eagle0/docs/NEW_PROFESSION_PROPOSALS.md

New Profession Proposals

This document proposes new hero professions for Eagle0. Each profession should matter in both the Eagle strategic layer and the Shardok tactical layer, and should be earned through a prime stat in the same way existing professions are.

Current Professions Reference

Professions are currently gained when a no-profession hero crosses the profession stat threshold and wins a profession roll. The current stat mapping is:

Prime Stat	Professions
Strength	Champion
Agility	Engineer, Ranger
Wisdom	Mage
Charisma	Necromancer, Paladin
Constitution	None

The current profession capabilities are:

Profession	Eagle Ability	Shardok Abilities	Current Niche
Mage	Control Weather: start/end blizzards and droughts in the current or neighboring province	Lightning Bolt, Meteor, Freeze Water, Start Fire access/enhancement	Strategic weather control and high-impact elemental battlefield effects
Necromancer	Start Epidemic in the current or neighboring province	Raise Dead, Fear	Attrition pressure, undead creation, morale attack
Engineer	Improve command recommendation and bonus improvement output	Repair, Fortify, Build Bridge, Reduce siege	Infrastructure, battlefield construction, mechanical support
Paladin	Alms priority and increased support from food	Holy Wave	Public support, holy area effect, anti-undead flavor
Ranger	Recon against enemy provinces	Scout, Hide access/enhancement, Brave Water enhancement	Information, stealth, terrain crossing
Champion	Train command recommendation and training bonus	Challenge Duel	Martial excellence, battalion training, direct hero confrontation

Recommendation

Add Warden first.

Warden is the cleanest next profession because Constitution is the only hero stat that does not currently unlock any profession. A Constitution profession also creates a distinctive tactical identity: not another caster, scout, or damage dealer, but a durable hero who keeps important units alive. That fills a real mechanical gap without forcing a large rewrite of the profession system.

The first version should be intentionally simple:

• Prime stat: Constitution
• Eagle ability: Garrison, a defensive province action or passive defense bonus when a Warden is present with enough vigor; or Custody, a prisoner-control ability for captured heroes
• Shardok ability: Guard, a command that marks an adjacent friendly unit until the Warden's next turn; the first attack against that unit is redirected to the Warden's unit or reduced by a fixed amount
• Battalion suitability: Optimal with durable melee infantry; suboptimal with fragile archers or stealth-focused units if we want a stricter identity
• Balance direction: Spend action points and/or vigor to protect another unit, rather than adding free passive prevention every round

This keeps the profession legible: high-Constitution heroes become the people who can hold formation, anchor a province, and protect fragile specialists.

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Proposed New Professions

1. WARDEN (Defense & Protection Specialist)

Fantasy: The stalwart defender who holds the line and protects allies.

Why it fits now:

• Gives Constitution a profession path
• Adds a defensive/tank identity that no current profession owns
• Creates counterplay to burst damage, duel pressure, and fragile high-value units

Eagle Ability: "Garrison"

• A province with a Warden-led unit gets a defense bonus when attacked
• Alternative active version: spend vigor to fortify the province until next round
• Synergy: works well in border provinces, choke points, and provinces recovering after losses

Alternative Eagle Ability: "Custody"

• A Warden can handle captured heroes with extra authority: execute them immediately or move them to a neighboring ruled province before normal prisoner management
• Passive custody version: each new round, prisoners in a Warden-guarded province become more likely to join the ruling faction
• Prefer implementing this as a small positive addition to the prisoner's existing factionBiases entry for the ruling faction, rather than changing the prisoner roundsInType multiplier from +5/round to +10/round
• Rationale: changing the multiplier would be retroactive. A prisoner held for ten rounds would immediately receive a large odds jump the moment a Warden arrived. Accumulating a Warden-specific bias only rewards rounds actually spent under Warden custody, and the existing faction-bias decay makes the effect fade naturally if the Warden leaves
• Stronger version: if the Warden's side captures enemy heroes during battle but still loses the province, the Warden can evacuate one captured hero to a neighboring ruled province instead of losing custody
• This should be limited to one captured hero per battle or require a high-vigor Warden, because keeping prisoners after losing the battle is a major strategic swing
• Best flavor: Wardens are not just defenders of walls, but keepers of oaths, chains, and battlefield custody

