Fires Under Water
First Post
Introduction
Hey all. This Mass Combat System, devised after one too many games in which I just had to "wing it" when the PCs would stumble across a battle (or be faced with the ungodly task of using normal D&D combat rules for 100+ characters...), is a combination of my history in Warhammer, D&D, Lord of the Rings Tabletop, and a few other systems. Once you've got the hang of it, it works out pretty well.
The general idea behind the system is twofold: One, you don't want to spend a helluva lot of time playing a mock-up Warhammer game. Two, you don't want to have to deal with all the normal issues of combat.
Well, this system does both pretty well. While you do use Miniatures to represent the massive battles, they're only there for reference. You could very easily use squares of paper or, what I personally use, small sheets of half-cm thick plastic marked with overhead pens.
Remember that whatever you use should designate facing and be square in shape!
Determining a Unit's stats
A unit is defined as any body of characters which can be grouped together, and are of similar enough statistics that one can easily make an average which applies closely to the entire group.
A unit's Initiative Bonus is equal to it's AVERAGE Initiative Bonus. In most cases, this will be a +0.
A unit's HP is equal to it's AVERAGE amount of HP by the number of characters. For every 50 (or 500, for larger scale battles) troops a unit possesses, it recieves an extra half HD to it's HP, the first obviously giving the unit a FULL HD. So a technically inferior unit which outnumbers a superior one could have more HP. Remember that the unit's numbers go down as the HP do, so... Remember to apply the damage appropriately.
A unit's AC is, again, equal to it's AVERAGE amount of AC. So again, a unit composed of the above, wearing Scale Mail, would have an AC of 14.
A unit's BAB is (suprise! shock!) equal to it's AVERAGE BAB. So, again, a unit composed of Fighters above would have a BAB of +2. And considering every one of them probably has Weapon Focus, tacking on an extra +1 for the feat would not be bad.
A unit's Damage is equal to it's Average Weapon Damage. For every 50 troops (or 500, for larger scale battles) a unit possesses, it recieves an extra +1 damage.
Finally, a unit's Movement (in CM) is equal to half it's Movement rounded down. So, the above Fighters would have a movement of 15cm. A unit which uses Ranged Weapons determines it's Range Increments in the same manner.
Combat
Combat has been broken down into four phases.
1. Initiative
2. Movement
3. Combat
4. Morale
1. Initiative
The first phase involves a simple d20 roll, adding the Unit's Initiative Bonus and Morale Bonus. The GM then writes the order down, and proceeds to the next step.
2. Movement
In Phase Two, unit's may move around as they wish, so long as the total distance moved does not exceed their maximum movement rate. A unit may move into contact with another which has yet to move, and by doing so, lock the unit in place.
In addition, a unit may charge, moving in a straight line, and up to double it's movement rating. This grants an additional +1 Damage.
3. Combat
During the combat phase, the unit's attack the unit they are facing, in the order of Initiative. This is done by rolling to hit versus the Enemy's AC. For every one lower than the enemy AC, they suffer a -1 penalty to their damage roll. When rolling for damage, use the average weapon and bonus. So, someone who rolls a 12 to hit our Level 2 Fighters from above would recieve a -2 penalty to their subsequent Damage roll.
A note on facing: If the enemy is being attacked from the side, their attackers recieve a +1 bonus to damage. If being attacked from the REAR, their attacks receive a +3 bonus to damage.
Additionally, a unit may attempt to make a fighting withdrawl. If they do so, they must make an attack roll against their opponents. However, the opponent adds his or her damage bonus to their AC. If the unit beats the enemy AC, they have successfully disengaged, and may take the equivelant of a 5-foot step in a direction of their choosing and orient themselves in whatever facing they want. A unit may not disengage from any enemy it has engaged in the same turn. (So, a unit with high Initiative couldn't charge an enemy and then disengage).
Ranged Attacks are handled as Melee Attacks (above) are, but the damage they deal is halved initially, with a -1 for every Range Increment.
Morale
For every three damage a unit takes, it recieves a -1 Morale Penalty for the duration of the battle. For every three damage a unit deals, it recieves a +1 Morale Bonus. This bonus cannot sink past -3 and cannot rise above +3.
Now, go back to Phase 1 and do it all over again. ^_^
Monsters in Battle
You treat exceptionally large monsters normally, though you always use the smaller of the two scales. This means you can have Dragons rampaging around the battlefield. It works out, and is actually pretty balanced, too.
Magic in Battle
All spells are severely limited when using the larger scale... They only deal 1/5th (or 1/50th, for larger scale battles) damage to units. This is because, while the Spell might be powerful, it still consumes a lot of time and effort, and the area of effect is typically so relatively small and the way forces move so changable...
For a spellcaster to use a spell, they must cast their spell as normal. If they are leading a unit, their unit cannot fight... It is intent on protecting the leader from enemy troops which would seek to disrupt the spell or kill the spellcaster.
For a spellcaster to successfully cast a spell when their unit is under attack, they must make a Concentration Check equal to DC 14 plus the Damage Bonuses for any units around them. Failure to do so means the spellcaster has been hurt, and he personally takes 1 damage for every point he has failed the DC by.
Class Abilities in Combat
Class abilities possessed by the "Average" character in the Unit work as normal. For example, the Rogue's sneak attack allows the unit of Rogues to apply their Sneak Attack bonus in any case where they have ambushed the enemy or have allies fighting the enemy alongside them.
Individuals in Battle
If any silly person is stupid enough to try and fight a reasonably sized unit alone (and is powerful enough to not be slain outright by sheer press of numbers), run a quick combat for, specifying TEN rounds of normal combat as one Mass Combat round. When the unit is finished, remove half a HD for every 50 (or 500) the bugger manages to kill.
