Bodyguard

[SharpFish]

I had a thought about a way the army list could be used in a more complex way.

You could have a special category for "Bodyguard" to which you assigned individual troops.  The number of troops in your bodyguard by something high end, like 1 per 100 renown.  Once a soldier is assigned to the bodyguard, they cannot be removed or dismissed, they can only be replaced by death.

One the battlefield, the bodyguard is not considered a member of archers or infantry or whatever and does not respond to orders given to those groups.  It follows you around wherever you go, and attacks any enemy that attacks you.

Thoughts?

 

[Jericho]

I have always considered the heroes as your body guards...who just happen to have ADHD and always
leave you mobbed by crazed peasants with rusty kitchen utensils! 

It isn't a bad idea per say, but I really think the heroes should be filling this role and of course
improving of the AI's capability to do so. If I'm going to get stuck in a mob I'd rather
have Rolf and his big axe next to me!

 

[SharpFish]

There is a case for that, and when the companions could be given orders as a group that more or less worked.

On the other hand that would require outfitting all your heroes as either infantry or cav, whichever you are, otherwise they will get split up.  I mean you could do it anyway but the guard would be much more effective if all the same type as you.  The while point is to keep them together around your person.

And the heroes are clearly not set up for that, they have roles, some not even primarily combat.  So at present I do not think they would fill the same function.

 

[Jericho]

I do like this concept, I'm just not sure which would be the best way of implementing it and just
how close would you even want your body guards to be? There many times during the battle when
I tell everyone to charge just to get them away from me so I can get some wet work done!

"Marnid if you cut me off with that mangy horse of yours one more time I'm going to put a
javelin in it's eye!" 

 

[SharpFish]

Well you could just not have a bodyguard if you didn't need it.  At the moment I have so few cavalry I am acting like the general's bodyguard unit in TW, as the cavalry reserve, but I can do it because my cav are too few to charge the enemy frontally and might as well stay on Follow Me.  And while I'm dangerous enough with this character to be useful in the melee, a personal bodyguard would be a boon to new players starting out, or merchant or other non-combatant or non-melee types.

 

[Wandersoul]

It would be nice if we could assign soldiers to special 'groups'. That way my calvary character could keep some hired blades with him and issue orders to other individually. But it'd be a pretty hefty piece of code, so I don't know how practical it'd be.