Note: This system uses a d10 for combat resolution.

This is not a real wargame. It is only a facsimile! Fudging is not only allowed, it is required! Note that this is especially true when it comes to the effects of magic and magical "monster" effects, such as dragon breath attacks.

set-up

Hidden movement: You may wish to allow units on the board to begin "hidden" from the other side. This adds an element of surprise to a battle. Rather than as in a chess game, in which everyone can see all the units involved, there will always be a question in the minds of the players: is there a unit out there we haven't spotted yet?

All-Clear Movement: Then again, it is far easier to put all the units on the board from the beginning.

turn sequence

Players move one after the other. Who goes first can be determined by a simple die roll. Alternatively, that die roll can be modified if one side has a superior leader or general in charge. Optionally, once initiative is determined, each side goes in that order for the rest of the game.

While most battles have two sides, there could be three, four, or even more sides to a battle. Tolkien's battle of five armies (The Hobbit) is an example.

Initiative: Roll a die for each side. High roll goes first.

Move: Move all the first player's units that can move.

Unflip: Unflip all the first player's units that are flipped.

Combat: Units that can attack may do so. Note that some units MUST attack. Apply combat results as they occur.

End of Turn: If the first player's end of turn, second player begins sequence. If the end of the second player's turn, check morale and victory, then begin the next battle turn.

movement

Base Movement: Each unit has a base movement in inch es it can move on the table. If you are using a big sheet of hex or graph paper, each inch represents one hex or square.

Foot: 3" Horse: 6" Specialist: 6" Monster: 9"

Of course, GM's may wish to modify these figures to fit the campaign. For example, Giant Slugs might move at 3" per turn. Facing is determined at the end of a move. Units should be moved from same corner to same corner of the unit: you can't gain an inch by measuring from the front of the counter at the start of the move and then the back of the unit at the end of the move.

Zone of Control: Non-mob units have a Zone of Control that extends one inch directly ahead of the unit. Moving units that enter the zone of an enemy must stop and face that enemy. If locked, units cannot "back out" of combat. However, if a unit has one or more friendly units in the combat, it may opt to back out. Flying units may ignore ZoCs.

Terrain: To keep things simple, terrain comes in three types: clear, rough, and impassable. clear: No effect on combat or movement rough: Attacking into rough terrain modifies the attack roll by -1. Moving into rough cuts movement by 1/2. Flyers ignore rough terrain. Impassable: Flying units might be able to cross it; otherwise, no movement or combat here.

combat

When one unit's front is touching another unit's front, the player who is moving can use it to attack. If the attacking unit's front edge is touching another unit's side (flank) or rear, it receives a bonus when attacking (see the modifiers chart to the left). If multiple attacking units are attacking a single defender, they add their base strengths together when figuring the attack. Note that an attacker cannot ignore a defending unit to "gang up" on another defender. If a unit is "locked" at a flank, during its move it may rotate to face the flanking unit if there are no enemies in contact with its front edge.

Calculating the Attack: Compare the attacker's and defender's Base Strength. Find the appropriate row of the Combat Chart. The attacker rolls the die and applies any applicable flank, rear, terrain, shock, or enhancements (such as "Hatred") modifiers. The results of the roll are applied immediately to the battlefield. The owning player is in charge of applying results, such as retreats. Optionally, halve missile units in melee combat with non-missile troops (round up).

Base Strength: A unit's base strength is its Type plus Discipline plus Equipment.

combat effects

Retreat: This result forces the unit affected to move a normal (for the troop type) move's distance away from the enemy that caused the retreat. If a unit cannot move at least half this distance because of enemy units or impassable terrain, the unit is eliminated. If the unit can move more than half it's move before being forced to enter an enemy Zone of Control, the unit stops in that zone. Units that retreat are automatically flipped over. Flipped units that are again forced to retreat are instead eliminated. Retreating through friendly units is only possible if the friendly unit is a mob.

Locked: All units that participated in this combat remain where they are. Note that mobs cannot do this, and must move out of enemy /-o%- upon this result. If a mob unit cannot move out of enemy ZoC by moving about one inch, it is flipped. Note that backing out to avoid a lock is not considered a retreat result. If two mobs "lock," they become a single mob (stack the units together) and must remain in combat until one is forced to retreat or is eliminated.

Loss: A unit that receives this result is destroyed. Optionally, an Elite or Veteran unit can retreat, and then be flipped (disciplined units were much harder to actually destroy on the battlefield). For the purposes of aftermath, note that a "destroyed" unit is not literally destroyed, but is dispersed or made less effective. Typically, anywhere from one quarter to three quarters of "destroyed" units can be reconstituted for later battles, but this process can take quite awhile - days, or even weeks. Of course, certain kinds of magical or monster attacks may result in units literally being destroyed. What happens on this scale is beyond the scope of these rules, and should be left up to the GM. 

unit examples and definitions

Here are some sample units and definitions that will help round out this "fake" wargame. Value/Costs are in parentheses; items in brackets [ ] are Enhancements, and add to the units cost but not to its Base Strength.

Medium Infantry (Typical Human Foot Soldiers)
Foot (1) + Sword (1) + Armor (1) = 3 (in this case, Base Strength and Cost are the same).

