Every now and then in fantasy RPGs (as well as others, of course) you need to figure out what happens when 400 orcs fight 300 elves. Indeed, if you play Old Schhool D&D/AD&D the 'end game' almost must include large scale battles.
The old Chainmail rules covered this sort of thing, but the rest of the game had changed a fair amount when Battlesystem was released as an update to Chainmail.
In a nutshell, Battlesystem is an attempt to make mass combat in D&D/AD&D something manageable and that can be played out on the table with player choices mattering instead of having the action occur 'offscreen'.
Battle system is very much a supplement! It is not designed to replace or compete with stuff like Warhammer - it is, very simply, a tool for DM's and player to resolve certain game situations.
Battlesystem does its best to be simple and straightforward. All groups are divided into 'figures', or groupings of similar creatures (from 10 creatures like orcs to 1 creature like a giant). These figures are then grouped into units and the units as a whole have a set of stats to describe their abilities on the battlefield. Stats include things like movement speed, armor class, THAC0, etc. as well as morale and discipline ratings.
Battle consists of maneuvering units as groups and combat rolls are made for units as a whole, not by figure or by creature. Rather than being just a statistical game, though, players do roll dice to see how well or poorly units do from round to round, adding a touch of luck to the system. At the same time, Battlesystem is still designed so that better tactics outweigh better luck!
The game is divided into sections (basic, etc.) so that you can learn the rules in steps.
While simple, the rules do cover a wide range of topics and are detailed enough that 99% of situations are going to be covered directly or indirectly.
I will continue with play reports!
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Monday, June 22, 2015
Battlefield Action
This weekend I broke out the Battlesystem rules PDF I acquired a few weeks ago. I haven't done Battlesystem in 25 years and my kids had never seen it, so we went with the Basic rules (no heroes, no magic, no missiles) and a simple largest size Orc tribe (me) versus largest size Elf tribe (my oldest) on a field with two copses of trees.
My setup (from my vantage):
AXEMEN PIKES SPEARS SCIMITARS
3 wide x 2 deep 3x3 4x2 w/ 1 extra 3X2 w/1
His setup From my vantage):
SPEARS SWORDSMEN
4x2 6x2
I had 50% more troops, but with a lower A.C. and a -1 to attacks due to fighting during the day.
Since this was simple maneuver and fight, we closed rapidly. My oldest was mindful of being forced to charge (due to racial hatred) so I was able to anchor my right flank on an impassable thicket/copse while also separating my axemen about 50 yards to my left. His front hit my main body essentially evenly and at once. It was time to slog it out.
Elven swordsmen, with their racial +1 to hit, really worked over the scimitars and spears. The spears, however, with two ranks able to fight, worked over the elven swordsmen. The tiny even frontage of spears on spears was a slight advantage to the elves, but the 3x3 pike formation was mauling the spearmen.
My son admitted he wasn't paying attention and missed that those were pikes or he might have done things differently!
My axemen wheeled right and charged, slamming into the exposed right flank of the elven spears and the meat grinder continued with superior elven A.C. and attacks about matching superior orcish numbers. While the elven swordsmen clearly outclassed the orcish scimitars and elven spears just edged out orcish spears the pikes were tearing through the elven spears with relative ease. The just-arrived orcish axemen put the elven spears in a bad spot.
In the second round of combat losses were bad enough that most units had to check morale, with the pike and the elven swords switching to Open position!
During the next move my axemen did a 'wrap around' and encircled the remaining elven spears. At this point the spears essentially ceased to existThe elven swordsmen had mopped the floor with orcish scimitars, but had taken very serious casualties, as well. Realizing they were facing 2 ranks of pikes and (essentially fresh) axemen my oldest announced he would flee - his superior movement and lucky positioning meant this was a certain escape. 100 elves and 120 orcs survived the battle with the orcs holding the field.
Observations
1) As I had noted in a previous post, in mass combat every point of A.C. and every single +1 or -1 to hit has a huge impact on the battle
2) The type of damage die has a big effect in mass combat
3) The number advantage can overcome disadvantages in A.C. and to hit, but at a cost of more dead.
4) This was a very, very even fight and changing any 2 rolls would have resulted in an Elven win.
Next time - Hobgoblins vs. Dwarves, and with missile weapons!
My setup (from my vantage):
AXEMEN PIKES SPEARS SCIMITARS
3 wide x 2 deep 3x3 4x2 w/ 1 extra 3X2 w/1
His setup From my vantage):
SPEARS SWORDSMEN
4x2 6x2
I had 50% more troops, but with a lower A.C. and a -1 to attacks due to fighting during the day.
Since this was simple maneuver and fight, we closed rapidly. My oldest was mindful of being forced to charge (due to racial hatred) so I was able to anchor my right flank on an impassable thicket/copse while also separating my axemen about 50 yards to my left. His front hit my main body essentially evenly and at once. It was time to slog it out.
Elven swordsmen, with their racial +1 to hit, really worked over the scimitars and spears. The spears, however, with two ranks able to fight, worked over the elven swordsmen. The tiny even frontage of spears on spears was a slight advantage to the elves, but the 3x3 pike formation was mauling the spearmen.
My son admitted he wasn't paying attention and missed that those were pikes or he might have done things differently!
My axemen wheeled right and charged, slamming into the exposed right flank of the elven spears and the meat grinder continued with superior elven A.C. and attacks about matching superior orcish numbers. While the elven swordsmen clearly outclassed the orcish scimitars and elven spears just edged out orcish spears the pikes were tearing through the elven spears with relative ease. The just-arrived orcish axemen put the elven spears in a bad spot.
In the second round of combat losses were bad enough that most units had to check morale, with the pike and the elven swords switching to Open position!
During the next move my axemen did a 'wrap around' and encircled the remaining elven spears. At this point the spears essentially ceased to existThe elven swordsmen had mopped the floor with orcish scimitars, but had taken very serious casualties, as well. Realizing they were facing 2 ranks of pikes and (essentially fresh) axemen my oldest announced he would flee - his superior movement and lucky positioning meant this was a certain escape. 100 elves and 120 orcs survived the battle with the orcs holding the field.
Observations
1) As I had noted in a previous post, in mass combat every point of A.C. and every single +1 or -1 to hit has a huge impact on the battle
2) The type of damage die has a big effect in mass combat
3) The number advantage can overcome disadvantages in A.C. and to hit, but at a cost of more dead.
4) This was a very, very even fight and changing any 2 rolls would have resulted in an Elven win.
Next time - Hobgoblins vs. Dwarves, and with missile weapons!
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Why Wizards Don't Suck on the Battlefield
This is, naturally, directly related to my last post.
A little over a quarter century ago we had a guy sit in on a game for a session or two. As I recall he was playing a 6th level magic-user with an interesting mix of magic items and spells. He joined a large party (5 players and 8 characters, I think) and we went to Lew Pulsipher's Mount Thunder, where PC skulls as common as mice.
The party got into an altercation and the visiting player cast Mirror Image, then Shield. The he drew a dagger and closed with the front line, doing very well for himself and helping turn the tide. This led Lew to discuss the idea of Pocket Quarterbacks vs. Fran Tarkenton. Wizards who stay in the middle of the formation and lob spells over his defenders = pocket quarterback. Guys like the visitor who wander around both casting and fighting are Fran Tarkenton (look him up, kids).
While I have certainly mentioned what I call the Four Roles a few other places, let me repeat them;
1) Fighters are Physical Offense
2) Magic-users are Magical Offense
3) Clerics are Physical and Magical Defense
4) Thieves are Intelligence and Scouting
And the other classes make sense, too; paladins are physical offense and magical defense, etc.
Now, while I say, many times, wizards are magical offense and have said very recently that wizards suck on the battlefield (see the link in the first sentence) that isn't quite all there is to say. See, wizards don't have to suck on the battlefield, you just need to stop thinking of them as artillery and start thinking of them as melee combatants.
Yes, really.
While a wizard is artillery to a party they aren't to an army. But 'not being artillery' doesn't mean 'useless in battle'. Let's talk a little about wizards on the battlefield and mention Battlesystem.
You remember Battlesystem right?
Anyway, let's look at the spell caster above. Good armor class from the Shield spell; the Mirror Image adds to his survivability. How about we toss in, oh, Blink? Wow! His survivability goes up farther, he's more capable in combat (lots of flanking and rear attacks), and all of his images start blinking around, too!
If he were to engage a Battlesystem unit I might treat him and his images as a unit, not an individual (there are a lot of him) and I might make the opposing unit make a morale check for 'engaged with an enemy they cannot hurt', especially if they have low hit dice. These spells are easily accessible for a 5th level mage. Other good 3rd level spells for the battlefield are Haste and Slow (although they would only affect one unit marker in an army). Invisibility, 10' radius might allow a unit to move around the battlefield for a while.
