$\"\"$
Representa\u00e7\u00e3o art\u00edstica da Batalha de Towton, 1461<\/p><\/div>\n
Em jogos, especificamente, esse desafio significa reduzir toda essa complexidade a uma f\u00f3rmula matem\u00e1tica. <\/strong><\/p>\n
Quando dizemos que o dano de uma certa espada longa \u00e9 igual a 1d8+3 com cr\u00edtico 19-20\/x2, estamos justamente nos expressando por meio de uma equa\u00e7\u00e3o. Da mesma forma, ao dizer que uma certa arma de um CRPG tem 180 DPS, estamos, no fundo, fazendo uma divis\u00e3o: dano de cada ataque \/ n\u00famero de ataques por segundo = DPS.<\/strong><\/p>\n
O desafio, para n\u00f3s, \u00e9 encontrar uma f\u00f3rmula que respeite as particularidades da guerra medieval <\/strong>em vez de\u00a0lan\u00e7ar tudo \u00e0 aleatoriedade RPG\u00edstica.<\/p>\n
O combate nas guerras de Thomond, 1276-1318<\/strong><\/h3>\n $\"\"$
Escultura da cena da paix\u00e3o no Convento de Ennis, Thomond. Os soldados foram retratados com equipamento t\u00edpico do final da Idade M\u00e9dia. Foto por Luke McInerney<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n
Antes de falar das dificuldades que tivemos de enfrentar, \u00e9 \u00fatil explicar primeiro como a guerra do per\u00edodo funcionava.<\/p>\n
Como eu expliquei no primeiro artigo dessa s\u00e9rie, os l\u00edderes da Irlanda nos s\u00e9culos XIII e XIV pertenciam a duas culturas diferentes. Parte de seu territ\u00f3rio estava nas m\u00e3os de bar\u00f5es ingleses sujeitos \u00e0 autoridade da Coroa da Inglaterra. Outra parte continuava sob o controle de reis nativos, que cujas linhagens se estendiam para muito antes da invas\u00e3o inglesa.<\/p>\n
No papel, ingleses tinham acesso a recursos que fariam qualquer irland\u00eas tremer nas bases. Seus guerreiros de elite, os equi cooperti <\/em>(lit. \u201ccavalos cobertos\u201d) n\u00e3o tinham par no campo de batalha. A Coroa inglesa tinha mais dinheiro que qualquer reino irland\u00eas e dispunha de uma popula\u00e7\u00e3o adulta muito mais numerosa. Qualidade e quantidade estavam a seu favor.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Equi cooperti<\/em> em combate. Estes guerreiros eram assim chamados por conta dos tabardos coloridos que suas montarias usavam. Imagem: British Library Royal 16 G VI f. 379v<\/p><\/div>\n
Na pr\u00e1tica, a situa\u00e7\u00e3o era outra. Na Irlanda ga\u00e9lica, a maioria das popula\u00e7\u00f5es vivia dispersa, dificultando a conquista. N\u00e3o havia uma \u00fanica cidade ou centro populacional que podia ser tomado, \u201cdecapitando\u201d a administra\u00e7\u00e3o do reino.<\/p>\n
Entre os anos 1276-1318, quando se passa o jogo, as \u00e1reas da ilha que resistiam \u00e0 conquista eram cobertas por florestas e p\u00e2ntanos. Nesse tipo de terreno, quase todas as vantagens t\u00e1ticas com que os ingleses podiam contar ca\u00edam por terra.<\/p>\n
Cavaleiros n\u00e3o podiam operar livremente sob o risco de seus animais quebrarem a perna. Arqueiros tinham utilidade limitada, j\u00e1 que folhas e galhos obstru\u00edam a vis\u00e3o e serviam de escudo natural \u00e0s flechas. Armaduras pesadas, ent\u00e3o, eram basicamente um suic\u00eddio. Guerreiros em cota-de-malha corriam o risco de afundarem na turfa.<\/p>\n
Mesmo se os ingleses dessem sorte e conseguissem enfrentar irlandeses em terreno favor\u00e1vel, n\u00e3o era certeza de sairiam vitoriosos. Isto porque as rela\u00e7\u00f5es entre ingleses e irlandeses<\/strong> n\u00e3o<\/strong> eram um Fla x Flu<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Bar\u00f5es ingleses viam seus pares como rivais e n\u00e3o tinham pudores de lutar ao lado de irlandeses se isso os beneficiasse de alguma forma. Estes aliados davam aos reis ga\u00e9licos acesso aos melhores ex\u00e9rcitos e equipamento que o dinheiro ingl\u00eas era capaz de pagar.<\/p>\n
