Scope RPG

Cooldowns ​

Monsters use cooldowns instead of charges. A cooldown is a simple turn-based timer: after casting a special, a monster has to wait some of its own turns before it can cast that same skill again.

Monster with cooldowns

How Cooldowns Tick ​

Cooldowns are counted in the caster's own turns, not in global rounds or real time.

  • The moment a monster casts a special, that skill goes on cooldown.
  • On each of the monster's subsequent turn-starts, the cooldown ticks down by one.
  • The skill becomes available again when its counter hits zero.

Cooldowns are per-unit and per-skill. Two monsters that share the same special skill each have their own independent timer. One can cast Crushing Blow while the other's is still cooling down.

Why Cooldowns Instead of Charges ​

Soldiers persist across fights and multi-encounter dungeons, so a charge economy gives the player a meaningful in-battle resource to manage. Monsters are fought in short waves - adding a charge system on top would create too much bookkeeping for a single encounter and slow fights down.

Cooldowns keep monster combat clean:

  • The monster always has something to do (basic attack is free and never cooled).
  • Specials arrive on a predictable rhythm - you can anticipate the next big move.
  • Players don't need to track a per-monster resource pool.

Typical Cooldown Values ​

Cooldown lengths vary by how strong the special is - bigger skills sit on longer cooldowns so they feel like moments, not defaults. Most monster specials sit at 2 or 3 turns.

The two most common patterns in practice:

  • Short (2 turns) - mid-weight specials that should show up fairly often. Corrosive Venom, Shadow Dive, Rending Claw, Dark Mend, Soul Siphon.
  • Long (3 turns) - heavier specials that should feel like signature moves. Crushing Blow, Frost Nova, Venom Cloud, Blinding Flash, Mana Siphon, Unwilling Pull, Dark Burst.

There are no cooldowns longer than that for regular monsters. Bosses don't use cooldowns at all - they have no specials (see Boss Fights).

Cooldowns vs Charges, Side by Side ​

Soldier ChargesMonster Cooldowns
Resource poolYes - 2 starting, cappedNone - just a timer
Filled byTurn-start gain + action gainAutomatic, one per monster turn
Can run out?Yes - spending all charges means only basic attacks until more accrueNo - cooldowns always tick themselves down
Shareable?No, per unitCooldowns are per unit too
Can back-to-back cast?Yes, if enough chargesNo - always at least one turn in between

The Player Can't Manipulate Enemy Cooldowns ​

There's no skill that resets or extends an enemy's cooldown. Once an enemy has cast a special, you know it won't land again for at least one more turn - but you can't force a longer gap. The lever you have is Speed debuffs, which make the enemy's turns come up less often and therefore make cooldowns effectively longer in real time.