Mass Combat Rules variant 2 (Optional, non-official)
By Nathan Baron
There are many occasions in a role playing adventure that the adventurers will find themselves entering into a battle. This is a quick and simple way to determine mass battle situations without resulting to hours of needless and boring dice rolls. Only one dice roll is needed, and with the quick reference chart you can have the result of any mass battle within minutes. The generals on both sides roll against their Lore (Military Tactics) skill, add or subtract any modifiers, then compare their result against their opponents and consult the chart below. In the case of Non-player generals the Games Master rolls on their behalf.
|
Attackers Result |
Defenders Result |
Outcome |
|
Critical Success |
Critical Failure |
Total Victory. The majority of the defending army have been wiped out or captured, and will no longer poses a threat. Any adventurers on the losing side have been captured. |
|
Critical Success |
Failure |
Victory. The defending army has been routed and sustained heavy casualties. The army will no longer poses a threat until they have gained reinforcements. |
|
Critical Success |
Success |
Defending army has been force to retreat. The defending army may regroup for a future engagement. |
|
Critical Success |
Critical Success |
Bloody conflict. See rules below for details. |
|
Success |
Critical Failure |
Victory. The defending army has been routed and sustained heavy casualties. The army will no longer poses a threat until they have gained reinforcements. |
|
Success |
Failure |
Defending army has been force to retreat. The defending army may regroup for a future engagement. |
|
Success |
Success |
Bloody conflict. See rules below for details. |
|
Success |
Critical Success |
Attacking army has been force to retreat. The attacking army may regroup for a future engagement. |
|
Failure |
Critical Failure |
Defending army has been force to retreat. The defending army may regroup for a future engagement. |
|
Failure |
Failure |
Bloody Conflict. See rules below for details. |
|
Failure |
Success |
Attacking army has been force to retreat. The attacking army may regroup for a future engagement. |
|
Failure |
Critical Success |
Defeat. The attacking army has been routed and sustained heavy casualties. The army will no longer poses a threat until it has gained reinforcements. |
|
Critical Failure |
Critical Failure |
Bloody Conflict. See rules below for details. |
|
Critical Failure |
Failure |
Defending army has been force to retreat. The defending army may regroup for a future engagement. |
|
Critical Failure |
Success |
Defeat. The attacking army has been routed and sustained heavy casualties. The army will no longer poses a threat until they have gained reinforcements. |
|
Critical Failure |
Critical Success |
Total Victory. The majority of the attacking army have been wiped out or captured, and will no longer poses a threat. Any adventurers on the losing side have been captured. |
Mass Combat Modifiers
As with regular combat, Mass Combat can be affected by numerous factors which can grant bonuses and penalties. The table below gives any modifiers that will affect mass combat in certain situations. If necessary, the Games Master can create other modifiers to restrict combatants further. Only the highest modifier is taken into consideration.
|
Situation |
Modifiers |
|
Difficult Terrain |
A general suffers a -25 penalty if his army is forced to fight in difficult terrain such as swampy ground or woodland, or a -50 penalty if the terrain is treacherous such as wading in water or in a mountainous region. |
|
Famed General |
A general receives a +25 bonus if he is a renowned military leader. A famed general is someone who is famous for winning numerous battles. |
|
Fortified Position |
A general receives a +25 bonus if his army is in a fortified position such as inside fort or behind a palisade, or a +50 bonus if the army is within a fortified structure such as a castle or behind a city wall. This bonus is reduced by half if the besieging army has siege equipment. |
|
High Ground |
A general receives a +25 bonus if his army is on the higher ground. |
|
Inexperienced Force |
A general suffers a -25 penalty if his army has little or no experience. |
|
Low Morale |
A general suffers a -25 penalty if his army has low morale. |
|
Outnumber Enemy |
A general receives a +25 bonus if his army out numbers the enemy by two to one or more. |
|
Previous Victory |
A general receives a +25 bonus if his army won their last engagement. |
|
Surprise |
A general receives a +25 bonus if his army is has taken the enemy by surprise. |
|
Veteran Forces |
A general receives a +25 bonus if his army consist mainly of veteran troops. |
BLOODY CONFLICT
Not all conflicts will bring a swift and deceive result. A bloody conflict represents both armies being locked in a bitter struggle with no overall winner. Left with a stalemate, both forces withdraw in order to regroup and gather reinforcements. When the two forces next engage, compare the results for the previous battle for both generals. Apply a +25% modifier to the general who had the higher level of success with their roll from the previous engagement.
Editor’s Note
This is the second varient of Mass Combat rules that has been sent to me.
It needs more extensive playtesting.