Post by redquill on Jul 10, 2013 21:08:44 GMT -5
First off, every class will now have three levels:Basic, Upgraded, and Reinforced. Workers do the Upgrade, after which Blacksmiths can Reinforce. Reinforcing has a higher cost and will require more Ore than Wood. Classes don't get a third weapon as that would muddy up the control scheme, but get some enhancement to their existing abilities and stats. The Villager is an exception: they can only take one upgrade, Shoes, Gloves, or Pouch, and the Pouch can only be enabled if the Shoes and Gloves are already.
Class names are listed like this: Titania/Sci-fi/Magic. Slim to nil difference between them aside from atheistic. No need to decide on theme yet but until we do we need to keep all the potential ones in mind. I'll be making a thread for theme and map suggestions very soon.
Basic Classes
Villager/Civilian/Apprentice: Fast, soft, with little attack power. Something I'm adding to them is something of a hat machine that can be upgraded to produce Clothing only they can wear, one or the other, Shoes for movement and jumps, Gloves for carry speed and stuns. Both will need to be built and produce like a big bomb or chicken pot, not a hat. Shoes are only for mobility, perhaps allowing skidding and braking using the secondary attack. Gloves reduce speed reductions while carrying by 25%, up to 75% of normal speed. It only affects carry speed, not escorting. Gloves have a charge attack that raises your stun chance in increments up to 40% at a full 2 second charge. Another idea I have for them is stealing: if you have the Pouch equipped and charge your attack, you can steal what someone's carrying into your own hands. If they aren't holding anything, you try to swipe their hat; 50% chance I figure. The target becomes a Villager and you have their hat in your hands. Drop the hat and you'll put it on, or you can throw it; you won't put it on automatically like usual when a Villager grabs a hat. Also, hats won't count as carrying as far as movement speed goes, no speed penalty. Take it and run!
Warrior/Soldier/Warden: Slow, defensive, dangerous at close range. For the high magic themed Warden, they're a mage that has focused on defensive spells and staff martial arts, allowing them to have a magical shield which works like a Warrior's. The third upgrade will allow them to parry... I'm not sure how this will operate control wise, perhaps charging up over a couple seconds of blocking, perhaps timing based -raising or lowering block at the right time - or a low cooldown special. What it does is reflect ranged attacks or stun someone making a melee attack. If used with the halberd, it will be a spin like with the sword, with low damage, longer reach, and knockback. FP needs its knockback back! Of note, the halberd will have reach unlike it does now; it's not just a sword that can dash. It's a bit slower, same damage, more range. Or perhaps slower, less damage, and a very small frontal AoE.
Ranger/Sniper/Oracle: Medium speed, low damage, long range. Regarding speed, they should be a bit faster. Most classes should be able to out run a Warrior if he's not dashing at them constantly and Rangers should be able to outrun those if they're not firing. Maybe a higher (or double) jump would do the trick. The third upgrade will allow them to plant a Torch, though it has additional effects to the ones that we know. I'm not sure all the things it can be charged with, but it's not just fire. It will be put down blank and persist, until charged with an element then last around 15 seconds. Able to be charged by being hit with fire, ice or curse to apply effects to weapons. Fire for damage as we know, ice for slow, and curse for stun. They require a full charge to apply the effect, and may be different duration or effects for different classes. So, YES, Worker, Giant and Villager will be able to get some kind of benefit from these placed temporary torches. Only one Torch active at a time per Ranger; putting out another destroys the old one.
Worker/Miner/Geomancer: High speed, medium damage, knockback AoE with upgraded weapon. Back with knockback! Their 3rd upgrade will be placing a build zone: press Special to toggle through the options and Attack set a Blueprint for it. This means preset build zones are being removed, and that if you break something it's more permanent, as the Blueprint will have to be lain down again each time and has a high charge time. Recharge may be based on what you place. There will also be at least one new thing to build, the siege tower: a placeable Outpost with health instead of capture. Doesn't heal on entry but you can climb it, and it attacks things nearby. Dunno if it'll be the closest or an AoE or what, but it'll attack and be breakable instead of captureable, only enterable by the placing team. Placing the blueprint doesn't mean it's free! Still need to apply resources and yeah, it's all repairable. It's worth noting here that I intend to have everything buildable be breakable, and everything breakable be fixable or at least replaceable. So that castle wall can be repaired, and that boulder can be replaced, same as doors. Durability will be based on cost, so a catapult at 12 resources would be about 4 times as durable as a door which costs 3.
