Tumbleweed Tactics (BETA) - drop in/out western combat and teambuilding

Delzhand · January 2022

Howdy, stranger.

You're here, either by chance or by invitation, to take a look at a project what's been in the works for a little while now. It's a healthy mix-up of spaghetti westerns, tactical RPGs, and a good dose of genre-bending magic. But it needs to be put through its paces, and that's where you come in. You see, this is the story of a frontier-dweller named River Cartwright who volunteers for a dangerous mission to leave the safety of home behind and find out what's happened to a bunch of maybe-magical kids. Along the way they'll gain allies and enemies aplenty, but when it comes time to throw down, you're gonna take the reins and choose where River and their allies go and what actions they take. In between scuffles, you'll choose how they'll grow, and who else joins the rag-tag group.

JOB LIST: http://chaos-quest.com/frontier/jobs.html

Errata and Clarifications

Movement and action can happen in any order
Units level up on reaching 100xp. Stat growth is applied immediately. 15 XP is earned for taking action against/supporting a target of equal level, 25 XP XP is earned for actions above level, and 10 XP is earned below level
Most status effects, including berserk, will only affect a unit once, and clear at the end of the affected unit's turn
The same status effect can be applied to extend the duration, but does not increase the effect. X Up and X Down status effects overwrite each other, even if an effect is extended
stacking status effects only applies to fixed-duration statuses, so no shield stacking. Shield will never give more temp HP than 20% of max HP. Reusing Shield on a target will refresh their Shield
Horses move freely in combat (even during another unit's turn) and will always attempt to evade damage. If unable to evade and they take damage, they will flee
Guardian's Defend ability can be used on enemies
Arrow Shot is LOS, so you can't shoot over obstacles
Creature enemies have a POW stat instead of STR and SKL
HP Up restores 10% of Max HP at the start of a unit's next turn. Happens even if the unit has the Stop status, but not if unit is KOd.
LCK Up increases luck by 3. Luck affects critical chance and some other things
ATK Up increases all damage dealt by 20% on the unit's next turn
Berserk means the unit MUST make an aggressive action (attack or inflict bad status) on the closest enemy. Units that cannot do so (like Brewer) are immune
QUICK grants the Ready status to a unit, however, Pep Tonic cannot be used on units that are not KOd.
There are no opportunity attacks
When recruiting new allies, Raw LCK/STR/SKL vary from 51-60, Raw HP varies from 91-100

Delzhand · January 2022

"Hey River!"

From your front door you watched Dylan come up the dirt road, kicking up tiny clouds of dust with each step. You didn't move, you didn't tip your hat,and despite Dylan's dopey grin, you didn't stop scowling.

How this boy managed to always make the wrong decision and say the wrong thing, you didn't know. Must've been cursed at birth. But here he was again, when any smart person would have been giving you time to enjoy your last night here in peace and quiet.

He clattered up the front steps with his awkward teenage gait. Moving only your eyes, you looked down at his boots and then back at his face.

"Oh, right."

He kicked this porch post, knocking the dust off his boots. You turned and walked inside, and he followed. The door banged shut on uneven hinges, rattling your last nerve.

"Dylan."

"Yeah?"

"What'd I tell you last time about minding the door?"

"Darn, I'm sorry, River. I forgot."

You sighed. You ought to have fixed that hinge long ago anyway.

"I heard you're going west tomorrow. I wanted to come say good luck before you left."

At least the kid's heart was in the right place.

"I figured I could stay here while you're gone. You know, keep the place up for you."

Ah, there was his angle, you thought. Well, what the hell. No sense letting the place go to seed. Who knew when you'd be back.

You nodded in silent assent.

"Great! You won't regret it, River! Maybe I'll even fix that door you're always complaining about!"

Like straw jammed under your fingernails, this kid.

