The War Machine - Mass Combat in Dungeons and Dragons
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ย. 2024
- A walkthrough of how to use the War Machine mechanic found in the BECMI Companion Rules, published in 1984.
Link to Companion Rules video: • The Companion Rules - ...
Link to Rules Cyclopedia video: • The Rules Cyclopedia -...
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Without wanting to be picky, in Brian Blume's preface to the Companion Set, the War Machine rules are credited to Garry Spiegle, Doug Niles, Mark Acres, and Carl Smith. That's probably why it's a really un-Mentzerish system. It's a very potent system, and it very much works. But credit where it's due :)
Thank you for the correction. I didn’t know and now I do. 🙂
I’m curious to know what a “Mentzerish system” is. 🤔
Google has not been my friend in this. 🙁
@@batou1976 ref to Frank Mentzer I believe en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Mentzer
@@batou1976 I mean in the style of Frank Mentzer. He's often kind of mathematical in what he comes up with but he's not otherwise one for big % calculations that play out in table form. So while Frank essentially recompiled and re-edited the Basic and Expert sets, the next three (Companion, Masters and Immortals) are his creations with just a few exceptions (some of the critters, war machine, and parts of the assumed game world that would later be known as Mystara). In my opinion the War Machine is an excellent subsystem and it's integral to C and M level play, but it stands out as being different in form to much of the rest of the game. It's great, it's not Franks style.
I'm sorry the Wyld Stallons don't just have "excellent" quality
They always have MOST EXCELLENT quality!
Thank you for spelling Wyld Stallyns correctly.
San Dimas High School Football Rules!!!
And “Be excellent to one another” - Abraham Lincoln
40 years old and still one of the best d20-based mass combat systems out there. I love how a DM can use the War Machine combat results to narrate a small skirmish to a huge war. It also has the Siege Machine and Sea Machine rules to simulate all aspects of fantasy medieval warfare. And yes I played the hell out of War Machine when I was a kid. To this day, if an RPG does not have an accompanying mass combat system, I find it incomplete.
You and me both!
this makes 5e incomplete....
Yeah, that makes sense
(ok, 5e has some one optional mass-ish combat rules from Unearthed Arcana materials, but it's just a small upscale of combat, and generates some weirdness when actual characters get involved)
For a more involved and tactical mass combat system, that also doesn't generate weird results for direct hero involvement (as such, enabling both the fantasy of being a commander, as well as a badass single-handedly breaking whole formations... if you have levels for it, and you'd better have backup), the ACKS RPG has a supplement with a mass combat system to be played on a hex grid, with several scale levels. Only thing is that it takes into assumption some small, but noticeable differences in character abilities between original B/X and BECMI, and ACKS (mainly, the fact that Fighters in ACKS actually gain extra damage with levels, as well as the "Cleave Factor" - the ability to make a certain number of extra attacks, as long as they keep downing enemies) - so RAW BECMI Fighters would be just straight-up weaker. (although I guess that, with some tinkering, if one takes into account the Weapon Proficiency system, Fighters would get a boost)
The Bill & Ted reference alone merits a thumbs up!
A most excellent comment. 🙂
Took me a second and then I realized it. Absolutely awesome.
Amazing video. Would like to point out, for anyone wanting to apply this at the table. Play the war machine rules like a Hex and Counter wargame. Allow each player to control an army (their own or lead someone's) and have that army presented as a Chit/Counter/Token. Meanwhile have the opposing armies have multiple forces as well.
Now enjoy a session, from 30 minutes to an hour of wargaming, with players moving their forces across the kingdom and taking on threats (Or be the threats!)
This is brilliant! And it only adds a small amount of complexity for the players on the tabletop. A lil more prep for the GM but I think that could play for a really engaging war scenario.
You could even have it be battalions (each led by a PC) on a single battlefield going through the battle.
I can imagine this being an epic session, maybe even having 1v1 duals between the PC leading the Battalion and its commanding officer.
This seems like an outstanding way to do mass combat.
