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(TFT) Re: TFT Digest V3 #802
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 22:32:43 -0700
From: Rick Smith <rsmith@lightspeed.ca>
Love it when Rick pops off one of these posts! They are so
thought-provoking!
A couple of thoughts interleaved below.
Subject: (TFT) Wargame 5 --> Wizards in TFT Wargame
Hi all,
Some thoughts about Wizards in TFT Wargame I'm
mentally playing with.
In ITL it says that ~1/200 of the population has
some magical training. However wizards are so
useful militarily, I would expect that a higher
percentage of wizards in the military. If the
companies are about 50 people, then many units
could have a wizard (which is ignored as part of
the company) and each side might have 1 or 2
powerful wizards + apprentices (which are placed
in their own specialty squads).
In all of those numbers, the ratio of "apprentices" (=
"walking ST batteries") to "real wizards" (I'd say maybe IQ 11 and
above) is a pretty critical parameter. If the above numbers include
only the "real wizards", then the fST-recovery problem is mitigated
substantially. If the above numbers include the IQ-9 Aid-spell types,
magic is much less of a factor.
Note also that a "walking" fST battery is *far* more valuable
than a pocketed fST battery in a military campaign. The low-IQ
apprentice can have lots of other uses (carry a bow, etc) and
effectively *doubles* the average fST recovery rate, whereas a magic
item effectively *divides* the average fST recovery rate by three (to
a first approximation).
In a wargame setting, this actually may be a difference
worthy of rules treatment. PC squads, which generally don't have
adequate apprentice support, would probably recover slower than
well-composed military squads with 1-3 apprentices per "real wizard".
But they may be capable of more and more advanced magical operations.
One final note: In a campaign, I can easily imagine that a
lot of town wizards, hedge wizards, etc. could get impressed into the
military and serve as "apprentices" even though they might be far
over-qualified for such duty normally. I can even imagine a law that
all town wizards must maintain proficiency at "Aid" for just that
reason.
What are the major jobs that magic can serve
in battle?
- - Concentrated Firepower: When the enemy company
has one guy with uber magical armor that no one
can stop, then you create a 7 hex dragon to grab
him & drop him in the nearest lake. Sure wizards
can hit with their staffs and summon wolves but
they will have bigger impact taking out the tough
problems.
Already alluded to in the above, but I thought I'd add
explicitly: Indirect "out of the box" attacks. Slippery Floor so the
uber-character falls down, Illusion of a cave-in beneath the feet of
the "fantastic four" that causes them all to fall down, Magic
Rainstorm keeps the enemy dragon's mouth shut, Sleep, Rope, etc.
Things that regular fighters generally cannot do to disable a
powerful enemy, wizards often can.
I don't know whether this is a separate category, or part of
the same category. If it's part of the same, it could just expand the
range of spells which are accepted as contributing to the rating in
that category. However it has a different feel to it (to me) than the
standard direct-attack (missile spell, Hammertouch, 7-Hex Fire) type
spells.
- - C^3I. Enforcing discipline, helping to transmit
orders, sending long distance messages (on a
strategic scale) and spying on the enemy. Several
of these tasks are very difficult to do in a
typical fantasy campaign with out magic.
Some of these tasks are addressed in the skills list,
particularly the "spying" type and "discipline" type tasks. Some of
them, however, particularly including the information tasks
(long-distance messaging, interrogation) are clearly Wizards'
territory and I would think Wizards would be absolutely invaluable
for those. And there is always the "Crystal Ball" effect, which has
no parallel even today.
In game terms, it might be workable to split off "Leadership"
(which could be done by either wizard or mundane squads, and would be
particularly personality-dependent), "Spying" (also could be done
either by wizard or by mundane), and "information magic" (wizard
only).
- - Healing. Disease carried off more soldier than
battles did, in low tech armies. Cleansing spells
can nip plagues in the bud, heal sick or infected
individuals and help morale. If a TFT campaign
has some sort of magical healing (most do) then
large units would be able to recover from battles
much more quickly than normal.
Here, Chemists, Alchemists and Physickers can take some of
the load off of the Wizards.
Aside, I've often wondered to what extent "Healing" potions,
"Universal Antidote", and "Increase ST" could counteract various
types of diseases. Of course, Cleansing followed up by a few Healing
Potions is a sure winner, and an infirmary with a good stock of
Cleansing rings would shut down most disease problems in one day.
- - Movement. Summoned gargoyles can carry and tie
ropes across streams. Flight spells can have
tough fighters fly to the tops of castle walls,
etc.
Magic Carpets. In game terms, some wizard squads could be
flight-capable at no cost, if they have been provided with Magic
Carpets.
- - Defense. Armor spells, blurs, REVERSE MISSILES!
Generally TFT has a variety of powerful defensive
magics.
This is a perfect place to bring up magic items. Once your
Wizards reach IQ 14, Weapon/Armor enchantment becomes, as has been
pointed out, a potential battle-winner. It takes 2
weeks/soldier/wizard which is potentially a really long time, but if
your military wizards are kept busy in peacetime making all of your
armies' swords +1 DX, they could mean a 20% increase in the hit rate
on first blow (if they raise adjDX from 10 to 11, say). That is huge.
