Precision

"This is how accurate a unit is, either with missiles or with magic." – manual description

Precision is an offensive martial talent, particularly for ranged attacks. When a javelin is thrown, when an arrow is loosed, and when a spell is cast, the caster's Precision determines where the missile or magic ends up.

This information is from the manual, rather than from any testing.

In combat, Precision determines what square a missile or spell ends up in. Everyone has a maximum effective range, equal to half their Precision minus 2; beyond that, there's a deviation in squares, up to the range of the attempted cast times 5, divided by the Precision times 4.

For example, say a fellow has 10 Precision, and uses a Short Bow with an intended target 10 squares away. The guy's maximum effective range is [(10 / 2) - 2], or 3 squares, so reliability is out the window. The maximum deviation is [(10 x 5) / (10 x 4)], or 1.25 squares.

In practice, deviation is handled in a bell curve manner, in a random direction; up, down, left, or right. Due to the decimals, there's still a good chance for the projectile to end up in the intended target's square. Thus, close-ranged combat is still pretty accurate.

But what about with wider range? Well, say a fellow with 10 Precision uses that Short Bow to try to hit someone 30 squares away. The maximum deviation is [(30 x 5) / (10 x 4)], or 3.75 squares; even though the deviation will typically be only half that, that's still 1.875 squares off-target.

As with Combat Speed, taking a diagonal counts as 1.5 squares per square.

Once the square is chosen, Precision's work is done, and the DRN roll is entirely a matter of the fellows in the square. The number of Size points in the square, divided by 2, is added to the Attack roll. The target in the square is chosen at random, with each square occupant having a weight equal to their Size. The decided defender's Defence Skill is not used in the Defence roll, and every 20 points of Fatigue subtracts 1 from their result. Defenders do get to Parry missiles with their Shields, however; in fact, their Parry bonus is doubled.

Magic ranged weapons have +2 to hit, in their Attack roll.

For combat, points of Precision over 10 are effectively doubled. Exceptional eyesight has its perks. This is very different from previous Dominions games; in those, whether or not a projectile deviated was determined by a DRN roll, in which Precision points over 10 were half as effective. The manual for Dominions 5 says the same stuff as the manual for Dominions 6 regarding Precision, however, except that defenders had a base of 2 for their Defence rolls. Given the inaccuracies of the Dominions 6 manual in some other areas, reading the Dominions 5 page on Precision rolls may still be helpful.

Precision strongly contributes to Patrol Strength. A unit's Patrol Strength is their Precision, plus their Map Movement (or 30 if they're Flying), all divided by 20. A commander's Patrol Strength is then doubled, and an Undisciplined or Mindless unit/commander's Patrol Strength is then halved. In this case, points above 10 are not effectively doubled.

Direct Precision bonuses include an Air Bless, a +4 Precision "buff" from the Eagle Eye line or the Trueshot line, and the +2 Precision "buff" from the Wind Guide spell. Wind Guide also halves any and all Precision "debuffs" placed upon those affected.

Darkness is a somewhat common Precision-reducer. Fighting at night or in other dark places (such as Caves or Deep Seas) results in -3 Attack Skill, -3 Defence Skill, and -3 Precision. The Darkness spell can increase these penalties to -6, though without stacking. There are Global Enchantments that apply 1 or 6 Darkness to everywhere that isn't a Deep Sea or a Cave, and Twilight applies a -2 penalty directly to Precision if no "real" Darkness is present.

Various traits interact with the Precision-reducing effects, however. Darkvision offers a percent reduction of the magnitude of the penalties, generally 50% (though some have 100%). Spirit Sight is 100% Darkvision with added benefits, while True Sight lets one see straight during Twilight. Last-but-not-least, none of these penalties stack with the -9 penalty from Blindness, and those used to being Blind are unaffected by even that.

• On the last note, missing eyes but still being able to see results in -3 Precision per lost eye; this does stack with the Darkness penalties and such, but the summed effects cannot be more severe than blindness.

If a weapon or spell has 100 Precision listed, that means it will virtually always hit: it's a nominal value.