He continued jabbering about business in town, and you slowly tuned him out as you went about putting together supplies for the journey. You'd need to stop at the general store before setting out with your new companions. They were a motley crew, but each of them had skills that'd come in handy. A shame none of you owned a Gun. Having one of those legendary relics that could turn the tide against any danger the frontier threw at you sure would be nice. But, you supposed, even if you had a Gun, you'd have to find one of the Sisters of Sunset to uncurse it, or the thing'd just be liable to explode in your hand. Ain't no frontier magic to regrow one of those.

It has been a full year since the Procession passed through your dusty settlement. A caravan of wagons, horses, and motorbikes, all devoted to the task of seeing the potential Aguadores to the temple of the western coast. In a normal decade, the chosen youth would have assumed the mantle of Gran Aguador and returned back via the same path, blessing the settlements, towns, and farms with life-giving water.

But they never returned. The mystical flow that feeds the settlements' wells and reservoirs has begun to slow, and if a new Gran Aguador is not found and returned to the temple of the eastern coast, it's only a matter of time before the land becomes inhospitable. The mayor called a town hall meeting, seeking volunteers to travel west and learn what has happened. You are one of those volunteers.

Hold up. Before we get any further, what kind of person is River? (Don't forget to check the Jobs List: http://chaos-quest.com/frontier/jobs.html )

Brawler
Hunter
Butcher
Brewer
Shadow
Harvester
Switchblade
Witch
Flowerchild
Totema
Guardian
Peacemaker

Delzhand · January 2022

Invites:
@mrpaku
@see317
@endless_serpents
@mojo_jojo
@discrider
@tiphareth
@zekebeau
@cj_iwakura
@whelk
@mnc_dover
@darmak
@elvenshae
@tox
@bursar
@enlong
@polaritie
@bahamutzero
@andy_joe
@maddoc
@Opty

If you're wondering why you're on this list, it's a handful of people I thought would enjoy a tactical combat rpg. If you like Wild Arms, or the Dark Tower, or FF Tactics, you'll probably be in good company. Or even if you just like testing out game systems to find their weak points, that's cool, too! If it's not your bag, no worries! Also, I've designed this to be drop in/out, so anyone can participate at any time. Regardless, thanks for putting your eyeballs on this, and if there's anyone else you think might be interested, feel free to point them this way!

mrpaku · January 2022

I vote Brewer! It's probably not the most glamorous or badass choice for your main character, but some of my favorite playthroughs of Final Fantasy Tactics were the ones where Ramza never intentionally killed, and mainly just sat in the middle of the group as Support using Yell and Cheer Up while the rest of the party absolutely steamrolled everybody

mrpaku · January 2022

I could see Flowerchild and Totema being a lot of fun, too. And Harvester seems like a pretty good "safe" choice, with the long reach attacks and the built-in healing

Darmak · January 2022

Yeah, I like mrpaku's idea of River being a good support

see317 · January 2022

River is a bloody handed butcher.
They'll take the jobs that nobody else wants, and leave a pile of bodies before the job is done.

discrider · January 2022

Got to be a Harvester/Reaper
Can't tend the fields without water.

mrpaku · January 2022

Delzhand, what's our max party size gonna cap off at? 4-5?

Is there gonna be navigating/utilizing terrain, cover, water hazards and exploding barrels, that sort of thing on the battle maps?

Do we get to fight chupacabras and giant scorpions and stuff like that too, or is it mainly other people/classes we would be preparing for?

Delzhand · February 2022

You'll be able to recruit as many people as you can afford! That said, typically on the battlefield you should expect to be limited to 4 or 5 allies, give or take a few story-mandated characters.

There will be cover and impassable terrain, you may find yourselves having to contend with other environmental variables. Horses will be in play for certain, as may be other modes of conveyance. In the course of the journey you might find a Gun, which, if circumstances allow, will permanently grant a character a powerful combat ability subject to a few rules I'll talk about when it becomes relevant.

I haven't given much though to chupacabras specifically, but there are weird creatures on the frontier, giant scorpions are almost certainly involved. If this story goes on long enough, you'll meet folks from the Way of the Bison, the Coffin Riders, the Canis Camisada, and more!

