Encounter Creation

In Last Odyssey, a group of warriors that engage the players in combat is known as an encounter. A baseline warrior encounter that is challenging but beatable for a party of four of a given tier consists of three to five Normal warriors, about the same number as there are Heroes in the party. Elite type warriors are worth five times as much 🜹, but in battle they are equivalent to about three Normal type warriors. The GM does not have to throw encounters at the players that are precisely of their tier. Most Heroes will be equipped to handle warriors of power equal to plus or minus two tiers. Any higher and they will be numerically outmatched, and any lower and the encounter will be trivial.

Every warrior encounter in Last Odyssey is more than just a combat challenge, but is also motivated by the context provided by the narrative. All warriors have a reason for engaging in violence that affects their behavior in combat and once it is over. Depending on their motivation, warriors may flee in order to preserve their lives. In addition, the motivation of a group of warriors also affects how they will treat the players when they are downed. Keep in mind that players are protected from True Death by fate except when they face other characters who possess the power of 🜉. In the event that the Heroes are all downed in combat, what warriors do next depends on their actual motivation for fighting the characters. GMs are free to come up with any motivations they like, but here are some examples:

• Self-Preservation. Some warriors are merely fighting in order to live. When these warriors are victorious, they will flee without further incident. If they are fighting to defend themselves, they most likely do not have the possibility of retreat until the Heroes have been defeated, but in the event that they do they will flee if more than one of their comrades is downed.
• Greed. Warriors such as bandits or raiders fight primarily to enrich themselves. If the Heroes are downed, their opponents will either steal all of their ¤, all of their battle items if they have no ¤, or all of their Supplies and travel items if they have nothing else. Players who have nothing will simply be left in the dirt. Greedy warriors are also cowardly, and will try to flee as soon as the tables are turned.
• Hunger. Wild animals and desperate people will sometimes resort to attacking travelers to steal their food. If they are desperate enough to attack the players, they are also desperate enough to fight to the death. If they manage to down the players, they will steal their Supplies first, their ¤ if there are no Supplies available, and will leave the players alone if they don’t find anything else.
• Territory. Warriors that are fighting to defend a patch of land, such as a dungeon, a Domain, or the boundary of a settlement, will fight to the death to defend it. If they manage to down the players and are able to do so, they will drag them to the boundary and leave them there. If the territory is large enough that this isn’t immediately possible, the players will instead find themselves kidnapped or imprisoned and either forced to labor or be food for their kidnappers or be ejected later on, or possibly both.
• Warfare. In the event that warriors constitute an invading force, they will not retreat unless the order is given from whoever is leading them. In battle, this means they will be highly coordinated and will fight to the death. If the Heroes are important participants in the battle, being defeated means they will be taken prisoner. If they are less important, they will pass out and will wake up after the battle is over. Hinging the outcomes of military actions on whether Heroes survive them is a great way for GMs to ramp up the dramatic tension of a battle.