CinuzIta
2015-11-03, 04:52 AM
Hi all, it's been a long time from my last post (mainly because I don't wanna bother learning to create the new tables..yep, I'm that lazy)
Anyway, I recently had the fortune to start a new D&D 3.5 campaign. The world where my players are fooling around is the classic world torn by a war between two kingdoms, but I'd like them to have the chance to lead one army against the rival kingdom at a certain point. So, also taking heavy inspiration from this ( http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Races_of_War_(3.5e_Sourcebook)/The_Mass_Combat_Minigame ) I brewed a mini game about mass combat between armies. I'd like to hear your opinions before bringing it to the table.
The game assumes all of the creatures are medium or huge sized.
-------
The game
Players take control of an army by controlling single units commanded by their PCs or by taking control of distinct sections of one army (left wing, center or right wing), depending on their renown or on the situation. Their objective will usually be routing the enemy army or maybe controlling some key points.
- Units
A unit has 6 stats, that are
HP: the unit's health points, a rough estimation of the number of casualties a unit can take before its morale breaks and the individuals in that unit begin to flee the combat.
The base value is 10+ the unit's health modifier.
Morale: the unit's morale; when the HP drop to this number or below, the units must roll a d10: if the result is equal or higher than their current morale value the unit becomes shaken (-1 to damages and movement), if the roll is lower than their current morale value, the unit routs and attempts to leave the battlefield by the easiest and safest path. The base value is 10- the unit's morale modifier. If the value is 0, the unit will usually fight to the death if not ordered to retreat.
Movement: the number of squares a unit can move in a turn; each squares is 15'x15'. The base value is 4+/- the unit's speed modifier. In any moment, a unit always have a movement speed of at least 1.
Dmg: the damage a unit can inflict on another unit, that is 1d4+ the unit's damage modifier; when a unit attack another unit, it always deal damage and it don't need an attack roll. A unit always deals a minimum of 1 damage even if DR or other modifiers would say otherwise (but see the Big Shield special quality).
Cost: the price needed to assemble a unit.
Special: special qualities that affect the unit in one way or another.
A unit is composed by a type (Infantry , Cavalry [Ca], Skirmishers [Sk]) that determines by what kind of soldiers is composed. Units interact with another on a rock, paper, scissor pattern (Infantry>Cavalry>Skirmishers>Infantry): a unit that attack a unit vulnerable to their attacks gains a +1 on damages. The Skirmishers' bonus against Infantry only applies on ranged attacks.
Units are also composed by a subtype (Conscripts [Co], Light [Li], Medium [Me], Heavy [He]) that determine the preparation and kind of equipment of the units. The heavier subtype gain an advantage on lighter subtypes, gaining a +1 on damage when attacking lighter troops: He > Me > Li > Co.
Cavalry units cannot be composed by conscripts.
- Building a unit.
When building a unit, a player must sum the type and subtype modifiers to the unit base template.
Base template:
[I]Unit's Name [Type, Subtype]
HP: 10 Morale: 10
Movement: 4 Dmg: 1d4
Cost: Special:
Type modifiers:
Infantry:
HP: +2 Morale: -2
Movement: +0 Damage: +1 vs cavalry
Cavalry:
HP: +3 Morale: -3
Movement: +2 Damage: +1 vs skirmishers
Skirmishers:
HP: +1 Morale: -1
Movement: +0 Damage: +1 vs infantry
Subtype modifiers:
Conscripts:
HP: +0 Morale: -0
Movement: +1 Damage: +0
Light:
HP: +1 Morale: -1
Movement: +0 Damage: +1 vs conscripts
Medium:
HP: +2 Morale: -2
Movement: -1 Damage: +1 vs light and conscripts
Heavy:
HP: +3 Morale: -3
Movement: -2 Damage: +1 vs medium, light and conscripts
So, to make an example, an heavy cavalry unit would have these stats:
Lancers [Ca, He]
HP: 16 Morale: 4
Movement: 4 Dmg: 1d4 +1 vs Sk, +1 vs Me, Li, Co
Cost: Special: Lancers
while this would be a lightly armed archers unit:
Archers [Sk, Li]
HP: 12 Morale: 8
Movement: 4 Dmg: 1d4 +1 vs Co | Ranged [2-3] 2 +1 vs In
Cost: Special: Ranged
- Units' Special qualities:
These qualities allow a unit to get special modifiers. Only one special quality per unit unless otherwise noted:
Assault Infantry: Infantry units with this special quality are particularly vicious. Each soldier of the unit carries two javelins that they hurl at the enemy a moment before attacking them. Two times per battle the unit can make a ranged attack; when attacking in this way, it is considered to be in possess of the special quality Range [Short] [2] 3. The unit can also use this ranged attack during a charge: they must move at least 1 square, do their ranged attack, and then move 1 more square to finish the charge and attack in melee. Whether they're using their ranged attack in one way or another, they always have just two ranged attacks per battle.
