# Ascension combat presentation — Whitebridge iteration 02

These four still renders explore a more coherent version of the Vanguard Bandits-inspired presentation. This is a proposal for Ascension, not a committed combat ruleset. It retains the prior split between small pixel units on an isometric tactical map and larger low-poly human fighters in a skippable close-up.

## Continuity correction

The Act I Whitebridge ambush is carried out by mercenaries in mismatched provincial colors. Crown troops under Ciro are defending the truce and Xeno. The first render set mistakenly represented red crown guards as the enemy. The new set uses irregular mercenary clothing and makes the player objective protective: keep Xeno and the delegates alive and open the ferry escape route. Pyrrhus has not been publicly recognized as the king's son at this point.

## The four screens

1. **Equipment:** Pyrrhus's teal body and ready stance persist while a separately attached one-handed short sword, axe or mace changes. The four map-facing sprites and the larger combat model share costume and loadout identity. Images only propose this; no rig or swappable equipment has been implemented.
2. **Map:** pixel units move on a legible isometric bridge and ferry terrain. The player chooses where to put Pyrrhus and which delegates or exits to guard. A path overlay must remain on walkable tiles; an enemy standing in the route is a tactical obstacle. The map should show who is allied and who is not through uniform, banner, icon and facing.
3. **Reaction:** a mercenary attack on Pyrrhus interrupts the map with a compact choice. Riposte risks taking the hit to strike afterward; Brace reduces damage and adds fatigue; Evade gambles on avoiding the blow; Intercept attempts to stop a frontal attack before it lands. A rear attack would remove Riposte and Intercept. The selected option shows a projected fatigue change. The numbers in the renders are placeholders.
4. **Close-up:** show the exact selected exchange at character scale. Two full-body low-poly human fighters, one weapon per fighter, grounded feet, connected grip, contact on sword or shield, brief pose changes, restrained effect and a skip option. The same resolved HP/fatigue result must appear if the player chooses instant resolution.

## Proposed playable loop

Whitebridge conference is attacked → position the party and face threats → spend AP to move or choose a compatible attack → defender selects an allowed response → resolve in a brief close-up or instantly → update HP, fatigue, objective counters and morale → return to the isometric map. When the encounter ends, Xeno's safety, delegate survival and ferry access feed the story and local confidence. Avoid treating the close-up as a separate real-time combat minigame; the tactical decisions determine the outcome.

For an initial prototype, use one map, one recruit, one royal ally, one mercenary, one civilian objective, one sword and two response choices. Prove that the map and close-up depict the same encounter and produce identical results when animations are skipped. Expand weapons and responses after this seam works.

## Art constraints

The map unit should occupy one tile, with a visible facing and equipment silhouette. The 3D fighter may have more detail but should preserve the same teal tunic, cream sleeves, brown hair and leather accents. One-handed weapons attach to a consistent right-hand socket. Sword, axe and mace can share base locomotion and some readiness poses; their attack timing and contact pose should differ by weight. Characters have low-poly proportions and hand-painted pixel textures. Background geometry uses the same Whitebridge silhouettes and palette across cameras. The static images are direction studies; motion, rig quality and real equipment swapping remain to be proven in-engine.

## Reference and canon

- [Ascension Whitebridge chapter](../../story-act-i-chapter-4-whitebridge.html), Act I, chapter 4.
- Vanguard Bandits presentation: https://blog.playstation.com/?p=64116
- Illustrated battle mechanics: https://shrines.rpgclassics.com/psx/vanguard/battle.shtml

New character appearances, UI numbers and action costs shown in the renders are candidates only, not established canon. Do not infer a fixed Whitebridge battle outcome from an illustrative status panel.