Even more effective (per wizard-week) would be a "Blur" ring on each
of your soldiers (once the Wizards reach IQ 18). Taking a quick
stroll down the magic item list and assuming mass production of each
item will yield lots more good ideas. (You thought HTH combat was
overrated *before* Shock Shield items?)
W/A Enchantment, Lesser Magic Item Creation, Greater Magic
Item Creation, and a big warehouse full of wizards' labs, and good
enough diplomacy for the above to operate for a year or two before
the campaign starts, would make a *really really* big difference to
the effectiveness of your army.
Note that some of this effect can also be
replaced/supplemented by Fine Weapons and Armor, so again there is
some help for the Wizards.
In game terms, I'd say the effect of Magic Item "capital"
should be included in the original ratings of each squad unit. Even
with the same training and same types of weapons, an orc squad with
no enchantments would rate much lower than an equivalent Gondorian
squad with all +1 and Fine swords, all +1 armor, Blur rings, and a
few Healing Potions on each belt.
- - Anti-magic. Counter enemy magic, prevent scrying
and the like. If you want magic to have a small
effect in the game make anti-magic easy. In the
regular TFT rules, anti-magic is fairly weak.
Sometimes. Dispel Illusion Items, Gate Locks, Amulets, and
particularly Spell Shield and Pentagrams can counteract some forms of
magical attacks, and Disbelieve is open to anybody. I can actually
imagine a squad that concentrated on this ending up fairly
frustrating to an attacking wizard squad (ie could get a reasonably
high rating here).
- - Combat Preparation. Magic items, exploding gems,
etc. These can't be done on the battle field but
a side with lots of time and wizards would have a
big advantage over someone that doesn't.
Absolutely! See above for one way to represent it.
- - Questioning prisoners. Hmmm... this would likely
fall into C^3I.
Yup. In the "Information Magic" subdivision, if you use those.
- - Can anyone think of something else?
Surprise. For example, Cavalry charging across a bridge. What
footsoldiers could possibly stand before an oncoming array of lances?
But the Unnoticeable old man standing on the second row waves his
hands and the knights are suddenly charging a 7-Hex stone Wall...
Or just the sudden appearance (from Invisibility, or through
a Gate) of a squad where none was thought to be before.
Sabotage. Has the enemy got anything flammable? Astral
Projection and Fire (yeah at triple cost, but that's what apprentices
are for).
Morale attacks (possibly covered above). Gates from the local
swamp into the enemy's pantry. Burned bridges. Sneak attacks, from a
vantage point with a Gate to it - both large Lightning bolts, and
Heavy Crossbow shots, just to make the targets wonder if there's
really a very good but non-magical sniper still out there. The
occasional Bound Demon dropped into the formation from an
Unnoticeable Flying Carpet. Smashing the enemies' stocks of Healing
Potions.
Word of Command would fall into this category, in some applications.
Note, some of these are not really battlefield tactics but
siege or campaign tactics, so maybe out of the scope of this
discussion. (Though it opens another possible issue. A side with a
serious deficit in wizard squads might be pretty demoralized and
sleepy on the morning of the battle.)
Another important fact is the amount of fST the
wizard has. Let us say we have a few double sided
counters with the values: 0/8, 1/8, 2/8 ... 7/8.
(Four types of double sided counters.) When a
unit is fresh (8/8th fST) it has no counters. If
we assume that most wizards have a 10 to 12 ST and
6 to 4 fST in superscripts, ST batteries or other
bonuses then each wizard and apprentice has 16 fST
to spend. If we assume a wizard squad has 1 major
wizard and 5 apprentices, then 1 level of fatigue
is ~20 fST.
?? 6 wizards * 1/8 * 16 fST/wiz = 20 ?? I get 12, but I quibble.
This is a healthy amount of magic that should be
able to make a noticeable battlefield effect.
It may be easier counter-wise to make up "-1 fST", "-2 fST",
"-4 fST", "-8 fST" etc. and just stack as many as needed onto a squad
counter as its wizards use up fST. Pull them back off again as the
wizards recover. The same counters could apply in the same way for
the same spell to wizard (or other) squads with widely varying
initial fST values, so you get a bit more flexibility in defining
Wizard squads. The same counters could also apply to Dragons
breathing, normal troops moving at max MA, or anything else that uses
up fST.
Downside is, of course, that each unit has a stack of
counters to represent its state and if multiple units stack in the
same hex, the pile could get pretty high.
It would take 30 minutes to get this fST back so
it would be awkward to recover this much fST in a
5 or 10 minute battle turn.
Agreed. Note that it'll take 5 times longer if the wizards
have used up all their personal fST and are digging into their
Batteries. Again, maybe special rules? Could, I suppose, have
counters like those I suggest above but red colored, meaning they
take 5 times longer to remove, and only allow up to 8 of the gray
counters before a squad has to start using red ones. That's getting
*really* complicated, though. Maybe gray counters double-sided as you
suggest, with values up to "-8 fST", and then red counters for "-9
fST" and above? But that prevents recharging personal first and
batteries later, which is the right sequence on a battlefield. Hm.
