ComradeGnull
First Post
I'd be interested to eventually see something, but I don't see it being part of the 'core' game. You are talking about combat on a fundamentally different scale than what the basic rules have to cover, which pushes things pretty solidly in the 'module' direction. Mass combat seems like one of those things that- given that you are going to need a different set of stats, mechanics, etc.- can easily be bolted on later, or even ported over from something that was designed from the ground up as a larger-scale wargame.
If they do include mass combat at some point, I hope that they will take a slightly different route than they did with Heroes of Battle. I don't see myself as a player or DM making use of feats and class options that really only help in mass combat situations. I don't want to have to pick between orienting a (N)PC as a mass combat performer or an individual- if Bonko the Bard is the greatest bard in the land, he shouldn't need an extra feat to have his performance trigger a moral check- mass combat utility should be baked into the core character.
Honestly, I would want a domain management ruleset before mass combat. Unless the troops actually belong to the PCs, I don't see myself using mass combat as anything other than a scripted background. If a battle is going to turn on the actions of the PC's, it will be because they hunted down and killed the enemy commander in single combat or executed some other smart small-group tactic, not because the 132nd Illithid Cavalry company rolled poorly on its attack.
If they do include mass combat at some point, I hope that they will take a slightly different route than they did with Heroes of Battle. I don't see myself as a player or DM making use of feats and class options that really only help in mass combat situations. I don't want to have to pick between orienting a (N)PC as a mass combat performer or an individual- if Bonko the Bard is the greatest bard in the land, he shouldn't need an extra feat to have his performance trigger a moral check- mass combat utility should be baked into the core character.
Honestly, I would want a domain management ruleset before mass combat. Unless the troops actually belong to the PCs, I don't see myself using mass combat as anything other than a scripted background. If a battle is going to turn on the actions of the PC's, it will be because they hunted down and killed the enemy commander in single combat or executed some other smart small-group tactic, not because the 132nd Illithid Cavalry company rolled poorly on its attack.