The Shards; Development Stage: On Hold

scienceguy8 · Post by **scienceguy8** » June 28th, 2007, 3:08 pm

I have played the Battle for Wesnoth for a while now and have enjoyed it immensely, so now I think it is time that I give back to the community that made this great game. So, in my free time, I am developing a new faction and a scenario in which to introduce them.

The Shards

The race known as the Shards were born out of the vast army of Konrad during his fight to reclaim the throne of Wesnoth. His troops, weary of marches and combat, would seek the company of others within the group. The result was the birth of hundreds of mixed-race children, combinations of human, elven, and dwarven bloodlines. Since they had essentially broken away from the major races, they became known as the Shards.

In time, the Shards grew in numbers from a mere one hundred to several thousand. They lived fairly normal lives in Wedlyn, the capital city of Wesnoth. Times began to grow tough for them, however, in the year 770 YW. Humans are not well known for readily accepting the unknown. The Shards were viewed with suspicion. They were accused of numerous acts, crimes, and atrocities, almost all of which they were not responsible for. Nonetheless, the residents of Wedlyn would frequently taunt, beat, and even kill Shards out of their prejudicial views. Eventually, the Shards were chased out of Wedlyn and forced to leave Wesnoth.

In an encampment outside the city, the Shards elected their leader, a craftsman by the name of Tony, to lead them. Tony and his lifelong friend, a Spellspinner (Shard version of the mage) named Adlec, discovered their people had only three options: live with the Dwarves, live with the Elves, or take the land from a group of Orcs or Undead. Although the Shards do possess a common bond with both the Dwarves and the Elves, the first two options were not desirable. Despite their dwarflike traits, most Shards do not fair well underground, and even thought they would be perfectly at home within the elvish lands, they would most likely bring war with some of the more irrational humans with them. So it was decided by Tony and the Shard Council that they and their people would make their way into the untamed Northern Lands, cut down any enemy in their way, and carve out a little place in the world just for them.

The Troops

Level 1 Troops

The Shard Fighter

Due to their hasty retreat out of Wedlyn, the Shards are at a bit of a loss for weapons and the resources needed to make them. For this reason, and the fact that lighter weapons make for a faster soldier, the basic fighter unit is equipped with a quarterstaff and a small handful of throwing knives.

The Shard Thrower

While Fighters predominately have human and elvish traits, Throwers are usually more dwarven in appearance and ability. Taller than a normal dwarf, but still shorter than an average human, Throwers get their name from their weapon of choice: throwing hatchets. They are also armed with basic axes for melee attacks.

The Spellspinner
Spellspinners effectively follow the adage of â€œjack of all trades, master of nothing.â€ They are competent in many forms of magic, and are armed with a Dwarven rune-engraved hammer and the ability to shoot fiery balls of magical energy at their opponents. Much like other magical troops, however, they lack endurance against enemy attacks (low HP).

If you have any suggestions or complaints, just let me know.

Coaxke · Post by **Coaxke** » June 28th, 2007, 9:55 pm

jack of all trades, master of nothing

im guessing you have a PSP and the game called 'Field Commander'?
because that is obviously coppied from that game, am i right?

Also could you list the units' stats? HP,attacks,etc.?

Post by **turin** » June 29th, 2007, 12:48 am

FSR_Coaxke wrote:
jack of all trades, master of nothing
im guessing you have a PSP and the game called 'Field Commander'?
because that is obviously coppied from that game, am i right?

Uh... if you're referring to the phrase "jack of all trades, master of none", that's a common saying that's been around for probably centuries. It's certainly no crime to use it to describe a unit, though I would leave it out of the official in-game description.

If that's not what you were referring to, what the heck are you talking about?

Coaxke · Post by **Coaxke** » June 29th, 2007, 4:02 pm

ok nevermind then

, can we get back to the topic??!!

Raemon · Post by **Raemon** » June 30th, 2007, 8:17 am

This faction sounds interesting to me. If I could code, I might help you work on it, but I can't so I will just call out unwelcome instructions from the back seat.

Coaxke · Post by **Coaxke** » June 30th, 2007, 4:50 pm

i might be able to help with balancing factions and stuff like that

scienceguy8 · Post by **scienceguy8** » June 30th, 2007, 9:35 pm

FSR_Coaxke wrote:
jack of all trades, master of nothing
im guessing you have a PSP and the game called 'Field Commander'?
because that is obviously coppied from that game, am i right?

Also could you list the units' stats? HP,attacks,etc.?

Never heard of Field Commander. I also don't have a PSP or any game console.

At the moment, there are no stats, no files, nothing. All there is is an idea, a sprite of the Shard hero Tony, and the descriptions above and below.

