Resource Economy
Whether inside or outside or combat, idioms require specific resources in order to be cast. Linguomancy organizes combat into a turn-based system, where intelligent spending of those resources can be pivotal to winning. Each entity in combat will go into a cycle of rounds and turns. A round represents 6 seconds in the game world, during which each participant will take a turn. Once everyone has taken a turn, the fight proceeds to the next round if neither side has fallen.
This article focuses on explaining the combat related resources and techniques.
- Most actions require 2 action points to be used.
- Quick actions (usually related to movement) like jumping, standing up or shoving usually only require 1 action point.
- Complex actions like charging, sprinting or casting a complex idiom require 3 action points.
- Some actions do not require action points to be used, like talking, dropping an item, stopping from maintaining an idiom or falling Prone intentionally.
Movement includes walking, crawling, jumping, swimming, climbing or flying. These modes of movement can be combined or selected for the entire turn. Regardless of how an entity moves, the distance of each part it spends moving is deducted from the movement resource until it is either used up, or until the entity is done moving.
Movement can be broken on a turn, using some of your movement before and after an action. For example, an entity with 15 meters of movement can move 5 meters, use an action, then move 10 meters.
On Difficult Terrain or when crawling, each meter of movement costs 1 more meter. Crawling 1 meter on difficult terrain therefore costs 3 meters.
An entity can drop Prone without using any movement. While Prone, its only way of movement is crawling. To stand up from being Prone, the entity must spend an amount of movement equal to half of its maximum movement. For example, an entity with a maximum movement of 20 meters needs to spend 10 meters of movement to stand up. The entity can't stand up if it doesn't have enough movement left or have its max movement at 0.
When an entity takes a Reaction, it cannot take another one until the start of its next turn. If a reaction interrupts another entity's turn, that entity can continue its turn normally right after the reaction.
When an entity holds an item with an appendage, it loses a Hand point but can in turn wield or throw the item it is holding. Dropping the item gives it back its Hand point. A similar effect happens when an entity maintains an idiom.
When maintaining an idiom on the next turn, the caster automatically consumes Hand points equivalent to the number of Hand points needed to use the idiom. For example, if a maintained idiom costing 1 Hand point is cast, the caster will immediately lose 1 Hand point on each of their following turns until the idiom stops being maintained.
An entity can maintain an indefinite amount of idioms, so long as it has enough Hand points to do so.
An entity cannot upcast its idioms above both its given Noun's Expertise and Wordsmithing Level. For example, if an entity has an Expertise of 6 in the Noun of Fire, it cannot upcast any of its Fire idioms so that their final cost exceeds 6. Likewise, an idiom cannot be upcast above the final cost of 10 Flux points.
When an entity takes damage, this damage is subtracted from its current HP. Losing HP has no effect on an entity's capabilities until it drops to 0.
Healing cannot restore temporary HP, and an entity can only have one set of temporary HP at a time. For example, if an effect grants an entity 20 temporary HP when it already has 13, it can choose to keep either 20 or 13, not 33. If an entity with 0 HP receives temporary HP, it does not regain consciousness or become stabilized.
Temporary HP lasts until it is fully depleted or after taking a long rest.
In order to avoid raw value balancing, which was out of scope for Linguomancy's mechanics, Damage Ticks instead define an estimated range of damage. This range of damage describes a minimum and maximum value. By rolling one or multiple undefined dice, the mathematic expected damage value of the rolls should then fall inside this range.
For example, an attack of Low Damage has a range of 4 to 8. Regardless of what dice used and how many are rolled, the weighted average of the rolls should fall in between 4 and 8 HP of damage inflicted.
In order to avoid raw value balancing, which was out of scope for Linguomancy's mechanics, Healing Ticks instead define an estimated range of HP restoration. This range describes a minimum and maximum value. By rolling one or multiple undefined dice, the mathematic expected healing value of the rolls should then fall inside this range.
For example, an attack of Low Healing has a range of 4 to 8. Regardless of what dice used and how many are rolled, the weighted average of the rolls should fall in between 4 and 8 HP restored.
If an entity or item has Resistance to a damage type, damage of that type is halved against it.
If an entity or item has Vulnerability to a damage type, damage of that type is doubled against it.
If an entity or item has Immunity to a damage type, damage of that type is reduced to 0.
Resistance, Vulnerability and Immunity are applied after all other modifiers to damage, and do not stack.
HP cannot be restored above an entity's maximum HP, and any dead creature can't regain HP until it has been resurrected.
