Game manual
In development. Not released yet. Public release probably 2027.
Heroes of Time
A fantasy adventure strategy game about heroes, roads, towns, relics, encounters, and hero-local time. Start with the player loop first: move normally, read risk, and let the timeline system arbitrate only the conflicts that truly matter.
Play First, Learn Time Later
Heroes of Time is strategy without click-race and adventure without classic turn lockstep. You move a hero, scout roads, collect relics, build towns, and fight when it matters.
You do not manage timelines directly. You choose destinations. The game previews action points, route cost, risk, pressure, and blockers. The timeline system is the referee behind the map.
First Game Quick Start
- Choose a hero.Start with a hero, a town, a visible route, and a nearby piece of value.
- Scout a route.Look for roads, rewards, guarded sites, towns, and possible contact windows.
- Preview movement.The HUD shows AP cost, arrival, route state, pressure, and blockers before you commit.
- Take value if the route is clean.Collect the relic, clear the guard, claim the site, or move toward the next objective.
- Seal your local day.End Day commits your current hero line and checks unresolved blockers; it is not meant to be a classic everyone-waits turn.
- Resolve a claim if one appears.Challenge it, ignore/yield as an observer, start the fight if a combat bridge opens, or choose another legal map action that does not touch the blocker. Release and expiry happen by rule.
The Relic Example
Lyra sees a relic north of town. Marcus is too far away to reach it today, so Lyra moves freely.
On the next day, Marcus reaches a road that could still intercept the relic. Lyra is warned, but not stopped.
If both heroes commit to the same relic, town, road, hero, or site, the game opens a local claim on that value.
The claim can be challenged or ignored; it can expire, release, or escalate into a combat bridge. Other legal plans remain other legal plans.
Claim Decisions
The exact buttons depend on who owns the claim and whether a combat bridge is already open, but these are the current player-facing responses and outcomes.
| Choice | When to choose it | Immediate result | Long-term consequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Challenge | You are an observer and want the contested value. | Your response becomes challenged. | The claim can escalate into a pending combat bridge. |
| Ignore / yield | You do not want this local conflict as an observer. | Your response becomes ignored. | If all relevant observers ignore and the claim is not a special hold-open origin, the claim releases. |
| Let rules resolve it | The UI does not require your answer yet, or you leave the claim untouched while playing elsewhere. | The claim remains open until another response, release rule, or deterministic expiry changes it. | Unanswered observers expire when the claim expires; ignored observers can allow release. |
| Start the fight | The claim is challenged and a combat bridge is ready. | The adventure map hands off to the encounter screen. | The encounter result writes back to the map as resolved or cancelled claim state. |
| Choose another legal map action | Your current action is blocked, but another path/objective does not touch that blocker. | You avoid this local contest for now. | You may lose tempo or value, but the whole match does not become a global pause. |
Causal Fog, In Plain Terms
Once the relic example makes sense, the vocabulary becomes useful: these words separate warning, future risk, active contest, and true blockers so the UI does not lie.
| Term | Player meaning | Blocking? | Typical reaction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clean route | No active claim touches this action right now. | No | Move or take the value. |
| Pressure | A rival can threaten this route soon. | No | Continue, prepare, or choose a safer route. |
| Frontier | A future contest window exists beyond the immediate pressure slice. | Not yet | Watch the line and plan around it. |
| Claim | A specific value is already contested. | Local / actor-scoped | Challenge, ignore as an observer, fight if a bridge opens, or take another legal map action. |
| Blocker | This hero/action/day cannot proceed until the listed issue resolves. | Yes | Resolve it or take another legal action that does not touch it. |
| Causal fog | The potentiality layer around your hero: where they can reach, influence, contest, or protect. | No by itself | Use it to read where the next real contest may emerge. |
What The Screens Are Showing
Actual Game Pieces
The time rules sit on top of recognizable adventure pieces already visible in game: heroes, towns, citadels, routes, and encounter cards. Learn those first; the timeline system is the referee around them.
Adventure Systems
Movement Terrain
| Terrain | Current movement cost |
|---|---|
| Road | 1 |
| Plain | 1 |
| Forest | 2 |
| Swamp | 3 |
| Mountain, water, lava | Impassable unless a specific effect allows it. |
Resources And Economy
The current game uses a deliberately small resource set. The point is not bookkeeping for its own sake: resources ask whether you grow a town, recruit, prepare magic, or keep moving toward the next claim.
