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So a lot of tabletop RPGs try to emulate movement and range using grids. Others are more narrative, like Fate's zones. But I don't see many Western games using a trick Japanese games use a lot lately: a static, labeled map. #JTTRPGInfo
(To be fair I do believe the upcoming Hyper Light Drifter tabletop game uses one of these, but shhh.)
The first example of this sort of thing I could find comes from Ryuutama (2007). You've got a front row and a back row. You can't attack the back unless you've got a ranged weapon. And if the front row is empty, the back moves up immediately. #JTTRPGInfo
By static, labeled map, I mean that this kind of map is used for any location you would do combat in. Maybe you're in a field, or you're in a building, on a ship, or whatever--but no matter what, you use this map to simulate range and movement. #JTTRPGInfo
To help with getting into the mood of the actual, narrative area however, players can name up to 5 'objects' at the start of battle--anything from rocks to bright moons to pet dogs. And when they attack, they can narrate how they use that object for a +1 bonus. #JTTRPGInfo
Then you have Nechronica, which I covered a little while ago. It's a map divided into five zones, and you can only move one zone at a time. Some abilities also reference these zones, for example one moves you to Eden no matter where you are on the map. #JTTRPGInfo
The one I wanted to get to quickly however, was this one, featured in Dracurouge. Same designer as Nechronica, but it's now three zones (from top to bottom: Throne, Court, and Garden), and there are a LOT more abilities that directly affect the map. #JTTRPGInfo
Each of the three zones can have an "area realization" effect placed upon it, but only one at a time; if you want to assert your vamp-- uh, knightly domain upon a zone, you need to contest it with your roll. Sometimes you can even control the pathway between zones. #JTTRPGInfo
Some effects target a zone in specific, or benefit from having characters in a specific zone, or having NO characters in a specific zone. The board is played with, and the defining of the zones makes this possible. #JTTRPGInfo
Then you get off the deep end by making kaiju into the battle map itself, such as with Code: Layered and Colossal Hunters. In Code: Layered, it uses essentially a pointcrawl map, having zones connected by lines, and those zones and lines having special rules. #JTTRPGInfo
For example when facing the Factory Shell enemy, you'll notice the lines connecting the zones in the upper part of it are different than the ones on its body; this represents zones only accessible by flying. #JTTRPGInfo
The writeup for the encounter also labels each zone, and will have instructions for each in specific. The upper, in-air zones have flying minion enemies, several of the zones have turrets, and the Shell itself can only be damaged from one specific zone. #JTTRPGInfo
That was Code: Layered. This next one is Colossal Hunters, which uses much the same design but makes each tier of the monster a broader area than just one zone. This gives it more granularity in how it targets PCs running around on it. #JTTRPGInfo
I haven't read through it as much, but I believe certain portions of each tier can be destroyed/made inaccessible (limiting your movement options), and attacks can target entire tiers or only portions of them, etc. #JTTRPGInfo
Anyway, I was prompted to write this up mostly because in Fantasy Flight Games' L5R, it attempts to do this weird midway movement system that is "narrative" but also demands exactness, which just makes for more work for the GM than a grid or even handwaving would be. #JTTRPGInfo
While I really enjoy the zones system from Fate, I was thinking about other ways games tend to portray movement/range, and realized not a lot of these sort of defined maps are used in Western games, and well, now you know a bit more about them. #JTTRPGInfo
(Of course a lot of Japanese games use grids too! Many of them use a system where a square can hold any number of PCs and NPCs, and you can only move in straight lines/manhattan distances. Kamigakari uses a single-occupancy grid with manhattan distances, etc.) #JTTRPGInfo
