Suggestion Collection

[GOD]

Here’s a collection of some my old suggestions that I’ve tried to improve, plus new ones.

Sling:
Slings would make for a good addition as a ranged weapon. It’s a rarely used, but still historically appropriate weapon with different tactical applications than the bow, crossbow and javelin. Compared to bows and crossbows, it would do less armour damage (the slings are still capable of shattering or puncturing armour) and less effective at long range, but allow the user to equip a shield. The javelin would do much more damage overall, in addition to being more effective against armour, but would have less ammo and range, while costing more AP and fatigue to use. The relevant attributes seem to roughly amount to:

– Cheap and easy to make. Inexpensive ammo – even if you use lead or clay bullets.
– Suffers from rain, but not as much as a bow.
– Can be used one-handed. Is more easily used on the move than a bow. Excellent weapon for a skirmisher.
– Impact damage. Can shatter bones. Causes debilitating internal injuries. Very deadly when it hits the skull. This would be pretty relevant to the upcoming injury system. Best against lightly armoured or unarmoured opponents.
– Less penetration than arrows, leading to usually being less effective against armour and being somewhat less effective at long range.
– Harder to learn and master. Has it roots in hunting like the bow and not really used in urban areas.
– Not suited to tight formations or tight spaces (fortifications). Can’t fire over allies in a formation. Needs space.

So as a weapon you could have it be less effective against armour than a bow or crossbow, but it’s still deadly when a hit gets through. It’s also cheap. Being one-handed also means that you can also use a slinger as a skirmisher, while having it use less fatigue and having more ammo than a javelin – though less damaging. It would also be affected somewhat less by poor weather conditions than a bow.
You could have the ‘hard to learn’ and ‘need for space’ aspects reflected by giving it a greater chance at friendly fire when firing into the lines. That way the player can organically overcome the problem by raising the ranged skill.
You can use it pretty well for hit-and-run without giving up the protection of a shield, so it might make for a good weapon for the Goblins. They seem like the type to use skirmishers and ranged weapons, with this one being a nice way to harass a formation of heavily armoured mercenaries to lure them into some traps.

Pause:
Have the game pause when the fight ends and have a mouse click or keyboard press take you to the post-battle screen. That way you get to take a good look at the battlefield before leaving.

Acquired traits:
Traits gained through the experiences of your mercenaries, rather than the traits they already have when they’re generated. Their effects would have downside and upsides and acquiring them would be chance based. Like: Vengeance. Has chance of being obtained after the merc in question is the only survivor of a battle where you started with at least 12 mercs. The other mercs need to have died in battle (so no fleeing and letting them die to try and grind it). Trait does something like: mercenary never drops below wavering when fighting [FACTION]. Mercenary cannot retreat from battle against [FACTION].

Would have to be based on triggers that cannot reliably be replicated by the player, even if you know the circumstances under which you get them (hence the chance of triggering). They should also how you use those mercs, rather than making stronger or weaker. Basically, they should be an exciting surprise, but not something you base your playthrough on.

Rat-men:
We’ve got Greenskins. Next up are the Rat-kin. The embodiment of plague, squalor and persistent survival would also make for a great faction. Not that strong individually, but numerous and cunning. Low resolve on average. Willing to risk friendly fire and does not take morale hits for killing their own men. Relies on leader units to maintain morale. Versatile and can survive in many different environments (room to play with the art to have the fur depend on the season and region). Use poison and can spread disease (injury system). Sneaky and capable of surviving in many different environments. Scavengers and hoarders who raid the lands of other races to acquire weapons, tools and resources.

Could be faction of its own or be a sub-faction of a hypothetical Beastmen faction.

Enemy companions:
Player companions haven’t been implemented yet, but I’d like to throw out the suggestion of giving enemy groups non-combat companions of their own (when appropriate). That way each group on the world map becomes more unique, with groups that survive longer gaining more companions and becoming even more of a threat. It would also cause them to behave slightly different, which makes each encounter with a new group feel a bit different (like a group with a companion that increases sight-range on the world map spotting you earlier than another group).
The kind of companions each faction could get would also be different, so that each faction has different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to their companions. Like Orcs having a good hunter companion that strongly improves how long that group can see tracks, while Goblins get trappers that excell at laying an ambush.

