Phantos_Argent
2017-02-12, 03:00 PM
One of the biggest problems people have on PbP gaming, is combat. It takes a good deal of time, a lot of systems revolve around it, and your entire post usually consists of cast spell or attack enemy. Heroes of Conquest is a homebrew I've decided to develop as a way of branching combat in a way that's tactical, fun, and suited for pbp gaming. It revolves around both the players and the DM controlling more than one character. It would be obtuse in real life due to all the moving parts, but in pbp you have hours to think of your next move and look through character sheets. For these types of games I strongly suggest only two to four players at the absolute most, unless you really want to simulate a fantasy war.
The main difference between this and regular game is that players control one Hero and three other party members while in combat, but they only retain control of the Hero while not in combat. This assumes a few things about the campaign, namely that pitched battles will be the focus. It's good for campaigns that revolve around mercenaries, members of an army, adventuring guilds, or desperate groups of rebels. There are some additional rules beyond just a party for every player, but they're all optional.
A personal rule that I follow with these types of games is a limit on spellcasting, especially for sorcerers and wizards. Multiple of these can often throw any kind of strategy out of the window. Not that they don't have a place. A wizard Follower or two on either side of a fight can create interesting scenarios and battles with nothing but casters are insanely fun. That said, having an uneven number of powerful spellcasters can turn a battle into a rout with just a few spells.
Heroes and Followers
Your main character is a Hero while the others you create are Followers. That doesn't mean they literally have to be a Hero, just that they're the most important and powerful member of your party. Outside of combat, your Hero is the only character you retain control of. In general, a Hero should be two levels higher than their Followers. They also receive a special bonus that can come in several different forms, listed below.
Paragon
Increase all abilities by +2 and the maximum for all abilities is raised to 24.
Natural Talent
You have two archetypes, domains, circles, paths, oaths, etc. You gain all the benefits of both. For Paladin Oaths you must only follow the rules of one. For any that give the same or very similar benefit, such as the Cleric's Potent Spellcasting Domain feature, you only receive the bonuses from one.
Great Skill
Whenever you would choose between raising your ability scores or gaining a feat, you receive both options.
Hero's Mantle
You were given powerful items. Choose any one Very Rare, Rare, and two Uncommon magical items.
Monstrous Origin
One of your parents wasn't human. Gain non-magical weapon damage resistance, 30 ft of flight speed, and darkvision out to 60 ft. In addition, choose between celestial, fiendish, or draconic. If Celestial gain fast healing 3. If Draconic gain the breathe attack of the Young Dragon of your choice. If Fiendish all your attacks are considered magical for passing damage resistance and you have advantage on saves against spells and spell like effects.
Followers are the three party members that accompany you into combat. When not in combat the DM controls them as NPCs. When fighting you always use your Hero's Initiative bonus, even if a Follower's is higher. Now while some Conquest campaigns have the player create their Followers, it is possible to recruit more. This doesn't increase the number you bring into a fight, but can give you more options for taking on a particular opponent. If more than three Followers are involved in a fight, you do not control the excess. Some followers may even be intelligent monsters, such as ogres or unicorns. In that respect, treat every 2 of a challenge rating as class level for deciding what level they should be.
Ranked
Every member of an army receives a rank and that confers special privileges and bonuses for Heroes of Conquest. Unlike in real life, higher ranked characters are more powerful than their similarly leveled counterparts. That said, your Hero isn't necessarily the highest ranked member of your party. Rankings don't always reflect your actual level of control in an army, just the amount of respect you receive. DMs should always hand out Rankings based on daring, heroic, or cunning actions. Even if a barbarian does well in combat, that doesn't mean he earned a higher rank. That comes from something truly spectacular, like jumping from a tower onto the back of a dragon or funneling enemy troops into a mudslide.
Every Ranked character counts as a different type of soldier. These types are decided by their player and they must finish a long rest to change types. Their Rank bonus is equal to their current Rank, +4 for Generals, +3 for Captains, +2 for Commanders, and +1 for Sergeants.