Massive damage outright kills an entity. When damage reduces an entity to 0 HP with leftover damage, it dies if the remaining damage equals or exceeds its maximum HP. For example, an entity with a maximum of 15 HP currently has 10 HP. If it takes 25 damage from an attack, its HP is reduced to 0, but 15 damage remains. The entity then dies because this remaining damage is equal to its maximum HP.
Upon dealing fatal damage, a player can choose to incapacitate a target rather than killing them, making them fall Unconscious and stable.
Each turn the creature has this condition, it must pass a Death Saving Throw by rolling a 20-sided die : If the roll is equal to 10 or higher, it succeeds. Otherwise, it fails. On the third success, the creature becomes stable. On the third failure, the entity dies. The number of both is reset to 0 when the entity regains HP or becomes stable. On a Natural 1, it counts as two failures. On a Natural 20, the entity regains 1 HP and loses this condition. Taking any damage while having 0 HP adds one failure to the Death Saving Throw. Taking a Critical Hit adds two failures. If the damage equals or exceeds the entity maximum HP, it dies instantly.
This article focuses on explaining the combat related resources and techniques.
Battle Resources
by Gurlu
Actions
Actions points are resources representing time. Entities have 3 action points at the start of their turn. Whether it's attacking, casting an idiom, sprinting, using an item, helping others or hiding, actions in combat can cost between 0 and 3 action points, each point representing 2 seconds of time inside a single 6 seconds turn.- Most actions require 2 action points to be used.
- Quick actions (usually related to movement) like jumping, standing up or shoving usually only require 1 action point.
- Complex actions like charging, sprinting or casting a complex idiom require 3 action points.
- Some actions do not require action points to be used, like talking, dropping an item, stopping from maintaining an idiom or falling Prone intentionally.
by Gurlu
Movement
Movement is a resource representing speed. Each turn, an entity can move a distance up to the movement resource, represented in meters.Movement includes walking, crawling, jumping, swimming, climbing or flying. These modes of movement can be combined or selected for the entire turn. Regardless of how an entity moves, the distance of each part it spends moving is deducted from the movement resource until it is either used up, or until the entity is done moving.
Movement can be broken on a turn, using some of your movement before and after an action. For example, an entity with 15 meters of movement can move 5 meters, use an action, then move 10 meters.
On Difficult Terrain or when crawling, each meter of movement costs 1 more meter. Crawling 1 meter on difficult terrain therefore costs 3 meters.
An entity can drop Prone without using any movement. While Prone, its only way of movement is crawling. To stand up from being Prone, the entity must spend an amount of movement equal to half of its maximum movement. For example, an entity with a maximum movement of 20 meters needs to spend 10 meters of movement to stand up. The entity can't stand up if it doesn't have enough movement left or have its max movement at 0.
by Gurlu
Reactions
Reactions are a resource used to instantly react to a trigger, even outside an entity's turn. For example, some idioms can protect the caster from attacks, reacting to an upcoming enemy action.When an entity takes a Reaction, it cannot take another one until the start of its next turn. If a reaction interrupts another entity's turn, that entity can continue its turn normally right after the reaction.
by Gurlu
Hands
Most actions necessitate the use of a dexterous appendage like hands. Hand points represent the amount of free appendages an entity has. Some actions can cost between 0 and 2 Hand points. Some entities have more than 2 hands, or have different dexterous appendages ; their amount of Hand points improve accordingly.When an entity holds an item with an appendage, it loses a Hand point but can in turn wield or throw the item it is holding. Dropping the item gives it back its Hand point. A similar effect happens when an entity maintains an idiom.
by Gurlu
Flux
Flux is a resource displaying the reserve of energy an entity has when casting idioms. Entities start their journey with a reserve of 10 Flux points maximum, and their reserve can grow as they level up. Idioms cost Flux in order to be cast. An idiom's cost in Flux varies between 0 and 10. Weaker idioms cost less Flux, while stronger ones cost more.Flux Regeneration
Flux slowly regenerates in combat. Entities regenerate 1 point of Flux per turn. Conditions, effects and abilities learned through level progression can temporarily or permanently modify the amount of Flux regained per turn. by Gurlu
Maintaining
Some idioms can be manually maintained to extend their duration outside the turn they were cast on. The caster automatically starts maintaining idioms that can be maintained, unless it has not enough Hand Points to do so. If the caster stops maintaining an idiom, whether manually or forcefully because of a special effect, the idiom's effects end immediately.When maintaining an idiom on the next turn, the caster automatically consumes Hand points equivalent to the number of Hand points needed to use the idiom. For example, if a maintained idiom costing 1 Hand point is cast, the caster will immediately lose 1 Hand point on each of their following turns until the idiom stops being maintained.
