I finally found the courage to put my large scale battle rules into HTML format and in english. I am looking forward to see what Chaosium new miniature combat rules will be, but these are really still role-playing rules, heavily centered on the actions/destiny of the players characters. I want to thank the members of the RuneQuest-Rules and Glorantha lists who have helped me at some point or another. I do not remember everyone, so thanks to David Cake, John Medway, Joerg Baumgartner, Robert McArthur, Sandy Petersen, and to all of you from which I did not print or record the messages. These rules have evolved from three main sources of inspiration: The Battle system in Pendragon (Chaosium), the Warhammer Armies game (Games Workshop) and, to a smaller extend, Bushido (FGU) |
| This system is designed to allows the players to experience the "fun" of military obligations in the dark ages. It is tailored to RuneQuest, a role-playing game, and so put a heavy emphasis on players characters actions, the NPCs being secondary (and for a large part cannon-fodder). It is not a wargame! There are many excellent wargames out there for you to try if this is your objective. At the last Glorantha Convention in Chicago, I met John Medway and played his RED DEVATATION system. I would strongly recommand it for anyone looking for a wargame in Glorantha. |
Playtest have shown me that this system was deadly enough to make every
player shiver at the prospect of a large-scale battle, and I like it that
way. This system is used in my Griffin Island campaign. After many years
of adventuring, the PCs have been granted a title and a land from the king
of Nidik. Griffin Island's kingdoms are sparsely populated, and the nobility
rules over a comparatively small number of people, even if the land granted
is large. Practically, one of the players was made Count and rules over
6-7 villages. He gave 1 village and a surrounding "fief" to each
of his companions, making them knights. The count owes 40 days of military
duties to his lord, the king of Nidik, and each of his knights must contribute
to its army by serving at the head of at least a "lance" (medieval
army unit of 1 knight, his squire and 6-8 soldiers). Because of the small
populations, battle hardly ever involve more than 1000 troops on each side,
and it is hard to replace dead soldiers. Also, each of the PCs has economical
development plans for his fief (Economy rules available but still in construction.)
and the economy of their villages can be heavily crippled by a disastrous
military campaign, leaving the domain in a starving situation. For all these
reasons, they are not really warmongers, and try every possible tactic to
escape losing any of their NPCs subjects. The Count directs about 100 mens
in battle, 50-60 brought and commanded by his knights and 40 of his own
(including hired mercenaries...). He is directly responsible for their equipement,
lodging and feeding during the 40 days. The king becomes financially responsible
for any additional days that he demands.
But players do not have to be in command of the unit to use these rules.
They can perfectly be used to simulate the events surrounding a simple soldier
during a large scale battle.We use15 mm figures (Essex for the humans, Grenadiers
and Ral Partha for the non-humans, orcs, elfs, trolls... I am still waiting
for some broos) but only for the fights that directly surround the players.
Since players don't have at any moment a clear picture of what's happening
on the entire battlefield, I usually don't even bother to have a tactical
representation of the battle.
A military unit has 3 characteristics:
Attack (A)
The Attack value represente the efficiency of the unit in attack. It is an abstraction of the weapon attack skills of the individual soldiers and the quality of its weapons. Each 5% attack of the best weapon, and each 2 points of average damage of the weapon (including strenght bonus) give 1 point of attack: A group of soldiers with 50% attack armed with heavy maces doing 1D10 damages (5.5 average) will have an attack value of 10+2=12.
Note: every attack modifier of 5% add 1 to the melee value (knights
on horses have +2 melee against footmen. All the other RQ modifiers can
also be transformed. Ex: Higher ground gives +2,...
A unit charging on horses gets the strenght bonus of the mount. For exemple,
a unit of Loskalmi knights charging with their lance (1D10+1) on heavy warhorses
(strenght bonus +5D6) have a damage value of (5.5+17.5)/2=11. If the knights
charge a unit armed with pikes, then the foot soldiers also get the horse
strenght bonus in their damage value.
