How do you use Mass Battles and how do they work in your system? (didn't find with the search)
I feel like we've talked about it once before, but the search button is shitty so who knows(but thank you for searching, it is appreciated).
Mass Combats...
We really dont have a system for it, per se. I know this isnt "helpful" but I generally deal with each mass combat separately as its own unique thing. This is really because the "mass" part of the mass combat isnt really important. Its epic, and eventful, and mass combats can be a necessary and integral part of the story. But a strict overall system that details how to work them, wouldnt be "fun" or in my opinion "good for the game."
I tend to make mass combats more like "events"(or as mat calls them, "minigames") and I have some guidelines, but not really rules.
1. The PCs are the center of the action, and their actions must have the greatest consequences.
a) Yes, maybe its a battle with 100,000 warriors. Thats cool, but it should be designed so that, no matter what, the PCs actions matter.
b) Cool stuff can happen around them or in the distance, but make sure just as much cool stuff is happening with them
2) More time(much more) is spent with the PCs and their stunts and actions then is spent doing "other stuff"
a) Dont make a system that is going to require you to take up the whole game doing "math" or rolling for npcs the pcs arent involved with
b) You can have a system to randomize the other events, but dont make it long or complicated. save the complicated stuff for pc scenes
3) Remember, the outcome doenst need to be random.
a) you want random results for actions around the pcs, but everything else can have outcomes that are predecided.
b) Just make sure to have a plan for possibilities if the PCs start interacting with predecided stuff.
I hope that was a little helpful. Next time I have a mass combat, Ill see if I can write down all my notes after so other people can use them.
Also, I think this post may end up being formatted horribly.
Not the question asker, but I can see why someone might want a mass combat 'system'. It makes sense that they're each their own unique thing/event, but only insomuch as every combat should be its own unique thing anyway.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to make a badass warrior, the system helps you know what to take. if you want to be a crafter, having the crafting system tells you what you should take to be good at that. A trickster, a prophet, a medic, and so on.
But let's say you want to play someone like Sun Tzu, or Zhuge Liang? On one hand, yes, the player characters should be the focus of attention, yes, they should be important. On the other, if their actions will already always have the greatest consequences, a character who wants to invest in being the Sun Tzu or Zhuge Liang is left wondering if it would have made much of a difference if he invested differently. Plus, without a consistent system, he's left more adrift in where he should invest.
I don't have a real solution, as I don't have John's savvy with mechanics, but I can see why someone would hope for some kind of mass combat mechanics system.
Sounds like a few solutions to that. It's a harder concept to work with overall, but still rewarding. First off, War. Seriously, it has boons to cover commanding people and dealing with large scale conflicts, which will be essential for the tactician. They pretty much are blueprints for playing a tactician, with nifty powers to boot.
ReplyDeleteSecond, talk to your ST. Discuss what you're going for, work together to see how it can be implemented in game. Of the top of my head it could be: you're giving the strategies and all, affecting the outcome of various battles, maybe the rest of the band is there protecting you, or instead the party gets split up or something.
I'm no expert here on any of it, and John and Anne have more experience, but at the heart of it the big thing I imagine even they'll suggest is talking to your ST.
(also great to see mention of Zhuge Liang!)
Yes, the «Commander» War Boons seem to point towards mass combat. I've ended up making a system of my own, which is quite simple and focuses the action on the PCs. Since it's all a question of scale (the average Legend rating of the troops), the armies become more strategic combat opportunities than trying to do a complex war game out of it. Mass combat happens rarely in my games, but I do want to give it a grand scale of things, and allow my PCs bent towards leadership and tactics to shine. Having this little add-on system makes not have to predict the outcomes or manage PC decisions, and it does give an importance to those inclined on making allies and troops.
ReplyDeleteEssentially, I've worked with the armies giving a boost to PCs who are fighting the opposite commanders. I've divided mass combat into 3 steps, that allows Physical, Social and Mental caracters to have their spotlight. I'll sum it up, if you want the actual rules I could post em.
1-Tactician. Before the fight begins, I compare the armies. Their level, morale (using appropriate virtue or static 4 for undead/constructs), size, equipement, supply, terrain, etc... Each of those give some «stunt» dice when the army has the advantage over the other. Then, each side's Tactician rolls Intelligence + Command. So a great general can do with a subpar army and defeat a stronger force.
2-Commander. This part is where the PCs decide how they head into the fray. One of them is the Commander, executing the Tactician's strategy and leading the troops. He rolls Charisma+Command, with the threshold successes from the Tactician as stunt dice. The winner here determines the «winning side» of the battle. The winning side loses 1 unit every 10 ticks and the losing 3.
3-Action. The fight resolves as a normal battle, but the PCs can take 10-tick actions to destroy waves of soldiers, reducing the pool of units of the other side. Essentially, whenever a PC or enemy is downed, it has the chance to turn the tide, even more so if it's the Commander. If all the enemy units are routed or destroyed, the remaining enemies have lowered DV from being overrun.