So I just wanted to continue hurling ideas out, even if nothing comes of it.
In response to raiding/assault interactions or what have you, a possible solution to make them even more risky, is to have the unit required to be a knight or initiate, transforming them into an immobile "Off-site officer" sort of unit for 2 weeks to 3 months, depending on the reaction, which has a small chance of using a self-inflicted fatal interaction, regardless of success. This is to simulate that the knight or initiate you have leading the attack was killed during or on the way back and his or her body was returned to the citadel. The one exception is during extremely high risk assaults and dispersing kobold tribes, since someone needs to survive to report success or failure and kobolds aren't exceptionally dangerous without players to lead them.
For some semblance of realism they should be left at the muster field. It isn't a perfect solution, but it does make the order's raids considerably more risky since its your own knights "leading" the operations and potentially being killed.
SERF MILITARY PROFESSIONS
The term "Levy" in this case means serf/peasant Levies, drawn from the commons at times when a citadel is lacking in knights, templars, and paladins of sufficient numbers to defend it. Serf weaponmasters (save for certain indicated weaponry) are simply listed as "Levy veterans"
Sword: Armsman - Bladesman
Axe: Levy Axeman
Spear/Pike: Levy Spearman
Hammer: Levy Hammerer
Mace: Guard
Rifle/Pistol: Rifleman - Sharpshooter
Bow: Levy Bowman
Crossbow: Levy Skirmisher - Marksman
Whip: Flagellate - Zealot
Wrestler: Brawler
KNIGHT MILITARY PROFESSIONS
Use their caste as the profession name for swordsmen and axemen, and vanilla titles for elites; angels and saints simply remain their version even as elites.
Sword: Initiate/Knight/Paladin/Templar, Saintly Bladesman, Angelic Bladesman
Axe: ^ Saintly Axeman, Angelic Axeman
Spear/Pike: Lancer - Veteran Lancer
Hammer: Hammerer - Ironbreaker
Mace: Guardian - Enforcer
Rifle/Pistol: Sharpshooter - Sniper
Bow: Skirmisher - Master Archer
Crossbow: Marksman - Arbalestier
Whip: No special name
Wrestler: Brawler - Martial Artist
ADDITIONAL CASTE IDEA
Hospitaller: A Cleric-Knight, on par with a regular knight physically. While they refuse to use bladed weapons (unless they happen to be maces with sharp things on them,) on principle and have abandoned nonmilitant crafts, they make for devastating Guardians and Hammerers and buff nearby allies with increased healing and agility, making them excellent supplements and commanders for Knights, Initiates, and Levy troops; they also maintain their previous abilities as clerics.
Items - Primarily weapons and armor.
Basic items: Either basic for them, needed for producing certain equipment, or vanilla items. Special uses indicated.
- Arming Cap - Leather only. Required to make Paladin and Templar helmets. Basic helmet.
- Mail Shirt - Used to make heraldic armor and plate harnesses. Basic armor.
- Leather fittings - Simple item used in Knightly armors and to repair Sanctified Armor Kits.
- Armor plates - Simple item made at any forge. Used in production of knightly armors and to repair Sanctified Armor Kits.
- Metal fittings - Required to make some weapons at the holy forge and to repair Sanctified Armor Kits.
- Sanctified Armor Kit - Used to create Hallowed Warrior pets.
- Damaged Armor Kit - Left behind when Hallowed Warriors are struck down. Needs armor plates and both leather and metal fittings to repair.
- Damaged Icon - Left behind when Icon-based pets are killed. Can be taken to a temple to be repaired using platinum and 3 cut gems.
Special Items: These are weapons and armor mainly meant for the theme and intended to only be issued to knights and above. To prevent them from being used by serfs, they need to be made at the Holy Forge (however standard materials may be used instead of powdered ores.) However they require seals, cloth, and other armor components.
