. Others pursued; he was still pitching camp. Barricades, a low wall, one lamp. His way is Steadfast—don't move, and the ground holds. The day he crossed the river, he gave away his rations, burned his letters, emptied his canteen. Someone asked if he was afraid. He said yes. Then why cross? He watched the empty canteen float south: everyone who wanted to go back already went.

"Charge all you like. I'm not moving."
"Once you cross the river, there's no going back. …Good."

The Living Eye · Cannon Adept

Built the formation, then stood in its eye.

On the first day of battle, he didn't fire once. He was building walls. Others see a mountain; he sees a gun mount. Every stone, every Rampart you raise—to him, they're nodes on a Relay line. Each shot calculated three times; he only fires when all three answers match. Once, the answer was: the formation's eye needs a living body. He ran it again. Same answer. He folded his cannon shroud, set it on the wall, and walked in.

"Whatever stands on the board is my gun mount."
"Not a single shot until the formation's set."

The Eight Gates

The Eight Gates are the road through a run. You enter at the Gate of Opening and meet a star at the Gate of Death — two floors per gate, sixteen to an act. Every gate has its own temper: the same deck plays like two different decks at the Gate of Blockage and the Gate of Fright.

1
Gate of Opening
ENTRY

The east wind rises. The formation stirs.

The thinnest enemy count of the run — room to read the board.
2
Gate of Rest
RESPITE

Warm stove, warm tea. Sit one out.

Shops and encounters cluster here. Your window to patch the deck.
3
Gate of Life
VITALITY

Dead wood meets spring. One thread of life.

Healing tiles doubled — the last good stretch to win health back.
4
Gate of Harm
BLADES

Blade against blade. Blood on the board.

Fights pack in, each carrying one more enemy than the gate before.
5
Gate of Blockage
CLOSURE

Wall behind wall. Not a gap to slip through.

Obstacles max out. The first gate where your movement is truly pinned.
6
Gate of Illusion
MIRAGE

Real and false beget each other. Trust nothing you see.

Events doubled. A wager on luck, and on judgment.
7
Gate of Fright
DREAD

Wind and crane cries. Place your piece and mean it.

Elites doubled, payouts raised. Whether you take them is your call.
8
Gate of Death
ENDGAME

From here, no way back.

One of the Nine Stars waits at the end — this run's death eye sits here.

Every act has its death eye · Three acts to a run, each a full sixteen floors of the Eight Gates. The star seated at the Gate of Death is drawn from that act's pool. Same road every time — who waits at the end is redrawn.

The Nine Stars

Tianchong · Broken Halberd

A shattered weapon with a soul. Knows only one word: charge.

On the BoardRed line telegraphs its path—sidestep one tile to dodge. The purest positioning test.

Tianqin · Carrion King

Fed on the dead for a thousand years. Ate its way to a crown.

On the BoardBirds dive endlessly; kill the flock or kill the king—your first real choice.

Tianxin · False Saint

White robes, a ladle, never kills—only heals.

On the BoardSelf-heals and restores its minions. When healing becomes violence.

Tianpeng · Lord of Black Water

A thousand years of blood congealed into a tide.

On the BoardBlack water advances one direction—you're slow in it, it's fast. Hold the last dry ground.

Tianrui · Plague Lord

Rotting armor, a long ladle, calls itself a doctor.

On the BoardBoard-wide Poison aura, three doses per turn. Can your deck outlast the slow disease?

Tianzhu · Pillar Giant

Stood so long it forgot it was a pillar.

On the BoardRips obstacles off the board and hurls them—your layout is its ammunition.

Tianying · The Plainsburner

A walking pyre built from war-chariot wreckage.

On the BoardFlames shrink inward from the board's edge. Stall and you burn with it.

Tianren · Mountain Spirit

The mountains' own will, awake.

On the BoardShakes the earth and reshuffles the board. Ten turns of setup, gone in one yawn.

Tianfu · Fallen Sage

Watched games for a thousand years. Just wants a worthy opponent.

On the BoardMirrors your deck and plays it back at you. A pure contest of skill.

Beyond the ninth star. The board remembers.

