09 - Mass Combat Rules

War in the Hyborian Age
Mass Combat
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
The clangor of steel rose deafeningly; the black-mailed figure of the western king loomed among
his swarming foes, dealing blows like a butcher wielding a great cleaver. Riderless horses raced
down the field; about his iron-clad feet grew a ring of mangled corpses.
Robert E. Howard, The Scarlet Citadel
[[[ End Box ]]]
War is a part of life in the Hyborian age, especially for adventurers. Nobles can and do go to war,
sometimes on a huge, national scale, other times on a smaller, provincial scale.
This chapter describes the military units themselves, their typical members and the methods by
which these armies clash, from skirmishes to large-scale siege operations.
Military Unit Descriptions
Without military units and armies, entire kingdoms would collapse, so most governments ensure a
great amount of resources are put into building the finest armies they are able to assemble.
All military units detailed in Hyborian Age Empires have a collection of characteristics that allow
players and Games Masters to quickly and easily tell exactly what each is capable of.
Superscale Size
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Too late he had seen the trap. All that a man might do he had done with his five thousand
cavalrymen against the thirty thousand knights, archers and spearmen of the conspirators.
Robert E. Howard, The Scarlet Citadel
[[[ End Box ]]]
The first and most important quality is the military unit's superscale size.
Superscale Size
Superscale
Size
Fine
Diminutive
Tiny
Small
Medium
Large
Huge
Gargantuan
Colossal
Superscale Size
Modifier
+16
+8
+4
+2
+0
-2
-4
-8
-16
Examples
Armoured human
10 to 500 men
501-1,399 men
1,400-2,900 men
3,000-5,999 men
6,000 -9,999 men
10,000-19,999 men
20,000-40,000 men
Castle, Army (40,000+
men)
Superscale sizes work out to being roughly four steps smaller than their normal size counterparts.
So an Aquilonian wearing plate armour, who is normally Medium size, is only Fine superscale size.
Fine Military Units

Fine-sized military units, typified by a soldier in armour, do not follow some of the usual rules of
military units. For instance, they do not have formation spaces. This means that any amount of
damage will automatically and utterly destroy a Fine-sized superscale military unit. It is for this
reason that soldiers do not generally like to don armour and storm the castle alone they are
incredibly vulnerable when doing so. Fine-sized superscale military units usually carry out only
specific orders in mass combat, or none at all.
Military Unit Example The Black Legion

Medium Mounted military unit
Defence Value: 12 (+2 military cohesion)
Armour: Seven (+5 plate armour; +2 military cohesion)
Military Cohesion: 14 (+2)
Spot: +5 (+3 Elite, -2 visored helm, +4 scouts)
Stealth: -1 (+3 Elite, -8 plate armour and visored helm, +4 scouts)
Formation Integrity: Nine (11 base, -2 modifier)
Features: Heavy Cavalry, Hyborian (+2 to Training)
Soldier Types: Aquilonian Elite (+8 BAB, +15 Training); Three Officers (including aid de camp); 12
Scouts; 2,500 Knights; 500 archers
Support: Four
Wealth: Five
Formation Spaces: 20 (Front line six, Rear line five, Archers one, Command three Supply four,
Scout one)
Weapons: Heavy Lance (melee 14), War Sword (melee 14)
Size and Type: This is a simple listing of the military unit's size, as well as its type usually
mounted; infantry; archer; naval vessel or fortification. These characteristics define much of what
a military unit is capable of and, more importantly, in what situations.
Archer: Archer units tend to be lightly armoured infantry units (Hyrkanian archers are mounted, of
course, and fall under their own category). They fight with bows for Close combat but often have
some small melee weapon for Melee combat. Archer units use their average Perform (guard
mount) skill as their Training score.
Chariot: Chariot units are most common in Stygia. Chariot units cannot perform Pivot! orders.
Chariot units have a chance of crashing if a Formation Integrity check is failed (see page XX).
