காவல் ஓலைச்சுவடி · Kaaval Codex

௧

திறப்பு

Thirappu · Opening

Sit. The jungle knows you are here. The oldest banyan of Eelam has unfurled its palm-leaf for you — read as our people have always read: aloud, patiently, with the rain.

காவல்

What Kaaval Is

Kaaval is a trading card game rooted in Tamil-Śaiva ecology and Eelam Tamil memory. Every card is a cited artefact. Every energy is a symbol from the land. Nothing is decorative.

இரு வீரர்

Two Players

Two players sit across a woven mat. Each brings a deck of thirty cards. The first to reduce the opponent's Kaaval line to silence has kept the vigil.

வழிபாடு

This Codex

Thirteen leaves. Each carries one truth. Read slowly. The rules are also prayers.

௨

ஐந்து சக்தி

Aintu Sakthi · The Five Energies

Five symbols. Each is a small piece of the land. Each grants power to a class of moves, and refuses another. Nothing is neutral.

Interactive · Aintu Sakthi

ஐந்து
சக்தி

கார்த்திகைப் பூ

Karthigai Poo

Grants — puli_one_shot · nyabagam_revive · sacrifice · rebirth

Locked from — healing_direct

கார்த்திகைப் பூ

🌺 Karthigai Poo

Grants — puli_one_shot · nyabagam_revive · sacrifice · rebirth Locked from — healing_direct Reverence lives in the mechanics. This symbol powers what tradition permits, and refuses what tradition forbids.

ஈழச் சிறுத்தை

🐆 Eelam Chiruththai

Grants — reveal · scout · precision · opponent_hand_peek · single_target Locked from — area_of_effect Reverence lives in the mechanics. This symbol powers what tradition permits, and refuses what tradition forbids.

செம்போத்து

🐦 Coucal

Grants — draw · scry · disruption · cancel · opponent_top_deck Locked from — damage_direct Reverence lives in the mechanics. This symbol powers what tradition permits, and refuses what tradition forbids.

வாகை

🌿 Vagai

Grants — healing · shield · law_anchor · sattam_boost · protect Locked from — one_shot Reverence lives in the mechanics. This symbol powers what tradition permits, and refuses what tradition forbids.

புலி

🐅 Tiger

Grants — damage_direct · puli_attacker · burn · pressure Locked from — revive Reverence lives in the mechanics. This symbol powers what tradition permits, and refuses what tradition forbids.

௩

மூன்று குலம்

Moondru Kulam · Three Suits

Three suits stand in the clearing. Puli is myth, Nyabagam is memory, Sattam is law. A deck without all three is a hand without fingers.

புலி

Puli

Mythic archetypes · anime-realism Accent — #c8471f. Each suit answers a different question the game asks of you.

ஞாபகம்

Nyabagam

Maaveerar memorial portraits Accent — #a41e1e. Each suit answers a different question the game asks of you.

சட்டம்

Sattam

Law · counter-play instruments Accent — #c9a24a. Each suit answers a different question the game asks of you.

௪

சீட்டின் உடல்

Card Anatomy

Turn a card over. Everything on it — the Tamil name, the English gloss, the HP, the two moves, the energy cost, the citation ribbon — is load-bearing.

Interactive · Card Anatomy

தீப் புலி

Flame Tiger

HP 130 · Rare · Puli

NameTamil first, larger. English second, smaller.
HPLife force. Silence at 0.
TierCommon → Sacred. This one is Rare.
Move CostEnergy symbols. Locked by tradition.
DamageNumeric or effect-based.
CitationVinMin Canon ribbon if load-bearing.

பெயர்

Name

Tamil first, larger, italic display serif. English second, smaller, mono. Never one alone.

வாழ்வு

Common creatures sit at 50–70. Rare stage-2 sits at 120–140. Sacred cards do not fight — they anchor.

நகர்வு

Two Moves

Every character card has two moves. Each move lists its energy cost using the five symbols. Cost respects the tradition locks — no karthigai on direct damage, no coucal on damage, no tiger on healing.

மேற்கோள்

Citation Ribbon

A Nyabagam card that carries the VinMin Canon ribbon has a cited source in the Eelam Tamil archive. It is testimony as much as art.