Shardok Ability: "Guard"

• Target adjacent friendly unit is protected until the Warden's next turn
• First incoming attack against the protected unit is redirected to the Warden's unit or reduced
• Costs action points and cannot target self
• Creates a clear positioning puzzle without introducing another long-range damage button

Implementation Notes:

• Add Warden to the Scala profession enum and common/client profession enums
• Map Constitution to Vector(Profession.Warden) in HeroStatGainAction
• Add display names, profession-gained notification copy, tutorial trigger mapping, and headshot bucket support
• Add strategic availability and command handling only after deciding whether Warden uses Garrison, Custody, or both
• For Custody, prefer extending the existing captured-hero/prisoner-management flow instead of creating a parallel prisoner system
• For passive prisoner conversion, update NewRoundAction near the existing unaffiliated-hero roundsInType and factionBiases maintenance. If the province is ruled, contains a ruling-faction Warden, and the unaffiliated hero is a prisoner, add the Warden custody bonus to that prisoner's factionBiases(rulingFactionId).
• For Shardok, start with a single-turn guard status before attempting more complex interception chains

Current Follow-Up Priorities:

• Teach the Shardok AI when to use the Warden evacuation command. The command is valuable when the Warden's side has captured enemy heroes and can secure them by leaving the battle, especially when the battle outcome is uncertain or trending against that side.
• Add the strategic passive custody bonus: each round, prisoners in a province guarded by a ruling-faction Warden should get a small accumulated positive bias toward joining that faction. Prefer storing this as an addition to the existing factionBiases entry rather than changing the global roundsInType multiplier, so the bonus only reflects rounds actually spent under Warden custody.
• Make tactical AI more protective of heroes at risk of capture when a Warden may be present. Warden evacuation makes captured heroes harder to recover, so the AI should treat exposing high-value heroes to capture as more dangerous than before. This matters even when the AI does not have perfect knowledge that a Warden is in the battle.

2. HERALD (Morale & Communication Specialist)

Fantasy: The inspiring leader who rallies troops and carries messages across the battlefield.

Eagle Ability: "Rally Province"

• Spend vigor to boost recruitment in a province for one turn, or reduce unrest
• Synergy: Pairs well with provinces in turmoil or after losses

Shardok Ability: "Inspire"

• Target friendly unit within 3 hexes gains +1 action point this turn
• Creates interesting tactical choices about when to act vs. when to buff allies
• Cannot target self (prevents simple optimization)

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3. ALCHEMIST (Fire & Transformation Specialist)

Fantasy: The mad scientist who manipulates the elements through science, not magic.

Eagle Ability: "Transmute"

• Convert one resource type to another in a province (gold to food or vice versa, at a loss)
• Provides economic flexibility during shortages

Shardok Ability: "Wildfire"

• Start a fire that spreads to 2 additional adjacent hexes immediately (not just at end of round)
• More aggressive than Mage's Start Fire but less controlled
• Cannot freeze water (that's magic, not science)

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4. INQUISITOR (Anti-Magic & Intelligence)

Fantasy: The witch-hunter who counters supernatural threats and uncovers secrets.

Eagle Ability: "Expose"

• Reveal hidden information about enemy heroes in a province (stats, profession, vigor)
• Counter to Ranger's stealth/recon advantages

Shardok Ability: "Dispel"

• Cancel an active magical effect: stop a meteor cast, remove Fear from friendly unit, or reveal a hidden unit
• Direct counter to Mage and Necromancer abilities
• Creates meaningful profession rock-paper-scissors

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5. BEASTMASTER (Animal Control)

Fantasy: The wild one who commands beasts and understands nature's fury.

