Quick and Dirty Skirmishes and Wars for DND3E
Interim Rules for Battlefield Actions in DND
By Brennan O’Brien
Veilheim@yahoo.com

This system is not intended to carefully detail all possible activity in war.  Doing so would take forever and isn’t what I wanted.   What I did want when I set out to create this quick and dirty system was some means of adjudicating large scale conflicts on a battlefield where my hero PCs were running around doing their own dirty work.  

So, I started out using the model of a combat between two characters as my basis of creating this system.  I’ve noticed that combats in my own game end up looking a lot like really ugly wars, and I figured the closer I could make the system to adhering to the existing DND3E rules, the easier it would be for me (and others) to use it.   Not only did I want my characters to have a backdrop of war during an adventure, but I also wanted something I could incorporate the various monsters from the new Monster Manual, the Creature Catalog, or any other source.  

SCALE

1 TURN on the battlefield represents 1 minute.
Scale  1”=10’ on the battlefield. 

UNIT SCALES
Units are represented by single counters of a size based on the size of the creature represented. 

Fine		½” x ½”
Diminutive	1”x1”
Tiny		2”x2”
Small		3”x3”
Medium		4”x4”
Large		6”x6”
Huge		8”x8”
Gargantuan	10”x10”
Colossal		12”x12”

MOVEMENT
The standard move on the battlefield is equal to the SPEED of the unit divided by 2.5, in INCHES  Therefore, a standard human could move 30’ / 2.5 = 12” per turn.  This assumes the unit is maintaining some level of coherence as it moves across the field. (Some of you may notice this also is the conversion figure used from 2nd Edition to 3rd Edition).  

A move is considered from the CENTER of the unit to the CENTER point of the new location.  A unit may change to any facing as they move.  A unit CANNOT move through another unit in any way.  If there is insufficient room for a unit to move between two units, or a unit and another blockade, the unit MUST stop upon reaching point where it can no longer move.  (Note: This differs from the PHB, where individuals can pass through other friendly units).

REACH 
Reach is the distance a unit threatens.  It is equal to 1” per 5’ of normal reach.  Attacks of opportunity occur in the same fashion as presented in the Core Rules.  Therefore, if another group passes within 1” of a unit with a (normal) 5’ reach, they are subject to an attack of opportunity (assuming the action would trigger an AOO). 

UNIT TYPE
A unit can be comprised of any creature.  In practice, the creatures used should probably be something which can either be controlled or can control itself – humanoids, trained animals, etc.  Because the statistics used for warfare are derived directly from the profile of the creature itself, its easy to plug in a creature to these Q&D rules. 

HIT POINTS
Hit Points for a unit is determined by finding the average HP for the creature represented, multiplied by 10. Hit points are broken down into four groups, which show the relative current strength of the unit at any given time.  100%, 50%, 25% and 0%.  As a unit suffers casualties, its hit points are reduced.  As the unit reaches one of the groups points, it looses combat effectiveness.  

ARMOR CLASS
AC is determined as normal for the creature being represented. 

INITIATIVE
Initiative is determined as normal for the creature being represented. 

FORTITUDE/REFLEX/WILL
Saving throws are determined as normal for the creature being represented.

MELEE ATTACKS
Melee attack bonuses are determined as normal for the creature being represented.   Creatures with multiple attacks should be noted as such.  Each of these attacks can be attempted as an action during the UNITS action.

MELEE DAMAGE
Because multiple individuals are attacking, the value of damage varies from the basic rules.  A successful attack against another  unit delivers damage based on the normal damage dice of the creature, modified by the current strength of the unit. 

Current Strength		100%		50%		25%		0%
Damage Dice		10x		5x		2x		0x

MELEE DISTANCE
In order to enter melee combat, a target must be in reach of the unit.  As discussed earlier, reach is equal to 1” per 5’ of reach listed for the unit.  

MELEE DIRECTION
A unit can only attack with full strength from directly forward.  A unit can attack at half strength (50% of current Damage Dice) for attacks to the side, and cannot attack to the rear of the unit.

RANGED ATTACKS
Ranged attack bonuses are determined as normal for the creature being represented.  Creatures with multiple attacks should be noted as such.  Each of these attacks can be attempted as an action during the UNITS action. 

RANGED DAMAGE
Ranged damage is handled in the same fashion as Melee damage, diminishing as the unit looses strength. 

RANGED DISTANCE
Divide the ranged increment of the attack by 2.5” and round to the nearest inch.  This is the distance the unit can attack in range increments. 

RANGED DIRECTION
Ranged direction, unlike Melee direction, can be directed out the forward, sides or rear of the unit without changing the strength of the attack.  

MORALE
As a unit looses strength, it runs the risk of being demoralized.   A unit reduced to 50% must make a WILL save against DC15 to remain functional.  A unit reduced to 25% must make a save against DC20 to remain functional.   A unit which fails this save first drops to SHAKEN status.  SHAKEN requires the unit make a save WILL versus DC15 each round before it can attempt any action.  Failure means the unit cannot act on this round.  If a unit is SHAKEN and is required to make another MORALE check and fails, the unit is BROKEN.  The unit will begin retreating from it’s position during its action in the next combat round.   A BROKEN unit can take no offensive action, cannot attempt Attacks of Opportunity, or perform any action other than a hasty retreat from the field. 

LEADERSHIP
A character capable of performing the leadership skill can attempt to RALLY troops which have been SHAKEN or BROKEN.  A DC20 skill attempt is necessary to successfully RALLY SHAKEN troops.  A DC25 skill attempt is necessary to successfully RALLY BROKEN troops.   The character must be within 3” of the unit in order to attempt to RALLY. 

CHARACTERS
In addition to providing battlefield leadership, characters can perform other actions, up to and including attacking units, casting spells, etc.   There’s a bit of time crunch in here, so play it by ear.  Remember that a single round in battlefield time is 10 normal combat rounds.  A single character can get a lot of damage off in 10 rounds unanswered (because the target unit hasn’t reached it’s initiative yet).  Therefore, the EASIEST method to handling this is to break the unit INITIATIVES into groups of 5, and allow all characters on the board to act during their initiative.  HUH?  Okay, check this out…..  

There are 20 units and 6 characters on the board.   
By SHEER STROKE OF LUCK (yeah, uh huh, right…) the UNITS have their initiative running between 20 and 1.  So, for the actual TURN of BATTLEFIELD COMBAT goes something like this… 

(CHARACTERS ACT) 20…. 19….18….17…
(CHARACTERS ACT) 16….15….14….13….
(CHARACTERS ACT) 12….11….10….9
(CHARACTERS ACT) 8…..7…..6…..5
(CHARACTERS ACT) 4….3….2…..1

So, with the characters in the mix, with their initiatives of 17, 14, 13, 8, 7, 3, the combat turn on the battlefield goes something like this…. 

(17, 14, 13, 8, 7, 3) 20…. 19….18….17…
(17, 14, 13, 8, 7, 3) 16….15….14….13….
(17, 14, 13, 8, 7, 3) 12….11….10….9
(17, 14, 13, 8, 7, 3) 8…..7…..6…..5
(17, 14, 13, 8, 7, 3) 4….3….2…..1

So the characters start the combat off, and all of the characters act.  Then the UNITS get into the action, then the characters again, some more units, characters, units….  Etc.   Again, play this by ear.  What you don’t want is a 5th level character delivering 100 unanswered HP of damage to a UNIT of STORM GIANTS and then darting away before anyone can do anything….