Level 2

Shard Lieutenant
Upon reaching the rank of Lieutenant within the Shard military, a Fighter has two pikeheads mounted to his or her quarterstaff, one at each end. The Lieutenant has the ability to make lower ranking troops around him or her to fight harder.

Shard Hero
Some Fighters choose not to lead, but to go their own way about a fight. The Hero unit also receives the same treatment to his or her quarterstaff upon promotion. Heroes are a little tougher than Lieutenants, but lack the ability to lead.

More to come later.

Coaxke · Post by **Coaxke** » June 30th, 2007, 11:32 pm

well do you think it is possible to list what you want the stats to be?
do you have the images for these units, or is that an idea too?

Post by **zookeeper** » June 30th, 2007, 11:53 pm

FSR_Coaxke wrote:well do you think it is possible to list what you want the stats to be?
do you have the images for these units, or is that an idea too?

In this thread alone, you've already managed to post four times without saying anything meaningful. Just leave the guy alone and only post if you really have something to say. Thanks.

scienceguy8 · Post by **scienceguy8** » July 3rd, 2007, 2:58 pm

Shard Fighter
HP: around 30
Melee Attack: Quarterstaff: 4-5 (impact)
Range Attack: Throwing Knife: 4-3 (either blade or pierce)

Shard Thrower
HP: around 30
Melee Attack: Ax: 4-4 (blade)
Range Attack: Throwing Hatchet: 3-6 (either blade or impact)

Spellbinder
HP: upper teens to lower twenties
Melee Attack: Hammer: 2-5 (impact, magical)
Range Attack: Missile: 3-6 (fire, magical)

Shard Lieutenant
HP: (unknown)
Melee Attack: Double Pike: 5-6 (blade)
Range Attack: Throwing Knife: 5-3 (either blade or pierce)
Special Ability: Leadership

Shard Hero
HP: (unknown)
Melee Attack: Double Pike: 5-7 (blade)
Range Attack: Throwing Knife: 5-4 (either blade or pierce)

Silver Sun · Post by **Silver Sun** » July 5th, 2007, 11:14 pm

scienceguy, it would be useful to list what units advance to which units, as I can only guess as to which units are level 1 or 2 (maybe 3s if they're there).
As for the health amounts you are unsure of, compare them to units that are similar to the type of character you want the unit to be (check the unit .cfg file to find the unit) and compare stats. More health, or more damage, maybe an extra movement or resistance?
And this is just my opinion, but throwing knives would probably be pierce (forward with sharp point given towards the enemy), and a hatchet would likely be blade (not a sharp point but a cutting blade attached to a wooden hilt, spun at the enemy).
Also, for Leadership, which leadership level you got to decide. Normally, it's any levels below the leading level. For example, a level 2 unit could only lead 1s and 0s.

EDIT: Oh, a level 3 unit has Level 3 Leadership. Yet since they're your units perhaps they lead a higher unit or lesser units than normal. Decisions, decisions... -.-

scienceguy8 · Post by **scienceguy8** » July 6th, 2007, 8:25 pm

Thanks, Silver Sun. The Shard Fighter (lvl. 1) advances to either the Shard Lieutennant (lvl. 2) or the Shard Hero (lvl. 2). Like all other leading units, the Shard Lieutennant can only lead those underneath him or her in level.

Silver Sun · Post by **Silver Sun** » July 6th, 2007, 11:07 pm

No problemo. I'm working on units and getting help, and have been tossing my help around... for what it's worth.

Alright, can I comment on the Spellbinders melee attack? It is kind of weak in respect that it can only dish out 2 damage per turn, and a normal-era unit can dish out 5 per turn... it would likely die first. Same with its ranged attack. And the magical effect on the hammer may be unbalanced, as usually physical attacks are kind of unfair if they are so likely to hit - it should be based on the luck of the unit. Believe me, adding magical is tempting...
Since some units have weak attacks in the short-run, but strong attacks in the long-run, perhaps a bit extra hitpoints would be inserted balancefully? I'm no expert, but this seems logical. Someone help me out here, I don't know everything!

kcits · Post by **kcits** » July 7th, 2007, 6:07 am

this all sounds really good, i would like to see the graphics!

Hyunjae · Post by **Hyunjae** » July 7th, 2007, 6:38 am

scienceguy8 wrote: Shard Hero
Some Fighters choose not to lead, but to go their own way about a fight. The Hero unit also receives the same treatment to his or her quarterstaff upon promotion. Heroes are a little tougher than Lieutenants, but lack the ability to lead.

Just adding a little something to your idea, but how about something involving using salvaged metal to upgrade their weapons to... some sort of unique weapon? Or perahaps, another forging unit altogether, creating some super-weapon-thing because of the technique of dwarves and the knowledge of elves?

And how about lowering the number of attacks on the spellbinder and giving him a shield due to his fraility? :p

And how about another unit called "Shard Purist" (cause a little racism would be funny

)