Eagle Ability: "Suppress Beasts" (Enhanced)

• Already exists in game, but Beastmaster does it at reduced vigor cost
• Additionally: Can redirect beast attacks to enemy provinces instead of just suppressing

Shardok Ability: "Beast Call"

• Summon a wolf pack (weak undead-style unit) that attacks the nearest enemy
• Wolves act immediately but disappear at end of round
• Provides disposable units for screening or harassing archers

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Design Philosophy

These professions were designed to:

1. Fill mechanical gaps: Warden gives Constitution a profession and adds defensive depth
2. Create counterplay: Inquisitor vs Mage/Necromancer, Warden vs burst damage, Beastmaster vs beast events
3. Avoid overlap: Each profession should own a tactical and strategic niche not covered by existing professions
4. Support both layers: Each ability should be meaningful in Eagle and Shardok
5. Enable interesting decisions: Guard creates positioning choices, Inspire creates action economy choices, Transmute creates resource tradeoffs

Unified Candidate Ranking

This ranking considers every candidate together, regardless of where the idea came from. The main criteria are mechanical fit, overlap with existing professions, implementation clarity, strategic-layer value, Shardok value, and narrative payoff.

1. Warden: Best immediate fit. It gives Constitution a profession path and creates a distinctive custody/protection identity.
2. Quartermaster: Best strategic depth after Warden. Logistics touches resources, armies, travel, and attrition without adding another damage specialist.
3. Envoy: Best diplomacy/prisoner-system extension. Strong narrative payoff and clear Eagle-side value.
4. Surgeon: Best loss-mitigation role. Makes battle aftermath less binary and gives non-magical healing a place.
5. Herald: Strong morale and action-economy support. Distinct from Paladin if kept secular and battlefield-command focused.
6. Marshal: Strong army identity, especially for formation play and troop organization, but needs careful separation from Champion.
7. Inquisitor: Useful counterplay against Mage and Necromancer, though anti-magic should not become too narrow.
8. Pathfinder: Good campaign movement role, but should focus on routes and terrain rather than replacing Ranger scouting.
9. Alchemist: Good resource and terrain manipulation fantasy, but risks crowding Mage and Engineer unless scoped around risky transformations.
10. Spymaster: Strong flavor and intelligence value, but needs slow strategic effects to avoid replacing Recon.
11. Artificer: Fun temporary-device fantasy, but overlaps Engineer unless it owns one-shot preparation rather than construction.
12. Beastmaster: Connects nicely to beast events, but overlaps Ranger unless focused on province events and wild allies.
13. Harbinger: Excellent flavor, but probably later because fear/morale already touches Necromancer and Paladin space.

The best near-term sequence is likely Warden, then Quartermaster or Envoy. Avoid adding another pure damage caster until defensive, logistical, diplomatic, morale, and aftermath niches are better represented.

Additional Candidate Details

These ideas come from looking at open mechanical space in Eagle and Shardok: logistics, loyalty, prisoners, province events, diplomacy, battlefield control, and non-damage support.

Marshal

Fantasy: The army organizer who turns a pile of units into an actual campaign force.

Best stat fit: Strength or Charisma

Eagle Ability: "Muster"

• Reorganize, reinforce, or prepare battalions more efficiently than a normal hero
• Could reduce vigor cost for Organize Troops or improve training/armament transfer efficiency

Shardok Ability: "Command Formation"

• Adjacent friendly units gain a small defensive or morale bonus while holding formation
• Creates a tactical identity around positioning several units together

Why it is interesting: Champion currently owns heroic combat and training, but not army-level coordination. Marshal would be about disciplined formations rather than duels.

Quartermaster

Fantasy: The logistics expert who keeps armies fed, paid, armed, and moving.

