No peace for the heathen — Tactical combat (skirmish)
Game Design Log #16
Today is the day of talking about skirmish combat!
As I told you in a previous post, I wanted to have two modes of combat on “No peace for the heathen”; a narrative, nimble, fast theatre-of-the-mind mode, and one that allows for a more tactical, grid base system, specially suited for players to command small armies in a skirmish.
Although I wanted to include this skirmish mode because it felt as a necessity to the path that the game could take —because the characters players role-play as inhabitants of an island invaded by conquistadors, and the possibility of them wanting to gather a small army for an uprising is not farfetched— the reason to include it also comes from my urge to play skirmish games.
The fact is that I've been on the verge of falling into the wargaming drug for a few years now, which has been fuelled by some wonderful people as Trent from Miscast and Bill from Bill making Stuff (I highly recommend you to check them out). So even if I hadn’t played a skirmish game, I have seen a lot of play reports, I have read numerous rules, and I have followed all kinds of wonderful people immerser in the different aspects of the hobby.
So yes, I needed to grasp the hobby in some way, and including this mode of tactical skirmish combat in “No peace from the heathen” was my way to do it.
I just have to test it, and I’m fortunate enough to be visited in a couple of weeks by a friend who plays wargames (@pintamostros). Perhaps the time to utterly surrender to the vice of wargames has come, and I may write about it in some next post.
Here it is, my take on a skirmish (in principle, these rules could be used with other OSR/NSR games, but I think they are more interesting if combined with the combat rules of “No peace for the heathen” as summarized at the bottom of the post).
Skirmish: tactical combat
The size of the war-band you can command is equal to your Imposing modifier (Charisma or Wisdom or Willpower or Presence if used with another OSR).
In a skirmish, you control all the scoundrels of your war-band.
Each scoundrel of your war-band has three tactics
Strong, Resilient and Agile.
A new war band has 20 points to distribute in the tactics of all its members.
They have
[10 + their modifier of Strong]slots for carrying items.They can have
[1d8 + their Strong modifier]of Blood(HP if used with other OSR game).They can move as many inches as their
[number-of-free-item-slots + their Agile modifier].Any condition that affects them when moving decreases their moment in a number of inches equal to the condition modifier.
Example: sprained ankle (-X).
Additionally, If using the rules of combat of other OSR, their AC or the DC to hit them is 13 or 10 + Agile modifier (whatever makes more sense with the armour/shield system of the game).
Each time a scoundrel of a war-band is killed, all the other scoundrel of that war-band do a moral roll, d20 + your Imposing modifier (CHA/WIS/WILL/Precense)+ number of scoundrels alive. In a 5 or less they flee.
At the beginning of skirmish all the war-bands roll for initiative, roll 1d20 + imposing modifier of the leader of each war-band. The results determines who go first.
Skirmish loop:
A scoundrel attack or act until they get hurt in combat, by loosing Blood or getting a condition, or until what they do doesn't hurt anyone.
If a scoundrel gets hurt in its turn, then is the turn of an adversary war-band
(if other OSR game is used, failing on attacking triggers the turn of an adversary, and the adversary decides who goes next)→ Note that in “No Peace for the Heathen” only if one of your scoundrels gets hurt in their turn, then the turn of an adversary activates. You can always decide to make your scoundrel attack and then do something that does not hurt anyone, ending your turn without triggering an attack from an adversary. This ensures that the next turn goes to the war-band of the next friendly player.
For adversaries is the same.
If a scoundrel does something that doesn’t hurt anyone, then the next turn goes to an allied player. Who just played decides who goes next
(ignore this if playing another OSR).
What can scoundrels do?
Move.
Charge (movement that ends in an attack).
Attack.
Load a ranged weapon.
Push (2 inches), by rolling with Strong v/s adversary’s Strong roll.
Pick, drop or interact with an object at close reach (adjacent).
Interact with elements of the map at close reach (adjacent).
Use magic or any war-tactic.
The movement of the scoundrels is as follows:
They can climb half what they can move.
They can jump without danger, across and down, up to 1 inch.
Jumping down makes them lose 1d4 of blood for inch, and they get the condition sprained ankle (-1).
They can jump across up to half their movement by rolling.
With Agile DC 15.
In a fail, they lose 1d4 of blood for inch they fall, and they get the condition sprained ankle (-1).
If they leave close combat, moving away from an adversary they are adjective to, they have to roll for move by being Agile DC 15.
MELEE ATTACK: A scoundrel can attack with a melee attack to anyone adjacent to them.