In any case, I'd favor a system that tracks actual points of
fST spent rather than fraction of unit fST spent.
However, I want it to be possible to have slower
periods in a battle. If we have an "Attrition turn"
where there is a pause in the battle, we would have
time to recover 1/8th of a unit's fatigue.
This may be the way to do it. But may it be that both sides
have to agree before an "attrition turn" is allowed? I'd hate to have
my mundanes gain the upper hand by surviving a bunch of magic
attacks, only to have the wizards call a time-out so they can get
their breaths back and try again. I'd definitely want to press the
advantage and slaughter the exhausted wizards.
On the other hand, I'd like to be able to pull my own tired
wizards out of the battle, fight a delaying action for an hour or so,
and then throw them back in. Not sure how to do that. Clearly, that'd
only work in a really big battle.
My idea is to rate the wizard squad for the
specialties above. Each specialty has a 5 point
rating, with one spell for each rating.
Do you mean each squad has a separate rating in each ability,
with an off-board table showing the ratings? I like this,
particularly if the off-board table has enough rows to show many
different types of wizard squads, fighters, etc.
I expect that some spells would have a 0 fST cost.
Image of a bat for scouting, for example?
Anyone have some ideas for new spells that cost
20 to 60 fST that would be useful for military
troops of ~50 men?
Freeze Water - lets your squad run across it.
Swarm - as in locusts, bats, etc. on your enemies.
Berserk - your own troops all at once (Word of Command?)
Almost any Secret Protection spell (Blur, Reverse Missiles,
Stone Flesh) could be uprated to apply to more people at once and
cost (a lot) more to cast and maintain. Maybe all the subjects have
to remain in adjacent hexes as long as the spell operates?
Temporary-Talent spells? - let everyone in your squad act as
if they know how to swim (climb, run fast, fence, etc) - but they'll
forget when the spell runs out, and maybe take some damage (eg for
Running) for over-extending themselves? This would make an OK
single-target spell, too.
Improved coordination - like a subset of telepathy, but just
makes unit cohesion better for a while. The inverse could apply to an
enemy unit.
In Lords of the Underearth, whole companies could
inter penetrate each other with great ease. Perhaps
there is a 100 fST spell that allows you and your 49
closest friends to teleport 20 meters?
Ew. Feel sorry for the guy(s) that come out in the same hex
with enemies.
When a wizard squad is attacked it should be able
to fight back or escape quite well, but at high fST
cost.
Agreed.
This system I am describing is pretty TFT like.
(A bunch of spells that you cast to do things.) But
we might wish to say that units stacked with a wizard
squad just get certain bonuses for free and save
putting some types of information on the counter
(also saving us from making another batch of
operational level spells). Any thoughts on what
branches of magic need specific spells and which
should become standard powers?
The bonuses, if exercised, should cost fST from the wizard
squad. For most bonuses, the player should have to decide whether to
exercise them in advance, I would think, but there may be some where
he could effectively decide after the fact. (This would represent the
wizards seeing a disaster unfold, then deciding to spend some fST to
rescue the situation, vs. their "preparing the ground" before action
is joined.)
My breakdown, in case you decide to go this way
Specific spells/fST cost:
Concentrated Firepower
Indirect Attacks (added category)
Movement
Defense
Surprise
Sabotage
Freebies:
C^3I
Healing
Anti-Magic
Combat Prep
Morale Attack
One question that came up before is what happens
when your wizard squad stacked with a company takes
battle damage? You want the company to take it.
Your opponent wants the wizards to take it. I see
several solutions:
- - Random. Roll a die with some modifiers.
- - One player or another always picks.
- - Combat table specifies.
- - Some rules that vary result based on situation.
- - Squad is immune from company damage.
Random roll, but modifiers based on situation, gets my vote.
Can anyone think of another way of doing this?
Do people have preferences on assigning damage?
PC squads would want to have it evenly distributed.
Realistically, I'd guess it would tend to be concentrated on a few
victims. Again, maybe there's a range of different effects, die roll
with some modifiers?
Healing Potions are another wrench in the monkey works here.
I can easily see some units ignoring the first 3 points/soldier of
hits. What I can't see is how to track that easily.
I
am thinking of other specialty squads so ideally
the system for answering this question will work
for them as well.
Units like wizard squads may depend pretty heavily on single
individuals for their capabilities. It should be possible to
"disable" those units by a single "critical hit" (ie took out the
IQ-18 leader) under some circumstances. But that should be a pretty
hit-or-miss thing. Maybe have, for some unit types, a critical-hit
die in addition to the damage roll. If the critical-hit comes up "1",
the unit converts to a lesser type unit (one with lower ratings in
several critical areas).
Does this feel like the best way to go for Wizards
in the TFT wargame?
Sounds good so far!
--
- Mark
Cell Phone: 210-379-4635
office: 210-522-6025
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