[Beta3][Suggestion] Tarth faction mechanics, Ambush.

Greetings, I'v been playing a lot of FE since beta 3 came out. the game is improving by leaps and bounds. I'm sure Stardock has plans in abundance for faction differentiation, so I hope it isn't too presumptuous to suggest a (maybe?) new one. I had the thought that it could be fun, and fit in with what I understand about Tarth lore, if they had the ability to set ambushes so as to leverage their bows and smaller parties to greatest advantage. here's how I see it working:

Tarth would have a strategic option along with explore and guard to "Set Ambush". Setting the ambush would take one turn, and then the unit would be hidden from view from other factions and neutrals. If a hostile then moves onto a neighboring tile, the Tarth unit can attack, catching their prey unawares. the Tarth unit would gain a significant initiative bonus for the first three rounds of combat, while the defending army would suffer an initiative penalty, as well as a missile defense penalty (actual numbers subject to balance).

You could also institute a chance for the ambush to fail in enemy territory, for instance, an ambush in home territory would have a 100% chance to succeed, 66% in neutral or unclaimed territory, and 33% chance in hostile territory. maybe that makes things too complicated, but it might help balance things, if needed.

what do you think?

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What would the defense of Ambush be? What criteria determines a successful ambush? What are the penalties if the ambush fails or the benefits if it succeeds?

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Sounds like fun, but seems difficult to implement. Hidden units is a whole new can of worms.

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Quoting Aerion Istari,

reply 1

What would the defense of Ambush be? What criteria determines a successful ambush? What are the penalties if the ambush fails or the benefits if it succeeds?

benefits are as described above. if the ambush fails then combat would proceed as normal. My main thinking is to give Tarth a way to keep using their smaller bands effectively as the game goes on. 3 unit armies just don't cut it in a late game pitched battle. As far as defense, to be honest I hadn't thought that bit through enough. The setup time will help, if you are fighting tarth it will be helpfull to have scouts in the field to keep an eye on where their armies are. a lot of it will depend on implementation, if it is possible to make hidden units, then maybe an enchantment to improve a champions sight on the strategic map. Or limit ambushes to forests and rough terrain, so the defense would be avoid woods and rough terrain when fighting tarth. If hidden units aren't a possibility, maybe disguise would work? have the tarth army appear as a POI or monster.

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I think the point of the 3 unit benefit is to encourage suicide attacks. I often send waves of 3 man armies out to kill their better units before my main army gets there. Perhaps Tarth should get some unique traits for trained units to make 3 units more survivable.

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NaytchSG

Join Date 03/2006

+19

If Tarth is the hit and fade faction, can they escape a battle after 2 full turns? Could that be implemented more easily than invisibility?

Or could their regular melee troops get a one shot "volley of arrows" before they close to hand to hand via an action button like the throwing knife attack but a little more powerful?

Or do Tarth armies 3 units in size and under get the "charge" trait free of um.. charge? in every combat to reflect their sneakiness...

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I like the idea of Tarth units getting an option to go into a stealth mode, and getting an initiative bonus and first turn damage bonus when doing this. For possible penalties and limitations to this:

Currently, all Tarth units can move very quickly through any territory. How about when invisible, they are "sneaking" and only get one movement per season?
OR They could only sneak when in forests. If a spell was added to grow forests, this would be even more enjoyable. I can just see Tarth borders covered in forests, full of units ready to pounce on invaders.

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I'm not sure I'd want them to be able to move while invisible, that really takes it to another level. I was just thinking about them being able to hide on a single tile, and wait for enemies to come in range. that alone would be fairly balancing. I think when you introduce true mobile invisibility, you really make balance a problem. Being able to hide on a tile can be useful, and devastating if your enemy falls for the trap, but I don't think it would be too powerful. It's mostly a defensive tool as long as there is a turn or two setup time before the unit is actually hidden.

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It wa said that eventually FE would get a tactical unit placement system. I would much rather Tarth get a special ability centered around this, hopefully the whole initiative bonus in small groups is just a placeholder.

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