Wetland faction:
Would need a better name, but consists of units based on European wetland fauna (marshes, bogs, swamps, etc.). Those areas used to be prominent across Europe, including Germany, and are still present to some degree, so it’s a valid source of inspiration and would be a fitting addition for the swamp areas. In fact, this would give the game a distinctly European flavour, as the European wetland fauna is clearly different from other continents and it’s got its own rich cultural history. You’ve got a diverse range of amphibians, crustaceans, waterfowls, fish, reptiles, insects, arachnids and mammals living there.
So frogs, toads, crabs, crayfish (small lobstermen, basically), snakes, boars, foxes and hawks, to name a few that would make for good enemies. Modern examples of wetland areas closest to present-day Germany can be found in the Netherlands, with areas like the Drowned land of Saeftinghe, the Wadden Sea (to a lesser extent) and with the ground still mostly consisting of mire.

Here’s a link that provides some information on the differences between European and American marshes.

Randomised background stats:
The different backgrounds now always have the same bonuses and penalties, so you know in advance what you get when you pick them. Some minor randomisation would keep picking recruits a bit fresh and less predictable.

Deformed faction:
Now this I’m a bit uncertain of, since depending on the execution it might not gel with the atmosphere you’ve build up so far, but it would be an amazing addition if done properly. This is basically a faction that’s truly alien, meaning they lack a human reference point in their design. By that, I mean that they don’t necessarily have arms, use weapons or look even remotely natural. Their sounds are weird, how they move and fight is strange and any culture that they might have is incomprehensible. Important is also that this is not the Lovecraftian kind of horror (which relies on description and not seeing the monster), but the discomfort of dealing with something that you truly cannot place. An enemy that does not scream when you hit it or fights in a way that you can easily understand. In other words, a creature that does not play by the rules that you’re used to. The games by The Logic Factory are the best examples of this kind of design (Ascendancy and Tone Rebellion), though Shiny, Ice-Pick Lodge and Ace Team also have it to a lesser degree (Sacrifice, Pathologic, The Void, Zeno Clash).

They’d be creatures that you find in the far corners of the land world, hidden from sight. The contrast between the more typical factions and such a strange one would make for a wonderful contrast when you do encounter one. If you want them to grow into a Great Enemy, than it would manifest in a way that could seem completely illogical or bizarre when compared to other factions . Strange artefacts. Inexplicable motives. The faction descriptions in Ascendancy and Tone Rebellion are, again, a good example of this. Some of the more extreme surrealist works are also a good inspiration.

Dodge:
Make Dodge work once per turn. The bonus would only apply against the first attack and not against the second, regardless of whether the first attacks hits or misses. The perk doesn’t seem strong enough to justify only having it work until you get hit once, while this change would still leave a unit that uses it vulnerable to repeated attacks.

Cultural transition:
One a bigger map, have the interaction between the cultures of major factions felt on the borderlands. Like small villages of wildmen that live off hunting near the Orcish homelands. Those could also function as less advanced towns for contracts, supplies and recruits if you to decide to travel there. They’d overall be more primitive than the major cities, but on the flipside you might find the occasional Orcish weapon in the shop.

Robber knights:
A strong unit for the Bandit faction. Nobles that extract exorbitant tolls and ransack trade caravans. Better equipped and trained than typical bandits, and who can be found with quite a few men under their command. These men also tend to be better equipped compared to typical bandit and closer to professional soldiers. Also opens up room for events where you can pay their unjust toll to avoid a fight, or go after a robber knight who’s stolen something valuable from a traveller.

Bog wiedergängers:
Undead originating in wetlands areas. Better preserved than regular wiedergängers and skeletons. Could be a bit tougher as a result of that. Would really enhance the Germanic and Northern European flavour of the game, being based on bodies mostly found in Europe.
Here’s a simple source.

Nine Lives:
I’ve never had this perk make a difference. The effect itself is fairly weak since the character is still left incredibly vulnerable (most likely dying to the next hit, anyway) and it working only once makes it actually making a difference extremely situational. My suggested change is to make it work once per round and put it in tier 1, perhaps as a replacement for the Student perk. This would be balanced by the perk triggering giving the character a high chance of ending up with a debilitating injury in the future injury system.

Wiedergänger diversity:
Wiedergängers based on other races, like Orcs and Goblins, with separate stats and skins. A way to diversify the Undead faction and groups encountered on the map. You’d be able to use the established wiedergänger mechanics and apply them to the template of that race. Like Orcs losing their aggression, perks and stun abilities, while no longer tiring and being unbreakable.
The encounter rate would depend on the region you fight the undead, like undead Orcs showing up close to the Orcish lands, and undead raised in battle (like a fight between an Orc warband and undead that’s won by the undead). Humans would still make up the majority of the groups you encounter though, since the game mostly takes place in human lands and so more dead humans would be available to work with.
I don’t know what your production process is like, but I assume that most of the work here would be related to creating skins for these wiedergängers, since the models and mechanics are already there. Presumably, these skins would also be easier to create than a completely fresh unit, since you have a template to go by.

