Author Topic: Fortifications  (Read 3407 times)

Axton

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Re: Fortifications
« Topic Start: May 10, 2018, 10:59:23 PM »
First of all, fortifications are necessarily an abstraction. To be truly accurate, fortifications in any region type besides a city or stronghold would have to be around a bunch of smaller enclaves rather than one monolithic wall around a single place.
Not entirely true. If a force remains within the walls of their castle (and it is conceivable for there to only be one within a given region), that would leave attacking forces free to loot and pillage the country side, but at the same time, the attackers can't move on further into their enemy's territory until they had dealt with the defenders lest they emerge behind them and catch the attackers in a pincer with defenders from a further in castle.

Second of all, what regions you can and can't build fortifications in is very heavily influenced by game balance, as opposed to historical accuracy. It used to be possible to build palisades in any region, but this caused cavalry to become effectively useless.
That can be changed by allowing what I proposed. Cavalry can go around tearing up the countryside while the defenders hide behind the wall and then are very useful if the defenders decide to sally forth. Further, if we have it so that the walls, once taken, allow the cavalry in through the gate where they can start ripping up the defenders within the walls.

Third of all, in real life you'd also be able to straight-up build a city in a region that's now a rural, and that is not, and will never be possible in BattleMaster. Similarly, some kinds of fortifications will not ever be supported in some places.
Cities aren't just built out nowhere. They start as a settlement that is desirable to reside at for one reason or another and grow until they become cities. Typically, this was because they were at a location which facilitated trade, like river forks, as trade hubs afforded convenient locations for artisans to build their shops. Sure, you can build a structure just about anywhere, but a collection of buildings does not make a city. A population does. This stands in stark contrast to fortifications which are built and staffed to defend an area of import to someone. Unlike a city, which grows organically, a castle is a more deliberate structure.

All that said, I am interested in ways to make fortifications more interesting than they are today—both harder to walk over, and supporting more complex interactions. I have some changes on the drawing board to how food is handled that should make sieges a genuine possibility, and once that's true, it opens up new options for making city assaults harder.
Well, you've got my recommendations. Lock in food stores for the duration of a siege, allow the defenders to choose whether or not to sally forth, attackers can't attack without siege equipment, allow them fortifications to be built anywhere. Other things like murder holes in the gatehouses or oil on the walls are good ideas for addons, but those are kind of predicated on an actual siege mechanic being built.

If differing levels of fortification limits are really considered necessary, then maybe we can have limits on the number of redundant walls there are for certain areas.