Nas guerras de 1276-1318, este foi o caso dos de Burgh, fam\u00edlia inglesa que marchou diversas vezes ao lado do Cl\u00e3 Tarlac contra <\/strong>outra fam\u00edlia inglesa, os De Clare.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Ef\u00edgie do s\u00e9culo XVI retratando William de Burgh (d.1205 ou 1206), ancestral dos de Burgh na Irlanda. Seu equipamento \u00e9 similar ao que reis irlandeses na \u00e9poca de Os Triunfos de Tarlac usariam<\/p><\/div>\n
Tudo isso resultava em um fato importante para entendermos o combate na \u00e9poca: n\u00e3o havia grandes diferen\u00e7as de qualidade nos ex\u00e9rcitos da \u00e9poca, fossem eles liderados por irlandeses ou ingleses.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Isto significa que o modelo de \u201ctiers<\/em>\u201d de tropas com grada\u00e7\u00f5es diferentes de qualidade, usados por tantos jogos comerciais, n\u00e3o nos serviria.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ Excerto de regras do board game Fief: France 1429<\/a>, mostrando diferen\u00e7as em qualidades de tropas<\/p><\/div>\n
Precis\u00e1vamos, portanto, de uma outra solu\u00e7\u00e3o.<\/p>\n
Tamanho \u00e9 documento<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Para nosso primeiro prot\u00f3tipo, elaboramos uma rolagem de combate que levava em conta apenas o tamanho <\/strong>dos ex\u00e9rcitos e a sorte. <\/strong><\/p>\n
Tamanho <\/strong>representaria a observa\u00e7\u00e3o hist\u00f3rica de que ex\u00e9rcitos maiores costumam sair por cima. Afinal de contas, se vit\u00f3rias em condi\u00e7\u00f5es desvantajosas fossem comuns, elas n\u00e3o seriam t\u00e3o celebradas na hist\u00f3ria militar e mem\u00f3ria nacional.<\/p>\n
E o fator sorte <\/strong>estaria a\u00ed para nos lembrar que zebras \u00e0s vezes acontecem. <\/strong><\/p>\n
Calcular o tamanho<\/strong> dos ex\u00e9rcitos foi a parte mais f\u00e1cil. Segundo as fontes financeiras medievais, listas de baixas militares e descri\u00e7\u00f5es de batalhas da \u00e9poca, os ex\u00e9rcitos em atividade na Irlanda eram relativamente pequenos. A maioria dos comandantes marchava para a guerra com algumas centenas de homens sob seu comando. Apenas em raros casos tropas de um \u00fanico rei ou bar\u00e3o ultrapassavam 1000 soldados.<\/p>\n
Assim, decidi representar esses ex\u00e9rcitos em uma escala de 1:100. Cada ficha de ex\u00e9rcito equivaleria a 100 guerreiros at\u00e9 um m\u00e1ximo de 10 (equivalente a 1000 homens).<\/p>\n
Esse \u201cteto\u201d tinha a fun\u00e7\u00e3o de evitar que jogadores \u201cquebrassem\u201d o jogo recrutando mais guerreiros do que seria poss\u00edvel a um l\u00edder da \u00e9poca sustentar. Outras mec\u00e2nicas, como a devasta\u00e7\u00e3o (de que falarei melhor em um di\u00e1rio futuro) tamb\u00e9m existem para desencorajar recrutamentos absurdos.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Esbo\u00e7o da arte para fichas de ex\u00e9rcito, por Vin\u00edcius de Oliveira<\/p><\/div>\n
Implementar o fator sorte<\/strong>, por outro lado, foi mais complicado.<\/p>\n