More pastoral elements:
Pastoral elements are a crucial part of evoking a properly medieval Germanic atmosphere. There’s a good reason why the pastoral world has such an important role in European literature for millennia, since it helps to describe the actual world that people live in. Those kind of details will make it feel like you’re actually taking part in a genuine setting. You’d also make the fantasy setting more distinct from the stuff produced in America, since those games tend to lack those elements and tend to feel fake as a result. No need for the idealised version though, since that wouldn’t really fit this game.

Weapons:
Just some less developed weapon ideas. Viking sword (precursor to arming sword), quarterstaff, fish spear (for fishermen), cleaver (butcher weapon) and recurve bow.

Vampire Lord:
Vampire leader type. Can fly and drink blood like regular vampires. Has better stats (particularly health) and equipment (though still lightly armoured), in addition to perks. Can mind control (resolve check) and summon storms (bad weather). A more cautious and dangerous version of normal vampires, who usually attacks in concert with other units (usually accompanied by vampires).

Primal Werewolf:
Werewolf leader type. Better stats than a regular werewolf, with a focus on health and fatigue, rather than armour. High resolve. Presence improves the AI of werewolves in battle (they move more tactically, rather than just rushing). Has a howl that lets fleeing werewolves rally if they pass a resolve check. Also has an improved version of the regular werewolf howl that increases stats and a more damaging standard attack. Nip – accurate, low damage attack that doubles the AP cost of movement for the target for 1 turn. A nipped target also becomes a higher priority target for the AI.

Ghoul Tyrant:
Ghoul leader type. Better stats than regular ghoul, particularly health. Model starts out engorged as if it has already fed several times. Can cannibalize and has a more damaging version of the ghoul melee attack. Tyrant – will attack fleeing allies. Units killed in this manner cause all other allied fleeing units to take a resolve check; if they pass, they rally. Allied units that are within the zone of control of the Tyrant never go below wavering. Devour – the Tyrant bites off a chunk of the targets still living flesh and devours it. High damage attack that takes a lot of AP and is ineffective against armour. Conveys a weaker version of the Cannibalize effect, if it does HP damage. If this attack finishes the opponent off, it automatically turns into Cannibalize and takes up any remaining AP the Tyrant had.

Internal faction differences:
Have there be differences between the different groups within a faction. Like one Orcish tribe producing warbands that feature more berserkers, while another uses more young Orcs. Differences like that would each group feel more distinct and could serve as rumour fuel with a potential tavern or informant (caravan arrives from city that has regular conflicts with a tribe of Orcs, makes rumours available on how that tribe has many adult warriors).

More content:
Obvious, but worth stating anyway. More content in general. Factions, seasons, terrain types, skins, weapons, city types, etc.

[bruderbrian]

multiplayer
Some two player addition would be nice, where you can invite friends off steam to play with you with their merc company, not leaving it open to anyone, but more dedicated to just the people you invite into your world.

Also, just a quick thought if cities can be destroyed and taken over by baddies shouldn’t you be able to either build or retake those cities in your banner, this would be greatly cool, and it would allow for upgrading cities to better resist invasions. maybe able to leave mercernaries you train to guard the city as it’s army. would add a new layer of in-depth playability to the game and get the player more involved.

better one hand spears, maybe a top class spear for use with a shield

[GOD]

Multiplayer isn’t currently planned, as that would take too much work for a small team.

Last I heard, their plan is cities that are destroyed to remain that way. The enemy is the only-one able to build new areas. Somehow strengthening cities might get in, but don’t quote me on that. ;)

–

Thought of another unit.

Restless Lord:
Undead unit. The spirits of ancient lords, given a burial tomb but still unable to find rest. They have high-quality equipment that has been preserved better than that of skeletons. Their stats are good and they are intelligent fighters, being able to use their gear just as well as they did in life. The armour is fully corporal and can be hit like normal, with no extra penalties to being hit. They are also not able to move around as freely as Lost Souls while wearing their equipment and thus receive movement penalties for difficult terrain. However, like the Lost Souls they lack a stable physical form, so they do not have hitpoints and landing a single hit on their true form destroys them. Their better stats make their true form even harder to hit than Lost Souls, though. If all their equipment breaks they revert to Lost Souls (and gain the appropriate abilities), having lost that what ties their former selves to the world.