General: the unit composes the general's guard, and gains +2 HP, -2 Morale, +1 Damage because of the presence of this hero in the unit. Only one unit per army can have this trait. A unit with this special ability can select another special ability.
Huge: the unit is composed by huge creatures and gains +4 HP, +2 dmg but units also inflict +1 dmg on this unit.
Lancers: Lancers units are armed with very long pikes or cavalry lances. Cavalry units with this quality don't get damage while charging and gain a +1 bonus on charge damages while other units with this quality don't get extra damage when charged and deals a +1 damage bonus against cavalry.
Ranged: this is the special quality for skirmishers. It allows skirmishers to attack 2 to 3 squares away, inflicting 2 dmg. This is noted as Ranged [2-3] 2 on the unit's card.
- Short: a special tag that can be added to the ranged quality: units can attack only 2 squares away but inflict 3 dmg. This is noted as Range [Short] [2] 3 on the units card.
- Long: a special tag that can be added to the ranged quality: units can attack only 2-5 squares away but inflict just 1 dmg. This is noted as Range [Long] [2-5] 1 on the units card.
When a ranged unit attack an enemy unit that is engaged in melee with a friendly unit, the damage dealt is halved (round down when needed, minimum 1) and both the units engaged in melee suffers the ranged attack damage. This is not true if the Skirmishers unit is attacking the enemy unit from the rear or the flank.
Shieldwall: the unit is equipped with great shields and is able to interlock them to gain better protection against ranged attacks. Damage received by ranged attack do -1 dmg (it can even reduce the amount to 0) but the unit also receive a -1 on movement.
Veteran: the unit is composed by experienced soldiers and gains -1 Morale, +1 dmg.
- Running the game:
At the beginning of each battle, assume Armies move simultaneously with each Commander. Move one unit at a time until at least one unit can attack an enemy unit and then determine Battle Order.
Battle Order starts with the Army which is capable of attacking first and descends in order for each Army that can enter the battle after that (uncommitted Armies simultaneously move last in the Battle Order until they commit to at least one attack).
During the Battle Order, a Commander may move or give Tactics commands to a number of units equal to 2+ 1d4 each Turn.
When a unit enters the square next to an unfriendly unit, both inflict damage on each other immediately, with no rolls. Certain Tactics can increase a unit’s damage, such as Charging, Fortifying/Setting, and Rushing.
- Tactics: [shamelessly taken by the D&D wiki page linked above)
Charge
A Charging unit gains several things from a Charge: +1 Move, +1 damage bonus in melee combat during their Battle Order, and suffers 1 point of damage at the end of the charge (a unit must move during a Charge).
Rush
A Rush is when a unit enters another unit’s square at the cost of 1 additional Movement. When units have done this maneuver, neither unit can move again until all enemy units in that square are Broken or Destroyed. Friendly units may enter or exit another friendly unit’s square, but this action costs 1 movement each time.
Fortify/Set
A unit in a building, ruins, or other fortified position like entrenched ground can Fortify, gaining Damage Reduction equal to the DR rating of the building(usually 1-3) and doing an additional +1 point of damage on their turn. Units that cannot Fortify due to their position may instead Set, and gain the +1 damage bonus.
A unit cannot Fortify/Set and move on the same turn. Some units gain additional abilities when they Fortify/Set.
