Many adventures feature heroes traveling about the land, gathering allies to thwart some inevitable foe or ravaging horde. They build coalitions, train armies, discover powerful artifacts, and finally stand against the enemy in desperate and glorious battle.
The rules presented here allow the Game Master to handle a small warband holding a fort against an undead horde, a siege against a walled city, or even full divisions of troops fighting across a massive battlefield. The process is abstract, but it provides a narrative base for heroes to plan, get involved, and take part in the carnage!
When to Use These Rules: Use the Mass Battle rules when you need to resolve a large conflict that can go either way, and also allow the player characters to have a role in its outcome. The culmination of these tales is not always a foregone conclusion, and failure can be just as interesting as victory!
The Basics: Each side has a number of “Force Tokens” equal to its relative strength and size. Commanders roll their Battle skill each turn. The winner reduces his rival’s force until one side or the other breaks.
To start, give the larger or more powerful army 10 Force Tokens. Give the opposing army a proportional number of tokens. If one army has 10,000 warriors, for example, and the other has 7,000, give the smaller army seven tokens. These represent the troops, ships, and other assets in each side’s army.
Adjust the ratio as makes sense to account for special or elite troops, better equipment, and so on. If one army is half as powerful as another, for example, give one side 10 Force Tokens and the other five. Get close enough to give a reasonable approximation of relative strength. The dice and the characters’ actions will handle the rest.
At the start of each round, the player characters discuss and decide on their plan. Then the attackers make an opposed Battle roll against the defender. Add the modifiers below as appropriate to each roll.
Modifier Circumstance
+1 per point of advantage Force Bonus: The side with the most Force Tokens adds +1 for each point of difference. If the larger army has 10 tokens and the smaller one has 7, for example, the commander of the more powerful army adds +3.
+1 to +4 Tactical Advantage: Grant a +1 to +4 bonus for any special circumstances that might help that army, such as fortifications, weather, terrain, or other conditions not otherwise factored into the army’s strength.
+1 to +4 Battle Plan: Add +1 to +4 if one side has a particularly effective or clever plan over the other.
The winner of the opposed roll consults the Battle Results. Casualties are generally distributed evenly throughout the army or however the GM feels is most appropriate for the narrative.
Time: A standard battle round is two hours of hard fighting. The Game Master should change this as suits her needs or the story. A more reserved fight might have four- or even eight-hour rounds, while a siege might be a battle round per day.
Roll Result Battle Result
Tie Draw: Both sides lose one Force Token.
Success Marginal Victory: The victor loses one Force Token, the defeated loses two.
Raise Victory: The defeated army loses two Force Tokens.
After an army loses one or more Force Tokens, its leader makes a Spirit check modified by these circumstances:
Modifier Circumstance
-1 Each Force Token lost so far.
+2 The army is made up mostly of undead or other fearless troops.
+2 The army is within fortifications or prepared positions.
+2 The army cannot retreat or will be killed if it does.
Success means the leader cajoles the army to fight on. The battle continues another round (or as the attacker sees fit).
Failure means the commander loses control of his force. The army is defeated but conducts an orderly retreat. Critical Failure means they flee the field in a reckless rout. They may be scattered temporarily or permanently, ridden down by the enemy, or captured as the GM decides.
When one side routs, retreats, or runs out of Force Tokens, the battle ends. If it’s important to determine the fate of named Extras or other nonplayer characters, use the Aftermath & Extras rules.
Player characters can dramatically affect the results of the battle. Before their commander makes a Battle roll, players who want to enter the fray describe what their characters are doing and make a Support roll with whatever skill they feel is most appropriate. (Don’t forget that enemy champions can add to the rival commander’s Battle roll as well!)
Each hero’s success grants the commander +1 to his Battle roll but the warrior takes Fatigue from Bumps & Bruises for the effort. With a raise, the character emerges unharmed and rolls on the Battle Effects table; the player may choose to use the result rolled or give the commander the usual +2 bonus instead.
2D6 Result
2 Inspire: The warrior battles valiantly, inspiring the troops and urging them to fight on despite their injuries. Her side immediately recovers one Force Token.
3-4 Terrorize: The fighter’s fury terrorizes her foes. The enemy commander subtracts 2 from his Spirit roll if forced to test morale this round.
5-9 Valor: The warrior’s Support adds +2 to the commander’s Battle roll as usual.
10-11 Slaughter: The foe reels at the champion's onslaught. Subtract 2 from the enemy commander’s Battle total.
12 An Army of One: Tales will be told and songs sung of the warrior’s epic feats this day. The enemy commander loses a Force Token immediately (this doesn’t subtract from his Battle roll but does cause a morale check even if he wins).
Failure means the warrior fought bravely. He takes a Wound but doesn’t add to the commander’s Battle roll. A Critical Failure means the character rolls on the Battle Effects table but also suffers d4+1 Wounds!
The Game Master and players should work together to describe each character’s glorious scenes of bravery and carnage once the results are determined.
If it’s important to track, each round a hero enters the fray and uses Shooting or an arcane skill the character expends some ammunition or Power Points.
Arcane types and archers use 2d6 Power Points or arrows per round of Mass Battle. The GM should alter these numbers based on the character's chosen tactics, the length of each battle round, weapon types, or how long she thinks the hero has to recover or rearm between rounds.