Chariot units use their average Handle Animal skill as their Training score.
Fortification: Except for mobile siege towers, fortifications cannot move and cannot execute Close
for Battle, Pull Back or any other order requiring movement.
Infantry: Infantry units use average Perform (guard mount) ranks for their Training scores.
Heavy Cavalry: Heavy Cavalry units use average Ride ranks for their Training scores.
Light Cavalry: Light Cavalry units use average Ride ranks for their Training scores.
Marine: Marines are trained in the arts of boarding and repelling boarders. Marines use average
crew Profession (sailor) ranks for their Training scores.
Naval Vessel: A naval vessel can only operate on bodies of water. See Conan: Pirate Isles for more
details on various ships found during the Hyborian age. Naval vessels use average crew Profession
(sailor) ranks for their Training scores. See Conan: Pirate Isles for a more detailed narrative system
for naval combat.
Skirmisher: Skirmisher units use average Survival ranks for their Training scores.
Defence Value: All military units have a base Defence Value of 10 modified by their superscale
size modifier and their Military Cohesion.
Armour: Most military units have armour of some kind, representing their innate ability to shrug
off damage. Actual armour for anything other than a fortification or naval ship plays a role in this
(1/2 the armour's Damage Reduction, round fractions down), but so does military cohesion.
Armour = Damage Reduction (rounded down) + Cohesion Bonus
Armour for fortifications and naval ships has a different calculation based on wall or hull
thickness/construction.
Armour = Hardness + Cohesion Bonus
Military Cohesion: This is the modifier a commander of the military unit must add to his checks
when performing manoeuvres or executing orders while retaining the military unit in formation. It
also adds to a military unit's Defence Value, as long as the military unit is under command and is
adequately functional.
Presume the base line for any given military unit is 10. From there, add modifiers to calculate the
ending Military Cohesion score. Military Cohesion can change during play. Games Masters can
assess ad hoc modifiers as they deem necessary.
Modifiers for Military Cohesion

Type of Formation
Unit composed of Elite soldiers
Unit is defending behind walls
Unit is defending behind a river, fence or obstacle
Unit has an aide de camp or first mate
Major success; unit pushes forward in pursuit of
defeated enemy
Unit has ambushed an enemy unit
Unit composed of Veteran Soldiers
Important success; unit rallies and prepares to
advance
Success
Unit composed of Line soldiers
Unit takes incoming missile fire it cannot reply to
In previous round, flanking friendly troops gave
ground*
Enemy forces operating in the unit's flank
Loss of key position or centre
Unit expends all missile weapons
Unit is mixed (infantry and cavalry formations)
Unit composed of Conscripts or Raw Recruits
Unit is surprised
Unit is attacked by cavalry or elite units
Enemy forces operating to the unit's rear
Defences crumble or attack fails
False rumour
Unit struck by debilitating sorcery
Standard lost
Commander killed
Unit is outnumbered by 2:1 or greater
Unit is composed of mercenaries
Modifi
er
+4
+4
+4
+2
+2
+2
+2
+1
+0
+0
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-3
Under pressure; unit tiring

Front ranks crumbling; morale falling
Unit retreats*
Unit pushed back; heavy losses and collapse of
command spaces
Unit routed
-3
-4
-6
-8
-10
*This does not apply to Hyrkanian military units who use retreats to draw the enemy forward
Military Cohesion
Military
Cohesion
1
23
45
67
89
1011
1213
1415
1617
1819
2021
2223
2425
and so on
Cohesion
Bonus
5
4
3
2
1
0
+1
+2
+3
+4
+5
+6
+7
Spot & Stealth: These two scores determine how easily a military unit can locate potential
enemies and how well it can avoid being detected itself. The Picts are excellent examples of
military units that typically have high scores in this area. Activity on the part of a military unit
decreases its stealth a military unit's Stealth score is temporarily decreased by five for each
order it executes in a turn.
