> I've been playing around with mini wargaming in a Glorantha setting,
I have spent YEARS and YEARS wrestling with exactly this problem; ie how to do mass conlict in Gloranthan RuneQuest. (Yes, the following is for RuneQuest, so I'd better cross-post it.)
> and
> was wondering what rules others have used (several events have been run at
> cons, so there must be some wargaming out there). I've been using
> Warhamster, but it seems a little clumsy for 1:1 scale.
Also, you cannot run RQ characters in Warhamster, and Warhamster isn't RQ.
It also uses only one scale, and a set of fantasy RPG wargaming rules ought to have scale as a variable. That is, it ought to handle RQ scale skirmishing, with PC actions being VERY influential towards an outcome, and it should also handle WB&RM scale mass conflict with Crimson Bats, Mothers of Monsters, Arkats and, again, the possibility of RQ PC involvement.
> Any comments? I've
> played a little DBA/DBR recently (I usually play 1912-45), and it seems
> nice -- is De Bellis Fantasticus adaptable for Glorantha? Fantasy Rules?
> Chronopia?
Some thoughts :
First, wargames. Most wargames use a 1D6 for resolving conflict. This is, in fact, a very subtle and highly realistic system for simulating battles (I discovered this to my great surprise when I finished my analysis of these systems), based on mathematical determinism. This system assumes that under good conditions a battle will be won, with a 1/6th chance of a fluke result. This is realistic.
(Good conditions means an outnumbered enemy, decisive tactical advantages, etc...)
RPGs make a very different assumption. They assume 1) That battles will normally be won half the time in good conditions, not always (although the final results are actually quite similar). 2) That some characters have superhuman abilities.
A good fantasy RPG system for mass conflict, then, requires IMO as its foundation rules for characters and army units to fight in the same game system. The key, here, is SCALE. In a RQ mass combat system, which was *actually* for RuneQuest, the time scale should be organically linked with the scale used for army units. This gives you a basis for working out how many RQ scale attacks an individual hero-type character can make in a given turn, and thus how effective he might be versus an army unit. His combat skills, then, are defined against this scale as a meta-rule, and reduced incrementally (IMG by 10% steps) against the scale used for unit SIZ. So, the hero would fight a SIZ 1 unit at -10%, a SIZ 2 unit at -20% and so on. (SIZ 1 units are V, small (ie about three soldiers), and IMG an ordinary WB&RM unit is SIZ 42) Divide parry or dodge skill by 10, and add this to his armour for the purposes of mass combat, and use something like the minor wound/major wound rules from Elric! for army units, and you have the basis for doing mass combat in RQ. IMG I use a heroic success rule (1% chance for every full 100% of skill), a critical which also allows the hero a second action in the same round. If you prefer to have more manageable skill levels, though, you can say that in mass combat a normal critical gives the heroic individual an extra action.
Spirit combat should be changed so as to resemble melee combat for the purposes
of wargaming.
Missile weapons are a delicate matter.
The best parts of Warhamster, and bits from the Dragon Pass boardgames will be
of great use. (Chaos Factors, and all that jazz.)
Heroic combat between RQ characters during battle should be played as a certain
(reasonably small) number of RQ rounds according to the time scale used,
although I have found that this isn't usually much of a problem.
Depending on your local version of RQ rules, it is then easy to mathematically derive the skill levels of a heroic character, and come up with a general model for combat skills IYG (or vice-versa), which will be accurate, playable, and simple, and handle any level of Gloranthan combat.
I have found that it is best to keep the number of army units present in a scenario quite small, although they can be of any SIZ. Then, you can keep the flavour of RQ quite intact, 'cos you're using v. similar rules to RQ, and the army units are like big monsters. The PCs then have the unrealistic opportunity of exercising DECISIVE influence on the outcome of battle. This IMO is meat and wine for heroic fantasy ! If the number of units is fairly small, then a battle, or skirmish, should play at about the same speed as normal RQ combat.
I hope this is of use :-)
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