Similar to many RPG and adventure and dungeon crawling board games, the Vrahode Game System uses turns and rounds to describe the measurable time periods of a battle. In this article, we’ll break down how turns and rounds work in the Vrahode Game System so you can see how it compares to other game systems.
A round is when all combatants in battle get to take a turn. Turn order during a round is determined by drawing an initiative token for each combatant and placing it either by that combatant’s Hero Dashboard or, for enemies, by their Enemy Dashboard or Boss Enemy Card.
(A note on dashboards: these will help track basic data about each player and enemy so you won’t have to do much math in your head during the game!)
The combatant with the lowest initiative number goes first, followed by the player with the next lowest number, and so on. This continues until all combatants have had a chance to act.
The only time a combatant should not draw an initiative token from the bag is if they are affected by a condition that renders them incapacitated such as sleep or paralysis. If attacked while sleeping, combatants will go directly after the attacker who awakened them. Paralyzed combatants must sit out the rounds until the effect wears off, rejoining the initiative the round after their last paralysis token was removed.
The 10 Ways Players Can Act In A Turn
In each combatant’s turn they have the ability to act in one of ten ways:
- Move and then perform a physical attack.
- Move and then perform a Skill or Action.
- Use an item and then perform a physical attack.
- Use an item and then perform a Skill or Action.
- Perform a physical attack and then move.
- Perform a Skill or Action then move.
- Perform a physical attack and then use an item.
- Perform a Skill or Action then use an item.
- Perform two ranged physical attacks.
- Use a racial ability.
More Details On Turn-Based Actions
Movement: The Vrahode Game System uses a square grid system (1” = 5’) for both indoor and outdoor spaces. We use a hybrid movement variant in our system which means movement, other than the first or last space, must be orthogonal (up, down, left, right). The first or last space may be in any direction (orthogonal or diagonal).
Racial Abilities: The ten crafted races possess racial abilities that allow them subtle advantages and effects. These abilities cost no ruhl to cast, but they take time. If a combatant is one of the ten crafted races and chooses to use a racial ability, then that is the only thing they can do that turn.
Skills: Skills are the most powerful attacks that heroes possess. They cost a bit of time and a bit of ruhl. Skills are also scalable, which means many of them can be strengthened by spending additional ruhl to fuel them. Be careful not to spend your allotment of ruhl too quickly or you will quickly need rest to recover it!
Actions: Actions are the enemies’ version of skills and are typically their most powerful attacks. Actions don’t cost enemies ruhl. Some require a roll to hit a target and some do not. Most actions and skills do damage that may or may not be able to be mitigated by the target.
Using an Item: Items may be used during battle at the cost of time. For example, poison can be applied to a blade to increase damage (adding a poison effect). Things can be consumed to provide healing. Bandages can be applied to stop bleeding. There are other instances where item use is helpful and those will be clear when you see them.
Physical Attacks: These come in melee and ranged versions. As long as the combatant using a method of physical attack is within the range of the weapon, then it is a good basic way to do damage. Physical attacks are, however, able to be partially mitigated by a target’s mitigation value.