Sparky McDibben
Adventurer
Alright, friends! Almost done with this review. However, a quick note first. The Kickstarter for Nations & Cannons: The American Crisis has less than 24 hours left. It's like 4x funded, and there's a ton of stretch goals accomplished. If you think these rules are interesting, or you just like supporting non-WotC designers, might be worth a look.
Now, let's dive into opponents! The Core Rules have 28 statblocks for several different kinds of adversaries, divided into several broad categories:
The beast options are the devs giving animals some teeth (pun intended and I HAVE NO REGRETS) by giving existing beasts some new options. So the black wolf has a howl option that can summon regular wolves, and the rattlesnake has a rattle that frightens (as the condition) anyone within 30 feet who fails a Wisdom save. I really like this - wolves and rattlesnakes should be scary!
Irregulars are light skirmishing forces, especially Native American warriors and frontier folks. The devs have avoided writing up an "Iroquois statblock" and focused on instead broad fighting archetypes that can be deployed easily by the DM. The one that sticks out here are the Hessians, which include the Hessian conscript and Hessian schasant (sergeant). This is where we start to see some real innovation by the designers, because there are several sets of statblocks that are meant to be used in large numbers together. These are typically noted by a trait or feature in their statblock like Regimented: "The conscript cannot score a critical hit. The conscript has advantage on attack rolls if an ally with the Regimented trait is within 5 feet and isn't incapacitated." So the designers give them the option of hitting more frequently, but cap the damage by nullifying crits. The other thing the advantage does is lower the risk of these guys misfiring with their weapons, and it encourages large groups of goons to bunch up, presenting well-equipped PCs with nigh-irresistible targets for grenades, gambits, etc.
The other thing with Regimented creatures is that they typically have a leader nearby with an ability like the schasant's Volley Fire: "The schasant orders allies with the Regimented trait and a loaded musket to prepare a volley. Any such ally within 30 feet that has not acted this round (or an ally that has taken the Ready action) can immediately move up to half their speed to close ranks. Participating allies can take no further actions this round.
If two or more of such allies form a continuous row they can fire their muskets in a volley, a 100-foot line that is 5 feet wide per participating ally. Each creature in that line must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) ballistic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one."
So as you can see, large numbers of bad guys can coordinate on their off-turns and create some real nasty hazards. The thing that's nice from a GM standpoint is that putting all this movement and attacks into the hands of single creature (the schasant) without individual attack rolls meant that when I ran these guys, it dramatically reduced the workload of handling even upwards of a dozen creatures at a time. And that's without using any of the popular mob hacks like tracking damage as one big pool, etc.
Partisans are light militia, and include folks like minutemen, Highlanders...
Not that guy, but that movie is still one of my favorites. I mean these guys:
They look fierce, but really they just want a hug! (You'd want a hug too if you had to pull off that hat. I mean, I don't think I could pull that hat off, but damned if that guy isn't giving it a 100% effort). There are also stats for chaplains, provocateurs, machinists (who are more like general fix-its), etc. These folks are specialists, and you really only add them to encounters if there's something special you want to include.
Finally, we have the soldiers. These guys are also designed to be used in large groups, with sergeants, field officers, and even drummers (who get a fun ability to suppress the frightened condition). There are also more specialist troops, like the fusilier and the grenadier, both of whom get fun abilities that reflect their more aggressive combat roles. Fusiliers especially are nasty boys - two of these guys almost wiped the floor with a 4th level barbarian who came at them with party support.
There's two things I want to highlight here. Except for specific ones like highlanders and Hessians, most of these statblocks can be used by either side of any conflict. An eagle warrior could be a doughty Iroquois ally of the French, or one of the brave Stockbridge warriors, etc. The footmen, likewise, could be Redcoats or Continentals.
The second thing is the Trappings system. With unique or more difficult statblocks, the designers added a little blurb underneath the statblock about what you could find on these folks. So when you defeat a field officer, for example, you have a 50% chance to recover a gorget and a 50% chance to recover a dueling pistol. You could get both, either, or neither. Most foes won't have trappings, but the ones that do will be the ones that the PCs will remember.
All in all, these designs help me run linear warfare-style scenarios without having a calculator and an aide-de-camp. Honestly, that's exactly what I wanted, and I applaud the devs for it. Well done! Next time, we'll round it out with the Invasion of Canada!
What time is it? SYRUP O'CLOCK!
