Repel attempt bonuses

[SurvivalistMerc]

Saber Cherry,

Are you sure that luck and etherealness aren't factored in at the time of the repel attack roll? That would make the most sense to me in that the repel can't work unless it "hits," and these attributes really affect what "hits."

[Chris Byler]

Hmm, if repel attempts do trigger special weapon abilities I have a sudden urge to repel with a Heart Finder Sword or Elf Bane. Unfortunately neither is particularly long, so maybe a Demon Whip, Vine Whip, Bane Blade (2-h), Thorn Spear, or if I have the construction and gems, Trident from Beyond.

[Saber Cherry]

Originally posted by SurvivalistMerc:
Saber Cherry,

Are you sure that luck and etherealness aren't factored in at the time of the repel attack roll? That would make the most sense to me in that the repel can't work unless it "hits," and these attributes really affect what "hits."

The way I set it up, ethereal and lucky take effect at the time of the strike.

Therefore, for an ethereal, lucky attacker:

Being ethereal or lucky do not affect whether or not a repel attempt occurs. They do not affect whether the repel attempt is successful (meaning no attack). However, they DO affect whether the repel attempt does any damage, and associated poison, etc. So an ethereal, lucky unit is just as likely to be repelled, but if it is not repelled, it is only 1/8th as likely to take damage or be poisoned. However, ethereal units generally have very high morale so they almost never get repelled.

For an ethereal, lucky defender:

Being ethereal or lucky do not affect whether or not a repel attempt occurs. They do not affect whether the repel attempt is successful (meaning no attack). An ethereal/lucky unit gets a defense penalty from being attacked, just like a normal unit, regardless of whether the attack hits or misses. So they only affect the chance of being damaged by the attack, and nothing else.

Again, I'm not sure this is correct, but that's what I get from the manual. Anyway, repel attempts are only successful if they [/i]don't[/i] hit=) A repel attempt that hits and does damage is unsuccessful; a successful repel attempt simply scares off the opponent. I agree that the attacker should be less likely to be scared off if he is lucky, ethereal, and has heavy armor, but according to the manual, only the attacker's defense rating and morale (and the defender's attack rating) affect the success of a repel attempt.

[Saber Cherry]

Originally posted by Chris Byler:
Hmm, if repel attempts do trigger special weapon abilities

I can't imagine why they wouldn't, except by oversight. It specifically says in descriptions like Elf Bane's that "The slightest scratch..." can kill. And poisoned weapons are poisoned for precisely that reason...

When I was playing with an SC cyclops, I gave him a thorn spear for repel purposes, and it worked quite nicely=) I don't think anything Lasted long enough to die from poison, though.

By the way, if you want to see enemies pop like pocorn from repels, use a Medusa pretender and send it against an indy province with lots of militia. Funny! =) Though I'm not certain that the medusa gaze is actually modelled as a repel attempt.

[Taqwus]

Careful about mocking the Hoburgs. Perhaps it's time to create a Hoburg Champion wearing Monolith Armor (!) and Winged Shoes, wielding a Gate Cleaver.