Another major battlefield impact available to the wizard is Wall of Fire; this spell can be used to stop arrows and protect a flank in an emergency. Wall of Ice, Stone, Iron etc. are similar.
But the really big one at 4th level must be Hallucinatory Terrain.
Normally I stick to the rule for 1e spells that "outdoors the range changes to tens of yards but area of effect stays tens of feet'. I make an exception for Hallucinatory Terrain simply because it can't do what it is described as doing ('open fields looking like a swamp', 'a rock strewn gulley looking like a road') so I have its range and area of effect switch to tens of yards
The ability to hide the real terrain of a battlefield should have obvious advantages! Your reserves are bidden behind a 'steep hill'; the open field now looks like a huge thicket of scrub and boulders; the inviting open field to the left flank of your army is actually a river; etc.
But this leads us far enough down the primrose path to discuss the true magical master of the battlefield. That is, of course,
The First Edition Illusionist!
That's right, the 1e illusionist is the King of the Battlefield.
Let's look at what a 9th level 1e Illusionist can do with a selection of spells
1st level- Wall of Fog, Hypnotism, Detect Illusion, Phantasmal Force
2nd level- Fog Cloud, Mirror Image, Improved Phantasmal Force
3rd level- Invisibility, 10' r., Hallucinatory Terrain, Spectral Force
4th level- Massmorph, Shadow Monsters
While Wall of Fog and Fog Cloud do no damage, they are good at providing concealment and perhaps making foes move if they think the Fog Cloud is a Cloudkill. Not great, but not useless.
Mirror Image, Detect Illusion, and Hypnotism are really about self-protection.
Invisibility, 10' r. and Massmorph are about concealing units on the battlefield. If the illusionist gets a chance they can hide an entire unit (up to 90 creatures) as a copse of trees (Massmorph) or simply make up to, oh, around 40 medium creatures invisible. The sudden appearance of 40 heavy crossbowmen in what was thought was an open field would be a bit of a shock. Having 90 heavy infantry appear on the flank you though was anchored by a thicket of oaks would be even worse!
I mentioned Hallucinatory Terrain above. The reason it is even better for illusionists is they get it a level earlier - a 5th level illusionist can potentially hide parts of the battlefield.
The Phantasmal and Spectral Force spells, though, have the potential to truly wreak havoc on the battlefield. The have ranges of up to 170 yards (potentially out of short bow range) and the illusion can travel anywhere within range. While magic-users get Phantasmal Force they get it as a 3rd level spell while illusionists get it as a 1st level spell (!) and illusionists have sole access to Improved Phantasmal and Spectral Force - both of which last for 2 or 3 rounds after the caster ceases concentration and include some more senses other than just sight.
Each of these three 'pure illusion' spells can create a huge range of effects from ditches filled with flaming tar to 500 pikemen in formation. Also remember; unless foes disbelieve in their nature AND make a saving throw these illusions can injure and kill!
The sneaky spell here is Shadow Monsters. I say sneaky because of the impact it has on the other spells. Shadow Monsters is, really, an illusion so good it is partially real, but it can only be used to make creatures - almost a summoning. A 9th level illusionist could use this spell to make a giant, 2 ogres, 10 goblins, or 18 kobolds. The latter two are, effectively, battlefield units.But the Shadow Monsters stick around after the caster is doing other things and keep existing and fighting (if diminished) even when successfully disbelieved. Shadow Monsters, with its range of only 30 yards, is a really nasty surprise to any unit that gets too close to the caster and could be a last minute way to plug a gap in the lines in an emergency.
So - what would fighting a battle where one side had an illusionist like that look like?
Baron Mordan was indignant. He had been for over a year, ever since the king gave a grant of land to some upstart from the city. Mordan had learned from friends that the man had begun life as the son of a scribe and had made a fortune as a vagabond and mercenary before earning the king's favor on the Orc Marches.
Mordan was descended from nobility and was a 5th cousin to the king! Yes, yes, he was aware that by being the 4th son of a 3rd son he was reduced to a small barony on the border. While this land had been prosperous under his father Mordan struggled to generate any real income from the lazy peasants. When he found out that the king had given the next valley West to some common scribbler he had been furious!
Burt Mordan had begun working immediately; his men at arms were loyal before too long there had been a series of 'problems' on the border between Mordan's lands and those of the new "baron" Worrel. Mordan had complained loudly and bitterly over each incident, even after his own brothers had told him to be silent. But it had paid off - at the last moot Worrel had directly accused Mordan of deception and theft. Worrel had offered to trial by combat, but Mordan knew of the man's reputation as a swordsman. No, Mordan had insisted on the old ways, the Lord's Battle ways. No scribbler could be a commander of men like Mordan; now it was to be settled by force of arms!
Mordan had set out with his own 50 heavy cavalry, 200 medium foot, 300 militia short bow men, and 500 militia pikemen with an additional 100 heavy foot mercenaries (whom he planned to pay with loot).
He knew the upstart had only 100 light cavalry and 200 medium foot with perhaps 200 militia archers and 300 militia pikemen.
After 3 full days of marching directly toward Worrel's keep Mordan had yet to face any opposition. The villagers had fled, seemingly ordered by Worrel, and there was no battle. But on the evening of the third day Mordan arrived on the top of the last hill before Worrel's keep.
He had to admit - waiting to fight here had been the best option for Worrel; The forest on Mordan's right flank and the river on his left would limit his mobility. He noted that the meadows near the river were marshy, so his cavalry and heavy foot would need to avoid that area.
On the other hand, Worrel had erected no ditches, palisades, or stakes in defense - the only thing between Mordan and the keep were the few forces of Worrel! Mordan pitched his camp between the trees and the river less than 500 yards from the outermost of Worrel's troops.
Dawn was clear and crisp, promising a perfect day for a battle. His commander told him there had been only one incident in the night - a guard had vanished. Probably a deserter, as nothing was missing and there were no reports of trouble.
Worrel's forces were drawn up about 400 yards away; a pikewall 100 men wide and 3 ranks deep with 50 medium foot on each flank; Another 100 medium foot were on Mordan's right, 100 light cavalry on the left, with 4 groups of 50 archers each 20-30 yards behind. Worrel's forces made a line from the swampy river on Mordan's left to the heavy trees on Mordan's right. Mordan did not see the rest of the foot and assumed they were in the keep.
Mordan decided simple was best; his pikemen formed up as the center, 3 ranks deep and 100 men wide. The main pikes were flanked with 50 medium foot on each side. The mercenaries formed on the right flank, the cavalry on the left. The short bow men were in a group 50 men by 50 men 50 yards behind the pikes. He kept 200 pikemen, 50 bow men, and 50 medium foot in reserve with another 50 medium foot guarding the camp. While Worrel's light horse would be more maneuverable in the marshy land on the left if they did anything Mordan's heavy cavalry could charge the flank. With the light cavalry pinned Mordan would simply march up, wait for the pike crush, and have the mercenaries roll over the medium foot. His reserve would then follow on and pin Worrel's forces against the river.
He'd own the barony by nightfall.
Before too long Worrel's archers began to fire, mainly at the pikes. Mordan had his own archers target Worrel's archers. Mordan heard a cry from the right - a group of heavy foot were marching from the trees! In just a few moment 150 heavy footmen in Worrel's livery were formed up, blocking the advance of the mercenaries. A moment later, they began marching forward, apparently eager to attack the smaller force ahead of them!
Mordan shifted his archers to the new threat and while they began to fall it wasn't fast enough - the larger force was going to hit his right flank hard. With a loud battle cry the mercenaries rushed forward to engage and-
Worrel's heavy footmen vanished, like a puff of smoke.
Mordan stood in his stirrups, staring at the right flank. The mercenaries were disorganized, almost a mob, as they tried to find their missing foes. Mordan sent a runner to order the mercenaries to form back up and continue their advance.
He realized his archers didn't have orders, but before he could order them to fire on Worrel's archers there was another shout, from behind him.
A wedge of heavy cavalry, also wearing Worrel's livery, was trotting towards his rear! The archers, completely unprotected, were scattering , most of them running for the shelter of the reserves, who were forming a square, or the treeline. Mordan ordered his cavalry to wheel as he sized up the new threat - 80 cavalry, all in plate with lances! He faced a dilemma; if he engaged them, Worrel's light cavalry would be free to move; but if the heavy cavalry engaged bypassed his reserves his main body would be forced to form squares. He decided to charge the cavalry. He quickly sent a runner to order the reserves to the left and to move the mercenaries to cover the rear of the pikewall.
