Well, I'm still flitting between different projects and not making much progress on any of them, so I decided to post something on here. This is the Writer's Block after all. Anyway, I was recently presented with an opportunity to test out Tricube Tactics, a combat supplement for Richard Woolcock's Tricube Tales rpg which I've previously talked about here. I recommend looking at that before you read further. Tricube Tactics introduces some more in-depth combat mechanics to the existing rules-lite system, including a way to determine initiative and adding an action economy. There's also a few additional details for character generation.
Having been gifted a copy, I recently ran a few one-shots over last month, using pre-written adventures in Spellrunners (a cyberpunk fantasy involving operatives with arcane powers), Minerunners (a fantasy setting about dwarves searching an abandoned city, akin to Moria with zombies), and Interstellar Rebels (basically Star Wars with the serial numbers filed off). I was even joined by Woolcock as a player in that last one.
One of the first changes to character generation is that Tactics uses "Combat Styles". This is an optional rule in the Tricube Tales book, which is used by default here. In addition to a Trait, you have a Combat Style which can be either Melee, Ranged, or Mental (which includes spellcasting and attacking with subordinates or the environment). It's mechanically identical to a Trait but applies to any task which involves attack and defence. On top of that, all Traits and Styles are broken down into three sub-traits and sub-styles, which I refer to as "Challenge Types". For example, Agile is broken down into Dexterity (which includes acrobatics and sleight of hand), Reflexes (which includes controlling vehicles and initiative), and Stealth (which covers sneaking and hiding). If you're Agile, you roll three dice on all those challenge types.
The other major addition to character generation is the introduction of Knacks. The vanilla system uses Perks and Quirks, which all have the same mechanical effects but require narrative sense to use. Knacks have a different mechanical effect (there's a couple of types), but you have to choose which one and explain how. For example, one type of Knack is a Reroll Knack, which lets you reroll one of your dice after making a roll, but you have to keep the second result, and the scope is limited. For example, somebody who's an ace pilot might take this kind of Reroll Knack and apply it to Reflexes, but they can only use it on such rolls which involve operating aircraft.
Running it, I found that the action economy took a bit of getting used to when explaining, although that's probably from being accustomed to Savage Worlds. In Tactics, characters have move their Movement Speed (which is three "strides") three actions: A Standard Action (which is made on your turn and requires a roll), a Simple Action (which is also made on your turn but does not require a roll), and a Swift Action (which can be made outside your turn and may or may not require a roll). For example, you can make an attack as a Standard Action, "Dash" as a Simple Action to double your movement speed, and make a "Swift Strike" as a Swift Action to attack an enemy when they withdraw. You can downgrade a Standard Action to perform a second Simple Action on your turn, or downgrade a Simple Action for another Swift Action. You can also make an Action Knack to treat a particular Simple Action as a Swift Action.
I also had to get used to the new initiative system, which remains in place for the entire encounter. Each round is broken down into three phases: Fast, Medium, and Slow. NPCs always act in the Medium Phase, while PCs make a Standard Reflexes roll at the beginning of the encounter. Anyone who succeeds acts in the Fast Phase, while anyone who fails acts in the Slow Phase. However, the players can choose to vary the turn orders in their respective phases, and don't even have to act. You can go on hold in the Fast Phase to act in the Slow Phase as a free action, and on the flip side you can Rush as a simple action to act in the Fast Phase.
While these new mechanics have been added to the system, I still found it easily accessible once I got going. Even with the new rules, I can still run a one-shot with character creation in a couple of hours. Tricube Tales has often been my Favoured System for one-shots for that reason.
Tricube Tactics is available via DriveThruRPG, and I recommend picking it up.
Happy writing.
