{{nihongo, Blade of Arcana, ブレイド・オブ・アルカナ is a Japanese language
epic fantasy
High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, Pl ...
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
released in 1999. Its setting is similar to
medieval Europe
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, including a strong church of
monotheism
Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford ...
,
religious war
A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...
s and
knight-errant
A knight-errant (or knight errant) is a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature. The adjective '' errant'' (meaning "wandering, roving") indicates how the knight-errant would wander the land in search of adventures to prove his chivalric ...
s.
Player characters, called ''Engraveds'' have engraved on their bodies the three
stigmata
Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet.
Stigm ...
s of 22 ''Arcaeus'' (apostles of the light) and can use ''
miracle
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
s'' three times every a session. There are 22 classes (called ''arcanas'') corresponding to
Major Arcana
The Major Arcana are the named or numbered cards in a cartomantic tarot pack, the name being originally given by occultists to the trump cards of a normal tarot pack used for playing card games. There are usually 22 such cards in a standard 78-car ...
of
tarot divination
Tarot card reading is a form of cartomancy whereby practitioners use tarot cards to purportedly gain insight into the past, present or future. They formulate a question, then draw cards to interpret them for this end. A traditional tarot deck con ...
. The names of arcanas are same as Arcaeus' ones and named with
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, for example: ''Mater'' (clergy), ''Adamas'' (knight), ''Dextra'' (alchemist) and ''Ignis'' (archer). Players choose three arcanas during character creation. Three arcanas represent character's past, present and future. For instance, he might have lost the throne in the past if his past arcana is ''Corona'' (represent royal). In contrast, He may have the destiny that he will ascend to the throne if his future arcana is ''Corona''.
The person who has more than three stigmatas is called ''Marauder'' and slain by ''Engraveds'' because he has the
sin
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
of arrogance and unbelief. But every player character also will become ''Marauder'' if his Dignity Point (DP) is lost. At the game's climax, Marauders always shout that ''"Dedicate Stigmata! We shall hold Lammas tonight."'' as a traditional statement.
The game system uses only 20 sided dice and special tarot cards.
Peculiar settings
*The pope of ''Ostia Sinistralic'' that is the most traditional sect is a woman, and a lot of clergy are also women. The messiah called Mater and her nine apostles were also women. Nine apostles are often taken
falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.
Adult falcons ...
s that run after the person as an analogy. Because the messiah's mother was a falconer.
*There are many demon lords are hostile to God. The strongest demon lord is ''Aerglyph lex thunderous''. He is blind in one eye and has infinite wisdom. Obviously Aerglyph is modeled on the Norse God
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...