I think that this is an excellent idea, though possibly alot of code
to write and debug.
> So an (80,80,0,10) noble vs a (80,80,0,20) noble would get half as many
> attacks in, since the opponent is twice as fast.
Hmmm ... Rich, is the idea to simulate a really,really,really tough to
kill monster, or perhaps just to eliminate the value of huge mobs of armies
against small troops.
In the "offenses against realism" category, you can also add that Oly doesn't
simulate *how* battles against outnumbered opponents are fought. If everyone
is fighting hand-to-hand, it is very difficult to get more than three people
working against a single opponent. And a skilled opponent can sometimes
work the terrain to make even two-on-one difficult at best.
I would suggest that the number of hand-to-hand opponents be limited to
three times the number of front-rank enemies. Similarly, missle weapons
should be limited as well (there just are not an infinite number of "good"
places to shoot from), perhaps to twice the number of front-line people.
Larger NPCs, e.g. dragons, should have more people able to attack them.
Similiarly, I would suggest that all nobles always be able to attack.
Example:
Archibald the Unready, with 5 peasants and
William Tell [missle 60] with 60 crossbowmen, behind 9
vs.
Julius with 23 swordsmen and
Caligula with 3 archers, behind 6
Archibald's attack group would be:
Archibald, William Tell, 5 peasants, and (23*2)=46 crossbowmen
Julius's attack group would be:
Julius, Caligula, (3*5)=15 swordsmen, and 3 archers
Well, that's my $.02!
Ed Bailey
P.S. Even with this system, I still think that adding speed is a good idea.
You could add a Speed subskill to combat (if the marginal gain for a week's
study was small enough) and perhaps have Speed artifacts.
--
Ed Bailey | Voice: (512) 471-4198 Fax: (512) 471-6715
Inst. for Fusion Studies | Internet: bailey@{hagar,ziggy}.ph.utexas.edu,
Univ. of Texas at Austin | u70262@c.nersc.gov, or pnab643@chpc.utexas.edu
Austin TX 78712 | "No pithy quotes. Just email addresses."