௫

நிலைகள்

Character Tiers

Five tiers, ascending. A deck lives mostly in the lower three. The higher tiers are rare because the tradition is rare.

பொது

Common

The everyday. Cubs, scouts, small oaths. HP 40–60. Cheap costs. The bulk of any deck.

அரிது

Uncommon

Slightly rarer forms. HP 60–90. One meaningful move.

விரல்பொருள்

Rare

Adult forms, elders, second-stage evolutions. HP 100–140.

மாய

Mythic

Great beasts, sky serpents, ancestral figures. HP 140+. Signature moves.

புனித

Sacred

Do not attack. Do not evolve. Anchor a law. Reserved for cards that are testimony.

௬

முப்பது சீட்டு

Deck Construction · 30 Cards

Thirty cards. No more, no less. The number is old — six rows of five, one for each of the seven Tamil months of a monsoon year minus the still one.

Interactive · Muppathu Sīttu · 30 Cards

The mat has thirty places. Not twenty-nine. Not thirty-one.

௩௦

Exactly 30

A legal deck has thirty cards. Not twenty-nine. Not thirty-one. The mat has thirty places.

மூன்று குலம்

All Three Suits

A legal deck must include at least one card from each of Puli, Nyabagam, and Sattam. A one-suit deck is not Kaaval.

அதிக நான்கு

Max Four Copies

No more than four copies of any single card. Sacred and Mythic cards are limited to one copy per deck.

ஆற்றல் அணி

Energy Row

Energies are not shuffled into the deck. Each player brings an energy row of nine symbols, drawn from the five, matching the suits they play.

தலைமை

Choose One Signature

One card in the deck may carry the VinMin Canon signature. Only one. That card is the deck's spine.

௭

முறை

The Turn

A turn is five phases. They happen in order. Skipping is refusing. Refusing is a legal move.

௧ · வரவேற்பு

1 · Draw

Draw one card from your deck. If your deck is empty, you have already lost — the land has run out of witnesses.

௨ · ஆற்றல்

2 · Attach Energy

Attach one energy symbol from your energy row to any character in play. Only one per turn.

௩ · விளையாட்டு

3 · Play

Play any number of Sattam (law) or Nyabagam (memory) cards from your hand. Play at most one Kalam (place) card per turn.

௪ · போர்

4 · Attack

Your active Puli may attack once. Pay the move's energy cost. Resolve the combat.

௫ · முடிவு

5 · End

Trigger any Thodarcchi (continuity) effects. Pass to the opponent. The rain does not stop.

௮

போர்

Combat

Combat is a small ceremony. The attacker names the move. The energy is paid. The tradition either permits or refuses. Then the damage is carved into the opponent's stone.

Interactive · Combat Ceremony

தீப் புலி

130 HP

Karthigai Karjanai · 🐅 + 🌺 · 70 dmg

→

கடல் காவலன்

120 HP

Alai Adi · 🐦 + 🌿 · 60 AoE

Attacker: Thee Puli declares Karthigai Karjanai. Cost: 1 tiger + 1 karthigai. Damage: 70.

நோக்கம்

Declare

The attacker chooses one of their active Puli's two moves. All energy costs are announced.

ஆற்றல் தீர்வு

Pay the Cost

Each energy symbol in the cost is checked against its role locks. If any symbol is locked from the move's role, the move fails and the energy stays.

காயம்

Damage

The defending Puli's HP drops by the move's damage. Shields reduce first. Kalam bonuses apply next. Sattam cards may cancel.

மௌனம்

If a Puli reaches 0 HP, it is silenced. Move it to your Nyabagam pile — it becomes memory. Some Nyabagam cards can raise it back at half HP.

வெற்றி

Victory

Silence six of the opponent's Puli, or empty their deck. Either is enough. Neither is a celebration.

௯

களம் · தொடர்ச்சி

Kalam & Thodarcchi

A place remembers. A continuity persists. Kalam cards set the field — a jungle path, a temple, a fishing shore. Thodarcchi cards are oaths that survive across turns.