- Winged Paladin's Helm
- Paladin's Plate Harness
- Templar Great helm
- Templar Plate Harness
- Hospitaller Plate Harness
- Hospitaller Bascinet
- Heraldic Armor: Itemsyndrome - Grants [NOFEAR] when used by Knights and Initiates, as fleeing would shame their family and its possibly newfound colors.
- Tassets: Replaces Greaves for the Templar and Paladin armor sets. Protects the upper legs.
- Shynbaulds: Armored boots that go up to the knee. Replace high/low boots for Templar and Paladin Armor sets. Protects foot and lower leg.
- Ailette: Cape slot item for protecting the upper arms. Made from metal or any leather above regular.
- Crusader Heater - Shield that grants a stun-inflicting shield bash interaction separate from a usual charge attack on contact.
- Paladin, Templar, and Hospitaller helmets: Require a coif, arming cap, and an armor plate to produce. Paladin helm requires Seal of the Watchful (improves awareness, maybe with the extra vision tag,) Templar great helm and Hospitaller's Bascinet mainly for thematics.
- Paladin Plate Harness: Requires 2 leather fittings, mail shirt, cloth, 4 armor plates, and two blessed seals. adds [PRONE_TO-RAGE] to paladins, giving paladins a little extra oomf in their attacks (representative of them taking greater risks with greater protection.)
- Templar Plate Harness: Requires same ingredients as Paladin armor, as well as a seal of haste and seal of cleansing fire in place of the blessed seals. Adds [NOEXERT] and [FIREIMMUNE_SUPER] to the Templar.
- Hospitaller Harness: Requires Templar ingredients; Seal of Cleansing flame is replaced with Seal of Divine Aid.
- Heraldic Armor: Requires 1 leather fittings, mail shirt, 2 cloth, 4 armor plates.
- Crusader's Heater: Requires 1 leather fittings, one log, and one bar of metal, or 2 tough leather. Takes material from the metal (metal reaction) or log (leather reaction.)
Weapons require powdered ores and leather or wood at the least as well (for grips.) Some may also require ironwood or steeloak for shafts and handles. These are the weapons that may be upgraded with various blessings, and offer increased cutting or armor piercing power over regular weapons, Though the Saint's Greatsword and Angelic Broadsword cannot be upgraded with blessings.
- Crusader Longsword - Basic Knightly one-handed sword, superior to regular longswords due to manner of production and materials used.
- Knight's War Axe - Basic Knightly one-handed axe, superior to regular battleaxes and has a stabbing attack granted by a spike on top.
- Raven's Beak - Two-handed hammer skill weapon. Requires two ironwood or steeloak logs and metal fittings as well as 1 additional leather and must be made with powdered wolfram.
- Dawnstar Mace - This is what a morningstar wants to be when it grows up, with greater balance and deeper penetration resulting in swifter and more damaging strikes. Requires an ironwood or steeloak log in production.
- Knight's Halberd - Two-handed axe skill weapon. Requires 1 additional leather and ironwood or steeloak in production.
- Infantry Lance - Pike-skill weapon, requires 1 metal fittings and two steeloak or ironwood as well. Deeper penetration than standard pikes.
- Arbalest - Two-handed crossbow with considerably higher power, uses javlins as ammo. Made from ironwood or steeloak and requires thread or a bit of meat (for sinew,) for a string. A bayonet may be attached and Javlins may be cast at the Holy Forge using regular metals or made from wood at the craftsman shop as usual.
- Saint's Greatsword - Used by Living Saints with the mind of a templar. Requires 3 powdered ore, 2 additional leather or 1 featherwood and three large gems. Cannot be made from Wolfram. Grants a material emission "hard light" attack to Living Saints. Only Angels may use this one-handed.
- Angelic Broadsword - The weapon of choice for angels. 5% chance of killing any enemy outright (though that removes any goodies to be had from the victim, as the adamantine runes would.) Requires 3 powdered ore, 2 additional leather or 1 featherwood and three large gems. Cannot be made from Wolfram. Nonangels must use this weapon 2 handed. Must be taken to a Reliquary to have the instant death ability unlocked, resulting in an "Awakened Angelic Blade."
