Science System for Generals

Below are a few ideas regarding the use of the science system with generals. With these skills they might even revive the use of the regular tavern generals for specific tactical purposes. Some of these skills may be used in combination with others.

Flank Attack - The better the general is in this skill, the greater his chance of moving his troops in a way that he strikes the enemy's formation on one of its sides on his first strike. This type of attack should increase the damage done to the enemy. This skill might be improved with Manuscripts and Tomes.

Rear Attack - The better the general is in this skill, the greater his chance of moving his troops in a way that he strikes the enemy from behind on his first strike. This type of attack should increase the damage done to the enemy even more than a Flank Attack. This skill might be improved with Codex. Note: If a general is skilled in both Rear and Flank attacks, the chance for Rear attack could be made first. If that fails, he would still have a chance of making a Flank attack. However, it would be one or the other and not both.

Evade Detection/Avoid Intercept - The better the general is in this skill, the greater his chance of sneaking past an enemy camp to strike his intended target(such as a leader camp.) A success with this skill gets past one camp. For every camp the general tries to sneak past, a check is made for success or failure. Naturally the more camps a general tries to sneak past, the more difficult it will be. A failure leads to interception, where a player would still have the option of retreating. However, after a failure, an attempt with this skill cannot be made again for at least an hour since the enemy will be on high alert for that general.

Surprise Attack/Ambush - The better the general is in this skill, the greater his chance of gaining the element of surprise on the enemy and making a first strike before normal combat ensues. This differs from the Skirmish skill below. This skill is not a hit and run. It is simply using surprise to hit the enemy one additional time at the beginning of combat before the enemy is prepared to retaliate. A failure results in normal combat with the enemy not surprised. I think this is a skill that could possibly be improved gradually(moving up a few percentage points) with Manuscripts, Tomes, and Codex to increase the possibility of success.

Skirmish - The better trained the general is in this skill, the greater his chance of striking the enemy once with his troops and then evade without suffering casualties. After a successful skirmish, the general and those troops under his command must rest for an hour to recover from their operation. Should the general fail while applying this skill, a normal battle commences(possibly costly.) To keep things relatively realistic, this skill could be limited to bowmen, longbowmen, and crossbowmen. These light ranged units are more likely to pull off an attack of this type by raining arrows or crossbow bolts into the enemy and taking evasive measures. Perhaps Manuscripts to learn the skill for bowmen, Tomes for longbowmen, and Codex for crossbowmen. A Skirmish would not be automatic. It would be a specific type of attack that a player can elect to make if he has a general with this skill and the proper troops under his command.

Combat Medic, Nurse, and Doctor - A general with this skill gains a Medic, Nurse, or Doctor in his unit. This is a noncombatant that basically is in the background and not a visible character. After combat a percentage of the potentially dead might be recovered with medical treatment. A Medic(improved with Manuscripts) can recover a small percentage. A Nurse(improved with Tomes) can recover slightly more. A Doctor(improved with Codex) can recover slightly more than a Nurse. After an hour, these recovered troops can return to combat.

These ideas might stir the imagination into further thoughts and other improvements that will keep the game interesting.

Great ideas Gold, but some suggestions:

Flank and Rear attack are more formations rather than skills/tactics. Though I see where you're going with this, some other formations could include:

Pincer - This formation represent the general attacking from both sides, cutting off retreat. Generals with this tactic lower the defense rating of troops they fight.

Hedgehog - This formation occurs when troops hide behind a wall of shields, making it very difficult for the enemy to hit them. As such, Generals who know this formation increase the defense of troops under their command (similar to tower defense bonuses).

In addition other tactics that came to mind:

Scavenge - Battles are messy business, but there are always those that search the field for whatever they can find to sell/use. A general with this tactical upgrade can recover some supplies/resources (brew and/or weapons) from his fallen troops. Upgrading improves the % amount of resources recovered. If the general is defeated or withdraws (See below), no resources are recovered (as the general himself can't carry it all alone or runs).

Withdraw - A General with this tactic know when best to retreat. If his army loses a certain % of its troops, he calls for a retreat himself w/o player intervention. Upgrading can improve the chance of success and/or the number of troops saved. Only 1 withdraw can be tried per combat and the General goes on cool down once he returns to camp just as if he was defeated.

Logistics - A general with this tactic know that an army needs a steady supply chain to recover from battle. As such, this tactic allow the general to recover from defeat or withdraw (see above) faster. Upgrading this tactic increases the speed of recovery for the general.

Improved Training/Advanced Training/Elite Training - These tactics represent the general training and drilling his troops in new formations and maneuvers. As such, they improve troops under his command, improving their damage and/or HP. Improved training works from Recruits, Bowmen, and Militia; Advanced training for Longbows, Cavalry, and Soldiers; Elite training for Cannons, Crossbows, and Elite Soldiers.

Forced March/Advanced Deployment - History has shown that he who strikes first, wins. These skills represent that fact. Generals with these skills move faster when traveling overland (Forced March) or transferring between zones (Advanced Deployment)

and BB will ignore every suggestion from players, like normal.

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Originally Posted by Draconus2004

and BB will ignore every suggestion from players, like normal.

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Indeed.

And if they manage to do something you suggested. They'll say it was their idea all along. Of course you'll have to wait 2 years for them to get around to stealing your idea. :-)

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Originally Posted by RonEmpire

Indeed.

And if they manage to do something you suggested. They'll say it was their idea all along. Of course you'll have to wait 2 years for them to get around to stealing your idea. :-)

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or they will warp it in such a way it becomes unattractive to players. aka. granite pit.