Running a War [Archive] - Wizards Community

Running a War [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Dungeon_Master
02-13-04, 11:31 PM I didn't really think this fit under anything else, so I posted here.

Currently, my campaign is building up to a large war. We're running a Forgotten Realms game, and me and my assistant DM are basically going to have a large war involving a good bit of the continent.

We've got most of it figured out, as far as factions go. The Dalelands and Cormyr will unite for common defense against the multiple armies of orcs, evil humans, and other "classic" bad guys.

Then there'll be a third element.... An undead army. This will be made up of dead from the battles raised by a group of necromancers who saw the opportunity and took it.

We're also thinking of involving the Drow, and possibly Thay and some of the southern nations.

Now, we've got several ideas of our own..... But I was just wanting to see what ideas people on the Boards can throw at us. :)

So have at it, if you've any good ideas.

-DM
Athenon
02-14-04, 12:26 AM I would recommend picking up the Cry Havoc supplement. It's good!

http://www.montecook.com/mpress_Havoc.html
ender
02-14-04, 03:05 AM Wars are always a lot of fun. But it sounds like you've got everything pretty much in hand... what exactly do you need ideas for?
ballekalle
02-14-04, 06:41 AM I just say one thing that all war camapigns need:

- Traitors

One of these nations should be traitors and join one of the evil sides, and crush the good guys from the inside. Make the characters hunt up and kill the leader of these traitors, and unite their nation again.

Just a hint :D
Lashan
02-14-04, 06:45 PM While Cry Havoc has a lot of praise for doing armies, the new Fields of Blood has been mentioned for being good at running wars. Cry Havoc is good for battles (up to a certain number). Fields of Blood isn't as good at running battles (though it appears to be not bad at all!), it also has stuff like chain of supply, paying the troops, and vairous aspects of running a country. I think if you are wanting to do a total war, you might want to look into Fields of Blood.

Also, Sembia is most likely not going to stay out of a conflict, unless it thinks it can make a lot of money by staying out.

Personally, I don't see why the Red Wizards would get involved. I am sure that Zhentil Keep will get involved. If you play in the current time line (where the zhentarium controls the entire Moonsea) then you can see Mulmaster get involved or at least stay nuetral. The Red Plumes of Hillsfar are sure to oppose the Zhentilar at any chance they get.

One thing you could toss in (or not) is the Mithril Legion. They set out to retake Tethyammar (sp) and haven't been heard from. Perhaps they succeeded and appear at a critical point in the game. It's from out of left field, but could be exciting.
Dungeon_Master
02-14-04, 08:44 PM Another thought: Two of my players seem to have a really bad "screw them if they don't agree with me!" attitude (in game and out). Our group when the war happens will be them, me, another guy, and that guy's cousin (my assistant DM, who I'll try to get to post here....) Me and the assitant DM both run DMPCs (total of 3), so we're thinking break the "screw them!" guys up from me, him, and the other guy.
Crust
02-14-04, 08:50 PM I'm taking this from a post I made on Candlekeep.com:
________________________________________

I'm currently running a war in my FR campaign. It's the alliance of the Dales, Cormyr, and the elves of Cormanthor vs. the invading forces of the githyanki and a trio of epic phaerimm who have allied themselves with Vlaakith, the githyanki lich queen.

My PCs are all in the upper teens, and they function as a special forces unit. They have already rescued a captured Randal Morn from the clutches of a very old red dragon and her brood, helped retake Dagger Falls from githyanki occupation, slew a number of allied red dragons in the region, and found and destroyed the slaad lord Bazim Gorag before the githyanki could free him. They've already been involved in four major conflicts, twice defending the walls of the Twisted Tower from a force of orcs, orges, giants, a fleet of manticores, various goblinoids, a pair of adult red dragons, various undead, githyanki warlocks and knights (and their planar ships), and at least one epic-level phaerimm sorcerer... a third battle defending a recaptured Dagger Falls from an advancing force of orcs, githyanki, various humanoids, one mature adult red dragon, stone and iron golems, and manticores, all reinforced by several planar ships... and a fourth time before the gates of the Tethyamar Mines in their attempt to find Randal Morn and free him. After having recently rescued Randal Morn and slew one of the most powerful red dragons in the region, the next mission of the alliance is the siege of Castle Daggerdale (which is currently occupied by the largest force of githyanki in the Dales, along with orcs, ogres, trolls, other demihumans, fire giants, etc.). That will be the equivilant of the siege of Minas Tirith, only the other way around. Eventually the PCs will have to race to the south-eastern region of the Dales to locate the Tomb of Acererak before the servants of Vlaakith unlock the secrets of demi-lichdom, Vlaakith's fall-back plan to attaining godhood.