Bingzhu · Lord of War

The sealed soul of Chiyou. A thousand years caged, and he has not stopped fighting.

The Hundred Games · "Every Card Is a Chess Move"

Neutral51 cards

Pawn

Neutral · Common

Bronze pawns are still unearthed beneath Zhuolu — every last one facing forward.

Advisor

Neutral · Common

A general must never face the arrow head-on. Those at the diagonal are born to take the blow.

King

Neutral · Common

At the Palace's center, an old groove — warmer than the stone around it. Old players say the energy there never fully fades.

Horse

Neutral · Common

The deepest hoofprint falls where the turn was made.

Elephant

Neutral · Common

The elephant makes no half-step. One leap across the field, and the position is set.

Cannon

Neutral · Common

The cannoneer never aims at the enemy — only at the back of the head in front. No mount, no cannon.

Chariot

Neutral · Common

A single chariot chills ten pieces. A thousand-year proverb — not one word wasted.

Strike

Neutral · Common

Weapons dug from the mountain — edges unblunted after a thousand years. Pick one up and the arm remembers.

Juggle

Neutral · Common

The encircled do not choose their form. Those who survived named it juggling.

Staff Art

Neutral · Common

The old soldiers passed down one staff form: swing full circle, then step back.

Defend

Neutral · Common

The mountain's first lesson is not how to strike — it's how to guard the chest.

Scorched Earth

Neutral · Common

This fire burns no one — only the path. Where the great game passed, the earth remembers how to burn.

Staff Sweep

Neutral · Common

The art of the swing is never stopping. By the time it rebounds, the next move is in hand.

Pole Vault

Neutral · Common

Use the enemy as a stake and vault. When you land behind them, they haven't turned.

Fury

Neutral · Common

Where enemies crowd thickest, the game's energy runs strongest. The surrounded should not panic.

Drifting Flame

Neutral · Common

Some fire strikes the body as a wound, but lands at the feet as a sentence. This kind never burns just once.

Sparks Fly

Neutral · Common

Sparks do not discriminate. Strike one, and everyone nearby takes a share.

Hold Fast

Neutral · Common

Everyone who held the line has lost something. The emptier the hand, the thicker the wall.

Cloud Step

Neutral · Common

Leave the ground and blades cannot reach you. But neither can you reach the ground.

Flame Taming

Neutral · Common

A true player walks through fire, and fire steps aside — not because they cannot burn, but because fire knows them.

Opportunist

Neutral · Common

The tighter enemies press, the more they drop. Some panic in the ring; others stoop and gather.

Skullcracker

Neutral · Rare

The front-line strongmen had one move: cleave from overhead. The one in front falls — the one behind cannot stand.

Fire Wheel Spin

Neutral · Rare

Stray fire gathers into a wheel, spinning without cease. Where it passes, nothing stands.

Misfortunes Never Come Alone

Neutral · Rare

A blow in fire is two punishments. The mountain's old saying: misfortune never comes alone.

Seismic Wave

Neutral · Rare

The mountains tremble from time to time. Locals say the great game has turned in its sleep.

Fan the Flames

Neutral · Rare

The mountain's night wind blows straight down the path. Grass tips burn, and so does anything in the way.

Stable Stance

Neutral · Rare

Striking from an unsteady stance is the first cause of death the manuals record.

Stone Skin

Neutral · Rare

In Zhuolu there are stones no blade can crack. A thousand years of wind wears off a single layer.

Fiery Eyes

Neutral · Rare

When the qi thickens, faint patterns bleed through the card-backs. Those who read them choose before the draw.

Bathe in Fire

Neutral · Rare

Night travelers sometimes see lone armor walking the hills. Dead grass ignites in its wake; no one dares follow those steps.

Focus Energy

Neutral · Rare

The board's qi scatters across the wilds. A player must gather a single breath of it before placing one piece.

Sleight of Hand

Neutral · Rare

Wind gathers in empty spaces, and cards ride the wind. A master never minds standing alone.

Blazing Sun

Neutral · Rare

When the sun rises, cold ashes on the old battlefield grow hot again. The light remembers what burned here.

Dog Days

Neutral · Rare

When the dog days withhold their rain, fire refuses to die.