Base Terrain DR:
Light forest, ruins, swamp, dense smoke: 1
Sturdy wooden buildings, Light stone buildings, dense forests: 2
Small Stone Keep, Heavy Stone building: 3
Stone Castle: 4
Movement
Moving through different terrain has different costs, as shown below. If a unit cannot spend the required number of movement costs to enter a square, they instead pay what they can each turn until they have entered a square, but count as being in their old square until that time. The costs are below:
Light forests: +1
Heavy Forests/Jungle: +2
Ruins/Very Rocky: +2
Building: +2
Castle: +4
Down a Slope: -1 (minimum of 1)
Up a Slope: +1 to +3, depending on grade
Swamp: +3
Rocky Desert: +1
- Player Characters [also taken from the link above]
Player characters have a special role in the mass combat mini-game, as they have access to abilities far beyond that of lesser troops. They may attach themselves to any unit, effectively assuming direct control of it in battle.
Attacking a Unit in Combat
PCs fight units not by killing all the members of that unit, but by killing the Leader of that unit. The two units form a ring in wich the two commanders fight to the death (in a manner similar to that of the Iliad, great heroes fighting each other while the mob stand and watch). Killing or rendering that Leader ineffective (like teleporting him away, petrifying him, etc) will cause that unit to break. PCs must be in that unit’s square to attack the Leader, and they automatically take damage from the enemy unit equal to its damage times 10. Units attached to a PC and who have use the Rush Tactic to enter the square with the PC take this damage instead of the PC.
PCs in a square next to an enemy unit take no damage. Ranged attacks that target a PC’s square allow the PC a Reflex save for half equal to 10 + the ranged attack’s damage. Spells or other effects that can target more than 50% of a PCs square, or specifically target the PC, effect him as normal.
The unit's Leader's level is at discretion of the GM.
Attacking a Unit with Spells or Effects
For every 10 normal HPs a PC can do to over 50% of a unit’s square, assume that the unit takes 1 HP of damage. Spells that don’t do damage (like fear effects or other effects) but can effect more that half the members of unit do the spell’s level in damage to the unit with no save.
-----------
And this should be for the moment. You might have noticed that the cost stat is missing. I'm aware of that as I still don't know how to calculate the units' cost in a balanced way in order to avoid the characters to create an army too soon but still without making them too costly in case they decide they want one. Also, I was thinking about something like a point-buy system for creating armies skirmish battles and things like that. I like to hear your thoughts about this.
Please let me know what you think! Thank you for reading!
Anyway, I recently had the fortune to start a new D&D 3.5 campaign. The world where my players are fooling around is the classic world torn by a war between two kingdoms, but I'd like them to have the chance to lead one army against the rival kingdom at a certain point. So, also taking heavy inspiration from this ( http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Races_of_War_(3.5e_Sourcebook)/The_Mass_Combat_Minigame ) I brewed a mini game about mass combat between armies. I'd like to hear your opinions before bringing it to the table.
The game assumes all of the creatures are medium or huge sized.
-------
The game
Players take control of an army by controlling single units commanded by their PCs or by taking control of distinct sections of one army (left wing, center or right wing), depending on their renown or on the situation. Their objective will usually be routing the enemy army or maybe controlling some key points.
- Units
A unit has 6 stats, that are
HP: the unit's health points, a rough estimation of the number of casualties a unit can take before its morale breaks and the individuals in that unit begin to flee the combat.
The base value is 10+ the unit's health modifier.
Morale: the unit's morale; when the HP drop to this number or below, the units must roll a d10: if the result is equal or higher than their current morale value the unit becomes shaken (-1 to damages and movement), if the roll is lower than their current morale value, the unit routs and attempts to leave the battlefield by the easiest and safest path. The base value is 10- the unit's morale modifier. If the value is 0, the unit will usually fight to the death if not ordered to retreat.
Movement: the number of squares a unit can move in a turn; each squares is 15'x15'. The base value is 4+/- the unit's speed modifier. In any moment, a unit always have a movement speed of at least 1.
Dmg: the damage a unit can inflict on another unit, that is 1d4+ the unit's damage modifier; when a unit attack another unit, it always deal damage and it don't need an attack roll. A unit always deals a minimum of 1 damage even if DR or other modifiers would say otherwise (but see the Big Shield special quality).
Cost: the price needed to assemble a unit.
Special: special qualities that affect the unit in one way or another.