Also, you'll not long be alone in your journey, the upcoming tutorial battle will see you encounter your first ally in a 2v2, and from there you'll take your pick of randomized "generics" to fill out your ranks. There are no restrictions on job changing, save that it can't be done during battle, so should it turn out that your party lacks the right combination to prevail, it's a simple matter to change up your formation and try again.

Elvenshae · February 2022

I agree with Brewer!

Plus, Rough Draught deserves recognition.

Delzhand · February 2022

Brewer it is! Let's keep things moving along!

Here are the rules: Turns alternate between friend and foe. Everyone on a given side has to take a turn before the same unit can go again. When one side outnumbers the other, this may not always line up. That means that even when you face a single enemy, the action economy is balanced. Units that are at 0 HP are included, so a lone survivor will still be heavily disadvantaged.

Single black lines block movement, double black lines block line of sight. X'd out tiles can't be occupied but don't block line of sight. Orange tiles are enemies. Blue tiles are allies. Green tiles are neutral.

Horse Behavior: Horses move freely in combat (even during another unit's turn) and will always attempt to evade damage. If unable to evade and they take damage, they will flee.

Units:
River (Brewer) Lv 2|0xp
HP 127 | LUCK 7 | STR 7 | SKL 7 | MOV 3 | EVD 5%
Status: Good, Ready

Emma Mae (Guardian) Lv 2|0xp
HP 157 | LUCK 6 | STR 7 | SKL 6 | MOV 4 | EVD 0%
Status: Good, Ready

Everett (Brawler) Lv 2|0xp
HP 142 | LUCK 6 | STR 7 | SKL 7 | MOV 4 | EVD 5%
Status: Good, Ready

Cole (Switchblade) Lv 2|0xp
HP 100 | LUCK 8 | STR 6 | SKL 7 | MOV 5 | EVD 20%
Status: Good, Ready

You'll give me a few things:
1. The allied character to move. This character must have the Ready status.
2. A movement target tile. A unit's MOV determines how many tiles they can move. No diagonals.
3. An action. Each class has 3 unique actions. If the actions requires a target or the target isn't clear based on your position, specify what tile to target. If an ability specifies a "5 tile area", it's a cross shape. A "9 tile area" is a 3x3 square.

Movement and action can happen in any order. You don't need to roll any dice. I'll show the results of all math.

A few extra notes on Brewer Abilities and Status Effects in general:
* HP Up restores 10% of Max HP at the start of a unit's next turn. Happens even if the unit has the Stop status, but not if unit is KOd.
* LCK Up increases luck by 3. Luck affects critical chance and some other things
* ATK Up increases all damage dealt by 20% on the unit's next turn
* Berserk means the unit MUST make an aggressive action (attack or inflict bad status) on the closest enemy. Units that cannot do so (like Brewer) are immune
* QUICK grants the Ready status to a unit, however, Pep Tonic cannot be used on units that are not KOd.

I'll choose one person's post at semi-random, trying to keep an equitable distribution of inputs.

You go first. I'll answer any questions. Let's get this ball rolling!

mrpaku · February 2022

How long does the "Beserk" status last?

Delzhand · February 2022

Most status effects, including berserk, will only affect a unit once, and clear at the end of the affected unit's turn.

Elvenshae · February 2022

Horse Behavior: Horses move freely in combat (even during another unit's turn) and will always attempt to evade damage. If unable to evade and they take damage, they will flee.

Does a horse fleeing through an opponent do anything to them?

mrpaku · February 2022

IMO the best current course of action would be to back River and Emma both into the Barn for safety (H2+H3, or H5+H6), force Cole and Everett to bottleneck up just past the fence so that Cole's Grapple is of limited use and the only way River can get hit is with a Knife Toss (and to avoid flanking), and then use the "Rough Draught" to have Emma Mae wail on whoever ends up in front of her, while River is behind to drop a heal for any hits she might take. This should keep River from getting exposed, and should cut the chances of Emma Mae accidentally getting kicked in the head by a horse down significantly

mrpaku · February 2022

Does an enemy get an Attack of Opportunity if you flee out of their reach from an adjacent square, or vice-versa?

