CaptainPatch
Lifelong gamer
This would require some significant tweaking of Military unit behavior. These are essentially an introduction of Supply rules and effects.
Historically, "An army travels on its stomach." For most of History, armies required substantial Supply Trains, which was augmented by Pillaging. To a conqueror, Pillaging is counter-productive because whatever damage is inflicted upon the territory is just that much more the conqueror will have to rebuild once he is in control. So when Darius' and Xerxes' marched into Greece, you didn't about "scorched earth" all that much. Sacking cities was one thing, but laying waste to the countryside was another. Absent a dependable Supply source, units tended to suffer attrition from starvation, disease, and desertions.
By the late Renaissance, most professional armies learned to place Supply Depots along probable lines of march or arrayed around a frontier to provide for defensive forces. (Most often built inside cities, but occasionally placed in defensible positions in the countryside. (Requiring a relatively small garrison. At least enough to defend against bandits and foreign raiders.)
It wasn't until the Napoleonic era that armies started to Forage: Gathering supplies _without_ devastating the countryside. Formal Foraging practices is what helped Napoleon's armies move more quickly without worrying about a slow Supply Train. (Though naturally Supply Trains were also present; they just were not and anchor slowing down the army's advance.)
Starting with WW1 and significantly refined in WW2, Military Logistics became imperative: You just couldn't move HUGE armies around without first getting your supply chain in order. Supply Dumps became a supply chain fixture, making distribution work MUCH better than anything prior to then.
Mechanics adjustments:
In the Ancient Era, what passed for "armies" -- Scouts and Warriors -- pointedly "lived off the land", but with negligible negative impact on the countryside because their units tended to be quite small. So at the very beginning, there's no adjustment.
Once actual armies start to appear -- the greater combat values also reflect a larger personnel count -- Supply needs to be present, either from close proximity to a owned City, or Allied City or City State. Any length of time away from a Supply source (fixed or mobile) results in attrition = -1 Strength point and -1 Hit point per turn per unit. (Usual Heal rules apply.) Getting close enough to a Supply source (2 or 3 tiles) accelerates the Heal rate. (+5 per turn until full strength again.)
ANCIENT ERA
Technology: Supply Logistics, which allows you to build
New unit -- Supply Train. moves one tile per turn, regardless of any terrain except Mountain and Ocean. May be transported by a ship unit with a cargo capacity.
Siege effects -- All Military units exert a Zone of Control. ZOCs are negated by a friendly Military unit. Supply sources that cannot trace a path of any length to any other Supply source free of enemy ZOCs is considered under siege. Units' Heal rates decrease by 1 each turn the siege is uninterrupted. It is possible that units will start to lose more than -1 Strength and -1 Health per turn if the siege goes longer than 5 turns.
[Yeah, I know warmongers will HATE this idea, so maybe put Supply Rules into the Optional Rules section.]
CLASSICAL ERA
Supply Trains gain +1 movement point, but now subject to terrain costs just as any other normal unit. May NOT use Road movement bonus.
MEDIEVAL ERA
Supply Trains now have 2 MP and may use the Road movement bonus. May be converted into a Supply Depot and placed as a Supply chain link IF any regular Military unit is garrisoned on it. (Becomes a terrain Improvement feature.) May be later converted back to a Supply Train. Depots may not be built within three tiles of any other Supply source.
RENAISSANCE ERA (Second tier, just prior to Industrial Era)
Technology -- Foraging
No Supply source is required to avoid the unit attrition penalty. However, proximity to a Supply source (three tiles) boosts all units Heal rate by +5.
INDUSTRIAL ERA
No changes to Supply rules.
MODERN ERA
Technology -- Military Logistics
Proximity to Supply sources provides +10 to Heal rate.
Terrain Improvement -- Supply Dump
Requires two Supply Trains to build. May be converted back into two Supply Trains later.
Supply Trains now have three MPs and may use any movement bonus provided by Roads or Railroads. May embark at sea as any other unit.
ATOMIC ERA
Military Logistics now dispenses with Supply Trains. Supply Dumps are now built just as a matter of construction like any other terrain improvement. (Supplies are now moved so fast by the Transportation infrastructure as to no longer be a distinct unit while in transit.) Siege rules still apply.