In the case of missile units, the attack value is calculating by adding 1 per 5% chance of attack with the missile and 2 per point of potential damage during a round: For example, a unit of bowmen using longbow can shoot two arrows (1d8+1) per round for an average damage per round of (2x5.5=11 HP): their weapon attack bonus is +5. If they attack at 50%, the attack value of the unit is 10+5=15. So a unit of bowmen will often have a higher attack value than a unit of crossbowmen, since the crossbow does more damages, but fires only every two or three rounds.
In the case of a spell-casting unit, the attack value is calculated by
adding 1 per 5% chance of casting the spell to the average damage of the
spell per round divided by two (so a priest unit attacking with Sunspear
blast would have 95% chance of casting the spell for an average of 10.5
points of damage (3D6): Its attack value would be 19+5=24 !!!
This is Regimental Magic points available to the unit's wyter to attack
and defend against other unit's regimental magic. It represente large-scale
magic points, not the normal individual points. Magic-users do not contribute
to the full extend of their MP, because they need some to heal themselves
and cast individual spirit spells. When a regimental spell is cast on a
unit, all the members of the unit are affected at the same time. Only magicians
and priest units can cast regimental magic spells.
if the missiles or spells are fired into a unite in close battle formation, the attack has a bonus of +2. If the ennemies are dispersed, this bonus does not apply.
Defense (D)
The Defense value represente the efficiency of the unit in defense. It
is an abstraction of the parry skills of the individual soldiers and the
quality of its armor. Each 5% parry of the best weapon or shield, and each
2 points of AP of the average body armor gives 1 point of defense: A group
of soldiers with 50% shield parry equiped with full chain mail (AP 7) and
heater shields has a defense value of 10+(7+4)/2=15
Armor:
the armor points of the various location are simply multiplied by the %
of the surface protected (leg=20%, Arm=10%, Abdomen=10%, Chest=20% and head=20%).
The sum of all the locations gives the average AP of the unit. For exemple,
a complete chain mail gives an AP of 100%x7=7, and a helmet 8x10%=0.8.
Shield:
The protective value of a shield is equal to its AP times the % of the surface
protected.
Shield |
Surface protected |
AP |
Protection |
Buckler |
10% |
8 |
+0 / +0 |
Heater / Round |
35% |
12 |
+4 /+5 |
Kite |
55% |
16 |
+8 / +10 |
Hoplite |
55% |
18 |
+ 9 / +11 |
Hoplite with 2H spear |
55% |
9 |
+ 4 / +5 |
Viking |
55% |
12 |
+ 6 / +7 |
When soldiers operate in close formation, the shield wall also protect the arm carrying the weapon, increasing the protection by 10% (second protection value). Only 1H spears or shortswords can be used with that battle formation, and pikes requires the use of the "two-handed spear plus shield" tactic that divides by two the defensive value of the shield.
In order to simplify, I assume that all the soldiers within one unit have the same equipment.
Spirit (S)
This represente the training and courage of the soldiers, their ability
to resist panic when things go the wrong way and friends start dying around
them, and finally their resistance to spells, their "Inner Power".
A unit with a high spirit is very steady and can stay "cool" under
fire. A unit with a low spirit is the opposite.
As an exemple, I use the following moral value, depending on the quality
of the troop:
Unit Type |
Moral |
Exemple (Lunar army) |
| Elite | 18 |
Red Guard of the Emperor |
| Excellent | 14 |
Sundome templars |
| Superior | 12 |
Sir Holburn Axebrothers |
| Standard | 10 |
Silver Shields, Longspear Slayers... |
| Inferior | 8 |
Zebra riders irregulars |
| Poor | 4 |
Paysan milicia |
| Non-combat | 2 |
Baggage train wagoners... |
A unit needs to do a moral check in the following situations:
A unit failing a moral check retreat or rout. Players characters, even within a retreating unit are not affected by the moral check. A PC is always able to make his own decision, eventually chosing an honorable death in battle against the humiliation of a retreat. A PC can try to harangue a retreating unit by making a "Eloquence" skill check. A retreating unit requires a simple succes, a routed unit a special. If the PC manage to succed in is Eloquence, the unit can immediately reroll a moral check, without the psychology modifiers. A success means that the unit rally around the PC, a failure that the soldiers keep fleeing. If the Eloquence roll is a critical, the unit automatically rally around the player character, without the need for a second moral check.
