Mass Combat: Abstract or Tactical?

[Arnwyn]

How about just some rules. It is amazing to me that everyone comes out with the same types of products. There are four orc books for D20 rules out and no books for mass combat!!!

Hear, hear. Just another example of d20 publishers not meeting consumer needs anymore.

 

[shadowlight]

I want both actually but I want my Tactical System tto be Abstract so that the PCs remain the center of attention...

EXACTLY!!

 

[Darrell]

How about just some rules. It is amazing to me that everyone comes out with the same types of products. There are four orc books for D20 rules out and no books for mass combat!!!

Full books, no. Mongoose Publishing has published two mass combat systems, though--the Open Mass Combat System in 'Quintessential Fighter' and the Cinematic Battle System in 'Crusades of Valour.'

Both are rather simple, but the Open Mass Combat System is more detailed than the Cinematic Battle System.

Also, 'Swashbuckling Adventures' by [I forget who. AEG, maybe?] has a simple mass combat system in which, essentially, both armies have 'stat blocks' and combat is handled pretty much as in the PHB.

Personally, I prefer to handle the 'in battle' combat with the PCs normally, then "zoom out" to handle the over-all battle in as abstract a manner as possible. For my money, Mongoose's Cinematic Battle System is tailor-made for this.

Regards,
Darrell King

 

[s/LaSH]

I don't have any published rules, so when I went to run a mass combat I thought about it a little and said, "Treat military units as creatures". So a band of 20 pikemen is the equivalent of say a 2nd-level warrior with a pike, and a band of 20 goblins is a goblin. Increase the effective square size, decrease the number of squares each unit can move by the same amount, and throw 'em at each other.

It got a little more complex when PCs were involved, but I just said, "Give the band a PC's in the PC's BAB and stuff", and noted that the maximum number of troops that can attack at once was 8. Oh, and divide all PC-pnly damage to units by 20. One of the PCs actually left his cavalry unit to fend for themselves, and rode into the middle of an enemy unit leaving a trail of bodies behind him. It was quite fun. It also allows for exceptional units with a minimum of tweaking.

Then again, it was only a small skirmish (500 soldiers on the larger side). I may have to expand beyond homebrew for the next battle.