Welcome to the world of the Great Pylon, a world of Sorcery and Witchcraft, a world of Combat and Chivalry, a world of Monsters and Danger. Jovima the Mage is master of this mystical land. His many wonderful Treasures lie waiting throughout his realm, each guarded by a perilous adversary of unique powers. Jovima challenges each wayfarer to dare the Trial by Pylon, a trial in which you risk your very life to attain some of his wealth and powers.

Whether you are a Novice, a Warrior, or a Sorcerer, the elements of chance are always testing your skills. A simple treasure hunt can easily become a fight for survival. Up to six players may confront Jovima in their quest for fortune.

—publisher description

An independently produced hack-and-slash fantasy card game. Per the rulebook, the first edition was limited to 5000 numbered copies. Some or all of these first edition copies were signed by the designer and artists. It does not appear any subsequent editions were published.

Three "levels" of play are available: Novice, Warrior, and Sorcerer. The Novice level is a solitaire game that allows a player to become familiarized with the Location, Weapon, Treasure, and Peril (monster) cards. Warrior level challenges the players to be the one who escapes the realm with the greatest amount of treasure. To win at the Sorcerer level, a player must exit the realm with Jovima's four most precious treasures, thereby becoming an Adept at the Trial by Pylon.

The game includes six characters, each of which has a special points advantage in regards to some or all of the "Perils" that will be encountered in the realm. Players switch to a different character if the one the player started with is killed off.

Character, Weapon, Location, and Peril cards are randomly distributed at start, and during the game by drawing from the respective decks. Players use their character's special advantage, along with weapons possessed by the character, to overcome the peril found at a location in order to win the treasure being guarded by the peril. Combat is a straight comparison of the Power number for the weapon used by the character, plus any character bonuses, against the Strength value of the Peril card, adjusted for the Location when applicable (classes of monsters are stronger when in certain locations, or sometimes weaker). The Weapon card is discarded after use.

Treasures can be used to buy weapons, and sometimes to bribe a peril. Escape cards allow a player to successfully avoid a peril, or perhaps end the Trial by Pylon - but beware the appearance of Jovima, who can bring your quest to a sudden conclusion!

Trial by Pylon is not solely a dungeon-crawling adventure. The locations depicted on the cards range from wilderness venues, to rooms that might be found in a palace or castle, to elements of a cavern or dungeon complex - making the journey a varied, abstracted, and somewhat random one!

—user summary

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