The sample numbers in the following table are derived from average values in Spot and Listen for
the Spot value and from Hide and Move Silently values for the Stealth value. Specially trained
units will have different values.
The sample values given below presume an unarmoured unit. Modify these values by the armour
check penalty for the type of armour added to the unit, per the table in Conan the Roleplaying
Game or Conan: Tito's Trading Post. Typical armours and modifiers include: Mail Shirt (-3); Mail
Hauberk (-4); Scale Corselet (-4); Mail Shirt & Breastplate (-7); Plate Armour (-6). There are no
penalties for having a helmet as units can take the helmet off until battle is engaged. This includes
barding on the horses. Use the worst overall penalty for the unit.
Spot and Stealth receive a -2 penalty if a unit is composed of different types of formation spaces
(cavalry and archer).
The sample scores below presume the units are in their native territories. This score is also
modified by the size of the military unit. A gargantuan army is easier to spot than a lone warrior.
Race
Border Kingdom
Bossonian
Raw
Recruit
Sp
Steal
ot
th
+2
+1
+3
+2
Line
Sp
ot
+3
+4
Steal
th
+2
+4
Veteran
Sp
ot
+4
+5
Steal
th
+3
+6
Elite
Sp
ot
+5
+6
Steal
th
+4
+8
Cimmerian
+5
+5
+7
+7
+9
+9
Gunderman
+4
+4
+6
+6
+8
+8
Himelian
+5
+6
+7
+8
+9
+10
Hyborian (general)
Hyrkanian
+0
+5
+0
+0
+1
+7
+1
+1
+2
+9
+2
+2
Iranistani
+4
+0
+6
+1
+8
+2
Khitan
Kushite
Nordheimir
Pictish
+0
+2
+1
+1
0
+9
+3
+2
+1
+10
+5
+3
+2
+12
+0
+0
+2
+4
+3
+1
4
+1
3
+2
+7
+4
+3
+16
Southern Black
Kingdom
Stygian
Tauran
+1
+3
+2
+1
2
+1
1
+1
+0
+6
+0
+6
+1
+8
+1
+8
+2
+11
Turanian
+4
+0
+6
+1
+2
+1
1
+8
Vendhyan
Westermarck
+0
+8
+0
+6
+1
+8
+1
+0
+2
+0
+2
+1
3
+3
+2
+2
+11
Zamorian
Zingaran
+1
+1
0
+2
+1
Shemite
+2
+3
+1
+3
+1
+4
+2
+2
+4
+2
+1
1
+1
0
+1
1
+3
+1
1
+1
0
+3
+5
+4
+1
6
+1
5
+3
+11
+3
+1
3
+1
0
+3
+1
6
+4
+3
+3
+13
+10
+12
+3
+3
+3
+9
+5
+4
+19
+5
+3
+3
+3
+14
+5
+3
Formation Integrity: This is a measure of how well a military unit can maintain its formations in
terms of withstanding pressure, harsh manoeuvres and terrain. Whenever a military unit must
make a Formation Integrity check (see page XX), this is the DC. Therefore a military unit with strict
discipline and an incredible ability to hold a formation has a lower Formation Integrity statistic.
Formation Integrity is based on a military unit's Military Cohesion score, so it can change during
the course of a battle. Assume the base Formation Integrity is 11, then apply the Integrity Bonus
from the Formation Integrity table.
Formation Integrity
Military
Cohesion
1
23
45
67
89
1011
1213
1415
1617
1819
2021
2223
2425
and so on
Integrity
Bonus
+5
+4
+3
+2
+1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Features: Some military units have special or unique features that set them apart from others.
Some features are dependent upon soldier type (see next section for definition of soldier types).
All features are cumulative; for example, Elite units have Elite, Veteran and Line features.
Type Features
Type
Archer
Line Feature
+1 circumstance bonus
to all ranged attacks.
Chariot
to all ranged attacks.
Fortification
+2 cover bonus to
defenders' Defence
Value
Infantry
to all melee attack
rolls.
