Army Attributes

Army Attributes and their effects
Some armies with special capabilities can move further than normal due to their abilities, or have a certain factor about them that lends them a particular affinity for one style of warfare or another. Or they may simply have a factor about them mentally that gifts them a particular outlook which has an affect over the army. Enemy forces move at the same rate as player commanded forces, except for the same reason as those that can move further e.g. special capabilities or abilities, and may be affected by their own special capabilities or attributes as well. As such these attributes and their affects have been listed below, alongside orders that can be given to armies that hold certain affects during Downtime campaigns.

Attribute: Disciplined
Effect: A disciplined army is one that is well organised and relentlessly drilled, with every soldier knowing their place and duty within the chain of command. As such in battle disciplined armies take fewer casualties from combat due to their ability to support one another whilst carrying out actions.

Accordingly this army has the ability to utilise the ‘Strategic Strike’ Order when on the defensive. This order allows the army to concentrate on analysing the enemy’s movements and patterns to find a weak point or miss-step before striking out to cripple the enemy in key locations. Armies utilising this order take 20% less casualties and inflict 20% more casualties when operating on the defence.

Attribute: Resilient/Stubborn
Effect: A Stubborn army refuses to give ground to invaders. When fighting from defensive positions they can inflict massive casualties on enemy forces that dare to approach them. An army who uses every advantage to make their enemies pay for every inch of territory their enemy try’s to take can cause wide spread casualties amongst the enemy as they attempt to advance whilst receiving proportionally higher in return, whilst some simply possess a dogged refusal to back down before their foes and so grind them enemy down for every step forward they take into the defenders lands.

Accordingly this army can make use of the “Not one step back” order when on the defensive, as the army attempts to bleed the enemy, making them pay for every inch of ground surrendered or taken from them. The army takes any chance to butcher their attackers; catching them in crossfires and ambushes, with counter attacks striking into the enemies’ flanks and metaphysical face, causing them to suffer greatly increased casualties if they push forward, though at the price of increased losses for the defenders. In terms of casualties the attackers suffer 40% higher casualties from this order being in effect whilst the defenders suffer 20% higher casualties as they fight tooth and nail from their defences.

Attribute: Berserk
Effect: A berserk army is capable of focused, sustained attacks against their enemies. They may have superior equipment, advanced combat training, or simply possess an unquenchable thirst for the blood of their foes. As such these armies are renowned for the casualties they cause to their enemies, engaging in close range assaults and brutal melee with their opponents in a display of raw aggression.

 Accordingly this army has the ability to utilise two orders, nominally ‘Berserk charge’ & ‘Last stand’ when on the offensive and defensive respectively. The first order allows the army to charge forward in a massed charged of aggression and strength, attacking the most heavily defended positions in waves of bodies and assaulting the best enemy troops in an attempt to break the enemy and rout them. In this regard the army takes 50% more casualties but causes 30% more casualties in the enemy. The second order allows for the enemy to hold a position at increased cost, denying territory to the enemy and slowing them down, it is extremely effective in denying enemy territory and stopping beach heads from being established. In terms of casualties for every 250 enemies the army is outnumbered by they take an additional 100 casualties until the army is wiped out.

Attribute: Adaptive/Mercenary
Effect: An adaptive army has experience working with and integrating mercenaries and other independent military units of varying expertise into their structure and making best use of these skills. They may employ siege engineers, expert scouts , raiders , light infantry , heavy brawlers or settlement militias at different points depending on the challenges they face, adapting to the change of circumstance in an attempt to stay one step ahead of their opponents and catch them off guard by switching their actions to the unexpected, but each group can only be employed once every so often as these independents fore fill their contracts to the army before returning to their homes or other work contracts.

Accordingly this army has the ability to utilise the Cautious, pillaging, siege, skirmishing or resilient skill once per season, at which point that skill may not be used again for another 2 seasons afterwards. Upon this army’s general election it may use any one of these skills but the above restriction is in effect immediately from the start.

Attribute: Well Supplied
Effect: A well supplied army has expert logistical support. It can quickly distribute resources and supplies to its troops and assign new soldiers where needed, even while under attack in extreme cases. It may also represent an army whose soldiers are doggedly committed to their cause or to their general, so that soldiers who are so badly hurt they would normally be decommissioned fight to be allowed to rejoin their units or find a way to return to their unit to carry out despite the odds.

Accordingly this army can emergency reequip and supply regardless of what territory they are in, or even if they are engaged with an enemy force due to their logistical capabilities, alongside being able to resupply at the normal rate even if they are not in their home territory when not engaged with enemy forces.

Attribute: Light Footed
Effect: A light footed army is fast on their feet, able to move quickly over long distances in short periods of time. This is not just a quality of speed - moving thousands of soldiers overland is a daunting logistical prospect and often an organisational nightmare. However for a light footed force used to being on the move and transporting everything they need on the very troops themselves this ability becomes a useful feature for a force that can rapidly redeploy against new threats.