A unit is composed by a type (Infantry , Cavalry [Ca], Skirmishers [Sk]) that determines by what kind of soldiers is composed. Units interact with another on a rock, paper, scissor pattern (Infantry>Cavalry>Skirmishers>Infantry): a unit that attack a unit vulnerable to their attacks gains a +1 on damages. The Skirmishers' bonus against Infantry only applies on ranged attacks.
Units are also composed by a subtype (Conscripts [Co], Light [Li], Medium [Me], Heavy [He]) that determine the preparation and kind of equipment of the units. The heavier subtype gain an advantage on lighter subtypes, gaining a +1 on damage when attacking lighter troops: He > Me > Li > Co.
Cavalry units cannot be composed by conscripts.
- Building a unit.
When building a unit, a player must sum the type and subtype modifiers to the unit base template.
Base template:
[I]Unit's Name [Type, Subtype]
HP: 10 Morale: 10
Movement: 4 Dmg: 1d4
Cost: Special:
Type modifiers:
Infantry:
HP: +2 Morale: -2
Movement: +0 Damage: +1 vs cavalry
Cavalry:
HP: +3 Morale: -3
Movement: +2 Damage: +1 vs skirmishers
Skirmishers:
HP: +1 Morale: -1
Movement: +0 Damage: +1 vs infantry
Subtype modifiers:
Conscripts:
HP: +0 Morale: -0
Movement: +1 Damage: +0
Light:
HP: +1 Morale: -1
Movement: +0 Damage: +1 vs conscripts
Medium:
HP: +2 Morale: -2
Movement: -1 Damage: +1 vs light and conscripts
Heavy:
HP: +3 Morale: -3
Movement: -2 Damage: +1 vs medium, light and conscripts
So, to make an example, an heavy cavalry unit would have these stats:
Lancers [Ca, He]
HP: 16 Morale: 4
Movement: 4 Dmg: 1d4 +1 vs Sk, +1 vs Me, Li, Co
Cost: Special: Lancers
while this would be a lightly armed archers unit:
Archers [Sk, Li]
HP: 12 Morale: 8
Movement: 4 Dmg: 1d4 +1 vs Co | Ranged [2-3] 2 +1 vs In
Cost: Special: Ranged
- Units' Special qualities:
These qualities allow a unit to get special modifiers. Only one special quality per unit unless otherwise noted:
Assault Infantry: Infantry units with this special quality are particularly vicious. Each soldier of the unit carries two javelins that they hurl at the enemy a moment before attacking them. Two times per battle the unit can make a ranged attack; when attacking in this way, it is considered to be in possess of the special quality Range [Short] [2] 3. The unit can also use this ranged attack during a charge: they must move at least 1 square, do their ranged attack, and then move 1 more square to finish the charge and attack in melee. Whether they're using their ranged attack in one way or another, they always have just two ranged attacks per battle.
General: the unit composes the general's guard, and gains +2 HP, -2 Morale, +1 Damage because of the presence of this hero in the unit. Only one unit per army can have this trait. A unit with this special ability can select another special ability.
Huge: the unit is composed by huge creatures and gains +4 HP, +2 dmg but units also inflict +1 dmg on this unit.
Lancers: Lancers units are armed with very long pikes or cavalry lances. Cavalry units with this quality don't get damage while charging and gain a +1 bonus on charge damages while other units with this quality don't get extra damage when charged and deals a +1 damage bonus against cavalry.
Ranged: this is the special quality for skirmishers. It allows skirmishers to attack 2 to 3 squares away, inflicting 2 dmg. This is noted as Ranged [2-3] 2 on the unit's card.
- Short: a special tag that can be added to the ranged quality: units can attack only 2 squares away but inflict 3 dmg. This is noted as Range [Short] [2] 3 on the units card.
- Long: a special tag that can be added to the ranged quality: units can attack only 2-5 squares away but inflict just 1 dmg. This is noted as Range [Long] [2-5] 1 on the units card.
When a ranged unit attack an enemy unit that is engaged in melee with a friendly unit, the damage dealt is halved (round down when needed, minimum 1) and both the units engaged in melee suffers the ranged attack damage. This is not true if the Skirmishers unit is attacking the enemy unit from the rear or the flank.
Shieldwall: the unit is equipped with great shields and is able to interlock them to gain better protection against ranged attacks. Damage received by ranged attack do -1 dmg (it can even reduce the amount to 0) but the unit also receive a -1 on movement.