I find that for PCs to successfully act in a wartime campaign, they must either be of higher level and do the heroic deeds, or be of lower level and accept the menial jobs. Certainly in the chaos of a real large-scale battle, it is hard to imagine low level PCs surviving. For example, the barbarian/fighter of the group has had enlarge person permanently cast on him, wears +4 adamantine full plate, and wields a +3 vampiric huge great axe. He wades into combat, and orcs and githyanki break against him like water on rock. Arrows bounce off him like rain (DR 6/- with his armor), and he slaughters foot soldiers by the dozen with his weapons and feats. He is feared and well-known. He has thwarted two assassination attempts (with the help of his fellow comrades). The chaos of large scale battle can often be told through a few die rolls and good storytelling.

Another thing to think about is spellcasters. If the opposing forces have spellcasters amongst them, then the party spellcasters will have to be ready to tangle with them. Chances are the wizards will battle in the sky before the ground forces march. Why? Because spellcasters can ruin large numbers of troops with spells ranging from stinking cloud to horrid wilting and even meteor swarm. Party spellcasters will have to engage and either ready counterspells immediately or prepare outright spell duels. If not, the enemy spellcasters will cut the opposing troops in half before melee combat is realized.

Also, rogues and arcane tricksters could bypass combat entirely and attack from behind or disable drawbridge defenses and battlements, horsemen could lead cavalry charges, clerics could be ground force medics and/or destroy undead troops, and bards could inspire the conflict and bolster troops. Druids could bring dire animals to the combat and alter the terrain in a number of ways with their magic.

When dealing with war, it's difficult to think of things in regards to something like WWII. FR wars don't deal with millions of troops over thousands of miles (at least not that I've seen). FR wars deal in the thousands, and I don't see them lasting for years and years. Especially when considering the killing power of spellcasters, dragons, giants, undead, and other monsters and classes, battles can take a turn very quickly. One enemy wizard casting teleport and meteor swarm, incendiary cloud, or horrid wilting could end a conflict in less than a minute... unless there is a PC there to stop that.

Wars are hard to run at times, but if the PCs are involved in both special ops missions AND front line, bloody chaos, I think your players will really feel like the Aragorns, Gimlis, William Wallaces, and Conans of any war you present to them.
________________________________________

I hope this helps. Enjoy!
Aulnil
02-17-04, 10:21 AM Lashan,

This is way off topic for this thread, but I was interested in what you said about the Mithril Legion and their attempt to retake Tethyaamar. Could you describe this further, or drop some info. on where I can find out more.