So.......... Opinions?
Hey all. This Mass Combat System, devised after one too many games in which I just had to "wing it" when the PCs would stumble across a battle (or be faced with the ungodly task of using normal D&D combat rules for 100+ characters...), is a combination of my history in Warhammer, D&D, Lord of the Rings Tabletop, and a few other systems. Once you've got the hang of it, it works out pretty well.
The general idea behind the system is twofold: One, you don't want to spend a helluva lot of time playing a mock-up Warhammer game. Two, you don't want to have to deal with all the normal issues of combat.
Well, this system does both pretty well. While you do use Miniatures to represent the massive battles, they're only there for reference. You could very easily use squares of paper or, what I personally use, small sheets of half-cm thick plastic marked with overhead pens.
Remember that whatever you use should designate facing and be square in shape!
Determining a Unit's stats
A unit is defined as any body of characters which can be grouped together, and are of similar enough statistics that one can easily make an average which applies closely to the entire group.
A unit's Initiative Bonus is equal to it's AVERAGE Initiative Bonus. In most cases, this will be a +0.
A unit's HP is equal to it's AVERAGE amount of HP by the number of characters. For every 50 (or 500, for larger scale battles) troops a unit possesses, it recieves an extra half HD to it's HP, the first obviously giving the unit a FULL HD. So a technically inferior unit which outnumbers a superior one could have more HP. Remember that the unit's numbers go down as the HP do, so... Remember to apply the damage appropriately.
A unit's AC is, again, equal to it's AVERAGE amount of AC. So again, a unit composed of the above, wearing Scale Mail, would have an AC of 14.
A unit's BAB is (suprise! shock!) equal to it's AVERAGE BAB. So, again, a unit composed of Fighters above would have a BAB of +2. And considering every one of them probably has Weapon Focus, tacking on an extra +1 for the feat would not be bad.
A unit's Damage is equal to it's Average Weapon Damage. For every 50 troops (or 500, for larger scale battles) a unit possesses, it recieves an extra +1 damage.
Finally, a unit's Movement (in CM) is equal to half it's Movement rounded down. So, the above Fighters would have a movement of 15cm. A unit which uses Ranged Weapons determines it's Range Increments in the same manner.
Combat
Combat has been broken down into four phases.
1. Initiative
2. Movement
3. Combat
4. Morale
1. Initiative
The first phase involves a simple d20 roll, adding the Unit's Initiative Bonus and Morale Bonus. The GM then writes the order down, and proceeds to the next step.
2. Movement
In Phase Two, unit's may move around as they wish, so long as the total distance moved does not exceed their maximum movement rate. A unit may move into contact with another which has yet to move, and by doing so, lock the unit in place.
In addition, a unit may charge, moving in a straight line, and up to double it's movement rating. This grants an additional +1 Damage.
3. Combat
During the combat phase, the unit's attack the unit they are facing, in the order of Initiative. This is done by rolling to hit versus the Enemy's AC. For every one lower than the enemy AC, they suffer a -1 penalty to their damage roll. When rolling for damage, use the average weapon and bonus. So, someone who rolls a 12 to hit our Level 2 Fighters from above would recieve a -2 penalty to their subsequent Damage roll.
A note on facing: If the enemy is being attacked from the side, their attackers recieve a +1 bonus to damage. If being attacked from the REAR, their attacks receive a +3 bonus to damage.
Additionally, a unit may attempt to make a fighting withdrawl. If they do so, they must make an attack roll against their opponents. However, the opponent adds his or her damage bonus to their AC. If the unit beats the enemy AC, they have successfully disengaged, and may take the equivelant of a 5-foot step in a direction of their choosing and orient themselves in whatever facing they want. A unit may not disengage from any enemy it has engaged in the same turn. (So, a unit with high Initiative couldn't charge an enemy and then disengage).
Ranged Attacks are handled as Melee Attacks (above) are, but the damage they deal is halved initially, with a -1 for every Range Increment.
Morale
For every three damage a unit takes, it recieves a -1 Morale Penalty for the duration of the battle. For every three damage a unit deals, it recieves a +1 Morale Bonus. This bonus cannot sink past -3 and cannot rise above +3.
Now, go back to Phase 1 and do it all over again. ^_^
Monsters in Battle
You treat exceptionally large monsters normally, though you always use the smaller of the two scales. This means you can have Dragons rampaging around the battlefield. It works out, and is actually pretty balanced, too.
Magic in Battle
All spells are severely limited when using the larger scale... They only deal 1/5th (or 1/50th, for larger scale battles) damage to units. This is because, while the Spell might be powerful, it still consumes a lot of time and effort, and the area of effect is typically so relatively small and the way forces move so changable...
For a spellcaster to use a spell, they must cast their spell as normal. If they are leading a unit, their unit cannot fight... It is intent on protecting the leader from enemy troops which would seek to disrupt the spell or kill the spellcaster.
For a spellcaster to successfully cast a spell when their unit is under attack, they must make a Concentration Check equal to DC 14 plus the Damage Bonuses for any units around them. Failure to do so means the spellcaster has been hurt, and he personally takes 1 damage for every point he has failed the DC by.
Class Abilities in Combat
Class abilities possessed by the "Average" character in the Unit work as normal. For example, the Rogue's sneak attack allows the unit of Rogues to apply their Sneak Attack bonus in any case where they have ambushed the enemy or have allies fighting the enemy alongside them.
Individuals in Battle
If any silly person is stupid enough to try and fight a reasonably sized unit alone (and is powerful enough to not be slain outright by sheer press of numbers), run a quick combat for, specifying TEN rounds of normal combat as one Mass Combat round. When the unit is finished, remove half a HD for every 50 (or 500) the bugger manages to kill.
So.......... Opinions?
