Mass Combat Rules - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Mass Combat Rules

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
lode
May 21, 2009 18:03:34 Recently, after much pestering by my players, I ran a mass combat encounter with rules I came up with by expanding on the existing 4E system. It worked out better than I thought it would; soldiers lead by the party's warlord held the line, skirmishers lead by the avenger and wizard succeeded in wiping out the enemy's cavalry, which left the right flank vulnerable to a cavalry charge lead by the fighter which rolled up the enemy line and left their commander vulnerable to a normal 4E battle involving the PCs. So instead of keeping it to myself I thought I'd submit this rules set for review by the community. Feel free to comment and critique, there's only so much I can do to improve on it without alternate points of view.

Units

Armies are comprised of Units whose capabilities are determined by role, equipment, and feats. Units are developed using the rules in the monster creation section of the DMG (p184). Asmor's Monster Math Cruncher is a great tool for quickly generating Units. All Units have the following statistics:

Level: This value along with Role determines capability

HP: Use the HP value in the monster creation section of the DMG

Attack: Use the 'Attack vs AC' value in DMG p184

Charge: Attack value +2 along with any other bonuses

Damage: Determined by weapons and Unit Level; use the 'Normal Damage Expression' table (I found it easiest to use average damage instead of rolling dice)

Defense: Use the AC value in DMG p184

Speed: Base value of 3

There is no Initiative value. I find it best for each side to have their Units act per turn, the number to be determined according to personal taste.

Roles and PCs

Soldier: +2 to morale rolls, can be Armored; Defender PC can be Leader

Brute: +2 to charge rolls and +4 damage when charging, can be Armored; Defender and melee Striker PCs can be Leaders

Skirmisher: not Disordered in rough terrain, may Disengage as a minor action, may change Facing as a minor action, Vulnerable to Charge; Striker PC can be Leader

Lurker: not Disordered in rough terrain, may Disengage as a minor action, cannot be detected unless enemy Unit attempts to enter square occupied by Lurker, Vulnerable to Charge; PC with Stealth skill training can be Leader

Artillery: may use all bows; ranged Striker and Controller PCs can be Leaders

Leader: not a unit in itself, rather an individual (usually a PC) that can be attached to a unit giving it +2 Leader bonus to Attack, Defense, and Morale rolls; PCs with the Leader role give a +2 Leader bonus to all adjacent friendly Units

Controller: not a unit in itself, rather an individual (usually a PC) that can give the standard Leader bonus as well as a 1/Encounter attack using the High column on the Limited Damage Expression Table on DMG p185

PCs: PCs may attach to or detach from a Unit as a minor action; PCs may use Encounter powers to grant a +2 bonus or Daily powers to grant a +5 bonus to their Unit's Attack, Defense, and Morale rolls until the beginning of their next turn

A PC detached from a unit has a base move of 3. A detached PC cannot engage in combat (though this is of course up to the DM).

Combat Rules

4E rules are generally observed with the following changes.

Facing: A Unit can only move and attack in the direction it is facing and must use a Move Action to change its Facing. A Unit cannot change Facing if it is Engaged.

Engagement: A Unit is Engaged if it is Facing an adjacent enemy Unit. A Unit will automatically change its facing to Engage an adjacent enemy. If it cannot change its Facing then it will wait until next round to do so. An Engaged Unit will automatically attack the enemy it Engaged until it becomes Disengaged.

Disengagement: A Unit is Disengaged when it is not in melee range. A Unit can Disengage as a standard action. The Unit moves one square and does not change its Facing; it cannot use Disengage to move adjacent to an Unengaged enemy Unit.

Bloodied: When a Unit becomes Bloodied, it also becomes Weakened and must make Morale Checks.

Morale: When Bloodied and Engaged with an Enemy Unit, the Unit must make a saving throw (referred to as a Morale Check from hereon) to prevent Rout. The Unit receives a -1 penalty to Morale Checks for every adjacent Unengaged enemy Unit and for every friendly Unit that Routs. If escape is impossible, the Unit fights until its HP drops to 0. When adjacent to an enemy Unit that Routs, the Unit must make a Morale Check to prevent giving Chase; ignore penalties to Morale derived from being Bloodied or having friendly Units Rout.

