Action Economy, Morale, and Momentum

Two major changes were made to Ground War. The first addresses how the alternating activation action economy favored larger armies over smaller but more elite forces. Once on side runs out of elements to activate for the turn, the opposing force must make a skill check after every activation equal to that element's to-hit value. Success means they keep activating elements like normal. Failure means marks an end to normal activations for the turn. All unactivated elements may still be activated but are prevented from moving unless they have restrictions to changing their speed, such as aerospace elements. These elements will move the same speed as their previous activation in a straight line. This should help simulate poorly trained troops struggling to coordinate as well as a more elite army.

The second major change is the removal of morale as it is currently implemented. The current implementation is clunky and removes player agency. I'd much rather allow players to retreat when they deem it necessary, not be forced to by an arbitrary percentage of losses. Removing this has the added benefit of reducing player workload as loss numbers no longer have to be tracked.

Third: The new momentum system adds variability to the alternating activations as it currently exists. All sides of the battle will start with an amount of momentum. This momentum can be spent to break the alternating activations by activating extra elements in a row. There is a catch though. The force will have to roll equal or higher than twice the selected number of momentum before they can be spent. On success, that force can make use of their momentum. On failure, only the normal activation is allowed and the opposing force gains a point of momentum. Momentum will also be awarded for rendering hostiles combat ineffective and completing objectives. This should make battles much more dynamic as a result.

In other news, multiple people have suggested that I create a Patreon as a place to store my dev blogs easier, display work in progress art for the book, and potentially even help offset the costs of my programs. So that's what I did. Speaking of art, the first post on Patreon contains all art for the destined for the corebook so far. Tiers have been tied into the discord server for special roles. More benefits are also planned, such as 3D printable miniatures for Ground War and Fleet Action. For people without their own printers, I'll make sure to have them available through a 3d printing service with a discount code.

Patreon Link

Patreon will be 100% optional. Major dev blogs will continue to be posted here in addition to patreon and the minimal art version of the PDF will always be free. That is never changing.