Mage/Kinetic/Elementist: Medium speed, low damage with high AoE and special effects. I want there to be more interactions between targets under one of these effects and things done to them - stuff like flaming allies out of ice - but I'm not sure what would work and make sense yet. Their upgrade will be a push/pull effect that doesn't care what they're doing at the time, useful for repelling enemies and objects for escaping or getting that little bit more charge or pulling them in for some extra targets when you're ready to take them on. The pull's range will be about 20% larger than their normal AoE, and their push will be about half the normal size.
Priest/Medic/Druid: Medium speed, low damage, medium heals. I'd like to implement some kind of range formula to line heals... limited lock distance, but once you have the lock you can hold it indefinitely. There will still be a range though, and when it's stepped out of the line's healing rate will drop. Same with life drain, and I think getting drained at minimum health will put a slow on you so long as the drain stays linked. The slow won't drop off over distance, so if you really want to focus a target you can impair them from anywhere so long as they don't heal. Their special will be a quickcharge of whatever mode they're in: light heal and a shield for all if light, and curse plus minor life drain if dark. It will have a long cooldown.
DLC Classes (not actually DLC)
These guys need their own heading because their attacks and specials need to be broken down to get in line with the basic classes and follow an upgrade path.
Ninja/Spook/Illusionist: Big change here so I'll go into more detail. They'll have 3 hearts/ 12 hp and be about as fast as a Villager. Given that the Villager has upgrades now too and the Ninja's carry speed is going to be very low, this should work fine; the Villager will still have a role and the Ninja will actually be Ninja-y. Further, they won't show up on the map anymore, at least not the default map. More on that when I get into the new King class. To find a Ninja you'll need to look for clues like swaying grass, splashing water, and a small movement at your door. This may be enough to make Ninja a viable class without tricks, but it doesn't feel that way to me. How the stars behave will probably change... rather than scattering multiples in a manner similar to a Pirate, I'm thinking poison or slow is what charged attacks need. Given that they're soft now, I think they'll start out with stars, Upgrade to sword, and Reinforce to stealth. Now I mentioned their carry speed is very slow; I'm thinking about the same as it is now. HOWEVER, you don't need to do a trick to pick something up while in stealth, and it will vanish as well. May not be useful, but who knows. This doesn't work with the Princess of course. Finally, they have two assassination moves, one with the stars and one with the sword. Unless you're at full HP, the melee assassination will kill you, however even a Villager can survive it if they're at 100% health. If you're at full, you go down to half. If not, you die. It should be easier to hit with too, perhaps if you're locked on to someone you don't melee unless you hit. The ranged assassination with apply a poison DoT that will not go away until you're healed. This counts self heals, but it ticks often enough that it will stop you from sitting and eating cake. It can't kill you though, so once you're down to nothing you can remove it yourself.
Pirate/Mercenary/Pyromancer: Just to be different from the Ninja, I think I'll have them start sword, then get their special, then get the pistol. Yeah, that means they're getting their special earlier than most, but it's also pretty dangerous to use without being able to engage from range. Their charged melee will be similar to the Warrior's sword charge, but in a half circle with knockback. For the gun, it'll be like the Ranger's bow but less accurate while more damaging... much as it is now but without needing to map cancel for quick shots. As speed goes, I think I'll put them at Ranger level; that is, not fast at all but able to outrun Warriors just barely. Because they have Melee and can keep up with Rangers while outrunning Warriors I think 5 hearts/20 hp is fair.
