Action Speed System #3

Each Action has one of the following speeds:

Fast actions don't take as much time as Normal actions. Fast actions tend to be recovery or buffing actions. If a Fast action is used first, a Normal or Fast action can be used again. Fast actions can be said to have a time cost of 1/2 Step.
Normal actions are the majority of actions. A Normal action used first ends the player's turn. But a Normal action can be used after a Fast action. Normal actions can be said to have a time cost of 1 Step.
Slow actions are rare and powerful, and typically damage-dealing actions. A Slow action can only be used first, and it always ends the player's turn. Slow actions can be said to have a time cost of 1 1/2 Step.

(There are two additional "speeds" representing the action's selectability:

Disabled actions are shown grayed out in the action list and cannot be used.
Hidden actions are hidden from the action list and cannot be used.)

If the time cost model is used, the player can take 1 1/2 Step worth of actions in a turn, but if the time remaining is less than 1 Step after taking an action, the player's turn ends, even if there was a 1/2 Step left.

This system only affects the player; enemies only get one action per turn and do not change their energy recovery based on the speed of their actions.

If the player only uses one Fast or Normal action, they recover additional Energy at the start of the following turn. If the player skips their turn entirely, they recover even more additional Energy at the start of the following turn.

Background:

Most RPGs traditionally feature a party of characters, each of which gets a turn. This lends itself to a dynamic where individual characters can get badly injured, but the party can continue making progress overall, because while some members are healing themselves and others, the others are fighting.

This fits well with the unavoidable damage inherent to the RPG system. There is nothing you can do to prevent getting hit, so the gameplay is about managing how you spend your resources (both turns and MP) on healing that damage vs. doing more damage vs. increasing resistance to that damage.

When most of the player's party have been downed, the gameplay enters a death spiral of sorts, where the damage the party members are taking meets or exceeds their ability to heal it before the next turn. At this point, it's a slow march to game over, unless the player either gets lucky (an attack misses, giving the player a turn of respite; the boss chooses to use a weaker attack multiple turns in a row; a healing spell does a special effect; the limit break gauge fills up) or resorts to an especially powerful but limited effect (e.g., an only-x-in-the-game item that fully heals the whole party).

But in single-character RPGs (as are very common in kink games), the death spiral that happens as a sort of soft-loss state is the default and only state. The player has only one character, and if that character is healing, they can't hurt the boss and are not making any progress toward victory. If that character is hurting, they can't heal themselves and are making steady and sometimes rapid progress toward defeat. This is fine if the healing dramatically outstrips the amount of damage they're taking, but in more difficult encounters it means they have to play purely reactively, unable to proactively decide how to handle things. No useful decisions can be made, and at times no progress is made for long stretches. This is not especially fun.

Having only a single character is good for kink games, keeping an intimate atmosphere, but giving the player some way to make progress on multiple fronts or throw their energy entirely behind one or the other can help avoid the unfun death spiral state, and ensure that the player always has a choice on how to progress, going for strong aggression, strong healing, or a mix of both. Or even resting for more energy! The action speed system is a pass at this.

Nonetheless, allowing the player to consistently heal off the effects of an action they took on their turn without giving the enemy a turn takes some of the excitement out, so Fast actions should be used only for responding to the enemy's turn.

Each Action has one of the following speeds: * **Fast** actions don't take as much time as Normal actions. Fast actions tend to be recovery or buffing actions. If a Fast action is used first, a Normal or Fast action can be used again. Fast actions can be said to have a time cost of 1/2 Step. * **Normal** actions are the majority of actions. A Normal action used first ends the player's turn. But a Normal action can be used after a Fast action. Normal actions can be said to have a time cost of 1 Step. * **Slow** actions are rare and powerful, and typically damage-dealing actions. A Slow action can only be used first, and it always ends the player's turn. Slow actions can be said to have a time cost of 1 1/2 Step. (There are two additional "speeds" representing the action's selectability: * **Disabled** actions are shown grayed out in the action list and cannot be used. * **Hidden** actions are hidden from the action list and cannot be used.) If the time cost model is used, the player can take 1 1/2 Step worth of actions in a turn, but if the time remaining is less than 1 Step after taking an action, the player's turn ends, even if there was a 1/2 Step left. This system only affects the player; enemies only get one action per turn and do not change their energy recovery based on the speed of their actions. If the player only uses one Fast or Normal action, they recover additional Energy at the start of the following turn. If the player skips their turn entirely, they recover even more additional Energy at the start of the following turn. ## Background: Most RPGs traditionally feature a party of characters, each of which gets a turn. This lends itself to a dynamic where individual characters can get badly injured, but the party can continue making progress overall, because while some members are healing themselves and others, the others are fighting. This fits well with the unavoidable damage inherent to the RPG system. There is nothing you can do to prevent getting hit, so the gameplay is about managing how you spend your resources (both turns and MP) on healing that damage vs. doing more damage vs. increasing resistance to that damage. When most of the player's party have been downed, the gameplay enters a death spiral of sorts, where the damage the party members are taking meets or exceeds their ability to heal it before the next turn. At this point, it's a slow march to game over, unless the player either gets lucky (an attack misses, giving the player a turn of respite; the boss chooses to use a weaker attack multiple turns in a row; a healing spell does a special effect; the limit break gauge fills up) or resorts to an especially powerful but limited effect (e.g., an only-x-in-the-game item that fully heals the whole party). But in single-character RPGs (as are very common in kink games), the death spiral that happens as a sort of soft-loss state is the default and only state. The player has only one character, and if that character is healing, they can't hurt the boss and are not making any progress toward victory. If that character is hurting, they can't heal themselves and are making steady and sometimes rapid progress toward defeat. This is fine if the healing dramatically outstrips the amount of damage they're taking, but in more difficult encounters it means they have to play purely reactively, unable to proactively decide how to handle things. No useful decisions can be made, and at times no progress is made for long stretches. This is not especially fun. Having only a single character is good for kink games, keeping an intimate atmosphere, but giving the player some way to make progress on multiple fronts or throw their energy entirely behind one or the other can help avoid the unfun death spiral state, and ensure that the player always has a choice on how to progress, going for strong aggression, strong healing, or a mix of both. Or even resting for more energy! The action speed system is a pass at this. Nonetheless, allowing the player to consistently heal off the effects of an action they took on their turn without giving the enemy a turn takes some of the excitement out, so Fast actions should be used only for responding to the enemy's turn.