Very soon his was leading his horsemen at the trot, then a full charge at the enemy. He leaned forward, lance in hand, ready for the terrible shock of impact....
And the enemy rode through his forces like ghosts. Several of his men slipped from their horses when there was no impact, a number of horses stumbled and went down, likewise. Some lay still, seemingly dead.
He gathered his cavalry together, minus 10 men unhorsed, and took stock of the situation.
His pikewall was still slowly advancing and still under constant enemy arrow fire. The mercenaries, having seen the vanishing enemy horses, were struggling to return to the right flank to oppose Worrel's footmen. His reserves remained in a square with about 1/3rd of his archers within, the rest of his archers were scattered.He and the remaining 40 heavy cavalry were out of place. And where Worrel's light cavalry had been waiting there was now a thick wall of fog, hiding them from view.
Like phantoms, the light cavalry appeared out of the fog and began a charge across the battlefield between the opposing pikes towards Mordan's right flank! Realizing Worrel hoped to catch the mercenaries before they could get back into formation he ordered his tired cavalry to follow him as he raced to keep them from catching scattered infantry in the open.
He knew his horses weren't fast enough to beat the enemy cavalry there, but they could drive them off before too much damage was done. If he was lucky he might drive them back into the medium infantry behind them and try to roll up Worrel's flank.
Looking back he saw - Worrel's light cavalry charging out of the fog. But that was impossible! Both groups were the size of all of Worrel's cavalry! The second group was charging, at full gallop, along the river bank towards Mordan's rear. Remembering how marshy the meadows were he decided that those troops must be more phantoms, like the earlier ones, to distract him from the real troops, ahead.
The mercenaries, realizing they were about to be caught in the open, had hastily formed into 4 small squares as Worrel's lancers approached. The light cavalry ignored them, however, and charged around them, heading along the treeline toward Mordan and the heavy cavalry.
A great crash and shouting arose from Mordan's left flank - the 'phantom' cavalry had struck the medium infantry on the left of the pikewall and were inflicting terrible losses on them. Horrified, Mordan watched the cavalry in front of him fade away into nothingness.
As he drew up to try to figure out what was going on he saw a messenger riding hard towards him. When he arrived the messenger's horse was blowing as hard as any of the destrier's in the cavalry.
"My lord! The captain asks for assistance in the camp!"
"What?! Why?"
"Well, my lord, some of the trees. Some of the trees..."
"The trees? Spit it out, man!"
"Some of the trees turned into men, my lord! A grove of trees turned into soldiers and they are attacking the camp!"
"Ride back and tell the fool captain they are phantoms, some sort of glamor to distract him."
"My lord, the captain ordered me hence as he lay dying from a wound."
"Dying...?"
Mordan looked past the messenger. A column of smoke was beginning to rise over the ridge from the location of his camp.
Mordan turned to survey the battlefield: His left flank was broken and Worrel's lancers were slaughtering scattered infantry; his pikes, weakened by salvoes of arrows, demoralized by the loss of the left flank, and terrified by the magic, were wavering. The mercenaries were finally in formation, but were staying close to the tree line. He watched as the reserves noticed the smoke from the camp - in moments they were running towards the camp.
As Worrel's pike wall lowered their weapons into position and gave a great shout the rest of Mordan's army broke and began to run back towards his lands. The mercenaries, more disciplined, began to slip into the forest.
The cavalry with him were holding firm, for now, but all of them were looking at him expectantly.
Even he started in surprise as a voice appeared out of thin air,
"Greetings, Baron Mordan."
"W-Worrel? Is that you?"
"I am Baron Worrel, yes."
"Where are you?"
Almost instantly a small group of horsemen appeared just a few yards away. Mordan sensed several of his men prepare to flee. Of the four Mordan recognized only Worrel, who was on the finest warhorse Mordan had ever seen. Two of the others were retainers, and obviously warriors, but the fourth was a beautiful woman on a palfrey.
"Here I am, come to accept your surrender."
"Surrender? This was a single battle!"
"Indeed. But recall, when you demanded Lord's Battle I pointed out that I was granted a barony for defeating the Red Orc Chieftain on the field of battle. Besides, while your troops were busy here some of my closest friends visited your keep. Surrender and you can dine in my keep with your wife and your sons this very evening."
Mordan sagged in the saddle. Defeat on the battlefield and the taking of hostages - Worrel had fulfilled the rules of Lord's Battle. Mordan's lands and titles were now Worrel's.
Moments later Mordan's men were returning home, Mordan had no sword, and he was riding between the two retainers.
"I apologize, Mordan," said Worrel, "I failed to introduce you. This lady is my wife, Lady Gwenhyfar. She is a student of magic."
A little over a quarter century ago we had a guy sit in on a game for a session or two. As I recall he was playing a 6th level magic-user with an interesting mix of magic items and spells. He joined a large party (5 players and 8 characters, I think) and we went to Lew Pulsipher's Mount Thunder, where PC skulls as common as mice.
The party got into an altercation and the visiting player cast Mirror Image, then Shield. The he drew a dagger and closed with the front line, doing very well for himself and helping turn the tide. This led Lew to discuss the idea of Pocket Quarterbacks vs. Fran Tarkenton. Wizards who stay in the middle of the formation and lob spells over his defenders = pocket quarterback. Guys like the visitor who wander around both casting and fighting are Fran Tarkenton (look him up, kids).
While I have certainly mentioned what I call the Four Roles a few other places, let me repeat them;
1) Fighters are Physical Offense
2) Magic-users are Magical Offense
3) Clerics are Physical and Magical Defense
4) Thieves are Intelligence and Scouting
And the other classes make sense, too; paladins are physical offense and magical defense, etc.
Now, while I say, many times, wizards are magical offense and have said very recently that wizards suck on the battlefield (see the link in the first sentence) that isn't quite all there is to say. See, wizards don't have to suck on the battlefield, you just need to stop thinking of them as artillery and start thinking of them as melee combatants.
Yes, really.
While a wizard is artillery to a party they aren't to an army. But 'not being artillery' doesn't mean 'useless in battle'. Let's talk a little about wizards on the battlefield and mention Battlesystem.
You remember Battlesystem right?
Anyway, let's look at the spell caster above. Good armor class from the Shield spell; the Mirror Image adds to his survivability. How about we toss in, oh, Blink? Wow! His survivability goes up farther, he's more capable in combat (lots of flanking and rear attacks), and all of his images start blinking around, too!
If he were to engage a Battlesystem unit I might treat him and his images as a unit, not an individual (there are a lot of him) and I might make the opposing unit make a morale check for 'engaged with an enemy they cannot hurt', especially if they have low hit dice. These spells are easily accessible for a 5th level mage. Other good 3rd level spells for the battlefield are Haste and Slow (although they would only affect one unit marker in an army). Invisibility, 10' radius might allow a unit to move around the battlefield for a while.
Another major battlefield impact available to the wizard is Wall of Fire; this spell can be used to stop arrows and protect a flank in an emergency. Wall of Ice, Stone, Iron etc. are similar.
But the really big one at 4th level must be Hallucinatory Terrain.
Normally I stick to the rule for 1e spells that "outdoors the range changes to tens of yards but area of effect stays tens of feet'. I make an exception for Hallucinatory Terrain simply because it can't do what it is described as doing ('open fields looking like a swamp', 'a rock strewn gulley looking like a road') so I have its range and area of effect switch to tens of yards
The ability to hide the real terrain of a battlefield should have obvious advantages! Your reserves are bidden behind a 'steep hill'; the open field now looks like a huge thicket of scrub and boulders; the inviting open field to the left flank of your army is actually a river; etc.
But this leads us far enough down the primrose path to discuss the true magical master of the battlefield. That is, of course,
The First Edition Illusionist!
That's right, the 1e illusionist is the King of the Battlefield.
Let's look at what a 9th level 1e Illusionist can do with a selection of spells
1st level- Wall of Fog, Hypnotism, Detect Illusion, Phantasmal Force
2nd level- Fog Cloud, Mirror Image, Improved Phantasmal Force
3rd level- Invisibility, 10' r., Hallucinatory Terrain, Spectral Force
4th level- Massmorph, Shadow Monsters
While Wall of Fog and Fog Cloud do no damage, they are good at providing concealment and perhaps making foes move if they think the Fog Cloud is a Cloudkill. Not great, but not useless.
Mirror Image, Detect Illusion, and Hypnotism are really about self-protection.
