Mage shields

[Sunrise Samurai]

Proof of concept for a possible AoUFO idea, but it sounds fun for AoF anyway.

Universal tech, cost 6
All mage type units get a shield value equal to their hp, that takes damage first and regenerates 10% per turn.

Attacks with a bonus against the mage deal damage to hp, ignoring the shield.

[LordOfAles]

No

[Sunrise Samurai]

Why not?

[LordOfAles]

Quick reaction

I dunno... i think orc and troll shamans simply arent capable of that skill, i think this can apply only to human mages and warmages, and eventually elven casters

[Sunrise Samurai]

Id say humans can definitely do it, and pretty sure elves and undead casters can as well. I don't see why orcs can't have a less sophisticated version​.

Let's make it 3 levels​.
Level 1: everyone gets. Gives 10 shield
Level 2: everyone but orcs gets. Gives 5 more shield
Level 3: humans only. Gives 5 more shield.

[Alexander82]

As far as I understand it is some sort of additional health points.

It seems mostly a magic fit for humans.

I don't know if the engine can handle a 2nd count for hp so I'd ask Daniel if that is possible.

[Sunrise Samurai]

I don't know if the engine can handle a 2nd count for hp so I'd ask Daniel if that is possible.

That's fully half the purpose, actually. If we can get a system in place for this now, it will be easier to add to the sci-fi version later.

Yes, it is a secondary count for hp, that empties first from outside damage sources. If it hits 0, regular hp goes next. If regular hp hits 0, the unit dies even if it has shield points​ remaining. Damage from units with a bonus bypasses the​ shield, as does poison. Some direct damage spells might bypass it as well, but those would be the exception, not the rule.

Obviously, you want to use damage sources that bypass shields if at all possible, presenting a fun tactical challenge if you wish to avoid brute force.

Also, normal healing won't recover lost shield points (sp for short) but most units with it will have a regeneration for it, unless it is intended as a temporary defense only.

[Alexander82]

But do you start dealing damage to the unit only when this barrier reach 0 or after a certain value?

For example you might consider it a pool of extra hp that fuel magic armor (new value) until it is depleted.

Let's make an example.

A wizard has 5 magic armor that he apply to any damage received (summing it up with other kind of armor). Any time he receives a certain damage it is reduced by this armor and deal damage to its magic shield (let's say 15 hp). After 3 full power attacks the shield is depleted so its magic armor won't work anymore until he recharges the shield (by slow regen or an active action made on purpose).

That would be cool for our saya... Monks that can recharge their ki armor the same way.

[Sunrise Samurai]

Sounds cool. I was actually considering an option like that, where the last hit on shield could be reduced by double armor.

Example
Unit has 5 hp and 8 sp remaining. It has 3 pierce armor and 2 magic armor. 2 fully upgraded elf archers shoot it, for 9 power each.

First hit deals 9 damage -2 magic armor, totaling 7 damage. Sp reduced by 7, down to 1.

Second hit deals 9 damage-2 magic armor, for 7 damage. Sp takes 1, then is gone. 6 damage remaining to target hp. That 6 damage is then reduced by 3 pierce armor, down to 3 damage. Hp reduced by 3, down to 2 hp.

As you can see from the example, a single sp can greatly protect from one hit. this means that you can give a unit 99 magic armor and 1 sp that regenerates every turn, providing virtual immunity to the first hit taken every turn, but normal damage every attack after.

[Alexander82]

I think that the amount of sp should be limited by magic armor, otherwise they are just extra hp with another name (why having a mage have 10 hp and 10 sp when you can just give it 20 hp). This way seems just a turnaround for giving mages more health and a regeneration effect.

If you have an extra armor fueled by those points you can deal damage even if you aren't totally depleting the shield so this works differently from just having more hp.

There idea is that magic armor and shield are the same thing and the latter fuel the first. Having both is like having a single source protecting you in 2 different ways.

A new dynamic should be different from another already in game or it will be redundant.

[Sunrise Samurai]

I see. My thought was that it would effectively increase the mage's hp to 20, but being able to bypass it with bonuses and some effects would let you ignore the extra hp by killing it the right way.

Your example
Mage has 10 hp, 10 shield, and 3 magic armor
It gets hot for 8 damage. 3 shield (equal to magic armor) is removed, and 5 damage hits normal hp.

I'd still suggest allowing the bypass from the same sources, but that sounds​ like it might work better anyway

[Alexander82]

Then I am against this proposal. It is a useless complication imho.

[LordOfAles]

So i was right from the beginning