[Jago]

Bravo – this must be the best suggestions-thread I’ve seen so far. Very fleshed-out and appropriate for the setting. I did not expect anything less from you. :D

Slings:
I’m not sure how a mix of hit-and-run units and the usual tanks works out.
See, I usually have a core of tanks building the frontline, not moving, letting the enemy come at me. On the back, there are 2-3 archers. Now, why would I give these archers slings? They’re covered by the guys in front of them, have better range, deal more damage, and probably don’t have to do guerrilla tactics at all.
Slings would be perfect in a completely different type of warband, where every unit has some kind of ranged weapon and is agile enough to apply hit-and-run tactics. It would be a completely different style of playing, endorsing high speed, fatigue and low AP-use. It is indeed, an interesting thought, but it would also require new balancing/redoing the perks.

I approve of this idea.

Pause:/Acquired traits:
Yes, please.

Rat-men:
Maybe they could exist as some kind of vagabond faction, a faction like the beasts, without settlements. I think having them as a large faction would give this game a to strong warhammer-vibe.

Enemy companions:
Yup.

Wetland faction:
Maybe this could be the Rat-men faction. There are probably no severs in this game, so they live in the swamps instead. Rats can swim so give them a bonus when moving across swamp,

Okay, I’ve gotta sleep. Will continue tomorrow.

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[GOD]

Thanks very much. :D I’m glad to hear that I’ve got a reputation to uphold!

I have a thought regarding the bow and crossbow being better as archers. You see, in addition to opening up those kind of hit-and-run tactics, I had the idea of the sling allowing you to field proper skirmishers because of how you can wield it one-handed. That’s a role that you currently cannot really give to a merc. For example: you can give it to a lightly armoured unit with a shield in the other hand, put them in front of your battle line and then have them pelt the enemy as they advance, forcing them to move at your pace while the shield protects the slinger from archers. When the enemy comes close, you can have the slinger switch to a melee weapon and join the shieldwall, move away and continue to harass the enemy, draw away enemy flankers, flank the enemy when they engage, join your ranged units, or move around the enemy flank when they’re pinned and engage their archers. Flexible, rather than a specialist.

With the change to Quick Hands, a one-handed ranged weapon like this makes it possible for the slinger to easily switch between ranged and melee, making them less vulnerable when close to the frontline and allowing them to take on different roles as the situation demands it. Meanwhile, not being as good a pick as the bow or crossbow for a dedicated archer, nor the slinger being as heavily armoured and skilled as the tank, means that it doesn’t diminish the usefulness of those weapons and roles. The slinger can provide fire support, but he wouldn’t be as good at it as the bow or crossbow. He can join the shieldwall, but the loadout for a skirmisher would make him less of an asset than the tank (you need lots of free fatigue to move around, so he couldn’t wear heavy armour). However, smoothly switching between those roles is something neither the tank nor the archer can do. Same goes for the javelin, because of the sling being less powerful and therefore less suited for seriously softening up before joining the fight, while its lower fatigue requirements and greater range let it take on roles that the javelin cannot. A weapon like that gives the player a new tactical option, without lessening the ones already available.

Regarding the Rat-men. Yeah, that’s why I thought how making them a sub-faction might be a good idea, like the Orcs and Goblins are to Greenskins. I figured they could avoid the Warhammer element by not having some of the more outlandish aspects that Rat-men have there and focusing more on the actual rat part. The mental image of masses of rats flowing across human lands was just too tempting a mental image for them to not have the option of becoming a Great Enemy. ;) Having them be a part of the Wetland faction is a really interesting idea, though. It’s like a less stereotypical Beastmen faction that employs cultural elements typical to the Germanic region, which you never see in fantasy and which would really strengthen the Germanic vibe of the game. American swamps, sure, but not the wetlands typical to that part of Europe. Rats are also versatile, so they could spread to other areas in their searches, but the swamps would be their home-turf and they’d be joined by units based on other wetland fauna. It also fits the association of decay frequently given to swamps in folklore. I considered something like that when I was wondering whether to mention the water vole when naming potential units, because it’s often mistaken for a rat, but I like your idea better. Very nice solution.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Discussing suggestions like this is quite fun and hopefully it’s of use to the devs. :)

[ManaSeed]

There are several threads in suggestion forum, I’m not sure which to post or what to do. I’m afraid that starting a new topic would make the forum slightly more messy so I’ll put my probably-already-mentioned-a-million-times ideas here.

Urgent
Having 12 men as team member limit is just nice. But it would far better if we can build a camp to station our men, so we can swap members for different missions and tasks.

Non-urgent but this really adds flavor to the game
When raiding enemy fortress, it would be nice to see them having palisade as outer wall, and higher ground(altitude 3) at 4 corners of the fortress as lookout tower, rather than………. just plain wilderness called Cutthroats Hideout.