Invisibility, 10' r. and Massmorph are about concealing units on the battlefield. If the illusionist gets a chance they can hide an entire unit (up to 90 creatures) as a copse of trees (Massmorph) or simply make up to, oh, around 40 medium creatures invisible. The sudden appearance of 40 heavy crossbowmen in what was thought was an open field would be a bit of a shock. Having 90 heavy infantry appear on the flank you though was anchored by a thicket of oaks would be even worse!
I mentioned Hallucinatory Terrain above. The reason it is even better for illusionists is they get it a level earlier - a 5th level illusionist can potentially hide parts of the battlefield.
The Phantasmal and Spectral Force spells, though, have the potential to truly wreak havoc on the battlefield. The have ranges of up to 170 yards (potentially out of short bow range) and the illusion can travel anywhere within range. While magic-users get Phantasmal Force they get it as a 3rd level spell while illusionists get it as a 1st level spell (!) and illusionists have sole access to Improved Phantasmal and Spectral Force - both of which last for 2 or 3 rounds after the caster ceases concentration and include some more senses other than just sight.
Each of these three 'pure illusion' spells can create a huge range of effects from ditches filled with flaming tar to 500 pikemen in formation. Also remember; unless foes disbelieve in their nature AND make a saving throw these illusions can injure and kill!
The sneaky spell here is Shadow Monsters. I say sneaky because of the impact it has on the other spells. Shadow Monsters is, really, an illusion so good it is partially real, but it can only be used to make creatures - almost a summoning. A 9th level illusionist could use this spell to make a giant, 2 ogres, 10 goblins, or 18 kobolds. The latter two are, effectively, battlefield units.But the Shadow Monsters stick around after the caster is doing other things and keep existing and fighting (if diminished) even when successfully disbelieved. Shadow Monsters, with its range of only 30 yards, is a really nasty surprise to any unit that gets too close to the caster and could be a last minute way to plug a gap in the lines in an emergency.
So - what would fighting a battle where one side had an illusionist like that look like?
Baron Mordan was indignant. He had been for over a year, ever since the king gave a grant of land to some upstart from the city. Mordan had learned from friends that the man had begun life as the son of a scribe and had made a fortune as a vagabond and mercenary before earning the king's favor on the Orc Marches.
Mordan was descended from nobility and was a 5th cousin to the king! Yes, yes, he was aware that by being the 4th son of a 3rd son he was reduced to a small barony on the border. While this land had been prosperous under his father Mordan struggled to generate any real income from the lazy peasants. When he found out that the king had given the next valley West to some common scribbler he had been furious!
Burt Mordan had begun working immediately; his men at arms were loyal before too long there had been a series of 'problems' on the border between Mordan's lands and those of the new "baron" Worrel. Mordan had complained loudly and bitterly over each incident, even after his own brothers had told him to be silent. But it had paid off - at the last moot Worrel had directly accused Mordan of deception and theft. Worrel had offered to trial by combat, but Mordan knew of the man's reputation as a swordsman. No, Mordan had insisted on the old ways, the Lord's Battle ways. No scribbler could be a commander of men like Mordan; now it was to be settled by force of arms!
Mordan had set out with his own 50 heavy cavalry, 200 medium foot, 300 militia short bow men, and 500 militia pikemen with an additional 100 heavy foot mercenaries (whom he planned to pay with loot).
He knew the upstart had only 100 light cavalry and 200 medium foot with perhaps 200 militia archers and 300 militia pikemen.
After 3 full days of marching directly toward Worrel's keep Mordan had yet to face any opposition. The villagers had fled, seemingly ordered by Worrel, and there was no battle. But on the evening of the third day Mordan arrived on the top of the last hill before Worrel's keep.
He had to admit - waiting to fight here had been the best option for Worrel; The forest on Mordan's right flank and the river on his left would limit his mobility. He noted that the meadows near the river were marshy, so his cavalry and heavy foot would need to avoid that area.
On the other hand, Worrel had erected no ditches, palisades, or stakes in defense - the only thing between Mordan and the keep were the few forces of Worrel! Mordan pitched his camp between the trees and the river less than 500 yards from the outermost of Worrel's troops.
Dawn was clear and crisp, promising a perfect day for a battle. His commander told him there had been only one incident in the night - a guard had vanished. Probably a deserter, as nothing was missing and there were no reports of trouble.
Worrel's forces were drawn up about 400 yards away; a pikewall 100 men wide and 3 ranks deep with 50 medium foot on each flank; Another 100 medium foot were on Mordan's right, 100 light cavalry on the left, with 4 groups of 50 archers each 20-30 yards behind. Worrel's forces made a line from the swampy river on Mordan's left to the heavy trees on Mordan's right. Mordan did not see the rest of the foot and assumed they were in the keep.
Mordan decided simple was best; his pikemen formed up as the center, 3 ranks deep and 100 men wide. The main pikes were flanked with 50 medium foot on each side. The mercenaries formed on the right flank, the cavalry on the left. The short bow men were in a group 50 men by 50 men 50 yards behind the pikes. He kept 200 pikemen, 50 bow men, and 50 medium foot in reserve with another 50 medium foot guarding the camp. While Worrel's light horse would be more maneuverable in the marshy land on the left if they did anything Mordan's heavy cavalry could charge the flank. With the light cavalry pinned Mordan would simply march up, wait for the pike crush, and have the mercenaries roll over the medium foot. His reserve would then follow on and pin Worrel's forces against the river.
He'd own the barony by nightfall.
Before too long Worrel's archers began to fire, mainly at the pikes. Mordan had his own archers target Worrel's archers. Mordan heard a cry from the right - a group of heavy foot were marching from the trees! In just a few moment 150 heavy footmen in Worrel's livery were formed up, blocking the advance of the mercenaries. A moment later, they began marching forward, apparently eager to attack the smaller force ahead of them!
Mordan shifted his archers to the new threat and while they began to fall it wasn't fast enough - the larger force was going to hit his right flank hard. With a loud battle cry the mercenaries rushed forward to engage and-
Worrel's heavy footmen vanished, like a puff of smoke.
Mordan stood in his stirrups, staring at the right flank. The mercenaries were disorganized, almost a mob, as they tried to find their missing foes. Mordan sent a runner to order the mercenaries to form back up and continue their advance.
He realized his archers didn't have orders, but before he could order them to fire on Worrel's archers there was another shout, from behind him.
A wedge of heavy cavalry, also wearing Worrel's livery, was trotting towards his rear! The archers, completely unprotected, were scattering , most of them running for the shelter of the reserves, who were forming a square, or the treeline. Mordan ordered his cavalry to wheel as he sized up the new threat - 80 cavalry, all in plate with lances! He faced a dilemma; if he engaged them, Worrel's light cavalry would be free to move; but if the heavy cavalry engaged bypassed his reserves his main body would be forced to form squares. He decided to charge the cavalry. He quickly sent a runner to order the reserves to the left and to move the mercenaries to cover the rear of the pikewall.
Very soon his was leading his horsemen at the trot, then a full charge at the enemy. He leaned forward, lance in hand, ready for the terrible shock of impact....
And the enemy rode through his forces like ghosts. Several of his men slipped from their horses when there was no impact, a number of horses stumbled and went down, likewise. Some lay still, seemingly dead.
He gathered his cavalry together, minus 10 men unhorsed, and took stock of the situation.
His pikewall was still slowly advancing and still under constant enemy arrow fire. The mercenaries, having seen the vanishing enemy horses, were struggling to return to the right flank to oppose Worrel's footmen. His reserves remained in a square with about 1/3rd of his archers within, the rest of his archers were scattered.He and the remaining 40 heavy cavalry were out of place. And where Worrel's light cavalry had been waiting there was now a thick wall of fog, hiding them from view.
Like phantoms, the light cavalry appeared out of the fog and began a charge across the battlefield between the opposing pikes towards Mordan's right flank! Realizing Worrel hoped to catch the mercenaries before they could get back into formation he ordered his tired cavalry to follow him as he raced to keep them from catching scattered infantry in the open.
He knew his horses weren't fast enough to beat the enemy cavalry there, but they could drive them off before too much damage was done. If he was lucky he might drive them back into the medium infantry behind them and try to roll up Worrel's flank.
Looking back he saw - Worrel's light cavalry charging out of the fog. But that was impossible! Both groups were the size of all of Worrel's cavalry! The second group was charging, at full gallop, along the river bank towards Mordan's rear. Remembering how marshy the meadows were he decided that those troops must be more phantoms, like the earlier ones, to distract him from the real troops, ahead.
The mercenaries, realizing they were about to be caught in the open, had hastily formed into 4 small squares as Worrel's lancers approached. The light cavalry ignored them, however, and charged around them, heading along the treeline toward Mordan and the heavy cavalry.