Seals are important to producing knightly armors, adding effects to regular armor, and producing some pets, but require other inputs.
- Blank seal - basic seal, can be given various blessings/enchantments at a temple and then be applied to armor.
- Blessed Seal - used to make Paladin armor and when applied to regular pieces of armor, adds [NOFEAR] to Order Serfs and Initiates.
-Seals below require a blessed seal as a base component-
- Seal of Flame - Used to protect against fires and extremely hot enemies.
- Seal of Cleansing/The Sacred Flame - Used to grant Icons of Holy Fire AOE attack and make Templars immune to dragonfire.
- Seal of the Watchful - None can hide from holy warriors of the order.
- Seal of Haste - Adds [NOEXERT] to Knights and above; Templar and Hospitaller plate harnesses grant this by default as one is needed in production, though it only does so for the castes they're meant for.
- Seal of Divine Aid - Used in production of Hospitaller plate harness. Adds a buff to healing and disease resistance when applied to normal armors.
Holy Items are used to infuse seals with power, bless weapons and armor, upgrade initiates and knights, or produce certain pets. They are consumed on use, the items crumbling or being turned into other things after spending their power.
- Sanctified Amulet* - Basic holy item. can be used to power seals, and is the most basic of items used in any blessings.
- Sacred Icon - Used to call Hallowed Warriors back to the mortal coil, upgrade knights to Templars, Paladins, and Living Saints, and make Sacred Wards and Icons of Mending/Cleansing Fire. Can also be used in place of three amulets in blessings for items or used to charge three seals.
- Holy Scripture - Important to upgrading knights. Reusable, but very hard to come by and needs to have the divine might restored to the words within between uses by amulets or icons at a temple or shrine (using a shrine is less efficient, using double the amulets/icons.)
*place holder name.
- Hallowed Warrior: Suits of armor raised using the spirits of knights too stubborn or devoted to remain dead, and heeding the call to return to battle evil once more. The order creates these using a special tool at a temple, the Sanctified Armor Kit tool, along with a Holy Scripture and Sacred Icon. When struck down they leave behind a Damaged Armor tool which must be refurbished at a holy forge and reinfused with a spirit at a temple to reenter service. Damaged ones that are still 'alive' may be repaired at the Holy Forge with armor plates.
- Icon of Holy Fire: Empowered Sacred Icons that have had certain seals applied that act as spotters and area denial with a fire-based AOE attack. If all three gem fonts that they project fire from are damaged they will cease to function, leaving behind a Damaged Icon.
- Icon of Mending: Empowered Sacred Icons that increase the healing ability of those nearby, and may purge disease of anything within LOS once per month. However they are more fragile, being vulnerable near the gem fonts through which their healing powers flow. If all three are destroyed, they leave behind a Damaged Icon, which must be repaired in a temple.
- Sacred Ward: Similar to a dwarven ward, but produced from a Sacred Icon and powered by divine energy and writ instead of a dwarf soul. Like the dwarven ward they can be destroyed if their sigil is removed or badly damaged, leaving a Damaged Icon behind. These will reveal infiltrators, but you must be ready to fight if this happens.
- Falcon: A bird of prey kept by the order as a hunting aid and message animal as well as to help with pest control. Can be trained for hunting.
- Horned turtle: The order recognized the threat of shell demand to the lives of its craftsmen and bartered for breeding stock of turtles from the dwarves. What they gave in exchange is unknown (possibly a call supply train option similar to the dwarven legion?)
- Basic livestock: Cows and pigs for meat and milk, sheep for wool, horses for mounts (when fighting them,) and pack animals, and dogs for meatshield duty. Order serfs are responsible for tending these animals.
Author
Topic: New good race, to balance all of the evil in this world (Idea) (Read 8013 times)