Runemaster - Development Diary #16

I missed the latest Development Diary from Paradox on Moday so here it is a little late of course. This time we get more information on the basics of combat.

Runemaster - Development Diary 16 - Basic Combat

So will you choose to seek out change for those that crave it or will you aim to keep status quo - for good or bad? For this developer diary for for our upcoming RPG Runemaster, you don't have to choose. Because no matter what side you choose, you will have to fight. In order to win battles, you will have to recruit and customize your units and direct them in combat to make your army an invincible force.

As you probably know by now, in battles your hero will be moved from the world map and into a battlefield when you encounter enemies. The battles of Runemaster will be turn-based, tactical battles based on a hex grid system made up of different terrains and contains height differences such as hills where your troops gain bonuses for high ground. Your hero will join the army and take active part in combat as a unit on the battlefield and the battles you fight will be tied to quests and their outcome will matter to your story. In this developer diary, I'll explain some of the basics of the combat system. Remember that we're still in an Alpha stage of the game and much of what you learn here can still change until release.

Move and action

Units move first and can then perform an action. Performing an action will end the activation for the unit. Attacks and abilities are considered actions. As a result you cannot engage in combat and then move away from the enemy.

Line of Sight

Attacks and many abilities requires line of sight to the target. Friendly units do not block line of sight, but hostile units do. This means that your spear throwers can stay back and fire at the enemy while being protected by your melee units, but they cannot fire at the enemy's spear throwers hiding behind their melee units. Most battlefields also have hexes that are blocked from movement and line of sight, such as large rocks, tents or larger structures like towers. Some abilities such as the Runemaster's Blocking Rune, can add temporary blockers to the battlefield to create choke points or to shield armies from line of sight from certain positions.

Zone of Control

Units consider all adjacent hexes as their zone of control. If a unit enters the zone of control of a hostile unit, their move will automatically end regardless of how many movement points they still have left. It's still possible to move through another unit’s zone of control, but only one hex each turn. This makes it easier to protect second line units from melee attacks by spreading out a couple of front line units. Some abilities such as the human cavalry unit's charge can ignore the zone of control and penetrate deeper behind the enemy's lines.

Armor and Health

The basic stat for a unit's survival is health. When health goes to zero or below the unit is removed from the battlefield. Many units also have armor. All attacks deal both health damage and piercing damage. Health damage damages health and piercing damage damages armor. A unit that has armor will not take any health damage until all armor has been removed. The attack that removes the last armor will deal 50% health damage as well. Some units are specialized in dealing either health or piercing damage making it important to combine different unit types to maximize performance of your army.

Terror and Discipline

Apart from dealing damage, most attacks also deal terror. Terror accumulates in a unit and each time new terror is added, the total terror + a die roll is tested against the unit's discipline to see if the unit panics. Panicking units will use one turn to move away from the closest enemy and the next turn to rally at the new position. Units recover some of their accumulated terror each turn. Armored units do not take any terror until they actually take health damage from attacks, but some abilities deal terror only damage and ignore the armor of the defending unit.

High Ground

Using height differences is one important tactical feature in Runemaster. Attacking a unit at a higher height gives the defending unit a defensive bonus, reducing all damage by 25% (this number has not been balanced yet) making it stupid to try to trade punches with a unit that has high ground. Attacking a unit at a lower height will give the attacking unit a terror bonus making it more probably that the defending units panic and flee.

That's it for this weeks developer diary, hope you liked it. I'll be back in a later Dev diary to explain the more advanced combat features and the details that make units from different races act differently!