Giant/Mech/Golem: Don't wanna change a thing, these guys are awesome. However, they need upgrades so I need to break down their skills a bit. They'll start with their melee which will work just like it does now. Their secondary with be shoving for big knockback and a bit of damage in an area with their normal attack while grabbing with their charged attack. Somebody that's grabbed can't move away from the Giant but can attack freely. They take some damage when the Giant attacks, and they can be thrown quite a long way by charging it again. Perhaps they can grab allies too, like a mini catapult with legs, but this might conflict with the Gnome's role. The final upgrade will let you eat things you've grabbed. I'm gonna reduce the cooldown on this special since grabbing folks won't be easy and there's other stuff you can do with them now. A note about Giants and their damage reduction; they're not going to be the only guys that get it anymore. More on that later.
New Classes
Blacksmith/Scientist/Transmuter: The issue I'm having with this one is making them separate from the Worker while having a similar role. As I'm seeing it right now they have little role aside from Ore rushing since they can harvest it faster than a Worker. They don't have the structure damage bonus that Workers do, nor are they as quick. Support buffs are something lacking in FP, perhaps this is where they belong. I think mines would do well as a weapon for them, working like bombs with no range and a larger AoE. They do more damage when charged, and will stay on the ground longer. If you place one near another they'll both go off right away, possibly setting off chain reactions. Tricky, but a few Blacksmiths in tandem could manage ranged attacks like this.
I'm not sure what their secondary weapon would BE, but I'd like it to work like a short range priest line that provides Armour. Armour is damage reduction like the Giants and will break down with time/damage. I have a couple ideas for the charge: a shortlived small AoE cage that doesn't let anyone in or out but can be fired through, Armour repairs for those near them that already have Armour, or a removal/reduction of debuffs to units near them. A concern with the cage is groups of Blacksmiths denying an area, which is why it's small and can be shot through.
I'm really not sure what their special might be. Maybe the cage should go here instead so it's harder to spam. Ideas?
5 hearts/20 hp I think, with 10% Armour that goes up 5% per upgrade for 20% at level 3. Further point on Armour, it won't reduce heals anymore and some types of attacks - Mage at the very least, probably DP too - will ignore it.
Blacksmiths aren't builders or breakers (except in the case of Ore) but Reinforcers, following behind workers to make their groundwork more effective. Their fully upgraded Dispenser with provide a Key which will open an enemy door one time or neutralize an Outpost. Anyone can carry a Key and they work for both team's doors so be careful bringing one out of your castle or it might get snatched for a quick invasion of your base.
Gnome/Droid/Pixie: These little guys are pretty pointless on their own; slower and weaker than a Villager and unable to pick up items aside from hats. Their advantage lies in numbers... they can Heart each other at any time to move faster, and in groups of two or more they can carry things. They have less of a carry speed reduction than other classes, but their base speed drops off as members of the group are lost. They're also able to throw further, MUCH further in large groups. Five of them working on one thing might as well be a field catapult (no they can't carry people). I might make their group through chargeable. These mechanics don't apply to the Princess: she's thrown normal distance and has her usual weight and speed reduction. Groups of Gnomes are still very fast though, so there's more speed to reduce.
Individually they'll be hard to find if they're smart since they're smaller. The name display might make this an issue, something I'll need to think about. If they try to pick something up on their own, they'll hide under it instead. If it's picked up by an enemy they'll be stunned right away to give the Gnome a chance to escape, and if an ally picks it up the Gnome gets a ride, helping the big person go faster like a living wheelbarrow. It'll be neat to see what sort of vehicles you dorks come up with.
Second level allows Gnomes to stack up on each other to get over walls, towers, and terrain. They can throw each other and jump off each other, or fall over onto enemies. Pretty risky though since that will unheart the group and they're no good in combat at all. Damage of the fall considers two factors: height and which Gnome hits. He higher they are, the harder it'll be to aim but the more damage it'll do. Maybe they can make body bridges too.
They don't have a special, but their third level finally gives them a weapon. Ropes, which aren't used for damage but keeping someone on the spot like Gulliver's Travels. The more gnomes their are the harder the ropes are to break, but each gnome only has one rope at a time; they can't use it again until the old one breaks. The stuck target can still do everything but move as normal, but their damage is reduced by the ropes until they're broken. Allies can attack the ropes too, and neutral damage like Big Bombs will also harm them. The trapped unit will take full damage from neutral sources though, so breaking them out with a bomb will probably kill them.