Chronicle Hall And Online Rooms
Heroes of Time is a desktop game. Chronicle Hall is the browser lobby for testers: create rooms, open invitations, claim seats, mark ready, launch, and return to the desktop client.
FAQ
Is this real-time or turn-based?
Neither in the classic sense. You play your hero on a local hero line inside one shared history, and the game interrupts only when a real local contest or blocker exists.
Can I keep playing while others are elsewhere?
Yes. If their possible future cannot contest your current path or value, your hero line stays playable.
Does pressure mean I must fight?
No. Pressure is a warning that someone can threaten a route soon. It is not yet a claim or a fight.
What is a claim?
A claim means a specific tile, route, site, hero progress, ritual, or other value is contested.
Can I refuse a claim?
If you are observing a claim, you can ignore it. If you are blocked by a claim, you can resolve it or choose another legal action that does not touch the blocker.
What does Seal the Dawn / End Day do?
It commits the current hero's local day and checks blockers, overlap, and day effects. If unresolved blockers exist, the game refuses the seal instead of silently advancing.
Can someone steal my reward by clicking faster?
Not if their hero line cannot honestly reach or contest that reward. Contests come from reach and claim law, not APM.
What happens if players are on different in-game days?
The causal frontier compares actor days and rival days. Distant lines continue; overlapping windows become pressure or claims.
Is combat random?
The current encounter rail is deterministic card and spell resolution. Your roster, hero state, town support, and choices drive the outcome.
Is Chronicle Hall the game client?
No. Chronicle Hall is the online lobby/invitation surface. The gameplay client is the desktop game.
Current catalog
Reference Catalog
This reference uses the current playable catalog. It is here for lookup after the first-game guide, not as required reading before play. Open only the family you need.
The catalog is generated from the current playable data. Core heroes are the public-facing set shown first; variants, premium entries, items, roster cards, and active actions stay folded until you choose to inspect them.
Factions
Veilwalker Guild
Scouts and shadows who walk between dimensions. They perceive timeline branches as overlapping paths and strike before enemies know they exist.
Order of Chronos
Masters of time and causality, guardians of the timeline. Their mages bend moments like clay, rewinding wounds and forking futures.
Kingdom of Avalon
Balanced kingdom with strong economy and versatile warriors. Their keeps are anchored across timelines, impossible to erase from history.
Necropolis
Fearless legion that raises the dead and spreads decay. They transform the memories of the fallen into echo-soldiers bound to their will.
Heroes
Core heroes 4
Lyra Swiftarrow
Ranger Scout
Trailwise archer who finds the road others miss and the ambush others never see.
Aldric the Wise
Chronomancer
Chronomancer who bends sequence and consequence to open paths through danger.
Sir Marcus
Knight Commander
Seasoned captain who wins by discipline, timing, and a line that does not break.
Lord Vexaris
Death Knight
Undead warlord who turns betrayal into cold, relentless conquest.
Variants 14
Seraphina Windstep
Blade Dancer
Sword-dancer who turns speed, grace, and misdirection into a killing art.
Grokæn
Quantum Entity
Triune anomaly who speaks with three wills and chooses from splintered futures.
Thorgrim Stoneheart
Dwarven Thane
Dwarven thane whose patience is as dangerous as his hammer.
Moroes the Undying
Necromancer
Necromancer who tends the dead as though they were a kingdom still listening.
Ventus
Ventus Operative
Swift guild operative built for pursuit, witness, and the first decisive strike.
Axis
Axis Operative
Chronos field agent who treats time, pressure, and position as one weapon.
Terra
Terra Operative
March commander bred for hard roads, shield walls, and victories paid in endurance.
Nyx
Nyx Operative
Shadow-bound operative who unravels rivals through fear, rumor, and precision.
Pathfinder
Scout
Scout who can turn broken country into a road for everyone behind them.
Scout of Witness
Scout
Field observer sworn to return with the truth, however costly.
Rival Warden
Warden
Chronos warden who seals breaches and punishes those who overreach.
Rival Warden
Warden
Border warden who answers trespass with law, steel, and memory.
Rival Wayfarer
Wayfarer
Restless traveler who always seems to arrive when a road becomes dangerous.
Valley Scout
Scout
Lowland ranger who knows every crossing, ridgeline, and hidden descent.
Premium and experimental 3
Samurai Ronin
Ronin Vanguard
Exiled swordmaster who reads the wind, the silence, and the instant before steel is drawn.
Bull Emperor
Bull Emperor
Ironclad tyrant whose charge breaks lines, shields, and weaker wills.