A great crash and shouting arose from Mordan's left flank - the 'phantom' cavalry had struck the medium infantry on the left of the pikewall and were inflicting terrible losses on them. Horrified, Mordan watched the cavalry in front of him fade away into nothingness.
As he drew up to try to figure out what was going on he saw a messenger riding hard towards him. When he arrived the messenger's horse was blowing as hard as any of the destrier's in the cavalry.
"My lord! The captain asks for assistance in the camp!"
"What?! Why?"
"Well, my lord, some of the trees. Some of the trees..."
"The trees? Spit it out, man!"
"Some of the trees turned into men, my lord! A grove of trees turned into soldiers and they are attacking the camp!"
"Ride back and tell the fool captain they are phantoms, some sort of glamor to distract him."
"My lord, the captain ordered me hence as he lay dying from a wound."
"Dying...?"
Mordan looked past the messenger. A column of smoke was beginning to rise over the ridge from the location of his camp.
Mordan turned to survey the battlefield: His left flank was broken and Worrel's lancers were slaughtering scattered infantry; his pikes, weakened by salvoes of arrows, demoralized by the loss of the left flank, and terrified by the magic, were wavering. The mercenaries were finally in formation, but were staying close to the tree line. He watched as the reserves noticed the smoke from the camp - in moments they were running towards the camp.
As Worrel's pike wall lowered their weapons into position and gave a great shout the rest of Mordan's army broke and began to run back towards his lands. The mercenaries, more disciplined, began to slip into the forest.
The cavalry with him were holding firm, for now, but all of them were looking at him expectantly.
Even he started in surprise as a voice appeared out of thin air,
"Greetings, Baron Mordan."
"W-Worrel? Is that you?"
"I am Baron Worrel, yes."
"Where are you?"
Almost instantly a small group of horsemen appeared just a few yards away. Mordan sensed several of his men prepare to flee. Of the four Mordan recognized only Worrel, who was on the finest warhorse Mordan had ever seen. Two of the others were retainers, and obviously warriors, but the fourth was a beautiful woman on a palfrey.
"Here I am, come to accept your surrender."
"Surrender? This was a single battle!"
"Indeed. But recall, when you demanded Lord's Battle I pointed out that I was granted a barony for defeating the Red Orc Chieftain on the field of battle. Besides, while your troops were busy here some of my closest friends visited your keep. Surrender and you can dine in my keep with your wife and your sons this very evening."
Mordan sagged in the saddle. Defeat on the battlefield and the taking of hostages - Worrel had fulfilled the rules of Lord's Battle. Mordan's lands and titles were now Worrel's.
Moments later Mordan's men were returning home, Mordan had no sword, and he was riding between the two retainers.
"I apologize, Mordan," said Worrel, "I failed to introduce you. This lady is my wife, Lady Gwenhyfar. She is a student of magic."
Monday, June 8, 2015
Interlude: Music
The party approaches the ancient castle.
They creep inside, nervous at being unopposed.
Then they hear - this
Yeah - you'd run, too.
They creep inside, nervous at being unopposed.
Then they hear - this
Yeah - you'd run, too.
Friday, May 22, 2015
Why Wizards Suck on the Battlefield
Hey, everyone, sorry I've been gone a lot.
I was relaxing a bit the other night and talking gaming with someone I have not played a lot with when I ran into another variant of the discussion I call 'not this again', but is sometimes called 'linear fighters and quadratic wizards'. The basic argument is pretty old and is roughly,
"At low level fighters easily outshine wizards but at high level wizards are like unto gods while fighters are just mildly better fighters."
As I've mentioned before, I don't agree with this assessment at all. I did my usual response of pointing out that at any level a fighter, cleric, or thief will almost certainly just flat-out kill a wizard of the same level one-on-one.
Disagree? OK, let's look at the numbers:
[of course I am talking about 1e/OSRIC/etc! They are my favorites!]
13th level magic-user Abelard the Average. H.P. 30 A.C. 2 (magical stuff)
Abelard has a total of 25 spells, 2 scrolls, and such
13th level fighter Mendacus the Middling. H.P. 59 A.C. 0 (cool armor)
Mendacus has a nice sword and something that gives him extra damage, like ogre gauntlets
At average encounter distance for a dungeon assuming no surprise Abelard has time to cast a single spell before Mendacus closes. Further, the spell had better be 3rd level or lower because of initiative rules. We have no idea what spells Abelard has gotten, blown, etc., but let's assume that one of them is a Fireball. Average damage for Abelard is 46 h.p. - not enough. And since Mendacus will probably save it is only 23. That's insulting.
So Mendacus closes and with 2 attacks a round will almost certainly prevent Abelard from casting (by hitting him about 19 times out of 20). It will take Mendacus about, oh, 2 rounds to cut down Abelard.
It is similar with clerics and thieves; Abelard must have the right spell, use it at the right time, and his foe must be very unlucky or the mage dies.
"But that's not what I mean!" said the person I was talking to, "I mean that the mage can cause a LOT more damage to foes than the fighter can!"
That depends on what you mean, actually. Look at Abelard; if he has a lot of luck and the right access, etc. he could cast Death Spell, which has the potential of killing up to 80 creatures of 2 HD or less! That is pretty serious. Fireballs and Lightning Bolts do a lot of damage, too.
But then the spells are gone. And once his spells are gone Abelard can't deal out that damage like that until he gets a good night's sleep and a fair chunk of time to re-memorize.
Mendacus can slaughter until he needs sleep. With a great deal of luck (rolling a lot of maximum numbers; the goblins standing shoulder to shoulder, chest to back, etc.) Abelard could kill 400 goblins in 10 rounds. With average numbers Mendacus will kill 120+ goblins in the same amount of time. Abelard will be out of spells; Mendacus will still have a sword.
So while the wizard can, indeed, drop a lot of death in a short period of time, the fighter can easily surpass it over time.
I am not saying that fighters are better than wizards or anything like that! I am just pointing out that they each fulfill their respective parts of the Four Roles well. Without all of the roles filled any party will suffer.
That is when we entered slightly different territory. The person I was speaking with said,
"But you must admit that even from medium level the wizard is much more effective on the battlefield"
That got me to thinking about the mass battle I recently ran for my Blackstone campaign. In that one I had pointed out what I have learned from that and other mass battles.
What I have learned, in a nutshell, is that Wizards Suck on the Battlefield.
"But Rick!" you say, "All those spells! He can fly! Tturn Invisible! Cast Fireball! Cloudkill!
Meh.
Seriously.
When you are talking about armies taking to the field, and I mean armies with forces of hundred to thousands or more per side, wizards are very limited.
Let's take a look at the big scary, Fireball. Wizards get it at 5th level so its range is...
150 yards.
The edge of short bow range. Medium range for a heavy crossbow. A salvo of heavy quarrels at a 5th level mage is probably going to disrupt his blood flow, let alone his casting.
And the Fireball is only 40' across. Plenty big for a dungeon, pretty small for a battlefield. it is going to catch at most somewhere between 12 and 26 foes, typically. If those foes are normal orcs, goblins, etc. they are going to die.
And the 5th level mage's lone Fireball is gone.
OK, how about a 9th level wizard? One with the bane of the battlefield, Cloudkill! I mmean, Cloudkill is terrifying; 40' wide, 20' deep and tall; instantly kills anything weaker than an ogre; can kill virtually annything (read your DMG).
Cool!
It's range is 10 yards.
30 feet.
Within short range for a thrown dagger at battlefield scale.
It lasts (in this case) 9 rounds, creeping forward at 1/12th the speed of a walking man. In this case it stops after going a total of - 100 yards. In the meantime an entire pike square could move out of the way or even split up to let it pass. Great way to blunt a wild charge, yes, but very, very dangerous to cast and if the conditions aren't just right it is mainly useful to make formations move or break up.
So if Abelard is 9th level and has the very best mass combat spells and takes those spells by preference to all others he could kill about, oh, 80 foes and either break up an enemy formation or stop an enemy charge. This will take him 5 or so rounds.
That's pretty nice, but in a battle with 2,500 men on each side not as big a deal as you might think.
What about 9th level Mendacus? How is he going to do? Well, against goblins he's going to be the the Angel of Death. He has 9 attacks per round against them (the 'fighters vs. less than 1 HD humanoids' rule) and will really only miss 1 in 20 times and if he has a magical sword each blow will kill an average goblin. In the five rounds it takes Abelard to kill 80 goblins Mendacus would kill about 43 goblins, round down to 40. Half as many.