Heavy
Cavalry
to Total Offence.
When following the Charge!

order, the unit gains a +2
morale bonus to Total
Offence.
Horde
(Barbarian
units only)
+2 to Total Offence and

-1 to Defence Value
Light
Cavalry
to all melee attack
rolls.
2 Military Cohesion penalty

to opposing units because of
impressive
size/nature/reputation of
barbarian horde.
+1 circumstance bonus to
Defence.
Marine
to any Offensive or
Defensive order to
execute or resist a
boarding action.
Combat Reinforcement:
increase Armour by
20%, round down.
to Defence. Skirmishers
are spread out and
harder to hit.
Naval
Vessel
Skirmisher
Veteran Feature
Unit may attack at Long
range if obstacle level rank is
0 or 1 (see page XX for
obstacle rankings).
order, the unit gains a +2
morale bonus to Total
Offence.
2 Military Cohesion penalty
to attacking units because of
impressive
size/nature/reputation of
fortification.
Veteran units are better
trained to absorb a cavalry
charge; +1 Armour bonus
against charging opponents.

order to board another ship,
the unit gains a +2 morale
bonus to Total Offence.
Hull Cladding: adds +2 to
Armour
+1 circumstance bonus to
Stealth and Spot scores.
Elite Feature
Ignore shield and cover
bonuses to Defence,
other than total cover.
2 Military Cohesion
penalty to opposing units
because of impressive
nature/reputation of
chariot unit.
+2 to Armour due to
impressive structural
improvements.
2 Military Cohesion
infantry unit.
2 Military Cohesion
cavalry unit.
+4 to Total Offence and
-2 to Defence Value
(supersedes Line Feature)
When following the
Charge! order, the unit
gains a +2 morale bonus
to Total Offence.
2 Military Cohesion
marine unit.
Ship adds +2 to Total
Offence
to Stealth and Spot
scores (supersedes
Veteran feature).
Racial Features
Race
Bossonian
Feature
+1 to Armour while performing a Defensive order; +1 to Offence of any archery
weapons.
Cimmerian
Darfari
Gunderman
Himelian
Hyborian
Hyrkanian
Kushite
Nordheimir
Pict
Shemite
Shemite
(meadow)
Southern
Islander or
Black Kingdom
Stygian
Turanian
Vendhyan
Zamorian
Zingaran
+1 to Offence of melee weapons; -2 to Spot and Stealth if not in hills and

mountains; may form horde units.
+1 Offence with bludgeoning weapons; may form hordes.
+1 to attack rolls and Total Offence while wielding pikes; +2 morale bonus to
Military Cohesion score.
-2 to Spot and -3 to Stealth if not in mountains; may form Horde units.
Unit may add +2 to one of the following: Spot; Stealth; Military Cohesion; or
Training.
Hyrkanians are fully trained in firing archery shots while mounted and moving;
any Hyrkanian mounted military unit can perform the Mounted Archery Run
order regardless of their soldier skill; +1 BAB with archery weapons; archers
may fire their weapons in the Long Range band.
+1 to Offence with spear weapons; -2 to Spot and Stealth if not in hot climates;
may form horde units.
+1 to Offence with any sword; -1 to Spot and Stealth if not in cold climates; may
form horde units.
-2 to Spot and Stealth if not in temperate or warm forests; may form horde units.
-2 to Spot and Stealth if not in desert climates; +1 Offence with bows.
-1 to Spot and Stealth if not in plains; +1 Offence with bows.
+1 to BAB and Offence for all weapons; +1 BAB with spears (stacks with
previous bonus); +1 Defence Value if unit is unarmoured; may form horde units.
+1 to BAB when wielding Stygian bows.
+1 BAB with archery weapons; archers may fire their weapons in the Long
Range band.
+1 to Total Offence and BAB when performing the Charge! order while mounted
and armed with lances.
