t1k:designer:rpg:turn-based

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Field	Value
Module	rpg
Version	1.7.2
Effort	high
Tools	—

Keywords: combat system, design, strategy, turn-based

How to invoke

/t1k:designer:rpg:turn-based

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Game Turn-Based Design

When This Skill Triggers

• Designing turn structure (who acts, when, in what order)
• Implementing action points (AP) economy per turn
• Tuning animation timing for turn-based combat
• Designing enemy telegraphing (player sees what enemy will do)
• Adding phase transitions to boss encounters
• Implementing undo, confirm, or preview before commit
• Designing auto-battle for mobile/idle
• Balancing ability costs vs turn resource budget

Turn Structure Models

Action Points (AP) Model

Player turn budget: 3 AP per turn
  Move:         1 AP
  Basic attack: 1 AP
  Skill use:    2 AP
  Item use:     1 AP
  Defend/Wait:  0 AP (free)

• 3 AP = most common budget (meaningful choice without complexity)
• Single-action-per-turn (JRPG style): simpler, slower — good for casual mobile
• Initiative-based (each unit has own turn): more tactical depth, harder to balance

→ See references/action-economy-guide.md for AP budgets, initiative systems, cooldown costs

Turn Order Visualization

• Display turn order strip (min 5 turns): icon + HP bar per unit
• Animate strip when player action changes order; mark player’s turn with distinct color

Decision Clarity

Pre-Commit Information — Always Show All Of These

1. Damage range: “35-42 damage” (not just ability name)
2. Status effect: “Stuns 1 turn” with duration indicator
3. Area of effect: highlight affected tiles/enemies
4. Counter risk: if action triggers counterattack, warn with icon

Commit Flow

Tap ability → Preview (highlight targets, show damage range)
           → Confirm (tap again or press button)
           → Execute (play animation)

• Single-tap-to-execute acceptable only on mobile with undo support
• Never execute irreversible actions on first tap without confirm

→ See references/action-economy-guide.md for decision clarity patterns, confirm/cancel UX

Animation Timing

Pacing Budgets

Style	Per-Action	Best For
Snappy	150-250ms	Mobile, casual
Standard	300-500ms	Core roguelites
Cinematic	600-900ms	Boss attacks, critical hits
Slow/Tactical	800-1200ms	Deep strategy games

• BackpackCrawler target: Standard (300-500ms) per regular action, Cinematic (600ms) for boss
• Player input animations run at Snappy speed; enemy turn animations at Standard
• Critical hits: slow down to 600ms + camera shake (juice)

→ See references/turn-pacing-timing.md for full timing tables, animation budget by game type

Telegraphing Enemy Actions

Intent Display Pattern

Before enemy acts, show intent icon above enemy:

Sword icon   = attack this turn (show damage value)
Shield icon  = defending (show block amount)
Arrows icon  = charging skill (show next-turn effect)
Skull icon   = killing blow unless blocked

• Reveal intent at START of enemy turn, before player acts
• Players see all enemy intents simultaneously to enable planning
• Warning threshold: show red border on player if expected incoming damage > 50% HP

Phase Transitions

• Boss phase trigger: HP crosses threshold (75% / 50% / 25%)
• Announce phase with cutscene pause (500ms freeze) + new intent icons
• Phase 2+ introduces new attack pattern player has not seen before
• Never transition phases mid-player-turn (resolve player action first)

→ See references/turn-pacing-timing.md for telegraph timing, phase transition UX

Difficulty Tuning for Turn-Based

Action-Point-Aware TTK

player_dps   = (avg_damage * attacks_per_turn) / turns_per_round
enemy_hp     = player_dps * target_ttk_turns
target_ttk   = 3-5 turns (mobile) / 5-8 turns (PC) / 8-12 turns (boss)

• Adjust enemy HP to match target TTK, not raw stat numbers
• AP-restricting debuffs (stun = -2 AP) treated as 66% effective damage loss

Difficulty Levers

1. Enemy attack values (most felt; tune last)
2. Enemy HP (affects run duration most)
3. AP count per turn (most impactful; tune carefully)
4. Status effect frequency (cap stun at 20% uptime)

Auto-Battle

• Auto uses greedy AI: always highest-damage action; show “AUTO” banner; player can interrupt
• Never auto boss phases; speed toggle: 1x / 2x / 3x

→ See references/turn-pacing-timing.md for auto-battle UX patterns

Anti-Patterns

#	Anti-Pattern	Problem	Fix
1	No telegraphing	Player feels cheated by unknown attacks	Always show intent icon
2	No damage preview	Players guess damage numbers	Show range before confirm
3	Instant kill without warning	Unfair surprise	Skull icon if incoming > HP
4	Stun >30% uptime	Player never acts	Hard cap stun chance at 15%
5	Boss phase during player turn	Confusing mid-action state	Queue phase after player resolves
6	No undo on mobile	Misclick ends run	Allow undo before confirm
7	AP-only abilities	Boring: always use same skill	Mix AP cost + cooldown

Cross-References

• game-balance-tools — TTK formulas extended with AP-aware damage calculation
• game-feel-juice — hit feedback, screen shake timing for turn actions
• rpg-game-design — ability cost design and skill tree structure
• game-roguelike-design — turn-based difficulty arc across roguelike run
• game-ux-design — turn order UI, damage preview display, intent icon layout

Reference Files

File	Coverage
references/action-economy-guide.md	AP models, initiative, ability costs, decision clarity
references/turn-pacing-timing.md	Animation budgets, auto-battle, phase transitions, timing tables

Gotchas

• Action economy IS the difficulty knob — adding/removing actions per turn changes player power more than any stat tuning.
• Telegraph enemy attacks one full turn before they land — anything less and the player feels cheated, not challenged.
• Damage preview vs surprise is a deliberate design choice — both work, but mixed signals (preview some, surprise others) feel buggy.
• Auto-battle MUST be opt-in late-game — auto from turn 1 collapses the system you spent months designing.