My Rules Cyclopedia arrived yesterday, and theoretically B2, B10, and AC1 arrive tomorrow. Thank you for the inspiration to run BECMI.
No problem! It’s obviously very simplified but at least it’s there and can be adjusted anyway you see fit. Enjoy your games!
This is possibly my favorite BECMI video you've made. I'm floored with this brilliant presentation. Standing ovation.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I love the Hawk the Slayer reference...I think Crow and the one handed crossbow man could hold off an entire army though (If they have the rotoscoping) :)
I remember modifying this for 2E using 2E's XP calculator table for special abilities in place of the "if has an asterisk" as 2E didn't use asterisks. That made the 2E BFRs slightly higher, but the game would still play well.
I also recently tried to find a commonality between 5E Challenge Rating and parts of WarMachine to get consistent results for quick conversions, but I probably gave up too quickly. I do know that the proposed 5E Unearthed Arcana mass combat give nonsensical results due to its insistence on physical size limits on what units can work together; the easiest to track is seeing that a group of trained mounted knights gets trounced by guardsmen on foot because the horses reduce the average CR of the knights' unit, and the knights are forced to reduce in number due to the size of the horses.
IMO, the biggest thing WM had going for it was that it was a way to resolve wars without resorting to wargaming. Yes, it's battle by spreadsheet, some luck, and a little bit of tactics (choosing terrain, methodologies), but that emphasizes that the PC can't do much more than prepare their troops and delegate. Controlling an army like some kind of hive mind is unrealistic for most armies. Perhaps go on a quest to steal one side's totemic gemstone, or challenge an enemy leader to honorable single combat to reduce their BFR. But the quick resolution of WM battles per day gets the players back into Role Playing as fast as possible, which should be the point.
I couldn’t agree more! This wasn’t a war game, it was a tool to help resolve mass combat situations. Nothing more than that.
ATTENTION BECMI BERSERKER - DUDE your totally awesome!!! Thank you for putting this up, it helps us a lot. in the FUTURE seeing you put down armies and walk us through 'mass combat' in WAR MACHINE would also be helpful too!!!! CHEERS!!! (BECMI FOREVER)!!!!
I should have started the presentation with “HELLO, SAN DIMAS!!!”
This is great. You do the bulk of the math during set up. Then at the table, you apply a few final modifiers, possibly based on the parties actions, then just do a couple rolls to determine the outcome. Quick and easy to figure out what happens without massivly interrupting your classic adventuring while still allowing the players to influence the outcome.
Indeed. You can record the BFR and BR stats on your character sheet somewhere and use them when needed.
This and dominion play is my favorite part of BECMI play. Go try CM1 Test of the Warlords for an adventure putting these concepts to great use. Also, I would say that zombies can't rout unless their commander says so which is why they can be such a deadly force even with a low BR. If I am DM, they lose 30% of troops and we roll again for another round of mass combat (unless I think Bargle WANTS them to disengage).
Great idea! Although it would have made the video too long… 😏
Excellent video! I never heard about these until recently, as I never owned the Companion rules. I'm surprised that more RPGs didn't include something along these lines, but happy to hear presented in this video. ⚔
This style of mass combat really supports the idea of mass combat more than simulate it. It does give a nice feel for mass combat, but as said before, it is rip for improvement.
Nice video, thank you!
Fantastic video. I was somewhat aware of the system but not entirely how it worked. I love that there's a lot of emphasis put on building up the army and its composition; positioning, training, equipment and troop -type selection make up a big part of warfare that its great to see it demonstrated, and to a level that considers actual thinking, as opposed to brute forcing the numbers. But I am glad there's some influence from the dice as well. A battle should be somewhat chaotic, with unpredictable elements. Certainly worth a try. Stay cool!
Excellent video that highlighted the issues with War Machine…
Lol! 🙂 Yes, it is imperfect, but something to improve maybe?
@@becmiberserker sorry, didn’t mean that to be snide :(. Yes, great starting point and many, many attempts to improve!!