-1 to Spot and Stealth when not fighting in an urban environment; +1 to BAB
when using ranged weapons.
+1 BAB when armed with broadswords or arming swords.
Soldier Types: All military units require soldiers of some description, even if it is only a single
warrior. This listing includes the general soldier quality used in this type of military unit, describes
the types of soldiers and indicates whether any officers are in command.
Raw Recruit: A raw recruit averages 1st or 2nd level. Raw recruits are not yet trained in formation
combat.
Line: A line soldier can fight in formation and has some experience. Line soldiers average 3 rd or 4th
level.
Veteran: A veteran soldier has considerable experience. Veteran soldiers average 5 th or 6th level.
Elite: Elite soldiers are specially trained or otherwise exceptional soldiers, averaging around 8 th
level.
Support: Military units require supply trains of camp followers, squires and support personnel.
This statistic lists what kind of support is necessary to field this military unit far from its base of
operations in terms of supply spaces, generally one-fifth of the units formation space.
A note about the expense of military operations is in order here. Horseshoes need six nails,
weighing around 12 oz. A horseshoe lasts about 200 miles. So, with training alone, horses need to
be reshod every two or three weeks. Each knight has at least three horses, one for riding, one for
packing and one for combat. A combat force of one thousand knights might well bring 3,000
horses with them, requiring 12,000 horseshoes per horse (and 72,000 nails). This requires at least
eight tonnes of iron to be forged every two to three weeks! This requires no less than ten
blacksmiths working ten hours per day. Their forges require wood or charcoal, so the services of
woodcutters and carts, which require their own maintenance, are required too. It does not take
long to figure out why major military campaigns are few and far between. The expense of such an
operation is immense. Even a lone knight must continually pay for the services of blacksmiths to
keep his horses shod. These figures do not even begin to go into the expense of feeding the
horses.
Warhorses are stall-fed breeds that consume the agricultural output of nine serfs per horse per
year. They require half-grain and half-hay for feed. Grass can be substituted for hay at a ratio of
three to one due to the high water content of grass compared to hay, which is dry. Grazing takes a
considerable length of time, so warhorses cannot obtain much forage while in service, either as a
mode of transportation or on a campaign (Hyrkanians are an exception). A horse requires about 12
pounds of grain per day and around 12 pounds of hay per day. A horse also requires about eight to
12 gallons of water per day. That same horse requires nearly thirty minutes per pound of green
grass if it is grazing. A horse requires about 40 pounds of grass per day, so if a knight expects his
horse to forage and graze for its food, it will spend most of the day feeding. If an army required its
horses to forage, the cavalry's range would be severely handicapped.
Hyborian supply units use ox-drawn two-wheeled carts with a carrying capacity of about half a ton
because they are more manoeuvrable than four wheeled wagons with a capacity of 1,200 pounds.
A cart can haul a day's food ration for 40 horses or enough barrels of water for a dozen horses.
Oxen are used to haul the carts because they required less food and water than horses, but they
are slower, moving only ten miles per day (horse drawn carts can move 25 miles per day). An
alternative is to use pack horses carrying about 200 lbs of supplies. A pack horse can carry the
feed for itself and a single warhorse for two days if water can be found on the route thus the
need for scouts (borderers or borderer-soldiers) to reconnoitre the route beforehand. The
packhorses also require shoeing as discussed above. If hay can be found along the route (by
moving the route through farms), then the packhorses only need to carry grain, extending their
range out to ten days. Each additional packhorse per knight increases the range by two days,
however most knights can only handle three additional packhorses at most. At best, a knight
prepared to fight at any time has an effective range of about 280 miles, which would take at least
14 days to cover.
Wealth: This statistic indicates, as a guideline, how much Wealth is needed in order to field this
size military unit of line warriors on one's own. Adjust this number down for fielding Raw Recruits.
Adjust the number up one for fielding a unit of veterans and up two to field an elite military unit.
