RUNEBORN WHITEPAPER
Runeborn: Arena of Fate · Version 2.0 · April 2026
A deterministic, skill-based tactical card game built on Solana — where every outcome is predictable, every pack is verifiable, and every victory is written into the chain.
Overview
Runeborn: Arena of Fate is a competitive tactical card battler deployed on the Solana blockchain. Players acquire cards, construct constrained five-card decks, and enter arenas where every match resolves through deterministic logic — no random critical strikes, no hidden modifiers, no opaque outcomes decided after you commit.
The game is built around three convictions: skill should determine outcomes, transparency should be the default, and financial stakes should be accessible without crypto friction. Every mechanic in Runeborn exists to serve one of these three principles.
Players pay in SOL, wager in SOL, and are paid out in SOL. There is no intermediate token or conversion step. The goal is a game that feels like a skill-based competitive card game, not a crypto product.
Core Game Mechanics
Card Statistics
Every card in Runeborn carries two base stats:
- Power — The card's offensive strength. Power is multiplied by rarity during combat resolution to produce final damage output.
- Endurance — The card's survival capacity. A card's HP is derived as
HP = Endurance × 3. Decks constructed entirely of a single element receive a cumulative +10% Endurance bonus applied to their maximum HP calculation.
BP is the deck construction budget unit. It is not used directly in combat — it prevents stat stacking and forces meaningful trade-offs when building a deck.
Rarity System
Rarity establishes the maximum possible base Battle Points (BP) for a card (e.g. Mythics peak at 200 BP, Commons at 100). During combat resolution, rarity also applies a deterministic multiplier directly to a card's final Power. All stat values used against your 750 BP deck limit are base stats, requiring careful allocation even with high-rarity cards.
| Rarity | Power Multiplier | Effect | Deck Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 1.0× | Base Power | Unrestricted |
| Rare | 1.1× | +10% Power | Unrestricted |
| Epic | 1.25× | +25% Power | Unrestricted |
| Mythic | 1.5× | +50% Power | Max 2 per deck |
Elemental Types
Every card belongs to one of five elemental types. Four types form an advantage cycle; the fifth — Shade — is a neutral element that deals a flat 1.25× against everything.
FlameStrong vs Terra & Volt. Weak vs Aqua.
AquaStrong vs Flame & Terra. Weak vs Volt.
TerraStrong vs Aqua & Volt. Weak vs Flame.
VoltStrong vs Flame & Aqua. Weak vs Terra.
ShadeNeutral (1.25×) against all types.| ATK↓ DEF→ | Flame | Aqua | Terra | Volt | Shade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flame | 1.0× | 0.5× | 2.0× | 1.5× | 1.25× |
| Aqua | 2.0× | 1.0× | 1.5× | 0.5× | 1.25× |
| Terra | 0.5× | 1.5× | 1.0× | 2.0× | 1.25× |
| Volt | 1.5× | 2.0× | 0.5× | 1.0× | 1.25× |
| Shade | 1.25× | 1.25× | 1.25× | 1.25× | 1.0× |
Move Selection — The Tactical Layer
Each round, both players simultaneously choose one of three moves before committing. This creates a prediction layer — your read of the opponent's tendencies matters as much as your card's stats.
Slash
Defeats Pierce
Pierce
Defeats Guard
Guard
Defeats Slash
Deck Construction
Every deck must satisfy all four constraints simultaneously before it is eligible for play. The deck builder enforces these rules in real time and will not allow queue entry on an invalid deck.
5
Cards per deck
750
BP cap (sum of base stats)
2
Max Mythic cards
100
Max cards in collection
The BP cap ensures no single deck can stack maximum-stat cards across all five slots. A valid deck requires genuine trade-offs — a high-Power card forces lower-Endurance elsewhere, and vice versa. Rarity multipliers do not count toward BP, which means a high-BP Common deck is not at a structural disadvantage — skill closes the gap.
Combat Resolution
Every battle in Runeborn resolves through a deterministic formula. The exact modifier for every interaction is known and visible before you enter the arena — there are no hidden variables.
Match Format
Matches use a persistent HP pool system. Cards remain on the board across turns until their HP reaches zero (fainting). The first player to faint three of their opponent's cards wins the match.
- HP persists between rounds — damage accumulates.
- Players may switch their active card during the Pick Card phase.
- Switching uses the switching player's turn: they deal 0 damage that turn while the opponent still attacks the incoming card.
- First to 3 faints wins. There is no time limit on the match.
Damage Formula
- 1
Rarity Scaling
Scaled Power = Base Power × Rarity Multiplier
1.0× – 1.5× depending on card rarity.
- 2
Elemental Modifier
Modified Power = Scaled Power × Elemental Multiplier
0.5× to 2.0× based on attacker type vs defender type.
- 3
Tactics Bonus
Final Power = Modified Power + Tactics Bonus
+10 for winning the move, −10 for losing, 0 on a draw.
- 4
Final Damage
Damage = Final Power ÷ 2
Applied to the opponent's active card HP.
Battle Breakdown — Always Visible
After every round, the Arena screen displays an itemised breakdown of how the result was calculated: base power, rarity multiplier, elemental modifier, tactics bonus, and final damage. This panel is permanently visible during all competitive play — it is the primary mechanism by which players learn the game and build trust in its fairness. It is never hidden behind a toggle.
Wager Economy
Solborn's wager economy is intentionally simple from the player's perspective: you think in SOL, you pay in SOL, and you receive SOL back. There is no token wrapping, no conversion step, and no additional layer between the player and their funds.
