Army questions

[Winteraven]

Hey folks

Two questions have come to mind as I look through the armies system that I'd like clarity on.

Firstly, to confirm that I haven't missed something about the impact of hosting many armies? From what I can see the only penalty to having an army is its consumption which can be mitigated with teaching them Live off the Land (assuming standard armies).

Second question is more technical. When an army gains the Routed condition they must spend their three actions to use the Retreat war action. However that war action has a pre-requisite, stating that the Army does not have the engaged condition. Is it intended that a Routed army cannot get away unless their opponent chooses to end the engaged condition?

Thanks in advance

[James Jacobs]

Winteraven wrote:

Hey folks

Two questions have come to mind as I look through the armies system that I'd like clarity on.

Firstly, to confirm that I haven't missed something about the impact of hosting many armies? From what I can see the only penalty to having an army is its consumption which can be mitigated with teaching them Live off the Land (assuming standard armies).

Second question is more technical. When an army gains the Routed condition they must spend their three actions to use the Retreat war action. However that war action has a pre-requisite, stating that the Army does not have the engaged condition. Is it intended that a Routed army cannot get away unless their opponent chooses to end the engaged condition?

Thanks in advance

The rules don't really go into the impact of hosting many armies, although if your players insist on keeping an outlandish number of armies on hand at all times, consider having the nation feel like they're always at war, which causes constant buildup of unrest.

A routed army that is engaged cannot escape unless the opponent lets them go or that opponent has a condition that prevents them from being engaged. As a GM, consider not having every single enemy army pursue foes to the death every time, since that helps verisimilitude and makes you, the GM, feel less like you're trying to "win" the game.

And remember that the army rules aren't meant to be a full all-details solution to mass combat. They're a narrative tool grown out of a super-detailed method of using victory points. If your group is really into mass combat, feel free to come up with house rules to expand things that these rules gloss over, or even use a different game focused on mass combat that you and your players enjoy to resolve those battles.

[FWCain]

I would imagine (borrowing from Real-Life examples of the Roman legions, for instance) that armies can assist with various activities, such as "hexploration" [sic], clearing a hex, claiming a hex, building a work site, establishing a settlement, and so on.

But I do not recall seeing any hints in the Player's Guide on how to adjust the DCs for these activities accordingly.

Thanks,
Franklin