Well, I believe everything else is already in progression.

[GOD]

Making a new thread when you want to talk about something is no big deal. This isn’t a forum with mega-threads. ;)

The current plan is for the company to always be on the move, so no bases or static camps. A camping mechanic is planned, though. However, the number of mercs you can bring along will be increased eventually, up to something like 20-24, so you’ll have a number of mercs who don’t join the fight.

I’m not sure to what degree this will get implemented, but buildings on the map and interior fighting will get added. Pallisades and such might therefore also get added. Here’s what it might look like.

[Jago]

GOD wrote:

A weapon like that gives the player a new tactical option, without lessening the ones already available.

Thanks for the example, yes it sounds very much like something I would actually try out. Hopefully the devs will eventually add this into the game.

Randomised background stats:
Like you said, as long as these variations are minor, it would work.

Deformed faction:

GOD wrote:

Now this I’m a bit uncertain of, since depending on the execution it might not gel with the atmosphere you’ve build up so far

That’s my main complaint about this idea, too. It would not really fit into the setting, at least not as a faction. I’d rather have them as monsters that you can find in caves and/or sunken/buried castles. Because as a large faction you would face them rather often and they would loose more of their unique charm every time you fight them.
They could roam long forgotten dungeons instead. When the players enters such a place, thinking “Is it Orcs? Is it the Undead?… Wait… Oh sh*t what is that?!”.
They could be demons summoned by a cultist faction. You know how demons a usually associated with flames and hellfire? Well, these are not, a unique twist.

Dodge:
I never used this trait. Well that says it all, right? ;)

Cultural transition:
That would be a really interesting addition. It’d probably difficult to implement, but once the map gets bigger there will be more room for these transitions. Maybe instead of cultural transition, villages could instead adapt to region they’re in. A village in the swamps to the east would have low houses build of stone and reed, and metal tools are rare. Villages in the mountains are build of stone, too, but are much taller and look stronger. Metal is common here, but food might be in high demand.

Robber knights:
These would be very powerful and strangle trade completely. It sounds a bit overpowered, but I like the idea.
The bandit faction could be split into two subfactions: robber knights and highwaymen.

Highwaymen are only farmers who dearly need the coin to survive the next winter. Poorly armed, like the thugs we’ve got now. Also the highwaymen faction doesn’t expand by amassing riches. Instead the number of highwaymen depends on the prosperity of the towns and villages.
Robber knights on the other side, will expand and increase their territory, just like bandits work right now. Also they’d become significant stronger then highwaymen over the time.

Bog wiedergängers:
Nice one. Not sure if it’s worth the work though, as it would be a rather situational unit. The undead usually start out in the north and don’t come down far enough to reach the swamp.

Nine Lives:
Hm, I agree that this is one perk that has to be redone. Could be very powerful though, for late-game characters with heather shields. My experienced fighters don’t get hit more than once per turn unless overwhelmed.

Wiedergänger diversity:
Well, we already discussed this! ;)
Would be a cool addition if an easy re-skinning is an option.

More pastoral elements:
A lone monastery in the mountains, priests as quest givers and the church in quarrel with the cultists. Makes me think of a “Witchfire!”-Expansion! :D
Aside from the details it adds to the setting, we’d have to think of some actual gameplay elements that involve the church.
“Blessings” like in most fantasy-rpgs is out of questions, because it’s to similar to magic, but maybe they could provide the player with information and lore from their archives?

Weapons:
There’re enough sword imo. Quarterstaff and recurved bow sound nice.

Vampire Lord:/Primal Werewolf:/Ghoul Tyrant:
You’ve probably seen them in Psens art thread. ;)
Yeah, I think they will be added sooner or later.

Internal faction differences:
Well for example the greenskins. Orcs and Goblins are not working together as some may think (only on rare occasions according to the faction text). Same could work for robber knights and highwaymen, or necromancers and vampires.
Well, that would be really complex to create and to balance. I would leave it as it is for and wait for the warring human factions first.

ManaSeed wrote:

Having 12 men as team member limit is just nice. But it would far better if we can build a camp to station our men, so we can swap members for different missions and tasks.

There will be a max. of 24 brothers you can travel with, but you can only choose up to 12 for a fight. Camping mechanics will be introduced at some point to, but it will be only a temporary, allowing you to heal brothers and repair weapons faster.

ManaSeed wrote:

When raiding enemy fortress, it would be nice to see them having palisade as outer wall, and higher ground(altitude 3) at 4 corners of the fortress as lookout tower, rather than………. just plain wilderness called Cutthroats Hideout.