Warrior
Add Rank bonus to attacks with weapons and hit points per level. Bonus damage not multiplied on a critical hit
Scout
Gain 5 ft of base movement for Rank bonus and add that bonus to stealth skill checks.
Arcanist
Add Rank bonus to your spell save DC.
Healer
Add Rank bonus x2 to every time you restore hit points.
Support
Perform the Help action as a free action a number of times between short rests equal to your Rank.
Home Base
One of the biggest additions that every army needs is a home base, a place for your party to heal and prepare for the next fight. Normally these bases don't provide mechanical benefit, but that changes in a Conquest style campaign where you're expected to take over fortress and make improvements to them. While the actual construction and costs of a Base should be decided by the DM, it's size, quality, luxury, and defense are listed here and make a large difference in how helpful the Base can be. Bases can have a number of additions equal to it's size, those additions gain bonuses based on quality, while luxury and defense are both covered in the Conquest section below.
Bonus
Size
Quality
Defense
Luxury
+1
A few barracks.
Made of nearby trees.
Stick fence, a watchpost.
A fire pit, outhouse, and hammocks.
+2
A large hall with several rooms.
Well constructed from lumber.
Wooden fence, watchpost quad.
A small kitchen and cots.
+3
A full sized mansion.
Brick and mortar.
Arrow slits and a wooden wall.
A full mess and small library.
+4
An actual fort.
Made of quarried stone.
A stone wall and watch towers.
Dining hall, library, and actual beds.
+5
A full sized citadel.
Carved stone reinforced with iron bars.
Steel gates and murder holes.
Built in brewery.
There are several different additions, all of which have minor effects that only help while at the Base. Though the examples above primarily dealt with mundane forts, they can actually cover more advanced things such as ships, teleporting wizard towers, or mechanical dragons. Every addition has a bonus equal to your Base's quality, but they can be further improved up to +10. Once again, how this is done or what it would cost is up to the DM. It could even be a living fortress that you must feed to improve!
Alchemy Lab
Can produce a number of healing potions per week equal to bonus. At bonus +6 it can also produce damage resistance potions instead of two healing potions. At bonus +8 it can produce heroism potions instead of three healing potions. These potions expire after a week.
Arcane Library
Adds one spell to the list of a caster that can add spells to their list, such as a Wizard. It must be a spell they would be able to cast at their level. Gaining a spell this way requires 4 hours of study and the caster can only learn one such spell at a time. At a bonus +4 they can learn two such spells and at bonus +8 they can learn three such spells.
Arena
Adds an area for soldiers to fight and train. Every week roll a d20 and add the current bonus. For every 20, turn one of the soldiers into a Veteran.
Barracks
Increases number of foot soldiers the base can hold by +10 for every +3 of the bonus.
Dungeons
Can hold prisoners. Increase DC to escape by bonus. At bonus +8 prisoners become soldiers after four weeks.
Engineer's Workspace
Decreases time to repair Base by two days for every +1 of bonus.
Forge
Can produce weapons per week equal to bonus. Instead of weapons you can also produce bundles of ammunition, shields, or suits of armor instead of four weapons. At bonus +8 it can also produce exactly three uncommon magic weapons, shields, or suits of armor. Developing each of these requires one week of work.
Healing Fountain
Restores 5 hit points per day equal to every +2 of bonus. At bonus +6 it can instead remove poisons, diseases, or ability damage. At bonus +10 is can also remove curses.
Meditation Room
A number of times per week equal for every +4 of bonus gain advantage when casting one ritual spell. This is for every caster that uses it.
Scouting Shed
Must have a Follower or Veteran proficient in survival or stealth assigned to it to use. Lose their services for 1 week and learn the Defense, Quality, and Size bonuses of a single known Base a number of hexes away equal to the bonus.
Shrine
Clerics and Druids may cast spells as if they were a level higher for every +4 of the bonus.
Shop
Sells a 100 gold of basically anything for every +1 of bonus. At bonus +8 it sells 125 gold for every +1 of bonus and can sell common magic items.
Tavern
Increases Luxury by +2 and decreases Defense by -1 for every +1 of bonus.
Trap System
Increases Defense by +2 and decreases Luxury by -1 for every +1 of bonus.