Now, let's dive into opponents! The Core Rules have 28 statblocks for several different kinds of adversaries, divided into several broad categories:
- Artillery - Big guns that go BOOM!
- Beasts - New beasties customized to a more North American environment
- Irregulars - Mercenaries, warriors, and special forces; have a d8 HD
- Partisans - Militia or tradesmen not often on the battlefield; have a d6 HD
- Soldiers - Trained troops, crack veterans; have a d10 HD
The beast options are the devs giving animals some teeth (pun intended and I HAVE NO REGRETS) by giving existing beasts some new options. So the black wolf has a howl option that can summon regular wolves, and the rattlesnake has a rattle that frightens (as the condition) anyone within 30 feet who fails a Wisdom save. I really like this - wolves and rattlesnakes should be scary!
Irregulars are light skirmishing forces, especially Native American warriors and frontier folks. The devs have avoided writing up an "Iroquois statblock" and focused on instead broad fighting archetypes that can be deployed easily by the DM. The one that sticks out here are the Hessians, which include the Hessian conscript and Hessian schasant (sergeant). This is where we start to see some real innovation by the designers, because there are several sets of statblocks that are meant to be used in large numbers together. These are typically noted by a trait or feature in their statblock like Regimented: "The conscript cannot score a critical hit. The conscript has advantage on attack rolls if an ally with the Regimented trait is within 5 feet and isn't incapacitated." So the designers give them the option of hitting more frequently, but cap the damage by nullifying crits. The other thing the advantage does is lower the risk of these guys misfiring with their weapons, and it encourages large groups of goons to bunch up, presenting well-equipped PCs with nigh-irresistible targets for grenades, gambits, etc.
The other thing with Regimented creatures is that they typically have a leader nearby with an ability like the schasant's Volley Fire: "The schasant orders allies with the Regimented trait and a loaded musket to prepare a volley. Any such ally within 30 feet that has not acted this round (or an ally that has taken the Ready action) can immediately move up to half their speed to close ranks. Participating allies can take no further actions this round.
If two or more of such allies form a continuous row they can fire their muskets in a volley, a 100-foot line that is 5 feet wide per participating ally. Each creature in that line must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) ballistic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one."
So as you can see, large numbers of bad guys can coordinate on their off-turns and create some real nasty hazards. The thing that's nice from a GM standpoint is that putting all this movement and attacks into the hands of single creature (the schasant) without individual attack rolls meant that when I ran these guys, it dramatically reduced the workload of handling even upwards of a dozen creatures at a time. And that's without using any of the popular mob hacks like tracking damage as one big pool, etc.
Partisans are light militia, and include folks like minutemen, Highlanders...
Not that guy, but that movie is still one of my favorites. I mean these guys:
They look fierce, but really they just want a hug! (You'd want a hug too if you had to pull off that hat. I mean, I don't think I could pull that hat off, but damned if that guy isn't giving it a 100% effort). There are also stats for chaplains, provocateurs, machinists (who are more like general fix-its), etc. These folks are specialists, and you really only add them to encounters if there's something special you want to include.
Finally, we have the soldiers. These guys are also designed to be used in large groups, with sergeants, field officers, and even drummers (who get a fun ability to suppress the frightened condition). There are also more specialist troops, like the fusilier and the grenadier, both of whom get fun abilities that reflect their more aggressive combat roles. Fusiliers especially are nasty boys - two of these guys almost wiped the floor with a 4th level barbarian who came at them with party support.
There's two things I want to highlight here. Except for specific ones like highlanders and Hessians, most of these statblocks can be used by either side of any conflict. An eagle warrior could be a doughty Iroquois ally of the French, or one of the brave Stockbridge warriors, etc. The footmen, likewise, could be Redcoats or Continentals.
The second thing is the Trappings system. With unique or more difficult statblocks, the designers added a little blurb underneath the statblock about what you could find on these folks. So when you defeat a field officer, for example, you have a 50% chance to recover a gorget and a 50% chance to recover a dueling pistol. You could get both, either, or neither. Most foes won't have trappings, but the ones that do will be the ones that the PCs will remember.
All in all, these designs help me run linear warfare-style scenarios without having a calculator and an aide-de-camp. Honestly, that's exactly what I wanted, and I applaud the devs for it. Well done! Next time, we'll round it out with the Invasion of Canada!
What time is it? SYRUP O'CLOCK!