In this section...
Armies vs. armiesArmies vs. leadersLeaders vs. leadersPlayer eliminationIn this section... |
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Armies vs. armiesArmies vs. leadersLeaders vs. leadersPlayer elimination |
In the appendixes you will find more detailed information about how the program operates in case you're really geeking out. You don't need to be familar with any of these algorithms in order to play, but it can help form your strategies.
Foremost on your mind, of course, is how to warp and exploit the combat engine.
Note: RND(x) refers to a random integer between 1 and x.
In Fortunes of War there are three types of combat: armies vs armies, armies vs. leaders, and leader vs. leader. All take place whenever two opposing, non-allied units find themselves in the same hex. Allied units may pass through an occupied hex, but may not end their turn there.
Combat must be resolved in all hexes occupied by opposing forces.
Each round of combat has the following segments:
Segment 1 only applies for the first round of combat. This is the phase where modifiers and unusual abilities from a unit's "special" attributes are calculated.
For now, we just have four:
Cause Fear: opposing unit must make an immediate morale check. See segment 3 for an explanation of morale. If opponent fails morale, attacking unit gets one free attack with no retaliation (see segment 2 for computation of damage inflicted) and the combat ends. The frightened unit must also make a discipline check to see if it is routed.
There is one difference between a morale check made due to cause fear and one made normally. If a unit's discipline is higher than it's morale, the discipline value is used instead of the morale. This is to give missile troops, which typically have a morale of 1, an opportunity to resist the effects of the elephant's presence
Forester: +2 to unit's attack value if combat takes place in a forest
Mountaineer: +2 to unit's attack value if combat takes place on a mountain.
Siege Weapons: Unit may ignore a city's defensive terrain bonus.
Before melee combat, both sides exchange a round of missile combat.
Apply hits to both units health simultaneously then proceed to Segment 2B: melee combat.
Note: Unlike melee combat, missile combat is not affected by the presence of leaders. Missile combat only occurs once, before the first melee round.
Calculate total attack and defense values for each side:
Next, subtract each sides TOTAL_DEFENSE from it's attackers TOTAL_ATTACK. The number remaining is the damage that unit takes to its health this round. If this number is less than 0, then the unit takes no damage.
Apply damage simultaneously, then check each unit's health. If both are greater than 0, proceed to segment 3: morale check. Combat ends after 10 rounds in any case, in which case both units retreat. If one or both units are dead, proceed to segment 4: resolution.
A morale check is made if a unit's current health is <= 75% of its max health. Morale checks are made as follows:
If CHECK <= 0 then pass; proceed to segment 2B: melee combat.
If CHECK > 0 then RETREAT
When a unit retreats, it must then check its discipline to see if it routs.
If CHECK >0 then ROUT
If the defender is routed, then the attacker must also make a discipline check:
If CHECK >0 then BERSERK
Retreat: Unit retreats one hex; victor occupies current hex
Rout: As retreat, with these additions: unit is out of control for next turn, and will spend the next move fleeing at maximum speed.
Berserk: Unit is consumed by bloodlust and automatically given an intercept mission for the routed unit next turn.
If a unit retreats or routs, proceed to segment 4: resolution; otherwise return to segment 2B: melee combat. Do not return to segment 2A: missile combat as missiles are only exchanged once (before the first round of melee).
If ten rounds of combat occur and both pieces survive and do not retreat or rout, proceed to segment 4: resolution and retreat both units involved in combat.
The morale and discipline variables give rise to four types of behaviour.
The Berserker:
high morale, low discipline. These are the elemental barbarians: courageous, bloodthirsty, and stupid. They'll rarely run from battle, but when they do, they'll be a disorganized mob. And whenever they sense a kill, they'll keep slashing in a shield-chewing god-fearing frenzy, even if it leads them directly into a trap.
The Legion:
High morale, high discipline. These are tough, professional soldiers who know their business. They'll form the backbone of your forces. They're not afraid of battle and they know how to follow orders. Even when they are forced to give way, they'll usually do so in an ordered manner.
The Peasant Levy:
Low morale, low discipline. These troops don't give a damn about you and your dreams. They'd rather be harvesting their crops or enjoying a tavern. They'll run if you look at them hard, and once they start running, they don't stop. You can use them to fill holes in lines, but that's about it. Less scrupulous rulers have been known to stick loyal troops behind these poor sods, cutting off their retreat so they're forced to conquer or die. But you wouldn't do that, would you?
The Horse Archer:
Low morale, high discipline. These troops are annoying and occasionally lethal pests. They'll run very quickly, often after a single exchange, but they'll only run just far enough to get out of your reach. Unless you managed to maul them badly in that first exchange, they'll probably make another pass at you next turn. Eventually, you'll die. It's difficult to fight an offensive campaign with these types of troops alone, but they're very effective in a defensive role. If you don't deal with these troops quickly, they could easily wear you down to the point where you'll lose the decisive battle when you finally do reach your objective.
