Among the deadliest weapons ever used in man to man combat has been the Katana. A sword that would resolve the outcome of a battle in one or two slashes. The aim for each fighter is to find that small opportunity to land the blade properly on the opponent. A huge mind-game on top of the physical activity.
Modern Kendo displays the essence of Katana fight very elegantly.
The aim of the combat system in Tale of Ronin, Hachiman, is to model this aspect of the Samurai fight and unlike the usual process in turn-based RPG games where you would want to reduce the opponent HP continuously by successive attacks, here you would need to find your advantage in combat in order to perform that one or two final deadly blows.
Character conditions that will be affected during combat include their Focus, Poise, Spirit and Energy. Your aim will be to work on these aspects of your opponent with the various techniques you know in order to gain an advantage and prepare for the final strikes. Should you try to make him unbalanced? Is it their focus that needs to be distracted? What if his energy is drained first?
We will share more about the details in future posts.