But Mendacus can keep going on. Assuming Mendacus has an Armor Class of 0 and is facing roughly 10 goblins a round he will be able to fight for about 17 rounds before he is at half hit points and needs to retire for healing. In that time he would potentially kill 145 goblins.
Yes, yes, there are a lot of assumptions going on; Mendacus will have to close with the goblins, keep up with them, etc. But the point still stands.
While wizards have the capability to do a great deal of damage in a short period of time, the fighter can do much more damage over a long period of time. The total potential damage of a fighter over the course of a day is much higher than the total potential damage of a wizard over the course of a day.
Since large-scale battles are much more about attrition over time the fighter is better suited to that particular type of encounter. This is easily forgotten if a particular group, DM, campaign, etc. focuses mainly on dungeon crawling or similar actions because those types of encounters are often about delivering damage quickly. It is also "concealed" by the habit of parties to pull back, rest, and regain spells; they essentially base the pace and rhythm of adventuring about 'recharging' the mages.
As I noted in my post on the mass battle in my campaign I linked above, wizards are very good at some elements of the battlefield; for example, they are very good and eliminating enemy siege engines.
Many years ago I remember a number of people commenting negatively about something Gary wrote, in Dragon I believe. As I recall he was speaking of a large battle among Northern barbarians and noted 'the spell casters largely neutralized each other'. People were very upset and spoke a great deal in print and at conventions that this was inaccurate, that wizards would be a key element of the battlefield.
At the time I thought it unlikely that the man who derived AD&D from his rules for mass combat would get it wrong.
I don't think he did. One of the key roles of the wizard on the battlefield will be to neutralize enemy wizards.
'But Rick,' you say, 'Didn't you just way that wizards suck on the battlefield? Why would wizards deal with each other, then?'
Great question! In addition to wanting enemy wizard's spellbooks and wands, this is because of the thing wizards are good at on the battlefield other than Fireballing catapults;
Taking out enemy leaders.
Remember Mendacus and his ability to slaughter 145 goblins before he stops for some gatorade? Abelard dumping a Fireball to kill 30 goblins seems less effective. But dumping it on Mendacus to force him off the battlefield is a great idea, especially if it catches the troops guarding his flanks. So if Mendacus has a wizard ally you can bet his goal is to prevent Abelard from forcing the Angel of Death to the sidelines.
And this isn't to say that magic is not going to have a profound effect on how battles are fought! One of the most obvious is having teams of archers tasked specifically to attack enemy spell casters. Someone suddenly turns visible? A streak of light blossoms into a Fireball? A guy in robes is flying over the battlefield? Scattered teams of 10 troops with missile weapons target them immediately.
Another would be to have elite troops in reserve and mobile so they can respond quickly to holes in the line caused by spells and, as importantly, engage guys like Medacus and his sword arm! Just having some hobgoblin mercenaries engage Mendacus (and thus dropping his number of attacks per round) makes a huge difference.
There will also be some minor changes to battlefiel practice: pikewalls will probably have 3 densely packed rows and then reserve pikemen will be further back and scattered to reduce the damage of spells; Missile units will be broken into smaller groups and more widely dispersed to both dodge spells and react to spell casters; Cavalry units might well have a screen of light cavalry sweep out in front of a charge to check for illusions, spells, and to attempt to trigger magical attacks.
I will write more about this topic soon.
Next Time: Why Wizards Don't Suck on the Battlefield
What I have learned, in a nutshell, is that Wizards Suck on the Battlefield.
"But Rick!" you say, "All those spells! He can fly! Tturn Invisible! Cast Fireball! Cloudkill!
Meh.
Seriously.
When you are talking about armies taking to the field, and I mean armies with forces of hundred to thousands or more per side, wizards are very limited.
Let's take a look at the big scary, Fireball. Wizards get it at 5th level so its range is...
150 yards.
I know a lot of people keep all spell ranges at 1" in the book = 10', but I follow the rule that missile weapons and spells switch to 1" = 30' outdoors/on a battlefield, just like Gary intended.
The edge of short bow range. Medium range for a heavy crossbow. A salvo of heavy quarrels at a 5th level mage is probably going to disrupt his blood flow, let alone his casting.
And the Fireball is only 40' across. Plenty big for a dungeon, pretty small for a battlefield. it is going to catch at most somewhere between 12 and 26 foes, typically. If those foes are normal orcs, goblins, etc. they are going to die.
And the 5th level mage's lone Fireball is gone.
OK, how about a 9th level wizard? One with the bane of the battlefield, Cloudkill! I mmean, Cloudkill is terrifying; 40' wide, 20' deep and tall; instantly kills anything weaker than an ogre; can kill virtually annything (read your DMG).
Cool!
It's range is 10 yards.
30 feet.
Within short range for a thrown dagger at battlefield scale.
It lasts (in this case) 9 rounds, creeping forward at 1/12th the speed of a walking man. In this case it stops after going a total of - 100 yards. In the meantime an entire pike square could move out of the way or even split up to let it pass. Great way to blunt a wild charge, yes, but very, very dangerous to cast and if the conditions aren't just right it is mainly useful to make formations move or break up.
So if Abelard is 9th level and has the very best mass combat spells and takes those spells by preference to all others he could kill about, oh, 80 foes and either break up an enemy formation or stop an enemy charge. This will take him 5 or so rounds.
That's pretty nice, but in a battle with 2,500 men on each side not as big a deal as you might think.
What about 9th level Mendacus? How is he going to do? Well, against goblins he's going to be the the Angel of Death. He has 9 attacks per round against them (the 'fighters vs. less than 1 HD humanoids' rule) and will really only miss 1 in 20 times and if he has a magical sword each blow will kill an average goblin. In the five rounds it takes Abelard to kill 80 goblins Mendacus would kill about 43 goblins, round down to 40. Half as many.
But Mendacus can keep going on. Assuming Mendacus has an Armor Class of 0 and is facing roughly 10 goblins a round he will be able to fight for about 17 rounds before he is at half hit points and needs to retire for healing. In that time he would potentially kill 145 goblins.
Yes, yes, there are a lot of assumptions going on; Mendacus will have to close with the goblins, keep up with them, etc. But the point still stands.
While wizards have the capability to do a great deal of damage in a short period of time, the fighter can do much more damage over a long period of time. The total potential damage of a fighter over the course of a day is much higher than the total potential damage of a wizard over the course of a day.
Since large-scale battles are much more about attrition over time the fighter is better suited to that particular type of encounter. This is easily forgotten if a particular group, DM, campaign, etc. focuses mainly on dungeon crawling or similar actions because those types of encounters are often about delivering damage quickly. It is also "concealed" by the habit of parties to pull back, rest, and regain spells; they essentially base the pace and rhythm of adventuring about 'recharging' the mages.
An aside: This is one of the reasons I keep track of encumbrance, components, rations, random encounters etc. It isn't just 'utilizing/taking advantage of the resource management aspect' nor is it just a way to vacuum gold out of PC's pouches. These things are there to also set the pace and rhythm around overall party supplies, 'throttle' the wizard's ability to deliver damage, and allow fighters to shine more as they deal with encounters after the wizards are out of spells.
As I noted in my post on the mass battle in my campaign I linked above, wizards are very good at some elements of the battlefield; for example, they are very good and eliminating enemy siege engines.
Many years ago I remember a number of people commenting negatively about something Gary wrote, in Dragon I believe. As I recall he was speaking of a large battle among Northern barbarians and noted 'the spell casters largely neutralized each other'. People were very upset and spoke a great deal in print and at conventions that this was inaccurate, that wizards would be a key element of the battlefield.
At the time I thought it unlikely that the man who derived AD&D from his rules for mass combat would get it wrong.
I don't think he did. One of the key roles of the wizard on the battlefield will be to neutralize enemy wizards.
'But Rick,' you say, 'Didn't you just way that wizards suck on the battlefield? Why would wizards deal with each other, then?'
Great question! In addition to wanting enemy wizard's spellbooks and wands, this is because of the thing wizards are good at on the battlefield other than Fireballing catapults;
Taking out enemy leaders.
Remember Mendacus and his ability to slaughter 145 goblins before he stops for some gatorade? Abelard dumping a Fireball to kill 30 goblins seems less effective. But dumping it on Mendacus to force him off the battlefield is a great idea, especially if it catches the troops guarding his flanks. So if Mendacus has a wizard ally you can bet his goal is to prevent Abelard from forcing the Angel of Death to the sidelines.
And this isn't to say that magic is not going to have a profound effect on how battles are fought! One of the most obvious is having teams of archers tasked specifically to attack enemy spell casters. Someone suddenly turns visible? A streak of light blossoms into a Fireball? A guy in robes is flying over the battlefield? Scattered teams of 10 troops with missile weapons target them immediately.
