"Attack Rearmost"

[Norfleet]

Originally posted by Arryn:
What surprises me is the lack of any sort of morale penalty for troops assigned to a leader when that leader dies.

There's one thing to be considered: In the heat of a swirling melee, it's entirely possible that the unit is actually unaware of the death until the battle is over, or all leaders are lost: In ancient warfare, orders were commonly given by drums, horns, or flags, with the individual soldier not having clear contact with any given commander, so the switch in command could very well occur transparently, if a commander that "takes over" is standing next to the now-deceased, as was often the case. If your commander happened to be leading by charging into the fray with his men, it was not uncommon for him to be discovered to be KIA only after the battle was over! Many kings and generals died in such a manner, dying in a battle that their army won. If anything, the rout of an army after the leaders are dead should be randomly delayed and scattered intermittently across squads, as they realize their leader is dead, rather than instantaneous.

This actually happens in M:TW: I've had my general killed in action, but the troops, despite the morale hit, or perhaps obliviousness due to being on the other side of the field, are unaware of this and win anyway.

[ March 16, 2004, 06:09: Message edited by: Norfleet ]