Groovy wrote:Parry? Dodge? Fess up, Panda, you have a whole different set of combat abilities in mind when it comes to heroes! Why not come clean and share them?
*demented giggle*
Let me gather this and that from previous posts to redo a proposal...copying...loading...copying...pasting...pasting...editing...loading...gritting teeth...farting...loading...
Goddamn, it took longer than I thought.
I'll present the general conception of a battle engagement in three situations:
(R) - Regular battle against creatures
(H) - Battle against enemy Hero/and army
(S) - Siege combat
ENGAGING BATTLE
(R) You can trigger the battle normally. If you're too powerful, units may attempt to flee or join you. If you're alike in power, you may either try to fight or leave them. If you're too weak, you'll engage a forced battle, from which you cannot run away.
(H) You can trigger three options (I'll explain them later):
(S) You can trigger two options (also explain later):
HERO'S ATTRIBUTES
In addition to skills and spells we know the hero will have, he'll also have COMMADING and DUELING attributes (
Expert Guide feature only! 
).
1. Commanding (for (R), (H) and (S)): attributes that boosts army attributes of all friendly stacks which are within the area of effect o around the hero (explained further down).
- Attack
Damage
Defense
Morale
Luck
Spell Points
2. Dueling (for (H) and (S)): hero attributes regarding hero vs hero fighting and self defense/improvement (explained further down).
- Attack
Defense (decreases physical damage)
Spell Power (increases magical power)
Magic Defense (decreases magical effect)
Damage
Resistance (blocks a magical effect)
Speed (higher speed is higher initiative, dodging rate and accuracy – dodging avoids physical damage)
Movement Points (to move on the battlefield - when speed rises, movement points may be added)
Morale
Luck
Hit Points (HP vs heroes)
Stamina (HP vs units)
Spell Points
BATTLE – Have this in mind now:
Where the blueish hexagons would be where you hero can move on the battlefield at the start of the battle (which would be, of course, larger and movable (which means that the limits of that blue area would increase when troops started getting killed or getting too crowded in the center of the battlefield). The area of effect of your hero Commanding attributes is 10 hex-radius. The area of effect of your troops protective limitation
(which would not allow an opposing unit to attack your hero) is 5 hex-radius
(imagine that the troop was on the position 11 of that board, so your hero could be anywhere on the rest of the board that he/she would be protected as long as that troop was standing - this situation can be tweaked though if the protecting unit gets blinded, paralyzed, petrified or immobilized in any ways).
(R) Your hero cannot be targeted by units when they're not following another hero's bidding. So the hero can move to and fro around the battlefield in the best suitable way to command his troops in that battle. While casting offensive spells, the nearer the hero is from the target, stronger is the spell (when target get's within hero's 10-hex radius of influence that is). Hero can inflict melee attacks on any foes within that 10-hex radius area. Ranged attacks can be performed if hero is skilled enough to do so. Ranged attacks have twice more range of effect (20-hex radius).
In (R) battles, Hero can flee. If loses a (R) battle, hero gets killed.
(H) Your hero can walk around the battle freely, but now he can be targeted by enemy troops if he's out of their protective radius. He can also engage a battle against another hero on either battlefield or on a duel (chosen while engaging battle).
If hero is attacked by regular units, he can be damaged losing Stamina. Stamina is usually low, but a troop hit will always take 1 stamina per time. Hero can dodge attacks. High tier units have more chances to inflict a successful hit.
If hero is attacked by another hero, he'll lose HP, and all the Dueling Attributes will be applied. This is what happens on a DUEL too. You'll have the whole battlefield at your disposal to fight your opposing hero with the best of your abilities. Duels are advisable when fightning even heroes.
In a Duel, hero can surrender before getting killed. If opposing hero accepts, he'll have the right to choose one of the three conditions:
- 1. Your hero is spared, but loses all your troops (and then sent to your nearest town)
2. Your hero is spared, but loses all your equipment (sent to your nearest town)
3. Your hero, items, troops are spared, but you'll have to pay a ransom for safe return (sent to your nearest town)
If hero gets killed though, half his troops gets scattered and the remaining forces will regroup randomly on player's towns after two days. This is also what happens when the hero is killed in the middle of a battle, before his troops are destroyed. Half the remaining troops will scatter, and the other half will return to town.
If hero doesn't attempt to flee before the last troop is slain, if the last allied stack gets killed, enemy hero can either kill that hero or take him for ransom: this last option is only when the Main hero is captured.
Killed heroes are automatically taken to nearest Temples on the Adventure map, where they can be retrieved and resurrected by the player within 7 days. If not, they won't be able to be used again.
In a (H) battle, area of effect abilities/spells will damage both troops and hero (regarding HP and Stamina differences of course).
If the local tavern run out of heroes, mercenaries can be hired instead, although they are rather different from heroes: their area of influence in battle is 5-hex radius only, cause no positive morale over troops, has no faction abilities, has no diplomatic events, cannot learn ruling skills or abilities related to leadership and kingship.
(S) Entering a siege battle is mandatory even when there are not defending troops. If there are not defending troops, hero will enter the siege battle alone and will have to use his abilities to break in the defenses and enter the town in order to conquer it.
If there are troops defending the town, the battle commences.
The layout in a Siege battle is different. Hero can only move at the backline, behind this troops and cannot be targeted by enemy hero directly, only through troops or area effect spells/ability. Hero must also be within range of war/siege machines in order to activate and use them – for both attacking and defending heroes, although the latter will also have Defending buildings to work with.
If defeated, hero will only be able to flee if there's not remaining defending ranged troops. If there are ranged troops defending the town still, hero'll be killed.
If winner, invading hero can either kill or banish the defending hero (who will be released at the nearest town the day after) – or taken captive for ransom if Main hero.
If you engage a siege battle but decides leaving the site, you leave your back open to ranged attacks, so your troops will get damaged equal to 1 attack of all ranged defending troops spread amongst your units. E.g.: if 10 titans and 10 archmages are defending the town, your troops will be damaged by those troops and the damage will be divided proportionally amongst all troops.
DIPLOMACY
Diplomacy events bring options: surrender and truce. In Multiplayer games, with allied heroes, a third option shows up: join forces. When the player is weaker, surrender shall appear. If both armies forces are even, surrender and truce will appear. If the player is stronger, truce will appear.
But after battle commences, only surrender and flee options will become available.
"This way, it would give a bit more importance to the hero in a battle, plus skills and strategies - and also make the player take care of heroes, rather than only care for creatures."
In order to have such features implemented with heroes, many new skills and abilities could exist, but that's something for
Expert Guide only. I think that covers the most of what I'd call my Heroes Hero-in-Battle design.
5 in 5 levels, most likely.
There'll be differences between the main hero and second hero to learn, given that the main hero is a RULER, and the second hero is a LORD/LADY. The Ruler has acces to all skills regarding the kingdom. But the Ruler also has a unique skill, MENTORING, that'll allow him to pass knowledge on his ruling skills to a secondary hero, although this secondary hero will only really be able to use those skills when the main hero gets killed.