It also created a passion for actual tactical wargaming to scratch that particular itch.
Great content! Keep it up
@@kevoreilly6557 Hey, I didn’t see it as such. I thought it was rather satirical. 🙂 No system is perfect and BECMI certainly has its foibles, but we can have fun nonetheless. Glad you’re enjoying the videos.
The main issue I had was really the result upon matrix where someone always retreated - I think we built a morale table, changed R to (H) Hold unless morale failed, added battle events, and expanded the tactical options table (I think we added, “Feint”, “Reserves”, and something else I can’t remember.)
On the morale test, if failed then R as normal, but then battle progresses and the “winning side” gained a bonus equal to loss percentage of loser and recovered 50% of their own losses on a morale test
I think their was more, but this really helped have “battles” over an extended period (reflecting hours, days, even weeks bss as Ed on DM objectives in the campaign (and army size))
I really want to rewrite these now!!
Dragon Magazine 109 expanded the rules with another 6 pages of additional stuff.
Same issue included rules for making your own character classes. One of my favourites.
I do have to admit, I've never been a fan of this method. Just feeding a long list of numbers into a calculator and seeing what comes out isn't what makes for engaging fantasy warfare to me. I'd much rather have the players use a set of Chainmail or Battlesystem style tabletop wargame rules to play out mass battles. It feels more like a proper game to me. There are even some playable simplified ones out there that fit into just a few pages. But to each his own.
My inclination is to use One Page Rules. Their "Age of Fantasy: Regiments" game gives army lists for most fantasy staples. So it would be easy to create fast mass battle content, where you're actually positioning blocks of troops. (Which can be represented as needed by scraps of paper).
Absolutely! I guess the variety means there’s something for everyone. Thanks for watching.
@@Bluecho4 This is really smart! I have been using the Rogue Trader Battlefleet Koronus war rules, which I just realized are BECMI rules but streamlined with a bit more emphasis on tactics. Using OPR fantasy war gaming rules is a really good idea though.
Thank you for the breakdown! This was fun!
Excellent rendering and tutorial! Thank you so much.
You're very welcome!
This is what I have been seeking
Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I got the Companion box set when it first released and absolutely loved the War Machine system for mass combat. I haven't thought about it in years and it was fun relearning it. I'll have to try to incorporate it into my current OSR games.
You’re welcome! And I hope you have fun with it.
I have fond memories of the times we have used the system. So much fun.
Nice video! I prefer Chainmail to War Machine, or to the Mass Battle /skirmish rules for 1e/2e, or to the OD&D Swords and Spells book by Gygax.
Great example. I quite like the short amount of actual time you needed to solve this conflict- Wild stalions rule!
My campaign is moving steadily towards a Known World War in the Mystara setting. As a young kid when the BECMI system came out I was intimidated with WAR MACHINE, but you broke it down simply. I think I'll be dusting off my green set!
Sometimes the text can be quite intimidating. Glad I could help.
I've been absorbed by your videos today after I decided to do some digging on Mystara on a whim after being reminded of the arcade game(s) Tower of Doom and Shadow Over Mystara.
I've been intrigued by AD&D and BECMI for a while now, having most of my experience in 3rd edition and being really underwhelmed by 5th edition. I always knew that the game transitioned from low level dungeon clearing to kingdom management later on, but I never really reconciled it. I think this video really tied up all the loose ends for me. An army is something to invest resources into so that you can accomplish things greater than just one person, it's so easy to imagine a fighter (or, excuse me, Fighting Man) being granted a fief and soldiers under his command, dealing with banditry and orcish raids, raising his prestige until he's called into a war on behalf of his liege. It just flows so cleanly now.
I definitely need to give BECMI a try now, looking forward to seeing the rest of the Gazeteers, you've more than earned my subscription, and keep up the good work.
Thank you. I really appreciate it.
This is a great alternative with some abstract battlefield. I know some of my players enjoy more mass miniature warfare like 2e D&D Battlesystems, but we have used a modified Green Ronin ASOIAF warfare system since it can kind of feel like the Total War games and using post-it notes for the units.