See page XX for definitions of Wealth ranks. Fielding larger armies than one's Wealth rank depletes
Wealth by one or more ranks, depending how many size categories one moves up. Each month the
army is maintained requires another check against Wealth.
The example below illustrates why the Hyborian age nations do not maintain huge standing
armies, instead calling on vassal lords or even mercenary leaders to bring smaller armies with
them in times of war.
For Example: King Conan has Rank 6 Wealth. The Black Legion is a Medium Elite unit, requiring
five ranks of Wealth to field. King Conan may field the Black Legion without impacting his Wealth.
If Conan wants to recruit more elite soldiers to increase the size of the Black Legion to a Huge Elite
unit (requiring seven ranks of Wealth to safely field), he would deplete his Wealth to Rank 5 after
doing so (Wealth 6 Wealth 7= 1 change in Wealth). In a month, if King Conan maintains this
army and does not do anything else to increase his wealth, King Conan's Wealth will drop to Rank
3 (Wealth 5 Wealth 7= 2 change in Wealth). He would quickly beggar himself and the kingdom
if he maintained the Black Legion at that level.
Wealth to Field
Superscale
Size
Fine
Wealth
Required
-1
Diminutive
Tiny
Small
Medium
Large
Huge
Gargantuan
Colossal
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Formation Spaces: All military units have a certain number of formation spaces, which are
subdivided into cavalry, infantry, command, siege engine and so on.
Superscale
Size
Fine
Diminutive
Tiny
Small
Medium
Large
Huge
Gargantuan
Colossal
Formation
Spaces
1
2
3-6
7-14
15-29
30-49
50-99
100-200
200+
Archery Spaces: These are the spaces occupied by archery units. When these are destroyed,
archers are killed, disabled or captured.
Cavalry Spaces: These are the spaces occupied by mounted units. When these are destroyed,
warriors/horses are killed, disabled or captured.
Command Space: In a castle, this might be the Great Hall and on a ship it might be the officer's
deck/quarters; in general, it is the space the commander and his staff are on. If the command
space of a military unit is destroyed, the military unit is out of command. Orders are harder to
execute. All military units have at least one command space.
Gate Spaces: Gate spaces are the entries into a fortification. Each gate is allotted a gate space. If
a gate space is impaired and enemies move through it, murder weapons (pitch, oil, and so on) can
be brought to bear by defenders as a response. Destroyed gate spaces cannot utilise murder
weapons as a response.
Infantry Spaces: These are the spaces occupied by infantry units. When these are destroyed,
warriors are killed, disabled or captured.
Marine Spaces: A marine space is a deck with marines on it. When marine spaces are destroyed,
marines and sailors are killed, disabled, captured or thrown overboard.
Oar Spaces: Any ship using oars has at least two spaces of oars (one minimum for each side);
additional spaces may indicate additional rows of oars. Very large ships may break up their oar
spaces into more spaces per row in order to prevent having the oars knocked out as easily.
Passenger Spaces: A passenger space has two well-appointed cabins. Passenger spaces only apply
to ships.
Rigging Spaces: The rigging of a ship is always allotted one space per mast. Impaired rigging limits
the orders the captain may give and may reduce a ship's Spot score. Destroyed rigging means the
ship cannot move unless it also has oars. This definitely hamper's the ship's Spot score.
Scouts: The presence of scouts adds +4 to Spot and Stealth scores per Scout formation space.
Each formation space has 12 scouts. There should be one scout formation space for every 3,000
soldiers to get the full bonus. The bonus decreases as the increment increases by 1000 soldiers. In
other words, if there is one scout formation space for every 4,000 soldiers, the bonus is +3; if
there is one scout formation space for every 5,000 soldiers, the bonus is +2; and so on.
Siege Engine Spaces: Some military units are armed with a variety of siege weapons with which to
attack enemy units. Each siege engine space holds one siege engine and the crew to operate that
siege engine.