King/Captain/Magus: I'm really not sure how I want to work these guys after some discussion. There's meant to be only one per team, and there's criteria required to make the Hat spawn. They'll have very high HP, at least twice anyone else's, though they won't have a direct combat role. They're leaders, providing persistent buffs to those near them, organizing bots, pinging the map to mark targets and objectives, and generally being intimidating when they wade into the fray. The main thing about them is they're the only guys that will have full map awareness; everyone else can only see what the team is aware of. So fog of war is now a thing; the King is the only one that ignores it. By marking the map, using voice chat and in game macros, they'll direct their team out of danger and into victory. Needless to say if only one team has a King at the moment they're going to have the advantage.
I'm not sure how to make the King available. Listening for ideas here. Things to keep in mind: they're very powerful if used properly and there can be only one per team at a time. If they die, it should take at least a minute for another one to become available, longer if the team doesn't focus on getting them back.
For weapons, the King with have a large forward AoE scepter that swings slowly, doesn't do much damage, and has a small knockback from the centre of where it hits. If you're too close to them, their hit with knock you behind them... this attack has long reach. The charge for this will be a shout that knocks everyone away from the King and stuns them. When using this weapon all allies near the King get a small movement speed boost.
The secondary is a book of some sort, where laws are written. Reading from it forces the King to stand still. If locked onto an enemy, they'll be pointed out on the map for a while and take increased damage while they are. The longer the King stays locked on you the longer this effect will last... 2:1 ratio probably once you get out of it. You're marked indefinitely while he's locked onto you. If locked onto an ally, various things will happen depending on what class they are: Armour and foot speed boost for Warriors and faster charging Special for Workers as examples. It doesn't persist, only in effect while the King is locked on. They can move when locked on to allies, but much slower than they do with the scepter equipped. However, while not locked on to anything and not charging an attack, all allies near them get a very small regen effect, about 1 hp/5 seconds. Their charge attack is a speech and can be charged forever. Every five seconds or so the charge gets stronger, and when released all allies in the area gain 1% temporary Armour and all enemies are stunned for a quarter second. Per level. Careful though, if the King dies while charging, the effect is reversed!
They don't need a special attack.
Class names are listed like this: Titania/Sci-fi/Magic. Slim to nil difference between them aside from atheistic. No need to decide on theme yet but until we do we need to keep all the potential ones in mind. I'll be making a thread for theme and map suggestions very soon.
Basic Classes
Villager/Civilian/Apprentice: Fast, soft, with little attack power. Something I'm adding to them is something of a hat machine that can be upgraded to produce Clothing only they can wear, one or the other, Shoes for movement and jumps, Gloves for carry speed and stuns. Both will need to be built and produce like a big bomb or chicken pot, not a hat. Shoes are only for mobility, perhaps allowing skidding and braking using the secondary attack. Gloves reduce speed reductions while carrying by 25%, up to 75% of normal speed. It only affects carry speed, not escorting. Gloves have a charge attack that raises your stun chance in increments up to 40% at a full 2 second charge. Another idea I have for them is stealing: if you have the Pouch equipped and charge your attack, you can steal what someone's carrying into your own hands. If they aren't holding anything, you try to swipe their hat; 50% chance I figure. The target becomes a Villager and you have their hat in your hands. Drop the hat and you'll put it on, or you can throw it; you won't put it on automatically like usual when a Villager grabs a hat. Also, hats won't count as carrying as far as movement speed goes, no speed penalty. Take it and run!
Warrior/Soldier/Warden: Slow, defensive, dangerous at close range. For the high magic themed Warden, they're a mage that has focused on defensive spells and staff martial arts, allowing them to have a magical shield which works like a Warrior's. The third upgrade will allow them to parry... I'm not sure how this will operate control wise, perhaps charging up over a couple seconds of blocking, perhaps timing based -raising or lowering block at the right time - or a low cooldown special. What it does is reflect ranged attacks or stun someone making a melee attack. If used with the halberd, it will be a spin like with the sword, with low damage, longer reach, and knockback. FP needs its knockback back! Of note, the halberd will have reach unlike it does now; it's not just a sword that can dash. It's a bit slower, same damage, more range. Or perhaps slower, less damage, and a very small frontal AoE.