RANGED ATTACK: A scoundrel can attack with a ranged attack to anyone to whom they have a direct line-of-sight.
COVER: Anyone with at least half of their covered body roll with advantage when defending against a ranged attack.
A skirmish is over when:
Only a group of allied war-bands are alive in the table.
Only a group of allied war-bands haven’t surrendered.
At the end of a skirmish,
The surviving war-bands wins war-experience that they can use to learn war-tactics.
They gain as many war-experience as the Pride or Intimidation (CHA/WIS/WILL/Presence) of any leader that any scoundrel of their war-band killed or captured in the skirmish.
War-tactics and war band improvements
Leader tactics (5 war-experience)
Only can be learned by a war-band leader.
Rally: You can rally anyone from your war-band that is at 5 inches or less. They will move 2 inches toward you.
War-cry: You can light up the desire for violence from your war-band. If they are 2 inches or less from you, they will attack with advantage until the beginning of your next turn.
Command charge: Anyone from your war-band that is totally adjacent to you, and adjacent to a war-band member that is adjacent to you, will follow your command to charge together. Everyone in this charge will move In a straight line equal to your movement. Each one of the war-band members that are charging can attack anyone with whom they end adjacent to.
Wall: You can command to any member of your party within 3 inches to align in a wall formation.
Surround: You can command your war-band to surround one or more adversaries. Anyone within 2 inches from you will follow your command. You and everyone hearing your command will take the formation of a circle around the targets.
Quick command: When deciding the turn order you roll with advantage.
Coordinated attack: When attacking an adversary with a melee weapon, any of the members of your war-band that are adjacent to the same adversary can add their weapons dice to your roll.
War-band training (7 war-experience)
When learned, this training can be used by any member of your war-band.
Flank: When two of your war-band members flank an adversary they attack them with advantage.
Retaliate: If one war-band member is adjacent to an adversary that attacks another member of the war-band, they can retaliate by attacking them.
Castling: Members of your war-band that are adjacent between them can exchange positions.
Subdue: When two of your war-band members are adjacent to an adversary, one of them can use their action to subdue the adversary. While both members do not do anything else, the adversary will be immobilized by them.
Call the shot: If a member can see an adversary, they can use their action to call the shot. Then any other war-band members who have not had their turn, and that have no line-of-sight toward the adversary, can shoot an arrow toward the adversary immediately, as long as the path of their arrows is reasonable. Everyone that shots an arrow looses their turn this round.
Specialize tactic (2 war-experience)
Slippery: When fleeing out of close reach, roll with advantage.
Climber: You climb as fast as you move normally.
Thrower: When using a throwing as an attack, roll with advantage.
Shooter: When using a ranged weapon, roll with advantage
Precise shooter: They can avoid cover when making a ranged attack.
Favourite weapon: Attacks with advantage when using their favourite weapon.
Brawler: If you fight without weapons, you attack and defend with advantage.
Intimidating: You can force fear to “your name” (-1) to an adversary at 2 inches or less.
Tactic +1 (Strong, Resilient or Agile): A member of your war-band, not a leader, improves in +1 one tactic.
Right-hand: This war-band member is the right hand of the leader. When is in the same war-band that their leader, the leader increases in +2 their Imposing tactic, allowing them to command more war-band members.
Runner: This member of the war-band moves twice as fast in a skirmish.
Born leader: This member has aptitude for leadership. They can learn leader tactics.
Numb to grief: This member does all morale rolls with advantage.
Unstoppable: This member can’t be immobilized by magic nor any tactic or training.
Hide: This member can hide using one action, when hiding they cannot be a target to an attack or spell, and they can’t attack anyone. To go out of hide they have to use an action.
Defender: When defending themselves, they do it with advantage.
Magical knowledge (10 war-experience)
Any member of a war-band can learn witchcraft if someone teach them.
They can learn any of the secrets of blood magic from La Mayoría.
For each secret you want them to learn, for each member that will learn them, you have to expend 10 war-experience.
Narratively, this will mean that they have undergone the needed trials to learn blood magic.
To create a cloak of flesh they have to complete the final trial.
To create a book of flesh for any of them you will have to do it as if you will do it for your PC, playing the hunting of the beast on the underbelly.
Additionally, the members of your war-band can awake on them special abilities they didn't know they possessed.
Instinctive magic:
Blind-sight: In darkness, they perceive anything two inches from them as normal.
Voided: Suppresses any magic at 2 inches or less.
