Any other suggested turn-based RPGS?

Please note, I wasn't trying to "hate on" the Codex.

I was simply using it as a counter-point to how helpful people here are, by and large.

The codex is like the dark-side of the force (hey, sith are cool too); here we have the light side.

Exitium is involved with both, so it must be the two halves of his personality, or something. That was my point.

-- dulcaoin

 

I'm intrigued to see the wanton lust for turn-based games (ToEE) and the inherent dislike for real-time or phased-turn games (BG).

I like both and I appreciate the tactical aspect that a turn-based game can provide, but is turn-based at all logical? Why should my mage have to stand still while a bugbear runs 30' towards her, and then only be able to move 5' away unless she wants to provoke an AoO, while my fighter stands there idly watching because it's not his "turn" yet. Shouldn't the mage be able to start running away as soon as she sees the bugbear coming towards her, and with the 30' headstart she has the bugbear shouldn't get close enough for an AoO. The fighter should also be able to intercept as appropriate.

BG wasn't perfect because the phased style turns it had often meant that a character might not begin an action the instant you give them a command (this was most noticable with spell casting), but it did give the feeling of being able to initiate an action the instant anything changed on the battlefield. eg. See a bugbear heading for your wizard; pause the game; send wizard running behind the nearest fighter; set fighter to attack bugbear; unpause game.

Turn-based can be useful to provide structure to a PnP game so that players aren't yelling over the top of each other in a frenzied mayhem, but isn't all that logical for a CRPG that can perform better time management and only has a single player or can easily handle inputs from multiple players simulatenously. But then again... if the CRPG wasn't turn based then it wouldn't be D&D and there would have to be hundreds of rule adaptions to break out of the turn-based process.

 

yeah, FF1 was cool. still play it on emulator sometimes. gotta love BlackMage.

 

On the subject of good turn-based RPGs, I have to admit I really enjoyed Disgaea: Hour of Darkness on the playstation 2. Lots and lots of fun, tho truly it's all about powergaming.

On the subject of why turn-based versus phased or realtime- I like the more varied and interesting decisions which turn-based combat usually affords. Too many options in a real-time system generally makes it too akward.


--Ikarius