This entry is part 3 in the series This Means WAR!

Part 1 and Part 2 of this six part series discussed the fundamental concepts needed to simulate a unit of 100 soldiers. Part 3 begins applying the theory…

Part 3: Playing At War: The War Round

Having turned each unit of 100 men into, effectively, a single creature, and simplifed the combat mechanics down to the number of points of damage inflicted, no attack rolls required, what is the actual process at the gaming table?

Like ordinary melee combat, which can be conducted within and simultaniously with, war, events are broken up into phases. PCs and unique NPCs should roll initiative as usual, and the usual rules for changing initiative numbers hold for them. Armies are treated a little differently.

Initiative Phase & Action Phase

An army’s actions in a round are divided into two parts: the initiative phase and the action phase. The initiative phase for a given type of amy unit is rolled each round, as

  • d20 + Initiative Modifiers + Unit Quality.
  • Only initiative modifiers that ALL members of the army unit posess apply to a unit’s initiative.

The action phase has the same action number every phase, and is equal to

  • 11- Unit Quality + Modifiers. It is this target that each army is attempting to beat with its initiative roll.

Armies always act AFTER any PCs and Unique NPCs that have actions on the same action number as an Army’s phase.

EG: A party of PCs is caught in the middle of the war. Its five members roll initiative numbers of 22, 14, 13, 8, and 5, respectively (in descending order). A significant NPC is also involved; he rolls an initiative number of 18. One variety of army unit, the Pikemen, consist of 10 units with +1 initiative modifier and a Unit Quality rating of 1.5. Opposing them are 4 units of a different army type, the Swordsmen, who have +6 initiative modifiers and a Unit Quality Rating of 3.

Army #1, the Pikemen, always have their action phase on initiative number 11-1.5+1 = 10.5, rounds to 11. Army#2, the Swordsmen, always have their action phase on initiative number 11-3+6 = 9.

Each round, both armies also roll for an initiative phase; for the Pikemen, this is d20+1.5+1, ie d20+3. For the Swordsmen, it is d20+6+3, ie d20+9. Each army rolls a d20 ONCE and applies the results to all units of whatever type it comprises.

For illustrative purposes, lets say that the Army which contains the Pikemen roll 16, while the army which contains the Swordsmen rolls 4. That gives the Pikemen an initiative phase on action number 19, and the Swordsmen one on 13, for this particular round. Note that the Pikemen rolled well, and the Swordsmen particularly poorly; most of the time, the Swordsmen will have the earlier Initiative Phase of the two.

The sequence of events for this combat/war round is

  • 22 (PC),
  • 19 (Pikement Initiative Phase),
  • 18 (NPC),
  • 14 (PC),
  • 13 (PC),
  • 13 (Swordsmen Initiative Phase),
  • 11 (Pikemen Action Phase),
  • 9 (Swordsmen Action Phase),
  • 8 (PC),
  • 5 (PC).

Action Order

As usual, the GM counts down the Action Numbers, resolving PC and NPC actions, just as he would in any other combat round. Only when he gets to an army units’ Initiative or Action Phase does anything different happen.

Army Unit’s Initiative Phase

Army units have two choices of action open to them in their Initiative Phase: they can move half of their standard movement, OR they can make an Initiative Phase Attack. If the Initiative Phase falls AFTER their normal phase, the army has no option; they either move or they forego their Initiative Phase for the round.

Movement in the Initiative Phase automatically triggers an extra Morale Check (described below) for the army moving.

An Initiative Phase Attack immediatly inflicts (Initiative Phase Number – Action Phase Number)x5 % of the normal damage inflicted by the unit. This is applied by each unit to the one enemy unit of their choice, within range.

EG: The Pikemen choose to make an Initiative Phase Attack. They inflict (19-11)x5 =40% of their standard damage. Assuming we’re talking about Army #1 from our previous examples, that’s 40% of 783.75, or 313.5 points; always round these numbers down, so that’s 313 points of damage per unit. With 10 units, that’s 3130 points of damage, being divided amongst 4 units of Swordsmen, or 782 points to each Swordsman unit. This assumes that all Swordsmen unts are in a position to be hit; if they are not, the damage inflicted on the units that ARE within reach will be higher (per unit), but at least one will be undamaged.

Resolving The Attack
Resolving attacks in war is very simple:

  • % killed = 100 x total damage done to a unit / number of hit points in a unit.

In words, if a unit has 5000 hit points, and an attack does 500 hit points to the unit, 10% of the unit is killed. It is normal to write this on the target unit’s records as %killed (this round) / % survive (total).

The % killed is used by the army inflicting the damage for morale checks. If you’re winning, your morale is likely to be strong.

The % surviving is multiplied by the damage inflicted by all attacks by the unit. If 40% of the unit has been killed, it can only inflict 40% as much damage as it would when whole.

EG: The Pikemen have inflicted 782 points to each Swordsmen unit, which has 6900 hit points in total. The Swordsmen have 11.3% killed, 88.7% surviving.