Routing and Chasing: While Routing or Chasing, the Unit is Disordered. The Unit can attempt to Reorder itself every round by succeeding on a Morale Check. Routing Units receive a -5 penalty to Morale Checks. A Unit can Order itself as a standard action.

Impetuosity: Some Units are Impetuous. At the beginning of every turn an Impetuous Unit is not Engaged with an enemy, it must make a Morale Check. If it fails, it immediately charges the nearest enemy Unit. A Unit ceases being Impetuous when it first Engages an enemy or when it first becomes Bloodied.

Order and Disorder: A Disordered Unit is out of proper formation and lacks cohesion. It receives a -2 penalty to Attack and Defense and deals half damage.

Flank and Rear Attacks: A Unit's Flank is its side. An attack diagonally to a Unit's Front is not considered an attack to the Flank. Attacks to a Unit's Flank receive a +1 bonus; attacks to a Unit's Rear receive a +2 bonus

Attacks: All missed attacks deal half damage. A Unit equipped with Ranged Weapons deals half damage and suffers a -2 penalty to Morale when Engaged with a Unit equipped with Melee Weapons.

Charge: A Unit may Charge as a Full Round Action. While Charging, the Unit may move up to its Speed +1. All spaces between the Unit and its target must be Clear Terrain. A unit cannot Charge an adjacent enemy Unit.

Vulnerable to Charge: A Unit that is Vulnerable is easily scattered by the force of a determined Charge by Soldier or Brute Units. Vulnerable Units take double damage from Charge attacks by these Units.
#2
lode
May 21, 2009 18:04:22 Equipment

Mounts: Assumed to be horses, which come in two varieties: Heavy and Light. Light Mounts give +3 bonus to Speed and +1 bonus to Charge. Heavy Mounts give +2 bonus to Speed and +2 bonus to Charge. A Unit can mount as a move action and dismount as a minor action. Mounts take a -5 penalty to Speed while in rough terrain.

Armor: Soldiers, Brutes, and Artillery can be armored; gives a +2 bonus to defense and -1 penalty to Speed

Shield: +1 bonus to Defense, -2 penalty to damage

Weapons: All weapons use the Low, Medium, and High values from the Normal Damage Expression Table.

Swords (Medium): +2 melee vs Disordered Unit

Polearms (Medium, High vs Disordered Unit): +2 melee when attacking from fortified position, cannot be used with Shield

Hafted (Medium): Dismounted Unit uses the High damage expression when charging

Spear (Medium): +2 melee vs Mounted Units, can brace as a standard action to gain +2 bonus to defense vs charge and deal damage as an immediate action when charged

Pike (Medium, High when charging or bracing): +4 melee vs Mounted Units, cannot deal damage when Disordered, can brace as a standard action to gain +4 bonus to defense vs charge and deal damage as an immediate reaction when charged, cannot be used with Shield

Lance (Medium, High when Charging): +2 bonus to charge, can only be used by Mounted Unit, damage expression unaffected while using shield

Crossbow (Medium): range 4, +2 bonus to ranged attack when attacking from a fortified position, cannot be used in melee

Shortbow (Low): range 4, can be used while mounted with a -1 penalty to range, cannot be used in melee

Longbow (Medium): range 5, cannot be used in melee

Thrown (Low): range 3, can be used while mounted, can be used in melee

Feats

Only Soldier and Brute Units can assume a Formation. The default formation for a Soldier or Brute is Tight Formation, which offers no benefits or drawbacks. A Unit gains a Feat every odd level. Most of the following Feats are Formations, which are the mass combat equivalent of Stances. A Unit is in Formation until it changes to another or adopts the default square formation, which provides no bonuses or penalties. A Unit can change its Formation as a standard action. Unless otherwise noted, a Unit retains no Formation or Weapon bonuses to Defense when attacked to the Flank or the Rear.

