Circle of the Moon
The Dual Set-Up System, abbreviated DSS in game, is a gameplay mechanic introduced in Circle of the Moon. The game's protagonist, Nathan Graves, can collect magical cards, and combine their effects for a variety of magical abilties, from changing his whip into different weapons to summoning creatures to attack.
To create a DSS effect, Nathan must possess at least one Action card and one Attribute card. They are dropped from specific enemies, and once obtained, are never lost or used up. DSS effects consume MP, some per use of the skill and some by the amount of time the skill is deployed.
The cards, their effects, and their locations are as follows:
Action Cards:
Mercury, the messenger of the gods. Has the potential of strength. Alters the whip's element and attack power. Location: Catacomb, from a Bone Head attached to the ceiling.
Venus, goddess of love and beauty. Has the potential of enhancement. Raises Nathan's base statistics. Location: Catacomb, Abyss Corridor, Audience Room, from a Slime.
Jupiter, god of the heavens and the leader of Olympus. Has the potential of defense. Creates barriers of various elements. Location: Machine Tower, from a Heat Shade.
Mars, god of war. Has the potential of change. Alters Nathan's whip into other weapons. Location: Chapel Tower, from a Bloody Sword.
Diana, goddess of the moon and hunting. Has the potential of creation. Creates various projectiles thrown when Nathan swings his whip. Location: Underground Gallery, from a Man Eater.
Apollo, god of the sun, music, and prophecy. Has the potential to create explosives. Gives Nathan various abilities usable with the combination [Down, Towards, Up] + B. Location: Underground Storage, from an Arc Demon.
Neptune, god of the seas. Has the potential of healing. Makes Nathan take MP damage from elemental abilities, while recovering his HP. Location: Underground Waterway, from an Ice Armor.
Saturn, god of agriculture and the father of Jupiter. Has the potential of a familiar. Summons a familiar that follows Nathan. Most attack in tandem. Location: Outside the Battle Arena, from the Fallen Angel.
Uranus, former god of the heavens. Has the potential of summoning. Allows Nathan to summon the Attribute creatures with the combination [Down, Towards, Up] + B. Location: The Golem boss room, from a Scary Candle. Only appears after a certain point near the end of the game.
Pluto, god of the underworld. Has the potential of special. Bestows a number of strange and various effects on Nathan. Location: The Cerebus boss room, from a Trick Candle. Only appears after a certain point in the game.
Attribute Cards
Salamander. A lizard bathed in flames. Embodiment of the flame spirit Salamander. Has the power of Fire. Location: Catacombs, from a Skeleton Bomber.
Serpent. Said to be a dragon swimming in the sea. Has the power of Ice. Location: Catacombs, from an Earth Demon.
Mandragora. Represented as a humanoid with roots instead of feet. Has the power of Plants. Location: Audience Room, from an Axe Armor.
Golem. A mockery of man made from clay. Has the power of Earth. Location: Audience Room, from a Lightning Skeleton.
Cockatrice. Said to have the ability to turn things to stone. Has the power of Stone. Location: Machine Tower, from a Stone Armor.
Manticore. Said to have the body of a lion and the venomous tail of a scorpion. Has the power of Poison. Location: Machine Tower, from a Thunder Demon.
Griffin. Said to have the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. Has the power of Wind. Location: Audience Room (eastern section), from a Skeleton Athlete.
Thunderbird. Said to have been able to release lightning. Has the power of Electricity. Location: Chapel Tower, from a War Panther.
Unicorn. Said to have been white with a single holy horn on its forehead. Has the power of Light. Location: Battle Arena, from a White Armor.
Black Dog. Said to consume darkness. Has the power of Darkness. Location: Battle Arena, from a Devil Armor.