Campaign Help Needed!

I am designing a new campaign centered around a conflict between two powerful armies each vying for dominion of the continent. One power is a basically LN Empire, called the Empire Of Aolnir, named after it's first Emperor. The Empire Of Aolnir has a great standing army and is currently in the process of trying to bring all the other peoples of the land under it's power. The Empire has many different races within it's lands, but it is primarly made up of Humans.

The Empire Of Aolnirs elite, Emperor, and Warlord are all high level Fighters, and the Empire of Aolnir is very much centered around the army and the military service in general.

They have conquered or assimilated every other nation or empire on the continent with the following exceptions:


The Elven Nation, which is in a small, secluded, concealed and highly defensible position which the Empire Of Aolnir has decided is not worth the cost of taking at this time.

The Gnomish Nation, which, thanks to the Gnomish nation being such a small part of the continent, as well as being concealed with various illusionary magics and other tricks, the Empire Of Aolnir is not even aware of it's existence.

The Dwarves were assimilated by the Empire Of Aolnir fifty years back, the two sharing many similar philosophies and laws. The Halflings never really had a nation, and they live in various areas within the Empire.

The final group which the Empire Of Aolnir has yet to conquer are the Barbarian Tribes. The Barbarians hold a vast amount of land, almost equal to that which the Empire controls, from the vast plains and steppes to the great mountains and valleys of the continent.

The Barbarian Tribes are basically a CN group, made up of a loose alliance of tribes, made up of many races, from Elves to Orcs, but like the Empire, they are comprised mainly of Humans, and while they occasionally cooperate with each other, they do not have the same organization of the Empire Of Aolnir. Their elite forces and leaders are primarly made up of Barbarians, of course.

They occassionally raid into the more "civilized" lands, but mostly keep to themselves, living what they consider a good life in their various territories.

Recently, the Empire Of Aolnir has begun an invasion of the Barbarian lands, specifically an invasion into the lands of the Tribe Of The Owl, a tribe made up primarily of Elves and Half-Elves, and the Barbarian tribes have formed an alliance in the face of this new threat, and are even now moving to counterattack the Empire Of Aolnir for it's invasion into their lands. War has begun.

Now, I've got almost everything mapped out, like what the culture of both sides are, the various intiation rites into the differing tribes, the social structure of the Empire, and so on, but the one thing I don't have a real clear picture of is how these two sides are going to wage war.

How do you think the Empire, whose best forces are made up of high level Fighters, would wage war? What would their tactics likely be, and how would they respond to the Barbarian attacks?

The same is true for the Tribes, whose elite forces are made up primarily of Barbarians. How do you see them waging war? What tactics do you think they would use, and how would they adapt to the tactics of the Empire?

Basically, how do you see this war progressing, and who do you see winning, and why? The PCs of course will have a say in what will happen, but with two great forces engaging each other in combat, I'd like to have the "bigger picture" of what will be happening during the war while the PCs are doing what they can to help whichever side they choose to.

Both sides have relatively equal access to resources, other forces comprising of different classes, and so on. I really, really would appreciate any help in this, so please comment.

If you are going to use the basic combat mechanics in D&D3E/d20 games you will probably find it best to fashion the war with small group encounters. Strike forces by the empire meant to take out key locations and leaders, countered by rebel raids by the Barbarians to disrupt supply lines and regain territory where the Empire has become complacent and lessened their numbers of standing troops.

If you allow for the sucesses and failures of the group to be a model for the big picture, this can then be relayed to the players during Empirial Debriefings or Tribal Meetings, and help them to determine what suggestions they might make for guiding the next strikes.

This allows for the players to be more integral in the process since smaller forces fighting one another can mean that the player's group is either on their own or supplemented by relatively few NPCs. Perhaps you can even tailor the NPCs based on what the group decides they might require as specialists to help with the plans they suggest.

Describing huge battles to players where they aren't the ones controlling the overall outcome can be frustrating to players in a game where the focus is meant to be on the individual and their goals.

That's how I would approach it, anyway. *shrug*

MasterOfHeaven said:

…How do you think the Empire, whose best forces are made up of high level Fighters, would wage war? What would their tactics likely be, and how would they respond to the Barbarian attacks?

The same is true for the Tribes, whose elite forces are made up primarily of Barbarians. How do you see them waging war? What tactics do you think they would use, and how would they adapt to the tactics of the Empire?

Click to expand...

Hmmm, armies of well trained and organized fighters vs nature oriented barbarian hordes? Sounds like the roman legions marching into “barbaric” northern europe. I’d suggest you track down some books detailing those campaigns & then work magic into the mix.

I imagine the roman legions, even at their best, would have had trouble if their barbarian foes had united behind druids capable of controlling weather, calling lightning & summoning/befriending dire bears.

Picture: greatsword wielding barbarian champions atop dire bears enlarged by Animal Growth charging toward the imperials’ shield wall between bolts of called lightning while imperial mages hurl fireballs and icestorms into the barbarian lines & PCs race to intercept the enemy champions before they shatter their side’s battle lines…

Alright, thanks. I like the idea of using smaller groups to determine how the larger battles would play out. I also like the idea of both sides using magic to at least some extent. I actually am basing this campaign off of the conflict between the Roman Empire and the Germanic Tribes, which, contrary to popular belief, held their own against the Romans.

Horses?

It might not fit with your Germanic theme, but other groups of barbarians have greatly benefited from large mobility due to a greater reliance on, familiarity with and abundance of light cavalry. It sure helps to make quick hit and run attacks, although magic would somewhat lessen the effect.

Just a thought.

Just because I'm basing it on the conflict between the Romans and the Germanic Tribes doesn't mean I won't use other ideas. After all, the Romans and the Germanic Tribes never had access to fireball spells or healing magic. I thought of giving a tribe or two of Barbarians a specialty with calvalry tactics and such, maybe I'll look at it again.