Mass Combat Question: UC p234-250


Advice

Sovereign Court

Friends,
A time has come in my current campaign to use the mass combat system (imagine situations similar to AP74: Sword of Valor).

Can someone please give me a narrative example of mass combat in play?

For example, like the game books do when describing "how to roleplay" I'm looking for a line-by-line example of what happens at the table as the three phases play out (tactics, ranged, melee).

Recommended: Use of Knights (ACR3) vs. Tiefling Army (ACR2) from Sword of Valor, but any example will do.

Thanks so very much for your help.
I know there's an expert in the forums who can explain it to me with an example. (Pls hurry, my game is in 1 week)

PAX

Sovereign Court

>> Bump...

For example, I'm looking for something like:

GM: Your scout returns and informs you that the bridge is occupied by a force of 100 Tieflings with a small encampment wherein their leader is currently in his tent. What do you do.
Player: I'm going to sneak into the camp and assassinate the leader.
[some time later after the assassination...]
GM: Okay now what?
Player: We're going to plan an ambush.
GM: The Paladin army awaits the Tiefling Army in the brush for a surprise ambush. Early the next morning the troup gathers for exercises in the area of the brush when suddenly the paladin commander orders the assault to begin. Missiles open fire!
Player: Wow, cool.
GM: Okay, I need 1 person to roll 1 d20. When the die lands, leave the number open for everyone to see. We will use that number again in a few minutes.
Player: I got a 9.
GM: That represents the offense! Not a bad roll. Add 9 + the paladin army OM (offense modifier).
Player: That makes 17.
GM: Great! That's enough to beat the defending Tiefling army's DV (defense value). The battle rages for about 20 minutes. You see the paladins cutting down tieflings, their horns severed from heads, scattered in the brush. The tieflings were surprised and ambushed. Because the paladins had concealment, so the Tieflings don't get to act in this tactics phase.
Player: Cool.
GM: Okay now, the offense check result was a total of 17. The tiefling army is not as armored and sturdy as the paladins with a DV of only 12. 17-12 then, is your total damage during this battle round against the Tieflings! The paladins cause 5 points of damage to the Tieflings with their volley of arrows. They engage the Tieflings in melee. When this happens, which strategy does the paladin army choose this melee phase?
Player: What, huh?
GM: The paladins can choose to be defensive, cautious, standard, aggressive, or reckless during melee. My guess is they attack in a standard fashion, but your call.
Player: Yeah, standard assault in melee.
GM: Okay, the paladin's blades slice through the outwordlers' skins, and blood spayes everywhere! Let's have a melee offense check please.
Player: Huh?
GM: Same as before. Please roll 1d20.
Player: I rolled a 1.
GM: The Tieflings are defending amazingly well! The tieflings try to push the paladin army back away from the bridge.
GM: ROLLS 1d20 for the Tiefling army. *rolls 13* Okay... I will add the Tiefling's OM (offense modifier) for a total of ... 17.
Player: Uh oh.
GM: The Tieflings hold the line. The paladins cannot reach the bridge but do not suffer casualties this round. The paladins are equipped with heavy armor and the battle looks like a stalemate at this point.
Player: Is that it?
GM: No, the battle rages on. Each side attacking in melee with one another. You see shields bashed, and helmets with heads in them rolling on the ground.
Player: So what happens.
GM: Go ahead and attack for the paladins.
Player: Okay, I got this. Rolls 1d20=2 plus the Paladin OM of 8, for a total of 10.
GM: The paladin army is struggling to thwart the Tieflings.
GM: Rolls for the Tieflings for melee offense check = 5+8=13. Try as they might, the Tieflings cannot damage the well armored Paladins. Remember, you can change tactics if you like.
Player: Um. Okay. Lets use Expert Flankers!
GM: Increase your OM by 2, and decrease your DV by 2.
Player: Is that good?
GM: It means the paladins attack from both sides, wedging the bulk of the Tiefling army at the foot of the bridge. Your defenses are lower a bit, but your chance of crushing them increased!
Player: Okay. *rolls 1d20* WOW! I got a 20. Is that a CRIT?
GM: Its a good hit. Let's say it happened to be lower than the defender's DV, you'd still do 1 point of damage for the great assault!
Player: Okay, that seems okay....
GM: Now... let's go a few more times to see if the paladins can take the bridge.
Player: WAIT! We don't want the tieflings to get to use the bridge structure in any way to their advantage. We back up a bit... to draw them off the bridge.
GM: Good thinking! Structures usually provide big bonuses to defense.
Player: Yeah, and we want to taunt them too, in the name of our holy god!
GM: Er... okay. Let me make a morale check for the tieflings. Roll 1d20+2 for their commander's charisma bonus. Total of 18 against a DC of 10+the paladin army's ACR.
Player: AC what?
GM: The ACR is 2 for the paladin army. See it on the Army Sheet I printed from the Ultimate Campaign book, p251.
Player: You're always prepared, Pax.
GM: I try.
Player: So?
GM: The paladins, try as they might, in the name of their righteous god, are unable to shake the confidence of the Tieflings. They remain untaunted.
Players: Crap. But did they leave the bridge?
GM: They're too smart for that. The paladins back off a bit... but the Tieflings do not follow. Do you wish to with draw from combat, and assault again later, or return to the battlefield. The Tieflings are regrouping at the bridge to hunker down for your assault. I'm going to say the bridge provide some fortification... Let's give them a bonus of about 3 to their DV. Not a lot though... a real structure could give a bonus as high as around 8.
Player: We charge the bridge!
GM: The paladin commander shouts, "We are in range for a volley of arrows! Let's rain down almight terror!"
Player: Yeah, that sounds good.
GM: Okay... let's start again, just like we did before with a Tactics phase, then ranged, then melee.
Player: I think I'm getting the hang of this.

Sovereign Court

Has anyone used the Mass Combat system? Or are we just buying books but not playing these days? C'mon---there's gotta be someone who can help me get ready?

Pretty please,
Regards,
Pax

Sovereign Court

So... has anyone used the Mass Combat system?

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