Inicialmente, estabelecemos que cada rolagem de combate seria decidida por um d6 multiplicado pelo n\u00famero de fichas ex\u00e9rcitos de cada jogador. Quem perdesse sofreria uma baixa \u2013 i.e. perderia uma ficha. Os jogadores repetiam a rolagem de combate at\u00e9 que um deles desistisse ou perdesse todos os seus ex\u00e9rcitos.<\/p>\n
Essa f\u00f3rmula respeitou o princ\u00edpio medieval de que ex\u00e9rcitos grandes geralmente sa\u00edam vitoriosos. Infelizmente, ela fez isto bem demais: era virtualmente imposs\u00edvel para um ex\u00e9rcito menor sair por cima.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Como a rolagem era baseada em uma multiplica\u00e7\u00e3o, cada ex\u00e9rcito a mais que um jogador trouxesse ao campo de batalha representava uma vantagem brutal em rela\u00e7\u00e3o ao seu oponente. Comandantes com apenas um ex\u00e9rcito, ent\u00e3o, estavam praticamente mortos antes mesmo de lan\u00e7arem os dados.<\/p>\n
Esse era um problema que n\u00e3o pod\u00edamos deixar passar. A raz\u00e3o era simples: a batalha que selou as guerras de Thomond foi decidida gra\u00e7as \u00e0 tenacidade de um ex\u00e9rcito pequeno<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Em 1318, o Cl\u00e3 Tarlac e seus aliados tinham uma vantagem num\u00e9rica sobre seu inimigo, o bar\u00e3o Richard de Clare. Sabendo que um confronto direto acabaria mal para seu lado, de Clare desviou da capital do Cl\u00e3 Tarlac e decidiu atacar um de seus vassalos, o Cl\u00e3 U\u00ed Dheaghaigh (em ingl\u00eas, O\u2019Dea). A ideia era destruir os irlandeses enquanto estavam divididos.<\/p>\n
Infelizmente para de Clare, os O\u2019Dea resistiram tempo o suficiente para que seus refor\u00e7os chegassem, derrotando a coaliz\u00e3o inglesa.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Dysert O Dea, local da batalha que encerrou as guerras de Thomond. O castelo de mesmo nome, que pode ser visto na foto, s\u00f3 foi constru\u00eddo mais de cem anos depois do conflito.<\/p><\/div>\n
Aperfei\u00e7oando o fator sorte<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Para acomodar esse tipo de cen\u00e1rio, modificamos a f\u00f3rmula das rolagens. Em vez de multiplicar o resultado de um \u00fanico d6, as fichas de ex\u00e9rcito determinariam o n\u00famero de d6s <\/strong>rolados por cada jogador.<\/p>\n
Algu\u00e9m que controlasse tr\u00eas ex\u00e9rcitos, assim, rolaria 3x d6; seis ex\u00e9rcitos, 6xd6 e assim por diante.<\/p>\n
Essa f\u00f3rmula colocava muito mais a cargo da sorte, j\u00e1 que era poss\u00edvel mesmo a um jogador com rolagens de 10xd6 ter um surto de azar e tirar apenas 1s e 2s.<\/p>\n
O resultado ficou vis\u00edvel nas nossas sess\u00f5es de teste. Pela primeira vez desde o in\u00edcio das jogatinas, os membros da nossa equipe gritavam, choravam e vibravam na torcida por um dado bom ou ruim.<\/p>\n
O problema \u00e9 que, historicamente, faltavam arestas a aparar. \u00a0Os resultados continuavam deterministas demais. <\/strong>Embora existisse uma chance real de\u00a0 \u201cdar zebra\u201d, um ex\u00e9rcito grande ainda atropelava for\u00e7as menores na esmagadora maioria dos casos.<\/p>\n
Para melhorar essa situa\u00e7\u00e3o, decidimos nos inspirar ainda mais na matem\u00e1tica. Em especial, no trabalho do engenheiro brit\u00e2nico Frederick Lanchester.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Frederick Lanchester (1898-1946)<\/p><\/div>\n
Durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial, Lanchester desenvolveu uma s\u00e9rie de equa\u00e7\u00f5es<\/a> para tentar prever o resultado de batalhas.<\/p>\n
