kaastleBetaA LITTLE PRACTICE. A LEGENDARY DEFENSE.
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Battle

The morale system

Soldiers who waver and run, the same rules for both sides, and a Rally that only your right answers can call.

Written in retrospectCovers: 28 September 2026, tuned through October

Viking warriors pressing a line of levy, some soldiers marked with orange and red morale chevrons.
Orange and red chevrons mark soldiers who are Shaken or close to breaking.

Battles in history were rarely decided by the last man standing. Lines broke when men lost heart. On 28 September we gave every soldier in Kaastle a nerve that can wear down, and the battles changed character overnight.

Steady, Shaken, Broken

Steady 30 and up fights at full strength Shaken below 30 slower blows, no charge Broken at 0: drops his gear runs, and is gone for good Rally: a right answer while your line wavers steadies the side and turns back the newly broken wounds, deaths nearby, a fallen leader, blows from behind, terror, volleys, being outnumbered
A soldier's three states, and what moves him between them.

A soldier's nerve depends on who he is. Elites and guards start at 150, heavy troops and riders at 100, light troops at 70, and the levy at 50. Some never break at all: the undead, berserkers, clay soldiers, heroes and engines are fearless.

Nerve is worn down by what happens around him: his own wounds, a friend dying close by, a leader falling, a comrade breaking beside him, a blow from behind, terror weapons, a cannonball cracking past, and being outnumbered. It comes back with quiet, with a leader close by, with music, and with a kill.

A broken soldier drops his gear and runs for his own side's back edge of the field. He is routed, not killed, but once he leaves the field he is gone for good.

A battle seen close, with the message "Your line wavers! Answer right now to Rally it."
When your line wavers, the game tells you: answer right now to Rally it.

The same rules for both sides

We made one rule early, and we have kept it: everything that applies to the enemy applies to the player equally. There is no hidden morale bonus on Easy, and no secret penalty on Hard. Your edge comes from your answers and from the units you bring.

Rally, the player's one lever

Your answers do touch morale, but only at the moment it matters. When your line is wavering, a warning appears; a right answer while it shows calls a Rally: morale for your whole side, and soldiers who broke within the last few seconds turn back.

The obvious design was to add morale for every right answer. But a player answering well would keep morale full all the time, and the whole system would stop mattering. So a Rally only comes when your line is in trouble, and streaks give a small steadying bonus.

Later we added more. Since 29 September, the inspector tells you why a soldier broke. Since 7 October, heroes carry a Rallying Call of their own: once every 30 seconds, a hero can turn back the broken and steady the shaken around him.

Morale is why a well-placed charge can win a fight that the numbers say you should lose, and why a stubborn line of veterans can hold. It makes the battle feel like history, and it makes every right answer at the right moment count.