Accordingly this army can move as fair within its own territory as its general wishes, representing the forces capability to rapidly move through familiar territory, as well as in the case of the Lost their nomadic nature making it easy for them to operate in large numbers without the need for large supply trains.

Attribute: Cautious
Effect: A cautious army is adept at gathering information about opposing forces. While it is active in a territory, associated rangers, agents or friendly locals gather intelligence about opposing forces in the area. They compose a report specifically for their general which includes information such as details of the armies  and forces in the territory ; their allegiance; an estimation of their strength; the name of their general; information about their special qualities; significant local fortifications ; and other potentially useful strategic and tactical information about the forces involved in it.

Accordingly this army’s general receives reports on other forces in territory they are in, covering their strength, combat stance, special qualities and any additional forces attached to the army. This represents the forces cautious nature and use of forward scouts to check out potential threats in order to avoid traps or ambushes as well as giving a better view of the force overall. In terms of the Peoples this represents their careful nature and natural habit of scouting out a position first before letting any force of any size of their populace into an area.

Special Abilities
Below are list some special abilities that some armies may be capable of performing in the field and their affects as such with in the downtime map, and in relation to the course of a campaign battle. They have been detailed as to provide a quick reference point and as to their mechanical effect too.

  Pillaging:

 Natural resupply of the army is increased by a half in uncontested regions

 Local area tribute to a faction after this effect has been used is cut by a two thirds

  The forces of the armies general pull back from their post’s leaving a set of sentries and lookout’s strung across their forward perimeter, with a few companies as a defence line, whilst the rest of the army sets about locating and stripping the local area of any useful equipment, supplies or materials. These are gathered together back at the armies Field headquarters and distributed throughout the forces to reinforce units and resupply troops in the field.

  Siege:

 Casualties suffered by forces taken from assaulting Fortified areas reduced by a fifth

 Casualties inflicted by forces from assaulting a fortified area increased by a tenth

  The forces of the army are adept at handling fortified positions from advanced training, local expertise, or just a tremendous amount of firepower in general. As such these forces have a knack for conquering well defended positions held by enemy forces with little trouble as their abilities keep them alive for longer than others, whilst allowing them to crack the most well-built and planned positions and deliver lethal amounts of damage to the enemy forces within.

  Skirmishing:

 Casualties suffered by forces are reduced by a fifth

 Casualties inflicted by forces are reduced by a tenth

  The forces of this army have a number of light infantry companies at their disposal, as such they have the capability to launch hit and run attacks on enemy forward positions with less losses then otherwise might be assumed, probing for weak points where they may enable a break through from which to signal the rest of the army to advance through.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;">Strike Raid:

<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt 36pt; text-indent: -18pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Casualties suffered by forces in this area are increased by a two fifths

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;">The forces in this area suffer from a series of calculated strikes that cripple their command structure, leaving units in the dark with no form of organisation, be this in the form of radio’s being filled with static or runners going missing in the dark, whilst pre-selected units are hit by concerted strikes that leave the units dazzled and fractured in no state to respond to other threats.

Other Attributes
 Restless:  

Casualties suffered by this army are increased by a fifth

A restless army is capable of focused, sustained attacks against their enemies, always focused on being on the move in search of the next prey. They may have superior equipment, advanced combat training, or in the case of the swarm simply possess an unquenchable thirst for the blood of their foes and prey.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;">  Ravenous:  

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;"> If the army in the campaign is victorious it gains 10% of it casualties back as a free resupply   <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;">   A Ravenous army gains strength as it defeats enemies. It might contain creatures that are able to consume the corpses of those they have defeated or be empowered by their own horrific mind hive that allow them to raise the dead as husks to fight again or to recover from deathly wounds that would otherwise drop them dead. A Ravenous army that gains strength using this order cannot take itself above its normal maximum strength

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;">  Venomous:    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;">  All Casualties inflicted by this army as increased by a tenth  

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;"> All casualties suffered by this army as increased by a tenth   <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;">  A venomous army contains soldiers or creatures skilled in the use of poison and unorthodox tactics. The force contributes these experts to attacks, luring enemies into traps or taking advantage of engagements to savagely ambush their foes and rip part any forces that are unsupported.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;">  Responsive:    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;">  Casualties suffered by this army are reduced by three tenths  

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;"> Casualties inflicted by this army are reduced by a fifth   <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;">  A response army fights defensively, even while advancing. if often represents an army that specialises in heavy armour and shields, or instinctively operates together as one cohesive force supporting one another as one large entity. It might also represent an army of soldiers and creatures with above average levels of strength or endurance. <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0cm 1pt;">Back to Home