Delzhand · February 2022

Horses will always move away from people engaged in combat and will not attack. They're more environmental considerations - think of them as mobile unoccupiable tiles. If by some chance a horse's only flight route is through a person, living people will instinctively let them pass, because physics.

There are no opportunity attacks.

Elvenshae · February 2022

Okay, so "Operation: Charge the Horses through Our Foes" is out.

Whelk · February 2022

Who takes first turn? I think Emma should use Toughen Up if it's us.

mrpaku · February 2022

Our turn first: either Emma or River, but whoever we don't use now will be up next in the queue

Delzhand · February 2022

Whelk, I'm gonna assume the intent is for Emma Mae to use Shield and then hold position instead of moving.

Emma Mae uses Toughen Up!
River gains a 24 HP Shield.
Emma Mae gains a 30 HP Shield.
Emma Mae gains 15 XP.

Cole moves to D6.
Cole uses Knife Throw on River (26).
River's Shield absorbs 24 HP and is lost. River loses 2 HP.
Cole gains 15 XP.

River (Brewer) Lv 2|0xp
HP 125 | LUCK 7 | STR 7 | SKL 7 | MOV 3 | EVD 5%
Status: Good, Ready

Emma Mae (Guardian) Lv 2|15xp
HP 157 | LUCK 6 | STR 7 | SKL 6 | MOV 4 | EVD 0%
Status: Good, Waiting, Shield (30)

Everett (Brawler) Lv 2|0xp
HP 142 | LUCK 6 | STR 7 | SKL 7 | MOV 4 | EVD 5%
Status: Good, Ready

Cole (Switchblade) Lv 2|15xp
HP 100 | LUCK 8 | STR 6 | SKL 7 | MOV 5 | EVD 20%
Status: Good, Waiting

mrpaku · February 2022

My vote would be for River to drop a "Rough Draught" on Emma Mae, then have him back up to H3 to get out of throwing knife range/still staying close by enough to Emma that he can sneak back and drop a cure on her next turn

Everett the Brawler has to close the distance to her to do anything at all, so even with her Beserk next turn, she'd still be able to roadblock the fence and barn area

Delzhand · February 2022

River uses Rough Draught on Emma Mae!
Emma Mae gains LCK Up.
Emma Mae gains ATK Up.
Emma Mae is afflicted by Berserk.
River moves to H3.
River gains 15 XP.

Everett uses Bull Rush on Emma Mae!
Bull Rush moves Everett to E4.
Emma Mae's Shield absorbs 30 HP and is lost. Emma Mae loses 29 HP. 
Emma Mae loses LCK Up.
Emma Mae is afflicted by LCK Down.
Everett gains 15 XP.

River (Brewer) Lv 2|15xp
HP 125 | LUCK 7 | STR 7 | SKL 7 | MOV 3 | EVD 5%
Status: Ready

Emma Mae (Guardian) Lv 2|15xp
HP 128 | LUCK 6 | STR 7 | SKL 6 | MOV 4 | EVD 0%
Status: Ready, Berserk, LCK Down, ATK Up

Everett (Brawler) Lv 2|15xp
HP 142 | LUCK 6 | STR 7 | SKL 7 | MOV 4 | EVD 5%
Status: Ready

Cole (Switchblade) Lv 2|15xp
HP 100 | LUCK 8 | STR 6 | SKL 7 | MOV 5 | EVD 20%
Status: Ready

* I'm removing "Good" as a status because it isn't useful

Elvenshae · February 2022

So Emma Mae should Crushing Blow Everett now, right?

