~ War Box ~

Tactical Combat System 1.4.1

"War! that mad game the world so loves to play."

~Jonathan Swift

The War Box is designed to be a quick, cheap and easy way of running a set-piece
battle in a roleplaying game. It is not system-specific, and with just a little bit of
tweaking, it can be used as a supplement for all games and all periods, as long as
the ruling military doctrine is for armies to meet face to face, that is. The units at
the end of this document are from the late Renaissance and early Enlightenment
eras, but with a bit of creativity and/or research, any army may be fielded, from
the Roman Republic to the First World War, from Greek Hoplites to Goblin
Wolfriders.

The PCs may lead from the rear, or fight in the thick of the melee, but how this is
resolved is not covered in this system. The same goes for magic of the battle-field.

Battlefield
The battlefield is made using sheets of paper where each sheet represents one
square. On the sheets the terrain may be draw using crayons or markers. There
is no set size for the battlefield, but most battles can be fought on a 5x5
battlefield. I use A5 sheets, as this keeps the battlefield from getting to large.

A square represents 100 meters, and up to ten units may occupy the square at

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one time.

Deployment
Before the battle, the order of deployment should be determined either through
roleplaying encounters, or through opposed skill-checks between the
commanders. The side that wins this phase of the battle decides who deploys
first.

Initiative
Once the armies have taken the field, and once all the negotiations or roleplaying
scenes have been dealt with, the opposing sides roll for initiative. This is done
using opposing skill-checks between the commanders, as above. Use the same
skills used to determine T&D (see below).The side who wins the initiative may
decide who moves first.

Round
A round represents one minute of game-time. The different phases of the round
are as follows:

1 – Missile-fire
2 – Movement
3 – Attack/stationary missile-fire*
4 – Counter-attack**

* Unit may not move this round.

** If the defending unit has a Melee value, it gets to resolve an attack on the
opposing unit. Use current stats if the unit has suffered any hits.

Both sides resolve their attacks before the results are implemented, thus it is
possible for a unit to destroy the enemy unit, only to be wiped out itself in the
process.

Key Table
This table is the core of this system. It determines whether, and to what extent,
an attack succeeds. The X-axis represents the Attack Strength (AS), the difference
in strength between attacker and defender, the Y-axis represents the result of a
roll of 2d6. The AS is determined by the difference between the attacker's
offensive strength and the defender's Defense. The AS is determined by the
offensive trait used in the attack (Melee, Missile or Charge), the defender's
Defense, and adding all possitive and negative modifiers to attacker and defender.

Example: A unit of musketeers (Missile strength 4) fires on a unit of musketeers

(Defense 2) in in a fortified possition (+1 Defense). The Attack Strength is (4 – (2 +
1) = 1) +1. The result of the 2d6 roll is 8, a Hit.

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Key Table
2d6
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5
12 H H H H R R V V V V V
11 - - H H H R R V V V V
10 - - - H H H R R V V V
9 - - - - H H H R R V V
8 - - - - - H H H R R V
7 F - - - - - H H H R R
6 F F - - - - - H H H R
5 F F F - - - - - H H H
4 F F F F - - - - - H H
3 F F F F F - - - - - H
2 F F F F F F F F F F F

H: Hit
Mark off one hit on the defending unit card. If a unit suffers more than three hits,
it is vanquished. Each hit gives the unit a -1 penalty on all offensive values
(melee, Missile and Charge), as well as on Morale.

R: Rout
The defending unit receives one hit (see above). Additionally, the unit must roll
1d6 vs. Its Morale strength. If the roll results in a higher value than the unit's
Morale, it suffers an additional hit. This hit reflects injuries and fleeing soldiers
as result of internal chaos in the unit.

V: Vanquished
The defending unit is destroyed. There will be few survivors.

F: Fall back
The attacking unit is forced to retreat. The reasons may be many, ranging from
bad leadership, cowardice, ruined or faulty weapons or equipment, lack of
ammunition, or even just plain bad luck. The unit also receives a temporary hit
(mark this on the unit card with an R). This will last until the unit has had the
chance to rest for at least eight hours.

If it is important to determine how many wounded soldiers a unit has, this is

figured out using the following numbers. One hit represents app. 30 % of the
total strength of the unit. Of these, 20 % will be killed, 40 % will be seriously
injured (and will die within 24 hours unless they receive proper treatment
quickly). The remaining 40 % are walking wounded, and will be able to return to
active duty within weeks if given rest and proper treatment.

Unit Card
The unit card represents the unit on the battlefield. It also contains all the information on the unit,
such as offensive strengths and how many wounded men it has. Normally one unit is composed of
app. 100 soldiers.

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Unit
Move Morale Defense

Melee Missile Charge

T&D Level XP

1 Hit 2 Hits
Other

Move
The number of squares the unit is able to move in a round. A unit may move
forwards, backwards or sideways, not diagonally.

Morale
This represents the unit's ability to cope with the horrors of the battlefield. Roll
for Morale if an attack against the unit results in an R, if the unit's attack roll
results in an F, or if 30 % of the friendly units have been destroyed without the
enemy loosing a single unit.

