#mass combat

The Dorkvision stream returns tonight after it's month-long hiatus with a mass combat encounter! The desert battle may shape the outcome of the overarching war in Sargonne, and the players are controlling each of the factions! 

Join us at 9 PM EST: https://twitch.tv/noblecrumpet

And if you miss the stream, you can watch the VODs on Youtube: 

https://www.youtube.com/noblecrumpet

 Whether it be between rival nations or against the armies of darkness, occasionally armies will clash, which can be a problem because Pathfinder is not well-suited for running combats with hundreds of participants.

That’s where the mass combat rules come in, a simplified battle system for simulating large numbers of foes facing off against each other, be they true armies, or perhaps small battalions of larger foes, or even terrible mighty beasts.

What’s interesting is that tabletop RPGs pretty much evolved and budded off from wargaming, so in a way rules systems like this help things come full circle, though these simplified rules no doubt are not intricate enough for the average wargamer’s liking.

 At its base level, mass combat is basically rolling Offensive value against defensive value and translating the excess into damage against the enemy army, possibly causing them to rout if their health is too low, but it only gets more complex from there.

Strategy also comes into play, as the commander of each army must decide how offensive or defensive to battle, granting bonuses and penalties based on that choice.

Armies can also have special abilities based on what sort of creatures make them up, such as a squad of alchemists having bombs, or a platoon of spellcasters, or even immunities to certain negative conditions the enemy might impose.

Additionally, if the mass combat in question is part of a kingdom or a settlement game in which those rules are used, there is also the possibility to bolster it with commander boons, tactics, and other improvements as well.

There’s also the matter of building the armies themselves, both in terms of stat block and in terms of funding them via the settlement rules should you be running that sort of game. Otherwise mass combat might ignore those rules and the GM might simply provide an army for the party based on story reasons.

At the end of the combat, an army is either victorious, routed, or defeated outright. A rout merely weakens an army’s morale in addition to losses inflicted, but a total defeat means the army is lost, likely with major economic repercussions for the kingdom.

After it is over, armies may recover by resting, healing their wounded and recruiting new members from locals or reinforcements. Armies and commanders might even add new tactics or boons to their repertoire as well.

 The result is a nice system for simulating armies clashing against each other, though it’s not always viable for every situation, particularly when powerful spellcasters and the like are involved. It is, however, a good way to simulate clashes between tradition armies and the occasional giant monster. Definitely worth having a look at if you plan on any mass engagements in your campaign.

When your characters are participating in a large scale battle, break up the combat into "frays" which are more the size of a typical encounter. Place the party against an appropriate challenge, and the rest of the fighting is background environment.

Then, to simulate the chaos of the battle environment, have a list of random things that could happen. An enemy joins the fray? An ally joins the fray? A panicked, riderless horse runs through and tramples someone? A volley of arrows targets everyone? Compile these effects into a random table.

Then, give the table its own initiative. In the order, roll on the table and have the effect take place.

A compilation of published GURPS materials relating to Mass Combat.

Last Updated: 1/20/2017. (m/d/y)