Battle for Gobwin Bump V

[LTDave]

The Blonde Commander returns...

Oh - you're still alive. Well, half of you, at least. Good Job. And some of you have levelled. Nicely done.

Those Hay'tas certainly can pack a punch. And there's more where they came from.

Time to move. The Stack that was defending the Northern Hex edge have been wiped out, so we're pulling further back before we get flanked.
I'll try and replace your losses - no good fielding half a stack.

This battle isn't over - we're just getting started.

[LTDave]

There will be a 24 hour hiatus while we restack.
Cwoaked players may choose to "respawn". If you'd like to be a different type of unit, please post to that effect.

I'm thinking of changing some rules -
* Base Defence for all units to be increased by 2
* Lunge to be less severe - maybe half defence is added to combat
* Increasing Heal?

Thoughts, opinions, feelings?

I do want the game to be bloody, so don't expect to survive each encounter with a full stack.

If you'd like to personalise your character, visit the site below to download the "mercenary recruits" PNG file, and edit one up in paint (or equivalent). Send me a PM with a link to your edited version on a white background, and I'll try to include it. Nothing too ridiculous, please. You are only level 1s and 2s.

Is everybody having a good time?

[The Colonel]

Eyup so where are my new spells? I want to summon fire without flint nor tinder.

[BLANDCorporatio]

Is everybody having a good time?

Ian Marius Stanley is miffed about not leveling. Also about how half of his comrades croaked.

I on the other hand am having a blast!

[MarbitChow]

I'm not really fond of the arbitrary 'cannot be used twice in a row' rule for most options, personally. It doesn't really make sense that a knight can't keep his shield raised...
Increasing DEF across the board will only prolong the combats, not change the outcome, so I'd say leave it as is.
Heal of 2 is useless, especially if it can only be used once every other turn.
Lunge is also useless for PCs and over-powered for NPCs.

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My suggestions:

ALL
Strike (X) - the default melee mode, where X is the max row that can be targeted. Knights/Warriors get Strike(1), Halberdiers get Strike(2), and Archers get Strike(10).

Allow HTH melee characters to choose 1 ATT and 1 DEF ability from the following list, or 2 ATT abilities. Archers get Strike(10) and Aim. Casters get 3 spells instead.

ATT : All ATT options modify the base Strike.
Piercing Blow - hit a precise weak spot. +2 to Combat, -2 to Defense.
Lunge - Hit a target 1 rank further. -2 to Defense.
Aim - +8 to Combat against aimed target on the next turn only. Defense is reduced to 0 this turn and the next turn. -1 to Combat for each hit taken on this turn or the next turn, up to -8 max.

DEF : All DEF options can be used in place of a Strike.
Block - increase Defense by (1/2 the value of Combat, +1) [So 4 Combat = 3 Def, 6 Combat = 4 Def]
Guard - select 1 other player: add 1/2 your defense to their defense.
Parry - negates most damaging strike against you. attacker who was parried by has -2 Defense against you on the next turn.

SPELLS : Casters have 5 juice per level.
Heal Minor Wounds - restore Combat + d6 to target at any range. Costs 1 juice.
Shock Dart - Does Combat + 2d6 to target at any range. Costs 1 juice.
Shield - Adds +4 to target's defense. Lasts for 3 turns. Costs 1 juice.
Curse - Does d6 to target at any range. Ignores Defense. Costs 1 juice.

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On Leveling:
Leveling Hit is pointless. No one will EVER select it. On leveling, let them choose +1 Com or +1 Def, and also grant them +2 Hit.

-----


I'd like to respawn as a Knight, named Anday.

[BLANDCorporatio]

On Leveling:
Leveling Hit is pointless. No one will EVER select it.

Debatable. Depends on the other abilities of the unit and the expected combat use.

If the unit has Lunge, or some other, Def-to-Attack conversion ability, then increasing Def makes sense as it provides an extra tactical option. If the unit expects the opposition to be of the paper cut variety, then increasing Def also makes sense because no single attack has a chance of killing the unit, and defense will operate to reduce the impact of the several attacks.

Lacking Def-to-Att converters, and/or expecting strong enemies who have armour piercing attacks, nudges selection towards increasing Hits as a way to improve survivability.

[MarbitChow]

Debatable. Depends on the other abilities of the unit and the expected combat use.