Ember Seed

Neutral · Rare

Where fire springs up, something always turns up in the ashes—a copper shard, a cracked plate, half a ruined card.

Shennong

Neutral · Rare

Beyond the Gate of Life grows a single herb—rooted not in soil but in the qi of the board. Step on it, and wounds begin to close.

Infernal Blaze

Neutral · Epic

When sky-fire has burned through, the living strip weapons from the dead and walk on without looking back.

Kindling

Neutral · Epic

Scattered sparks harm no one. Draw them to a single point, and one ember strikes with the weight of ten thousand.

Concealment

Neutral · Epic

The sentinels of the Gate of Obstruction never repair the walls. They build themselves into them.

Lifesaver Hair

Neutral · Epic

The masters left little behind. This hair was the last of it—spend it, and nothing remains.

Immobilize

Neutral · Epic

A game that holds Chiyou can pin one beast without effort.

Borrow East Wind

Neutral · Epic

Wind does not birth fire. It simply knows where fire wants to go.

Starfall

Neutral · Legendary

Over Zhuolu, stars sometimes fall. Each impact sounds exactly like a piece being placed on the board.

Enlightenment

Neutral · Legendary

Attack, defense, and support converge in a single breath. The board falls silent, and the qi rushes back.

Vajra Body

Neutral · Legendary

Bronze brow, iron skull—the way of the eighty-one brothers. One night's study buys one night's survival.

Monkey Fishes the Moon

Neutral · Legendary

You cannot scoop the moon from water. But a player knows: the three cards glimpsed in the reflection are already at hand.

Overburn

Neutral · Legendary

Why does scorched earth still burn? Because fire on this mountain is never content with just one pass.

Fire God

Neutral · Legendary

Fire feeds qi, qi feeds fire. The old players called this a living game—a board where no piece is wasted.

Counter

Neutral · Rare

The blade that shows itself only after the blow is always the fastest.

Emergency Hardening

Neutral · Epic

No time to think. The bones know when to harden.

Threefold Unity

Neutral · Legendary

Heaven plate, earth plate, mortal plate—when all three turn in unison, every piece falls heavier.

Horse Master15 cards

Scout Horse

Horse Master · Common

An old horseback question: "What does the scout seek?" "Nothing. Ride far enough, and it finds you."

Parthian Thrust

Horse Master · Common

The farther the ride, the heavier the turning blow. Not hoarded strength—a debt laid down stride by stride, collected in a single thrust.

Double Hooves

Horse Master · Common

It threw him seven times that night. On the eighth—forehooves down, hindhooves after. The first time it stamped earthward instead of skyward.

Rampaging Hooves

Horse Master · Rare

From the Gate of Opening to the Gate of Alarm, he touched ground once. Dead center of the camp, one empty square—that was enough.

Pincer Strike

Horse Master · Common

Old saddle-law: this bank you live, far bank you kill. Rider and horse cross together—neither looks back.

One Rider, Thousand Foes

Horse Master · Epic

Broken bridle clenched in teeth. Hands free, the horse chose its own path—one straight line, all the way through.

Ride the Momentum

Horse Master · Common

The Heavenly Horse lesson reads: Momentum is not in the body—it's underfoot. Seek it standing still and you'll never find it.

Gale Stride

Horse Master · Rare

Wind at the back, and the next play rises to hand unbidden. Even the stride forward spends less.

Shed Armor, Quick Step

Horse Master · Common

No plate, no mail. Dust from the ride settled around him of its own accord—thicker with every stride.

Startled Swan

Horse Master · Rare

Water still flat. Blade mid-swing. But the square is already empty.

Wheeling Horse

Horse Master · Common

Loop after loop through Zhuolu's dust. The locals stopped watching—just hoofbeats circling. No charge. No destination.

Chained Horses

Horse Master · Rare

First leap probes; second shifts. Straight paths were built for the dead.

Wind Step: Skywalk

Horse Master · Epic

Asked how he crossed such ground, he pointed beneath the hooves—at empty air. "Didn't ride there. Stepped, and it appeared."

Horsehide Shroud

Horse Master · Rare

He said one thing to that horse—no one heard what. From that day, each first step it took showed him one more move on the board.

