Eyce Nine Posted March 17, 2003 Share Posted March 17, 2003 I'm a sucker for absolutely huge, or mediumly large, battles between my players and the baddies. ::sly hehe i dont know maybe i go overboard, but then again maybe not...So do you do large battles and if so how do you pull them off well?what im thinking here is battles with like an entire company of guys (or more). at that scale I always have trouble keeping things straight, although i have made a cool helper sheet for this sort of thing which I hope will appear online soon...so your thoughts...eyce9 ::cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finbar Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Top Three:1) Hex Map: You absolutely cannot run a decent battle without one.2) Initiative Sheet: Let's you run a combat very quickly and efficiently.3) Clipboard: So you can flip between relevant info sheets very quickly.Other than, an assistant GM is good for rolling dice; color coding units/sides is always a great idea; and treating each unit as a character equal to the average member of that unit is a great idea.The big problem is casualties: Assume that 3% of any unit dies, and 20% are casualties. Basically, not all units are berserkers, and you have to allow that most people do survive combat....FR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alistaire Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 So do you do large battles and if so how do you pull them off well?I wouldn't say that I pull them off well... ::confused I have had up to 10 people in my PC's \"team\" (usually 4 pcs, and 4-6 npcs), fighting guys up to 20 in number, or less if they are tough. 1) Hex Map: You absolutely cannot run a decent battle without one.2) Initiative Sheet: Let's you run a combat very quickly and efficiently.3) Clipboard: So you can flip between relevant info sheets very quickly.The last two I do for sure! Can't live without #2! #1 I've never tried, and rely on my players imaginations for the most part. I guess I don't take \"position\" too seriously. I just describe the \"targets\" and ask \"which one do you want to kill?\" Well, ok, maybe a little more than that, but you can get what I mean. I think this speeds things up (not worrying as much about tactics and cover) as it does slows things down (which one shot at me again? Where is he? What's he wearing? What gun does he have? Is he the abbarent or the rogue psion?) I guess it comes down to whatever works best for your players. Try both maybe, see what works.The big problem is casualties: Assume that 3% of any unit dies, and 20% are casualties. Basically, not all units are berserkers, and you have to allow that most people do survive combat....I'll go along with that, dependant on the threat level of course. ::devil I've only had one character die in my last series (of course, the player wanted to switch characters, but really, there was no way he was getting out of that situation!), but usually have anywhere from 1-4 casualties on average from an average "even" fight. Of course, there have been slaughters (last night saw a 10-1 fight in PCs favor), and then there are the times when only one or two PCs will even be conscious enough "push the button and save everyone." Of course, I am not above fudging rolls, adding reinforcements, or pulling a surprise move or piece of equipment in order to give my fights more dramatic flair... and the proper amount of casualti... I mean, tension. ::devilangel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harlequin Posted March 23, 2003 Share Posted March 23, 2003 ::thumbsup heya Eyce Nine, sorry about the late welcome. but welcome nonetheless, i hope you enjoy the boards and site. ::biggrin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix Posted March 23, 2003 Share Posted March 23, 2003 ::mellow What's a hex map? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finbar Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 Just to be me ::devilangel ...A "hex map" is an empty map composed of hexes instead of squares. By using dry erase markers and miniatures, you can simulate a number of situations. It's great for clearing up situations...FR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfPotts Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 Are you trying for a war-game style thing, or asking for ideas on how to simulate / ST large battles in the normal rpg setting?If it's the second, then there was one of the Vampire Dark Ages books that had a good bit on the PCs in large scale battles. IIRC exact numbers & whatnot weren't an issue - you just descibed the chaos of battle to the players & asked what they were doing. You'd have a general idea of who should win, all things being equal, then adjust that for actions taken by the PCs (killing the enemy leader, using a flashy power, etc.). That way the PCs actions are important in tipping the scale of the battle one way or the other.More stats-wise: I think you just rolled a die to see how many shots were fired at each PC per round; some sort of Athletics roll was required to act each round (bad results mean your character has fallen, or been caught up in a charge, or something); & PCs could make a roll to 'take-out' (not always kill, but disable or otherwise remove from the combat) X number of enemy "extras". Impressive moves or power use 'took out' loads more enemies (either by the effect itself, or because they 'bottle it' & flee from your awesome might).In the end the mechanics were secondary to the way the scene was described - the aim being to get the players thinking like their characters are in a huge battle, rather than just watching a huge battle from an airborne position (like in many table-top war-game style combats). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alistaire Posted March 25, 2003 Share Posted March 25, 2003 Good call, ProfPotts! I had totally forgotten the invasion that my players were part of on a Chromie base. It was soooo Starship Troopers style, with hundreds of the little buggers running out of this giant hole in the ground and meeting with the waves of VARGs approaching the hole. I just told the PCs to roll to-hit and damage (all those Chromies look alike anyhow), and I described the results. I would roll to see how many were attacking each PC, and roll those results. Then at the end of each turn I'd take time to describe the scene around them, how in the first minute it was like being knee-deep in Chromies, shifting light and lasers beams everywhere, one's trying to crawl on to your back... Then I'd include snippits from time to time about how the battle seemed to be progressing, like how you could see the huge Hellfire VARG in the distance, wading it's way through the attacks (heck I even rolled for that guy!).We had a lot of fun. Didn't need to keep track of numbers or initiative. And damage to the Chromies was pretty much irrelevant, with VARG weapons. Wasn't long before we had them on the run I tell you! ::smiley1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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