The Logic behind the Initiative Phase
First drafts of the war rules, back in 2004, did not have an Initiative Phase element. All units of a given type operated on a single initiative roll, acting simultaniously; it seemed simpler that way, and the mantra of the rules (as shown in earlier sections of this article) was to simplify everything to the maximum extent possible. It was only after I conducted an impromptu solo playtest that I realised the need to spread army unit’s actions around a little; the results quickly became predictable. In my guise as Commander of the First Armies, I realised that I would order my troops to advance in initiative order; they would all move at the same pace; and the result was that the armies with the highest initiatives on both sides ended up fighting each other, and then the next highest, and so on. The tactical elements were lacking somewhat, and the battle quickly became boring. The second run at the rules – just some notes scribbled on the pages of the first in a different-coloured pen – introduced the concept of the initiative phase.

First, I reasoned that every trooper would roll initiative once, and statistically, that they would therefore occupy every possible result of the die roll; a d20 having a flat 5% chance of producing each possible result. With 100 men in a unit, that meant that 5 of them would have rolled a 20, and 5 of them would have rolled a 19, and so on. This was exactly the sort of complication that I wanted to avoid. But I couldn’t see how until I realised that for any given initiative order number that they could possibly achieve, 5 x (20-initiative order number) would have already acted, 5 would act on that order number, and the rest would still be waiting to act.

In effect, there was little difference in outcomes if, instead of distilling all units into the same action number, I distilled them into two seperate numbers. But this still seemed more devoted to being faithful to the game mechanics than to being playable; more simplification was needed. I also had the problem of deciding exactly what these two action numbers should be.

Where the inspiration for having one be fixed in a similar manner to the way it had been in the first draft, and having the second one vary randomly for each unit from round to round came from, I don’t know. But the benefits seemed immediately obvious. In effect, what was taking place was that those members within each unit that acted on or before one of the action numbers were having their turns, while the rest – and anything that affected the unit as a whole – were guaranteed to have acted by a certain action number that was the same for every unit having the same initiative modifier, since (by definition) that meant that they had rolled a 1 for initiative.

Varying the first action number to a random value within the range of normal results for the members of the unit in question introduced the additional tactically-unpredictable element that had been lacking. However, failing to simplify in one direction demanded simplification in another – the choice of actions. From that point, it was only a small tweak to arrive at the rules in their current form.

Caveat: It was suggested after the actual first use of the War rules in actual play that the predictability had actually resulted from the fact that my playtest had been a solo affair, and that since I was playing the part of both commanders, I always knew exactly what the other side was thinking. Therefore, it was suggested, the Initiative phase was not actually necessary.

To some extent, that criticism was probably justified. But then I realised that fixing a unit’s actions to any one initiative order number rewarded all those who would have rolled lower with an unfair advantage; and if the number wasn’t rerolled every round, that advantage would have persisted for round after round. For that reason, I have elected to retain both the initiative phase concept and the notion that it should be redetermined for each unit each round; on average, that means that no subgroup of troopers will benefit unfairly, because if the war went on long enough, every possible result would eventually show up. I have simplified it to ‘one initiative number for each type of troop’ instead of one for each unit, however.

Now that you know, you also know how to address this criticism of the system should a player offer it.

War Round Action Phase

Multiple things happen in an Army Unit’s Action Phase, and they generally have to happen in a fixed order. In sequence, these are:

  • Morale Check
  • Movement
  • Leadership/Tactics check
  • Luck Check
  • Tactical Advantages
  • Attack
  • Resolve Attacks

Each of these is detailed below.

Morale Checks

The first thing that an army has to do in it’s Action phase is decide whether or not they are willing to keep fighting. This is carried out with a simple check:

% losses – % kills (cumulative) +70, or less, on d%.

  • -20 if outnumbered
  • +10 if enemy is outnumbered
  • -20 if in a tactically weak position
  • +10 if in a tactically strong position
  • -20 if subjected to unnatural fear effects or facing horrific foe
  • +10 if subjected to an extraordinary morale-enhancing effect
  • +10 if fighting for survival
  • +10 if fighting for loved ones survival
  • -10 if already withdrawing or retreating
  • -20 if in rout
  • +50 if attacked while surrendering.
  • Other modifiers at DM’s discretion.

There are 8 possible outcomes from a morale check, each with different effects. These are: Rout, Surrender, Retreat, Withdraw, Fall Back, Normal, Rally, and Resurgance.