Experience
A retreating or routed army gains 3 experience. A victorious army gains 5 experience, regardless of whether his foe retreated, was routed, or was destroyed.
Leaders present also gain experience. They get 2 experience points for each battle they command which they win, and 1 point for each battle they command which they lose.
All units also gain one experience point per turn in addition to any experience gained in combat, up to a maximum of 15 experience points. Once a unit has 15 or more experience, it does not receive this daily bonus.
Moral: You can't call yourself veteran or elite until you get your hands dirty.
Capturing cities
If a unit ends its turn on an enemy city and no defending units survive within the city, the city is captured. The city is also pillaged, to a degree based on the discipline rating of the capturing unit.
The conqueror also gets booty, which comes in two components. The first is a "cut" of 4 gold per 1000 citizens killed, which comes from the possessions of the citizens. That is, it is created "out of thin air". The second component of booty is a transfer from the treasury of the losing player to the treasury of the winning player. This transfer is equal to:
Example: A player has a treasury of 800 gold. He loses a city of 25,000 people. His total empire population is 100,000 people. He will lose 100 gold pieces and the conquering player will gain 100 gold pieces, in addition to whatever he gets from the booty he lifted from the starving citizens.
Fame
Finally, fame points are awarded or subtracted. A player gains one fame for destroying an enemy unit. No points are awarded for retreats or routs.
Killing or capturing a hero on the battlefield is worth fame points equal to the hero's experience divided by 10, rounded down.
Capturing a city gives fame points based on the city's class:
| Town: | 3 points |
| City: | 6 points |
| Capital: | 15 points |
Losing a city will cost you the same number of fame points as capturing one.
If an unescorted leader occupies the same hex as a hostile army, roll on the following table. There are two situations in which this can happen. One, an unescorted leader moves into the same hex as an enemy army. Two, if the army a leader is traveling with is destroyed rather than retreating or routing.
| < 11 | Leader escapes and inflicts half his Melee rating in damage to the army |
| 11-30 | Leader escapes from army. Place leader in random hex adjacent to original hex. |
| 31-50 | Leader escapes and takes one wound. Captains and rulers may be killed by this result. Heroes and legends do not die but are captured instead. |
| 51-70 | As above, but leader takes two wounds. |
| 71-80 | Leader is missing. Captains and rulers are eliminated; heroes are placed on the "legend" list. |
| 81+ | Captains are eliminated; heroes, legends and rulers are captured. |
The table above only applies to combats that take place on land. Army vs. Leader combat at sea is a simpler situation.
If an unescorted leader at sea occupies the same hex as an enemy army, the leader is automatically captured. You can't escape warships in a rowboat.
If the leader is attached to a ship, and the ship is destroyed, the chance of the leader being captured is:
If the leader is not captured, he drowns.
For example, if a hero with a melee value of 3 (good) is travelling with a ship that is destroyed, there is a 60% chance that the hero is captured by he victorious forces and a 40% chance that he goes down with his ship.
Sea rules only apply to heroes, legends, and rulers. Captains at sea which are involved in army vs. leader combat automatically drown.
Leader vs. leader combat can occur in two situations. The first is if two unescorted leaders enter the same hex. The second is when two leaders lead opposing armies into the same hex, and both armies survive their battle (regardless of whether they retreated or routed).
If the leader's army is completely destroyed, the situation is treated as detailed in Armies vs. Leaders.
Personal combat takes place after army combat (that is, the leader's leadership bonus is applied to the army regardless of whether he gets killed in the battle or not) but before armies are displaced due to routs or retreats.
The base chance of the two leaders meeting in combat is 40%, modified by 10% per difference in the leader's stealth levels. The modifier is negative if the stealthier hero has a lower melee rating, positive otherwise.
Examples: Thorvald (Stealth:2, Melee:4) and Demetrius (Stealth:3, Melee:3) and their armies enter the same hex. There is a 30% chance that they will engage in single combat. Demetrius' higher stealth rating gives a 10% modifier, adjusted downward in this case since Thorvald has a higher melee rating and Demetrius really doesn't want to get down and dirty with him.
But suppose Waldo (Stealth:2, Melee:1) met the dreaded Baron Von Rex (Stealth:5, Melee:6). There is a 70% chance that Von Rex will track Waldo down and rip him a few dozen more orifices. Von Rex's higher stealth translates into a 30% modifer, which adjusts the base chance upwards since Von Rex really wants to introduce himself to Waldo.
Leader vs. Leader combat is much simpler than army vs. army combat.
First, get an attack level for each combatant.
Compare each attack level. Whoever is lower takes a wound (-1 to health). Draws means no one is wounded.
If both combatants are still alive, repeat. Leaders fight to the death.
Players are eliminated when their ruler is killed or captured. When players are eliminated, their empires suffer the following fate:
Examples: A Legion (capital caste, discipline=18) would have a 43% chance of going rebel and a 7% chance of joining a conqueror. Numidian cavalry (city caste, discipline=12) would have a 32% chance of rebelling and a 28% chance of joining the victor.
Next section: Appendix II -- Other algorithms