Faction Ability - Inexorable Advance

[gull2112]

Imagine a fantasy army that had a fearsome reputation and enchanted musical instruments that could infuse the enemy with dread prior to joining battle. Nothing equals the weight that accompanies a trooper's dread as a fell opponent advances inexorably forward.

The faction includes a unit of musicians that would have three check boxes. Every turn that the unit had the Close SO the player could check a box.

During any morale phase before any units become engaged, the active player may erase all three checks and force all the opponent's units to make a morale check (subtracting one from the die roll).

In general, the tactic would have the faction's units advance with a MC cap trying to prevent engagement for three turns so he could use the ability, thus representing a slow advance building tension. Alternatively, The faction could advance normally vs. a stand and shoot foe and try to time the morale check the turn before his forces close with the enemy.

Because it relies on a lot of die rolls, this ability could be seen as very swingy, but the opponent will try and avoid or reduce the likelihood of the event in the first place, so that is where the balance is.

[Hannibal]

Interesting.  Sort of a Battle Bard squad.  I think rather than an army ability per se I'd make it a spell.  That way you wouldn't need a lot of boxes on the unit, it'd just be one of the spells the unit casts:  make an enemy take a Rout check.  If you use it with the Disrupted rules it'd be less painful on the advance, since it'd just slow the enemy down, but combined with an engaged unit it could be nasty.

[elgin_j]

Interesting but doomed to failure against Hawks, Dwarves, Undead and Wuxing, and likely to decimate Lizards and Orcs before any meaningful engagement.

[gull2112]

You could make it a spell attack and consider the casualties to be troopers that quailed in fear and were useless, or effectively so, for the battle. An attack that effectively disheartened a foe enough that if the battle was going against them they'd run, i.e. part of the normal penalty for going into the yellow or red.

That being said, some mechanic or effect would need to be in place that would make it feel different then an elemental attack spell...ideas?