In Chrono Tactics, there are two types of participants: the Players and the Game Master. The players each control one character…while the Game Master controls the entire world and most of the characters in it.
This dynamic is not as one sided as it might sound. The player characters are the protagonists of the story. They are the center of the narrative, make the critical decisions, and deal with the consequences of those decisions.
This is especially true in a Chrono Trigger style game where the protagonists’ determination to change the distant future is the primary driver of the plot. The other characters in Chrono Trigger may be more ‘important’ to the world but they are all stuck in old patterns and behaviors (also, literally stuck in the normal flow of time). The protagonists – in particular Lucca, Crono, and Marle – disrupt these old patterns and behaviors (also, literally disrupt history).
The following information is the technical representation of a player character in Chrono Tactics. This is best maintained on a character spreadsheet but an individual Game Master may initially accept it in another form.
Name: What is the character’s name?
Innate Element: Select one element type (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black, White). This determines your elemental weakness and resistance, as well as what kind of elemental techniques/magic you can learn. You can also select None, which grants no weakness, resistance, or elemental techniques/magic.
Level: This determines their stat progression. Usually starts at 1.
Concept: Describe the character in two to twelve words. This should capture what makes them special – what really sets them apart. It could include what type of being they are or what ‘class’ they might be, but should go further than that and really establish their niche.
Origin: Where, and when, are they from?
Relationships: List two NPCs who are important to your character. Including name, relationship, and a defining detail. Groups of NPCs can be accepted in place of a single NPC – Chrono’s cats, Robo’s siblings, Ayla’s tribe, etc.
Traits: Traits are abilities that make individual character unique. Some, like Power Link, are so common that they only stand out when they are missing. Others, like Magic Aptitude, are only available to characters with a certain origin. By default, all characters have four traits but some take an additional negative trait in order to gain a fifth trait.
| Trait 1 | Trait Description |
| Trait 2 | Trait Description |
| Trait 3 | Trait Description |
| Trait 4 | Trait Description |
| Negative Trait | Trait Description |
| Trait 5 | Trait Description |
Primary Stats: These stats represent the character’s innate capacity. They are determined during character creation and, with exception of Speed, improve each time a character levels up. At creation creation and again at each new level a character has 45 points to distribute among these stats.
| Primary Stat | Initial Points (Distribute 45 additional points) |
| Maximum HP | 2 / 20 (You gain 10 maximum HP for each point invested.) |
| Evasion | 2 |
| Hit | 2 |
| Mental | 0 (This powers most non-physical techniques.) |
| Strength | 2 |
| Mental Defense | 2 |
| Stamina | 2 |
| Speed | 2 (Speed can only be increased at character creation.) |
Total Tech Points: How many Tech Points has the character earned?
Invested Tech Points: How many Tech Points has the character invested?
Map Sprite: Provide a map sprite for your character to use. You can just recolor a compatible sprite or, if so talented, create your own.*
*Obviously, all Chrono Trigger sprites are ‘compatible.’ Certain other SNES games like Terranigma, Star Ocean, Secret of Mana, Romancing Saga, and so on are close enough. There are plenty of resources at Open Game Art.
Techniques: These are special abilities that each character can use. They may be mundane, supernatural, or anything in between. Characters gain a Technique when their TP total reaches the a certain amount (5, 90, 150, 400, 500, etc).
| TP | Technique | Actions | Effect, Element, Magic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Name | 1, 2, or 3 | What does it do? Damage type? Is it magic? |
| 90 | |||
| 150 | |||
| 400 | |||
| 500 | |||
| 600 | |||
| 800 | |||
| 1000 |
Dual/Triple Techniques: These are powerful combined techniques that characters can learn together.
| TP | Technique | Partners, Range | Actions | Effect, Element, Magic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How much invested? | Name | Who can you use this with? How close do you need to be? | 1, 2, or 3 | What does it do? Damage type? Is it magic? |
Inventory: These are the equipment and items that the character has on them. By default, most characters only have Weapon and Armor at start.
| Weapon: | The character’s primary equipment for attack. Sets Might and Range. |
| Armor: | The character’s primary equipment for defense. Sets Defense and Evasion. |
| Accessory: | Provide some kind of persistent benefit. |
| Expendable: | One use items. By default, a character can carry 3 but traits alter this limit. |
That may seem like a great deal of information (and it is) but it’s only the framework of what really makes a character. Personality, motivations, history, and relationships are what a character really is. The statistics and abilities just provide a gamified base for exploring those deeper aspects of the character.