+1 Def is almost exactly equivalent to +1 Hit, but can be used over multiple attacks. If you're lowering your def, you don't expect to be hit, and are trying to maximize damage, so +1 Com/Att makes more sense.
+1 Def prevents 1 damage per hit, so if you're hit twice, it's already better than +1 Hit.
+1 Def trumps +1 Hit in almost all situations. If you want to keep the options open, boost the HP bonus to leveling from +1 to something much higher, like +3 or +4.

[Swodaems]

I'm in agreement that +1 to hits per level is a bit low under the circumstances. There is very little in the game that can one-shot you, so another point of def will almost always trump having another hit. (Exception: Def avoiding abilities like Aim, Piercing Blow, and apparently Curse can only really be survived by having more hits. It should be noted that increasing Def for all units will give units with these abilities large advantage over their opponents.)

As for increasing Heal, how about something like making the amount of hits restored something like '2+caster level'.

I'm going to be a knight again. I never croaked an enemy, so I'll probably still be level 1 when I repop, but how does it work for the 3 of us who croaked after leveling? (Also, I noticed that Avery leveled and took the exact damage needed to croak him within the same phase. If he were to say "I choose to increase hits," what would happen?)

[five-thirteen]

Is everybody having a good time?

Definitely, Can't believe I stayed in range for two lunges though



Leveling though,It'd be cool if every once in a while there were other stats that we could pick- stronger ones that we could only pick once

Combat Trick: May take one extra action, can only be used once per battle
Luck: +1 to combat and defense rolls
Duck and cover: Half damage to non-adjacent attacks, can only be used once per battle
Berserker: Combat bonus proportional to HP lost

These look alot more like passive skills than I meant them to, Still, they might work as alternate choices at higher (3+) levels.


I agree that hit needs to be buffed for reasons that MarbitChow already stated, and it makes sense to either buff it, or make things like Piercing blow and Aim more common. (which would make life alot harder for the frontliners) The other option I can think of is to buff Heal by changing it to a % healed instead of a flat number, giving heavies an incentive to stack hits.

[Exate]

Cwoaked players may choose to "respawn". If you'd like to be a different type of unit, please post to that effect.

Another Archer is fine. Numma Wan managed to croak a whopping three units before she bit it, so I'm feeling pretty good about the class... even if losing her and presumably the associated XP hurt a bit.

It's fine, though. Numma Trois hits the field.

I'm thinking of changing some rules -
* Base Defence for all units to be increased by 2
* Lunge to be less severe - maybe half defence is added to combat
* Increasing Heal?

Increasing base Defense will make things a lot less lethal- except when people use abilities that amplify their damage or ignore defense. Looking at this from the perspective of an Archer, it means that all the "fire" orders we have to issue every other round instead of the superior "aim" order would likely plink off the units that we're shooting without doing any damage at all. I can't say I approve of that.

I would like to see defensive actions added to everyone's arsenal- guard for defending against melee, going prone or taking cover for defending against ranged, and otherwise acting to keep ourselves alive rather than attacking. It seems reasonable to think those would be options.

I don't like the "every other turn" restriction on tons of actions. It's arbitrary and adds little strategy to the game, just makes us alternate what we're doing. Having all moves available every turn would be preferable, with each action designed so that it's a better choice than the others for certain circumstances.

Is everybody having a good time?

Sure. Being able to see our enemies a little sooner and having a round to see their stats and strategize before each engagement starts would be nice, though.

[LTDave]

Thanks for the input. The key to all this for me is simplicity. There has not been a single round where I haven't made an error. Complicating the rules further will only increase that problem.
I'll see what I can come up with...
More suggestions?

[MarbitChow]

Well, at the very least, eliminate the 'every other turn' means you've got one less thing to keep track of.

[HerbieRai]

It might be simpler to have the combat go in turns instead of at the same time. I'm not sure if it would help things on your side.

[LTDave]

Some Draft Changes from the last set of orders:

The Random Number will now be a d4, rather than a d6. This adds an element of luck, but reduces the excessive results.


Abilities: Each character chooses 3 of the abilities below:

Attack / Fire – Hit an adjacent opponent. Combat and Defence normal. Halberdiers/Spears may attack an opponent from the second rank. Archers and Casters may target any enemy on screen.

Block – Defence +2, Combat -2. Unit may still attack while Blocking.

Precise Blow – attack / fire at a weak spot – Combat ignores Defence value of opponent, but does not add Random to value.