War Room
Increases the number of tactics available to a Force by one for every +2 of a the bonus.
Workshop
Can produce any kind of kit per week for every +1 of bonus.
Conquest
This is the biggest rule set and the one most designed to reflect fantasy warfare. It places various prizes, bonuses, Base additions, and recruitable Followers on all a large map separated into squares or hex spaces. How this is set up is decided by the DM, but there are a few different standard formats. There's exploration, where the party encounters each hex and deals with the problem before moving onto an adjacent one. There's warfare, where the party must for control over the hexes against one or more armies. Finally there's guilds, where each party must claim different hexes before an enemy guild does. The problems contained within each hex are usually combat based, but could just as easily be dungeon delving or a social encounter.
Hex Types
There are three basic types of Hexes. Combat encounters, dungeons, and roleplaying encounters. Combat encounters involve the party facing off against another force in a pitched battle. Dungeons operate a little differently and consist of multiple rooms that could combat encounters or roleplaying encounters respectively. Roleplaying encounters are when you only control your hero. These can have a huge number of different tasks to obtain the prize within the hex, from facing an enemy in single combat, convincing a lord to help your cause through logical reasoning, or outright buying it from a camped caravan.
Warfare
Conquest wouldn't be the same without two armies battling one another across a massive field. In this scenario, your Hero is in command of a large force and is tasked with fighting on at least one front of a war. They have troops, Bases, Followers, and face a similar adversary. They must also contend with a different type of hex, known as assaults. These are when you or the enemy attack a Base. Only a Force can participate in an assault. Forces are groups of soldiers led by a Hero, Follower, or any combination of the above. Some Forces also have Veterans. These are specialty soldiers that are more powerful than average, but not quite as strong as a Follower. They should be created as appropriate using the Humanoid creature type or similar monsters. Some may prove themselves in combat and gain additional class levels, becoming recruitable as a Follower.
When participating in an assault, the two Forces compare their ratings. If a Base doesn't have at least 10 soldiers, two Veterans, or a Follower, it is considered unoccupied and taken over without an assault taking place. A defending Force has a rating equal to their Base's current Defense bonus, +1 for every 10 soldiers, +1 for every two Veterans, +1 for every Follower, and +2 for every Hero. An offensive Force has a rating equal to the Luxury bonus of the last Base they occupied, +1 for every 10 soldiers, +1 for every two Veterans, +1 for every Follower, and +2 for every Hero. This doesn't mean an automatic win for whomever has the biggest number. Instead, it stacks the odds in their favor.
During an assault, all the Heroes, Followers, and Veterans fight one another and whomever wins that fight wins the assault. However, if one Force has a better rating, the losing Force suffers penalties. All penalties are cumulative. At a difference of 1 their AC receives a -1 penalty. At a difference of 2 they have disadvantage on the first three saves they make. At a difference of 3 all their Veterans are at -5 hit points, but stable. At a difference of 4 they have disadvantage on the first five attacks they make. At a difference of 5 all Followers are at half health. At a difference of 6, all Followers are at -5 hit points, but stable. At a difference of 6, they automatically lose. When a Force loses an assault, either through all Heroes and Followers running away, being unconscious, or surrendering, half their soldiers and Veterans are killed. The other half are either taken prisoner or killed, depending on what the enemy commander decides.
To participate in an assault, a Force must travel a number of hexes. Traveling through a hex generally takes 1 day for a Force and half a day for just a Party. Some hexes must be cleared before a Force can travel through them.
Tactics
These are an optional rule that change how assaults can take place. They're essentially battle strategies. Without a War Room, each Force can only have a single Tactic. This does mean offensive Forces can only attack with a single Tactic. Tactics are decided immediately before a battle takes place and requires a Force to spend at least 8 hours training to utilize them and one hour to switch.
Aggressive
Grants +1 to Force rating. Change to -1 when facing Reactive.
Defensive
Grants +1 to Force rating. Change to -1 when facing Aggressive.
Reactive
Grants +1 to Force rating. Change to -1 when facing Defensive.