#
This will be added of course. Same for dungeons, villages, orc fortresses, etc.

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[ManaSeed]

1) Also, would it be nice if we can hide trees when in battle, so only tree stump is visible? In a forest, sometimes it is hard to identify whether the terrain is blocked by trees.

2) I’ve just met Orc Berserkers. They’re made of pure muscles. Ahem, I mean they have a lot of hp without armor. Do/Could we have an enemy with a lot armor but with 1 hp?

Do you feel angry when you’re slain due to some very minor mistake or accident? It was an overwhelming victory, except the fact that everyone is going home without you. Similarly, there are a lot of angry souls that linger around the battlefield. Once in a blue moon, some of them manage to possess a set of complete armor and this gives them a physical form. They resembles a full armor knight that wanders restlessly at night, and this is what the folks call them…

Ghost in the Shell.

Spectral Armor would be a nice name but too bad it’s also an item name in another famous game. Anyway, you get the idea.
====
EDIT
Hmmm…. On second thought, this enemy will be extremely vulnerable to dagger/knife skill Puncture. Is it possible to have enemy with a lot of armor without hp?

[GOD]

It’s something that I’ve really been missing in the current game, so I hope it gets added. :D

Going to go through your comments bit by bit:

Deformed faction:
Hmmm, yeah, having them as a full faction might contradict their purpose, as it implies that you’ll encounter them frequently and as a Great Enemy. The idea behind them doesn’t rely on them not being seen often, like Lovecraftian horrors, but they would still have to be rare for the disconnect between the fantasy style of the world and their own deformed design to have best impact. Like you say, it should not just become a standard encounter, but something weird and baffling even when encountered multiple times. Instead, it might be sub-faction of the Beast groups, which would justify them being rare and only found in hard to reach places. A variant that is less mythological and more unfathomable.

Regarding demons. Having the demons like that would be amazing, though I assume that the devs have already sketched out designs that are less strange, for that faction. However, you could still use the idea by there being the more ‘regular’ demons and beings that are not strictly demons, but things that the cultist happened to lure there somehow with, for example, ancient mystical rituals that they don’t understand. They might even actually be demons, but there’s no way of confirming or denying it, since they do not make any kind of sense to mortals or even other demons. They’d explicitly not be Lovecraftian though, so no need for madness mechanics and such. Just a thing that’s incomprehensible and unpredictable, but no less dangerous for it. You could have those ‘demons’ be a part of both the Deformed sub-faction and the Cultist faction, just like Werewolves are currently Undead and Beasts.

In fact, let’s take that idea a bit further and have the Deformed serve as a sub-faction that is usually spread across different factions, where they show up as rare encounters found in the hidden places of the world. Like a being that sometimes shows up with the undead in the bowels of the mountains, that is not undead itself but seems to somewhat act in concert with them for reasons unknown.

Cultural transition:
I think the difficulty will depend on what the reworked world map will look like. Something like this would work well with smaller locations that you can interact with, spread across the map. Like the old location suggestion thread. The Wildmen village would be far smaller than an actual city, since it’s essentially a hunter-gatherer community, and way more easily destroyed. Kind of like a small Orc camp. I think your idea would also work well with this, with small locations further away from the main cities and villages allowing for more customisation, like different building styles and materials used in construction.

Robber knights:
How about, rather than having the robber knight destroy the caravan, have it so that they take a percentage of the goods carried by the caravan (when the caravan is too weak to resist or surrenders when it’s guards have been killed). So the caravan wouldn’t be destroyed, because it’s not in the interests of the robber knight to destroy trade and reflect how they’re not a desperate band of robbers, but it would deliver less resources to its destination. That way they’re a drain on resources and worth taking out, but wouldn’t cripple trade.
I’m also assuming that the other mercenary companies that are going to get added will often take the role of guarding caravans, essentially having them fill in the role of upgraded form of the caravan guard, so the robber knights would be the bandit equivalent of a group willing to try to take on a juicy target like that.

As for expanding, how about having it depend on how successful the bandits are? That way a small group can grow into a greater threat as it continues to successfully raid caravans and sometimes cities.

Bog wiedergängers:
A somehwat similar case to the wiedergänger diversity, I suppose. Would make a for nice detail, though.

Wiedergänger diversity:
I did say I was using old ideas. ;) The same objections as then still apply though. It’s something that would be nice if it does not take as much effort as creating new units and would be a great finishing touch, rather than being of the same priority as a new faction.