Loose Formation: +2 defense vs ranged attacks and -2 defense vs charge attacks

Wedge Formation: +2 bonus to charge, -2 defense vs melee attacks

Diamond Formation: requires Wedge Formation, Mounted Unit; Unit can change Facing as a minor action while in Wedge Formation

Orb Formation: requires Dismounted Unit; while in Orb Formation, enemies attacking Unit gain no bonuses when attacking Flank or Rear; while in Orb Formation, Unit cannot move

Column Formation: +1 bonus to Speed, -2 to defense

Improved Mounted Archery: shortbows can be used mounted without the range penalty

Improved March: Dismounted Soldiers and Brutes can change Facing as a minor action

Weapons Training: The Unit gains a secondary weapon; the Unit may change weapons as a Move Action

Terrain

Clear: no bonuses or penalties; eg grassland

Road: +1 bonus to Speed

Rough: Formations cannot be used on rough terrain, Units are Disordered while on rough terrain; rocky or muddy fields, developed land

Covering: rough terrain that provides +2 defense vs ranged attacks; forest

Elevated: +1 bonus to attack and defense, +1 bonus to range; hills, walls

Fortified: +2 bonus to defense and morale; field fortifications
#3
mellored
May 22, 2009 13:56:25 While overall i agree that making armies into units is a good idea, i think you have too much here and are making things overcomplicated.

I think it'd be better to just have them as DM defined monsters. An army of orcs fighters would be a bit different then an army of elf fighters, or an army of mindflayers, or dragons, or....
#4
AbdulAlhazred
May 22, 2009 16:51:32 Yeah, I would recommend sticking to a simpler set of formations. A unit can consist of a number of stands of figures, so line/column/square really just amounts to how the stands are layed out.

The old Battlesystem rules are very close to what you're outlining here. There were 2 types of units for formation purposes, skirmishers and everything else. Skirmishers can only assume "open" formations (bases separated by space equal to the size of the base). Other units can assume closed formations (all bases touching). A "disordered" unit always assumes an open formation.

Other than that there really aren't many differences from what you've got here already. There were a few specific rules dealing with morale, charging, etc.

In any case I would just ditch formations besides square, line, and column. I've never seen any table top miniatures rules go further than that and there isn't really any historical precedent for more intricate formations (which probably means they would be just too hard to drill for and not really materially useful).
#5
Shiftkitty
May 22, 2009 21:28:07 I usually only worry about the fights the PCs are directly involved in. For the result of the entire battle, unless I've already determined who's going to win, I use Farland's system:

http://www.farlandworld.com/program.html

I sometimes throw in bonuses based on the party so that they, as proper heroes, actually do have an impact on the battle, although I normally give them missions that, if successful, can turn the whole tide.
#6
lode
May 23, 2009 21:43:50 Hoo, an internet connection at last. Now let's see.

I usually only worry about the fights the PCs are directly involved in. For the result of the entire battle, unless I've already determined who's going to win, I use Farland's system:

http://www.farlandworld.com/program.html

I sometimes throw in bonuses based on the party so that they, as proper heroes, actually do have an impact on the battle, although I normally give them missions that, if successful, can turn the whole tide.

Nifty program, that. Up until the last adventure that was how I ran things, with the PCs as part of a (Very) Special Forces squad that turned the tide of battles when they weren't dungeon diving. I encouraged a great of deal of free thinking on their parts, which is probably what lead them to kill the mercenary captain that was employing them and take over his band. Seems like the actors would like their hand at directing without all the tripe the DM has to go through. My fault I suppose.

Yeah, I would recommend sticking to a simpler set of formations. A unit can consist of a number of stands of figures, so line/column/square really just amounts to how the stands are layed out.

The old Battlesystem rules are very close to what you're outlining here. There were 2 types of units for formation purposes, skirmishers and everything else. Skirmishers can only assume "open" formations (bases separated by space equal to the size of the base). Other units can assume closed formations (all bases touching). A "disordered" unit always assumes an open formation.