Elvish Archers
Foot (1) + Missiles (3) + Veteran (1) + [Split Move and Fire (2) + Night Vision (1) + Hatred of Orcs (-2)] = BS of 5, Cost of 6

Knights
Horse (3) + Spear (3) + Heavy Armor (2) + Elite (2) + [Fear of Dishonor; must attack other Knights first (-1)] = BS of 10, Cost of 9. Note Fear is non-standard, but is "best fit."

Wizard Band
Specialist (5) + Magic B (6) + [Range Boost (1)] = BS of 11, Cost of 12. The "Range Boost" here is used to indicate an increase in magic range potential available to these specialized battle mages. Most of the time, of course; ranges are determined by the magic type (A, B, or C) and by the specific RPG system in use.

Griffon Pack
Monster (7) + Axe (2) + Veteran (1) +[Move Boost (1) + Fear of Magic (-1)] = BS of 10, Cost of 11. Note the "Axe" represents Griffon beak attacks: with monsters, pick the closest equivalent.

Draco Horribilis
Monster (7) + Spear (3) + Elite (2) + Heavy Armor (2) + Magic A "Firebreath" (4) + [Flight (3) + Sense of Smell (1) + Move Boost (1)] = BS of 18, Cost of 23. Note that this fella could take on an army of puny humans built on 23 cost points ... and win! Also note that the effect of "Firebreath" is outside the realm of this system, as is all magic!

Hill Orcs
Foot (1) + Axe (2) + Mob (-1) + [Hates Elves (-2)] = BS of 2, Cost of 1! Sure, they're weak ... but you can buy 3 of these units for the cost of one human medium infantry as listed above!

Clan Snot-Noze, Goblins
Foot (1) + Stick (1) + Veteran (2) + Mob (-1) + [Hates Dwarves (-2)] = BS of 2, Cost of 1. Even weaker than Orcs, but have these guys seen some fights.

Mountain Orcs
Foot (1) + Axe (2) + Veteran (1) + Armor (1) + [Hates Elves (-2)] = BS of 5, Cost of 3. Cheap and tough, these guys just lose their heads when Elves come around...

Pegasus Mounted Archers (author's personal favorite)
Horse (3) + Missile (3) + Elite (2) + Armor (1) + [Range Boost (1) + Split Move/Fire (2) + Flight (3)] = BS of 9, Cost of 15. What makes these guys naughty is that with flying and split move, they can hide behind infantry ... fly "up," fire "over" friendly troops, then fly "down." Sneaky, eh? Like pop-up helicopter attacks, with feathers.

Typical Low to Medium Toughness Party
Horse (3) + Sword (1) + Armor (1) + Magic A (4) = BS of 9, cost of 9. This BS would have to be modified downward if the local general doesn't assign a troop of cavalry to help boost the party's strength and durability on the battlefield.

Typical Tough Party
Horse (3) + Sword (1) + Armor (1) + Elite (2) + Magic C (10) + [Move Boost (1)] = BS of 17, Cost of 18. Very tough indeed! GM's may want to assign a penalty to "Party" units because of their small size if they are not accompanied by "bodyguards" for the battle of up to -10 BS. Note that the effects of Magic C are outside the realm of these rules!

missile information

Missile units attack normally using the combat chart. Missile units may "gang up" on enemy units, but no missile unit that is adjacent to an enemy can attack anything other than that adjacent enemy unit. Non-mob units attacked from the front by missile units get a "saving throw" to avoid Loss results: 1-5 retreat instead, 6-10 loss is inflicted. Note that missile units cannot shoot "through" any unit, enemy or friendly, though GM's may want to optionally allow flying units to do so, as well as units on hilltops shooting over units "below" them. Optionally, all loss results from missile fire are counted as "retreat" results. Optionally, flying units cannot ignore ZoCs of missile units.

rules for buying troops

If you're going to use these rules to buy troops when balancing a battle, note: no unit can cost less than its base unit type - Foot minimum is 1, Horse minimum is 3, and so on. Use common sense; as noted earlier, this system is not minimax proof, and it is possible to create very unfair units using it. Remember: the dog wags the tail - describe what is in your game and you should be OK.

Definitions

Front
Something is in front of a unit if it is in the space beyond a line drawn parallel to the front of the unit's- marker.

Flank
Something is in a unit's flank if it is in the space beyond a line drawn parallel to one of the sides of the unit's marker.

Rear
Something is in back of a unit if it is in the space beyond a line drawn parallel to the back side of the unit's marker.

Skirmisher
A unit used as a "screen" for the rest of the army. Usually disposable.

Formation
What you get when a bunch of units line up and move together. This system doesn't cover this: if you want to see optional rules, write to Shadis and ask for `em by name!

Leader Units
A unit on the battlefield that contains the general for one side or faction. Again, this system is too simple to include them: if you want `em, write to Shadis and ask for `em by name!

Conform
When units collide (as in combat) it is OK to move the attacker to "conform" to the defender. This will usually require a slide right or left, and often a slight tilting of the moving unit. Think "The attacker conforms to the defender." When you do this you're neatening the battlefield a bit.

Mug
When several units, or one very strong unit, attack a single or weak unit (cf "dogpile").

Toy Soldiers Quick and Dirty System for Mass Combat

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