Conservative
If you lose an assault through fleeing the battle, half your Veterans also manage to flee as well.
Focused
Grants -1 to Force rating, but the difference in Force rating no longer inflicts hit point damage on Followers or Heroes.
Risky
Both Forces roll a d20 and add their respective ratings. Whomever is higher gains a +2 bonus to Force rating.
The main difference between this and regular game is that players control one Hero and three other party members while in combat, but they only retain control of the Hero while not in combat. This assumes a few things about the campaign, namely that pitched battles will be the focus. It's good for campaigns that revolve around mercenaries, members of an army, adventuring guilds, or desperate groups of rebels. There are some additional rules beyond just a party for every player, but they're all optional.
A personal rule that I follow with these types of games is a limit on spellcasting, especially for sorcerers and wizards. Multiple of these can often throw any kind of strategy out of the window. Not that they don't have a place. A wizard Follower or two on either side of a fight can create interesting scenarios and battles with nothing but casters are insanely fun. That said, having an uneven number of powerful spellcasters can turn a battle into a rout with just a few spells.
Heroes and Followers
Your main character is a Hero while the others you create are Followers. That doesn't mean they literally have to be a Hero, just that they're the most important and powerful member of your party. Outside of combat, your Hero is the only character you retain control of. In general, a Hero should be two levels higher than their Followers. They also receive a special bonus that can come in several different forms, listed below.
Paragon
Increase all abilities by +2 and the maximum for all abilities is raised to 24.
Natural Talent
You have two archetypes, domains, circles, paths, oaths, etc. You gain all the benefits of both. For Paladin Oaths you must only follow the rules of one. For any that give the same or very similar benefit, such as the Cleric's Potent Spellcasting Domain feature, you only receive the bonuses from one.
Great Skill
Whenever you would choose between raising your ability scores or gaining a feat, you receive both options.
Hero's Mantle
You were given powerful items. Choose any one Very Rare, Rare, and two Uncommon magical items.
Monstrous Origin
One of your parents wasn't human. Gain non-magical weapon damage resistance, 30 ft of flight speed, and darkvision out to 60 ft. In addition, choose between celestial, fiendish, or draconic. If Celestial gain fast healing 3. If Draconic gain the breathe attack of the Young Dragon of your choice. If Fiendish all your attacks are considered magical for passing damage resistance and you have advantage on saves against spells and spell like effects.
Followers are the three party members that accompany you into combat. When not in combat the DM controls them as NPCs. When fighting you always use your Hero's Initiative bonus, even if a Follower's is higher. Now while some Conquest campaigns have the player create their Followers, it is possible to recruit more. This doesn't increase the number you bring into a fight, but can give you more options for taking on a particular opponent. If more than three Followers are involved in a fight, you do not control the excess. Some followers may even be intelligent monsters, such as ogres or unicorns. In that respect, treat every 2 of a challenge rating as class level for deciding what level they should be.
Ranked
Every member of an army receives a rank and that confers special privileges and bonuses for Heroes of Conquest. Unlike in real life, higher ranked characters are more powerful than their similarly leveled counterparts. That said, your Hero isn't necessarily the highest ranked member of your party. Rankings don't always reflect your actual level of control in an army, just the amount of respect you receive. DMs should always hand out Rankings based on daring, heroic, or cunning actions. Even if a barbarian does well in combat, that doesn't mean he earned a higher rank. That comes from something truly spectacular, like jumping from a tower onto the back of a dragon or funneling enemy troops into a mudslide.
Every Ranked character counts as a different type of soldier. These types are decided by their player and they must finish a long rest to change types. Their Rank bonus is equal to their current Rank, +4 for Generals, +3 for Captains, +2 for Commanders, and +1 for Sergeants.
Warrior
Add Rank bonus to attacks with weapons and hit points per level. Bonus damage not multiplied on a critical hit
Scout
Gain 5 ft of base movement for Rank bonus and add that bonus to stealth skill checks.
Arcanist
Add Rank bonus to your spell save DC.
Healer
Add Rank bonus x2 to every time you restore hit points.
Support
Perform the Help action as a free action a number of times between short rests equal to your Rank.