Treant Mage
Ancient Treant
Elder wood-sage who turns root, sap, and buried memory into sorcery.
Towns and economy
Avalon Keep
Veilwalker Hideout
Chronos Spire
Necropolis
Roster cards
Your army is carried by the hero roster. Cards can be recruited, injured, exhausted, recovered, and brought into encounters.
Wind Scouts
Rally Strike encounter card.
Glass Archers
Expose Strike encounter card.
Rift Adepts
Rhythm Strike encounter card.
Clockwork Guard
Guarded Strike encounter card.
Shield Bearers
Guarded Strike encounter card.
Citadel Pikes
Pierce Strike encounter card.
Shade Stalkers
Pressure Strike encounter card.
Grave Hounds
Surge Strike encounter card.
Frontier Militia
Basic Strike encounter card.
Path Sentries
Guarded Strike encounter card.
Town Militia
Basic Strike encounter card.
Watch Archers
Expose Strike encounter card.
Citadel Guard
Guarded Strike encounter card.
Skeleton Warrior
Pressure Strike encounter card.
Skeleton Mage
Rally Strike encounter card.
Treant Guardian
Guarded Strike encounter card.
Chrono Phoenix
Surge Strike encounter card.
Young Wyrm
Surge Strike encounter card.
Orc Raider
Pressure Strike encounter card.
Ghost Stalker
Pressure Strike encounter card.
Wolf Pack Alpha
Rhythm Strike encounter card.
Yeti Brute
Guarded Strike encounter card.
Bull Emperor
Pressure Strike encounter card.
Ancient Treant Guardian
Guarded Strike encounter card.
Artifacts and items
Travel items 11
Mountain Helm
Lets a hero traverse mountains safely.
Boots of Levitation
Lets a hero float over mountain ridges.
Forester's Treads
Soft-soled boots woven from living bark. The wearer moves through swamps and forests as easily as open road.
Pendant of the Golden Dawn
A sun-shaped amulet that hums at first light. Grants a surge of vigor each dawn when camped on open ground.
Drifter's Compass
An ancient brass compass that always finds the shortest path. Guarantees a minimum daily march even through hostile terrain.
Trailrunner Boots
Travel-stained boots that make forests and marshland feel like a well-known path.
Mana Orchid Bloom
A humming bloom that resonates with keeps and towns at dawn.
Marshwalker Greaves
Waxed leather greaves that shed mud and water. Swampland feels like packed earth.
Dawn Circlet
A thin silver circlet that hums at sunrise. Grants a burst of energy when the day begins on open ground.
Windrunner Sandals
Light sandals woven with wind-thread. The wearer always covers ground, no matter how rough the road.
Mountain Guide's Map
A creased parchment charting every pass, ledge, and goat trail through the high peaks.
Portal items 3
Portal Sigil
Unlocks the world's linked portal network.
Town Portal
Attunes the hero to owned towns and keeps for anchor intel and teleportation.
Pocket Portal
A folded anchor gate that snaps the bearer back to a stored beacon.
Fog items 6
Quantum Monocle
A cracked lens that catches the nearest hostile echo before the eye can see it.
Volcanic Focus
A shard-tuned focus prepared for future world-mutation rites.
Drake Whelp Charm
A tiny fang-talisman that sharpens the bearer’s instincts in dangerous fog.
Chrono Bloom Petal
A petal that remembers nearby timelines and sharpens local temporal sight.
Farseer's Spyglass
A collapsible brass spyglass ground from temporal glass. Pierces fog to reveal what others cannot.
Scout's Cloak
A mottled cloak that blends with fog and shadow. Extends sight when the world hides itself.
Combat items 14
Ironbound Cuirass
Layered plates of star-iron over blessed chainmail. Absorbs the brunt of every blow in battle.
Phantom Cloak
A shimmering mantle that blurs the wearer's outline. The first strike in any encounter barely connects.
Conqueror's Seal
A signet ring that grows warmer with each victory. The wearer strikes harder for every rival previously defeated.
Survivor Charm
A stubborn charm that knits the bearer back together after a hard-won fight.
Healing Blossom Essence
A fragrant blossom extract that helps a hero recover after a victorious encounter.
Sword of Valor
A broad-bladed sword carried by champions who never learned to retreat. The bearer fights harder when cornered.
Shield of the Sentinel
A tower shield etched with watchtower sigils. The bearer absorbs punishment that would break lesser guards.
Warhorn of Command
A brass horn that rallies troops into formation before the first blow falls.
