Greetings. Today I'm going to discuss another of the Four Horsemen, War, and how you can work it into world building. PC vs NPC conflict is hard-baked into almost every RPG system, and especially apparent in systems like D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder. Most of these systems focus specifically on individuals in combat, however, and not on the macro effects of a war.
One of the first factors to consider in warfare is logistics. An army marches on its stomach, as it were, and a lack of rations can doom an army even before they get to the battlefield. Does the army bring food and fodder in a large baggage train that can be targeted in a raid, or do the troops carry their own rations? The weight might limit their marching ability. Soldiers pillaging the crops and stores of nearby peasants might fuel a guerrilla movement, and a determined defender can deny an invading army resources by practicing scorched-earth warfare.
Another factor that can and will affect troop movement and logistics would be transport infrastructure. A highly magical or technological setting will have faster and more significant troop movement,with a less-fragile supply train. Squads can be deployed via flight or teleport, and cavalry soldiers can summon phantom steeds instead of relying on horses, which need care and fodder. Troops can be fed with magical feasts,even.
A lower-magic, lower-tech setting such as Glenn Cook's Black Company series, on the other hand, will involve a lot of humping and hoofing it. There will be draft animals in the baggage train, which are slaughtered to feed the soldiers as the supplies dwindle and fewer oxen are required to carry those burdens. Such an army will also require accessible water for drinking, food preparation and to water all those livestock, which can lead to cholera and dysentery raging in the ranks if they don’t boil that drinking water first.
Terrain, climate and weather are also factors to consider, as it can be either an obstacle or a force-multiplier. An invading army from a warmer clime may be under supplied and under trained for a fierce winter,which can allow a smaller, winter-acclimated force to defeat it (see the historical Winter War). The British only defended Singapore’s seaward sides as they assumed troop movement would be impossible through the tropical jungles of the Malay Peninsula, and the Imperial Japanese Army took advantage of that assumption by using light infantry on bicycles as an initial strike force.
If war is so costly, then why wage war at all? Casus belli varies. Loot and plunder can be a valid cause, and so can a succession crisis. A previous war can lead to a cycle of revenge or render a border an impassable No Man’s Land. A corrupt ruler could foment war to cover up his deeds, or enrich the coffers of peers involved in weapon smithing and iron mining.
How would PCs fit into this? An enterprising GM could have the PC party set up as a special forces strike team. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay has careers for camp followers and mercenaries alike, and a group of less-martial PCs could be refugees or aid workers ministering to those dispossessed by the war.
Players could, depending on party alignment and their patrons, be tapped to foment a war via a series of false-flag raids, or they could be sent on a last-minute diplomatic mission to try to avert a costly war. Or they could just be standing on the corner minding their own business until they’re mistaken for deserters and staked out for execution. Nothing like the imminent threat of death to bring a party together.
contributed by M.W. Simmes
One of the first factors to consider in warfare is logistics. An army marches on its stomach, as it were, and a lack of rations can doom an army even before they get to the battlefield. Does the army bring food and fodder in a large baggage train that can be targeted in a raid, or do the troops carry their own rations? The weight might limit their marching ability. Soldiers pillaging the crops and stores of nearby peasants might fuel a guerrilla movement, and a determined defender can deny an invading army resources by practicing scorched-earth warfare.
Another factor that can and will affect troop movement and logistics would be transport infrastructure. A highly magical or technological setting will have faster and more significant troop movement,with a less-fragile supply train. Squads can be deployed via flight or teleport, and cavalry soldiers can summon phantom steeds instead of relying on horses, which need care and fodder. Troops can be fed with magical feasts,even.
A lower-magic, lower-tech setting such as Glenn Cook's Black Company series, on the other hand, will involve a lot of humping and hoofing it. There will be draft animals in the baggage train, which are slaughtered to feed the soldiers as the supplies dwindle and fewer oxen are required to carry those burdens. Such an army will also require accessible water for drinking, food preparation and to water all those livestock, which can lead to cholera and dysentery raging in the ranks if they don’t boil that drinking water first.
Terrain, climate and weather are also factors to consider, as it can be either an obstacle or a force-multiplier. An invading army from a warmer clime may be under supplied and under trained for a fierce winter,which can allow a smaller, winter-acclimated force to defeat it (see the historical Winter War). The British only defended Singapore’s seaward sides as they assumed troop movement would be impossible through the tropical jungles of the Malay Peninsula, and the Imperial Japanese Army took advantage of that assumption by using light infantry on bicycles as an initial strike force.
If war is so costly, then why wage war at all? Casus belli varies. Loot and plunder can be a valid cause, and so can a succession crisis. A previous war can lead to a cycle of revenge or render a border an impassable No Man’s Land. A corrupt ruler could foment war to cover up his deeds, or enrich the coffers of peers involved in weapon smithing and iron mining.
How would PCs fit into this? An enterprising GM could have the PC party set up as a special forces strike team. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay has careers for camp followers and mercenaries alike, and a group of less-martial PCs could be refugees or aid workers ministering to those dispossessed by the war.
Players could, depending on party alignment and their patrons, be tapped to foment a war via a series of false-flag raids, or they could be sent on a last-minute diplomatic mission to try to avert a costly war. Or they could just be standing on the corner minding their own business until they’re mistaken for deserters and staked out for execution. Nothing like the imminent threat of death to bring a party together.
contributed by M.W. Simmes
