Unit Spotlight - Battle Mage

Battle Mage
Battle Mages don't waste their time on healing spells and special rituals. These magic wielding badasses have decided that Ranged Spells are the only way to go. They'll hurl all sorts of dangerous unnatural forces at their enemies, competing with each other for who can produce the most pairs of near-perfectly-preserved smoking boots. These units move as infantry and have a particular fondness for the devastating effects of Chain Lightening.

Base Social Class

Battle Mages must have sharp minds in order to burn their enemies and not themselves. Due to this strenuous mental requirement, the recruitment buildings always select Peers to train into these elite Units. This means that Battle Mages expect Florins upon hiring an pay-days. It also means that they require 3 types of material to train them and they can equip 3 kinds of gear on top of their 'weapon' slot.

Base Character Class

Concerned with nothing but slinging dangerous spells, the Battle Mages are based on Wizard heroes and when they level up, their Creativity, Reason and Judgement grow more rapidly than their other attributes. Many Magical type units level up as if they were Wizards and this helps to distinguish them from the non-magical units which are mainly based on Soldier heroes.

Training Resources
Battle Mages use a lot of magical energy and therefore require several magical sources to train and upkeep them. The first of these is Pearls, a natural source of magic that can be hauled up out of the ocean and stolen from Oysters. The second is Tinctures, which help to keep the mage's minds strong and their bodies relatively healthy. The last is Familiars. It's unfortunate that these mages go through familiars so quickly as to need them in the upkeep cycle, but combat is dangerous and not every familiar makes it out alive.

Equipping Gear
The Battle Mage has no use for a melee or ranged weapon. Instead in their weapon slot you can give them a specific Ranged spell, making these caster units especially powerful. On top of this offensive gear, they can also equip a Buff Spell, a Belt and Ring Mail. This is particularly useful in keeping your Battle Mages alive. Military leaders in the past have had trouble holding on to these otherwise rather squishy troops.