Thanx,
Aulnil
Dungeon_Master
02-17-04, 12:55 PM Yes, I'd like to hear about it too. :)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dungeon_Master 02-13-04, 11:31 PM	I didn't really think this fit under anything else, so I posted here. Currently, my campaign is building up to a large war. We're running a Forgotten Realms game, and me and my assistant DM are basically going to have a large war involving a good bit of the continent. We've got most of it figured out, as far as factions go. The Dalelands and Cormyr will unite for common defense against the multiple armies of orcs, evil humans, and other "classic" bad guys. Then there'll be a third element.... An undead army. This will be made up of dead from the battles raised by a group of necromancers who saw the opportunity and took it. We're also thinking of involving the Drow, and possibly Thay and some of the southern nations. Now, we've got several ideas of our own..... But I was just wanting to see what ideas people on the Boards can throw at us. :) So have at it, if you've any good ideas. -DM
Athenon 02-14-04, 12:26 AM	I would recommend picking up the Cry Havoc supplement. It's good! http://www.montecook.com/mpress_Havoc.html
ender 02-14-04, 03:05 AM	Wars are always a lot of fun. But it sounds like you've got everything pretty much in hand... what exactly do you need ideas for?
ballekalle 02-14-04, 06:41 AM	I just say one thing that all war camapigns need: - Traitors One of these nations should be traitors and join one of the evil sides, and crush the good guys from the inside. Make the characters hunt up and kill the leader of these traitors, and unite their nation again. Just a hint :D
Lashan 02-14-04, 06:45 PM	While Cry Havoc has a lot of praise for doing armies, the new Fields of Blood has been mentioned for being good at running wars. Cry Havoc is good for battles (up to a certain number). Fields of Blood isn't as good at running battles (though it appears to be not bad at all!), it also has stuff like chain of supply, paying the troops, and vairous aspects of running a country. I think if you are wanting to do a total war, you might want to look into Fields of Blood. Also, Sembia is most likely not going to stay out of a conflict, unless it thinks it can make a lot of money by staying out. Personally, I don't see why the Red Wizards would get involved. I am sure that Zhentil Keep will get involved. If you play in the current time line (where the zhentarium controls the entire Moonsea) then you can see Mulmaster get involved or at least stay nuetral. The Red Plumes of Hillsfar are sure to oppose the Zhentilar at any chance they get. One thing you could toss in (or not) is the Mithril Legion. They set out to retake Tethyammar (sp) and haven't been heard from. Perhaps they succeeded and appear at a critical point in the game. It's from out of left field, but could be exciting.
Dungeon_Master 02-14-04, 08:44 PM	Another thought: Two of my players seem to have a really bad "screw them if they don't agree with me!" attitude (in game and out). Our group when the war happens will be them, me, another guy, and that guy's cousin (my assistant DM, who I'll try to get to post here....) Me and the assitant DM both run DMPCs (total of 3), so we're thinking break the "screw them!" guys up from me, him, and the other guy.
Crust 02-14-04, 08:50 PM	I'm taking this from a post I made on Candlekeep.com: ________________________________________ I'm currently running a war in my FR campaign. It's the alliance of the Dales, Cormyr, and the elves of Cormanthor vs. the invading forces of the githyanki and a trio of epic phaerimm who have allied themselves with Vlaakith, the githyanki lich queen. My PCs are all in the upper teens, and they function as a special forces unit. They have already rescued a captured Randal Morn from the clutches of a very old red dragon and her brood, helped retake Dagger Falls from githyanki occupation, slew a number of allied red dragons in the region, and found and destroyed the slaad lord Bazim Gorag before the githyanki could free him. They've already been involved in four major conflicts, twice defending the walls of the Twisted Tower from a force of orcs, orges, giants, a fleet of manticores, various goblinoids, a pair of adult red dragons, various undead, githyanki warlocks and knights (and their planar ships), and at least one epic-level phaerimm sorcerer... a third battle defending a recaptured Dagger Falls from an advancing force of orcs, githyanki, various humanoids, one mature adult red dragon, stone and iron golems, and manticores, all reinforced by several planar ships... and a fourth time before the gates of the Tethyamar Mines in their attempt to find Randal Morn and free him. After having recently rescued Randal Morn and slew one of the most powerful red dragons in the region, the next mission of the alliance is the siege of Castle Daggerdale (which is currently occupied by the largest force of githyanki in the Dales, along with orcs, ogres, trolls, other demihumans, fire giants, etc.). That will be the equivilant of the siege of Minas Tirith, only the other way around. Eventually the PCs will have to race to the south-eastern region of the Dales to locate the Tomb of Acererak before the servants of Vlaakith unlock the secrets of demi-lichdom, Vlaakith's fall-back plan to attaining godhood. I find that for PCs to successfully act in a wartime campaign, they must either be of higher level and do the heroic deeds, or be of lower level and accept the menial jobs. Certainly in the chaos of a real large-scale battle, it is hard to imagine low level PCs surviving. For example, the barbarian/fighter of the group has had enlarge person permanently cast on him, wears +4 adamantine full plate, and wields a +3 vampiric huge great axe. He wades into combat, and orcs and githyanki break against him like water on rock. Arrows bounce off him like rain (DR 6/- with his armor), and he slaughters foot soldiers by the dozen with his weapons and feats. He is feared and well-known. He has thwarted two assassination attempts (with the help of his fellow comrades). The chaos of large scale battle can often be told through a few die rolls and good storytelling. Another thing to think about is spellcasters. If the opposing forces have spellcasters amongst them, then the party spellcasters will have to be ready to tangle with them. Chances are the wizards will battle in the sky before the ground forces march. Why? Because spellcasters can ruin large numbers of troops with spells ranging from stinking cloud to horrid wilting and even meteor swarm. Party spellcasters will have to engage and either ready counterspells immediately or prepare outright spell duels. If not, the enemy spellcasters will cut the opposing troops in half before melee combat is realized. Also, rogues and arcane tricksters could bypass combat entirely and attack from behind or disable drawbridge defenses and battlements, horsemen could lead cavalry charges, clerics could be ground force medics and/or destroy undead troops, and bards could inspire the conflict and bolster troops. Druids could bring dire animals to the combat and alter the terrain in a number of ways with their magic. When dealing with war, it's difficult to think of things in regards to something like WWII. FR wars don't deal with millions of troops over thousands of miles (at least not that I've seen). FR wars deal in the thousands, and I don't see them lasting for years and years. Especially when considering the killing power of spellcasters, dragons, giants, undead, and other monsters and classes, battles can take a turn very quickly. One enemy wizard casting teleport and meteor swarm, incendiary cloud, or horrid wilting could end a conflict in less than a minute... unless there is a PC there to stop that. Wars are hard to run at times, but if the PCs are involved in both special ops missions AND front line, bloody chaos, I think your players will really feel like the Aragorns, Gimlis, William Wallaces, and Conans of any war you present to them. ________________________________________ I hope this helps. Enjoy!
Aulnil 02-17-04, 10:21 AM	Lashan, This is way off topic for this thread, but I was interested in what you said about the Mithril Legion and their attempt to retake Tethyaamar. Could you describe this further, or drop some info. on where I can find out more. Thanx, Aulnil
Dungeon_Master 02-17-04, 12:55 PM	Yes, I'd like to hear about it too. :)