Battle Capacity (BC)
Simply the average of the attack, parry and spirit value of each individual
soldier, multiplied by the number of soldiers in the unit.
The characteristics of a unit of 50 Guards from Ockless are given in a small
table as follow:
| Guard of Ockless (50) | A |
D |
S |
BC |
| Mace + Shield | 18 |
15 |
11 |
730 |
This represent a unit of the following soldiers (in a more RuneQuest-like
format):
During a battle, the time is counted in battle rounds of 5 mn (25 combat rounds). One battle round represent a serie of charges, combats, and movements between groups of soldiers in the middle of the dust, blood and noise of a battlefield. It is a very confused situation. A spirit magic spell last for one battle round and a divine magic spell for three.
The evolution of the battle is represented by a serie of dice roll surrounding
the individual combats of the PCs that are handled normally.
The battle begins by a single dice roll made by the commander of the PC's
army, called the Tactical Roll of the army commander ("Battle"
skill or "Tactic" skill).
After that, each unit containing PCs must go through a serie of rolls representing
the events during that battle round.
And finally, at the end of the round, a book-keeping phase summarize the
loss on both sides, evaluate moral of the units and decide if the battle
ends. If the battle does not stop, a new battle round start and the all
procedure start again.
I have separate the combat into 4 phases:
The Observation Phase
During that phase I essentially describe to my players the initial conditions of the battle, the ratio between their forces and the ennemy, the geographical location, and let them quickly decide how they intend to position their soldiers. During this phase we also evaluate what specific ennemy will fight each unit. This is roughly equivalent to the declaration phase during an individual combat.
The Missile/Spell Phase
During that phase takes place all ranged attacks. Each unit that does
not plan to attack during the melee phase can either shoot once or use one
spell. A unit can only target the ennemy units that charge itself or its
neighboring units (right and left, front if lower). Using missiles or spells
count as one of the two actions that a unit can accomplish during a battle
round. If a unit uses missiles or spells, it will not be able to counter-attack
during the melee phase. Each PC unit also has a chance of being attacked
by missile and/or spells during that phase.
Note: Unlike usual in RuneQuest, the use of spell here refers to Battle
Magic (or Regimental Magic), a form of magic involving vaste amount of power
and which spells are able to target every soldiers in a unit. It is only
practiced by sorcerer/priest units composed of many magicians, apprentices...
It is highly unlikely that players ever belong to such a unit, and so they
most probably will be on the "receiving" end of the magical spells.
The Melee Phase
During that phase, the charging unit attack the defending unit and inflicts its damages. The defending unit can then return the blows and inflict its damages.
The Result Phase
During that phase, the loss are calculated and the unit's moral checked. If the battle ends that turn, victory conditions are also evaluated.
The two armies are in position one in front of the other, and ready to charge. It is time to evaluate the strategic situation, and calculate the modifier to the Army Commander Tactical Roll. There is two possibles approches here:
1/ The gamemaster involves his player in a battle for which the result is already known, only for the glory of "taking part in it". In that case, he may discard completely the random system for the observation phase and set himself the parameters of each turn of battle, leaving the PC to play within a fixed set of events. For exemple, the GM may decide that at the third turn of the battle, the ennemy general makes a huge tactical blunder, giving the PC's side a major advantage, or the opposite.
2/ The Gamemaster decides that the result and the conditions of the battle are unknown. He will have each of the players around the table roll the dices for the army general during one of the battle turn, and everyone must play within the situation generated by the dice. Or one of the PCs is the army commander and will roll the dice each turn.
whether or not the course of the battle is set, the conditions under which both armies are fighting inluence the army commander tactical roll. The situation modifiers are added to the Army Commander tactical skill value.
