By switching from only thinking of man-to-man and fantasy table combat in Chainmail arena, I've opened up conceptually to a hopefully cool idea. I'd read that Gygax thought fantasy rules should only be paired with man-to-man, but several examples of the game in play, as well as many notes in the fantasy supplement, suggest using fantasy creatures in mass combat.
The mass combat rules will probably speed up games. Since I plan to play these play-by-post, that will help. Faster is always better in PbP.
Also, with each mook-type unit representing a troop of 20 (or so) combatants, it allows each to be flavored as such. I immediately thought of Magic: The Gathering, where usually cards for weak monsters represent squads. Like the classic Mon's Goblin Raiders or the Orcs of the Iron Claw. Yes, there are some individual weaker monsters, but I like the idea of players not recruiting 20 generic "light foot" or whatever. They have to recruit Atalanta's Amazon Skirmishers.
And I plan to fully take advantage of pop culture/fantasy media/D&D iconic characters for heroes, antiheroes, superheroes, superantiheroes, and wizards of all stripes. Conan, Elric, Simon Belmont, Warduke, Strahd, Merlin, Circe, Melisandre, Madmartigan, and so on. Makes sense to also have some flavor for the squads of troops.
In that case, on behalf of the Humanoid hordes, I order them into a forest, retreating with a one hex forest boundary, I have them drop trees to form a collapsed pallisade of trees. Then goblins with ropes up the trees to pull the tops of trees together forming watch towers straddling the pallisade. Ropes will also be used to create rope bridges above the heavy foliage layer of the forest floor so kobolds can retreat to the towers from trees outside the pallisade. Inside the pallisade they will form a large square mile clearing in the forest stripping trees inside the pallisade of all their bark to kill the trees.
ReplyDeleteThe stripped bark will be wound up in a spiral to form what look like archers targets wrapped around 20ft wooden poles to form a shield wheel through the centre which protrudes the timber spear. These are to allow hobgoblins to maneuver their spearwalls while being protected by the wagon wheel sized bark buckler shields.
We wait for humans to attack our fortress in the forest.
I have no idea how to adjudicate that in Chainmail, but I like it. :D
DeleteGuess I need to review the siege rules!
Madmartigan...ha! Good one.
ReplyDelete; )
Give him a sword. He'll win the war for you!
Delete