Bard's Tale (1-3)
Part of Bard's Tale (Series)
See the combat demo
Series of CRPGs published by Electronic Arts starting in 1985. The first three entries share a mostly identical game engine, similar enough that a remastering consisting of all three titles was released in 2018 by inXile Entertainment.
- Time model is round based with intentions phase. Turns are character-centric, speed-based initiative, with a single action per turn.
- Space model: space is modeled as a series of 10 numbered cells with the player’s party anchored to one side at 0. Enemy groups can occupy any other cell.
- Space tactics: Medium. Melee combat can only occur if two groups are next to each other in space, and for the player’s party only the first 3 party members can engage in melee. A rogue can Hide to both go invisible and sneak one cell forward to ambush distant enemies. Spells have a maximum range (measured in 10s of feet, but in our model it’s just cells).