This’ll be the first in a handful of simple RPG combat analyses. I’m starting with Dragon Warrior because it’s basically the ur-CRPG. It doesn’t get much simpler than this. Again, I’m gonna try & start out simple and I may come back and expand these as my process evolves and I hone in on whatever it is I’m looking for. First pass
Verbs
- fight
- spell
- run
- item
Stats
- strength
- agility
- HP / max HP
- MP / max MP
- attack power
- defense power
- items
- weapon
- armor
- shield
Rules
Simple, turn-based. Combat in Dragon Warrior is 1-on-1. There’s a chance that the enemy will attack first – probably based on agility. It’s straightforward player action / enemy action rounds after that. There’s not much more to say – Dragon Warrior is the baseline against which I’ll judge other RPGs.