Playing Warriors

Each warrior on the battlefield has combat statistics and a set of abilities. Warriors can also take any of the basic set of actions outlined in the Combat Round subsection of the Combat Rules, with the exception of Summon Eidolon. The GM is responsible for playing the party’s opponents during battle. However, rather than simply treating a battle as a chess match between them and the players, GMs should instead play them like characters. This is especially important because learning warrior abilities and behavior is an intended part of the experience of playing Last Odyssey. Here are some principles the GM should stick to when narrating combat:

1. Provide context. Combat in Last Odyssey is an abstract representation of a fight rather than a straightforward simulation. All actions taken by participating characters should also be things that they do in the narrative. For example, rather than stating that only stating that a warrior uses the Fire Burst ability, the GM should also describe its appearance.
2. Hide warrior statistics. The Scan ability and the mechanics around information assume that players will be ignorant of the current HP, MP, Shell, statistics, and abilities of a warrior unless they put effort into learning them, and thus the GM should not reveal them unless the right conditions are met.
3. Tell players what they’ve done, and what’s been done to them. GMs should tell them how much damage they are doing to warriors, what statuses have been inflicted on all characters, and how much damage they are taking.

Recruiting Enemies

The animosity between the party and the warriors who oppose them is not inevitable. At times, the party may wish to bring a warrior to their side after the battle is over. If they are successful, give the new recruit’s warrior sheet over to the players and treat them as an ally for now on. As per the basic rules of the game, the GM is in charge of their actions unless they become a Hero.