bleak - surviving a foe with blackjack mechanics
Bleak came about from my first encounter with Sekiro.
The parry and counter mechanics made me think of a fight as something where to or more combatants have a very short window of opportunity to end things, and they gotta do it first.
It felt like a game of blackjack. So here are the core confrontation mechanics for Bleak.
These rules assume a solo player but are compatible with co-op play and guided play.
confrontation
All around there are lives interrupted, monstrosities, dangerous wonders, and, occasionally, other undying like you, clinging to oath, duty, fear, or desire that will see them as your Foes.
the breakdown
There are three steps to a fight:
- Lock On: choose what Foe to Engage and begin the Round;
- Engage: roll dice to break your Foe's Poise before they break yours and end the Round;
- Repeat: If you are not Dead, start over until there are no more Foes. Or until you Die.
lock on
When you face more than one Foe, choose which you will engage in the next Round.
A Harbinger may lock on to only one Foe at a time, and a Foe may only face a single Harbinger at a time.
In group play, go around a Harbinger at a time, until everyone has had a turn, then start over as necessary. Each Harbinger may double down on the same Foe, or choose a different one every time.
During Boss Confrontations, any number of Harbingers may Lock On to the Boss.
engage
At the start of the Round, you and your Foe will trade Hits, trying to break each other's Poise without Stumbling.
- The Clash: Both sides make an initial roll (2d6 for the Harbinger and 1d6 for the Foe). You can make a Move or Special Move at the end of this turn;
- Harbinger's Turn: You Hit against your Foe until you Stumble or Hold;
- Foe's Turn: Your Foe Hits against you until they Stumble or Hold;
- Showdown: Determine the winner and Strike the loser's Hit Boxes. End the Round.
Detailed rules for this step are described in the next chapter.
repeat
At the end of the Round, if you don't have any Hit Boxes left, you Die and return to the last Spring of Memories you have been to.
Otherwise, start a new round against your current Foe, or a different one.
When there are no remaining Foes with a Hit Box to fill, the Confrontation ends.
engaging a foe
A Round starts with the First Clash and ends with the Showdown.
Your goal in a Round is to Strike your Foe's Hit Boxes.
You do that when your final Poise is higher than your Foe's, without going over 13 (Stumbling), or when your Foe Stumbles. Your Foe Strikes your Hit Boxes when their final Poise is higher than yours without rolling over 13 (Stumbling) or when you Stumble.
Critical Strike: It is possible to inflict a Critical Strike to your Foe when your dice results in the Clash Turn is exactly a pairing of 1 and 6.
first clash
You roll 2d6 and your Foe rolls 1d6. That is the starting poise for each of you. At this point, you can make a Move or a Special Move.
- Check for Critical Strikes: if your dice show the numbers 1 and 6, after your Move if you decide to make one, your Foe adds 1d6 to their roll. Unless their pair of dice also shows 1 and 6, you inflict a Critical Strike, otherwise, you have a Critical Draw.
your turn
On your turn, you have the chance to raise your total Poise by taking the Hit action, or keep your current Poise by taking the Hold action.
- Hit: Roll 1d6 and add it to your current Poise. There is no limit to how many times you can take this action, but you must avoid Stumbling (rolling over 13). If you Stumble, the turn is over. Skip your Foe's turn and go to Showdown. A 13 total Poise is not a Critical Strike;-
- Hold: Keep your current Poise until the end of the Round. When you Hold, it's your Foe's turn.
foe's turn
Your Foe's actions are the same as yours but are predetermined.
- Hit: Your Foe's first Action is always Hit;
- Check for Critical: If your Foe's pair of dice are exactly 1 and 6, they have a Critical Strike;
- Check for 10: Your Foe always Hits until their total poise is 10 or higher, then Holds.
- End the Turn: The Turn ends with a Critical Hit, a Stumble, or the Hold action.
showdown
The results of a Round are listed below:
- Suffer a Strike (1 Hit Box) from your Foe when your final Poise value is lower than theirs;
- Inflict a Strike (1 Hit Box) to your Foe when your final poise Value is higher than theirs;
- Suffer a Critical Strike (2 Hit Boxes) from your Foe when they have an exact pairing of 1 and 6;
- Inflict a Critical Strike (2 Hit Boxes) to your Foe when you have a an exact pairing of 1 and 6;
- You Stumble when your total poise is higher than 13. Suffer a Strike and you can't inflict a Critical Strike in your next Round;
- Your Foe Stumbles when their Poise is higher than 13. They suffer a Strike and they can't inflict a Critical Strike in their next Round;
- In a regular Draw both you and your Foe inflict a Strike to each other, then both Stumble;
- In a Critical Draw (both of you roll 1 and 6 exactly) neither inflict a Strike to each other and both Stumble.
actions
Hit: Attack with Steel or Spell. Increase your Poise by 1d6; Hold: Hold your ground as you look for an opening. Keep your current total Poise until the end of the Round; Item: Use a special item during the Confrontation; Special: Use a Special Action (when available).
moves
- block (bulwark): Fight defensively this Round. On any Strike, decrease it by one for you and your Foe;
- heavy attack (brutal): Throw yourself to Violence with abandon. You and your Foe fill an extra Hit Box when inflicted a Strike;
- quick attack (swift): Your movements are fast and unpredictable. On a Draw, inflict a Strike first, and only if your Foe did not die they inflict a Strike on you.
special moves
summons
The echoes of lives unfulfilled remain across the world in the form of Spectres.
When you roll double 1s or double 6s in the First Clash, you may choose to summon a Spectre to aid you in this Round.
Split your dice into 2 tracks, choose which is the Spectre track, then roll another d6 for each track to get a starting Poise for both.
Take actions for your track until you Hold or Stumble, then so the same for the Spectre track.
Continue the Round as usual. At the end of the round the Spectre vanishes.
double down
Risk and reward. When you double down, you get only one more hit. Double the Hit Boxes filled by Strikes you inflict and receive this round, as you throw your weight in more heavily at the cost of making yourself more vulnerable to your Foe.
disclaimer
These mechanics account for a character having a total of 3 hit boxes. Foes may have 1 or more.
Character loadouts such as bulwark, brutal, or swift enable those moves. each character has one loadout.
License and Attribution
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[your thing] used/was inspired by [this post] by Gabriel Caetano Barbosa.