History TabletopGame / ResArcana

* SkillGateCharacter: In games without ''Perlae Imperii'' (whose Pearl mechanic actually makes it a viable choice even at higher levels), Windup Man is good at low levels because it automatically generates a lot of resources at the start of every round, which you can cash out later. However, it's terrible against good players for multiple reasons: The first is that good players can end the game sooner, which leaves Windup Man unable to produce as much as you'd want to. This is extra bad considering how many resources it ties up (not only is it expensive to play, but you have to put a type of resource on it to make it generate that resource), and the fact that you're unable to cash out earlier without losing value. The second is that it telegraphs what you're planning to do, which gives your opponent time to respond (for instance by grabbing some good Monuments if they see you using it to make gold).

* BackFromTheDead: A few abilities let you play a cards from a discard pile. There are also effects that let you retrieve cards from it.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Most Dragons are big, spiked creatures. There is one for each of the four classical ElementsOfNature, with only the Fire Dragon actually breathing fire. There's also the Bone Dragon, the SeaSerpent (which counts as a dragon), the Prismatic Dragon (the only dragon who can't attack, instead preferring to deal with essences) and the huge, expensive Ancient Dragon. The Dragons are implied to [[DragonHoard hoard gold]], as the Dragon's Lair is very centred on the gold essence.

''Res Arcana'' is a fantasy-themed engine-building {{Eurogame}} designed by Tom Lehmann and published by Sand Castle Games in 2019.

Compare fellow Tom Lehmann game ''[[TabletopGame/RaceForTheGalaxy Race for the Galaxy]]''. See also ''TabletopGame/{{Pandemic}}'', as Lehmann collaborated with Matt Leacock on several released in that series.

The game has received two {{Expansion Pack}}s:

* ElixirOfLife: The Chalice of Life is implied to turn water into an elixir of life -- if you dump the water-like Calm essence into it, it'll give it back alongside Life essence. It also passively generates Life and Calm.

** The game effectively lets your ''cards'' function as a kind of wilds. Any card can be discarded for a [[ElementFive Gold]] or any two non-Gold resources.

** ''Perlae Imperii'' introduces [[ElementFive Pearls]], which can be converted into a Gold or any two normal essences as a free action.

''Res Arcana'' is a fantasy-themed engine-building board game designed by Tom Lehmann and published by Sand Castle Games in 2019.

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** The male Demonologist has three jars containing demons on and around his desk.desk.

* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: The Mermaid is a woman with a SeashellBra a fish-like tails in place of legs. She has the rare ability to infuse a component with one of the listed elements (Calm, Life or Gold -- notably ''not'' Pearls).

''Res Arcana'' is a fantasy-themed engine-building board game where [[AlchemyIsMagic alchemical mages]] use magical items and their own unique powers to gather and manipulate essences, which can be spent on crafting helpful artifacts, summoning dragons, conquering Places of Power and constructing Monuments.

Mechanically, the goal of the game is to get at least 10 [[ScoringPoints Victory Points]], and then have the most points when a victory check occurs. They usually happen at the end of a round, but there are also some Places of Power that can force them. While some artifacts grant a few points, most of your points will come from Monuments and/or Places of Power.

* ''Lux et Tenebrae'' (2019)
* ''Perlae Imperii'' (2021)

** It weakens strategies that revolve around Monuments in multiple ways. The most notable are reducing the number of them in play (at least for 2 players) and adding more ways to get gold, which makes it more likely that your opponent will grab enough good ones to make it impossible for you to win through Monuments alone.

* OurImpsAreDifferent The Chaos Imp is a scaly demon with fins on its head, the ability to straighten another demon (letting it act again), and the ability to turn 1 Death and 1 Elan into 3 Death.

* {{Pegasus}}: The Celestial Horse is a winged white horse. Its noble nature is hinted at by its ability, which can generate any basic essences except Death.

* SummoningRitual: The illustration of the Flaming Pit is based on summoning rituals -- it consists of a flaming hole surrounded by a pentagram, skulls and candles. Its power is to let you pay Life to gain Death and Elan.
* SummonMagic: You can spend essences to summon helpful creatures, dragons and demons.

* WaterIsBlue: Cards that portray water (Hypnotic Basin, Mermaid, Sunken Reef, Seafarer, Diving Cord, Blood Isle, Pearl Bed) have it drawn in blue. Additionally, the [[BlueIsCalm blue Calm essence]] resembles a drop of water.