{"id":649,"date":"2026-09-06T20:25:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T02:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluoriteguillotine.com\/blog\/?p=649"},"modified":"2026-09-06T20:25:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T02:25:18","slug":"megalos-zone-based-tactics-and-cutscenes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluoriteguillotine.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/06\/megalos-zone-based-tactics-and-cutscenes\/","title":{"rendered":"megalos: zone-based tactics and cutscenes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After wrapping up our Sword World mini-campaign, our meet the rpg<\/a> crew voted to explore MEGALOS<\/a> by matara. I hadn’t heard of this game until it was proposed, but after reading the 354 page book, I was incredibly excited to play it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best way I can describe Megalos is “good soup”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s tactical, but it’s nothing like 4e. It’s got flashbacks and cutscenes, but they are invoked by the GM with limited player involvement rather than a tool for players to change the narrative. The skill system resembles “approaches” from Blades in the Dark, but success and failure are binary rather than nuanced. On the other hand, Megalos offers many ways to reroll dice, add additional dice, or lower the difficulty after the roll. Characters have bonds with each other, which allow you to gain experience at the end of a session and become stressed<\/em> when you suffer despair<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of these are good ingredients, and I think putting them in the same game has created an enjoyable system. The issue I have is that the connective tissue between these mechanics feels thin at best. At worst, some of the styles of gameplay compete with one another, leaving me to reconcile their rough edges as a player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

this is a combat game with an rpg built around it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"a<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let’s talk about what works for me. In recent years, I have become strongly against position-based combat mechanics, as I have found that most games aren’t doing anything interesting with it. Either “position” is very simple and most fights are the same, with both sides closing to an optimal range before settling in place, or position is tedious and you spend more time calculating line of sight than doing cool moves. While I enjoy the latter more, the juice usually isn’t worth the squeeze once you make location and movement complex enough to be engaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Megalos solves this problem by finding a middle ground of abstraction with simple zones and a dynamic environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are four types of terrain<\/strong> that a zone can have. The first type is “normal” terrain — nothing special about it. “Difficult” terrain works much like you expect; it’s harder to move through, requiring two zones worth of movement to enter (unless you’re flying or teleporting). “Lethal” terrain is any zone that inflicts damage when you enter it or start your turn inside it. This covers obvious hazards like fire, but can also represent background threats like sharks in the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fourth and final terrain feature, and my personal favorite, is power terrain<\/strong>. This is a terrain feature that is applied<\/em> to zones in combat. During our battles, my character was able to create zones of healing and harm by channeling storm spirits. Power terrain abilities also overwrite one another, which makes gaining control of a battlefield a struggle if the enemy is also creating their own power terrain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my opinion, this is the crowning jewel of Megalos, and a tactical feature that I would have liked to see the game lean into more<\/em>. Movement and position are burdensome in games when they are static features. By giving players the tools to create advantageous space, the battlefield becomes a fractal of interesting decisions. Unfortunately, only a handful of player classes are actually able to interact on this level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

classes, callings, and roles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"cover<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Each player character has a class<\/strong>, which determines the combat mechanics used, and a calling<\/strong>, which is a specialization of that class with specific powers and abilities. Your calling also (usually) determines your role<\/strong> — Striker, Support, or Tank. These roles determine your stats and give you an extra ability like healing or passive damage buffs. All of this is pretty standard for a tactics game (I am reminded of ICON), but let’s look at what the classes and callings actually are<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n