Are you tired of turn-based combat growing stale by round 2, following the same routine of enemies go -> party goes -> rinse, repeat? Well then, you're in luck! Instead of rounds following a fixed pattern, Shadow of the Road keeps things fresh by offering a constantly evolving Timeline.
Every character in combat, whether an ally or an enemy, has an Initiative value. Initiative determines their place in the turn order queue that is called the Timeline.
The higher the character's Initiative is, the sooner they can act, and the more to the left they're placed on the Timeline.
If two or more characters have the same Initiative, the game decides randomly between them. Once someone takes a turn, they’re moved behind the others with equal Initiative - keeping things fair and varied. Simple enough at first glance, but the Timeline evolves rapidly in play.
Initiative values shift mid-combat, meaning the turn order on the Timeline isn’t locked, and it's constantly updated in response to a plethora of factors:
- Every damaging attack inflicts Distraction, which reduces the target’s Initiative on a successful hit;
- Some abilities (like Dazzle) apply longer-term effects that lower Initiative over multiple turns, making it harder for affected units to recover their tempo;
- The team that initiates combat gets a temporary Initiative boost, rewarding careful planning and positioning;
- Some characters have passive perks that resist Initiative loss, or gain extra Initiative under specific circumstances.
This keeps the battlefield fluid and compels the player to take into account the consequences of everyone's actions when planning.
If a character’s Initiative drops below 0 at any time, their current turn ends immediately, regardless of how many Action or Movement Points they had left: a well-timed hit can cancel a unit’s entire turn, before they get to act! That means, planning your attacks around the Timeline is just as important as damage output.
A character’s Initiative value resets as soon as they finish their turn. However, there's a catch: if they take damage before their next turn starts (say, from someone still acting in the current round), that new Initiative can still be lowered — potentially pushing them even further down in the Timeline.
The Timeline bar at the top of the screen shows:
- Portraits of the characters with upcoming turns;
- Their names;
- Their current Initiative values.
The bar is split into Current Round and Next Round, letting you see who’s acting now and who’s up next. It updates in real-time as characters act, take damage, or die.
This system rewards deeper tactics, rather than a raw, by the numbers approach. For example, a player skilled at navigating the Timeline can delay enemies to interrupt their strongest units, or pull allies forward on the Timeline to protect an objective.
You can go and try it for yourself - the Demo for Shadow of the Road is available right now, and it's free! Let us know what you think in the comments, and don't forget to fill out the Demo survey - we’re listening.
Just remember:
A true samurai is never late, just like a wizard. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.
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