As my 3e camp winds to a close I am slowly introducing elements of 4e. The campaign has built to a massive war in which the players will lead small armies and a legion of knights they founded. I created a set of rules premised on the 4e rules to try and make a fun mass combat system. Any feedback or critique is welcome.
My goal was to make sure that combat could move at least relatively quickly. Each player will begin with 6 units (2 peasant warrior, 2 soldier, an elite, and either another elite or a special). Reinforcements arrive sporadically. I also wanted movement. Previous mass combats have devolved into boring dice roll offs and I hope that this remedies it.
A few points to consider
--wounds (in addition to determining when a unit is dead) are applied as a penalty against all defenses. This makes a weaker unit more susceptible to the secondary attacks of units which have a lower plus but more effects. I hoped that this would make more options open as combat continues and as the players became more familiar with the rules. It also mirrors that damaged units are more vulnerable.
--penalties from wounds do not change a units defense until the Unit Status subphase on that unit's turn. I wanted to avoid recalculating mid round.
--the Unit Status subphase is purposefully placed. If a unit is reduced to 0 wounds, a player could use the Inspire Leader Action to restore 1 wound and the unit would survive. Because a player can take up to 3 Leader Actions, a unit could be brought from -2 to 1 if all three were successful.
--the Break Formation leader action is for 1 player who is a wizard with a poor leader score. I'd hate to strip away his power AND force him to be less effective, so he'll get special rules. They aren't yet done.
As I said, any criticism is appreciated. The session isn't for a week and a half so I have some time to work out any kinks. I'd really like the session to be a success as it'll be the penultimate session in what has been an epic send-off campaign.
My goal was to make sure that combat could move at least relatively quickly. Each player will begin with 6 units (2 peasant warrior, 2 soldier, an elite, and either another elite or a special). Reinforcements arrive sporadically. I also wanted movement. Previous mass combats have devolved into boring dice roll offs and I hope that this remedies it.
A few points to consider
--wounds (in addition to determining when a unit is dead) are applied as a penalty against all defenses. This makes a weaker unit more susceptible to the secondary attacks of units which have a lower plus but more effects. I hoped that this would make more options open as combat continues and as the players became more familiar with the rules. It also mirrors that damaged units are more vulnerable.
--penalties from wounds do not change a units defense until the Unit Status subphase on that unit's turn. I wanted to avoid recalculating mid round.
--the Unit Status subphase is purposefully placed. If a unit is reduced to 0 wounds, a player could use the Inspire Leader Action to restore 1 wound and the unit would survive. Because a player can take up to 3 Leader Actions, a unit could be brought from -2 to 1 if all three were successful.
--the Break Formation leader action is for 1 player who is a wizard with a poor leader score. I'd hate to strip away his power AND force him to be less effective, so he'll get special rules. They aren't yet done.
As I said, any criticism is appreciated. The session isn't for a week and a half so I have some time to work out any kinks. I'd really like the session to be a success as it'll be the penultimate session in what has been an epic send-off campaign.
