Scope RPG

Skills ​

Skills are the active abilities soldiers and monsters use in battle - fireballs, heals, taunts, debuffs, and more. Soldiers and monsters share the same skill framework under the hood, but they're gated by different resources.

A combat skill

Soldiers vs Monsters ​

SoldiersMonsters
Gated byCharges earned through turns and actionsCooldowns counted in the caster's own turns
Run out of resources?Yes - a big skill might require a few turns of chargingNo - a cooldown always ticks itself down
Skill count per unitFour per class (1 basic + 3 specials)Two per monster (1 basic + 1 special), or zero for bosses

The asymmetry is deliberate. Monsters are fought in waves, so a cooldown model keeps each encounter short and readable. Soldiers persist across fights, so a charge economy gives the player a meaningful in-battle resource to manage.

Skills Are Class-Bound, Not Chosen ​

Soldier skills aren't picked from a pool - every soldier of a class shares the same four skills, unlocked from level 1. There's no skill tree, no "build your kit" screen. The class is the kit.

Monster skills follow a similar pattern. Each monster has a basic attack (decided by its class) plus one special (chosen from a shared pool by the monster's design). Bosses carry no specials at all - they only use basic attacks (see Boss Fights).

Status Effects ​

Many skills leave something behind. Buffs empower allies; debuffs weaken enemies; damage-over-time effects chip away across turns; crowd control prevents acting entirely. See Status Effects for the full list.

Status effects are counted by turns of the affected unit, not by real time or by global rounds.

Targeting ​

Skills declare who they can reach:

  • Single enemy, front only - melee reach.
  • Single enemy, any position - ranged reach.
  • All enemies - AoE.
  • Single ally - heals, targeted buffs.
  • All allies - party buffs.
  • Self only - self-buffs.

A skill that targets "front enemy only" can't reach a Mage hiding in the back row unless something drags that Mage forward - see Positioning and Healer's Come Closer.