Other than that there really aren't many differences from what you've got here already. There were a few specific rules dealing with morale, charging, etc.

In any case I would just ditch formations besides square, line, and column. I've never seen any table top miniatures rules go further than that and there isn't really any historical precedent for more intricate formations (which probably means they would be just too hard to drill for and not really materially useful).

Hmm, looking at the rules again I am seeing some redundancies that could stand getting cut out. Is Battlesystem the precursor to D&D or was that something else? Improvements in scholarship over the past couple decades or so revealed a good amount about how wars were fought and what drills were used. Square, line, and column were used to the exclusion of others when personal firepower began to outpace personal melee abilities but others like wedge, orb, and diamond were present in one form or another up until that time. But you are correct in that some fat needs to be trimmed off the rules as written.

I think it'd be better to just have them as DM defined monsters. An army of orcs fighters would be a bit different then an army of elf fighters, or an army of mindflayers, or dragons, or....

That's actually how I made my units. The rules above were mostly for the player's edification.
#7
guamae
May 24, 2009 15:20:36 Exalted has a similar (but slimmer) Mass Combat system in that the "armies" are treated as large-scale Weapons and Armor for the characters. And then the PC "army character" would fight unfriendly "army characters" and it would run pretty well like normal combat.

However i really like the 7th Sea MCS. In that it is seen that the Leading Generals of the armies are making checks against each other modified by events on field and preparation and the like. The PCs then can decide where they want to be in the combat (Front line, Middle, Reserves) and that changes how likely they are to get hurt, how much Glory they obtain, and their chances for Special Events. This can be something like grabbing the flag and leading a charge (which will help their General, but put them in Harms Way for quite a while) or entering Single Combat with an opposing Hero, which will, again, affect their Leader's Roll the next round depending on who wins.

It's very dynamic, simple, and everyone likes wracking up Glory and bonuses for their side. It was really fun when the actual troops that the PCs were working with were far outclassed by the enemy, and through the PCs actions (rousing the troops before the battle and their round-by-round accomplishments) were able to fight off the attackers.