Rout
Rout occurs when an army fails its morale check by more than 70%. An army in rout has panicked, lost all military cohesion, and is running. Rout has the following effects:

  • Immediatly an army is routed, any military units in battle with them get an immediate free attack doing first-attack damage.
  • For the sake of payability, a routed army unit is considered to remain intact and to operate as a unit.
  • An army in route must move away from the enemy that routed it in as straight a line as possible, at every opportunity, by as much movement as they are allowed to make.
  • They are considered to always roll a 20 for their initiative phase.
  • They attack anyone who gets in the way of this movement as an initiative attack and will do triple damage with such attacks.
  • They suffer double damage from any attacks inflicted on them while routed.
  • They suffer a -20 penalty to further morale checks while in rout, as shown above.
  • Units which are routed move at a run, ie 5 times the normal amount. This additional movement is evenly divided between initiative phase movement and action phase movement.
  • Further morale checks have only two possible outcomes (otherwise the rout continues): Surrender (and only if surrounded by other armies), and Resurgance (which changes the unit morale to ‘retreat’).

Surrender
Army units surrender when they fail a morale check by 61-70 percent. A unit that is surrendering has lost all hope of victory, and does not believe that their cause is one worth their fighting to their deaths. Surrender has the following effects:

  • An army that is surrendering will lay down their arms, and cease all hostile activity.
  • They will often seat themselves on the ground and put their hands on their heads. They will not move unless their surrender is accepted or they are attacked. They will disobey any orders from their former leaders to the contrary.
  • Any unit that was attacking the surrendering troops may make an extra attack inflicting first-attack damage.
  • Taking advantage of this opportunity will trigger a second morale check with only two possible outcomes: rout, or resurgance. This morale check is at +50, as shown above. A Resurgent unit which had surrendered will fight to the death and need no longer make morale checks.
  • They no longer make initiative checks.

Retreat
Army units retreat when they fail a morale check by 51-60 percent. An army unit that is retreating beleaves that the conflict has been lost but that something (if only their lives) can still be salvaged by an orderly departure from the field of battle. Retreat has the following effects:

  • The unit will use initiative movement to move away from the nearest hostile force. If not attacked, they will also use their action phase to move.
  • If enclosed, they will seek the weakest enemy unit and engage it, attempting to force it to withdraw for a round so that they can pass through the gap so opened in the enemy lines.
  • They suffer a -10 penalty to further morale checks while retreating, as shown above.
  • Units which are retreating move double the normal amount. This additional movement ALL takes place in the initiative phase, which means that they move 1½ times their normal movement in that phase.
  • Their priorities have changed, but in every other way the unit continues to function as usual.

Withdraw
Army units withdraw when they fail a morale check by 31-50 percent. An army that is withdrawing believes that they cannot contribute anything further to the battle. Units fighting for the survival of themselves or their loved ones will not withdraw; treat this result as “fall back”. A withdrawing unit is subject to the following:

  • The unit must use their next initiative phase to manouver another unit between themselves and the nearest hostile force. They will attack any enemy unit adjacent to them in their action phase.
  • They suffer a -10 penalty to further morale checks while withdrawing, as shown above.
  • Their objective is to remove themselves from the front lines of battle, but still believes that the ultimate victory belongs to their allies units. Their actions will be consistant with this perception; they will not abandon the battlefield, and will seek to make themselves useful in some other capacity.
  • If they cannot contribute in some fashion, they will move a safe distance away and await the conclusion of the battle.
  • Units which are withdrawing move double the normal amount. This additional movement ALL takes place in the initiative phase, which means that they move 1½ times their normal movement in that phase.
  • They will not seek out further hostilities but will defend themselves.

Fall Back
Army units fall back when they fail a morale check by 30 or less percent. An army unit that is falling back needs to regroup and reorganise before they can return to the battle. A unit which falls back behaves as follows:

  • They must use their next action phase to move away from all hostile forces.
  • If adjacent to an enemy unit during their initiative phase, they will attack it, but must again move away in their action phase.
  • They must continue to move away from hostile forces until they spend a full round without being damaged by enemy attack. The following round, their condition returns to “normal”.
  • Where possible, they will manouver to place allied forces between themselves and hostile forces to gain the time free of attack to regroup.

Normal
No extraordinary rules apply, this is the default condition.

Rally
Army units rally when they succeed on a morale check by 30 or more. A “rally” result negates a Retreat, Withdraw, or Fall Back result and returns the unit’s condition to “normal”.

Resurgance
Army units experience a resurgance in Morale when they succeed on a Morale check by 80 or more, or roll a 00 on a morale check. A “resurgance” result negates any prior Morale failure and grants a +10 (for a morale-boosting effect) to subsequent morale checks for the remainder of the battle. Some resurgant units no longer need to make morale checks. Furthermore, any damage taken prior to the resurgance result no longer counts; treat the army unit’s current hit point total as full capacity.

EG: A unit started with 5000 hit points. After taking 2500 points, they were at a rating of 50% killed. They then got a “Resurgance” result and were redefined as a unit with 2500 hit points for the remainder of the battle, with 0% killed. It will still only take another 2500 points of damage to wipe them out, however.

This concludes part three of this six-part article. Part four will continue describing the procedures for actually running a 10,000 man battle, covering Movement, Luck, Tactical and Strategic Advantages, Freindly Fire, Resolving Attacks and the Bookkeeping required to use the system.


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