An entity can maintain an indefinite amount of idioms, so long as it has enough Hand points to do so.
Upcasting
Idioms can be upcast in order to increase their power. This is done by spending Flux above their base cost. The intensity of an idiom increases for each Flux point spent above the base cost. The additional effects of an upcast idiom are specified at the bottom of its details.An entity cannot upcast its idioms above both its given Noun's Expertise and Wordsmithing Level. For example, if an entity has an Expertise of 6 in the Noun of Fire, it cannot upcast any of its Fire idioms so that their final cost exceeds 6. Likewise, an idiom cannot be upcast above the final cost of 10 Flux points.
Overclocking
When an entity tries to cast or upcast an idiom they don't have enough Flux point for, they can instead spend all the Flux they own, then suffer a consequence. This is called Overclocking. The more an entity is missing Flux points when casting its idiom, the more dangerous the consequences get. An idiom cannot be overclocked above a total cost of 10 Flux points, and Adjectives cannot be used when overclocking.| Missing Flux Points | Consequences |
|---|---|
| 1 | The entity becomes Drained for 1 turn. |
| 2 | The entity becomes Lethargic and Drained for 1 turn. |
| 3 | The entity becomes Stunned for 1 turn. It gains 1 tier of Exhaustion. |
| 4 | The entity becomes Stunned for 1 turn. It gains 2 tiers of Exhaustion. |
| 5 | The entity becomes Stunned for 1 turn. It gains 3 tiers of Exhaustion. |
| 6 | The entity falls Unconscious. It gains 4 tiers of Exhaustion. |
| 7 | The entity falls Unconscious. It gains 5 tiers of Exhaustion. |
| 8 | The entity gains 6 tiers of Exhaustion, resulting in its immediate death. |
| 9 | The entity dies immediately. Its body gets consumed away : resurrection will be possible but very difficult. |
| 10 | The entity dies immediately. Its essence shatters away and cannot be resurrected. |
Damage & Healing
Whether inside or outside of combat, injury and the risk of death are constant perils an adventurer might face. The following section elaborates on how attacks and damage can take effect.Hit Points
Rather than being a value representing pure physical hardiness, Hit Points (HP) represent a combination of physical and mental durability, luck, will to live, life force, structural integrity and grip on existence. They indicate how much damage an entity or item can take before being killed or destroyed.When an entity takes damage, this damage is subtracted from its current HP. Losing HP has no effect on an entity's capabilities until it drops to 0.
Temporary Hit Points
Temporary hit points are additional Hit Points that are lost before your base hit points, effectively acting as a separate pool of HP that protects an entity from injury. Any damage taken will substract from the this pool first. Any leftover damaage carries onto the regular HP once the pool reaches 0. For example, if an entity who has 10 temporary HP takes 13 damage, it loses its temporary HP, then takes 3 damage.Healing cannot restore temporary HP, and an entity can only have one set of temporary HP at a time. For example, if an effect grants an entity 20 temporary HP when it already has 13, it can choose to keep either 20 or 13, not 33. If an entity with 0 HP receives temporary HP, it does not regain consciousness or become stabilized.
Temporary HP lasts until it is fully depleted or after taking a long rest.
Attack
Creatures can be attacked with Attack Rolls and Saving Throws, determining if the defending party gets successfully hit. After a successful Attack Roll or a failed Saving Throw, the attacking entity can roll for damage. With penalties, it is possible to deal 0 damage, but never negative damage. If multiple targets are dealt damage at the same time, the damage is rolled once for all of them.Damage Tick
Damage Ticks are rough indicators of damage severity.In order to avoid raw value balancing, which was out of scope for Linguomancy's mechanics, Damage Ticks instead define an estimated range of damage. This range of damage describes a minimum and maximum value. By rolling one or multiple undefined dice, the mathematic expected damage value of the rolls should then fall inside this range.
For example, an attack of Low Damage has a range of 4 to 8. Regardless of what dice used and how many are rolled, the weighted average of the rolls should fall in between 4 and 8 HP of damage inflicted.
| Damage Tick | Range of Expected damage value |
|---|---|
| Tiny | 1 - 4 |
| Low | 4 - 8 |
| Moderate | 8 - 12 |
| Strong | 12 - 16 |
| High | 16- 20 |
| Major | 20 - 30 |
| Severe | 30 - 40 |
| Huge | 40 - 50 |
| Massive | 50 - 60 |
| Extreme | 60 - 100 |
| Ultimate | 100 - 250 or above |
Healing Tick
Healing Ticks are rough indicators of the efficiency of restoration.In order to avoid raw value balancing, which was out of scope for Linguomancy's mechanics, Healing Ticks instead define an estimated range of HP restoration. This range describes a minimum and maximum value. By rolling one or multiple undefined dice, the mathematic expected healing value of the rolls should then fall inside this range.