Ranger/Sniper/Oracle: Medium speed, low damage, long range. Regarding speed, they should be a bit faster. Most classes should be able to out run a Warrior if he's not dashing at them constantly and Rangers should be able to outrun those if they're not firing. Maybe a higher (or double) jump would do the trick. The third upgrade will allow them to plant a Torch, though it has additional effects to the ones that we know. I'm not sure all the things it can be charged with, but it's not just fire. It will be put down blank and persist, until charged with an element then last around 15 seconds. Able to be charged by being hit with fire, ice or curse to apply effects to weapons. Fire for damage as we know, ice for slow, and curse for stun. They require a full charge to apply the effect, and may be different duration or effects for different classes. So, YES, Worker, Giant and Villager will be able to get some kind of benefit from these placed temporary torches. Only one Torch active at a time per Ranger; putting out another destroys the old one.
Worker/Miner/Geomancer: High speed, medium damage, knockback AoE with upgraded weapon. Back with knockback! Their 3rd upgrade will be placing a build zone: press Special to toggle through the options and Attack set a Blueprint for it. This means preset build zones are being removed, and that if you break something it's more permanent, as the Blueprint will have to be lain down again each time and has a high charge time. Recharge may be based on what you place. There will also be at least one new thing to build, the siege tower: a placeable Outpost with health instead of capture. Doesn't heal on entry but you can climb it, and it attacks things nearby. Dunno if it'll be the closest or an AoE or what, but it'll attack and be breakable instead of captureable, only enterable by the placing team. Placing the blueprint doesn't mean it's free! Still need to apply resources and yeah, it's all repairable. It's worth noting here that I intend to have everything buildable be breakable, and everything breakable be fixable or at least replaceable. So that castle wall can be repaired, and that boulder can be replaced, same as doors. Durability will be based on cost, so a catapult at 12 resources would be about 4 times as durable as a door which costs 3.
Mage/Kinetic/Elementist: Medium speed, low damage with high AoE and special effects. I want there to be more interactions between targets under one of these effects and things done to them - stuff like flaming allies out of ice - but I'm not sure what would work and make sense yet. Their upgrade will be a push/pull effect that doesn't care what they're doing at the time, useful for repelling enemies and objects for escaping or getting that little bit more charge or pulling them in for some extra targets when you're ready to take them on. The pull's range will be about 20% larger than their normal AoE, and their push will be about half the normal size.
Priest/Medic/Druid: Medium speed, low damage, medium heals. I'd like to implement some kind of range formula to line heals... limited lock distance, but once you have the lock you can hold it indefinitely. There will still be a range though, and when it's stepped out of the line's healing rate will drop. Same with life drain, and I think getting drained at minimum health will put a slow on you so long as the drain stays linked. The slow won't drop off over distance, so if you really want to focus a target you can impair them from anywhere so long as they don't heal. Their special will be a quickcharge of whatever mode they're in: light heal and a shield for all if light, and curse plus minor life drain if dark. It will have a long cooldown.
DLC Classes (not actually DLC)
These guys need their own heading because their attacks and specials need to be broken down to get in line with the basic classes and follow an upgrade path.