Parry - deflect all opponents’ melee attacks against you for the phase (you cannot parry Arrows or Spells).

Mighty Blow - Combat +2, Defence -2

Guard - +2 to Defence of Adjacent character. -2 to your Combat.

Berserker - Combat +X (where X is the number of hits you have lost) Defence is reduced to 0.



Caster Specials:

Heal Wounds - restore half the target’s lost hits on touch (rounded up).

Spark - summon fire without flint nor tinder. Effect: can light candles if needed.

Shield – +4 Defence of any Character for the turn.




Levelling – Everyone starts out as level 0. If you add the final touches and cwoak an enemy, you might level. You need to cwoak one enemy to reach level 1, two more to reach level 2, and three more to reach level 3. Once folks get to level 3, we’ll start adding extra abilites.
For each level you go up, you get +1 hits, and +1 to Combat or Defence.

[LTDave]

It might be simpler to have the combat go in turns instead of at the same time. I'm not sure if it would help things on your side.

This is a good idea, if only because (at the moment) the enemies don't really get to choose an opponent - you guys move, and they hit whatever is in front of them. It would mean extra work making pretty pictures... I'll think on it.

[Werebiscuit]

Spoiler: show

Sorry to intrude...

Long time lurker here. Been watching with interest. Congrats to LTDave for getting me to register. Hope Balder appreciates your efforts in keeping some of his audience entertained while he's working on things backstage.

Anyway...

I tollally get the "cannot be used twice in a row" because some of the abilities are just so good that it doesn't make sense to choose anything else. The choose from 3 keeps things simple so what you want to do is make the abilties more like "rock paper scissors" so each has its advantages but also falls foul of another

At the moment Block > Strike but Piercing Blow trumps both so theres no cycle of advantage and disadvantage. Which is why the "may not be used twice" works.

However with the addition of initiative in the sequence Block, Strike, Blow,
Block is still better than Strike and Piercing Blow is best against Block but now strike has the possibility of taking out an opponent before he gets to use the piercing blow but only if combat is not simultaneous. It gives the default a tactical use.

Well a more tactical use that the one BLAND had in mind - I saw what you did there !

Parry would have to go first which gives it no real disadvantage - which is where Lunge comes in or even Swing. Try to parry THAT with your light blade , sirrah !

It probably needs more work to iron out any loopholes but I think that something like that could work

Anyway... as you were....carry on...nothing to see here....

[LTDave]

Spoiler: show

Long time lurker here. Been watching with interest. Congrats to LTDave for getting me to register. Hope Balder appreciates your efforts in keeping some of his audience entertained while he's working on things backstage.

Spoiler: show

Don't say such things. You'll get the thread deleted.
But welcome. And thanks.

[MarbitChow]

The Random Number will now be a d4, rather than a d6. This adds an element of luck, but reduces the excessive results.

Block – Defence +2, Combat -2. Unit may still attack while Blocking.

I like these changes.

Parry - deflect all opponents’ melee attacks against you for the phase (you cannot parry Arrows or Spells).

This is may be too powerful. Perhaps change this to "deflect X attacks" where X is level (or level + 1 if you want 0-level chars to be able to use it).

Guard - +2 to Defence of Adjacent character. -2 to your Combat.

Is this a targeted adjacent character, or any?

Heal Wounds - restore half the target’s lost hits on touch (rounded up).

So, if I've got 10 hp, I take 9 pts. of damage, it takes 5 (hp=6) + 2 (hp=8) + 1 (hp=9) + 1 (hp=10) heal spells to fully heal me?
Can't we just make this heal 1/2 the full HP of the target?

[MarbitChow]

A few additional questions:

1) Can we coordinate attacks, so that (for example) I could soften up a target and let the Caster finish it off, in order to control who levels?
2) Is the "can't use twice in a row" restriction still in place for abilities, or has that been eliminated?
3) Can a unit still attack while Guarding, like they can w/ Block?
4) Can someone choose "[ Block, Parry, Guard ]" as their 3 abilities? What about "[ Precise Blow, Mighty Blow, Berserker ]"?

[Werebiscuit]

Some Draft Changes from the last set of orders:

Guard - +2 to Defence of Adjacent character. -2 to your Combat.

.

Spoiler: show

How about the attack companion of Guard ?
Feint - +2 to attack of an Adjacent character so long as he attacks your opponent.Loss of own attack but no def penalty. Can only feint opponent directly in front (so no stacking feints)