Veteran: the unit is composed by experienced soldiers and gains -1 Morale, +1 dmg.
- Running the game:
At the beginning of each battle, assume Armies move simultaneously with each Commander. Move one unit at a time until at least one unit can attack an enemy unit and then determine Battle Order.
Battle Order starts with the Army which is capable of attacking first and descends in order for each Army that can enter the battle after that (uncommitted Armies simultaneously move last in the Battle Order until they commit to at least one attack).
During the Battle Order, a Commander may move or give Tactics commands to a number of units equal to 2+ 1d4 each Turn.
When a unit enters the square next to an unfriendly unit, both inflict damage on each other immediately, with no rolls. Certain Tactics can increase a unit’s damage, such as Charging, Fortifying/Setting, and Rushing.
- Tactics: [shamelessly taken by the D&D wiki page linked above)
Charge
A Charging unit gains several things from a Charge: +1 Move, +1 damage bonus in melee combat during their Battle Order, and suffers 1 point of damage at the end of the charge (a unit must move during a Charge).
Rush
A Rush is when a unit enters another unit’s square at the cost of 1 additional Movement. When units have done this maneuver, neither unit can move again until all enemy units in that square are Broken or Destroyed. Friendly units may enter or exit another friendly unit’s square, but this action costs 1 movement each time.
Fortify/Set
A unit in a building, ruins, or other fortified position like entrenched ground can Fortify, gaining Damage Reduction equal to the DR rating of the building(usually 1-3) and doing an additional +1 point of damage on their turn. Units that cannot Fortify due to their position may instead Set, and gain the +1 damage bonus.
A unit cannot Fortify/Set and move on the same turn. Some units gain additional abilities when they Fortify/Set.
Base Terrain DR:
Light forest, ruins, swamp, dense smoke: 1
Sturdy wooden buildings, Light stone buildings, dense forests: 2
Small Stone Keep, Heavy Stone building: 3
Stone Castle: 4
Movement
Moving through different terrain has different costs, as shown below. If a unit cannot spend the required number of movement costs to enter a square, they instead pay what they can each turn until they have entered a square, but count as being in their old square until that time. The costs are below:
Light forests: +1
Heavy Forests/Jungle: +2
Ruins/Very Rocky: +2
Building: +2
Castle: +4
Down a Slope: -1 (minimum of 1)
Up a Slope: +1 to +3, depending on grade
Swamp: +3
Rocky Desert: +1
- Player Characters [also taken from the link above]
Player characters have a special role in the mass combat mini-game, as they have access to abilities far beyond that of lesser troops. They may attach themselves to any unit, effectively assuming direct control of it in battle.
Attacking a Unit in Combat
PCs fight units not by killing all the members of that unit, but by killing the Leader of that unit. The two units form a ring in wich the two commanders fight to the death (in a manner similar to that of the Iliad, great heroes fighting each other while the mob stand and watch). Killing or rendering that Leader ineffective (like teleporting him away, petrifying him, etc) will cause that unit to break. PCs must be in that unit’s square to attack the Leader, and they automatically take damage from the enemy unit equal to its damage times 10. Units attached to a PC and who have use the Rush Tactic to enter the square with the PC take this damage instead of the PC.
PCs in a square next to an enemy unit take no damage. Ranged attacks that target a PC’s square allow the PC a Reflex save for half equal to 10 + the ranged attack’s damage. Spells or other effects that can target more than 50% of a PCs square, or specifically target the PC, effect him as normal.
The unit's Leader's level is at discretion of the GM.
Attacking a Unit with Spells or Effects
For every 10 normal HPs a PC can do to over 50% of a unit’s square, assume that the unit takes 1 HP of damage. Spells that don’t do damage (like fear effects or other effects) but can effect more that half the members of unit do the spell’s level in damage to the unit with no save.
-----------
And this should be for the moment. You might have noticed that the cost stat is missing. I'm aware of that as I still don't know how to calculate the units' cost in a balanced way in order to avoid the characters to create an army too soon but still without making them too costly in case they decide they want one. Also, I was thinking about something like a point-buy system for creating armies skirmish battles and things like that. I like to hear your thoughts about this.
Please let me know what you think! Thank you for reading!