There are two skills that really should effect that. The skill of the rider at riding, and the skill of the rider at maintaining discipline. Staying in formation takes a very different mindset than simply being good at a horse (or even being good in combat in general). It's an important skill in general, and one that often made the difference between the most successful armies and ones only moderately successful, even if the soldiers in general were evenly skilled/equipped.
Same thing applies to being in any formation, of course, but it's even harder on horseback where you have to carefully control your mount to stay with the others.
That's a very good thought, and fits nicely under one of the currently-existing skills on the list.
Happily. I propose that fast units should never charge into combat unless they would get the first strike. That's kind of the point of charging, no? In real life it's not an issue, because there are no turns. In URR, I suggest that cavalry should get a bonus action every turn (or several, although you'll want to limit the number of actions that can be used to attack). Normally cavalry will use that bonus action to run towards things, but they will hold back if they would end their turn within 1 tile of an enemy (which would give the defenders the first strike). If bonus actions are left at the end of a cavalry turn, one of them will be added to the beginning of the -next- turn, which would allow the cavalry to close using their bonus movement, strike once using their rollover action and then once more in their normal action. This way, cavalry will have a proper, massive charge (double attacks) in the first turn, without having to give them any sort of speed or charging bonus (and the effects will only be increased if you do decide to give them other bonuses)
The problem I see with this system, however, is that this would give cavalry 2 attacks every turn if they don't use up their full bonus action allowance. A cavalry unit that doesn't move will always have that action rollover, so they'll receive a bonus action every single turn. Alternatively, you could specify when exactly cavalry can have 2 attacks instead of 1, which also seems like a pain in the arse.
Perhaps it would simply be better to have this system, but without the action rollover. If cavalry get bonuses for each combat turn they spend moving without attacking, that might have the same impact on the initial charge, without requiring extra. They'd still refuse to use bonus actions if they wouldn't get the first strike, but it would be so much simpler. Not sure if it's better though.
Apart from the potential for cavalry getting a double initial attack, I really like this system. I think having a 'free' attack would be a logical advantage that cavalry get, and having them only move forward if they would get that attack would negate the initial conditions issue for the most part. Instead of a potential double attack on the rollover (if I'm understanding you correctly) I might just make their attack on the subsequent turn slightly better since, say, they have a little longer to prepare the move. I think that sounds like a very good solution; I'll think about how to implement it.
-ticks-
That is an interesting system, and sounds like an excellent one for a roguelike, but I don't think it would fit perfectly in here, having pondered it a bit. I think that would fit into a roguelike with more focus on wild creatures and smaller, more intricate battles than larger ones; plus having bonus actions, I think, could be developed in interesting gameplay ways, actually. Additionally I want the speeds of all creatures pegged, to use a financial metaphor, to the player, and I want a certain level of regularity there.
Downside to that system is there is a big difference between movement speed and attack speed. A knight charging on horseback with a lance can cover a lot of ground, but he really can't get too many attacks in with a lance. One, usually, unless it's a really clean hit or he misses. Splitting Speed into two attributes - Movement and Actions, is a decent way to fix that issue.
Agreed - I'm doing this fully at the moment, actually, also for things like picking up, dropping, wearing, wielding, etc. There will be a certain number of actions you can perform in a turn, but I think things like this - moving, attacking, wearing, eating, throwing, whatever - and the time they take will need careful balancing.
That's why you should use a (light)saber and camel mounted religious fanatics!
Anyway, no need to indicate the direction with an arrow if you manage to put some *dust* behind charging cavalry.
Exactly! And nice solution, actually.
Blog entry coming on time tomorrow!
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Topic: Dwarf Fortress meets The Outer Wilds? "Ultima Ratio Regum", v0.10.1 out Feb 2023 (Read 633282 times)