Frost Ward Amulet
A pale-blue gem set in frozen silver. The first blow in each encounter barely registers.
Bloodstone Pendant
A dark red stone that drinks in the heat of battle and returns it as mending after victory.
Veteran's Medallion
A tarnished medal awarded for campaigns survived. Each defeated rival sharpens the bearer's instinct.
Champion's Gauntlet
An armored gauntlet lined with war-runes. The bearer's counterstrike is devastating.
Tower Shield
A full-body shield of reinforced oak and iron. Reduces incoming damage to a dull ache.
Rallying Banner
A battle-worn banner that saps the courage of those who face it. Enemy morale falters at the sight.
Economy items 3
Bastion Ring
A fortress signet that hardens the bearer whenever walls, towers, or town stones stand nearby.
Prospector Kit
Field tools for opening crystal seams, ore veins and sulfur beds safely.
Keep Master's Signet
A signet ring of a castle lord. Stone walls and garrison towers answer the bearer's presence.
Passive items 7
Watcher Lantern
A patient lantern that reads ghost traces, hidden paths, and temporal anomalies without lying about reach.
Veil Breaker
A hooked prism that tears a narrow passage through the Veil for a single step.
Anchor Beacon
A brass spike used to pin a personal temporal anchor into the current tile.
Herbalist Tools
Field tools for planting and harvesting stable medicinal herbs.
Chrono Seed Pouch
A sealed pouch of seeds that can be planted on an earlier revision of the main timeline.
Alchemy Satchel
A satchel of retorts, crucibles and seals for Doctor Stone style reactions.
Drake Brood Satchel
A rune-stitched satchel for carrying brood sigils, warming sand, and hatch hooks.
Spells and active actions
Many relics and hero powers appear as active actions: movement tricks, fog readings, claim tools, temporal moves, plant and reaction work, and world-shaping rituals.
Town Portal
Teleport to an owned town or keep anchor.
Fortify
Emit a defensive spatial claim on the current tile.
Sabotage
Disrupt an adjacent enemy core-hold objective.
Wind Reading
Sweep a nearby lane to expose pressure, blockers, traces, and contestable ground until reveal.
Fog Whisper
Read nearby traces around a target tile with honest local reveal only.
Causal Lantern
Illuminate pressure and frontier timing around a target tile without changing claim law.
Time Skip
Skip ahead to a nearby legal tile along a bounded causal lane.
Open Convergence
Open a temporal convergence window with a hero from another day.
Rollback Self
Rewind the focused hero to an explicit sealed historical reference on the main timeline.
Summon Echo
Summon a bounded temporal clone from an explicit sealed historical reference.
Watcher Lantern
Reveal nearby ghost traces and temporal anomalies.
Anchor Beacon
Store the hero's current tile as a temporal anchor.
Pocket Portal
Shift back to the hero's stored temporal anchor.
Veil Breaker
Open a temporary Veil passage on a nearby tile.
Conjure Lava River
Channel a contested ritual that carves a persistent lava river.
Summon Lava Surge
Channel a contested ritual that raises temporary lava before reversion.
Ice Wall
Channel a contested ritual that seals a temporary wall across a lane.
Elevation
Raise a ridge along a chosen ritual path to reshape movement pressure.
Erosion
Carve down terrain along a ritual path and flatten hostile posture.
Biome Paint
Repaint a lane into hostile biome pressure as a contested ritual.
Temporal Rift
Tear a contested rift lane that bends terrain and timing pressure.
Dispel Trace
Collapse unstable local reveals around a tile without changing claim law.
Plant Healing Blossom
Plant a healing blossom on a fertile nearby tile.
Plant Mana Orchid
Plant a mana orchid on a fertile nearby tile.
Plant Chrono Bloom
Plant a chrono bloom at an explicit past world reference or on the live timeline.
Harvest Plant
Harvest a mature plant standing on the tile.
Extract Material
Extract a ready material node while standing on it.
Distill Mana Solution
Start a mana distillation reaction at an alchemy lab.
Smelt Temporal Ingot
Start a refining reaction at a frontier refinery.
Catalyze Reaction
Feed a catalyst into an active reaction to shorten its maturation.
Harvest Reaction
Harvest a ready reaction while standing on its site.
Lay Amber Drake Egg
Place an amber drake egg now or on an earlier revision of the main timeline.
Lay Cinder Drake Egg
Place a cinder drake egg now or on an earlier revision of the main timeline.
Hatch Egg
Secure and hatch a ready egg while standing on its tile.