If i got into 4e Mass Combat, i'd break out my 7th Sea books and use the same system and charts. Really hard to find in print, but PDFs should be easy to comby.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 lode May 21, 2009 18:03:34	Recently, after much pestering by my players, I ran a mass combat encounter with rules I came up with by expanding on the existing 4E system. It worked out better than I thought it would; soldiers lead by the party's warlord held the line, skirmishers lead by the avenger and wizard succeeded in wiping out the enemy's cavalry, which left the right flank vulnerable to a cavalry charge lead by the fighter which rolled up the enemy line and left their commander vulnerable to a normal 4E battle involving the PCs. So instead of keeping it to myself I thought I'd submit this rules set for review by the community. Feel free to comment and critique, there's only so much I can do to improve on it without alternate points of view. Units Armies are comprised of Units whose capabilities are determined by role, equipment, and feats. Units are developed using the rules in the monster creation section of the DMG (p184). Asmor's Monster Math Cruncher is a great tool for quickly generating Units. All Units have the following statistics: Level: This value along with Role determines capability HP: Use the HP value in the monster creation section of the DMG Attack: Use the 'Attack vs AC' value in DMG p184 Charge: Attack value +2 along with any other bonuses Damage: Determined by weapons and Unit Level; use the 'Normal Damage Expression' table (I found it easiest to use average damage instead of rolling dice) Defense: Use the AC value in DMG p184 Speed: Base value of 3 There is no Initiative value. I find it best for each side to have their Units act per turn, the number to be determined according to personal taste. Roles and PCs Soldier: +2 to morale rolls, can be Armored; Defender PC can be Leader Brute: +2 to charge rolls and +4 damage when charging, can be Armored; Defender and melee Striker PCs can be Leaders Skirmisher: not Disordered in rough terrain, may Disengage as a minor action, may change Facing as a minor action, Vulnerable to Charge; Striker PC can be Leader Lurker: not Disordered in rough terrain, may Disengage as a minor action, cannot be detected unless enemy Unit attempts to enter square occupied by Lurker, Vulnerable to Charge; PC with Stealth skill training can be Leader Artillery: may use all bows; ranged Striker and Controller PCs can be Leaders Leader: not a unit in itself, rather an individual (usually a PC) that can be attached to a unit giving it +2 Leader bonus to Attack, Defense, and Morale rolls; PCs with the Leader role give a +2 Leader bonus to all adjacent friendly Units Controller: not a unit in itself, rather an individual (usually a PC) that can give the standard Leader bonus as well as a 1/Encounter attack using the High column on the Limited Damage Expression Table on DMG p185 PCs: PCs may attach to or detach from a Unit as a minor action; PCs may use Encounter powers to grant a +2 bonus or Daily powers to grant a +5 bonus to their Unit's Attack, Defense, and Morale rolls until the beginning of their next turn A PC detached from a unit has a base move of 3. A detached PC cannot engage in combat (though this is of course up to the DM). Combat Rules 4E rules are generally observed with the following changes. Facing: A Unit can only move and attack in the direction it is facing and must use a Move Action to change its Facing. A Unit cannot change Facing if it is Engaged. Engagement: A Unit is Engaged if it is Facing an adjacent enemy Unit. A Unit will automatically change its facing to Engage an adjacent enemy. If it cannot change its Facing then it will wait until next round to do so. An Engaged Unit will automatically attack the enemy it Engaged until it becomes Disengaged. Disengagement: A Unit is Disengaged when it is not in melee range. A Unit can Disengage as a standard action. The Unit moves one square and does not change its Facing; it cannot use Disengage to move adjacent to an Unengaged enemy Unit. Bloodied: When a Unit becomes Bloodied, it also becomes Weakened and must make Morale Checks. Morale: When Bloodied and Engaged with an Enemy Unit, the Unit must make a saving throw (referred to as a Morale Check from hereon) to prevent Rout. The Unit receives a -1 penalty to Morale Checks for every adjacent Unengaged enemy Unit and for every friendly Unit that Routs. If escape is impossible, the Unit fights until its HP drops to 0. When adjacent to an enemy Unit that Routs, the Unit must make a Morale Check to prevent giving Chase; ignore penalties to Morale derived from being Bloodied or having friendly Units Rout. Routing and Chasing: While Routing or Chasing, the Unit is Disordered. The Unit can attempt to Reorder itself every round by succeeding on a Morale Check. Routing Units receive a -5 penalty to Morale Checks. A Unit can Order itself as a standard action. Impetuosity: Some Units are Impetuous. At the beginning of every turn an Impetuous Unit is not Engaged with an enemy, it must make a Morale Check. If it fails, it immediately charges the nearest enemy Unit. A Unit ceases being Impetuous when it first Engages an enemy or when it first becomes Bloodied. Order and Disorder: A Disordered Unit is out of proper formation and lacks cohesion. It