The following table gives some examples of such modifiers:
Situation Modifiers
| You have numeric superiority of 5 to 1 | +50% |
| You have numeric superiority of 4 to 1 | +40% |
| You have numeric superiority of 3 to 1 | +30% |
| You have numeric superiority of 2 to 1 | +20% |
| You have numeric inferiority of 2 to 1 | -20% |
| You have numeric inferiority of 3 to 1 | -30% |
| You have numeric inferiority of 4 to 1 | -40% |
| You have numeric inferiority of 5 to 1 | -50% |
| You are defending a fortified position | +20% |
| You have the advantage of higher ground | +10% |
| You are charging from the lower ground | -10% |
| Your troops are strongly motivated (defending their homes...) | +20% |
| Your troops lack motivation or discipline | -15% |
| Your troops are fighting under a well respected leader | +10% |
| Your troops lack confidence or respect for their leader | -15% |
| Quality of the ennemy leader, intelligence (or lack of it).... | variable |
At some time, you're army commander gives the order to charge or contercharge.
...The entire line of battle rush toward the ennemy lines. Sweat roll down your face, you're ears are filled with the battle cries, the rolling thunder of horses charging, the pleads of the wounded and the smell of blood... Before you dive into the fray, you're last thought is for your general, and the hope that he choosed a wise strategy and a proper timing...
The initial placement of the troops, the battle plan and the timing of the attack are all things represented into the Army commander tactical roll. It will affect the conditions under which each of the various units of the army fight, and the loss of the NPCs. Since this battle system revolves around the PCs, only one roll is made by the PC's army commander, with the modifiers coming from the battle conditions. The army commander roll 1D100 and compare it to the sum of its Tactic skill and the situation modifier. This roll is done once per battle round, and represent the orders of the army general. They will directly affect the rate of casualties among the units from both sides that do not include at least one PC (usually the majority). The tactical skills of the ennemy general are reflected in the situation modifiers: as a rule of thumb, I usually use the difference between the Tactic skill of the two generals. However, in certain situations (ambush...) the difference can be multiplied by two or three to reflect the increased importance of proper initial placement of troops, deployement or strategy...
| Result | AC Mod. |
Friend's Fate |
Foe's Fate |
| Critical Success | -20% |
Marginal losses |
40% losses (20% killed, 10% wounded, 10% captured) |
| Special Success | -10% |
5% losses (5% Killed) |
20% losses (10% killed, 5% wounded, 5% captured) |
| Success | -5% |
10% losses (5% Killed, 5% wounded) |
20% losses (10% killed, 5% wounded, 5% captured) |
| Failure | +10% |
20% losses (10% killed, 5% wounded, 5% captured) |
10% losses (5% Killed, 5% wounded) |
| Fumble | +25% |
40% losses (20% killed, 10% wounded, 10% captured) |
Marginal losses |
The random unit situation roll is used to simmulate the multiple small fights taking place inside of the large battle. Each PC unit must determine the type and strenght of the ennemy that it will fight this turn.
...Your unit is moving toward the ennemy. Through the visor of your helm, you desperatly try to assess the situation. Where are you in the attack line, where is the ennemy and how powerful is it? The fighter line accelerates, you rush forward in a cloud of dust and emmerge in full view of your opponents...
It is time for the commander of each unit containing PC to do its situation rolls. Do not forget to add the modifier from the the Army commander tactical roll to each of your dice rolls. These rolls will set the situation immediately surrounding each PCs, and I usually have them rolled by each of my players unless two or more choosed to stay together, in which case I make them roll in alternance.