காடு பாதை

Kaadu Pathai · Jungle Path

While in play, all Puli gain +10 attack and cannot be silenced in one hit.

மீன் கோவில் பள்ளம்

Meen Kovil Pallam

All Nyabagam cards cost one less coucal. Once per turn, scry the top card of your deck.

கார்த்திகை கல்

Karthigai Kal · Flame Stone

Thodarcchi. Every turn, one karthigai attaches free to any active card. Cannot be dispelled by Sattam of lesser rarity.

தெய்வ வழி

Deiva Vazhi · Divine Path

Thodarcchi. When any of your Puli is silenced, gain one energy of your choice for the next turn. The land grieves and gives back.

௰

வழிமுறை

Strategy · Reading Your Opponent

The mat teaches patience. Watch what they attach. Watch what they refuse to attach. A player who has not yet touched coucal is not planning to disrupt — yet.

காத்திரு

Wait

The first two turns are for reading, not attacking. Watch the energy row shape their deck.

வளி பார்

Trace the Locks

If they attach three tigers, they cannot heal. If they attach three karthigai, they cannot direct-damage. The tradition tells you what they cannot do.

பலி கொடு

Sacrifice

A common Puli falling to protect a Mythic is a legitimate play. Nyabagam remembers.

மௌனம் ஒரு ஆயுதம்

Silence is a Weapon

Refusing to play a card is legal. The opponent cannot know if your hand is empty or full of endings.

உயிரினம்

Uyirinam · The Living Ones

Six creatures. Three pairs. Each stage-1 evolves into its stage-2 through a Nyabagam ritual. They are not Pokémon — they are the same forest, remembered.

தீக்குட்டி → தீப்புலி

Flame Cub → Flame Tiger

Fire lineage. Karthigai + Tiger. Stage 2 can revive one silenced ally at half HP.

மீன் குட்டி → கடல் காவலன்

Little Fish → Sea Guardian

Water lineage. Coucal + Vagai. Stage 2 negates the opponent's next trap.

கிளி ஆவியான் → வான் நாகம்

Parakeet Spirit → Sky Serpent

Sky lineage. Leopard + Vagai + Karthigai. Mythic. All allies gain +40 shield until next turn.

சீட்டு உருவாக்கம்

How Cards Are Made

Every Kaaval card is painted against a single standard: cinematic sacred realism, Tamil-Śaiva ecology, warm ember and monsoon indigo. Never generic fantasy.

நிற வழி

Palette Rule

Warm anchor — amber, ember, candle-gold, deep saffron, brick-red. Cool anchor — deep indigo, monsoon blue, ash-grey, wet-stone black. Never purple neon. Never teal-orange Hollywood.

மேற்கோள் விதி

Citation Rule

Any card that names a real person or event must cite the source in its lore. No card is a portrait of a serving officer or a named perpetrator.

தடை

Forbidden

No militarised close-ups of weapons. No gore. No named perpetrators. No drone HUD overlays. No AI-cliché purple gradient on white. The tradition is stricter than the market.

சட்டம் · முற்றுப்புள்ளி

Sattam & Terms · Closing

A glossary of every Tamil term used in this codex, and a closing. The rain has slowed. You have read the vigil.

காவல்

Kaaval

Vigil, guardianship. The game's name.

புலி

Puli

Tiger. The mythic-archetype suit and the attacking character type.

ஞாபகம்

Nyabagam

Memory. The memorial suit; also the pile silenced cards go to.

சட்டம்

Sattam

Law. The counter-play suit; cancels, negates, anchors.

களம்

Kalam

Place, field. Location cards that alter the mat.

தொடர்ச்சி

Thodarcchi

Continuity. Persistent effects across turns.

உயிரினம்

Uyirinam

Living ones. The six creature cards.

கார்த்திகை

Karthigai

The flame-lily (gloriosa). Energy of healing, shielding, protection.

செம்போத்து

Coucal

Sacred bird. Energy of scrying, disruption, memory.

வாகை

Vagai

The victory tree. Energy of law, shield, anchor.

முற்றுப்புள்ளி

Muttrupulli

The full stop. The end of the reading. You are witness.