receives a -2 penalty to Attack and Defense and deals half damage. Flank and Rear Attacks: A Unit's Flank is its side. An attack diagonally to a Unit's Front is not considered an attack to the Flank. Attacks to a Unit's Flank receive a +1 bonus; attacks to a Unit's Rear receive a +2 bonus Attacks: All missed attacks deal half damage. A Unit equipped with Ranged Weapons deals half damage and suffers a -2 penalty to Morale when Engaged with a Unit equipped with Melee Weapons. Charge: A Unit may Charge as a Full Round Action. While Charging, the Unit may move up to its Speed +1. All spaces between the Unit and its target must be Clear Terrain. A unit cannot Charge an adjacent enemy Unit. Vulnerable to Charge: A Unit that is Vulnerable is easily scattered by the force of a determined Charge by Soldier or Brute Units. Vulnerable Units take double damage from Charge attacks by these Units.
#2 lode May 21, 2009 18:04:22	Equipment Mounts: Assumed to be horses, which come in two varieties: Heavy and Light. Light Mounts give +3 bonus to Speed and +1 bonus to Charge. Heavy Mounts give +2 bonus to Speed and +2 bonus to Charge. A Unit can mount as a move action and dismount as a minor action. Mounts take a -5 penalty to Speed while in rough terrain. Armor: Soldiers, Brutes, and Artillery can be armored; gives a +2 bonus to defense and -1 penalty to Speed Shield: +1 bonus to Defense, -2 penalty to damage Weapons: All weapons use the Low, Medium, and High values from the Normal Damage Expression Table. Swords (Medium): +2 melee vs Disordered Unit Polearms (Medium, High vs Disordered Unit): +2 melee when attacking from fortified position, cannot be used with Shield Hafted (Medium): Dismounted Unit uses the High damage expression when charging Spear (Medium): +2 melee vs Mounted Units, can brace as a standard action to gain +2 bonus to defense vs charge and deal damage as an immediate action when charged Pike (Medium, High when charging or bracing): +4 melee vs Mounted Units, cannot deal damage when Disordered, can brace as a standard action to gain +4 bonus to defense vs charge and deal damage as an immediate reaction when charged, cannot be used with Shield Lance (Medium, High when Charging): +2 bonus to charge, can only be used by Mounted Unit, damage expression unaffected while using shield Crossbow (Medium): range 4, +2 bonus to ranged attack when attacking from a fortified position, cannot be used in melee Shortbow (Low): range 4, can be used while mounted with a -1 penalty to range, cannot be used in melee Longbow (Medium): range 5, cannot be used in melee Thrown (Low): range 3, can be used while mounted, can be used in melee Feats Only Soldier and Brute Units can assume a Formation. The default formation for a Soldier or Brute is Tight Formation, which offers no benefits or drawbacks. A Unit gains a Feat every odd level. Most of the following Feats are Formations, which are the mass combat equivalent of Stances. A Unit is in Formation until it changes to another or adopts the default square formation, which provides no bonuses or penalties. A Unit can change its Formation as a standard action. Unless otherwise noted, a Unit retains no Formation or Weapon bonuses to Defense when attacked to the Flank or the Rear. Loose Formation: +2 defense vs ranged attacks and -2 defense vs charge attacks Wedge Formation: +2 bonus to charge, -2 defense vs melee attacks Diamond Formation: requires Wedge Formation, Mounted Unit; Unit can change Facing as a minor action while in Wedge Formation Orb Formation: requires Dismounted Unit; while in Orb Formation, enemies attacking Unit gain no bonuses when attacking Flank or Rear; while in Orb Formation, Unit cannot move Column Formation: +1 bonus to Speed, -2 to defense Improved Mounted Archery: shortbows can be used mounted without the range penalty Improved March: Dismounted Soldiers and Brutes can change Facing as a minor action Weapons Training: The Unit gains a secondary weapon; the Unit may change weapons as a Move Action Terrain Clear: no bonuses or penalties; eg grassland Road: +1 bonus to Speed Rough: Formations cannot be used on rough terrain, Units are Disordered while on rough terrain; rocky or muddy fields, developed land Covering: rough terrain that provides +2 defense vs ranged attacks; forest Elevated: +1 bonus to attack and defense, +1 bonus to range; hills, walls Fortified: +2 bonus to defense and morale; field fortifications
#3 mellored May 22, 2009 13:56:25	While overall i agree that making armies into units is a good idea, i think you have too much here and are making things overcomplicated. I think it'd be better to just have them as DM defined monsters. An army of orcs fighters would be a bit different then an army of elf fighters, or an army of mindflayers, or dragons, or....
#4 AbdulAlhazred May 22, 2009 16:51:32	Yeah, I would recommend sticking to a simpler set of formations. A unit can consist of a number of stands of figures, so line/column/square really just amounts to how the stands are layed out. The old Battlesystem rules are very close to what you're outlining here. There were 2 types of units for formation purposes, skirmishers and everything else. Skirmishers can only assume "open" formations (bases separated by space equal to the size of the base). Other units can assume closed formations (all bases touching). A "disordered" unit always assumes an open formation. Other than that there really aren't many differences from what you've got here already. There were a few specific rules dealing with morale, charging, etc. In any case I would just ditch formations besides square, line, and column. I've never seen any table top miniatures rules go further than that and there isn't really any historical precedent for more intricate formations (which probably means they would be just too hard to drill for and not really materially useful).
