Editing Role-playing video game (section)

===Combat===
{{further|Turns, rounds and time-keeping systems in games}}
[[File:Dungeon monkey eternal 01.gif|thumb|right|Ranged magical combat in the party-based graphical [[roguelike-like]] ''Dungeon Monkey Eternal''. The fireball being cast by the wizard in the image is an [[area of effect]] (AoE) attack, and damages multiple characters at once.]]
Older games often separated combat into its own mode of gameplay, distinct from exploring the game world. More recent games tend to maintain a consistent perspective for exploration and combat.<ref name="fundamentals"/> Some games, especially earlier video games, generate battles from [[random encounter]]s; more modern RPGs are more likely to have persistent wandering monsters that move about the game world independently of the player. Most RPGs also use stationary [[Boss (video gaming)|boss]] monsters in key positions, and automatically trigger battles with them when the PCs enter these locations or perform certain actions.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} Combat options typically involve positioning characters, selecting which enemy to attack, and exercising special skills such as casting spells.<ref name="fundamentals"/>

In a classical [[turn-based]] system, only one character may act at a time; all other characters remain still, with a few exceptions that may involve the use of special abilities. The order in which the characters act is usually dependent on their attributes, such as speed or agility. This system rewards strategic planning more than quickness. It also points to the fact that realism in games is a means to the end of [[Immersion (virtual reality)#Types|immersion]] in the game world, not an end in itself. A turn-based system makes it possible, for example, to run within range of an opponent and kill them before they get a chance to act, or duck out from behind hard cover, fire, and retreat back without an opponent being able to fire, which are of course both impossibilities. However, tactical possibilities have been created by this unreality that did not exist before; the player determines whether the loss of immersion in the reality of the game is worth the satisfaction gained from the development of the tactic and its successful execution. ''[[Fallout (video game)|Fallout]]'' has been cited as being a good example of such a system.<ref name="actiontrip" />

[[Real-time game|Real-time]] combat can import features from [[action game]]s, creating a hybrid [[Action role-playing game|action RPG]] game genre. But other RPG battle systems such as the [[Gameplay of Final Fantasy|''Final Fantasy'' battle systems]] have imported real-time choices without emphasizing coordination or reflexes. Other systems combine real-time combat with the ability to pause the game and issue orders to all characters under his/her control; when the game is unpaused, all characters follow the orders they were given. This "real-time with pause" system (''RTwP'') has been particularly popular in games designed by [[BioWare]]. The most famous RTwP engine is the [[Infinity Engine]]. Other names for "real-time with pause" include "active pause" and "semi real-time".<ref name="actiontrip">{{cite web | last =Babovic | first =Branislav | title =Combat Systems in RPG Games | publisher =ActionTrip | year =2000 | url =http://www.actiontrip.com/features/combatsystemsinrpggames.phtml | access-date =December 2, 2007 | url-status =usurped | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080505121731/http://www.actiontrip.com/features/combatsystemsinrpggames.phtml | archive-date =May 5, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usgamer.net/articles/dungeon-of-the-endless-not-your-usual-roguelike |title=Dungeon of the Endless: Not Your Usual Roguelike |last1=Davison |first1=Pete |date=December 18, 2013 |website=USGamer.net |publisher=Gamer Network |access-date=December 16, 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222122443/http://www.usgamer.net/articles/dungeon-of-the-endless-not-your-usual-roguelike |url-status=dead }}</ref> Tactical RPG maker Apeiron named their system Smart Pause Mode (SPM) because it would automatically pause based on a number of user-configurable settings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/brigade-e5-new-jagged-union-review/1900-6162483/ |title=Brigade E5: New Jagged Union Review |last1=Todd |first1=Brett |date=November 29, 2006 |website=Gamespot |publisher=CBS Interactive Inc. |access-date=December 16, 2015}}</ref> ''[[Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel]]'' and ''[[Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura]]'' offered players the option to play in either turn-based or RTwP mode via a configuration setting. The latter also offered a "fast turn-based" mode, though all three game modes were criticized for being poorly balanced and oversimplified.<ref name="cnetquote">{{cite web | url = http://reviews.cnet.com/Arcanum_Of_Steamworks_and_Magick_Obscura_PC/4505-9696_7-7588751.html | title = Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (PC) Reviews. PC Games Reviews by CNET. | work = CNET | access-date = 5 October 2006}}</ref><ref name="gamespot1">{{cite web | url = http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/arcanumofsteamworksamo/review.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111012184335/http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/arcanumofsteamworksamo/review.html | archive-date=2011-10-12| title = Gamespot Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura | work = Gamespot | access-date = 11 March 2009}}</ref>

Early ''[[Ultima (series)|Ultima]]'' games featured timed turns: they were strictly turn-based, but if the player waited more than a second or so to issue a command, the game would automatically issue a pass command, allowing the monsters to take a turn while the PCs did nothing.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

There is a further subdivision by the structure of the battle system; in many early games, such as ''[[Wizardry (video game series)|Wizardry]]'', monsters and the party are arrayed into ranks, and can only attack enemies in the front rank with melee weapons. Other games, such as most of the ''Ultima'' series, employed duplicates of the miniatures combat system traditionally used in the early [[role-playing game]]s. Representations of the player characters and monsters would move around an arena modeled after the surrounding terrain, attacking any enemies that are sufficiently close.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}