It was the first or second edition of Legend of the Five Rings, I recall, that had a mass combat system where players got to roll to determine how things went in the battle, including key story events. I never actually saw those rules; I was merely a player in a campaign, and rolled dice, and heard how the tides of war changed and what rewards and honors various party members gained or lost as a result of these epic battles.
That’s what the Warfare for Beginners PDFs reminds me of. The first is a mere 4 pages (3, with a page for the OGL), with tables to determine random missions (assassination, sabotage, recon, etc) and events (bad weather, ill omens, sickness), ways to turn these into adventure hooks, and a victory point system to allow the player character actions to affect the outcome of the battle.
The sequel PDF (also 3 pages and a license page) introduces various tactics each side in the battle can use. Each side picks one secretly, and the gamemaster compares the two on a table to see who gets victory points. If one side charges and another digs in, that means something. If one side plans and ambush but the other side flanks them, it means something. These victory points add in to what the player characters did on their mission to determine how things went overall.
It’s a very simple system for roleplayers who want the concept of mass combat in the game without having to spend hours playing out actual miniatures battles. Very effective, very cool. I now need to find an excuse to use it.
Buy Warfare for Beginners and Warfare for Beginners 2 at DriveThruRPG.
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