Game Mechanics

[jwallstone]

I'm finishing up Fantasy Wars and eager to start Elven Legacy. This is a gem of a game that unfortunately did not receive the attention it deserved. There does not seem to be any game guide or FAQ that I could find that talks about game mechanics. I'm really curious to learn about how the game mechanics actually work, and hoping somebody here knows a bit. I'm actually interested in writing a game guide/FAQ if I figure out enough to contribute.

Anyway, here are some questions:

1. How are Attack/Defense and unit Strength values used to calculate damage done?

As a first guess, it seems attack vs defense gives a probability that each unit strength (i.e. out of 15 or 10) will do a point of damage. "Single-entity" units, like flying units, heroes, and war machines, seem to always attack at max strength (10). That's only a guess though, and I haven't done any "experiments" to see if that's right. And I may be inferring too much from how Fantasy General worked.

2. When are units killed vs wounded?

Kills seems to be some constant fraction of damage, regardless of the magnitude of damage. Maybe around 20-25% or so, as a rough guess. Not sure it type of attack matters at all. Single entities don't get kills. The one weird case seems to be trolls, who are 3-units. So, you can kill down to 10 or 5 after wounding them enough. Not sure how the probability works for them.

3. How does Charge work?

It seems that charge is a bonus attack applied first; then the units engage in melee. Whereas most fights are done simultaneously, doing charge first greatly weakens the enemy before they can retaliate. Charge does not seem to be used on defense, except with the Counterattack perk. And it does not seem to be used on rough terrain like forests (possible exception for Mads?) Anyway, I'm just repeating this thread:
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=7939

4. Terrain

To get a terrain bonus, does a unit have to be standing on it, or does the defender's tile count too? For example, light infantry or skirmishers standing on plains attacking a forest tile. If the defender's tile counts, what about hills, which are often in the middle of plains? Doesn't that render them useless if they give the bonus to attackers too? And relating back to Charge, does charge work if the charging unit is standing on plains but the defender is on a forest/hill tile? What about vice versa? Do urban perks (like City Fighter) help when attacking as well? (The descriptions are a bit unclear)

5. Hard Target, Armor Piercing, Shooting Protection

Hard Target seems to reduce damage from all sources, but how does it reduce damage? An effective reduction in Attack values? Reduction in damage received? It seems that Armor Piercing negates this, but is that all it does? Does it help at all against units without Hard Target? (The description can go either way). Shooting protection seems to work against archers, and maybe ballista, but not catapults? And definitely not bombers. Do Hard Target and Shooting Protection stack against missile attacks? And some units have Armor Piercing w/ missile attacks. Does that negate just Hard Target or also Shooting Protection, or one or the other?

Anyway, I'll leave it at that. It's getting into details, but I feel that understanding how all this works is pretty helpful in actually figuring out good strategies and how to use units effectively. Any knowledge here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!