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tomaO2
2018-05-16, 01:13 PM
Over a year ago, a project sprang up. It was called RPG Erfworld. Basically, one guy was calling for ideas on how to create an erfworld pen and paper game. There was a lot of excitement for a few months, but then the thing died down and not much has been happening since.

Making Erfworld into an rpg has been something a hobby of mine for awhile though, and the wikia page has been a convienent place to write down my ideas. My creativity comes in starts and stops, and, lately it's been on a high note. I came up with some basic rules for combat small group combat (a bit outdated now, but, in general terms, is still largely accurate)

basic combat: https://rpg.erfworld.com/Toma%27s_combat_mechanics
Warlord combat: https://rpg.erfworld.com/Toma%27s_Advanced_Mechanics

The basic gist is to take the 5 things you see on erfworld

1. attack (likelihood of hitting, determines how much damage you do)
2. defense (ability to parry/dodge/block an attack)
3. hit points (how much damage you can take)
4. movement (determines initiative, and movement)
5. specials (unique abilities)

And then do a simple combat system. Higher movement goes first, there are two action phases, movement and attack, 1d20 rolls, 10 or less to hit, plus modifiers. My primary inspirations for how this is being built is bits of canon from Erfworld, and D&D 3.5 basic online rules, which I am simplifying.

I got rid of damage rolls and decided that damage is 1/2 current attack. Given all the multipliers for increasing attack (stacking, leadership) I figured that hits just get harder, the higher you power up the attack. I don't think dice rolls is the way to go, because hp is low for light units. it doesn't matter how many levels you are getting, a warlord is never going to be able to tank hits like a level 1 twoll can. Leveling gives minimal, linear, stat increases, and the exp required grows at an exponential rate.

Given that damage is set, and can grow quite high, I then added in a maximum damage limiter to stop normal units from doing enough damage to kill a heavy in one strike. That is not to say that a light unit can't kill a heavy in one strike but that involves a lucky strike (crit) mechanic, and not on raw damage dealing. Raw damage is what heavies do, not infantry. I also set up so tiny units (bats) have a max damage of 0, which technically comes to 0.1 damage. Ten hits does one point against a bigger unit is my thinking. I feel that's fair for an unled bat (they get a damage bonus when in a stack with a warlord though).

These rules are still okay, but a bit out of date. What I'm currently focusing on is unit creation. The way I see it, is that every side has standard units (knights and stabbers), and special units. I've given it a lot of thought, and I've ended up with a series of templates based around these stats.

1. attack (att)- Determines hit chance and the amount of damage dealt upon a successful strike.
2. maximum damage (max dmg)- Determines the max damage that can be dealt in a single strike. Applies only to light units.
3. defense (def)- Determines your chance to avoid being hit.
4. hit points (hp)- Determines the amount of damage your unit can withstand before croaking.
5. movement (mv)- Determines how fast your unit can move in a combat round, and who moves first.
6. reach (rch)- Determines how far away you can hit your opponent from.
7. dodge (dge)- Mechanic to show how large units have a harder time hitting small ones, than smalls have with hitting large.
8. upkeep ($)- Determines the cost to keep the unit alive every turn. Also doubles as a supply cap when creating custom armies.

These are primarly based on these traits

Unit Type: Speaking or nonspeaking. There are thinking units that hold weapons, and also the animals.
Unit weight: Heavy or normal. All the big units have a heavy classification.
Unit size: I have six groups. Tiny (bat), small (marbit), medium ('man'), large (twoll), huge (dwagon), and massive (megawiff).
Unit terrain: We got normal land units, fliers, and then the sea stuff. (not currently trying to do sea combat, but I'm including it for whenever it becomes relevant)

I ended up making 36 base templates on these lines, and you just slot the name of the unit and imagine personality and what it looks like.

A twoll is a speaking, heavy, large, land unit. Search the templates and you get
5att {n/a max dmg}/5 def/ 12 hp/ 10 mv; 2 rch/ -2 dge/ 40$

Then you pick the special you want from a list provided (fabrication), and you got the basic outline.

I also added a few more things on top of that.

Weapon: had to give the range of the unit and how far the weapon adds to it.
Stat reallocation: I let you trade stats a bit so that you don't feel to straightjacketed into a template.
Production level: Strong units are only popped in higher level cities, so this defines what that is. Dwagons are level 3 units, they have access to more slots, which are then used to buy specials, and such, but they have higher upkeep and such.

I also needed to come up with a valid model for weak units, and the difference between a unit that pops once a turn, and one that pops 2 a turn. I decided that X number of slots, and stats, are sacrificed, and you can pop an extra unit per turn (only level 1 units can pop multiple units per turn).

I look at a knight vs a piker. A knight pops 1 a turn and has stats of
-4att {8 max dmg}/4 def/ 6 hp/ 8 mv; 1 rch (normal weapon)/ 0 dge/ 20.00$ +3 specials (scout, rider, armor ignore)
pikers pop 8 a turn and have stats of
-1att {4 max dmg}/1 def/ 4 hp/ 6 mv; 2 rch (long range weapon)/ 0 dge/ 2.50$ +1 special (can pay for knight promotion)

This is the questionnaire I have created in order to help players quickly make new units.



Example: Making a twoll.<br/>
1. Explain unit name, and concept'''= Twoll. Big ugly guy that likes dark places.'''

