Battle Rows

Front row. Back row. That choice should matter.

Front/Back row combat for RPG Maker MZ. Actors and enemies fight from a row, and where they stand changes the damage they deal and take. Standalone: no other plugin required.

• RPG Maker MZ
• Works with turn-based and Time Progress (Active and Wait) battles
• One license covers unlimited projects, free or commercial
• Free updates for every license holder

What your players get

• A formation worth thinking about. By default, a back row fighter takes 25% less from melee hits, but deals 25% less with a melee weapon. Every "who stands where" decision has a price.

• Melee and ranged finally matter. Swords want the front, bows and guns want the back. Ranged attacks ignore the defender's row, and spells ignore row entirely unless you say otherwise.
• Enemies have rows too, and you never set them. Place enemies in the Troop editor as always. Rows are worked out from their positions and re-checked all battle long, so when the front line falls, whoever is behind it steps up. A boss with a healer trailing behind becomes a formation puzzle: the healer takes less from swords, full damage from arrows.

• No tutorial needed. One "Swap Row" command (it costs the turn, like Guard), a row tag in the menu, and a "B" on the battlefield. You can also swap from the Formation screen: select an actor, then select the same actor again.

What you get to design

• Every number is yours. Tune the back row rates for damage dealt and taken, and set a minimum-damage floor per row so "back row" never means "invincible."
• Notetags on everything. Weapons, armor, classes, actors and enemies can override, add to, or multiply row rates. A spear that ignores the back row penalty (<back row damage 100%>). A tower shield that softens front row hits (<front row damage taken -25%>). A boss that hits harder from the front (<front row damage *1.25>).

• Skills that care about rows. A sniper shot that reaches past the front line (<target backrow only>), artillery that must be set up behind it (<back row only>), a charge that moves the user forward and hits in one action (<set battler row front before>).

• Magic on your terms. Spells ignore row by default. Add <melee> or <ranged> to any spell to make it follow the rules.
• Starting positions. <backrow> on actors or classes that begin behind the line: snipers, summoners, glass cannons.
• Event control. The Set Actor Row and Swap Actor Row plugin commands stage formations from map or battle events, at no turn cost.
• Details handled. Enemy targeting is ordered by proximity to the party, and every label, offset, color and icon is configurable.

Compatibility

Built on top of RPG Maker MZ's own battle system: it works with turn-based and Time Progress (Active and Wait) battles. Every core function it touches is aliased, never overwritten, so it tends to coexist with other battle plugins. Load order fixes most conflicts: try placing Battle Rows below your battle system plugin. Or, if the Swap Row command don't show, place it after the other plugin.

Optional: if you own TomazellaMZ_2_BattleCore, Battle Rows detects it automatically. Melee/ranged follows its richer weapon tags, and "Swap Row" joins its configurable command list. Nothing here needs it.

Questions

Do I need any other plugin?

No. Battle Rows is fully standalone.

Does it work in sideview and frontview?

Yes. Enemy rows come from screen X in sideview and screen Y in frontview, and the distance that separates rows is set in the plugin parameters.

Does it work with Time Progress battles?

Yes, both Active and Wait.

Can I set an enemy's row?

Enemy rows are always derived from where the enemy is placed, so they update as enemies fall. There is no manual enemy row setting.

Does an actor's row carry over between battles?

Yes. Row is saved on the actor, like equipment, so it persists across battles and in save files.

Does it work in RPG Maker MV?

No. It is built for RPG Maker MZ.

License

• One license covers unlimited projects, free or commercial
• No credit required
• Free updates for every license holder

You may NOT resell, redistribute, or share this plugin, original or modified, on its own or bundled with anything else. It, and any changes you make to it, may only ship inside your own projects - never as a standalone asset or plugin.

Valid licenses are issued only at tomazellagames.itch.io and tomazellagames.com.