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posted October 18, 2026 10:28 AM |
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Heroes on the adventure map, NPC and hirelings – Heroes
Hello, all!
Another thread to discuss another point that I'm considering in the fan project. Right now, it's looking like this:
1) Hero can either be on their own or carrying an army on the adventure map.
2) A hero's species plays a role on how they can move on their own on the adventure map and also changes a few interactions with their armies during battle, whether they're a flying, teleporting, floating, ground or swimming species.
3) Nearby, secondary heroes next to a battle are not passive. Same for castle defenses or garrison, when an enemy army is flanked or pincered.
4) NPCs can be found on the adventure map, and may take different roles in favor, or against, your hero or a kingdom. Certain NPCs won't see your hero if there's an army behind them.
5) Hireling is a lesser, temporary form of NPC, also found in some places, but mostly available at taverns. They'll take a small role and will always be accompanying the hero that has hired them.
6) Hero with armies can interact will all elements, and they can also oversee interactive modifications on the adventure map, like buildings roads, as in a AoW fashion.
EXPLAINING ITEM 1
In a similar fashion as in Heroes 4 installment, heroes can wander on their own on the adventure map. Differences, though:
* They can't engage in any battle. Engaging in battle alone defeats them immediately, and they will get back to the tavern roster randomly, starting from the next week only (a penalty, making this hero not guaranteed to reappear after a whole new week).
* They can't flag buildings (dwellings, mines etc.).
* They can interact with treasures and piles of resources.
* They can be assaulted by random bandit parties as soon as the hero starts carrying an artifact. The more artifacts the hero is carrying, the higher the chances to be spot and assaulted. Assaulted heroes get immediately transported back to town (arriving the next day), losing all artifacts (lost artifacts will eventually show up in the black market).
* They can interact interact with all NPCs and hirelings.
* They can access some parts of the map an army can't, Stealth Skill. If they're spotted, they're immediately defeated. A heads up about Stealth Skill: this skill allows a lone hero to enter, unnoticed, enemy lands (already explored on the map by the enemy), only by moving through terrain an army usually cannot access, such as woods, rivers, mountains, bogs etc. Scouting skill, some hirelings or buildings can counterattack Stealth skill.
EXPLAINING ITEM 2
In this project, multiple species come in hero format. Some of them have humanoid form, thus, they have mounts. Other species, however, wander on their own, either because they're bulky, or they're a 'mount' themselves, or they fly or have any other particular feature which won't allow/ require a mount.
* Flying heroes can, then, explore the map more freely, although they need to have firm ground at the end of their movement. They cannot fly over certain mountain ranges either, considered too high or too dangerous, for example, or defined by the map it's blocked by powerful winds. In any way, exploring with a flying hero can backfire, because if they're spotted in enemy territory, they're caught without warning. Advantages: almost unimpended movement, not being barred by terrain effects, obstacles, barriers (except magical barriers controlled by border guards). Flying vision, revealing what's beyond most of landscapes. Disadvantages: can't go underwater, only land on shallow waters. Needs to land on firm ground/shallow waters when moving by the end of the movement points. Can get accidentaly spotted when going past beyond mountains without any intel of enemy's domain. Have movement blocked by overcast areas. Can get killed by certain natural events (if implemented, like tornadoes), or just blocked. When carrying an army, it'll behave like the most limited stack in the army.
* Ground heroes have the most common way of exploring the map, not going over certain kinds of terrain and obstacles (undecided if, as in AoW, ground heroes can climb and go past smaller mountains). Humanoid heroes usually have mounts of a native faction creature. These mounts do not have, at first, any feature (leaving special perks for rare and mythical mounts). Other ground heroes, such as a minotaur or a centaur, do not have a mount. Ground heroes can move in shallow waters, but cannot access underwater on their own, except if they're a marine or a hybrid being. When carrying an army, it'll behave like the most limited stack in the army.
* Marine heroes can move over land with more penalties over terrains, specially hot/dry ones. Certain deep water species cannot wander on firm ground on the adventure map on their own. They can, however, move and act freely on shallow and underwater. Deep water heroes need to start and finish their movement in underwater terrain, when they're on their own. Few species may have a mount. When carrying an army, it'll behave like the most limited stack in the army.
* Teleporting heroes can blink between areas, in a similar fashion of a Dimension Door spell. However, they can only blink on available spots and in line of sight, and once per day. They are affected by the terrain they're standing on. When carrying an army, it'll behave like the most limited stack in the army.
As for mounts, maybe rare, mythical mounts can be found on the adventure map, upgrading a hero's mount, if feasible, to that new mount, adding a few perks and traits. I personally like this, although I have not designed anything specific for this in recent times. I had a lot of ideas back in the day, but most of them can be scratched out, so, best to start over. Or even some artifacts can be equipped on the mount, which means that mounts would have a paper doll themselves, nothing exxagerated, of course, just 1 or 2 slots, or relate the miscelaneous slots as if they're the mount's slots. This is also something we can find in AoW game.
