Change Log
- References to a “run” have been replaced with the term “run”.
- References to “gold” have been replaced with “shards”.
Non-combat rooms that can be found on the District Map that are essentially “choose your own adventure” text-based sections. Gameplay-wise, these rooms act as alternate ways impact your run while avoiding combat. Outside of just gameplay, random encounters describe interesting scenarios the player’s party run into. It also acts as one of the core ways to assist in world-building, giving context to the overall story.
References
The system we are using here is based on the event rooms/random encounters present in Slay the Spire, FTL and Monster Train 2. Images of events in each of the games are shown below.
Images of various event/random encounter systems
Slay the spire
FTL
Monster Train 2
Specifications
Taking inspiration from the event systems from other roguelikes, a random encounter should contain the following things:
- Title - A title describing the event
- Dialogue - A box of text that describes the situation the player is in.
- Options - A list of selectable options a player can make.
- Image (Stretch) - An image that helps describe the situation.
Dialogue
A dialogue section that describes the current situation that the player’s team faces. A dialogue bit should contain a list of selectable options that the player can choose from. After an option is selected, the text in the dialogue box get replaced with the new text from the next dialogue bit based on the option selected.
| Dialogue Properties | Description |
|---|---|
| Text | Dialogue text |
| Options | A list of options that can be selected |
Note
The point of view must stay consistent among all dialogue bits. Dialogue bits should be described in either 2nd person using “Your team” or 3rd person using “The team”/“Team X”.
Options
Every random encounter should contain a list of options that the player can choose from. Each option should have a title describing the choice they can make (example: Leave, Enter, etc) as well a description inform the player how the option will affect their run (example: Take Damage, Gain an item, etc).
Here is a non-exhaustive list of what an option could do:
- Damage a player unit
- Heal a player unit.
- Give a random item of a particular rarity to the player.
- Give a specific item to the player.
- Remove a random/specific item.
- Take shards.
- Give shards
- Nothing
Note
An option can also do multiple of the things above mentioned. Again, this is non-exhaustive list and merely examples of what an option could do (it’s up to design to create/design them).
Some options may have specific requirements that need to be fulfilled in order to select them.
- For example, an option may require at least 1 party member at 15% hp to be selectable If the requirements for an option isn’t fulfilled, it should be greyed out to indicate that it cannot be selected. These unelectable options should have their description replaced with missing requirements instead.
Once an option has been selected, the random encounter’s dialogue continues depending on the choice selected.
Afterwards, all options in the list should be removed and replaced with a single “Leave” option, which takes the player back to the District Map to continue their journey.
| Option Properties | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | Describes the action the player does when choosing this option |
| Descirption | Informs how the player’s run is affected when selecting this option |
| Requirements | A list of requirements that need to be fulfilled in order to select this option |
| Next Dialogue | The dialogue bit that replaces the original dialogue when selecting this option. |
Choosing Random Encounters
The encounter that a player finds when entering the random encounter room is chosen randomly from a pool of possible encounters, determined by the district they are currently in. Some events can only appear in certain districts, while other events can appear in any district.
Once a random encounter has been found, it cannot show up again until the player loops.