Solar Echoes: Five Games in One! (part 5)

The core system in Solar Echoes is the squad combat system, and players will be spending a lot of their time in battle. This system is the only one of our combat systems that requires the use of a battle-mat: a grid of 1-inch squares for keeping track of character movements. We found that it was necessary to measure movement distances in squad combat because it otherwise became too chaotic and unfair for players. The fast-paced system works well, and players will quickly find themselves working as a team to survive and succeed at their goals. Combat moves more quickly than other RPG's, and keeps all players involved throughout every phase of combat. Characters may be customized and designed with talents and skill investments as well as a variety of weapon and armor choices. Our first mission, which can be found in the Starter Kit called "Gun Runners," has been beta tested countless times, and each time, we've seen players making entirely different choices with their character design and combat style. The bottom line is that, if you've seen it in an action movie, it's almost certainly possible that your character will be able to do the same things in Solar Echoes.