Overwhelming Momentum

Horse Master · Epic

Momentum breaks like wind through bamboo—joint by joint, cracking wide. The more that's gathered, the deeper the split.

Pawn Commander16 cards

Push the Edge

Pawn Commander · Common

The man who never moves took one step. The shield cracked.

River-crossing Pawn

Pawn Commander · Common

Asked if he was afraid. Yes. Asked why he still crossed. No answer—the empty waterskin was already drifting south.

Wheel Warfare

Pawn Commander · Rare

They came; the spear found them. They ducked behind cover—the spear found them there too. He hadn't moved.

Irresistible Force

Pawn Commander · Common

He doesn't chase. He shoves—into the wall. The wall finishes it.

Unyielding Advance

Pawn Commander · Epic

Letters burned. Rations handed out. Nothing left to go back for. March.

Fortify

Pawn Commander · Common

Not tall. Chest-high. Enough.

Pitch Camp

Pawn Commander · Common

Slow to make camp. Slower to break it. But every dawn—he's there.

Backs to the River

Pawn Commander · Rare

No way back. His hands stopped shaking.

Battle Spirit

Pawn Commander · Common

Stand still and count. How many men, how many blades, whose footing falters. Move, and you'll miss it all.

Turn the Spear

Pawn Commander · Common

Strike the anvil—the hand cracks first.

Fortify & Counter

Pawn Commander · Rare

Each man who charged left a weapon in the wall. One. Two. By dawn, the wall bristled.

Set Camp

Pawn Commander · Common

Low wall up, lamp set on top. This square—good enough to rest.

Front Line

Pawn Commander · Common

Pawns walk straight. Not fast, no turns. Past the river-line, the footprints press deeper.

Step by Step

Pawn Commander · Common

"Hold this step before taking the next." —The only garrison rule.

Field HQ

Pawn Commander · Rare

The day he walked from pawn to commander, he set his helm on the desk. No longer young. —No more marching.

Break Through

Pawn Commander · Epic

A blade past the river is more than steel. It's a man who won't turn back.

Cannon Adept18 cards

Mountain Cannon

Cannon Adept · Common

Opening rule of the cannon art: between you and the target, something must stand. That is no obstacle—it is a mount waiting to be recognized.

Heavy Bombardment

Cannon Adept · Rare

One shot. The wall cracked, and the armor behind it. He noted the impact in his ledger: mount half a step closer next time—save a round.

Sky Lantern

Cannon Adept · Common

Where a spark rises tells where it falls. He never wanted the spark—he wanted the ground it would burn.

Grapeshot

Cannon Adept · Common

Gravel is not chaos. He tested it: a fistful cast to the ground, the pattern forms a cross. Even shattering follows formation.

Siege Breaker

Cannon Adept · Epic

The manual's last page shows only a ruined city: mount spent, walls leveled. In the margin, his own hand: *Not lightly.*

Raise Rampart

Cannon Adept · Common

The general cursed him for delaying the battle. He didn't look up; his hands kept packing dirt. A cannon needs a mount.

Shift Formation

Cannon Adept · Common

A formation is not fixed. Shift a rampart half a step, the relay line changes. Others see a rampart moved; he sees a line redrawn.

Kindling Stone

Cannon Adept · Common

Fire is a tool, no different from stone or rampart. Placed where it belongs, burning when it should.

Mutual Guard

Cannon Adept · Common

Three paces back isn't far—it's just far enough to read the whole board. Rampart up front, the next shot's landing already measured.

Stargazing

Cannon Adept · Rare

Each night after stowing the cannon, he measured the stars. One reading, two more lines in mind; read through, tomorrow's first shot needs no calibration.

Empty Fort

Cannon Adept · Rare

Nothing behind the rampart—cannon shroud folded, set aside. He sat alone on the wall. Those who came stopped at the gate. He'd calculated.

Elephant Stride

Cannon Adept · Common

He walks the minister's diagonal through the field-square. Before each landing he packs the ground—solid earth breeds life; hollow ground, ruin.

