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<blockquote data-quote="Wik" data-source="post: 6666548" data-attributes="member: 40177">Hm.&nbsp; What I'd do, and this is just spitballing.&nbsp; First, I'd figure out what skills are involved in the challenge, and what success on those skills represents.&nbsp; So, for example, nature check is scouting land, etc.&nbsp; Doing that, I'd break each of those &quot;events&quot; into a little event that can be played out, where (ideally) the PCs can succeed or fail without it being a big thing.&nbsp; I'd make sure the party is encouraged to split up, but if they want to group together, they can (they'll just score less points, see below).&nbsp; I'd have three &quot;rounds&quot; of play, with each each player getting one action per round.&nbsp; A round could represent whatever unit of campaign time - in a war scenario, I'd go with, say, a week.&nbsp; When it's a player's turn, I'd outline what actions are available, and have them pick one, and figure out a response.&nbsp; Play it out in front of the table, with the goal of resolving it within five minutes.&nbsp; If the PC scores a success, it's 2 points.&nbsp; An excellent success (ie, a brilliant idea) is 3 points, and a near miss (good idea, bad roll) is 1 point.&nbsp; Really bone-headed stuff is -1 points.&nbsp; If PCs want to team up and tackle something together, that's fine.&nbsp; They can give one another advantage, and all that.&nbsp; On the downside, they only score one task, instead of possibly scoring two.&nbsp; After each round, I announce what's happened, outline events, and change things to approach the changing tides of war.&nbsp; Do this three rounds.&nbsp; Then I have a rough tabulation of what amassed victory points mean, and announce this, modifying what I'd be saying on the fly based on what the PCs succeeded at and failed.&nbsp; A rough idea:PCs have an army on a hill range, and there's an army nearby.&nbsp; They have almost a month (three weeks) before the battle starts.&nbsp; First week, I outline tasks (but leave things loose so PCs can try their own skills):1.&nbsp; Build a wall (artisan's tools, or maybe a strong leader supervising a work team)2.&nbsp; Arrange the camp3.&nbsp; Find a water source (survival check)4.&nbsp; Find the enemy army (nature or investigation?)5.&nbsp; Establish a path for the supply train (handle animal, land vehicle proficiency, or...?)6.&nbsp; Morale for soldiers.&nbsp; I decide that there's a chance that PCs could stumble across enemy scouts.&nbsp; And maybe work up the beginnings of a morale problem in camp.Week 2:&nbsp; The enemy army gets near.&nbsp; Now we have a few skirmish problems.&nbsp; 1.&nbsp; Wounded from a skirmish pour in.&nbsp; Healers might be needed!2.&nbsp; Sneak in and maybe poison an enemy water supply (could even lead to a small, 1 PC vs 2 foes combat!)3.&nbsp; Count enemy officers from a nearby hill.&nbsp; 4.&nbsp; Lead religious sermons to keep the growing morale issue under check.&nbsp; 5.&nbsp; Find out that the enemy is scrying on the camp - figure out where the scrying is taking place, and put a stop to it (probably with arcane magic?)And then, after we play out that, week 3 (you get the idea).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Wik, post: 6666548, member: 40177"] Hm. What I'd do, and this is just spitballing. First, I'd figure out what skills are involved in the challenge, and what success on those skills represents. So, for example, nature check is scouting land, etc. Doing that, I'd break each of those "events" into a little event that can be played out, where (ideally) the PCs can succeed or fail without it being a big thing. I'd make sure the party is encouraged to split up, but if they want to group together, they can (they'll just score less points, see below). I'd have three "rounds" of play, with each each player getting one action per round. A round could represent whatever unit of campaign time - in a war scenario, I'd go with, say, a week. When it's a player's turn, I'd outline what actions are available, and have them pick one, and figure out a response. Play it out in front of the table, with the goal of resolving it within five minutes. If the PC scores a success, it's 2 points. An excellent success (ie, a brilliant idea) is 3 points, and a near miss (good idea, bad roll) is 1 point. Really bone-headed stuff is -1 points. If PCs want to team up and tackle something together, that's fine. They can give one another advantage, and all that. On the downside, they only score one task, instead of possibly scoring two. After each round, I announce what's happened, outline events, and change things to approach the changing tides of war. Do this three rounds. Then I have a rough tabulation of what amassed victory points mean, and announce this, modifying what I'd be saying on the fly based on what the PCs succeeded at and failed. A rough idea: PCs have an army on a hill range, and there's an army nearby. They have almost a month (three weeks) before the battle starts. First week, I outline tasks (but leave things loose so PCs can try their own skills): 1. Build a wall (artisan's tools, or maybe a strong leader supervising a work team) 2. Arrange the camp 3. Find a water source (survival check) 4. Find the enemy army (nature or investigation?) 5. Establish a path for the supply train (handle animal, land vehicle proficiency, or...?) 6. Morale for soldiers. I decide that there's a chance that PCs could stumble across enemy scouts. And maybe work up the beginnings of a morale problem in camp. Week 2: The enemy army gets near. Now we have a few skirmish problems. 1. Wounded from a skirmish pour in. Healers might be needed! 2. Sneak in and maybe poison an enemy water supply (could even lead to a small, 1 PC vs 2 foes combat!) 3. Count enemy officers from a nearby hill. 4. Lead religious sermons to keep the growing morale issue under check. 5. Find out that the enemy is scrying on the camp - figure out where the scrying is taking place, and put a stop to it (probably with arcane magic?) And then, after we play out that, week 3 (you get the idea). [/QUOTE]

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