Combat

Combat in Chronicles: Medieval is a skill-based melee system designed to function consistently across all scenarios, from one-on-one duels to large-scale battles with hundreds of participants. The system was developed in collaboration with Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) expert Björn Rüther, whose input shaped weapon handling, guard positions, blade contact, and the overall weight and rhythm of engagements.

Core Mechanics

Two primary variables govern each combat engagement: Energy and Posture. Both names are subject to change during Early Access development.

Design Philosophy

Raw Power Games chose to reject directional combat systems in favor of a design built on clarity, control, and consequence. Every swing is intended to be readable, every hit communicates why it landed, and every decision carries weight. The system uses motion-warping technology for fluid positioning and includes an optional lock-on targeting mode.

Weapon Progression

Each weapon category has its own dedicated progression path. Proficiency improves through use, with players advancing through Apprentice, Journeyman, and Master tiers. Each tier unlocks additional techniques and abilities specific to that weapon type. Role-specific advantages are built into the system: spears dominate open ground, maces perform well against armored opponents, and longswords offer broader versatility.

Players can carry up to four weapons simultaneously and swap between them freely during combat, allowing for strategic loadout decisions before and during engagements.

Mounted Combat

Mounted combat merges the strength of the horse with the skill of the rider. Lance behavior varies by equipment quality, and character proficiency affects readiness speed, stability, and aim adjustment when mounted. Each horse has individual characteristics including top speed, turning rate, health, and trampling damage. Players can charge enemies on horseback or participate in full-scale cavalry clashes.

Morale and Battle Scale

The same melee system scales from a duel up to a full battle. The studio has stated an ambition of around 1,000 versus 1,000 combatants and is working toward it, while being open that the figure is not yet committed and may not be reached by Early Access. At that scale, battles are won and lost on morale rather than raw numbers: a unit’s spirit breaks before its bodies do, and a broken unit routs and is counted as lost regardless of how many men survive. The player fights as the commander of their army rather than directing it from a safe distance, and that battlefield presence matters. Standing with the front line bolsters nearby troops, and only the commander’s own kills and executions, performed where the soldiers can see them, lift a unit into the Inspired morale state. The flip side is that the commander falling is the single biggest morale hit of all, applying a one-time penalty across the entire army, so wading alone into a large group remains dangerous regardless of skill or armor. Picking when to charge in and when to hold the line is part of the tactical layer. A unit that breaks is said to rout and currently cannot be reformed mid-battle; a retreat, by contrast, is an ordered withdrawal that keeps a unit with the army, called deliberately or triggered automatically when the army’s strength drops below a threshold. See Gameplay for the battle planning, battle lines, formation, command, and morale systems that sit around this combat.

HEMA Partnership

Raw Power Games partnered with Björn Rüther, a recognized figure in Historical European Martial Arts, to ensure the combat system reflects the precision and weight of authentic historical swordsmanship. The collaboration informed blade-to-blade contact simulation, guard positions, realistic parrying, and the overall feel of weapons in combat.