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Nicolai Withander
Master of Realmslore
Denmark
1093 Posts |
 Posted - 25 Oct 2009 : 12:54:12
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Hi everyone...
One of the players in my party is a paladin and since we are playing with epic characters he has a whole army of followers which he wants to use. My question is this... How do one go about using an army in combat. I have my own ideas but im not sure how to do things when we are talking about 1000+ of men. I anyone has ideas or rules for playing with an army it would be great!
thanks
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Tyranthraxus
Senior Scribe
Netherlands
423 Posts |
Posted - 25 Oct 2009 : 13:24:18
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3e Heroes of Battle has information about warfare campaigns and how to involve characters.
And the Stronghold Builder's Guide could come in handy too. |
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crazedventurers
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1073 Posts |
Posted - 25 Oct 2009 : 13:29:01
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Does the battle add to the rolplaying experience? Is the outcome critical? Do the players want to roll lots of dice for their troops?
I let the players have an active role in the battle, i.e. taking a small squad and breaking the critical section of wall/facing off against the enemy general etc, and they simply describe the rest of the battle. If thre players succeed in their aim then the rest I simply make up!
Just my thoughts
Damian
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So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?
Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .
shudder,
love to all,
THO
Candlekeep Forum 7 May 2005 |
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Saegis
Acolyte
Canada
23 Posts |
Posted - 25 Oct 2009 : 23:02:02
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A big thing about war in DnD is that it requires a whole new mechanic to pull off. The Tome of Battle (3.5) is a good choice but when you really get down to it, it's overly complicated. They have massive amounts of rules (and dice rolling) just to figure out a basic archery volley. The Tome of Battle is full of great ideas, but the new rules they add are a little too much.
I've seen a couple different ways to do a battle in DnD (mostly homebrewed mechanics). My favourite is one my friend figured out. I wrote it up in my own words just to keep for future reference.
Step 1: Roll opposing d20s for each army and add all combat bonuses they may receive (i.e. leaders, terrain advantage, siege weapons). This determines the general outcome of that particular skirmish in the battle.
Step 2: Roll a d20 to determine the ferocity of that particular skirmish; this roll is the base damage value each army receives. Add the modifiers of the army to the d20 roll as damage to the opposing force (Army A add +7 to the standard damage roll of 15 and applies that to Army B). Depending on the size of the battle a single point for the damage roll can mean anything. In a small battle of a few hundred, a point of damage can equal a third or half a soldier’s life. In a large battle of thousands, or bigger, a single point of damage could mean 10 soldiers.
With this mechanic your party could focus on smaller combat where they maximize the benefits of their army and minimize the advantages of the enemies. They might form a flanking party to sabotage enemy artillery and deprive the enemies of one of their bonuses in the overall battle. Each successful fight increases their army's power. After that, just plan out the actual descriptions of the armies and their surroundings and narrate it. It all comes down to 3 rolls of a d20 per "round of battle". Every time the party fights in a skirmish or three, you roll for both armies adding the new bonuses or penalties.
I hope this helps! Good luck. |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 26 Oct 2009 : 11:39:44
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| Using Heroes of Battle, they suggest ways to do small 4 characters type missions in a war (like infiltrating and destroying a supply line, minor skirmishes and other such things). I highly recommend this book if you intend on doing this. |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Snowblood
Senior Scribe
Australia
388 Posts |
Posted - 06 Nov 2009 : 14:19:26
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| a very loooooonnng time ago...in the old Red/Green/blue & gold basic D&D days there was a system of battle that was quite straight forward....if you like to hunt you can probably find them & with a little adaption come up with ya own stuff... |
Aryvandaar, Ilythiir, Arnothoi, Orva, Sarphil, Anauria/Asram/Hlondath, Uvaeren, Braceldaur, Ilodhar, Lisenaar, Imaskar, Miyeritar, Orishaar, Shantel Othrieir, Keltormir, Eaerlann, Ammarindar, Siluvanede, Sharrven, Illefarn, Ardeep, Rystal Wood, Evereska are all available here for download:http://phasai.deviantart.com/gallery/
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Thauramarth
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
729 Posts |
Posted - 07 Nov 2009 : 10:28:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Snowblood
a very loooooonnng time ago...in the old Red/Green/blue & gold basic D&D days there was a system of battle that was quite straight forward....if you like to hunt you can probably find them & with a little adaption come up with ya own stuff...
Yes indeedie! The War Machine Rules (last seen in the Dungeons and Dragons Rules Cyclopedia. Tome of War for 3.5 was already mentioned. If you do not want to bother with the particular mechanics, I have played some adventures where the outcome of a battle was determined by the outcome of a number of actions undertaken by the PCs. Say, they undertake four or five "special missions", along the lines of: blowing up the supply wagons, "liberate" the magic gizmo held by the opposition, disable the big, giant war machine that forms the centerpiece of the opposition's tactics, etc. Winning or losing the battle depends on which missions the PCs chose to undertake (there should be more options than they can handle in the timespan available to them), and whether they succeeded. These parameters can also serve to give an indication of the magnitude of the defeat or victory. For example, in case of victory, total victory (enemy all but annihilated), or tactical victory (battle won, but enemy forces manage to withdraw in relative good order) or pyrrhic victory (battle won, enemy still combatworthy, and expecting reinforcements, but own side has suffered heavy casualties). |
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Laying siege on a city