Another would be to have elite troops in reserve and mobile so they can respond quickly to holes in the line caused by spells and, as importantly, engage guys like Medacus and his sword arm! Just having some hobgoblin mercenaries engage Mendacus (and thus dropping his number of attacks per round) makes a huge difference.
There will also be some minor changes to battlefiel practice: pikewalls will probably have 3 densely packed rows and then reserve pikemen will be further back and scattered to reduce the damage of spells; Missile units will be broken into smaller groups and more widely dispersed to both dodge spells and react to spell casters; Cavalry units might well have a screen of light cavalry sweep out in front of a charge to check for illusions, spells, and to attempt to trigger magical attacks.
I will write more about this topic soon.
Next Time: Why Wizards Don't Suck on the Battlefield
Monday, May 11, 2015
DM's Play Report from Blackstone I: Assault on Tolmar- Last Days of a Seven Year Campaign
The War against the Redcaps is Won!
Previous update is found here.
The Campaign
Seven years old. AD&D 2e Skills and Powers.
The Players and Characters
Je.: Stardust, 13th level Thief. Armed with a pair of +3 Daggers of Returning and a sneaky disposition. Party scout.
- Deacon Samarr, 6th level cleric henchman. Rescued from a Hill Giant slave pit, he is loyal to Stardust and her friends. Focused on healing and abjurations.
- Sir Raleigh the True, 4th level fighter henchman. Gained from a Deck of Many Things, he is perfectly loyal. A halberd specialist and armed with a +7 halberd!
Ja.: Mournglow, 11th level mage. A true generalist and the party's planner. The list of NPCs who owe him favors needs to be printed in 8 point font. Double-sided.
- Whitestar, his Arcane Servant familiar.
A.: Doomsman the Destroyer, 12th level Fighter. A barbarian and grandmaster with the two-hander who is skilled in a number of melee combat styles. One of the deadliest men on the planet. His magical scabbard carries both Gatekeeper, the sword of that seals the planes, and Magekiller, which is just what it says on the tin. Lord of the North, Guardian of the Pass, and party leader. He thirsts for combat.
S.: Ember, 11th level Fire Elementalist mage. Wields a flaming silver short sword of shapechanger slaying. A true master of fire magic he is the hot-head of the group.
-Flint, his Fire Spirit familiar.
-Redfire, 5th level Fire Elementalist henchman. He has died three times, each from a giant's boulder.
N.: Darkwalk, 8th/9th Cleric/Magic-user. Also a skilled fighter, he is the voice of caution. He carries an Talisman of Ultimate Good that keeps reappearing in his backpack each time he tries to give it to the Pope.
-Suregaze, his Elven Dragonling familiar.
-Starwing, a 3rd/3rd/3rd fighter/cleric/magic-user henchman. Leader of the henchman, she has a calm demeanor and a knack for leadership.
Previously
The party has spent 3 days lurking about the ruins within the city of Tolmar. In addition to the major attacks (detailed in the entry at the link near the top) they have ambushed a patrol or two. So far, all of their activity has been limited to the northern half of the city, formerly called Upper Tolmar. The party has been hiding in various bolt holes within the city while their henchmen strive to make it appear the party is camping outside and making repeated assaults over/through the walls.
After resting and regaining spells the party decides they must strike at the heart of the enemy. The former Main Square of the city is now a hub of evil; the four corners of the square now hold the Tower of Necromancers (northwest corner) the Temple of Unlife (NE corner), the Fortress-Cathedral of the Slaughter-God (SE corner), and the High Church of the RotLord (SW corner). The party decided to assault the Temple of Unlife.
As the party began to leave Upper Tolmar, divided from Lower Tolmar by a wall and a 20' escarpment, there was a minor fight as Whitestar, Mournglow's familiar who was scouting, was attacked by an imp. The party arrived in 3 rounds to find Whitestar wiping ichor from his miniature sword. Darkwalk healed up the Arcane Servant and the party continued.
The party crept up to close sight of the mausoleum-like Temple of the Ghoul God to see - the low-level acolytes gather outside! The ritual of Blotting Out the Sun was about to begin. The party waited until the doors opened then struck with a Fireball. This wiped out the acolytes as the party charged inside. The party was met with mid-level priests just inside the doors, forcing them to halt their assault and fight. The High Priest of the Undead Demiurge stood by the foul altar wearing his Crown of Worms and guarded by 9 of his top priests. While the guards wielded the ceremonial bardiches of the deathpriests the High Priest wielded the infamous Staff of Death, a foul artifact carved from the thighbone of a shadow dragon.
Doomsman hurled his Maul of Thunderbolts and struck the High Priest - but the Maul spun away instead of returning! The thunderclap revealed a shimmering aura cloaking the entire altar area and the casters decided to refrain casting attack spells on the leadership!
As the party fought a swarm of 40 ghoul-rats poured through slots in the floor. Darkwalk turned most of them and Ember dealt with the rest as Doomsman cut down evil clerics like he was playing whack-a-mole. Stardust did her thing and threw her Daggers of Returning at the High Priest - they, too, spun away instead of returning! Stardust made her Awareness check and realized that the troops of the Temple of Slaughter were formed up and preparing to charge. She darted to the main doors, shut the massive portals, and dropped the adamantite bar into place just in time!
The evil priests were casting nasty spells left and right, including one using a Spectral Hand from a magic item! The party was using counter spells, Magic Missiles, and Cures at a prodigious rate.
In the meantime Doomsman had fought his way to the steps of the altar, shrugging off a bolt of negative energy from a priest, making saves versus 4 more spells, and generally rolling 18+ on every d20 he touched, the jerk. Mournglow and Darkwalk both cast Dispel Magic on the protective aura around the altar, bringing it down in a flash of foul smoke. Doomsman was hacking his way through the evil hierarchy and now the High Priest was the target of spells. The next round the High Priest was struck down by magic!
And the Staff of Death lashed out, striking on the the Death priests. That priest turned to ash and the High Priest laughed in delight as he was returned to full health! The High Priest then triggered the power of the Crown of Worms, blasting Doomsman and Stardust with a Mind Blast. Doomsman finally failed a save and was...
[roll the dice]
Enraged! Wait, what? The one save he failed made him better at fighting!
What a jerk.
The Staff of Death pattern - the High Priest was struck down, the Staff of Death drained the life force of another Death priest fully healing its owner - happened again before Doomsman finally faced him in melee and all the other priests were dead. Doomsman hit with a flurry of blows, the High Priest's staff lashed out and touched Doomsman!
And, yet again, he made his save. He did, though, lose 1/2 his full hit points (really messing with him, as he had taken damage) and this was enough for the Priest to be at full health. Doomsman repeated his attacks, struck down the High Priest for the FOURTH TIME! The Staff of Death lashed out and -
Doomsman parried it! The Death Priest fell.
It was a great moment for the players!
The party quickly caught his body on fire, not caring to touch any items on his body.
Stardust searched the ground floor, quickly finding and sealing two side doors. Moments later something big tried getting into one of them. The pounding on the front door indicated the troops of the Master of Massacres had brought in a battering ram. The party gathered around and Mournglow cast Teleport.
He made the targeting roll easily, landing them back in their hidey-hole where they could see the Tower of Flying Beasts, which they had destroyed days earlier. As everyone got healed up (and Darkwalk used scrolls of Remove Curse on everyone because Death priests). the party observed the beehive of activity around the Death temple, including the Champion of the Slaughter God flying around fearlessly directing searches.
Acting on a hunch the party sent a Whispering Wind to the Champion, offering him something they felt he couldn't refuse - a duel of honor. As the Champion began flying, alone, toward them, Darkwalk used a long-cherished scroll to cast Regenerative Heal on Doomsman (he normally has no access to this spell).
The Champion landed and the terms were agreed upon: if the Champion fell his arms and gear belonged to Doomsman; if Doomsman fell his companions could keep his weapons, gear, and body but must depart Tolmar and never return. Then the battle was joined.
Now, to repeat - Doomsman is a 12th level Fighter and Grandmaster in the two-handed sword/greatsword. He has 3 attacks per round, gets a free parry per round (from a style) and does one die larger damage. His was using the sword Gatekeeper, which is +4 normally. He is wearing a Girdle of Stone Giant Strength (+5/+10). he has a magic item that can cast an automatic Heal if he is reduced to 0 or less h.p. once per month.
