Punball · systems design
One complete tabletop encounter sits inside a large valley for free exploration. Four companions bring different tools and opinions.
01
Orla Reed needs her crossing repaired. The council sent four armed travellers. Across the river, an enchanted toll collector carries the clapper stolen from Lowbell’s town bell. Recover it, then decide who should carry it onward.
Prepare
Pack one parcel
Tea supplies two shared healing actions. Charms give each companion +1 armor for the encounter.
Listen
Talk to Orla
Ask about the bridge, bell, and workers. Then repair the central crossing or open the southern ford.
Act
Recover the clapper
Defeat four collectors. Use movement, cover, and signature abilities to keep the company standing.
Decide
Choose a custodian
Return the clapper to Orla or retain it as evidence. The ending and choice save on this device.
02
| Companion | Health | Armor | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mara · Warden | 26 | 16 | Shieldbreak: next enemy attack has disadvantage |
| Bram · Wayfinder | 20 | 13 | Snaring shot: stop movement through the next turn |
| Ivo · Cinder scholar | 18 | 12 | Cinder arc: +4 damage and 3 splash to adjacent foes |
| Nell · Hearthkeeper | 23 | 14 | Mending light: restore 1d6 + 5 HP; revive fallen allies |
Each signature has two uses. Everyone has a basic attack and Brace. The party is fixed for this first encounter; recruitment and level progression belong to later work.
03
Attack
d20 + attack ≥ target armor
Natural 1 misses. Natural 20 hits and adds another damage die. The target preview shows the current success chance.
Stone walls add +2 armor against ranged attacks. Brace spends your action for +3 armor until your next turn. Stagger rolls two d20s and keeps the lower result.
The engine commits each result before its miniature dice tumble. The tray reveals the stored outcome with a numbered face flat and upward. The tumble is an animation, not the source of randomness. Skip and reload preserve it. The journal holds the latest 30 rolls, so a surprising hit can be checked.
04
The full encounter saves locally, including pending dice, spent resources, route, and ending. A new table replaces that save. There is no account or cross-device sync.
Arcade score
1000 + 200 × standing companions + 40 × max(0, 20 − round)
After choosing an ending, you can request arcade score entry. These are client-reported scores for a casual leaderboard. They have no prize value.
05
The valley spans 8,192 × 6,144 terrain units. At five feet per unit, that is about 7.8 × 5.8 miles. Terrain streams around the camera; the atlas displays the whole region at lower detail. Select a companion and click a destination to walk there. Each companion retains a separate position. Water blocks walking, so routes use bridges. Walk ×1 and Hike ×4 change travel speed. Places opens the gazetteer; Look at this place moves only the camera. The camera-span readout shows approximate feet or miles across the view.
The game starts on the world atlas. Speak to Orla at Reedbridge to enter the first encounter. World map pauses combat turns; Resume Reedbridge restores the saved fight and its original combat positions. Walking is free exploration, not a way to bypass combat movement or heal. The atlas uses the same world coordinates and building sizes; the detailed encounter is a separate tactical board.
The world now includes Highcrown’s castle town, Ashfall Keep, the Crownspine mountains, two sealed dungeon entrances, the Longwater river with two crossings, irregular Glassmere, and Lanternhaven’s coastal harbor and ships. There are 15 named places. Most offer discovery scenes; the dungeon interiors are not open. The Unreasonable offers a saved, three-choice d20 rescue event at its quay. It is a skill challenge, not another tactical battle. The world has finite borders. Travel positions and discoveries save separately on this device.
06
Drag the table to orbit, pinch or scroll to zoom, or use the camera buttons. On the focused table, arrow keys move the cursor and Enter chooses a square. The Folio offers a separate accessible map with the same rules and save. Selecting a tile opens commands beside it. The card identifies the active companion, movement cost, remaining movement, action, and target. The active figure has a bright gold marker.
Fantasy miniatures are authored in Blender and rendered with Three.js. All four companions have jointed rigs and eight poses. Their faces adapt Dan Ulrich’s CC0 human base meshes from Blender’s asset bundle. Outfits, props, hair and motion are original. Mara wears layered blue armor and a fitted open-face helmet. She uses an overhead cut and covering shield block. Bram has a broader face, a ranger doublet, quiver and animated bowstring. His drawing hand hooks the string, and the arrow rests above his bow grip. Ivo has an older face, full gray beard and fitted wide-brim hat, with a violet coat, staff and open folio. His left hand supports the book. Nell has fuller cheeks and a narrower chin. She carries medicine bags, a hearth baton and a swinging lantern with separate grip poses. Short hair tips and Ivo’s hat have light secondary motion. Open Folio → Meet the company to rotate any companion and replay the real model’s animations. A separate Pixio room loop supplies the soft-focus, realistic gaming den. Reduced motion keeps the room still. Sound is original synthesis and starts muted. The Folio contains the SRD 5.2.1 attribution, CC BY 4.0 license link, and a list of adaptations. Our world and characters are original.