Morale changes

[Ketchum]

We win the battle in Nimh today with no casualties. And our men morale drop even when we at verge of completing Takeover.

Battle Results

(Personal message) - 10 hours, 16 minutes ago

Your unit participated in a battle in Nimh. Your scribe has written down a battle report.

The battle lasted for 1 hours.
You have gained 0 Honour.
None of your men were killed in this battle.
Morale of your troops falls by 17 points.

[Medron Pryde]

That's one of those things were it seems at cross purposes to the adrenaline high that soldiers get in battle.

High fives at having slaughtered the enemy.  Burning enemy flags.  Looting enemy corpses.  Enjoying the companionship of enemy women.

Having a gay old time.

And...wait...moral dropped?  Huh?  ;)

Just saying.  That seems really weird to me.

[Stabbity]

That's one of those things were it seems at cross purposes to the adrenaline high that soldiers get in battle.

High fives at having slaughtered the enemy.  Burning enemy flags.  Looting enemy corpses.  Enjoying the companionship of enemy women.

Having a gay old time.

And...wait...moral dropped?  Huh?  ;)

Just saying.  That seems really weird to me.

But now we have to bury the dead, and wash my best friend Jim off my armor.

[Medron Pryde]

If nobody died, you didn't lose your best friend Jim.  And if only one or five people died, it was probably the new kid that just signed up in town.

And who takes time BURYING bodies?  Sheesh.  Just stack them up like cord wood and set fire to whole town to make certain everything burns down to a nice, sanitary, ash.

;)

Now here IS an interesting idea.  Those units with lower cohesion wouldn't care so much about casualties because they don't like/know the others as well.  While units with high cohesion would really feel bad about losing people.

[Zakky]

If nobody died, you didn't lose your best friend Jim.  And if only one or five people died, it was probably the new kid that just signed up in town.

And who takes time BURYING bodies?  Sheesh.  Just stack them up like cord wood and set fire to whole town to make certain everything burns down to a nice, sanitary, ash.

;)

Now here IS an interesting idea.  Those units with lower cohesion wouldn't care so much about casualties because they don't like/know the others as well.  While units with high cohesion would really feel bad about losing people.

This. That is actually a really interesting idea. Everyone thinks you should lose morale even if you win or lose. I think that is just ridiculous. Then pillaging should increase your morale greatly since you are gaining a lot of wealth in a relatively short period of time.

Again, I think there should be some kind of difference between scattered and retreated. Why do we even have two different statuses when they are practically the same?

[Stabbity]

If nobody died, you didn't lose your best friend Jim.  And if only one or five people died, it was probably the new kid that just signed up in town.

And who takes time BURYING bodies?  Sheesh.  Just stack them up like cord wood and set fire to whole town to make certain everything burns down to a nice, sanitary, ash.

;)

Now here IS an interesting idea.  Those units with lower cohesion wouldn't care so much about casualties because they don't like/know the others as well.  While units with high cohesion would really feel bad about losing people.

"I've been drug from my home and family to fight in a war I don't understand and those dead people could easily have been me under different circumstances. This armor is heavy, it chafes, this camp is rife with disease, the food sucks, and we're constantly on edge hoping a larger army doesn't come and murder us." - every BM soldier ever.

[Medron Pryde]

Not really, actually.

BM soldiers are recruited and trained in the art of war (or at least their little part of it) and then paid cold hard gold to do it.

The more like high end Men At Arms than standard civilians drafted to fight.  We lead the professionals into battle with us.  Professionals who volunteered.

Yes, they can sometimes be drafted, but that is rare and causes MASSIVE realm control loss.  Hence why it is so rare.

[Zakky]

"I've been drug from my home and family to fight in a war I don't understand and those dead people could easily have been me under different circumstances. This armor is heavy, it chafes, this camp is rife with disease, the food sucks, and we're constantly on edge hoping a larger army doesn't come and murder us." - every BM soldier ever.

We are not recruiting peasants here...

[Stabbity]

We are not recruiting peasants here...

Yes, you are.

[Stabbity]

Not really, actually.

BM soldiers are recruited and trained in the art of war (or at least their little part of it) and then paid cold hard gold to do it.

The more like high end Men At Arms than standard civilians drafted to fight.  We lead the professionals into battle with us.  Professionals who volunteered.

Yes, they can sometimes be drafted, but that is rare and causes MASSIVE realm control loss.  Hence why it is so rare.

And mostly likely they're men who had to seek the profession out to provide for their families, hoping to find themselves recruited into a cushy militia unit, or left to hang out in a recruit depot unnoticed for all time. Professional armies in this time were mercenary companies, and definitely not a staple.... And definitely not recruited by mere Knights. Now, I think morale loss during battle should be related to training, as more highly trained soldiers are likely to be a bit more hardened to it, but it should never eliminate it.

[Medron Pryde]

It has been a decade since any of us have played mere knights.

We are high nobility now, with knights of our own that help us command our units and make them better in combat.  We only recruit the very best of Men At Arms to wear our noble livery.

[JeVondair]

Not sure if here is the correct place to ask, but has the morale settings for rogue units been changed in the last couple years? I seem to recall it being easier for archers to break monster/undead morale in battle. If memory serves, taking a few rounds of fire while closing to melee was usually enough for a comparatively smaller force of archers to break them.

[MTYL]

Not sure if here is the correct place to ask, but has the morale settings for rogue units been changed in the last couple years? I seem to recall it being easier for archers to break monster/undead morale in battle. If memory serves, taking a few rounds of fire while closing to melee was usually enough for a comparatively smaller force of archers to break them.

Monster - yes. It's still pretty easy, I haven't really noticed the change (other than archer code change that made archers silly).

Undead - iirc they never flee. Never ever. Makes sense if you  think about it - wildlife would run from certain death but why on earth would undead run from anything. You played Lich Queen on EC, you tell me if she'd run from battle. :P

[PolarRaven]

Not sure if here is the correct place to ask, but has the morale settings for rogue units been changed in the last couple years? I seem to recall it being easier for archers to break monster/undead morale in battle. If memory serves, taking a few rounds of fire while closing to melee was usually enough for a comparatively smaller force of archers to break them.

The undead have no morale and will normally fight to the last "man".
Monsters will, normally, still retreat once enough damage is done to them (morale check?).

I have not noticed any "morale" changes in recent times, but the fact that there are sooo many more of them may change how they appear to act.

[JeVondair]

You played Lich Queen on EC, you tell me if she'd run from battle. :P

Years later, I actually regret that I was not bold enough to RP her that way.

The undead have no morale and will normally fight to the last "man".Monsters will, normally, still retreat once enough damage is done to them (morale check?).I have not noticed any "morale" changes in recent times, but the fact that there are sooo many more of them may change how they appear to act.

Thanks! I guess its been so longs since I actually had a character that fought rogues I'd entirely forgotten. These days you can't kick a rock without finding a monster or undead underneath, so what you say about numbers makes a lot of sense to me now that I think about it.