Spellsource takes place on the islands of the Lung Archipelago in a medieval fantasy setting. Outside the archipelago lies the The Mainland (also known as the Old World or just the Lotus Empire, its principle civilization).

Important locations include Pearl Colony, the principle settlement of the humans, and Moromah Island, the largest island of the archipelago. Mount Moromah is the geographic location of the largest city on the island, Atumjun. Its most unusual gateway is the Demongate. Another large city is Gramlot.

A power struggle began among the Dragovians, the dominant race on the islands. Their Emperor has fallen into a deep sleep of magical origins, and the various tribes of the Dragovians suspect each other of betraying the throne. Meanwhile, humans have made First Contact with their arrival to the islands, as foretold by the Vision of Landfall.

• Shun He, the Grand Alchemist of the Lotus Empire.
• Princess Briila, the Former High Priestess.
• Faloran, the Ninja.
• Inora Ithkal, the Healer.
• Paucha, the Goddess of Madness.

• Dragovians: Dominant race of the islands, their gargantuan ancestors (think dragon meets dinosaur) built temples and cities before mysteriously disappearing.
• Humans: The dominant race in the outside world, they are led by an eccentric and ruthless explorer to the Lung islands in hope of finding the source of all magic.
• Hengeyokai: Intelligent shapeshifting animals. They can shapeshift from a full animal form to a bipedal humanoid animal form at will. They can also speak to animals.
• Oni: An ogre-like race of demons. They were meant to guard the threshold between the material world and the spirit, but then some escaped to our world and settled.
• Fae: Earlier human "settlers" of the islands, they are imbued with natural magic and come in blue (sea) and green (land) varieties. They are nomadic and live in small tribes.

(A more detailed description can be found here.)

Players combat each other using cards in a one-versus-one matchup until one of the player's champions is destroyed.

Each player starts the match by choosing which cards to discard from their initial hand (the Mulligan). Then, one of the two players takes his first turn, while the other receives a bonus Mana card called the coin.

At the start of each turn, players gain 1 mana, up to 10. This mana is spent playing cards.

Some cards can put minions on the board. Minions have an attack value (the lower left number) and a health (the lower right number). At the start of the next turn, minions can attack opposing minions or the opposing hero, dealing and taking damage. Minions whose health goes below zero are destroyed.

Some minions and spells accept targets when they are played. For a minion, this is typically part of an "Opener," or action played from the hand.

Text comes "into play" as soon as both players see it. This is typically on the battlefield, or the two rows (yours and your opponent's) of minions, the champions, the weapons they have equipped, and the Skill.

The weapon is a bonus item that grants your champion the ability to attack.

The Skill is a spell that is playable once per turn specific to your champion.