Preparing for a battle scene doesn't just involve leaving clues and waving portents around during the sessions before a big fight. For the game master, it involves a number of chores.

First, check the geography. Where is a battle likely to take place? Sketch possible battlefields using a sheet of graph paper. When it comes time for battle, set up the terrain on the tabletop according to the sketch. You can use masking tape for roads, trails, or rivers, and you can tape down different shapes of paper to represent woods, hills, ponds, and so forth. Alternatively, draw the terrain on a big sheet of newsprint or hex paper, if you've got the materials. 

See the "Movement" section of the rules. Terrain comes in three basic flavors as far as they are concerned: clear, rough, and impassable. How you draw each kind is up to you. In addition, there are modifiers for hills; when you denote hills, make sure it is clear which way is uphill. There may or may not be a "hilltop" which is flat. Clear terrain usually consists of plains, fields, meadows, and so on. Rough includes light woods, rocky ground, scrub, and such. Impassable terrain means water (except for very special units), mountains, cliffs, and heavy or dense forest. Whenever you draw terrain, do your best to represent it in 1" chunks. (If you're using hex or graph paper, be sure that the terrain for each hex is clear to the players.)

Second, create the units. Using one-inch squares of cardstock, draw the units up according to the charts given later in this article. What kind of balance exists is entirely up to you: all battles don't have to be equal! It may be easier to draw one-inch squares on the cardstock, lay out the units, then cut them up. You can also buy blank premade counters at game stores or via mail-order.

Finally, figure out how the player characters are best represented using this system. Most parties will be a "Specialist" unit, with magic of one level or another. On this scale, mages of all sorts have the advantage over heroes, thieves, monks, and so forth. Depending on the level of the character's involvement, they may also be commanders of some kind in the army they are fighting with. (Or perhaps the commander they are fight ing under is quickly killed in battle, and all of a sudden couriers start showing up and asking "what do we do now?")

Once this is done, it is time to set up the battle and get things going. Good luck!

running the battle

Battles are big affairs - noisy, confusing. One method of resolving them is to ignore the rules system given here and "guesstimate" results based on the most dramatic resolution the GM desires. Another method is to let the players run one side, while the GM runs the other.

Base strength table
type	value	definition
Foot	1	Infantry
Horse	3	Mounted troops. Might include wolves, winged horses, etc.
Specialist	5	Wizards, Sappers, Includes bodyguards; usually horsed
Monster	7	Dragons, Wyverns, Giant Slugs, Supernatural creatures, etc.,

If the unit representing the PCs is damaged, GM's should run the scene quickly and generically. Some of the characters should end up hurt; they may lose some equipment in the rout. If the PCs' unit is destroyed, that's bad. Depending on the campaign, some of the characters may be badly injured or dead. Equipment will certainly be lost due to pillaging; it's also possible they will be taken prisoner for ransom or bargaining purposes.

Whatever the results, remember that events in a battle take place on a grand scale. While magic can have quite an effect, most player characters will be quite helpless as individuals. Be sure the players know that they are effective on this scale as a unit: discourage players from adopting individual strategies or actions. Remember, a battle scene is a battle, not an opportunity for thieves to pick pockets, and so on.

Then again, some of the most telling moments of a battle can spring from individual actions. Charges are lead by heroic leaders. Taunts can be thrown at the enemy to try and make them commit an error. Try to balance the large scale of the scene with opportunities for individuals to shine. Think of Tolkien's battle scenes in which the overall flow of battle isn't influenced too much by the heroes, but in which we still see the heroes doing what comes naturally, if only in snippets.

aftermath

After a battle, there are many things to consider. Has territory been taken? Will allegiances shift? Was the army of one side decimated? Did any lords or ladies perish, and what will that mean in their households as the reins of power are transferred from the dead to the living?

Any heroes of the battle must be acknowledged. This is a good job for Bards. In fact, clever Bards might make more of simple actions, and less of foolish acts, thereby putting a shine on a favored individual. Then again, the opposite is also possible. Never forget that history is written by the winners.

Most battles end only to spread the seeds of the next. The same is true about wars, of course. If a good time was had by all, put the toys away for now, but think ahead: battle will come again!

conclusion

If you ran a battle using this system, and you had a good time, you might try other wargames. Check out your local retailer and see what's going on. Many have tables set up for people to play various games. While games like Warhammer 40K (and all such similar ilk) are popular, there are many, many wargame rules systems out there. WarHammer is a relatively simple game, as is Battletech. There are also much more complicated wargames that cover the Napoleonic era, the Ancients era, and even the American Civil War. If you go to a'con and see a table covered with a gazillion little lead soldiers, you've found such a game. DBA, or "De Bellis Antiquitatus," is a very common miniatures game easily adaptable to the fantasy genre.

Another sign that you might like wargames, is if you (while reading these rules) kept thinking to yourself "but that's not right!" There isn't anything that marks a wargamer more truly than the tendency to second-guess rule systems. For further information about wargaming, try www.magweb.com

Toy Soldiers Quick and Dirty System for Mass Combat

Introduction
Setting the Scene
The Rules
Charts and Tables
Counters (slow: 170K)