BATTLE in BIRTHRIGHT

[John]

> In most of the Birthright campaign the players are involved in conflict
> between province and thus in battle.
> The systems who are proposed to me in the rules don't agree me. (or just for
> skirmish). In a first time, i think to adapt an existing game (Warhammer)
> but i don't retrieve the spirit of Ad&d (Birthright) and i have abandoned
> this idea.
> Now i am thinking to create a new system (actually 1/5 of the rules are
> created). Perhaps this system already exist, or somebody have a better idea
> for adaptating an existing game
It has cropped up, but ages ago. Sometimes it ain't so bad to dust off
an old topic or two. Battle-system wise, I was looking for something
quick and easy (I found that the warcards could take a while to set
up, and the non-army types in the group didn't appreciate sitting
around) so I use an adaption of the GURPS Mass Combat rules (if
memory serves, so do others) which fit the bill quite nicely.

John.

"Once I was a lamb, playing in a green field. Then
the wolves came. Now I am an eagle and I fly in a
different universe."
"And now you kill the lambs," whispered Dardalion.
"No, priest. No one pays for lambs."
- David Gemmel, Waylander

[John]

> Since I don't have the GURPS Mass combat system (hardly heard about the
> game, but I'm gameilliterate :) could you provide a short resyme ??

Units are built from the ground up, and can be of any size or mixture
of weapons & armour. Troops are rated according to their experience
of battle (by no. of battles fought) as are their commanders.
Different mixes of weapons, armour & experience are worth a points
total. When battle occurs, the two commanders roll their Strategy
skill and the amount by which one beats the other determines how the
battle goes at that time (and fights can easily be multi-day affairs
as the tide turns one way then the other). Characters involved can
choose the Risk they expose themselves too and roll for the amount of
Glory they receive. Quite nifty, once you get the hang of it.

There's also stuff like 'surprises' - stuff like a spy being
caught in your camp, unexpected reinforcements, the death of an
important individual etc. as well as bits on magic & special
abilities. It's easy to convert to BR troop types, since they tend to
have a kind-of set mix of weapons and numbers, and coming up with a
set muster list, akin to the one in the BR rulebook, is
straightforward. The magic is harder to shift from BR, but it's not
too tricky. Overall, it's pretty good.
It's on the net at: http://
www.sjgames.com/gurps/Roleplayer/Roleplayer30/MassCombat-Land.html

John.
"Once I was a lamb, playing in a green field. Then
the wolves came. Now I am an eagle and I fly in a
different universe."
"And now you kill the lambs," whispered Dardalion.
"No, priest. No one pays for lambs."
- David Gemmel, Waylander

[Sindre Berg]

John wrote:

> > In most of the Birthright campaign the players are involved in
> conflict
> > between province and thus in battle.
> > The systems who are proposed to me in the rules don't agree me. (or
> just for
> > skirmish). In a first time, i think to adapt an existing game
> (Warhammer)
> > but i don't retrieve the spirit of Ad&d (Birthright) and i have
> abandoned
> > this idea.
> > Now i am thinking to create a new system (actually 1/5 of the rules
> are
> > created). Perhaps this system already exist, or somebody have a
> better idea
> > for adaptating an existing game
> It has cropped up, but ages ago. Sometimes it ain't so bad to dust off
>
> an old topic or two. Battle-system wise, I was looking for something
> quick and easy (I found that the warcards could take a while to set
> up, and the non-army types in the group didn't appreciate sitting
> around) so I use an adaption of the GURPS Mass Combat rules (if
> memory serves, so do others) which fit the bill quite nicely.
>
> John.
>
> "Once I was a lamb, playing in a green field. Then
> the wolves came. Now I am an eagle and I fly in a
> different universe."
> "And now you kill the lambs," whispered Dardalion.
> "No, priest. No one pays for lambs."
> - David Gemmel, Waylander
> *******************************************
> *******************************
> To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the
> line
> Since I don't have the GURPS Mass combat system (hardly heard about the
game, but I'm gameilliterate :) could you provide a short resyme ??

- --
Sindre

Take a look at my homepage and Birthright PBMG at:

www.uio.no/~sindrejb

[Pieter Sleijpen]

Reminds me a little bit of the mass combat system of the old D&D...

John wrote:
>
> > Since I don't have the GURPS Mass combat system (hardly heard about the
> > game, but I'm gameilliterate :) could you provide a short resyme ??
>
> Units are built from the ground up, and can be of any size or mixture
> of weapons & armour. Troops are rated according to their experience
> of battle (by no. of battles fought) as are their commanders.
> Different mixes of weapons, armour & experience are worth a points
> total. When battle occurs, the two commanders roll their Strategy
> skill and the amount by which one beats the other determines how the
> battle goes at that time (and fights can easily be multi-day affairs
> as the tide turns one way then the other). Characters involved can
> choose the Risk they expose themselves too and roll for the amount of
> Glory they receive. Quite nifty, once you get the hang of it.
>
> There's also stuff like 'surprises' - stuff like a spy being
> caught in your camp, unexpected reinforcements, the death of an
> important individual etc. as well as bits on magic & special
> abilities. It's easy to convert to BR troop types, since they tend to
> have a kind-of set mix of weapons and numbers, and coming up with a
> set muster list, akin to the one in the BR rulebook, is
> straightforward. The magic is harder to shift from BR, but it's not
> too tricky. Overall, it's pretty good.
> It's on the net at: http://
> www.sjgames.com/gurps/Roleplayer/Roleplayer30/MassCombat-Land.html
>
> John.
> "Once I was a lamb, playing in a green field. Then
> the wolves came. Now I am an eagle and I fly in a
> different universe."
> "And now you kill the lambs," whispered Dardalion.
> "No, priest. No one pays for lambs."
> - David Gemmel, Waylander
> ************************************************** *************************
> > 'unsubscribe birthright' as the body of the message.