More pastoral elements:
Sounds like you’re thinking of a pastor, rather than pastoral. :P Pastoral can refer to the life-style of shepherds and herders and a pastor is symbolically the shepherd of his flock of Christians, hence the name. Pastoral literature is more about depicting natural or rural life and often in an idealised fashion, though it’s the elements of non-idealised natural life that I’m most interested in.

However, that doesn’t mean that monasteries and clergy wouldn’t also be worth adding! I think there’s a good chance of that getting added, since we already have the monk background, that legendary weapon example that mentions a monastery and I think I saw a church in Psen’s art thread. Monasteries would a good resource of information and supplies (monasteries being self-sufficient) or they could be a part of quest lines and turn out to be infested with vampires. Agreed on not wanting to see blessings and other holy powers. That’s way too much D&D and would be too direct a representation of deities, rather than humanity having to rely on itself.

Vampire Lord:/Primal Werewolf:/Ghoul Tyrant:
They’ll probably get added eventually, yeah. :P I only saw what looked like a werewolf-boss in the art thread, though. Just thought I’d make some suggestions on mechanics that would work well with the flavour of the regular vampires, werewolves and ghouls. I particularly like the idea of a Ghoul Tyrant being a hulking brute who rules the ghoul pack through fear and violence.

Internal faction differences:
Ah, I was thinking more of differences between groups belonging to the same (sub-)faction. Like different Orc tribes and Bandit gangs having different troop compositions relative to other tribes and gangs (like relatively having more berserker or raiders). Currently we see Orc tribes fielding their own flags, but they don’t actually seem all that different when you fight them.

–

What are your thoughts on the Restless Lord, by the way? I imagined that as being a regular unit, rather than a leader type (meaning there can be multiple of them in a battle).

//

The battle UI will get a major work-over once the devs find a UI programmer that matches their needs. It still needs quite a bit of tweaking.
That’s basically what my Restless Lord idea, outlined above, would be. You could try to puncture its armour, but doing so would be very difficult because of its ghostly essence.

[Unsettler]

Cool ideas! The different factions gave me an idea of exiles or pariahs. How about running into lepers or some hermit dying of a plague that he might infect one of your brothers with? Would force the player to keep his distance while trying to take out the enemy at the same time. That would definitely spice things up from the usual overwhelm everyone or hold the line strategy.

[Jaysen]

Great ideas, thanks a lot for the input!
Really sorry that we cant reply to each idea individually but i just want to drop in and let you know that we are reading this and taking notes. There are some ideas that we have already on our list but also really nice new ideas!

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[Jago]

GOD wrote:

What are your thoughts on the Restless Lord, by the way? I imagined that as being a regular unit, rather than a leader type (meaning there can be multiple of them in a battle).

Yeah, I overlooked that, my bad.
That’s a good idea, introducing more ghost-type monsters that are also incorporeal, tougher than the lost souls. And yes, if they can be killed in one hit (with daggers), they shouldn’t be boss types. A fitting boss type would be more something like a more powerful necromancer or something entirely else, a lich/mummy for example (you know, they usual :D ).

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[GOD]

Unsettler wrote:

Cool ideas! The different factions gave me an idea of exiles or pariahs. How about running into lepers or some hermit dying of a plague that he might infect one of your brothers with? Would force the player to keep his distance while trying to take out the enemy at the same time. That would definitely spice things up from the usual overwhelm everyone or hold the line strategy.

Much obliged. :D Disease and pariahs being in the game would depend on the injury system. If it reflects injuries caused by disease, as well as combat, then events and enemies that reflect this become an option. You could keep it limited or go all the way (plagues? Player company as plague carrier leading to the infection multiple cities?), but it’s probably best to stick to a limited scope, for now, if they add it. After all, feature creep is the thing that usually kills ambitious projects like this. Still, disease is an interesting concept. Kind of a historical Great Enemy in its own right.

Jaysen wrote:

Great ideas, thanks a lot for the input!
Really sorry that we cant reply to each idea individually but i just want to drop in and let you know that we are reading this and taking notes. There are some ideas that we have already on our list but also really nice new ideas!

Haha, no worries, I wasn’t expecting a point by point commentary. Keeping up that level of feedback as Early Access progresses would burn you out in no time. I was actually surprised by Jago going through the whole list.
Also good to hear that my input is useful and that I’m not just rambling like a madman; I tried to have my suggestions be as suitable for your design as possible and feasible to implement, as far as what I know of the game. It makes me antsy though to find out what was already planned and which ones were new. :P

Jago wrote:

Yeah, I overlooked that, my bad.
That’s a good idea, introducing more ghost-type monsters that are also incorporeal, tougher than the lost souls. And yes, if they can be killed in one hit (with daggers), they shouldn’t be boss types. A fitting boss type would be more something like a more powerful necromancer or something entirely else, a lich/mummy for example (you know, they usual :D ).