For example, an attack of Low Healing has a range of 4 to 8. Regardless of what dice used and how many are rolled, the weighted average of the rolls should fall in between 4 and 8 HP restored.
| Healing Tick | Range of Expected healing value | Additional Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Tiny | 1 - 4 | - |
| Low | 4 - 8 | - |
| Moderate | 8 - 15 | - |
| Strong | 15 - 30 | - |
| Small Mending | 30- 40 | Mends small body parts back. |
| Greater Mending | 40 - 50 | Mends one limb back. |
| Small Regrowth | 50 - 70 | Regrow one small body part. |
| Greater Regrowth | 70 - 100 | Regrow one limb. |
| Multiple Regrowth | 100 - 1000 | Regrow multiple limbs. |
| Complete | Full restoration. | Regrow all limbs. |
| Resurrection | Precised in the idioms's description. | The target comes back to life. |
Damage Type
Some idioms will inflict damage on the target they are aiming at. Along with a corresponding severity, this damage also comes with a Damage Type. Some entities have vulnerabilities, resistances or immunities related to specific Damage Types.| Damage Type | Source |
|---|---|
| Bludgeoning | Blunt force attacks, like hammers, crushing, constriction or falling. |
| Piercing | Puncturing and impaling attacks, like stabbings, spears, arrows and bites. |
| Slashing | Cutting attacks, like blades or claws. |
| Force | Kinetic force attacks, like shockwaves, acceleration or gravity. |
| Sonic | Concussive bursts of sound or violent tremors. |
| Flux | Pure primordial Flux energy, focused into a damaging form. |
| Fire | Flames, heat and burns. |
| Frost | Cold, ice and frostbite. |
| Electric | Lightning and electricity. |
| Toxic | Venomous substances, toxic gases or diseases. |
| Acid | Corrosive sprays and dissolving enzymes. |
| Psychic | Psionic damage affecting the mind, such as sensory overloads or mental pressure. |
| Radiant | Blinding force smiting the essence ; burning matter and overwhelming the mind. |
| Necrotic | Corruptive force decaying the essence ; withering matter and draining the mind. |
| Essence | Primordial force directly targeting an essence's cohesion. |
| Existence | Overwhelming force directly targeting an entity's anchor in reality. |
Resistance, Vulnerability & Immunity
Some entities and items can be very sturdy or feeble against specific types of damage.If an entity or item has Resistance to a damage type, damage of that type is halved against it.
If an entity or item has Vulnerability to a damage type, damage of that type is doubled against it.
If an entity or item has Immunity to a damage type, damage of that type is reduced to 0.
Resistance, Vulnerability and Immunity are applied after all other modifiers to damage, and do not stack.
Healing
Damage is never permanent, and even death can be reversible. HP can be restored in many ways, whether by resting, using items or idioms.HP cannot be restored above an entity's maximum HP, and any dead creature can't regain HP until it has been resurrected.
Dying
When an entity's HP drops to 0, it either dies or falls Unconscious. Enemies usually die the instant their HP drops to 0 ; but some entities can be exceptions and fall uncounscious instead, per the game master's choice.Massive damage outright kills an entity. When damage reduces an entity to 0 HP with leftover damage, it dies if the remaining damage equals or exceeds its maximum HP. For example, an entity with a maximum of 15 HP currently has 10 HP. If it takes 25 damage from an attack, its HP is reduced to 0, but 15 damage remains. The entity then dies because this remaining damage is equal to its maximum HP.
Upon dealing fatal damage, a player can choose to incapacitate a target rather than killing them, making them fall Unconscious and stable.
Death Saving Throws
If damage reduces a player HP to 0 and fails to kill them immediately, they start Dying. When Dying, they fall Unconscious.Each turn the creature has this condition, it must pass a Death Saving Throw by rolling a 20-sided die : If the roll is equal to 10 or higher, it succeeds. Otherwise, it fails. On the third success, the creature becomes stable. On the third failure, the entity dies. The number of both is reset to 0 when the entity regains HP or becomes stable. On a Natural 1, it counts as two failures. On a Natural 20, the entity regains 1 HP and loses this condition. Taking any damage while having 0 HP adds one failure to the Death Saving Throw. Taking a Critical Hit adds two failures. If the damage equals or exceeds the entity maximum HP, it dies instantly.
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