Beast master: They can use one action to possess the body of a wild beast. To leave the body of the beast, they have to use one action. If they die as the beast, their own body drops death.
Blood knife: They can use 1d4 of their blood to make a knife of blood. The knife will crumble to dust when the sun crosses the horizon.
Bond of pain: By using 1d4 of their blood, they can bond themselves to an adversary. From then forwards, any loss of blood they suffer also will be suffered by the adversary.
Blood drain: By biting into the flesh of an adversary, they can drain their blood. The biting is an attack with no weapon die. The damage that they do with the bite attack is how much blood they drain from them. All the blood thy drain becomes black.
Bless: By loosing 1d4 of their blood, they can give an advantage on their next roll to any member of their war-band.
Corrosive breath: By loosing 1d6 of your blood, their breath can become a corrosive cloud that from them, to 2 inches in front of them, makes all armour to deteriorate (1 tier) and all skin to burn (1d4 of damage).
Black Bloody eyes: Driving their black blood to their eyes, and loosing 1d4 of it in the process, their glance becomes terrifying. One target that they can glance at must make a morale roll.
Hex: By loosing 1d4 of their blood, they can give disadvantage on their next roll to any member of adversary.
These skirmish rules can be used with other OSR attack rules (roll against AC, fix DC with subtracting armour, etc…), however, here it is a remainder of the attack rolls as written in “No peace for the Heathen”:
ATTACK AND DEFENCE
When you attack or defend you use one tactic (Strong for MELEE or Agile for RANGED) adding your weapon’s die or shield’s die.
1d20 + tactic + Weapon/Shield Die vs Opposed roll
While Attacking
If you WIN the roll while attacking you do as much damage as the difference between your roll and the opposed roll:
Damage you do = Your Roll – Opposed Roll
If you LOSE the roll
While attacking in close combat (MELEE) you receive as much damage as the difference between your roll and the opposed roll:
Damage received = Opposed Roll – Your RollWhile attacking from afar (RANGED) you receive NO DAMAGE.
Damage receive = 0→ Attacking from afar is safer because you cannot get damage when attacking.
While defending
If you LOSE the roll while defending you get as much damage as the difference between your roll and the opposed roll:
Damage you receive = Your Roll – Opposed RollIf you WIN the roll
When attacked in close combat (MELEE), the amount by which you surpass the Oppose Roll is how much damage you inflict on your adversaries
→ In close combat (melee), even when defending you can do damage.
Damage you do = Your Roll — Opposed RollExample: A character is attacked with a slingshot, they try to use their shield to protect themselves. They roll 1d20+Agile+shield(d4)=5+2+2=9. The attacker with the slingshot rolls d20+Observant+slingshot(d4)= 18+1+4=23. So the character is hot by the slingshot and losses (d20+Observant+slingshot(d4) )-( 1d20+Agile+shield(d4) ) =18-9=9 Blood.
When attacked from afar (RANGE ATTACK) you save yourself from damage, but you don't damage the attacker.
Damage you do = 0
TIES (Your Roll = Opposed Roll)
Whoever is attacking does full damage, without subtracting the dice from the defender.
CRIT (d20=20)
When you get one, you can force a condition, that makes sense within the conflict, upon your adversary. If your weapon has a tag, you can force one more condition related to that tag.
Example: Two characters are fighting. The defender rolls with her sword using her hammer, d20+Strong+d6. The attacker uses his spear with his dexterity, d20+Agile+d8. When rolling the defender with the sword gets d20+3+d6=19+6=28. The attacker with the spear gets d20=20+3+1=24. The attacker with the spear receives 28-24=4 points of damage. However, as he had a crit (d20=20), he can force a condition to his adversaries, causing an injury in the fray to her left leg. She that fights with the hammer gets the left leg injury (-1) condition.
If the character that got the d20=20 had the tag Poison it can inflict one more condition with their spear, infected wound (-1) or poisoned (-1) are some options.
Sacrifice your shield or weapon
By doing so you deflect the attack and prevent the damage.
The object gets destroyed.
Example: You get attacked by an archer. They roll d20+Observant+arch(d6) = 18+3+6 =27. You only have your sword, and you will try to use it to defend from the incoming arrow. You roll d20+Agile+sword(d6)=2+2+1=5. You will lose d20+Observant+arch(d6) - ( d20+Agile+sword(d6) )=27-5=22 Blood. This will kill you, so you decide to sacrifice your sword. The arrow hits it at the guard, something get loose and the pommel and grip falls to the ground. The sword is worthless in this condition.