Maneuver abilities

From: Michael Schwartz <mschwartz_at_...>
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 00 00:36:53 -0400

Andy Dawson and I had a long conversation about Ranged Combat the other evening and, toward the end of our chat, more or less agreed that HERO WARS lacks a set of abilities to govern maneuvering in combat. We discussed a number of possible abilities, including Skirmish (the archer's ability to keep an enemy at range while firing missiles at him/her) and Charge At Foe (the swordsman's ability to close quickly to melee range). These could be handled quite simply as sub-abilities of Ranged Combat and Close Combat, respectively, and could be easily augmented by related abilities.

A mounted archer could augment Skirmish with an appropriate Riding ability, while a footman could augment Charge At Foe with an ability such as Running or an affinity such as Fly. Thus an initial contest could take place before melee, between two opponents' Maneuver abilities or between one's Maneuver and the other's Ranged Combat. Any penalties from that contest can be carried over to the actual Close Combat, reflecting actual injuries sustained or loss of morale in the face of the advancing enemy. I'll work up an example or two in the next day or so, to illustrate how it might work.

Thoughts? Opinions?

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Michael Schwartz mschwartz_at_... Ann Arbor, MI USA