Ninja/Spook/Illusionist: Big change here so I'll go into more detail. They'll have 3 hearts/ 12 hp and be about as fast as a Villager. Given that the Villager has upgrades now too and the Ninja's carry speed is going to be very low, this should work fine; the Villager will still have a role and the Ninja will actually be Ninja-y. Further, they won't show up on the map anymore, at least not the default map. More on that when I get into the new King class. To find a Ninja you'll need to look for clues like swaying grass, splashing water, and a small movement at your door. This may be enough to make Ninja a viable class without tricks, but it doesn't feel that way to me. How the stars behave will probably change... rather than scattering multiples in a manner similar to a Pirate, I'm thinking poison or slow is what charged attacks need. Given that they're soft now, I think they'll start out with stars, Upgrade to sword, and Reinforce to stealth. Now I mentioned their carry speed is very slow; I'm thinking about the same as it is now. HOWEVER, you don't need to do a trick to pick something up while in stealth, and it will vanish as well. May not be useful, but who knows. This doesn't work with the Princess of course. Finally, they have two assassination moves, one with the stars and one with the sword. Unless you're at full HP, the melee assassination will kill you, however even a Villager can survive it if they're at 100% health. If you're at full, you go down to half. If not, you die. It should be easier to hit with too, perhaps if you're locked on to someone you don't melee unless you hit. The ranged assassination with apply a poison DoT that will not go away until you're healed. This counts self heals, but it ticks often enough that it will stop you from sitting and eating cake. It can't kill you though, so once you're down to nothing you can remove it yourself.
Pirate/Mercenary/Pyromancer: Just to be different from the Ninja, I think I'll have them start sword, then get their special, then get the pistol. Yeah, that means they're getting their special earlier than most, but it's also pretty dangerous to use without being able to engage from range. Their charged melee will be similar to the Warrior's sword charge, but in a half circle with knockback. For the gun, it'll be like the Ranger's bow but less accurate while more damaging... much as it is now but without needing to map cancel for quick shots. As speed goes, I think I'll put them at Ranger level; that is, not fast at all but able to outrun Warriors just barely. Because they have Melee and can keep up with Rangers while outrunning Warriors I think 5 hearts/20 hp is fair.
Giant/Mech/Golem: Don't wanna change a thing, these guys are awesome. However, they need upgrades so I need to break down their skills a bit. They'll start with their melee which will work just like it does now. Their secondary with be shoving for big knockback and a bit of damage in an area with their normal attack while grabbing with their charged attack. Somebody that's grabbed can't move away from the Giant but can attack freely. They take some damage when the Giant attacks, and they can be thrown quite a long way by charging it again. Perhaps they can grab allies too, like a mini catapult with legs, but this might conflict with the Gnome's role. The final upgrade will let you eat things you've grabbed. I'm gonna reduce the cooldown on this special since grabbing folks won't be easy and there's other stuff you can do with them now. A note about Giants and their damage reduction; they're not going to be the only guys that get it anymore. More on that later.
New Classes
Blacksmith/Scientist/Transmuter: The issue I'm having with this one is making them separate from the Worker while having a similar role. As I'm seeing it right now they have little role aside from Ore rushing since they can harvest it faster than a Worker. They don't have the structure damage bonus that Workers do, nor are they as quick. Support buffs are something lacking in FP, perhaps this is where they belong. I think mines would do well as a weapon for them, working like bombs with no range and a larger AoE. They do more damage when charged, and will stay on the ground longer. If you place one near another they'll both go off right away, possibly setting off chain reactions. Tricky, but a few Blacksmiths in tandem could manage ranged attacks like this.
I'm not sure what their secondary weapon would BE, but I'd like it to work like a short range priest line that provides Armour. Armour is damage reduction like the Giants and will break down with time/damage. I have a couple ideas for the charge: a shortlived small AoE cage that doesn't let anyone in or out but can be fired through, Armour repairs for those near them that already have Armour, or a removal/reduction of debuffs to units near them. A concern with the cage is groups of Blacksmiths denying an area, which is why it's small and can be shot through.
I'm really not sure what their special might be. Maybe the cage should go here instead so it's harder to spam. Ideas?
5 hearts/20 hp I think, with 10% Armour that goes up 5% per upgrade for 20% at level 3. Further point on Armour, it won't reduce heals anymore and some types of attacks - Mage at the very least, probably DP too - will ignore it.
Blacksmiths aren't builders or breakers (except in the case of Ore) but Reinforcers, following behind workers to make their groundwork more effective. Their fully upgraded Dispenser with provide a Key which will open an enemy door one time or neutralize an Outpost. Anyone can carry a Key and they work for both team's doors so be careful bringing one out of your castle or it might get snatched for a quick invasion of your base.
