SylverFlame
First Post
Hello all. THis is my mass combat rules. I used them in 2e, and have tweeked them for 3e. However, they have not been play-tested yet. Can anyone see ways of improving them or any ways in which they won't work under the 3e system. Thanks.
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First, you take the number of combatants on each side. This is your Army's HP. Adjust this if you have any important people present, or really high level/cr critters.
Next, you take the average level for the army. Easy, assume half of the combatants are level one and break down the other 50% by assumed experience. Again, special critters will up this number. This is the Army level and will affect number of attacks and bonuses. Use the fighter table. It just makes sense.
Next, the hard one: AC. I found the best way is to not bother since people die all the time in combat. Otherwise, use an opposed die roll with whatever you are using for attack (likely a d20).
Okay, the fun one. Damage. I just used a good ol'percentile die. Why? Well, when your working with huge armies and stuff, it makes it easier. Your HP is huge, and this makes the numbers on par with a single character.
Finally, mitigating factors. A unit of mages can make a HUGE difference to pitched battle. Just like archers and artillery. So, you give them each their own attack phase, with only one attack. Mages just deal damage as armour doesn't really stop a fireball all that well.
Two other things to keep in mind. If one side has a defensive position, like your city, then they should get a Defence bonus, as well as fun stuff like burning pitch. Treat the pitch like a magical attack. Also, those pesky mages can be taken out with scout units (I treated them like mini-armies).
If you need stuff for a seige remember that food is important to. If steady supply lines are maintained (magically or some other way) then don't worry about it. If not, then treat it as an undefendable attack that hits once a day. This damage can be dealt to the army, or population in any way the DM chooses. (an army can confiscate all the food [meaning 0 damage until it runs
out], or maybe they suffer as much as the population and take 50% of the hit.)
It's an easy way to do it. It works to. Oh yeah, definitely let the PC's do some fighting against the other army as well. Nothing as boring as a DM rolling dice for five minutes while the PC's have d10 spinning contests. (We've all been there haven't we...)
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First, you take the number of combatants on each side. This is your Army's HP. Adjust this if you have any important people present, or really high level/cr critters.
Next, you take the average level for the army. Easy, assume half of the combatants are level one and break down the other 50% by assumed experience. Again, special critters will up this number. This is the Army level and will affect number of attacks and bonuses. Use the fighter table. It just makes sense.
Next, the hard one: AC. I found the best way is to not bother since people die all the time in combat. Otherwise, use an opposed die roll with whatever you are using for attack (likely a d20).
Okay, the fun one. Damage. I just used a good ol'percentile die. Why? Well, when your working with huge armies and stuff, it makes it easier. Your HP is huge, and this makes the numbers on par with a single character.
Finally, mitigating factors. A unit of mages can make a HUGE difference to pitched battle. Just like archers and artillery. So, you give them each their own attack phase, with only one attack. Mages just deal damage as armour doesn't really stop a fireball all that well.
Two other things to keep in mind. If one side has a defensive position, like your city, then they should get a Defence bonus, as well as fun stuff like burning pitch. Treat the pitch like a magical attack. Also, those pesky mages can be taken out with scout units (I treated them like mini-armies).
If you need stuff for a seige remember that food is important to. If steady supply lines are maintained (magically or some other way) then don't worry about it. If not, then treat it as an undefendable attack that hits once a day. This damage can be dealt to the army, or population in any way the DM chooses. (an army can confiscate all the food [meaning 0 damage until it runs
out], or maybe they suffer as much as the population and take 50% of the hit.)
It's an easy way to do it. It works to. Oh yeah, definitely let the PC's do some fighting against the other army as well. Nothing as boring as a DM rolling dice for five minutes while the PC's have d10 spinning contests. (We've all been there haven't we...)
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