2. Type: Infantry (4{8}/4/6/ 8)
or Beast (4{8}/4/6/10)'''= Infantry (4{8}/4/6/8)'''
''-Note: attack(att) {maximum damage(max dmg)}/ defence(def)/ hit points(hp)/ movement(mv)''

3. Weight: Light ( n/c ; 20$)
or Heavy (+1{n/a}/+1/+6/+2; 40$)?'''= Heavy (5{n/a}/5/12/10; 40$)'''
''-Note: Light= default, no change (n/c). Max dmg is not applicable (n/a) to heavies. Upkeep ($). ''

4. a) Terrain: Land ( n/c )
Water (*1 {*1}/*1/*1/*1.5)
or Air-light (-1 {*1}/-1/-1/*2.0)
Air-heavy (-1{n/a}/-1/-2/*3.0)?'''= Land (5{n/a}/5/12/10; 40$)'''
-- b) If you choose heavy, is it underground capable?'''= Yes'''

5. a) Size (light): Tiny ( 0 {0}/ 0/ 1/-4 ; 0/ +3/ 1.25$ land; 1.75$ air)
Small (-1{ 4}/-1/-3/-2 ; 1/ +1/ 5$)
Medium ( n/c ; 1/ 0/ 20$)'''= n/a'''
-- b) Size (heavy): Large ( n/c ; 1/ -2/ 40.0$)
Huge (*2{n/a}/*2/*3.0/-2; 2/ -4/ *2.5$)
Massive (*3{n/a}/*3/*7.5/-4; 3/ -7/ *5.0$)?'''= Large (5{n/a}/5/12/10;1/-2/40$)'''
''-Note: If light, dmg= 1/2 attack (round down, minimum 1); if heavy, dmg=att
''-Note: att/def/hp/mv; reach (rch), and numbers = hexes (1 hex= 5 feet)/ dodge (dge)/ $''
''-Alternative: Write down unit type/weight/terrain/size, and pick from the provided chart:''

6. a) Explain specific weapon specialization'''= One handed club'''
-- b) Weapon type (infantry only): short ( +0 rch)
normal ( +0 rch)
long ( +1 rch)
bow (2-40 rng)'''= Normal (5{n/a}/5/12/10;1/-2/40$)'''
-- c) Size (infantry only): tny(0)|sml(1)|med(1)|large(1)|huge(2)|massive(3)|
short: 0 | +0=1 |+0=1 |+0=1 |+0=2 |+0=3 |
normal: 0 | +0=1 |+0=1 |+1=2 |+1=3 |+1=5 |
long: 0 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 2-4 | 2-6 |
bow: 1-4 | 2-30 |2-40 |2-50 |2-60 |2-80 |'''= large, +1 rch'''
''-Note: Rch of unarmed/dagger=short; sword/club=normal; spear/lance=long''
''-Note: bows and long weapons cannot attack adjunct hexes.
''-Note: Flyers are restricted to short weapons. If land picks short, -1 attack.''

7. a) Trade att with def, and hp with mv (*1.5 max, round down. Tiny n/a)?'''= No'''
-- b) +1 slot for each of the following (n/a tiny): -Upkeep *1.5
-Remove mount special'''= Keep as standard'''

8. a) Decide on the unit level (lv 1-4) and write down the slot number'''= Lv 1/ *1$/ 3- 2 large= 1 slot'''
''-Note: 1= 3 slots, *1$; 2= 5 slots, *2$; 3= 7 slots, *3$; 4= 9 slots, *4$.''
''-Note: Small: lvl 1 only; pop 4 per turn. Tiny: level 1 only; pop 19 (land), or 12 (air), per turn.''
''-Note: Large: lvl 1+ (-2 slots); Huge: lvl 3+ (-4 slots); Massive: lvl 4 (-6 slots).''

9. Subtract slots from size choice and then pick specials from the list with remaining slots: '''Fabrication'''

10. Final stats''':

-Twoll (lv 1): 5 att {5 dmg| n/a max dmg}/5 def/ 12 hp/ 10 mv; 2 rch (1 rch, if disarmed)/ -2 dge/ 40$ -underground Special: fabrication'''



Currently, my setup is for a tactical wargame. Two players come in, they are allowed access to standard units, and can create 6 levels worth of units (eg. a level 1 twoll, a level 2 spidew, and a level 3 dwagon= 6 levels of special units), and have access to standard units (stabbers, knights, archers, etc). Each player is then given X amount of money to buy units (cost equal to upkeep) and then they can fight it out.

To simulate promotion mechanics, a player can withhold money and use it to promote a unit for double the normal upkeep of the unit it will promote into.


Anyway, this is the short version. The full version of my character creation is posted here
https://rpg.erfworld.com/Toma%27s_Unit_Creation

Right now, I'm not satisfied with how I've set up the range thing. It feels a bit clunky, as does the number of notes I included on the questionnaire. I wanted to try and make sure all the relevant info is on it so that you can create the unit without looking at the entire page but is it too much, or am I missing something that should be added? I'm not sure what the actual sizes of the bigger units should be either. Also, I'm working on the best way to take all the important stats and write it down in my little box.

The math seems right, and I like the inbuilt advantages certain unit types get. Obviously, I have little idea on how well the various units are balanced, but I think I can correct that after, as long as the core creation mechanics are mathematically sound, and easy for new players to pick up. I don't have a ton of specials, but I can always just add more.

Feel free to create your own unit, and tell me how the creation process can be improved. Thank you for your time.