Explicar direitinho essas f\u00f3rmulas ocuparia muito espa\u00e7o nesse artigo, mas uma de suas premissas \u00e9 digna de nota: Lanchester insistia era que, em batalhas corpo-a-corpo, soldados tendem a lutar contra um n\u00famero limitado de inimigos, mesmo que seu ex\u00e9rcito como um todo esteja em desvantagem num\u00e9rica.<\/p>\n
O fato de um ex\u00e9rcito ser 20 vezes maior que outro n\u00e3o significa que cada um dos soldados inimigos ser\u00e1 atacado por 20 homens ao mesmo tempo.<\/p>\n
\u00c9 poss\u00edvel que uma for\u00e7a militar seja flanqueada ou atacada pelas costas, obrigando-a a lutar em duas ou mais frentes. Mesmo nesse caso, por\u00e9m, o n\u00famero de guerreiros lutando em um dado momento ser\u00e1 quase sempre uma fra\u00e7\u00e3o do contingente total.<\/p>\n
Isso significa que mesmo uma for\u00e7a pequena \u00e9 capaz de resistir a ex\u00e9rcito maior \u2013 pelo menos por um tempo. Sobretudo se ela for amparada por terreno favor\u00e1vel, fortifica\u00e7\u00f5es ou simplesmente sorte.<\/p>\n
Foi, afinal, o que aconteceu em 1318 na batalha de Dysert O Dea.<\/p>\n
N\u00f3s decidimos aplicar esse princ\u00edpio ao nosso jogo para ver o que acontecia. Segundo as novas regras, cada jogador rolaria um n\u00famero de d6s equivalente ao n\u00famero de fichas do jogador que tivesse menos fichas no momento do combate.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Em outras palavras, se um ex\u00e9rcito de 6 fichas atacar um de 3, ambos os jogadores rolam 3 dados.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Essa pequena mudan\u00e7a alterou completamente a din\u00e2mica do combate. N\u00fameros ainda eram importantes: o n\u00famero de fichas de ex\u00e9rcito, para todos os fins, funcionava como \u201cpontos de vida\u201d de um jogador, determinando o n\u00famero de rolagens que ele \u00e9 capaz de perder. Desvantagens num\u00e9ricas pronunciadas ( por exemplo, 10 x 1) continuam sendo uma senten\u00e7a de morte. Ainda que o jogador com mais guerreiros seja incapaz de mobilizar seus 10 ex\u00e9rcitos ao mesmo tempo, \u00e9 praticamente imposs\u00edvel que perca no dado dez vezes consecutivas.<\/p>\n
Por outro lado, \u00e9 quase certeza que ele perder\u00e1 pelo menos uma <\/strong>rolagem aqui e ali. O que torna as baixas mais frequentes \u2013 e o combate, muito mais perigoso.<\/p>\n
Imagine, por exemplo, que voc\u00ea tenha 10 ex\u00e9rcitos, e seus tr\u00eas oponentes tenham 2, 4 e 1 respectivamente. Segundo as regras antigas, sua vit\u00f3ria j\u00e1 estaria assegurada. Ainda que, por milagre, eles conseguissem se reunir para atac\u00e1-lo, voc\u00ea ainda teria uma vantagem de 10 x 7.<\/p>\n
Segundo as regras novas, por\u00e9m, mesmo o oponente mais fraco, com apenas uma ficha ex\u00e9rcito, pode vencer duas ou tr\u00eas rolagens, custando guerreiros que podem fazer a diferen\u00e7a entre a vida e a morte.<\/p>\n
N\u00e3o \u00e9 mais necess\u00e1rio ter a vantagem num\u00e9rica para ganhar. Mesmo underdogs <\/em>podem vencer por atrito se as condi\u00e7\u00f5es se alinharam a eles.<\/p>\n
Obviamente, a sorte \u00e9 apenas uma <\/strong>dessas condi\u00e7\u00f5es. N\u00e3o podemos esquecer do efeito do terreno, de obst\u00e1culos como p\u00e2ntanos e rios, de castelos ou mesmo de diferen\u00e7as de t\u00e1ticas e movimentos. Soldados montados n\u00e3o se moviam na mesma velocidade que guerreiros de infantaria. Pequenas tropas de poucas dezenas de homens podiam cobrir terreno mais r\u00e1pido que grandes contingentes acompanhados de ve\u00edculos.<\/p>\n
Mas isso tudo ser\u00e1 assunto de um pr\u00f3ximo di\u00e1rio.