INFORMATION ERA
Supply rules no longer apply.
Historically, "An army travels on its stomach." For most of History, armies required substantial Supply Trains, which was augmented by Pillaging. To a conqueror, Pillaging is counter-productive because whatever damage is inflicted upon the territory is just that much more the conqueror will have to rebuild once he is in control. So when Darius' and Xerxes' marched into Greece, you didn't about "scorched earth" all that much. Sacking cities was one thing, but laying waste to the countryside was another. Absent a dependable Supply source, units tended to suffer attrition from starvation, disease, and desertions.
By the late Renaissance, most professional armies learned to place Supply Depots along probable lines of march or arrayed around a frontier to provide for defensive forces. (Most often built inside cities, but occasionally placed in defensible positions in the countryside. (Requiring a relatively small garrison. At least enough to defend against bandits and foreign raiders.)
It wasn't until the Napoleonic era that armies started to Forage: Gathering supplies _without_ devastating the countryside. Formal Foraging practices is what helped Napoleon's armies move more quickly without worrying about a slow Supply Train. (Though naturally Supply Trains were also present; they just were not and anchor slowing down the army's advance.)
Starting with WW1 and significantly refined in WW2, Military Logistics became imperative: You just couldn't move HUGE armies around without first getting your supply chain in order. Supply Dumps became a supply chain fixture, making distribution work MUCH better than anything prior to then.
Mechanics adjustments:
In the Ancient Era, what passed for "armies" -- Scouts and Warriors -- pointedly "lived off the land", but with negligible negative impact on the countryside because their units tended to be quite small. So at the very beginning, there's no adjustment.
Once actual armies start to appear -- the greater combat values also reflect a larger personnel count -- Supply needs to be present, either from close proximity to a owned City, or Allied City or City State. Any length of time away from a Supply source (fixed or mobile) results in attrition = -1 Strength point and -1 Hit point per turn per unit. (Usual Heal rules apply.) Getting close enough to a Supply source (2 or 3 tiles) accelerates the Heal rate. (+5 per turn until full strength again.)
ANCIENT ERA
Technology: Supply Logistics, which allows you to build
New unit -- Supply Train. moves one tile per turn, regardless of any terrain except Mountain and Ocean. May be transported by a ship unit with a cargo capacity.
Siege effects -- All Military units exert a Zone of Control. ZOCs are negated by a friendly Military unit. Supply sources that cannot trace a path of any length to any other Supply source free of enemy ZOCs is considered under siege. Units' Heal rates decrease by 1 each turn the siege is uninterrupted. It is possible that units will start to lose more than -1 Strength and -1 Health per turn if the siege goes longer than 5 turns.
[Yeah, I know warmongers will HATE this idea, so maybe put Supply Rules into the Optional Rules section.]
CLASSICAL ERA
Supply Trains gain +1 movement point, but now subject to terrain costs just as any other normal unit. May NOT use Road movement bonus.
MEDIEVAL ERA
Supply Trains now have 2 MP and may use the Road movement bonus. May be converted into a Supply Depot and placed as a Supply chain link IF any regular Military unit is garrisoned on it. (Becomes a terrain Improvement feature.) May be later converted back to a Supply Train. Depots may not be built within three tiles of any other Supply source.
RENAISSANCE ERA (Second tier, just prior to Industrial Era)
Technology -- Foraging
No Supply source is required to avoid the unit attrition penalty. However, proximity to a Supply source (three tiles) boosts all units Heal rate by +5.
INDUSTRIAL ERA
No changes to Supply rules.
MODERN ERA
Technology -- Military Logistics
Proximity to Supply sources provides +10 to Heal rate.
Terrain Improvement -- Supply Dump
Requires two Supply Trains to build. May be converted back into two Supply Trains later.
Supply Trains now have three MPs and may use any movement bonus provided by Roads or Railroads. May embark at sea as any other unit.
ATOMIC ERA
Military Logistics now dispenses with Supply Trains. Supply Dumps are now built just as a matter of construction like any other terrain improvement. (Supplies are now moved so fast by the Transportation infrastructure as to no longer be a distinct unit while in transit.) Siege rules still apply.
INFORMATION ERA
Supply rules no longer apply.
