A short essay on RPG combat written as a way to try and sell you the game I’m currently crowdfunding

I’m <a href="https://www.backerkit.com/c/chris-longhurst/strike-force-omega-print-run?ref=medium" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">currently crowdfunding a TTRPG called Strike Force Omega</a> and as of the time of writing I have about three weeks to pick up another 20-some backers if I want to fund. Maybe one of them could be you? But I’m bad at marketing so instead of trying to sell you my fast-paced tactical game of science-fantasy supersoldiers, I’m going to write about what “fast-paced tactical” actually means to me. I love a turn-based tactical game. Especially on a small grid. I came as close to 100%ing Into The Breach as I have any game, and I passed 200 hours on Fights in Tight Spaces some time last week. RPG-wise I’ll wave in the direction of 4e D&D (which has consumed countless hours of my time), Pathfinder 2, or <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/863660422/gubat-banwa" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">the probably crowdfunding as you read this Gubat Banwa</a>. There’s a whole digression here about how indie RPGs tend to be less in the crunchy tactical vein than the squidgy storygame one, and having designed a couple I’d say it’s probably because testing a crunchy tactical game takes many, many person-hours so if you don’t have a huge following or vast amounts of time to burn you’re going to find it difficult. But that’s another essay. Here’s the thing. As much as I love moving tokens around on a map and force-moving enemies into bottomless pits, what video games like ITB and FITS have that RPGs like 4e D&D and Lancer don’t, is that a single level can be played through in like fifteen minutes. Hence my first design principle: <a href="https://medium.com/@potatocubed/a-short-essay-on-rpg-combat-written-as-a-way-to-try-and-sell-you-the-game-im-currently-9386ae7b19c6">Click Here</a>