\n<\/a>
\n $\"\"$ <\/p>\n
Fran\u00e7ois Truffault used to say that it was impossible to make an anti-war movie. According to the moviemaker, the very act of portraying war on the silver screen trivialized \u2013 if not glorified \u2013 bloodshed.<\/p>\n
Something similar can be said about games. As much as we try to represent human conflicts in a responsible fashion, it is undeniable that the thrill of participating in battles is one of the chief reasons that makes rolling dice and challenging our friends so appealing.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
In a game like The Triumphs of Turlough,<\/em>\u00a0which deals directly with a historical war, <\/em>we knew from the outset that combat<\/strong> was a feature we couldn\u2019t ignore.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, of all the mechanics we created so far, those related to battles were the ones we had the easiest time in getting right.<\/p>\n
By \u201cgetting right\u201d, I mean specifically the task of making them fun. From a historical standpoint, even the most cautious and complex representations of war are very problematic. Understanding how conflicts happen is one of the hardest <\/strong>tasks for any historian to undertake. Few activities are as chaotic and averse to logical explanations than thousands of angry men trying to kill one another.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Artistic representation of the Battle of Towton, 1461<\/p><\/div>\n
In games, specifically, this challenge involves reducing all of this complexity to a mathematical formula.<\/strong><\/p>\n
When we say that the damage of a given longsword equals 1d8+3 with critical 19-20\/x2, we are doing no more than expressing ourselves by means of an equation. Likewise, when we say that a given weapon in a CRPG has a DPS of 180, we are essentially performing a multiplication: damage of each attack * number of attacks per second = DPS.<\/strong><\/p>\n
The challenge, for us, rests in finding a formula that respects the particularities of medieval warfare, <\/strong>rather than relinquishing everything to an RPG-like randomness.<\/p>\n
Combat during the wars in Thomond, 1276-1318<\/strong><\/h3>\n $\"\"$
Sculpture portraying a passion scene at Ennis Friary, Thomond. The soldiers were represented wearing the typical equipment of Late-Medieval Irish armies.\u00a0Photo by Luke McInerney<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n
Before talking about the difficulties we had to face, it might be useful to start by explaining how warfare worked in the period.<\/p>\n
As I wrote about in the first post of this series<\/a>, the rulers of Ireland in the 13^{th<\/sup> and 14^{th<\/sup> centuries belonged to two different cultures. Part of the island\u2019s territory was in the hands of English barons subject to the authority of the English Crown. Another part remained under the control of native kings, whose lineages stretched back from way before the English invasion.<\/p>\n}}
In theory, the English had access to resources that would make any Irish person tremble in fear. Their elite cavalry, the equi cooperti <\/em>(lit. \u201ccovered horses\u201d) had no equal in the battlefield. The English Crown had more money than any Irish kingdom and counted with a far more numerous adult population. Quantity and quality were on its side.<\/p>\n
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Equi cooperti<\/em>\u00a0in combat. These warriors received their names on account of the colorful caparisons worn by their mounts. Image: British Library Royal 16 G VI f. 379v<\/p><\/div>\n
In practice, the situation was quite different. In Gaelic Ireland, the majority of the population lived dispersed around a rather large territory, making conquest difficult. There wasn\u2019t a single city or populational centre that could be taken, \u201cdecapitating\u201d the kingdom\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n
Between the years 1276-1318, when the game is set, the areas that resisted conquest were mostly covered by woods and bog mires. In this type of terrain, nearly every single tactical advantage with which the English could count meant very little.<\/p>\n
Knights could not operate freely due to the risk of their animals breaking their legs. Archers had limited utility, as leaves and branches obstructed their vision and served as a natural shield against arrows. Wearing heavy armour was basically a suicide. Mail-clad warriors faced the risk of getting stuck in peat deposits.<\/p>\n
Even if the English got lucky and managed to face the Irish on favourable terrain, victory wasn\u2019t assured. This is because the relationship between English and Irish wasn\u2019t a zero-sum game. <\/strong><\/p>\n
English barons saw their peers as rivals and had no qualms in fighting alongside Irish aristocrats if they benefitted from it in any way. These allies gave Gaelic kings access to the best armies and equipment the English money could pay for.<\/p>\n