EXPLAINING ITEM 3
Any allied army in a 2-radius distance from the battle can lay a hand through siege weaponry remotely, up to 2 secondary heroes. Allied Trebuchet from the secondary army will attack at the end of every round, or every 2-3 rounds. There's a chance to hit enemy troops or destroy certain obstacles (chances vary based on the secondary hero's Ballistics Skill). Hitting an enemy army will not, actually, damage them, but it'll stun them for one turn, which is why having a cool down of at least 1 turn might feel more balanced, than stun-locking enemy forces which happen to have a single stack.
In a Siege, up to 2 secondary heroes can be positioned around the main hero to aid with taking down enemy defenses, although there's also a higher chance to miss, and, say, inflicting 33% of normal damage only.
Battles occurrying right in front of a town gate, but not a siege battle, town defenses will work like a secondary hero.
Secondary heroes only count for remote aid if they're carrying armies. Lone heroes don't count.
One can choose which heroes will engage remotely, if there are more than 2 of them.
EXPLAINING ITEM 4
NPCs have many uses and interactions. The most common, and already presently in Heroes installments, can be found at Seer Huts, where you bring NPCs something to get another in return, or fulfil certain requirements. There are Quest Guards, and so on.
Added to that, some NPCs can accompany your hero in their journey or take a role at a town, or influence in some event, locally or globally. In short, their uses can vary in a plethora of ways.
For example: you can take an NPC to your town which provides better equipment being produced at the blacksmith permanently. An NPC that causes constant rain over your closest town. An NPC that shields your hero from enemy spell casting, like a magic squire of sorts.
Certain NPCs can be edgy, shifty, and will not see your hero if there's a hot behind them. Sometimes it might be related to something cursed, or selling something, providing map or intel on the enemy, or challenge your hero, lure into a trap.
NPCs who are accompanying your hero will flee if your hero gets defeated, then return to their original post.
Mostly, it would be a nice addition for map-making purposes.
EXPLAINING ITEM 5
Hirelings are always with your hero, and they always cost a daily amount of resources, whereas NPCs can vary whether they have an upkeep cost or not.
Hirelings have specific abilities influencing a hero's immediate whereabouts. Example, having an advanced Scouting effect. Enhances in 5-10% Water School magic.
Hirelings work, in short, pretty much like in Might & Magic RPGs. They wander around with you, charging fees over all gold you find. Whereas NPCs stay with you for certain tasks and uses.
They die if your hero gets defeated, and won't return to their original post.
I'm still undecided if NPCs or Hirelings should appear on the battlemap themselves. I'm more inclined to yes than no, but this particular subject of Battlemap elements requires another thread of its own.
EXPLAINING ITEM 6
Actually, almost self-explanatory already. Except for some NPCs demanding seeing your hero solo, heroes with armies can interact with everything else, flag buildings, build or destroy elements on the adveture map, hire and build boats and blimps, conquer towns etc.
RELATED MECHANICS I'M STILL UNDECIDED
* Hero morale and army morale have different mechanics: a Hero morale can define whether neutral troops want to join their ranks, sets the distance a lone hero can wander far away from an allied town (lower morale makes for a coward hero, who will not risk moving too far), affects certain NPC and hirelings interactions, affects troops morale indirectly, and so on.
* Prison: also, as in Heroes 4 originally, I'm not yet decided on having a prison system in the project. I did enjoy the usefullness of it back in the day. Also, it made sense. But I'm not sure how popular it is with other people. Heroes get captured if they're killed by enemy heroes. Now, what happens next is the issue for me, or rather, it's where I'm not sure how it would be interesting. Will there be dungeons and prisons at towns, so if that town is conquered, the imprisoned heroes get all released? Or, there's a 'global entity' working as a prison, a neutral institution (let's call it Purgatory), where heroes are automatically sent and locked up. You other hero, or you as a kingdom, can interact with the Purgatory, paying ransom to retrieve your hero based on their level. The Diplomacy Skill tweaks values and conditions. Recovered heroes return to your capitol (or starting town by default; chosen town through Diplomacy) the day after the accord. The enemy who was responsible for locking that hero up gets a bounty of half the ransom value.
* Permanent death: as the ultimate penalty, heroes on their own, if they get attacked, they're killed for good. It's a way to refrain using heroes as cannon fodder for some exploit. Problem is, the roster will eventually dry out, as the enemy can also hire the opposite forces heroes at taverns and throw them into neutral armies, killing them all, and any potential opposing forces with key-specialized abilities that could pose a major threat. This would require a cool down mechanism of some sort. The logic here would be that heroes at taverns would 'know' that you're hiring them just to kill them, becoming warier of your kingdom's intentions. So, if you had one of them killed, you would only be able to hire another hero at any tavern the next day. If you got another one killed, the penalty would jump to a week, then two weeks, three, then a month. The gradual penalty would count in a window of, say, a 2-week cycle. So, getting 1 killed would penalize with a 1-turn cool down. If getting another killed within the next 2 weeks, the penalty would increment to a week. If the hero dies after 2 weeks, then it resets to a 1-turn cool down. Heroes with Scouting and Tactics Skill have increased chances to escape, returning to the random tavern roster.
So, what's your take on the numbered mechanics, or these last two undecided topics? If you agree, if you suggest another venue, if you think I'm talking out of my ass.
Feel free to share your thoughts on the matter either way.
Thanks.
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Heroes Fanart Project Arts
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