The Champion was built as a 13th level specialty Cleric using Skills & Powers/Spells & Magic/etc. He has THAC0, hit points, etc. as a fighter, is a grandmaster in the long sword, and fights with a +4 longsword and a +3 short sword of quickness, giving him 3 attacks per round with the long sword and 2 attacks per round (one in 'segment 0') from the short sword AND a free parry from a style. Essentially, he gets a 'free' attack before initiative, a parry, and 4 attacks, allowing him to theoretically parry every one of Doomsman's attacks and still strike twice, once with the short sword and once with the long sword. He wears Gauntlets of Might (+4/+7). He Regenerates 7 h.p. per round and has the innate ability to go Berserk (+4 to hit, +6 to damage for 10 rounds and +20 h.p., but no parry) 3 times a day and has a blessing of the evil War God so that once per week if he is reduced to 0 h.p. or less he is instantly Healed.
I made this as closely matched as possible. While the Champion hits more often when Doomsman hit he does more damage.
The fight lasted 8 rounds, a long time at this level. Doomsman's dice deserted him for the first 5 rounds; he hit as often as math decided but his damage was low and he was getting hit a lot. Then, well, he hit. A lot. And did a lot of damage, enough to trigger the Champion's Heal. Then the Champion hit a lot and triggered Doomsman's Heal. And then the dice turned and two rounds later the Champion is dead.
The entire party agrees it was the toughest, closest fight of the 7 years of the campaign.
The party immediately beheaded him and then burned him, after getting his gear.
After healing up Doomsman again the party was essentially out of most spells (except for Ember's "backup Fireballs". Yes, multiple). They decided to mix it up and leave the city and camp beyond the walls. As they are setting up camp they hear a horrifying roar/bellow from the city.
The camps under watch when - there is another horrifying bellow/roar right by the camp and a cloud of black mist envelopes them. Everyone makes their saves but still lose some hit points. OK, for some of them a LOT of hit points. As the mist clears they see - the Horned One!
Aside: The party has long assumed the Horned One is a hobgoblin chief with a horned helm. I have gently encouraged this. In truth, he is a hobgoblin, but one born of two survivors of whatever-it-was that destroyed the capitol of the Emerald Empire centuries before; a being born and raised in the Shadow of the City, the area of fear and darkness that festers many miles northwest of Tolmar. The thing before them, however, is 7' tall, has massive goat-like legs ending in cloven hooves, and a set of horns growing from the sides of his head.
Everyone but Stardust was sleeping and no one has had a chance to learn spells. Doomsman, sans armor, grabs his sword and wades in. The Horned One wields a two-hander in one fist and they start fighting. Mournglow activates his Wand of Conjuration, Darkwalk is digging into his packs for scrolls, Stardust is hurling daggers, and Ember is prepping his few spells.
The beginning of round 2 the Horned One breathes on Doomsman and paralyzes him! Luckily the Wand of Conjuration goes off and summons a Stone Golem. Darkwalk rushes up and drags Doomsman back out of melee and begins to pour an Elixir of Health down his throat. Ember fires off a Magic Missile, Stardust is looking for an item to help out, and the golem misses.
In round three Ember gets off his go-to max damage spell, Torrential Fireball. This is sto-, uh, borrowed from HackMaster 4th and is, essentially, just like Fireball except d8 damage per instead of d6. Under 2e rules once per day a fire elementalist may ad 1d4 to the effective level of a Fire spell they cast and my modified honor rules mean you can guarantee that this adds 4. So when the chips are down Ember can do 14d8 fire damage.
Like now.
He didn't mind including the golem because everyone knows stone golems are immune to fire. Unfortunately, this is how he learned that the Horned One is immune to fire.
By the end of the round the Horned One has destroyed the stone golem! The party has done very little to the Horned One.
Round three: Doomsman has been un-paralyzed by the Elixir and wades in again. He and the Horned One trade a lot of damage. Ember and Mournglow both toss more Magic Missiles. Stardust keeps throwing daggers. At great personal risk Darkwalk casts Stoneskin on Doomsman.
Round four: The Horned One bellows again, this time surrounding the entire area with Solid Fog. The party is convinced they are in trouble.
Round five: Darkwalk casts Dispel Magic; the Fog parts to show the Horned One finishing a potion.
Round six: The Horned One charges Doomsman and hits, tossing him 30'! The Stoneskin saves him from certain death, but is used up. Another flurry of missile weapons and everyone but Ember is now out of spells.
Round seven: Doomsman closes again and hurts the Horned One a lot, but bot enough. The Horned One's first counter attack knock Doomsman to 3 h.p. Before he can strike again Ember uses his last spell, a Magic Missile and the Horned One dies.
The party rejoices.
They use a lot of charges, scrolls, etc. to heal everyone at least a bit and then camp until dawn again.
Darkwalk burns most of his Cleric spells to heal everyone and they begin to investigate. The Horned One is now - a big, tough-looking hobgoblin in armor that cloaks him with an illusion and makes him immune to scrying. He is still obviously heavily mutated by magic, though. And, luckily, still very dead. They discover that he had placed a magic item on one of the Champion's swords and used that to track the party.
There is obvious fighting in the city and they see scattered groups of humanoids and even a few individuals slinking from the city. They grab a few for interrogation and learn a great deal;
- After the attack on the Tower of Flying Beasts a number of goblins and hobgoblins had defected.
-The head of the Necromancers had died suddenly the morning of the assault on the Temple of Death (they realize whose imp Mournglow's familiar had killed), throwing the necromancers into confusion and internal fighting for leadership.
- After the Champion's body was found Alzozel ('Creepyhead') had ordered the Slaughter God troops to leave and then flew off himself.
- During the confusion the priests of the Plauge God had simply vanished.
The party had been working on the Horned One's power base for years; destroying the alliance with the Giant Lords; wiping out the Band; slaughtering the Pack; the capture of the northern fortress; the death of the Lord of Necromancers; the assault on the Temple of Death; the death of the Slaughter God's champion. The Horned One's only chance of maintaining his power had been to destroy the party himself, something he had almost pulled off.
The party returned to their real base, gathered their henchmen and hippogriffs, and flew to the Horned One's fortified island. It was essentially deserted. Stardust and Darkwalk made quick work the the various physical and magical traps and the party got to the treasure vault to find quite a bit of loot. The highlights of the haul were:
-about 350,000 g.p. value of treasure
-a slew of minor (+1/+2) magical weapons and armor
- A Mirror of Mental Prowess
- A Book of Infinite Spells
- a +7 two-hander
- the Sceptre of Goodly Might
The party was very happy that the in-game 15 year, real life 7 year, quest to break the power of the Redcaps was complete. They are concerned that so many villains got away, of course, but the general agreement was that the entire party will now "retire" to run their various feudal lands.
I must admit - it was an emotional afternoon. The Blackstone 1 campaign has been running for over 7 years and was the primary campaign. When we began my oldest son was 11; he starts his first full-time job this week. Our fourth son practiced penmanship re-writing his character sheet. This campaign has covered nearly 1/3rd of my marriage! It was a big day!
And Good Triumphed!
Monday, May 4, 2015
An update and, well, a Bleg
OK,so about a month ago I was suddenly laid off, no warning, along with the entire division I was in. This came hot on the heels of two major car repairs and medical bills so we were already virtually broke.
Yay!
The company used various methods to avoid their separation policies resulting in me NOT getting a severance package as promised in my contract.
Hooray!
I have a new job, thank heavens, but it is straight commission - long term? I think it will be great.
Short term?
I don't get paid for weeks.
I am settled in enough that I will start putting out new content soon both here (hopefully later today) and on RPGNow, etc. So I am hoping that people will look at my highly-reviewed OSRIC-compatible products and buy some! My publisher's page is here;
RPGNow
and here;
DriveThruRPG
I hope to have fresh, new product up this week, too!
I am also considering selling my very extensive library of D&D 3.5 books if there is interest. If you want/need a 3.5 book ask - I probably have it.
Sorry for the quiet, but it is about to end!
PS: Yes, I have a donate now button on my sidebar.
Yay!
The company used various methods to avoid their separation policies resulting in me NOT getting a severance package as promised in my contract.
Hooray!
I have a new job, thank heavens, but it is straight commission - long term? I think it will be great.
Short term?
I don't get paid for weeks.
I am settled in enough that I will start putting out new content soon both here (hopefully later today) and on RPGNow, etc. So I am hoping that people will look at my highly-reviewed OSRIC-compatible products and buy some! My publisher's page is here;
RPGNow
and here;
DriveThruRPG
I hope to have fresh, new product up this week, too!
I am also considering selling my very extensive library of D&D 3.5 books if there is interest. If you want/need a 3.5 book ask - I probably have it.
Sorry for the quiet, but it is about to end!
PS: Yes, I have a donate now button on my sidebar.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)