A failed Morale-roll results in the unit fleeing from the battlefield. It will move its
full Move each round, out of range of the enemy, and towards the nearest edge of
the battlefield. A friendly unit or a PC may attempt to rally the fleeing unit. In the
case of a friendly unit, it has to occupy a square the fleeing unit moves through,
and not be engaged in combat. The fleeing unit has to 1d6 roll vs. Morale -1
(Morale 4 – 1 = 3). A success means that the unit may return to the battle-line, a
failure means that the unit will continue its movement off the battlefield. If the
unit reaches the edge of the battlefield, it is considered deserted.

In case a PC attempts to rally a fleeing unit, roll your system's appropriate

leadership-roll vs. the unit's T&D (see below).

The rallying unit or PC may not take any action during this round, and a fleeing
unit may only be the target of one rally-attempt pr. Round.

A note on Morale:
There are many other instances where a Morale-roll is called for. Use common
sense! Examples are: the unit is completely surrounded by a superior enemy, the
unit is faced with an enemy it cannot harm, the unit is facing a terrible, fire-
breathing monster, et.al.

Defense
The unit's Defense is subtracted from the attacking unit's relevant Attack
Strength. Together with the relevant modifiers, this determines which row on the
Key Table that is used to resolve the attack.
Missile
One of three offensive values. It is compared to the defending unit's Defense to
determine which row on the Key Table is used to resolve the attack.

For a unit to have a Missile value, more than 2/3 of the unit has to have a ranged

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weapon.

Melee
One of three offensive values. It is compared to the defending unit's Defense to
determine which row on the Key Table is used to resolve the attack.

Charge
One of three offensive values. It is compared to the defending unit's Defense to
determine which row on the Key Table is used to resolve the attack.

Usually only cavalry-units will have a Charge value.

T&D
T&D stands for Tactics and Drill, and is the difficulty a commander has to beat to
make the unit perform a complex maneuver, such as disengaging the enemy
while letting another take its place. It is also the difficulty a commander has to
beat to rally a fleeing unit.

The system used for the RPG should determine the T&D-values, as well as the
appropriate skill used. The T&D-value should be lower for a veteran unit than for
a green unit (see below). In d20 I recommend Warcraft as the skill, and setting
DC's between 10 and 20, depending on the level of the unit. In the Storytelling
system I recommend Presence/Manipulation + Persuasion, and between one and
five successes needed. Circumstance modifiers, as well as any other reasonable
modifier should apply.

Level and XP
Elite 20+ XP +1 Morale, +1 Defense, +1 on one
offensive value, special ability
Crack 11-19 XP +1 Morale, +1 Defense, +1 on one
offensive value
Veteran 6-10 XP +1 Morale, +1 on one offensive value
Regular 2-5 XP Normal for unit type
Green 0-1 XP -1 Morale, -1 Melee, -1 Charge

A unit is rewarded XP for having been in combat. One XP for having been in a
battle, two for having fought off or killed at least one unit, and three for having
distinguished itself.

Special abilities could include Unbreakable (never fail a Morale roll), Charge (for
an infantry-unit), Breacher (ignore defender's fortification bonus), Tough (one
extra Hit), or whatever else one can come up with.

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Units
Move Morale Def. Melee Missile Chrg. T&D Other
Irregulars 1 2 2 2 - - Poor -
Light infantry 1 3 2 3 - - Fair -
Heavy Infantry 1 3 4 3 - - Good -
Pikemen 1 3 3 3 - - Fair a
Crossbowmen 1 3 2 2 3 - Fair b
Musketeers 1 3 2 3 4 - Fair b
Riflemen 1 3 2 2 4 - Good c
Light cavalry 3 3 2 3 2 - Fair b
Medium cavalry 2 3 3 3 - 4 Fair -
Heavy cavalry 2 3 4 3 - 5 Good -
Knights 2 4 4 4 - 6 Good -
Scouts 3 3 3 2 3 - Poor b, d
Lt. cannon 1 3 2 2 6 - Good f
Md. cannon 1 3 2 2 7 - Good g
Hvy. cannon - 3 2 2 8 - Good h

a – cannot be charged
b – +1 vs. Cavalry, range 1
c – +1 vs. Cavalry, range 2
d – ignore terrain penalties
e – -1 defence vs. archers and crossbows, enemy morale-checks at -1, range 2
f – range 2
g – move or fire, range 3
h – can only be deployed in a fortified position, range 4

Modifiers
Terrain modifiers
Hill: +1 Missile, cannot be charged.
Buildings: +1 Defense, cannot be charged.
Fortified possition: +1 Defense, cannot be charged.
River/Obstacle: -1 Move.
Fortress: +2 Defense, cannot be charged.
Forest: -1 Missile, -1 Move, -1 Morale, cannot be charged.
Plain: N/A

Tactical modifiers
Rear-attack - attacking unit attacks defending unit from behind.

Modifier: defending unit suffers –2 Defense and –1 Morale.

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Flank-attack – attacking unit attacks defending unit from one side.

Modifier: defending unit suffers –1 Defense and –1 Morale.

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