Exploring how Black Rose Wars: Rebirth uses a batch action queue mechanism to create a different kind of tactical play. You program your spells ahead of time but need to react to the other mages.
One thing I've been thinking about is the kind of *fictional situations* where programming-style mechanics make sense in a TTRPG.
Imagine two warriors locked in close-quarters combat, each pre-programming three actions in advance. Watching someone commit to a series of sword strikes only to swing at empty air because the situation changed feels a little comical. On the other hand, the same mechanic seems much more natural for spellcasters who need to chant incantations, draw magic circles, prepare rituals, or set magical traps ahead of time.
That got me wondering: could a TTRPG intentionally use both traditional turn-by-turn actions and pre-programmed actions as class-specific mechanics? For example, martial characters might react moment-to-moment during combat, while wizards, artificers, summoners, or other preparation-focused classes would plan sequences of actions in advance. It seems like an interesting way to reinforce the fantasy of different archetypes through the rules themselves.
I suppose the obvious tabletop example of preloading effects would be RoboRally (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RoboRally), which is a fantastic game at any time. But I have to admit, this game makes me think of a much older game called Waving Hands (http://www.gamecabinet.com/rules/WavingHands.html , designed by well-know designer Richard Bartle), in which mages weave a series of spells in a duel by making a series of physical gestures. That one doesn't pre-queue, but it does have a series that needs to be observed and interrupted or avoided, which leads to interesting tactical and strategic choices.
In the RPG space itself, I can't think of a lot of examples. En Garde! (https://www.engarde.co.uk) from 1975 has you plot your maneuvers in advance, which is kind of cool. Plus you don't see a lot of 17th century Parisian swashbuckling on the table much, which adds a certain level of excitement.
Burning Wheel/Mouse Guard/Torchbearer does scripted maneuver combat, which ends up being quite cool. Each exchange is a series of three volleys, which come from your maneuver set. Of the lot, I would probably suggest looking into Torchbearer (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/448193/torchbearer-2e-core-set-pdf-bundle) if it intrigues you. I find that Burning Wheel is just too much weight for not enough payoff.
It seems like i keep bringing up "You Will Die In This Place" xD but the Corpse Engineer class literally has a section called "Combat Programming" ^^ in the first round of combat, you give your corpse three commands, which will then be executed on the monster's turn from top to bottom :) [when you create your monster at the beginning of play, you choose which action(s) different body parts give you access to] (there's more stuff with Halting where the monster cannot execute its full program and either goes out of control or is completely stopped until you reprogram it; and you being able to give bonus commands if the monster is successful in executing all the actions) (oh, and only Skull actions can choose targets, if other actions require a target, for some added depth)
anyhow, fascinating article – it's really interesting to see the metaphor between programming and spellcasting being drawn so explicitly my a game. funny also because i've seen good cases made for more "wild" types of magic in ttrpgs, rather than "spell lists" and the like – flavour-wise, i definitely think i prefer the second kind :) or, rather both make for interesting lore regarding how magic works in a particular world :)! thank you for sharing <3
Great article.
One thing I've been thinking about is the kind of *fictional situations* where programming-style mechanics make sense in a TTRPG.
Imagine two warriors locked in close-quarters combat, each pre-programming three actions in advance. Watching someone commit to a series of sword strikes only to swing at empty air because the situation changed feels a little comical. On the other hand, the same mechanic seems much more natural for spellcasters who need to chant incantations, draw magic circles, prepare rituals, or set magical traps ahead of time.
That got me wondering: could a TTRPG intentionally use both traditional turn-by-turn actions and pre-programmed actions as class-specific mechanics? For example, martial characters might react moment-to-moment during combat, while wizards, artificers, summoners, or other preparation-focused classes would plan sequences of actions in advance. It seems like an interesting way to reinforce the fantasy of different archetypes through the rules themselves.
I suppose the obvious tabletop example of preloading effects would be RoboRally (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RoboRally), which is a fantastic game at any time. But I have to admit, this game makes me think of a much older game called Waving Hands (http://www.gamecabinet.com/rules/WavingHands.html , designed by well-know designer Richard Bartle), in which mages weave a series of spells in a duel by making a series of physical gestures. That one doesn't pre-queue, but it does have a series that needs to be observed and interrupted or avoided, which leads to interesting tactical and strategic choices.
In the RPG space itself, I can't think of a lot of examples. En Garde! (https://www.engarde.co.uk) from 1975 has you plot your maneuvers in advance, which is kind of cool. Plus you don't see a lot of 17th century Parisian swashbuckling on the table much, which adds a certain level of excitement.
Burning Wheel/Mouse Guard/Torchbearer does scripted maneuver combat, which ends up being quite cool. Each exchange is a series of three volleys, which come from your maneuver set. Of the lot, I would probably suggest looking into Torchbearer (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/448193/torchbearer-2e-core-set-pdf-bundle) if it intrigues you. I find that Burning Wheel is just too much weight for not enough payoff.
It seems like i keep bringing up "You Will Die In This Place" xD but the Corpse Engineer class literally has a section called "Combat Programming" ^^ in the first round of combat, you give your corpse three commands, which will then be executed on the monster's turn from top to bottom :) [when you create your monster at the beginning of play, you choose which action(s) different body parts give you access to] (there's more stuff with Halting where the monster cannot execute its full program and either goes out of control or is completely stopped until you reprogram it; and you being able to give bonus commands if the monster is successful in executing all the actions) (oh, and only Skull actions can choose targets, if other actions require a target, for some added depth)
anyhow, fascinating article – it's really interesting to see the metaphor between programming and spellcasting being drawn so explicitly my a game. funny also because i've seen good cases made for more "wild" types of magic in ttrpgs, rather than "spell lists" and the like – flavour-wise, i definitely think i prefer the second kind :) or, rather both make for interesting lore regarding how magic works in a particular world :)! thank you for sharing <3
Please do! I love hearing about new games!
Thank you!