Delzhand · February 2022

Oh, that reminds me - I forgot something:

Victory Condition: Everett is reduced to 50% HP
Failure Condition: River is reduced to 50% HP

If the condition was to defeat all enemies, as is common in these types of games, it'd take all day with only a healer and tank.

Elvenshae · February 2022

Delzhand wrote: »

Oh, that reminds me - I forgot something:

Victory Condition: Everett is reduced to 50% HP
Failure Condition: River is reduced to 50% HP

If the condition was to defeat all enemies, as is common in these types of games, it'd take all day with only a healer and tank.

I was juggling some numbers, and was afraid that we were going to have a rough time of things assuming the attacks that have been dished out so far are average. Glad to see that we don't actually have to achieve total victory.

Delzhand · February 2022

Knife Throw is on the lower end of damage, so that's not typical. Bull Rush is fairly beefy. My benchmark math is that two equal level brawlers will haymaker each other for about 40% of max HP. I'm at work right now so I can't do the next post, but I think that Emma Mae's Crushing Blow's base damage will be 49, plus 10 (20% from ATK Up), and she's got a 6% crit rate (-3% from LUCK Down) for double damage.

Endless_Serpents · February 2022

Looks like I’m late to the party. I’ll read up and get in on this tomorrow.

Delzhand · February 2022

Emma Mae uses Crushing Blow on Everett!
Everett loses 67 HP.
Emma Mae's ATK Up, LCK Down, and Berserk fade.
Emma Mae gains 15 XP.

Cole moves to F5.
Cole uses Disarm on Emma Mae!
Emma Mae loses 37 HP.
Emma Mae is afflicted with ATK Down.
Cole gains 15 XP.

River (Brewer) Lv 2|15xp
HP 125 | LUCK 7 | STR 7 | SKL 7 | MOV 3 | EVD 5%
Status: Ready

Emma Mae (Guardian) Lv 2|30xp
HP 91 | LUCK 6 | STR 7 | SKL 6 | MOV 4 | EVD 0%
Status: Waiting, ATK Down

Everett (Brawler) Lv 2|15xp
HP 75 | LUCK 6 | STR 7 | SKL 7 | MOV 4 | EVD 5%
Status: Ready

Cole (Switchblade) Lv 2|30xp
HP 100 | LUCK 8 | STR 6 | SKL 7 | MOV 5 | EVD 20%
Status: Waiting

* Units level up on reaching 100xp. Stat growth is applied immediately. 15 XP is earned for taking action against/supporting a target of equal level, 25 XP XP is earned for actions above level, and 10 XP is earned below level.

* The same status effect can be applied to extend the duration, but does not increase the effect. X Up and X Down status effects overwrite each other, even if an effect is extended.

mrpaku · February 2022

IMO: Send River to peek around the corner of the barn (H4) and toss a "Smooth Medicine" out to Emma Mae, the toughest little lady in this whole darn town

discrider · February 2022

Looks like we only need to land another hit on Everett to win, so River should probably just use Smooth Medicine on Emma.
Whether we need to move LOS to do that, I'm not sure.
Can probably move backwards into the I/J column that doesn't exist to maintain distance from the switchblade, if we are forced to break cover.

Delzhand · February 2022

River moves to H4.
River uses Smooth Medicine on Emma Mae!
Emma Mae gains 47 HP.
Emma Mae gains HP Up.
River gains 15 XP.

Everett uses Haymaker on Emma Mae!
Emma Mae loses 49 HP.
Emma Mae is afflicted with SKL Down.
Everett gains 15 XP.

River (Brewer) Lv 2|30xp
HP 125 | LUCK 7 | STR 7 | SKL 7 | MOV 3 | EVD 5%
Status: Ready

Emma Mae (Guardian) Lv 2|30xp
HP 89 | LUCK 6 | STR 7 | SKL 6 | MOV 4 | EVD 0%
Status: Ready, ATK Down, HP Up, SKL Down

Everett (Brawler) Lv 2|30xp
HP 75 | LUCK 6 | STR 7 | SKL 7 | MOV 4 | EVD 5%
Status: Ready

Cole (Switchblade) Lv 2|30xp
HP 100 | LUCK 8 | STR 6 | SKL 7 | MOV 5 | EVD 20%
Status: Ready

Elvenshae · February 2022

Crushing Blow on Everett again!

