#Zone Topology (區域配置)

Contents

The battlefield is not a grid; it is a set of zones. Which zones you control decides victory or defeat.

Related Entries: Basic Premise §5 · Domination · Breakthrough · Core Zone

Basis Premise: Premise 5 (Zone Battlefields)

#Basic Zone Structure

#Scent — Reading the Battlefield

Look down on the battlefield from above and the formations of both sides become clear. Arrows fly from the Rear Zone, spears and blades clash on the Front Zone, and beyond them, in the center, spreads a melee where friend and foe are hard to tell apart. On both sides of the battlefield are flanking routes through brush and terrain; somewhere outside the battlefield, things invisible to human eyes crouch in wait.

#Law — Rules

    [Allied Rear Zone] ─── [Allied Front Zone] ⇌ [Enemy Front Zone] ─── [Enemy Rear Zone]
                 │          │
              [Allied Flank Zone] [Enemy Flank Zone]
                 │          │
                 └──── [Core Zone] ────────┘
                      │
                    [Outside Zone]

8 Basic Zones:

Zone	Type	Description
Allied Rear Zone	Standard	Archers, teppo units, command post. Relatively safe.
Allied Front Zone	Standard	Allied main engagement zone. Spearmen, samurai.
Enemy Front Zone	Standard	Enemy main engagement zone.
Enemy Rear Zone	Standard	Enemy command post. Breakthrough target.
Allied Flank Zone	Special	Side bypass route. Enables stealth movement and ambush.
Enemy Flank Zone	Special	Enemy side. Target for flanking ambushes.
Core Zone	Special	Heart of the melee. Special entry condition. → Details
Outside Zone	Special	Outside the battlefield. Spirit Realm, underground, deep forest. Shinobi/yoma only.

#Adjacency

#Law — Rules

Zone	Adjacent Zones
Allied Rear Zone	Allied Front Zone, Allied Flank Zone
Allied Front Zone	Allied Rear Zone, Enemy Front Zone, Allied Flank Zone, Core Zone
Enemy Front Zone	Allied Front Zone, Enemy Rear Zone, Enemy Flank Zone, Core Zone
Enemy Rear Zone	Enemy Front Zone, Enemy Flank Zone
Allied Flank Zone	Allied Rear Zone, Allied Front Zone, Core Zone
Enemy Flank Zone	Enemy Rear Zone, Enemy Front Zone, Core Zone
Core Zone	Allied Front Zone, Enemy Front Zone, Allied Flank Zone, Enemy Flank Zone
Outside Zone	(Special: only shinobi/yoma can enter. It connects to all zones, but cannot be moved through freely.)

Key Point: Allied Front Zone and Enemy Front Zone are directly adjacent. If you stand on the Front Zone, you can immediately attack enemies on the opposing Front Zone.

#Movement

#Law — Rules

Adjacency First: Whether movement is possible is judged by the adjacency table above.
Common Movement Cost: The Energy costs of common maneuvers such as walking, sprinting, stealth movement, and jumping follow Energy and Breath.
Special Entry Axes: Core Zone, Breakthrough, and Outside Zone entry are handled as special movement rules separate from ordinary walking.
Tactical Meaning by Zone: Which maneuvers grow stronger in each zone follows Zone Tactics.

#Battlefield Variation (GM Authority)

#Scent — The Living Battlefield

The battlefield is not fixed. When a bridge breaks, the connection between zones disappears; when a castle wall collapses, a new route opens. Skilled commanders use changes in the battlefield, and the GM uses these variations to make each battle distinct.

#Law — Rules

The GM may freely alter the zone structure according to the scenario.

Variation	Effect	Example
Delete Zone	That zone cannot be used. Last stand.	delete Allied Rear Zone → no retreat
Block Passage	Movement between two zones is impossible. Barricade.	block Front Zone↔Core Zone
Capacity Limit	Limit maximum Domination inside a zone.	narrow bridge: Domination cap 3
Add Zone	Create a new zone.	underground passage, 2nd-floor tower
Merge Zones	Merge two zones into one.	castle wall collapse → Front Zone+Core Zone merge
Special Effect	Add an environmental gimmick to a zone.	poison mist: 1 Wound each round. swamp: movement +1 Energy.

Giant Yoma Battle: A yoma itself can become the map. Rebuild zones as the yoma's tentacles (Enemy Front Zone), torso (Core Zone), vital point (special target zone), and so on.

A zone is not a chessboard. It is a living battlefield.