Encounter Creation
In Last Odyssey, a group of enemies that engage the players in combat is known as an encounter. A baseline enemy encounter that is challenging but beatable for a party of four of a given tier consists of three to five Normal enemies, about the same number as there are player characters. Elite tier enemies are worth five times as much XP, but in battle they are equivalent to about three Normal tier enemies. The GM does not have to throw encounters at the players that are precisely of their tier. Most player characters will be equipped to handle enemies 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 enemy encounter in Last Odyssey is more than just a combat challenge, but is also motivated by the context provided by the narrative. All enemies have a reason for engaging in violence that affects their behavior in combat and once it is over. Depending on their motivation, enemies may flee in order to preserve their lives. In addition, the motivation of a group of enemies also affects how they will treat the players when they are downed. Keep in mind that players are protected by fate except when they face other characters who possess the power of Anima. In the event that the player characters are all downed in combat, what enemies 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 enemies are merely fighting in order to live. When these enemies 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 player characters have been defeated, but in the event that they do they will flee if more than one of their comrades is downed.
- Greed. Enemies such as bandits or raiders fight primarily to enrich themselves. If the player characters are downed, their enemies will either steal all of their cr, all of their battle items if they have no cr, 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 enemies 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 cr if there are no Supplies available, and will leave the players alone if they don’t find anything else.
- Territory. Enemies 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 enemies 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 player characters 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 larger battles on whether player characters survive them is a great way for GMs to ramp up the dramatic tension of a battle.