I don't know if it counts (I never played the game), but this comment made me immediately think of these ads from Dragon magazine:
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Talislanta is what got me into RPGs! So, like, it was legit enthralling even to someone who'd never had a chance to get jaded with 'look-alike fantasy games.'
My fantasy heartbreaker is
ODYSSEY PERILOUS
A game where whenever possible, danger is posed, but you get a chance to respond before it affects you. So most monsters would have some sort of ability they'd use on their turn to telegraph an attack, and then they would make the attack at the start of their next turn (which might include moving to reach you). Each turn you'd get both a 'standard action' that can deal damage and a 'minor action' that cannot deal damage but instead powers you up, or imposes a penalty, or otherwise telegraphs something big next turn.
Like, a dragon would have to use 'charge breath' on turn 1, then actually 'breathe fire' on turn 2, giving the party a chance to scatter or seek cover.
To go with this, PCs (and major NPCs and monsters) would have a small number of 'Saves,' which would downgrade an incoming attack (from a crit to a hit, or a hit to a miss)
and give you some perk or do something punishing to your opponent. They wouldn't require any reaction, but they would only be usable a few times per combat, so you'd need to wait for the opportune moment for maximum effect. In play, they would hopefully elicit the feel of a well-timed parry in a fighting game.
For instance, a common save for martial characters would downgrade an incoming attack and let you perform a combat maneuver (push, trip, grab, disarm) against your attacker. You could always just use it to avoid dying, or you could trip your attacker on their turn, then on your turn take advantage of that by hitting them while they're vulnerable.
And some monsters could have saves too, perhaps even really powerful ones. Like, a wraith might be able to turn ethereal and completely negate attacks, unless you had hit it with radiant damage or unless it had drained life from a living creature in the last round (thus linking it to the world of the living).
Stuff like that.
bundleofholding.com
