Gubat Banwa

Gubat Banwa is still in an Early Access phase, but you can grab the rules right now. They’ll be updated as newer versions reach publication. And you should take advantage of it, because this is one hell of a tactical role playing game that doesn’t sacrifice any narrative weight.

Writer and developer Joaquin Saavedra has built a wonderful setting that takes its beats from pre-colonial Philippines and Medieval Southeast Asia. And it’s presented in a book that I can’t stop reading. It’s not just great prose here, but it’s prose that is exceedingly well-suited to role-playing, with clear, articulate descriptions that will give you the lexicon needed to describe the combat scenarios the game focuses often on so very well.

The combat itself is pretty remarkable, though it might take a couple of reads to really synthesize everything. Fortunately, the book offers a handy glossary for combat terms. That’s an easy permanent bookmark right there. And it does it with only one page! It aims to be tactical, giving you meaningful decisions to make, with three options available to you on each turn: A movement, an action, and a flourish. The book also breaks down rules for movement vertically, not just horizontally, which is great if you’re only playing with a flat battle map.

Combat appears to be way more immediate in this game, and that’s by design. Let me explain: There is no “Attack Roll” as far as I can see. The usual, “did I hit?” question is skipped in favor of using your Action to “Inflict Violence,” which means you’re straight rolling damage dice, and are often guaranteed to knock your enemy down a bit! There are ways to mitigate this for defenders, but you’ll be guaranteed to start chipping away at the opposition quickly.

On top of this, victory isn’t just about clearing the map of foes. There are specific victory and defeat conditions that make it very clear when combat has ended. The game allows players to know a variety of a target’s stats, which is very generous, but also aids the tactical planning. There are still elements of a target that are to remain hidden, however.

The Early Access materials give you everything you need to start roleplaying in this excellent game, but I really can’t wait to see the final form.