Home Base
One of the biggest additions that every army needs is a home base, a place for your party to heal and prepare for the next fight. Normally these bases don't provide mechanical benefit, but that changes in a Conquest style campaign where you're expected to take over fortress and make improvements to them. While the actual construction and costs of a Base should be decided by the DM, it's size, quality, luxury, and defense are listed here and make a large difference in how helpful the Base can be. Bases can have a number of additions equal to it's size, those additions gain bonuses based on quality, while luxury and defense are both covered in the Conquest section below.
Bonus
Size
Quality
Defense
Luxury
+1
A few barracks.
Made of nearby trees.
Stick fence, a watchpost.
A fire pit, outhouse, and hammocks.
+2
A large hall with several rooms.
Well constructed from lumber.
Wooden fence, watchpost quad.
A small kitchen and cots.
+3
A full sized mansion.
Brick and mortar.
Arrow slits and a wooden wall.
A full mess and small library.
+4
An actual fort.
Made of quarried stone.
A stone wall and watch towers.
Dining hall, library, and actual beds.
+5
A full sized citadel.
Carved stone reinforced with iron bars.
Steel gates and murder holes.
Built in brewery.
There are several different additions, all of which have minor effects that only help while at the Base. Though the examples above primarily dealt with mundane forts, they can actually cover more advanced things such as ships, teleporting wizard towers, or mechanical dragons. Every addition has a bonus equal to your Base's quality, but they can be further improved up to +10. Once again, how this is done or what it would cost is up to the DM. It could even be a living fortress that you must feed to improve!
Alchemy Lab
Can produce a number of healing potions per week equal to bonus. At bonus +6 it can also produce damage resistance potions instead of two healing potions. At bonus +8 it can produce heroism potions instead of three healing potions. These potions expire after a week.
Arcane Library
Adds one spell to the list of a caster that can add spells to their list, such as a Wizard. It must be a spell they would be able to cast at their level. Gaining a spell this way requires 4 hours of study and the caster can only learn one such spell at a time. At a bonus +4 they can learn two such spells and at bonus +8 they can learn three such spells.
Arena
Adds an area for soldiers to fight and train. Every week roll a d20 and add the current bonus. For every 20, turn one of the soldiers into a Veteran.
Barracks
Increases number of foot soldiers the base can hold by +10 for every +3 of the bonus.
Dungeons
Can hold prisoners. Increase DC to escape by bonus. At bonus +8 prisoners become soldiers after four weeks.
Engineer's Workspace
Decreases time to repair Base by two days for every +1 of bonus.
Forge
Can produce weapons per week equal to bonus. Instead of weapons you can also produce bundles of ammunition, shields, or suits of armor instead of four weapons. At bonus +8 it can also produce exactly three uncommon magic weapons, shields, or suits of armor. Developing each of these requires one week of work.
Healing Fountain
Restores 5 hit points per day equal to every +2 of bonus. At bonus +6 it can instead remove poisons, diseases, or ability damage. At bonus +10 is can also remove curses.
Meditation Room
A number of times per week equal for every +4 of bonus gain advantage when casting one ritual spell. This is for every caster that uses it.
Scouting Shed
Must have a Follower or Veteran proficient in survival or stealth assigned to it to use. Lose their services for 1 week and learn the Defense, Quality, and Size bonuses of a single known Base a number of hexes away equal to the bonus.
Shrine
Clerics and Druids may cast spells as if they were a level higher for every +4 of the bonus.
Shop
Sells a 100 gold of basically anything for every +1 of bonus. At bonus +8 it sells 125 gold for every +1 of bonus and can sell common magic items.
Tavern
Increases Luxury by +2 and decreases Defense by -1 for every +1 of bonus.
Trap System
Increases Defense by +2 and decreases Luxury by -1 for every +1 of bonus.
War Room
Increases the number of tactics available to a Force by one for every +2 of a the bonus.
Workshop
Can produce any kind of kit per week for every +1 of bonus.
