Battlefield Scenarios

[Kyramus]

in the case of giants and dragons etc.

giants are counted as 1 per square. same with dragons.

their HD is added to the roll.

They effectively have no leaders even if they have orders on what to do.

gives giants a high advantage vs 10 humans with a leader. but that's war. It's suppose to create casualties.

What you might want to do is do damage to the giant by the difference in the roll.
example
giant total is 12
human total is 15
giant gets damaged for 3, next roll the giant hd is lowered by 3.

 

[mmadsen]

I think Alistair MacLean wrote the rest!

I had to look MacLean up, but you're so right! Where Eagles Dare, Force 10 from Navarone, Ice Station Zebra -- the list goes on and on.

 

[Maldur]

Still its a good source for war scenarios: old (or new) war movies and books.

And the image of clancy style highelves

Gillysuit: +5 to hide, -5 to sneak?

Do you want ideas for the characters on the field of battle, or characters adventuring during a war.

On the battle field you can either create a gamemechanic (several earlier in the thread, and for sale) and play out the complete battle. Or predetermine how the battle is gonna go (if the level of characters is high enough or their lucky enough) influenced by the characters actions and play the battle as a series of encounters.

Waves of arrows can be seen as area attack weapon. giving monks and rogues a slight advantage (evasion) but now you can hit the fighters with levy archerers.

Playing in war time, characters can act like the special forces they are (ussually) or you can let them stay out of the conflict with all the pros and cons thereof. Trying to not get drafted might be a challenge for a famous fighter of wizard. Also warshortages could making buying horses/supplies very expensive or impossible.

 

[Tonguez]

I mentioned my 'Strategic level' Battle Mechanic (when it is a back drop to the PC missions) earlier and also mentioned that I use a slightly different system when PC are Officers/Leaders of a Unit in the battle I present it here.

PC War Unit mechanic
The point of RPGs is to have PCs be the center of the action and this is how they differ to War games. As such even in Battlefeild scenarios the PCs need to be in control. The PC War unit mechanic does this by simply converting the Unit the PC leads to a system of modifiers with the main one being the Unit Modifier.

Unit Modifier = Number in Unit/100 x Unit Rank* (level)
HP = Number in Unit x Unit Rank*
AC = Base (for class/race) + Unit Modifier
BAb = Base +Unit Modifier
Damage = Unit modifier +ndx
Spd = base Saves = base Init = base

*Unit Rank is the skill level of a War Unit and ranges from 1 - 5
1 Recruit
2 Green
3 Hardened
4 Veteran (+1 Bonus Feat)
5 Elite

eg 200 Hardened Orcs (rank 3)

Unit Mod 200/100 x 3 = 6
HP = 200 x 3 (+600)
AC = 14+6 (+20)
BAb = Axe 3+6 (+9) Javelin 1+6 (+7)
Damage 6+1d12+3 (7d12+3), 6+1d6+2 (7d6+2)
Fort +2 Ref 0 Will -1 Spd = 20

These are then added to the PCs own stats as modifiers.

 

[SHARK]

Greetings!

Heh, mmadsen, I'm such an old fan of Maclean's, LOL! Is it that obvious?

I also like just about every western with John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and of course--Yul Brynner!

For war movies, also see "The Desert Rats"; "The Desert Fox"; "Battle of the Bulge"; "When Trumpets Fade"; "The Sands of Iwo Jima"; "30 Seconds Over Tokyo"; "Guadalcanal"; "The Bridge Over The River Kwai"; and on and on! These are all fun movies though!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[mmadsen]

Do you want ideas for the characters on the field of battle, or characters adventuring during a war.

My original goal was to gather up scenario ideas for characters on the field of battle. I'm enjoying the war-time adventures too, but my goal was to integrate the PCs with the larger battle.

For instance, think of Merry and Eowyn versus the Witch King, or Gimli and Legolas at Helm's Deep, or Conan leading his armies, or any other famous fantasy battle scene. How do we fit PCs into all that?

 

[Kyramus]

OOOOOHHHHHH

1) Drafted
2) Mistaken Identity
3) Sent as a spy to the opposing group, ingratiate themselves then have the ruler suspect and put them on the front lines against THEIR OWN PEOPLE.
4) Charmed
5) Geas
6) Mindwiped
7) Their Mindwiped clones lead the opposing army!!
8) Their twin was leading the troop and the second in command knows about you and no one else, the leader got killed (ala Bad Company movie plot)
9) Your god is against their god and it has boiled in the pot too long, it's time for a holy war.
10) the opposing enemy holds the eye of vecna, or the hand of vecna or the head of vecna. The goal is to beat his undead legions to get the artifact away from him and destroy it/ use it for yourself/ etc.

Hope this helps a lil.

 

[Eben]

What about a double siege!
The PC's are inside a city under siege. This alone gives some interesting possibilities: small parties try to sneak through the siege to find much needed provisions, to get a message out,...
Small tacitical units have to destroy a tunnel being built by the enemy.
ONe day an allied army shows up. A battle commences before the gates, a detatchement rushes from inside the city to join the battle.
But at the end of the day: draw. Neither side was able to force his hand and win the day. The following morning the PC's inside the city see their allies withdarwing...
and digging themselves in to besiege the besieger!
Now you have a siege and a trech war!

 

[BBrendolfus]

Oooh I have some thoughts:

-The general has a nervous breakdown, pc's need to rebuild his confidence.
-Above but need to find a replacement with certain leadership qualities.
-Pc's are sent to parlay with their mortal enemies under a flag of truce, the insults are unbearable.
-The battle is lost already, a gradual collapsing defence is needed to evacuate the citizens by ship.
-The enemy is deploying Daern's intant fortesses on the battlefield, creating instant strongpoints that break up every attack. They all share the one command word...
-An enemy subcommander has shaky loyalty, the right display of force and a healthy inducement will see him a turncoat.
-The honourable enemy is broken and besieged in their last fortress, they wish to surrender but the allied commander wants no mercy. The pc's guard the retreat route so the choice is theirs.

That was fun

 

[mmadsen]

To recap the scenario ideas for characters on the field of battle:

• Our champions (the PCs) get called out by their champions. Perfect for Greek Myth (e.g. Iliad), Samurai Japan, or Arthurian England. Winning means taking out a powerful enemy unit and boosting your side's morale.
• Scout out the enemy position. In D&D, you may need a reason why pure scrying doesn't work, and you need to send men (e.g. you lack a connection to the subject).
• Set an ambush.
• Lead the charge.
• Storm the walls.
• Deliver a vital message (on the battlefield).
• An enemy elephant/giant/golem unit is rampaging through your ranks. Blunt its attack, and rally the troops!
• Destroy the siege weapons.
• Neutralize the spellcasters.
• Kill the enemy leader -- or, better yet, charm/dominate them.
• Protect the civilians.
• Bodyguard.
• Take out a bridge to cut off the arrival of reinforcements.