Morale rolls for NPCs?

[Firechanter]

Every time I prep a military-style campaign, I wonder if there are some workable mechanics for morale. So far I always ended up "winging it", but maybe some of you have an idea.

If you know the Total War games, units there have different states of morale, like "Eager", "Steady", "Frightened" etc. and last not least "Routing". Essentially it comes down to this, if you hit the enemy fast and hard - you might call it "shock and awe" - they begin to think fighting you isn't such a terribly good idea, then they turn and run.

So I was wondering if there are rules for stuff like that in D&D. They shouldn't be uber-complex, but provide a better tool than just using DM fiat.
Any ideas?

[Telonius]

I think the closest already-existing rule to what you're describing is probably the Mob template in DMG2. It's not that terrific, and can be hard to keep track of. Basically, you have a set number of starting creatures, but the mob itself has a number of hitpoints and its own attacks, etc. Each individual that dies, gives negative levels to the mob. When HP or levels reach zero, the mob disperses.

[Thurbane]

Heroes of Battle has rules for Morale Checks (p.72-75). HoB is a really useful book if you plan on running any kind of military campaign.