[WOM 1.5 Focus]

With FrogBoy working on V1.4; fixing the lingering bugs, balance and AI issues, here is my wishlist for for V1.5:

1. A greater selection of tactical spells and a range of AI tactical strategies that would make battles more interesting for the player.

I would like to face AI's that approach battle differently. While some will charge in, I would like to see others that hold back and wait for you to charge them. While most will focus on offensive damage magic I would like to see some use magic that buffs their forces or impacts your movement. If outnumbered an AI sovereign cast a spell so their forces can flee the battlefield.

I would like to see a greater range of spells so that a player cannot rely on just spell blast or arcane arrow to defeat a superior foe. Spells that change the flow of the battle.

Imagine attacking an AI army only to see one of your units runs away in fear (Fear) or army units not responding to your commands when you order them to attack (Confusion). What happens if a fog descends upon the battlefield reducing your field of vision to a single tile (Fog) or bolders arise from the ground rendering a quarter of the battlefield impassible (Rock Maze). What if a you are suddenly faced by a horde of wolves (Summon Wolf Horde) that panics some of your untrained militia. What happens a mirror images of an enemy unit appears on the battlefield - which unit is real and which is the illusion (Mirror Image)?

2. Restore morale to tactical battles and make rallying a unit a function of the sovereigns/champion's charisma.

Historically, morale has been a key x-factor in battles.

Morale would make fielding trained units; Expert and Elite, units more important. Units with higher morale are be less likely to become shaken and break (panic) during battle.

Morale would make charisma more important if a leader's ability to rally a shaken or broken unit is a function of their charisma (Charisma x 5%).

What would trigger a morale check?

I would suggest 1) death of the sovereign (triggers morale check in all units), 2) sovereign fleeing the battlefield (triggers morale check in all units), 3) Champion fleeing or dying on the battlefield (triggers a morale check in one unit per champion's level), 4) loss of 50% of a units hit points (trigger's morale check in the affected unit)

Example:

A sovereign fleeing the battlefield triggers a morale check for all units in the army, a 1st level hero fleeing the battlefield triggers a morale check in 1 unit and the death of a 4th level hero would trigger a morale check in 4 units.

Morale Ratings: Militia (50%), Veteran (60%), Expert (75%), Elite (90%)

What does Panic do? Three options come to mind:

1) A paniced unit should lose its movement until it rallies or is rallied by a Champion/Sovereign.

Example: My company of militia spearmen panics. They can't move until they pass a morale check (50%) or their Sovereign (Charisma 14) expends an action in an attempt to rally them (14 x 5% = 70%).

2) Option two is for the paniced unit to automatically move to flee the battle field, unless it rallies or is rallied by a Champion/Sovereign.

3) On the first morale check failure a unit is shaken and loses its movement allowance until it makes a successful morale check .If a unit fails a subsequent morale check while shaken it attempts to flee the battlefield.