Best stat fit: Constitution or Wisdom

Eagle Ability: "Provision"

• Move food/gold/supplies with less waste or farther than normal
• Reduce attrition or readiness loss for armies operating away from strong provinces

Shardok Ability: "Resupply"

• Restore limited ammunition, repair light damage, or grant a one-turn readiness buff to a nearby unit

Why it is interesting: The strategic layer already has meaningful resources. A profession that manipulates logistics would create strong choices without simply adding another combat spell.

Envoy

Fantasy: The negotiator, hostage-broker, and oath-maker.

Best stat fit: Charisma

Eagle Ability: "Parley"

• Improve diplomacy outcomes, ransom terms, prisoner returns, or truce/alliance offer odds
• Could reduce the risk of ambassadors being imprisoned or create better return-prisoner rewards

Shardok Ability: "Demand Surrender"

• Attempt to force a damaged or isolated enemy unit to flee, with odds based on charisma and battlefield state

Why it is interesting: Eagle has relationships, ransoms, truces, alliances, and prisoner choices. Envoy would make diplomacy feel like a profession rather than only a menu action.

Spymaster

Fantasy: The patient handler of informants, rumors, sabotage, and false trails.

Best stat fit: Wisdom or Charisma

Eagle Ability: "Infiltrate"

• Plant a delayed intelligence effect in an enemy province, revealing troop movements or weakening support
• Could counter or complement Ranger recon without duplicating it

Shardok Ability: "Sabotage"

• Before or during battle, reduce one enemy unit's readiness, movement, or first action effectiveness

Why it is interesting: Ranger is field reconnaissance. Spymaster can be slower, political, and province-focused.

Surgeon

Fantasy: The healer who saves lives after the dramatic part of the story is over.

Best stat fit: Wisdom or Constitution

Eagle Ability: "Triage"

• Reduce hero vigor loss, casualty severity, or prisoner death/execution fallout after battles
• Could improve recovery in provinces with many wounded heroes or battered battalions

Shardok Ability: "Stabilize"

• Prevent a nearby friendly hero unit from being captured or destroyed once per battle, leaving it routed or exhausted instead

Why it is interesting: Paladin has holy support, but not mundane medical recovery. Surgeon creates a grounded support role that can make losses less binary.

Artificer

Fantasy: The maker of rare devices, siege tools, lenses, traps, and battlefield instruments.

Best stat fit: Wisdom or Agility

Eagle Ability: "Prototype"

• Invest gold and vigor to create a temporary province or battalion enhancement
• Examples: better siege readiness, scouting lenses, defensive traps, or weatherproof stores

Shardok Ability: "Deploy Device"

• Place a one-use trap, barricade, signal flare, or field tool on a nearby hex

Why it is interesting: Engineer currently owns building and repair. Artificer can own temporary inventions and one-shot tactical preparation.

Harbinger

Fantasy: The terrifying omen-bearer whose arrival changes morale before the first blow lands.

Best stat fit: Charisma or Wisdom

Eagle Ability: "Portent"

• Lower enemy support, increase unrest, or amplify the psychological effect of victories and executions
• Could be risky: fear-based rule damages diplomacy or loyalty if overused

Shardok Ability: "Dread Standard"

• Enemies near the Harbinger suffer morale penalties or worse flee odds

Why it is interesting: Necromancer has supernatural fear, but Harbinger could be political and symbolic rather than undead-focused.

Pathfinder

Fantasy: The guide who knows hidden passes, river crossings, and winter roads.

Best stat fit: Agility or Constitution

Eagle Ability: "Find Passage"

• Move armies or heroes through difficult terrain, winter, blizzards, or river-heavy borders with lower penalties
• Could create one-turn temporary travel links between neighboring provinces under specific conditions

Shardok Ability: "Open Route"

• Let a nearby unit ignore one terrain penalty or cross a difficult hex safely this turn

Why it is interesting: Ranger owns stealth and scouting. Pathfinder owns movement and campaign geography.