Encounter Table
| Result D100 + AC Mod. |
Type of Foe |
| 01-05 | The worst unit in the enemy army (Baggage train wagoners, slaves...) |
| 06-25 | Poor unit (serf militia...) |
| 26-40 | Inferior unit (small orcs scouts...) |
| 41-60 | Standard unit (infantry...) |
| 61-75 | Superior unit (great orcs...) |
| 76-95 | Excellent unit (heavy cavalry, orc boar riders...) |
| 96-00 | Bingo, the most powerful unit in the enemy army (Black Knights of Ockless...) |
Odds Ratio Table
| Result D100 + AC Mod. |
Odd Ratio Mod. |
Ratio of Forces |
| 01-05 | -20% |
Your unit completely surrounds the enemy's unit |
| 06-25 | -10% |
Your unit greatly outnumbers your enemy's unit |
| 26-40 | -5% |
Your unit outnumbers the enemy unit |
| 41-60 | 0% |
Your unit evently matches the enemy unit |
| 61-75 | +5% |
Your unit is outnumbered |
| 76-95 | +10% |
Your unit is badly outnumbered |
| 96-00 | +20% |
You are completely surrounded |
The missile/spell rules are the least developped in this system. I did not wanted to be bothered spending twenty minutes figuring where missiles landed and inventing a new complex battle magic system. As a result, everything is handeled by a few dice rolls:
1/ Each PC unit can be the target of ennemy missiles or spells. This roll is modified by the Army Commander Tactical Roll:
If your general made a wrong decision, you may be more exposed to the enemy's
archers or magicians....
I usually don't bother calculating various Mi values for individual
ennemy units, but just globally assign an average Mi number for the
entire ennemy army (depending of the ratio of missile versus melee troops,
the quality of training...) and uses the table below to modulate the strenght
of the attack on each PCs unit. This is basically a "luck" roll
made by the Player whose character is in the unit.
| Result D100 + AC Mod. |
Type of Missile/Spell Attack |
| 01-05 | No ennemy fire, you escape untouched from the fray... |
| 06-25 | A few scattered missiles fall on your ranks: - 15 % to the missile attack skill... |
| 26-40 | A poor missile unit is trying to aim at you: -5 % to the missile attack skill... |
| 41-60 | A standard unit is aiming at you: No modifier to the missile attack skill... |
| 61-75 | A good missile unit takes you for target: +5 % to the missile attack skill... |
| 76-95 | The ennemy concentrates fire on your unit: +15 % to the casualty roll... |
| 96-00 | The most powerful missile/magic ennemy units rain death on your men: + 25 % to the missile attack skill... |
2/ Each PC unit, if it whishes so, can try to target an ennemy unit.
In the confusion of a battle, it is not always easy to aim at a specific
unit, and most of the time, the arrows will be lost somewhere into the opponents
lines and the killed/wounded will be included in the result of the Army
Commander Tactical Roll. In some case however, a unit will be able to specifically
support another, and some time it will even mistakenly fire at it's own
troops. Friendly fire did not start during the Gulf War...
This roll is also modified by the Army Commander Tactical
Roll: If the tactic adopted by your army was poor, you will not be
in a proper position to support each other's units.
Each PC unit whishing to use missiles during this phase of the battle must
roll on the table to determine if his/her unit can safely aim at a specific
target. If a PC unit was assigned to cover another specifically, but does
not find an opening to do so. I usually offers the possibility of "hasty
fire": Reroll but add 20% to the dice. It still gives them a chance
to fullfil their mission, but the risks taken are reflected by the now 25%
chance of friendly fire. This is not advised if your general put his troops
in a poor formation...
| Result D100 + AC Mod. |
Type of Missile/Spell Attack |
| 01-05 | You are in position to aim at any unit attacking you or the other PC's unit: Pick your target. |
| 06-40 | You can aim at any ennemy unit charging you or at the ennemy unit attacking another PC unit. Randomly select 1D3 PC unit and choose one of their opponent. |
| 41-60 | You can aim at any ennemy unit charging you or at one ennemy unit attacking another PC unit. Determined the other PC unit at random. |
| 61-95 | You can only aim at an ennemy target directly charging you. If none does, you cannot fire this turn. |
| 96-00 | Friendly fire: Your men accidentally target another PC's unit at random. |
3/ Evaluation of the damages done to and by the PC units. This is evaluated by comparing the attacking unit's Missile (Mi) value to the defending unit's armor (A) value on the resistance table to determine the missile attack skill and rolling a D100. The results are directly read on the casualties table.
Missile Casualties table
| Missile attack Roll | Casualties in target unit |
| Critical Success | 40% losses (20% killed, 20% wounded) |
| Special Success | 20% losses (10% killed, 10% wounded) |
| Success | 10% losses (5% Killed, 5% wounded) |
| Failure | None |
| Fumble | 10% losses (5% Killed, 5% wounded) in the ATTACKING unit |
Note: if the missile are fired into a unite in close battle formation, the missile value has a bonus of +1. If the ennemies are dispersed, this bonus does not apply.