Delzhand · February 2022

Figured you might say that. I'll spare you the technicalities, exceptin' that Emma Mae bags herself 15 more XP.

Everett lay face up in the dust, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, breathing heavily. Emma Mae rolled her shoulders.

"Come on, you lout. This ain't River's fault."

Cole watched uneasily as you pulled his knife from your wall.

"I think this is yours." You threw it at his feet, where it buried itself in the dirt.

Dylan poked his head out of your front door. The kid seemed excited at the prospect of new gossip.

Everett raised himself sluggishly to a sitting position and wiped his lip.

"Hell's bells, sis. It was just a joke. You didn't have to rattle my cage so hard."

"Are jokes not funny where you're from?" Dylan shouted.

Nobody paid him any mind. Emma Mae extended a hand and helped Everett to his feet.

"You're a cheat and a liar, Everett. You were looking for any reason to scrap with River." She shook her head. "This wasn't how I wanted to spend my last night in town."

So Emma Mae had volunteered as well. The mayor said he talked to a few people beforehand, it didn't surprise you that Emma Mae was one of them. She was good people. Well liked, quick to offer a helping hand, maybe a touch prone to involve herself in other people's business unasked, but there were worse qualities in a person. How she and her brother turned out so differently, you'd never know.

You watched as that brother dusted himself off pointlessly and took the reins of his horse. He gave you a toothy grin from under that bushy moustache.

"You take good care of my sister out there, River, or there'll be hell to pay when you come back!"

He saddled up, and Cole mutely followed his lead. A few seconds later, they were off back towards town.

"Any notion who else is riding?"

River (Brewer) Lv 2|30xp
HP 127 | LUCK 7 | STR 7 | SKL 7 | MOV 3 | EVD 5%

Emma Mae (Guardian) Lv 2|45xp
HP 157 | LUCK 6 | STR 7 | SKL 6 | MOV 4 | EVD 0%

Elvenshae · February 2022

We have a healer and a tank; 2 classes capable of doing damage?

I’m thinking Maxwell as a Skill-based class + one other; or Lydia and Grace for the high Luck.

Whelk · February 2022

Maxwell as a Hunter. Grace as a something else?

mrpaku · February 2022

I vote Grace as a Totema. I'll bet you could get some insane synergy going between an Aggressive Totema with a Defensive Guardian just at their back

Delzhand · February 2022

* Rule clarification - stacking status effects only applies to fixed-duration statuses, so no shield stacking. Shield will never give more temp HP than 20% of max HP. Reusing Shield on a target will refresh their Shield. When I get a break from work I'll check to see if there are any other noteworthy exceptions.

mrpaku · February 2022

Delzhand wrote: »

* Rule clarification - stacking status effects only applies to fixed-duration statuses, so no shield stacking. Shield will never give more temp HP than 20% of max HP. Reusing Shield on a target will refresh their Shield. When I get a break from work I'll check to see if there are any other noteworthy exceptions.

*Cowboy angrily throws hat into the dirt*

Well, that immediately becomes a less attractive option

Alright, so with that additional info, I think I'd vote we either to take a Butcher or Harvester as another solid damage dealer, or to get weird with it and take a Witch, or even a Flowerchild. The Witch has some good distance Skill attacks, and "Misfire" seems like it would be incredibly useful, and the Flowerchild had a Mass-Heal, another Raise skill, and "Heartbreaker" feels like it could be a gamebreaker

Endless_Serpents · February 2022

Wild West Witch. It just sounds good.

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Tumbleweed Tactics (BETA) - drop in/out western combat and teambuilding

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