SOL-First UX
When a player enters a Wager Lobby, their SOL stake is locked directly into a program-derived escrow account (PDA) on Solana for the duration of the match. On settlement, the winner's share is distributed on-chain in native SOL — minus the 5% treasury fee.
Wager Lobby Tiers
Lobbies are tiered by stake. Players choose their entry based on their risk appetite. All lobbies use identical rules — the only difference is the size of the prize pool.
Pack Economy
Cards are acquired exclusively through pack purchases. Each pack contains five cards drawn from the current series. Pack outcomes are verifiable on-chain — the pack index and seed reference are exposed in a transparency panel accessible from the pack opening screen. Players can independently audit their pack outcomes without relying on the developer.
There is no trading market, no burning mechanic, and no inflation mechanism driven by passive gameplay. The supply of any given card set is fixed at series launch.
Fee Structure
A small treasury fee is deducted from each wager pool on settlement. This fee funds protocol operations, smart contract maintenance, and future development. The exact fee percentage is displayed to players in the lobby entry confirmation screen before any funds are committed. There are no hidden fees.
The full fee breakdown and treasury allocation are detailed in the project's investor documentation.
Mastery & Progression
Runeborn rewards players who compete consistently through a persistent on-chain mastery system. Players can progress and level up their profile through a combination of competitive Wager Lobbies and rotating Daily Contracts.
XP System
Each Wager Lobby win awards 100 XP directly, while completing Daily Contracts (like playing Casual matches or opening packs) awards variable XP jumps up to 300 XP. Losses award no XP but do not reduce existing progress. XP is accumulated on-chain and verifiable per wallet.
Mastery Levels
Every 300 XP advances the player's Mastery Level. Levels progress through a named rank ladder, from Void Initiate through to Arcane Champion and beyond.
Milestone Rewards
Every 10 Mastery Levels, a free Mastery Pack is unlocked and claimable from the player's profile. This provides a consistent collection growth path for dedicated players without pay-to-win implications.
Technical Architecture
Runeborn uses a hybrid architecture to balance the competing requirements of real-time gameplay and on-chain verifiability. Match state is managed server-side for speed; financial settlement and pack provenance are managed on-chain for trust.
Solana Smart Contracts
Wager lobby creation, fund escrow, match settlement, and pack purchase verification are all handled on-chain. Smart contract addresses are publicly auditable. The contract includes a claim-timeout mechanism to protect player funds in the event of a disconnect or server failure.
Server-Side Match Engine
Real-time PvP synchronisation runs through a server-side engine backed by Vercel KV (Redis). This enables sub-second state updates during gameplay without requiring every round to be committed to the chain.
Deterministic Resolution Layer
All combat outcomes are computed using a stateless, deterministic function. Given the same inputs — card stats, element pairing, move selections — the function always produces the same output. Replays are fully reproducible.
Verifiable Pack Opening
Pack purchases are recorded on-chain with a pack index and seed reference. Players can audit the contents of any purchased pack independently using the pack index exposed in the transparency panel of the pack opening screen.
Frontend
Built on Next.js with Turbopack for a fast, modern user experience. Wallet integration supports Phantom and compatible Solana wallets. The interface is designed to minimise crypto-specific friction for new players.
Disconnect Protection
If a player loses connection mid-match, the match state is preserved server-side. On reconnect, the player resumes from their last confirmed state. If the timeout window expires without reconnection, the contract's claim-timeout mechanism ensures funds are not permanently locked.
Roadmap
Development is structured in three phases. Each phase unlocks only after the preceding layer is stable and active. There is no speculative feature being built ahead of its foundation.
Core Gameplay & Wager Foundation
- 5-card deck system with BP cap and rarity constraints
- Deterministic combat engine (Power / Elemental / Tactics)
- Wager Lobby tiers (0.1 – 5 SOL)
- On-chain pack purchase and verifiable opening
- SOL-native wager escrow — no token conversion
- Mastery XP, levelling, and milestone pack rewards
- Daily Contracts system for varied XP generation
- Bot (casual) matchmaking and practice mode
- Disconnect protection and claim-timeout
Ranked Seasons & Tournament Module
- Ranked ladder with seasonal resets and MMR
- Token launch with the ability to buy in-game powerups and cosmetics
- Card marketplace to allow trading of cards
- Automated tournament brackets (SOL and token entry)
- Replay system and match history
- Cosmetic card frames and profile badges (no stat impact)
- Leaderboard — The Eternal Ledger
Expansion & Optional NFT Layer
- New card series and element expansions
- Optional cosmetic NFT layer — only if organic demand warrants it
- Season pass (cosmetic rewards only, no pay-to-win)
- Community governance input on card balance (advisory, not binding)
Legal Disclosures
Risk Disclosure
Runeborn: Arena of Fate is a decentralised, skill-based competitive game built on the Solana blockchain. Participation in Wager Lobbies involves a risk of financial loss. Only wager SOL that you can afford to lose.
The developers and contributors of Runeborn are not responsible for any SOL lost due to match outcomes, network congestion, smart contract interactions, or player error. You acknowledge that you are using an experimental blockchain protocol at your own risk.
This whitepaper is provided for informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, or a solicitation of any kind. The content described herein reflects the current development intent of the protocol and is subject to change without notice.
Cards in Runeborn are in-game items, not securities or investment vehicles. Pack outcomes are determined through a verifiable on-chain mechanism, not randomised post-purchase. The protocol is not affiliated with any centralised gambling operator.