In the wars of 1276-1318, this was the case of the de Burgh, an English family that marched several times with Clann Turlough against <\/strong>another English family, the de Clare.<\/p>\n
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16th century effigy of William de Burgh h (d.1205 ou 1206), ancestor of the de Burgh in Ireland. His equipment is similar to the one used by Irish kings in the time of The Triumphs of Turlough<\/em>.<\/p><\/div>\n
All of this boils down to an important fact to understand the combat in the period: there weren\u2019t big differences in quality between the armies of the time, be they led by Irish or English commanders.<\/strong><\/p>\n
This meant that the model of \u201ctiers\u201d of troops with different levels of quality, employed by so many commercial games, would not do us any good.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ Excerpt from the rules of the board game Fief: France 1429<\/a> featuring differences in troop quality.<\/p><\/div>\n
We needed a different solution.<\/p>\n
Size matters<\/strong><\/h3>\n
For our first prototype, we elaborated a combat roll that only took in account army size <\/strong>and chance.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Size <\/strong>represented the historical observation that larger armies usually came out on top. After all, if victories in unfavourable conditions were common, they wouldn\u2019t be so celebrated in military history and national memory.<\/p>\n
And the chance <\/strong>factor was there to remind us that upsets sometimes happen. <\/strong><\/p>\n
Calculating the size <\/strong>of armies was the easy part. According to medieval financial sources, lists of military casualties and descriptions of battles of the period, the armies in activity in Ireland were relatively small. Most commanders marched to war with a few hundred men under their command. Only in rare cases troops from a single king or baron exceeded 1000 soldiers.<\/p>\n
Thus, I decided to represent these armies on a 1: 100 scale. Each army token would equal 100 warriors, up to a maximum of 10 tokens (totaling 1000 men).<\/p>\n
This \u201cceiling\u201d was meant to prevent players to \u201cbreak\u201d the game by recruiting more warriors than it would be possible for a ruler in the period to support. Other mechanics, such as devastation (of which I\u2019ll talk more in future diaries) were also in place to dissuade absurd troop levying.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Sketch for the art of an army token. Drawing by Vin\u00edcius de Oliveira<\/p><\/div>\n
Implementing the chance <\/strong>factor, on the other hand, proved to be trickier.<\/p>\n
We initially established that each combat roll would be decided by a d6 multiplied by the number of army tokens each player had. Whoever lost would suffer a casualty \u2013 i.e. lose one token. Players repeated the combat roll until one of them gave up or lost all of their armies.<\/p>\n
This formula observed the medieval principle that larger armies usually won battles. Unfortunately, it accomplished it too well: it was virtually impossible for a smaller army to come out on top.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Since the roll was based on a multiplication, each additional army a player brought to the battlefield represented a brutal advantage in relation to their opponents. Commanders with a single army token, in this scenario, were practically dead on water before they even rolled the dice.<\/p>\n
This was a problem we could not ignore. The reason was simple: the battle that concluded the wars of Thomond was decided thanks to the tenacity of a small army.<\/strong><\/p>\n
In 1318, Clann Turlough and its allies outnumbered their enemy, baron Richard de Clare. Knowing that a direct confrontation would end bad for him, de Clare skirted around Clann Turlough\u2019s capital and decided to attack one of their vassals instead, the U\u00ed Dheaghaigh (in English, O\u2019Dea).\u00a0 The idea was to overwhelm the Irish forces while they were divided.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for de Clare, the O\u2019Dea stood their ground for just enough time for their reinforcements to arrive, defeating the English coalition.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Dysert O Dea, site of the battle that ended the wars of Thomond. The towerhouse of the same name, featured in the photo above, was only built over a century after the end of the conflict.<\/p><\/div>\n
Revamping the chance factor<\/strong><\/h3>\n
To accommodate this type of scenario, we modified the formula of the dice rolls. Instead of multiplying the result of a single d6, the army tokens of a given player would determine the number of d6s <\/strong>they would roll.<\/p>\n
Someone controlling three armies, in this fashion, would roll 3xd6s; six armies, 6xd6s and so forth.<\/p>\n
This formula placed much more emphasis on chance, as it was possible for even a player rolling 10 x d6s to have a stroke of bad luck and get only 1s and 2s.<\/p>\n
