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Mass Combat, FATE Style

   
Mass Combat, FATE Style

So I'm working on a game premise where the characters will eventually become leaders with resources at their disposal, such as military units and supply stocks, that they can distribute and command to further their cause. I'm going with FATE because I not only need rules lite but I am also unfamiliar with most systems and have no desire to take on anything new, no matter how simple. It will be quite a while before players (if I run the game) work up to leadership level. I am thinking of handling it this way:

As character leadership increases, they will first gain a very small handful of cohorts, NPCs close to them who they can send out on insignificant missions or use as their personal guard during combat. Think messengers, right hands, errand runners, etc. These NPCs will have minimal FATE sheets, perhaps carrying aspects but no stunts.

Eventually, they will receive units of food and supply, and soldiers as well. While I'm not certain I'll hold to the food and supplies (may get too complicated), the military units are a definite (unless better suggestions are forthcoming). Each unit will be x number of whatever division (pikemen, archers, cavalry, etc) and will have aspects and perhaps a stunt or two. Unit leaders will have individual sheets/stats and can be interchanged among units, depending on what the player desires to achieve. Unit Leaders will have special aspects and/or stunts that affect their units in some positive way. Think boons like increased unit speed, fearless, higher defense, mightier attack, truer aim, etc. The food and supplies units will be utilized to furnish not only the player's troops but also any settlements/cities/etc under their character's protection. They can also send aid in the form of units to allies.

I envision a mid size combat would appear something like this: Character + Personal NPCs + Units + Unit Leaders VS Enemy + Personal NPCs + Units + Unit Leaders. Personal NPCs would include any chosen from the character's personal retinue. Certainly mesengers would not be called to combat but personal guard and perhaps right hand men would be. The terrain and atmosphere would of course provide plenty of scene aspects, and turns would follow as typical FATE turns until one side or the other becomes whittled away or admits defeat.

As charcter leadership increases, the number of pieces per unit also increases, thus increasing its basic attributes so units rise in power and strength. Straight military units will have mundane aspects and stunts while magical units will possess magic based ones. I will probably set a max number of units to be used per battle and for speed's sake, characters will not be expected to roleplay each combat turn. Merely stating their unit's actions will be enough. Battle objectives will also vary throughout so that victory via defeat does not become overly repetitive. Objectives like 'give chase', 'strike and retreat', 'misdirect', 'distract', etc are some other examples.

I am not a fluent FATE user, so... any thoughts, holes, or considerations I'm missing?

I actually wrote a quick mass battle system for Fate not too long ago in preparation for a game I was planning and have since folded into another game. It's hardly perfect and hasn't seen much testing and streamlining, but it should be mostly functional. You can find them here: https://aldea-the-dark-ages.obsidian...s-battle-rules

The base should work well enough, as it's just similar to a regular Fate conflict. The extra rules of attaching players to troops and maneuvers/opportunities are as of yet untested.

In addition, the Age of Arthur supplement has rules for mass battle. It might be worth checking out.

I've got a bit of work I need to get done, but I'll try to find the time later to offer some concrete feedback on your ideas. I love hacking Fate for all sorts of things, and this is a topic I've wondered about quite a bit.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cleokatrah View Post
I am not a fluent FATE user, so... any thoughts, holes, or considerations I'm missing?
How about using the Fate Fractal, known as the Bronze Rule of Fate as well? That, and scale rules, should make it much easier to run an organisation.
After all, you don't want to increase the bookkeping as you progress, or at least not by much, right?





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