#5 Shiftkitty May 22, 2009 21:28:07	I usually only worry about the fights the PCs are directly involved in. For the result of the entire battle, unless I've already determined who's going to win, I use Farland's system: http://www.farlandworld.com/program.html I sometimes throw in bonuses based on the party so that they, as proper heroes, actually do have an impact on the battle, although I normally give them missions that, if successful, can turn the whole tide.
#6 lode May 23, 2009 21:43:50	Hoo, an internet connection at last. Now let's see. I usually only worry about the fights the PCs are directly involved in. For the result of the entire battle, unless I've already determined who's going to win, I use Farland's system: http://www.farlandworld.com/program.html I sometimes throw in bonuses based on the party so that they, as proper heroes, actually do have an impact on the battle, although I normally give them missions that, if successful, can turn the whole tide. Nifty program, that. Up until the last adventure that was how I ran things, with the PCs as part of a (Very) Special Forces squad that turned the tide of battles when they weren't dungeon diving. I encouraged a great of deal of free thinking on their parts, which is probably what lead them to kill the mercenary captain that was employing them and take over his band. Seems like the actors would like their hand at directing without all the tripe the DM has to go through. My fault I suppose. Yeah, I would recommend sticking to a simpler set of formations. A unit can consist of a number of stands of figures, so line/column/square really just amounts to how the stands are layed out. The old Battlesystem rules are very close to what you're outlining here. There were 2 types of units for formation purposes, skirmishers and everything else. Skirmishers can only assume "open" formations (bases separated by space equal to the size of the base). Other units can assume closed formations (all bases touching). A "disordered" unit always assumes an open formation. Other than that there really aren't many differences from what you've got here already. There were a few specific rules dealing with morale, charging, etc. In any case I would just ditch formations besides square, line, and column. I've never seen any table top miniatures rules go further than that and there isn't really any historical precedent for more intricate formations (which probably means they would be just too hard to drill for and not really materially useful). Hmm, looking at the rules again I am seeing some redundancies that could stand getting cut out. Is Battlesystem the precursor to D&D or was that something else? Improvements in scholarship over the past couple decades or so revealed a good amount about how wars were fought and what drills were used. Square, line, and column were used to the exclusion of others when personal firepower began to outpace personal melee abilities but others like wedge, orb, and diamond were present in one form or another up until that time. But you are correct in that some fat needs to be trimmed off the rules as written. I think it'd be better to just have them as DM defined monsters. An army of orcs fighters would be a bit different then an army of elf fighters, or an army of mindflayers, or dragons, or.... That's actually how I made my units. The rules above were mostly for the player's edification.
#7 guamae May 24, 2009 15:20:36	Exalted has a similar (but slimmer) Mass Combat system in that the "armies" are treated as large-scale Weapons and Armor for the characters. And then the PC "army character" would fight unfriendly "army characters" and it would run pretty well like normal combat. However i really like the 7th Sea MCS. In that it is seen that the Leading Generals of the armies are making checks against each other modified by events on field and preparation and the like. The PCs then can decide where they want to be in the combat (Front line, Middle, Reserves) and that changes how likely they are to get hurt, how much Glory they obtain, and their chances for Special Events. This can be something like grabbing the flag and leading a charge (which will help their General, but put them in Harms Way for quite a while) or entering Single Combat with an opposing Hero, which will, again, affect their Leader's Roll the next round depending on who wins. It's very dynamic, simple, and everyone likes wracking up Glory and bonuses for their side. It was really fun when the actual troops that the PCs were working with were far outclassed by the enemy, and through the PCs actions (rousing the troops before the battle and their round-by-round accomplishments) were able to fight off the attackers. If i got into 4e Mass Combat, i'd break out my 7th Sea books and use the same system and charts. Really hard to find in print, but PDFs should be easy to comby.