Gnome/Droid/Pixie: These little guys are pretty pointless on their own; slower and weaker than a Villager and unable to pick up items aside from hats. Their advantage lies in numbers... they can Heart each other at any time to move faster, and in groups of two or more they can carry things. They have less of a carry speed reduction than other classes, but their base speed drops off as members of the group are lost. They're also able to throw further, MUCH further in large groups. Five of them working on one thing might as well be a field catapult (no they can't carry people). I might make their group through chargeable. These mechanics don't apply to the Princess: she's thrown normal distance and has her usual weight and speed reduction. Groups of Gnomes are still very fast though, so there's more speed to reduce.
Individually they'll be hard to find if they're smart since they're smaller. The name display might make this an issue, something I'll need to think about. If they try to pick something up on their own, they'll hide under it instead. If it's picked up by an enemy they'll be stunned right away to give the Gnome a chance to escape, and if an ally picks it up the Gnome gets a ride, helping the big person go faster like a living wheelbarrow. It'll be neat to see what sort of vehicles you dorks come up with.
Second level allows Gnomes to stack up on each other to get over walls, towers, and terrain. They can throw each other and jump off each other, or fall over onto enemies. Pretty risky though since that will unheart the group and they're no good in combat at all. Damage of the fall considers two factors: height and which Gnome hits. He higher they are, the harder it'll be to aim but the more damage it'll do. Maybe they can make body bridges too.
They don't have a special, but their third level finally gives them a weapon. Ropes, which aren't used for damage but keeping someone on the spot like Gulliver's Travels. The more gnomes their are the harder the ropes are to break, but each gnome only has one rope at a time; they can't use it again until the old one breaks. The stuck target can still do everything but move as normal, but their damage is reduced by the ropes until they're broken. Allies can attack the ropes too, and neutral damage like Big Bombs will also harm them. The trapped unit will take full damage from neutral sources though, so breaking them out with a bomb will probably kill them.
King/Captain/Magus: I'm really not sure how I want to work these guys after some discussion. There's meant to be only one per team, and there's criteria required to make the Hat spawn. They'll have very high HP, at least twice anyone else's, though they won't have a direct combat role. They're leaders, providing persistent buffs to those near them, organizing bots, pinging the map to mark targets and objectives, and generally being intimidating when they wade into the fray. The main thing about them is they're the only guys that will have full map awareness; everyone else can only see what the team is aware of. So fog of war is now a thing; the King is the only one that ignores it. By marking the map, using voice chat and in game macros, they'll direct their team out of danger and into victory. Needless to say if only one team has a King at the moment they're going to have the advantage.
I'm not sure how to make the King available. Listening for ideas here. Things to keep in mind: they're very powerful if used properly and there can be only one per team at a time. If they die, it should take at least a minute for another one to become available, longer if the team doesn't focus on getting them back.
For weapons, the King with have a large forward AoE scepter that swings slowly, doesn't do much damage, and has a small knockback from the centre of where it hits. If you're too close to them, their hit with knock you behind them... this attack has long reach. The charge for this will be a shout that knocks everyone away from the King and stuns them. When using this weapon all allies near the King get a small movement speed boost.
The secondary is a book of some sort, where laws are written. Reading from it forces the King to stand still. If locked onto an enemy, they'll be pointed out on the map for a while and take increased damage while they are. The longer the King stays locked on you the longer this effect will last... 2:1 ratio probably once you get out of it. You're marked indefinitely while he's locked onto you. If locked onto an ally, various things will happen depending on what class they are: Armour and foot speed boost for Warriors and faster charging Special for Workers as examples. It doesn't persist, only in effect while the King is locked on. They can move when locked on to allies, but much slower than they do with the scepter equipped. However, while not locked on to anything and not charging an attack, all allies near them get a very small regen effect, about 1 hp/5 seconds. Their charge attack is a speech and can be charged forever. Every five seconds or so the charge gets stronger, and when released all allies in the area gain 1% temporary Armour and all enemies are stunned for a quarter second. Per level. Careful though, if the King dies while charging, the effect is reversed!
They don't need a special attack.