Each unit including a PC has now an opponent, and the unit commander
quickly try to put his men in position. This is the chance for the local
commander to compensate the blunder of the headquarter, or for the troops
to ruin the stroke of tactical genius from their general. The unit commander
tactical roll his not affected by any modifier,
but will only affect the fighting of the PCs and NPCs of this unit during
the round of battle. Basically, it translate how well the local commander
organize his men to fight within the specific situation.
The unit commander roll 1D100 and compare it to his
Tactic skill.
| Result | Combat Roll Modifier |
| Critical Success | +20% |
| Special Success | +10% |
| Success | +5% |
| Failure | -10% |
| Fumble | -25% |
This dice modifier will be added to the Combat Roll of the unit and to each skill used during the fight by the PCs. This reflect the conditions of the fighting (light, ground...)
Each PC present in the unit has to fight individually against one or more opponent. The combat is handled using the normal RuneQuest combat rules.
The possibles opponents are:
| Common Soldier | (1-5/D10) |
| Veterant Soldiers | (6-7/D10) |
| Standart Bearer | (8/D10) |
| Leader of the Unit | (9/D10) |
| Special Character | (10/D10) |
Veterants are superior soldiers, usually stronger, more experienced and better armed. The standart Bearer is often the "champion" of the unit. He carries the flag/vexillum which is the symbole of the unit's honor, and its presence has a strong effect on the moral of the soldiers. A unit standart can only be captured in two ways:
The unit's leader can either be a young knight or a seasoned sergeant, but its presence is critical for the morale of the unit.
Special characters are NPCs that are not part of a specific unit, but may have joined it either accidentally or as unit commander. They have names and are integral part of the campaign. King Skilfil from Nidik, or Euryptus the bold are example of special characters. When a special character join a unit, he automatically assumes command of it, unless the unit is already commanded by a PC or a special character of higher Honor.
The following table gives the probability to find a special character
within a unit.
| Probability (D100) | Unit Type |
| 01-02 | Poor |
| 01-05 | Inferior |
| 01-10 | Standard |
| 01-20 | Superior |
| 01-30 | Excellent |
| 01-50 | Elite |
The PCs each fight their individual combat. They must add the modifier resulting from the Unit Commander Tactical Roll to each skill used during the fight. This represent the conditions of the combat around them. Even if they have to fight three opponents at once, as a result of poor tactical skill from their general, they may still manage to do it with a +20% bonus. If they are incapacitated, they can try a Honor roll for the enemy to recognize them and eventually capture them for ranson. During the battle round, PCs fighting within the same unit can assist each other, but not PCs from different units. The NPCs are not supporting PCs unless they are the leaders of the unit.
The fate of all the NPCs not members of a unit containing or commanded by PCs is fixed by the Army Commander Tactical Roll.
For each unit containing PCs, the combat will be resolved by rolling two D100: an attack roll and then a damage roll.
The NPCs attack roll
The NPCs attack roll is by opposing the unit's Melee (Me) value to the ennemy's
Melee value on the Resistance Table (RuneQuest p.37). This gives a percentage
to which the modifier resulting from the Unit Commander
Tactical Roll must be added. The player whose
PC is commanding the unit roll the dice (D100) as for a normal attack. He
then reads the results on the NPCs attack table.
| NPC attack Result | Damage Value |
Ennemy Armor value |
| Critical Success | Critical Attack value |
0 |
| Special Success | Special Attack value |
Normal Armor value |
| Success | Normal Attack value |
Normal Armor value |
| Failure | None |
None |
| Fumble | Enemy's damage value |
Unit's Armor value |
Weapons that can impale double the attack value if the unit makes a special attack roll, but the unit must change weapons after that attack or the following attacks are at half the normal attack value. On a critical attack, the defending unit's defense value is 0 unless it is protected by spells like damage resistance and fend blow.
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