The War Machine does seem more like excel sheet battles. Although, it doesn't seem to allow for PC fighting in personal scale have any impact on the larger battle.
Thanks for your comment. We used to do personal battles like cut scenes. So, although there isn’t a specific mechanic for a PC’s impact beyond what’s already in the BR calculations, you could take a story approach. The results of these encounters could add bonuses or penalises to the final battle roll, informed by the actions of the characters.
I missed BECMI mass combat rules first time around, "Battlesystem" was my introduction to big battles. And I've sampled many rulesets since. Now I'm sad I didn't get to play with the War Machine rules, they seem to hit my DMing Sweet Spot, complexity-wise.
Usually one-on-one combat between PCs and enemy champions, even if not specifically supported, was a simple matter of bonuses/penalties applied to the armies based on the outcome. Like; morale loss if the strongest fighter/biggest monster falls, penalties to cohesion if it was the commander, etc. And of course appropriate increases to morale & such to the opposition forces (plus maybe a situational bonus due to spontaneous air-guitar riff!)
[edited for spelling]
My main gripe with the War Machine is how little the troop level matters to the final BFR.
Taking the Knights of the Wyld Stallyns as an example, their BFR is 134. However, if they were just level 1 fighters instead of level 3, the BFR would still be 130. This is insignificant difference, and had the knights trained just two weeks less than their level 1 counterparts, they'd match at 130.
Whereas if you put 10 level 1 fighters against 10 level 3 fighters and have at it using the normal combat rules, the higher level fighters will mop the floor with the newbies. Each of the level 3 fighters has roughly 3 times the HP of the 1st level fighters, so if it becomes a matter of 10 duels, all of the 3rd level fighters are likely still standing. Also, they have better THAC0, so more likely to hit as well.
You'd need at least 2:1 odds to make it more balanced, the additional chance to hit and the additional target with their HP balancing it out, assuming you'd be able to swarm. If it is just 1:1 line battle, you'd need at least 3:1 odds, since it is just one attack per turn on each side.
Looking at the Troop Ratio, this would imply that 2:1 odds should be +30, and 3:1 odds should be +45. If we change the average troop level multiplier from 2 to 20, then the difference is 60-20 = 40. Although in order to make troop quality rescaling less necessary, we could use (level-1)*2 instead. This would also mean that the training would be enough to make up for one full level or two if it is with the leader, which sounds fair enough, since it also implies that the other side doesn't train at all. 100 guys who know how to work together vs. 100 individuals, yes, I could buy it.
It is far from perfect, I agree. I think it is ripe for improvement. It would be great to see OSE give it a go.
Thanks! BECMI is fun to rediscover, hope you do more WARGAMES examples giving your awesome narration to that end...Look forward to future posts!!! Cheers!
Thank you so much!
Best mass combat rules ever
First of all- great video!!! You have a new subscriber :)
Secondly- I still love and cherish my Rules Cyclopedia to this day :) It's 32 years old and still holding strong
And C- The War Machine rules are incredibly adaptable. As a GM, I had the siege of Constantinople coming up in my Vampire: the Dark Ages chronicle. Granted, it took a lot of math, work, math, guesswork, math and game mechanic equivalents (that last one took the longest), but we ran it and ran parallel character stories and it went extremely well. Not to brag (Oh wait, I'm bragging!) one of the players (a D&D DM for years) thought that it was a better system than Battlesytem, a system he enjoyed and ran several times over the years.
Thanks for the kind words. And great work with your campaign!
Thanks for the video and explaining the War Machine. I know I used these rules once many ages ago as a player, but I never played in another campaign that used them. I definitely was not the one who did all the BR calculations! I remember winning a battle but we lost a lot of our army. Pretty neat system, but I do have a couple of critics. First are the six tactic options. It doesn't feel like enough, at least on paper. For a game that emerged from tabletop wargaming I am surprised there isn't more, but then again, the system already has a lot of complexity so maybe it's fine. Also, the requirement for even matchups feels clunky. As a wargamer, this system is cool, but it feels like it's lacking something. I understand that a (relatively) straight forward system was needed since not all roleplayers are wargamers like myself. Great video. Thanks again.