The result was self-evident in our playtest sessions. For the first time since the beginning of our playthroughs, members of our team yelled, cried and cheered for a good or bad die.<\/p>\n
The problem was that, historically speaking, there were still some rough edges to polish. The results were still too deterministic. <\/strong>While there was a real chance of an underdog getting the upper hand, a larger army still ran over smaller forces in the vast majority of cases.<\/p>\n
To improve this situation, we decided to take even more inspiration from maths. In particular, in the work of British engineer Frederick Lanchester.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Frederick Lanchester (1898-1946)<\/p><\/div>\n
During World War I, Lanchester devised a series of equation<\/a>s to try to predict the outcome of battles.<\/p>\n
Explaining how exactly these formulae work would take too much space in this article, but one of their premisses is worth of note: Lanchester insisted that, in melee battles, soldiers tended to fight against a limited number of enemies, even if their army as a whole was vastly outnumbered.<\/p>\n
An army being 20 times larger than another did not mean that each of the enemy soldiers would face off against 20 men at the same time.<\/p>\n
A military force could be flanked or attacked in the rear, forcing it to fight on two or more fronts at the same time. Even then, however, the number of warriors fighting in any given moment would almost always be a fraction of the total contingent.<\/p>\n
This makes even a smaller force capable of resisting a larger army \u2013 if only for a time. Bonus points if it has terrain, fortifications or simply chance in its favour.<\/p>\n
It was, after all, what happened in 1318 at the Battle of Dysert O Dea.<\/p>\n
We decided to apply this principle to our game to see what happened. According to the new rules, each player rolled a number of d6s equal to the number of tokens of the player who had the least tokens. <\/strong><\/p>\n
In other words, if an army of 6 tokens attacked one of 3, both players would roll 3 dice. <\/strong><\/p>\n
This small tweak completely altered the dynamics of the combat. Numbers were still important: for all intents and purposes, army tokens worked like \u201chit points\u201d for a player, determining the number of rolls they were allowed to lose. Extreme numerical disadvantages (e.g. 10 x 1 ) were still a death sentence. Even if the player with the most warriors was incapable of mobilizing all of their 10 armies at once, it was practically impossible for them to lose in the dice 10 times in a roll.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, it was almost assured that they would lose one <\/strong>roll here and there. This made casualties more frequent \u2013 and combat, way more dangerous.<\/p>\n
Imagine, for example, that you had 10 armies and your opponents have 2, 4 and 1 token respectively. Following the old rules, your victory would be a given. Even if, by some sort of miracle, they managed to unite their forces and attack you, you\u2019d still be looking at a 10 x 7 advantage.<\/p>\n
According to the new rules, however, even the weakest opponent \u2013 with a single army token \u2013 could win two or three rolls, costing you warriors that could be the difference between life and death later on.<\/p>\n
It was no longer necessary to outnumber your foes to became victorious. Even underdogs could win by attrition if the right conditions aligned.<\/p>\n
Obviously, chance is only one <\/strong>among such conditions. We cannot forget the effects of terrain, obstacles such as bogs and rivers, castles or even differences in tactics and movements.<\/p>\n
Mounted soldiers didn\u2019t move at the same speed as infantrymen. Small warbands of a few dozen warriors could cover more ground quicker than large parties hauling vehicles.<\/p>\n
But this is a topic for another diary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dizia Fran\u00e7ois Truffault que \u00e9 imposs\u00edvel fazer um filme anti-guerra. Para o cineasta, o mero ato de retratar a guerra na telona j\u00e1 trivializa \u2013 quando n\u00e3o glorifica \u2013 o derramamento de sangue. Coisa parecida pode ser dita sobre jogos. Por mais que tentemos apresentar conflitos humanos de uma maneira respons\u00e1vel, \u00e9 ineg\u00e1vel que a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[580,21],"tags":[175,483,589,671],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/20210210-cover-tarlac-combate.jpg?fit=1900%2C1344&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9rUzW-5SF","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22609"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22609"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22623,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22609\/revisions\/22623"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}