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morale [2022/07/20 22:22]
demonsthenes [Commanders] Move shrouds to the 5 gems list.
morale [2023/05/02 06:19] (current)
cactusowl
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 ======= Morale ======= ======= Morale =======
  
-Morale is a unit stat which reflects a unit's willingness to stay in combat in the face of adversity. Various things affect morale.+Morale is a unit stat which reflects a unit's willingness to endure adversity in the service of your nation.
  
-===== General =====+The main role of morale is to stop units from routing when things go badly for them. Various situations (like a squad taking casualties or a single unit taking wounds) require a squad/unit to pass a morale test or run from combat; high morale makes them more likely to fight on. 
 + 
 +Morale is used for some other things too. The most common are: 
 + 
 +  * Units need to pass a morale check to attack a defender with [[awe]] 
 +  * Morale is used to complete an attack despite a defender's [[repel]] attempt 
 +  * Units that do retreat from combat are more likely to retreat to a friendly province if they have high morale 
 +  * Commanders use morale to resist [[seduction]] attempts 
 +  * [[Berserker]]s must make a morale check when damaged to go berserk 
 + 
 +Morale becomes substantially more important in the middle and late game because of the prevalence of ??Wailing Winds??, an extraordinarily powerful spell that forces constant morale checks by all enemy units to avoid routing. Players will often stack morale items like ??Dragon Helm?? on mages to keep them in the fight, and group troops under commanders with high inspirational bonuses to increase their morale. 
 + 
 +A few units are impossible to frighten; this is represented by special morale values. 
 + 
 +  * Berserk units have morale 99. They will never retreat and will fight on even without a leader. 
 +  * [[Mindless]] units and many other [[undead]] (such as ??Mound King??) have morale 50; they will never retreat from battle, but will dissolve if left without [[leadership]] 
 +  * Some especially fearless units have morale 30. They will retreat from battle from a "HP rout", but pass all morale tests. Examples: 
 +    * All [[pretender]]s and [[prophet]]s 
 +    * Most [[demon]]s, like ??Devil?? and ??Ozelotl?? 
 +    * Most [[immortal]]s, like, ??Wraith Lord?? and ??Lich?? 
 +    * Elemental Royalty and a few other lategame summons 
 + 
 +A few other exceptions: Morale 30 units will not retreat from defending a fort storm (they are smart enough to know that they will die if they do). Immortals, as a special case, will not retreat even if their army takes overwhelming casualties ("HP rout"); they know they'll just reform a few months later, so fighting a valiant last stand is at most a temporary inconvenience for them. 
 + 
 +===== Effects on Morale =====
 These effects are valid for commanders and units: These effects are valid for commanders and units:
  
-  * The fire [[bless]] effect Superior Morale adds one moral per point spent.+  * The fire [[bless]] effect Superior Morale adds one morale per point spent.
   * Being [[blessed]] gives all non-independents +1 morale.   * Being [[blessed]] gives all non-independents +1 morale.
-  * ??Sermon of Courage?? or ??Fanaticism?? +  * ??Sermon of Courage?? or ??Fanaticism?? give +1 morale. 
-  * [[Experience]] stars.+  * [[Experience]] stars give +1 each.
   * Being exposed to [[Fear]] aura or spells with fear effects temporarily lowers morale. This seems to recover by 3 approximately every 5000 [[ticks]]. No single or combination of fear effects may lower morale by more than 5, however.   * Being exposed to [[Fear]] aura or spells with fear effects temporarily lowers morale. This seems to recover by 3 approximately every 5000 [[ticks]]. No single or combination of fear effects may lower morale by more than 5, however.
   * [[Afflictions|Battle fright]] lowers morale by 5.   * [[Afflictions|Battle fright]] lowers morale by 5.
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   * {{:abilities:beastmaster.png?20&nolink}} [[Animal]]s under the command of a [[beastmaster]] commander.   * {{:abilities:beastmaster.png?20&nolink}} [[Animal]]s under the command of a [[beastmaster]] commander.
   * {{:abilities:taskmaster.png?20&nolink}} [[Slave]]s under the command of an [[taskmaster]] leader.   * {{:abilities:taskmaster.png?20&nolink}} [[Slave]]s under the command of an [[taskmaster]] leader.
-  * Being in a squad with any [[undisciplined]] units lowers morale by 1. Note that all undisciplined units get this penalty, it merely extends to any disciplined units they share a squad with. +  * Being in sparse line or skirmish formations (for example due to being [[Undisciplined]]) without the [[skirmisher]] trait lowers morale by 1. 
-  * Being in sparse line or skirmish formations without the [[skirmisher]] trait lowers morale by 1.+  * If a squad's commander dies, their morale bonus (or penalty) is removed during combat, decreasing (or increasing) the squad's morale. 
 + 
   * Starvation lowers morale by 4.   * Starvation lowers morale by 4.
  
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   * Suffered heavy losses since its last morale check, and overall casualties are at 20%. "Heavy losses" is defined as one "wound" per two squad members. A "wound" in this instance is at least one or more hitpoints of damage that lowers a unit to below 80% of its maximum hitpoints.   * Suffered heavy losses since its last morale check, and overall casualties are at 20%. "Heavy losses" is defined as one "wound" per two squad members. A "wound" in this instance is at least one or more hitpoints of damage that lowers a unit to below 80% of its maximum hitpoints.
-  * The squad less than five units in it, and has taken damage this round.+  * The squad has less than five units in it, and has taken damage this round.
   * The unit has been subjected to a spell or effect causing fear, such as the spell ??Terrify?? or the effect of a [[Fear]] aura.   * The unit has been subjected to a spell or effect causing fear, such as the spell ??Terrify?? or the effect of a [[Fear]] aura.
   * The entire army has taken 50% or more of its starting health in casualties. If there was only one creature and its retinue, the retinue is not considered for this.   * The entire army has taken 50% or more of its starting health in casualties. If there was only one creature and its retinue, the retinue is not considered for this.
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-Furthermore, if an army has lost 75% of its starting health, it will rout automatically.+Furthermore, if an army has lost 75% of its starting health, it will rout automatically. ??Province defense?? units count as a quarter of their total HP for the purpose of this calculation. [[Combat summons]] from spells like ??Horde of Skeletons?? count as part of the army's current health (but not its starting health), and thus can prevent an army from routing after losing far more than 75% of its units.
  
-===== Exceptions ===== 
  
-  * Morale 50 units are [[mindless]] and will not retreat for any reason, although they can fall apart when left without proper leadership. 
-  * Units that have gone [[berserk]] have 99 morale and will never rout for any reason, as long as they are still berserking. 
-  * [[Immortal]] units will never retreat due to army HP loss. 
-  * Morale 30 units, such as [[Pretender|pretenders]] and [[prophet|prophets]], will never retreat when defending a a stormed fort. 
-  * Morale 30 cannot be boosted any higher. 
  
 {{tag>Combat-Mechanics}} {{tag>Combat-Mechanics}}
morale.1658355757.txt.gz · Last modified: 2022/07/20 22:22 by demonsthenes