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<blockquote data-quote="Benjamin Olson" data-source="post: 8402016" data-attributes="member: 6988941">I think the basic problem with D&amp;D mass combat is that the game is not designed with mass combat in mind and players do not build characters towards success in mass combat. Mass combat systems end up being a minigame that either ignores your characters' abilities or else repurpose a handful of them and semi-randomly reward characters for having features that the mass combat designer can think of reasons to make useful for mass combat. There's nothing wrong with a minigame per se, the trouble is that by the nature of what mass combat represents it is often a very consequential thing to have be decided by minigame the players aren't used to and haven't developed their characters towards. The alternative of not actually doing the mass combat and just using the big battle, siege, etc. as the backdrop for some decisive skirmishes by the PCs ends up usually being the better call because it keeps the important action within the normal scope of gameplay.I don't think its impossible to have satisfying mass combat in a tabletop rpg that looks very much like Dungeons and Dragons. But the rules would have to be baked into the system and, more importantly, it would have to be a regular aspect of play that players build characters towards being effective at. A 5e variant with good mass combat would need spells, feats, skills, subclasses, etc. geared towards making characters more effective and providing interesting and creative options in the additional mass combat pillar of play, and campaigns would have to involve enough mass combat that people invested their character resources in all that.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Benjamin Olson, post: 8402016, member: 6988941"] I think the basic problem with D&D mass combat is that the game is not designed with mass combat in mind and players do not build characters towards success in mass combat. Mass combat systems end up being a minigame that either ignores your characters' abilities or else repurpose a handful of them and semi-randomly reward characters for having features that the mass combat designer can think of reasons to make useful for mass combat. There's nothing wrong with a minigame [I]per se[/I], the trouble is that by the nature of what mass combat represents it is often a very consequential thing to have be decided by minigame the players aren't used to and haven't developed their characters towards. The alternative of not actually doing the mass combat and just using the big battle, siege, etc. as the backdrop for some decisive skirmishes by the PCs ends up usually being the better call because it keeps the important action within the normal scope of gameplay. I don't think its impossible to have satisfying mass combat in a tabletop rpg that looks very much like Dungeons and Dragons. But the rules would have to be baked into the system and, more importantly, it would have to be a regular aspect of play that players build characters towards being effective at. A 5e variant with good mass combat would need spells, feats, skills, subclasses, etc. geared towards making characters more effective and providing interesting and creative options in the additional mass combat pillar of play, and campaigns would have to involve enough mass combat that people invested their character resources in all that. [/QUOTE]

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