Combat

Health and damage

Every troop has 100 health and deals its damage over time while an enemy is in reach. What a blow does depends on:

Strong against. Spearmen beat warriors, archers and slingers beat spearmen, arquebusiers beat berserkers. See Troops.
Gear. A worn weapon (a quarter or less left) hits half as hard. Gear wears out in two days of use, and troops swap in a spare from their kit.
Shields. A warrior’s shield cuts the damage from shots by 30%, until it’s worn down.
High ground. 10% more damage per level above the target, 10% less per level below, up to 30%. Shooters reach half a tile further per level above, up to 2 tiles.
Walls. Shots can’t pass through buildings or terrain, and walls block melee blows. Troops on a wall take 20% less from shots. Troops that can’t reach an enemy break down the wall in their way.
Ranks. See below.
Damage taken. Each kind’s own toughness, in Troops.

Shooters stopped by an enemy on the march hit half as hard. With no enemy in reach, troops attack enemy machines, and then buildings, though slowly. Sappers go for buildings first.

Siege shots, logs and boiling oil ignore shields, ranks and wall cover.

Ranks

Troops earn points for every enemy they bring down, more for a dangerous enemy and less the higher their own rank. At 20 points a troop becomes a Veteran, at 50 Elite, at 100 a Hero. Each rank adds 10% damage and takes 7% off the damage it takes. A gold bar under the health bar shows it, and it’s kept when a troop goes home or is converted.

Healing

Rest. Troops heal 5 health an hour while fed and watered, starting 45 minutes after their last hit.
Herbalists (Folktails) heal the most hurt troop near them, yours or an ally’s, 40 an hour, and walk to hurt troops close by.
Field Infirmary (Iron Teeth). A healing tub on wheels. It treats one troop at a time, 60 an hour, using extract and berries. Troops below 90% health within 10 tiles go to it when no enemy is close.

Needs

Troops get hungry and thirsty faster than other beavers, but tire much more slowly. Out on orders, or aboard a machine, they sleep where they stand instead of going home. Aboard a machine their needs and gear don’t wear down at all.

Supply

Each troop carries a kit: three days of food and water, and two spares of each piece of its gear. They restock at home, or when it’s almost empty, while out.

Wagon Yard. Sends supply carts into the field. Each cart is loaded with food, water, siege stones, gears and building materials (logs, planks, metal blocks). Troops within 20 tiles eat and drink from it and take spare gear (allies’ troops too), and use its materials to build siege machines and ladders. A carter that gets tired or hungry parks the cart and goes home; the next carter picks it up.

Building in the field. Troops build Timber Empires’ military buildings within 30 tiles of them, carrying up to 8 materials at a time. Siege machines (all but the Trebuchet), ladders and ramps can only be built by troops.