Appreciate you going through the whole thing. I particularly liked your thought on adding the Rat-men to the Wetland faction, since it was a nice way of combining the two ideas. Some back and forth like this was what I was hoping for when I registered. :)

Nice, the Restless Lord unit happens to be an idea that I rather liked, with the idea of them having a fatal weakpoint that is both thematic and possible of dealing with in lots of different way. The way it can naturally change into a different type of unit also makes a more dynamic addition, requiring a bit more flexibility in your tactics. I also have some ideas on boss-ghost types, though the undead in general are just a rich source of those kind of units. Aspects of liches, mummies, heroes, and so on, altered and made particular to the setting. Going to ponder on that a bit more.

[Sky]

So, at least I have the time to properly read and leave my thoughts here. Since I’m God’s less coherent socket puppet I will only write about what I see differently everything else as usual I do agree completely.

Sling: I’m hoping there will be more weapons in all the categories but the range one needs more asap. Would be nice to see different one like the sling, perhaps bola, nets, darts, etc. and even simply adding more of the same kind would be wonderful. Like longbow composite bow, heavy xbow etc.

Pause after the battle ends: Should not be mandatory, but as an option it sure could be nice(gameplay option menu).

Factions: As wetland, there are other geologically zoned specific lifestyle factions. Mountain villages were different from both wetland and grassland settlements. Being mostly miner colonies or trade hubs. Usually covering a mountain like a spider web. Don’t forget the nomadic factions of the lesser terrains that were mostly animal herders. Just a few of many. Would be nice to have a random nation selection for the human factions instead of always having the same grassland ones in different color. Sure the most of the map is grassland and it is logical to have more than one of the core factions, but it could be a nice touch to have slightly different other factions with emphasis on their surrounding. To have more iron armors and weapons at the mountaineers fort. Or to be able to recruit specific support characters at specific nations.

Randomized backgrounds: While personally I’d like to see this feature, not sure about most of the players. This would bring even more diversity but at the cost of stability. Many players do not like the extended random factor and prefer having constant choices as well. Imo this game has a strong random generation so there is a gameplay improvement with this.

Deformed faction: Mutants I guess like in the “Forest” perhaps simple meat blobs. I’m really not sure about this. As an arch enemy it was already used in “Warlock” 1 or 2 don’t remember. Could see it only as a very minor very rare very small but very strong faction. Still not sure if it fits the world at all.

Dodge: While I do agree that it could be made more usable, the once per turn would clearly overpower it. Maybe once per turn but then less bonus like half.

Cultural transition: This would be a great thing and it is not hard to do, just make one more layer of town progression. Making these the lowest tier settlements. This could also open a hireling tiering and item distribution. Like having the lowest tier items in the shops and more spread out background distribution. Thematically it would be a very nice touch as well. And if the factions will be able to dynamically grow this could be so to say a pioneer outpost kind of thing. Opening up a lots of opportunities for the “founding an outpost” kind of jobs.

Wiedergangers: There is nearly no limit of how a reanimated corpse could like, just chose any kind of death and you have a different visualization. Be that swamp roters or puffed up drowners. And as said before, death is no racist, any faction can and should be animated as a weiderganger. It’s relatively easy and would bring lots to the game.

Nine Lives: It does need a rethink even perhaps a removal imo. Surviving with 1 hp is useless. If it would cancel the killing blow completely, so no damage done then I can see how it would have more use. But again, making it a once per turn would make it extremely powerful. Additionally since this is clearly a luck based skill it could be providing somewhat a resistance to negative traits that will be implemented.

Leader type units: Why are there none now? There are immense variations on a stronger specific leader type unit. Or even an elite version of the units that are already in. It would bring in diversity as well, having not only the same orc leader to fight but a berserker leader or a young leader. This could nicely transit into the internal faction difference! The young orc focused camp should have higher chance to have a young orc leader. This would also work with the event system, especially the specific leaders.

Supernatural: The demons and such, they could go as events no doubt. (Or jobs, get rid of the witch or the secret coven in the forest and bam they have summoned a demon to help them. Or golem, or anything else of this kind). The cultists in game are already Chthulhu fhtang-ers. Could be based on this aspect, Lovecraft had lots and lots of foul creatures.

The rat-kin: I’d definitely would like to see them. They aren’t commonly spread but are a very nice race. Always liked them in warhammer. Not so much playing as them but against the ratmen infestation.

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