Thanks for the comment. It’s far from perfect for real wargamers. I think if this side of D&D was developed further you’d probably have a tactics supplement. That said, D&D could very quickly become a war game instead of remaining an RPG. There was of course the Battle System boxed rules if you wanted something more complex.
I'm a wargamer (strategic and operational rather than tactical), and I don't really fault the War Machine system all that much. The tactics choices reflect the rudimentary command and control of armies of the period. The requirement to have even numbers of units makes perfect sense - like all wargames, there are certain elements that must bow to playability. But even then, based on the tactical minis wargames I've played (Battlesystem, etc), if one large unit was attacking two smaller ones, the effect would be the same as War Machine because usually only those files whose bases are in contact with the enemy can participate in the battle. War Machine covers both tactical and operational level engagements and it strikes a pretty good balance between the two with the various options it provides.
Thanks Bizerker. I have been looking for a breakdown of these rules.cheers🎉
No problem!
BB - ADnD also released the Battle System in 1989 for large scale combat. My group and I (still playing with the same guys) gave it a shot and it was fun. It’s been nearly 3 decades since I’ve run it. Perhaps this could be the subject of a future video?
I used to have it, but alas stupidly sold it some time ago for cash required to do sensible things, like bring up a young family. So many bad choices. I mean the selling of stuff, not having a family… 👀
@@becmiberserker I feel you. I think I still have mine somewhere buried in my basement. You’ve inspired me to go searching for it.
Of course the Wyld Stallyns have weapons whose quality is Excellent. (Air Guitar Riff)
Too bad they're an Elite quality army, rather than Excellent, to complete the effect. But in this case, it's a good problem to have.
(If I were inclined to do mass combat in D&D, I think I'd use One Page Rules, in the form of Age of Fantasy: Regiments. Probably using paper or digital stand-ins for each army. With the PCs, if they participate, running regular D&D combat whenever the unit(s) they're imbedded in make contact with the enemy. Them doing an exchange of blows either with a representative number of the foes in range, or with each unit's champion equivalent. But I can see how the system rendered in BECMI, while being less tactical, is more streamlined. You just do all the math, roll off, and the battle is over.)
Very informative. Thank you.
You are welcome!
That was awesome, thanks!
This example is most bodacious, worthy of being included in the Annals of San Diemas.
EXCELLENT!
Great deep dive.
Really good video - I could well need rules for a fight between say 30 pirates and 30 troops soon. If so, I will use these. Ty!
Thank you for this.
My pleasure!
Where would be the best place to access this War Machine system? I run a Knave Game (and soon a Shadowdark game) and would love to import this system into our games.
Great video btw! You where clear, concise, and had just the right amount of humor. Cheers!
Thanks for the feedback. The best place would be in a copy of the Rules Cyclopedia, PDFs of which are available on DrivethruRPG.com Good luck with your games.
Great video! 🧙🔥🙌🧝🏹
Thank you 🙌
We tried this in our OSE game and I didn’t find it worked well for us. I think for me my favorite is Chainmail Compleat.
I think perhaps if we *slowed down* the scene a lot more and had the warfare occur over a longer time between multiple sessions though it would have worked really well.
Hey, I really appreciate the objective comment. It’s always great to learn about systems other people are using. Thanks for commenting!
That was most righteous! But shouldn't it be Kings William and Theodore?
You’re right! Damn!! Can’t believe I missed that. 😭
Great video! Thanks so much for putting so much effort into it.
How much did people use (or still use) this in their campaigns?
It's definitely a different mode of play from the typical RPG adventuring.
Would people prefer to miniature-war (ala Strategos or Chainmail) this kind of scenarios for a more blow-by-blow style resolution, or use a mass combat resolution system like this?