Conquest
This is the biggest rule set and the one most designed to reflect fantasy warfare. It places various prizes, bonuses, Base additions, and recruitable Followers on all a large map separated into squares or hex spaces. How this is set up is decided by the DM, but there are a few different standard formats. There's exploration, where the party encounters each hex and deals with the problem before moving onto an adjacent one. There's warfare, where the party must for control over the hexes against one or more armies. Finally there's guilds, where each party must claim different hexes before an enemy guild does. The problems contained within each hex are usually combat based, but could just as easily be dungeon delving or a social encounter.
Hex Types
There are three basic types of Hexes. Combat encounters, dungeons, and roleplaying encounters. Combat encounters involve the party facing off against another force in a pitched battle. Dungeons operate a little differently and consist of multiple rooms that could combat encounters or roleplaying encounters respectively. Roleplaying encounters are when you only control your hero. These can have a huge number of different tasks to obtain the prize within the hex, from facing an enemy in single combat, convincing a lord to help your cause through logical reasoning, or outright buying it from a camped caravan.
Warfare
Conquest wouldn't be the same without two armies battling one another across a massive field. In this scenario, your Hero is in command of a large force and is tasked with fighting on at least one front of a war. They have troops, Bases, Followers, and face a similar adversary. They must also contend with a different type of hex, known as assaults. These are when you or the enemy attack a Base. Only a Force can participate in an assault. Forces are groups of soldiers led by a Hero, Follower, or any combination of the above. Some Forces also have Veterans. These are specialty soldiers that are more powerful than average, but not quite as strong as a Follower. They should be created as appropriate using the Humanoid creature type or similar monsters. Some may prove themselves in combat and gain additional class levels, becoming recruitable as a Follower.
When participating in an assault, the two Forces compare their ratings. If a Base doesn't have at least 10 soldiers, two Veterans, or a Follower, it is considered unoccupied and taken over without an assault taking place. A defending Force has a rating equal to their Base's current Defense bonus, +1 for every 10 soldiers, +1 for every two Veterans, +1 for every Follower, and +2 for every Hero. An offensive Force has a rating equal to the Luxury bonus of the last Base they occupied, +1 for every 10 soldiers, +1 for every two Veterans, +1 for every Follower, and +2 for every Hero. This doesn't mean an automatic win for whomever has the biggest number. Instead, it stacks the odds in their favor.
During an assault, all the Heroes, Followers, and Veterans fight one another and whomever wins that fight wins the assault. However, if one Force has a better rating, the losing Force suffers penalties. All penalties are cumulative. At a difference of 1 their AC receives a -1 penalty. At a difference of 2 they have disadvantage on the first three saves they make. At a difference of 3 all their Veterans are at -5 hit points, but stable. At a difference of 4 they have disadvantage on the first five attacks they make. At a difference of 5 all Followers are at half health. At a difference of 6, all Followers are at -5 hit points, but stable. At a difference of 6, they automatically lose. When a Force loses an assault, either through all Heroes and Followers running away, being unconscious, or surrendering, half their soldiers and Veterans are killed. The other half are either taken prisoner or killed, depending on what the enemy commander decides.
To participate in an assault, a Force must travel a number of hexes. Traveling through a hex generally takes 1 day for a Force and half a day for just a Party. Some hexes must be cleared before a Force can travel through them.
Tactics
These are an optional rule that change how assaults can take place. They're essentially battle strategies. Without a War Room, each Force can only have a single Tactic. This does mean offensive Forces can only attack with a single Tactic. Tactics are decided immediately before a battle takes place and requires a Force to spend at least 8 hours training to utilize them and one hour to switch.
Aggressive
Grants +1 to Force rating. Change to -1 when facing Reactive.
Defensive
Grants +1 to Force rating. Change to -1 when facing Aggressive.
Reactive
Grants +1 to Force rating. Change to -1 when facing Defensive.
Conservative
If you lose an assault through fleeing the battle, half your Veterans also manage to flee as well.
Focused
Grants -1 to Force rating, but the difference in Force rating no longer inflicts hit point damage on Followers or Heroes.
Risky
Both Forces roll a d20 and add their respective ratings. Whomever is higher gains a +2 bonus to Force rating.