Cannon Stride

Cannon Adept · Common

A cannon takes no empty road. Vault the mount, and the landing bites the next line—before you're in position, nothing. Once there, everything.

Grand Formation

Cannon Adept · Rare

"A formation's root is its ramparts. Thicker walls, a living formation; ramparts standing, energy flows." —Cannon Art: General Principles of Deployment.

Fire God Array

Cannon Adept · Epic

The night the fire rose, every cannon spoke at once. No one saw who stood in the formation's eye—the fire was too bright.

Flying Stones

Cannon Adept · Common

Four paces out, sand blinding the eye, the shot still landed. Not by sight—by the mount. Where the mount stands, the line holds.

Mountain Crash

Cannon Adept · Rare

A mountain blocked the way; he didn't go around. One shot into the rock—it shattered, debris flying in four straight lines. Whatever blocks the path is ammunition.

Human Cannonball

Cannon Adept · Rare

He took off the cannon shroud, folded it, set it on the rampart—from that moment, he was no longer the one behind the cannon.

The Board · "Every Card Is a Chess Move"

In-game screenshot: a battle in progress on the wooden board — red, blue and fire tiles interlocking, with the Bear Legionnaire, Crimson Tail and Duheng the Warden Tree holding their squares, and the hand showing Wheeling Horse, Chained Horses and other cards

Horse-leap, Elephant-leap, Relay Strike—ancient xiangqi moves reborn as cards in your hand, played on a nine-tile grid. Terrain is a resource: Fire tiles can be borrowed, Wave tiles redirected, Ramparts built or demolished. Every formation you lay is a chess game. Every card you play is a move.

Dual Form · What the concept art depicts is the soul's true body; what stands on the board is its chess-piece incarnation. Players of the schools have true forms. The nine stars have true forms. Everything exists in two states: spirit and piece. Behind every token on the board stands a complete being.

Art Philosophy · "Bronze Age Anchoring"

Three layers of Chinese antiquity anchor every visual. Bronze is the skeleton: taotie masks, thunder scrolls, and coiling-dragon patterns form the decorative mother tongue. Oracle bone and bronze inscriptions are the veins: ancient script carved into weapons, stone arrays, and chess pieces—the written language of the formation. Ink-wash zhiguai is the skin: monsters and forests rendered in five shades of ink, menace rising from light to dark.

Verdigris Green#4E7466

Abyssal Black#141110

Cinnabar Red#B4372B

Ochre#B8894A

Each chess piece wears a seal-script surface—set on the board, it lands like a living stamp.

The Three Schools

The Unbridled · Horse Master

The Last Pawn · Pawn Commander

The Living Eye · Cannon Adept

The Eight Gates

Gate of Opening

Gate of Rest

Gate of Life

Gate of Harm

Gate of Blockage

Gate of Illusion

Gate of Fright

Gate of Death

The Nine Stars

Tianchong · Broken Halberd

Tianqin · Carrion King

Tianxin · False Saint

Tianpeng · Lord of Black Water

Tianrui · Plague Lord

Tianzhu · Pillar Giant

Tianying · The Plainsburner

Tianren · Mountain Spirit

Tianfu · Fallen Sage

Bingzhu · Lord of War

The Hundred Games · "Every Card Is a Chess Move"

Neutral51 cards

Pawn

Advisor

King

Horse

Elephant

Cannon

Chariot

Strike

Juggle

Staff Art

Defend

Scorched Earth

Staff Sweep

Pole Vault

Fury

Drifting Flame

Sparks Fly

Hold Fast

Cloud Step

Flame Taming

Opportunist

Skullcracker

Fire Wheel Spin

Misfortunes Never Come Alone

Seismic Wave

Fan the Flames

Stable Stance

Stone Skin

Fiery Eyes

Bathe in Fire

Focus Energy

Sleight of Hand

Blazing Sun

Dog Days

Ember Seed

Shennong

Infernal Blaze

Kindling

Concealment

Lifesaver Hair

Immobilize

Borrow East Wind

Starfall

Enlightenment

Vajra Body

Monkey Fishes the Moon

Overburn

Fire God

Counter

Emergency Hardening

Threefold Unity

Horse Master15 cards

Scout Horse

Parthian Thrust