Also, if one of the sides is not routed what happens? Do we recalculate the Rates having in mind the casualties and go again?
Interesting content.
Wyld Stallyns!!!
So, I get that this system isn’t supposed to be very granular, but the small effect that number of troops has is strange- furthermore, how does one rout zombies? Or cause them to retreat? The system definitely needs a way to handle enemies that fight to the last. I understand maybe bargle called the retreat wishing to conserve troops, but then part of the advantage of his forces is that doing so is unnecessary! Still, reducing fights to a single contested die roll is attractive. I’m reading through both Battlesystems & i’m not sure either will really be what i need to shorten small 50 v 50 or 70 v 70 skirmishes
Glad it helped. As for routing zombies, I guess it’s in the loosest sense. Maybe they get scattered and wander off. 🙂
Not sure how you think its "Simple". its as convoluted than 1st ed. Ad&d Psionics. Great video. the thing i always find with this system is its 99% calculations, and 1% math. if you use the optional rules, perhaps its a bit more tactical? I have a hard time running a game where 3 hours are players doing math.
It doesn’t really take that long. Once the information is known the work is done and it’s just one roll for every battle, accounting for modifiers. The setup is what takes a bit of time, but not much more than, say, generating a 5e character, if even that.
Good video!
Glad you enjoyed it.
The *MATH* Machine
How many adventures make use of the War Machine rules? Is there a list?
I’m can think of X10 Red Arrow, Black Shield off the top of my head. Probably the module that uses it the most. I’m pretty sure CM1 Test of the Warlords has some skirmishes. M1 Into the Maelstrom has mass ship warfare (the Sea Machine). The mechanic is sprinkled here and there throughout the CM and M adventure modules.
Great video, thanks very much.
I'm not surprised Crow's Comrades defeated their contingent of Zombies. 50 magic missiles against 3 wraiths is going to equal an instant loss of leadership and after that it's just mopping up the remains.😁
A good point well made. 🙂
@@becmiberserker just a way of adding flavor to the result really as the war machine makes no provisions for such tactics I'm assuming.
@@ianlamont9434 Not really. I think if you came to me with that idea though I’d definitely add a Cunning Plan bonus!
@@becmiberserker So cunning you could brush your teeth with it.🤣
While my brother and I did play these rules we were lazy about it and mostly just ran dungeon crawls and our Dominion were just excuses to use Tolkien names on our lands.
This sounds like a joke video XD so many highly detailed variables that each have their own acronyms haha.
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That said, the basic idea behind everything is compelling. Ill probably end up using a simplified version of this.
This is a great example of what should be automated by a computer program.
I’m sure if it was part of 5e there would be a spot on Beyond for it.
Or an Excel spreadsheet.
@@tristankasper7484 Yep excel sheet would work. Honestly I'd prefer this design over the extremely dumbed down 5e rules sets.
I was very disappointed when my Rules Cyclopedia arrived in the mail. When I got to the chapter about Massed Combat and it's only a set of tables with a single opposed roll. What a rip-off. This is not a wargame. It should be called "War Spreadsheet". It's really too bad that even in this early iteration of D&D the writers decided to abandon its wargame roots.
As a fellow strategy and wargame enthusiast, I am surprised at your disappointment, sir.
I checked your channel and you clearly have a perspective with some academic background on the subject, but surely the departure from simulationist wargaming in BECMI/ AD&D shouldn't have been that upsetting.
Rules Cyclopedia is an RPG toolkit, not a wargaming supplement.
My genuine sympathies, but you may wish to double back and redirect your research.
If you wish, I recommend taking a look at the Birthright series of D&D materials or Kingmaker from Pathfinder 1e, perhaps Strongholds & Followers from MCDM for modern a take on wargaming in D&D.
Should be 10 pages starting on page 117 - strange
@@kevoreilly6557, right? I had to revisit my copy to make sure I wasn't forgetting something.
It is very abstract and the probabilities don't translate as smoothly/ directly as one might hope from individual stats to "War Machine" stats, but it's serviceable.