Supply Spaces: These spaces contain the baggage or stores of a military unit, naval vessel or
fortification. Nearly all civilians travelling with a military unit will be located in these spaces. These
spaces include teamsters, porters and animals. If this space is destroyed, they are automatically
killed. Not all military units have supply spaces (Hyrkanian units generally do not, as they are
typically self-sufficient). Some armies have a military unit that is nothing but supply space, leaving
them behind the battle lines. A supply space on a ship represents its cargo hold.
Tower Spaces: Tower spaces allow defenders or siege weapons to fight opponents outside the
walls. Tower spaces also provide cover for defending units. An impaired tower space has been
cleared of defenders. A destroyed tower space has been breached or toppled.
Wall Spaces: Wall spaces allow defenders or siege weapons to fight opponents outside the walls.
Wall spaces also provide cover for defending units. An impaired wall space has been cleared of
defenders. A destroyed wall space has been breached.
Weapons: Weapons list the typical weapons the unit has plus its Range and Offence scores. Melee
weapons have a melee range and bows have a Close range. The Offence score is the maximum
damage a weapon can do (assume characters have a base 10 for Strength, then modify as
appropriate for any racial features) as listed in Conan the Roleplaying Game and its supplements
plus its Armour Piercing. Every space with a weapon gets an attack roll. Artillery weapons are not
modified by the size of the military unit. Artillery weapons have two Offence ratings: the first
number is the weapons rating against a flesh and blood unit; the second number is its rating
against structural units.
Artillery Offence
Artillery
Type
Ballista
Heavy
Catapult
Light
Catapult
Ram
Trebuchet
Ran
ge
Close
Close
Artillery
Offence
18/10
30/18
Close
18/6
Mele
e
Long
/12
36/24
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Quick Mass Combat Offence of Weapons

In Quick Mass Combat, instead of rolling for each formation space with a weapon, just roll once
and modify the Total Offence by the following table:
Quick Offence Modifiers

Superscale Size
of Unit
Fine
Diminutive
Offence
Modifier
-8
Tiny
Small
Medium
Large
Huge
Gargantuan
Colossal
[[[ End Box ]]]
-4
-2
+0
+2
+4
+8
+16
Military Unit Soldiers
In most cases, the Games Master will not detail every soldier in a military unit or even every
soldier position or duty, a chore that would be nearly impossible with the larger military units. The
Games Master should assume an average level of competence among the whole mass of soldiers
based on their level of experience.
The Soldier Experience table can be used to determine the capabilities of soldiers in military units
of all races. Use the BAB score for all attack rolls called for and the Training score for all skill
checks.
Training: This is how much training the unit has. It is based on the average number of ranks the
soldiers have in Perform (guard mount) for Hyborian armies and on other relevant skills for other
nations (Ride or Survival for Hyrkanians, for example, because Hyrkanians use mounted hunting
expeditions as military drills). Perform (guard mount) is described in detail in Conan: Hyboria's
Finest. The table below show typical values. Units trained for a specific purpose may have different
values than those listed below.
Soldiers/Barbarians
Race
Aquilonian
Argossean
Border Kingdom
Bossonian
Cimmerian
Corinthia
Gunderman
Himelian
Hyperborean
Hyrkanian (mounted
archers)
Iranistani
Khauran
Khitan
Khorajan
Kothic
Kushite
Nemedian
Nordheimir
Ophirean
Pictish
Poitain
Shemite
Shemite (Meadow)
Southern Black
Kingdom
Raw
BA
B
+2
+2
+2
+2
+3
+2
+2
+2
+2
+3
+2
+2
+2
+2
+2
+2
+2
+3
+2
+3
+2
+3
+3
+3
Recruit
Traini
ng
+7
+5
+5
+7
+4
+5
+7
+4
+7
+9
+5
+5
+2
+5
+7
+4
+7
+5
+7
+9
+7
+6
+6
+4
BA
B
+4
+4
+4
+4
+5
+4
+4
+4
+4
+5
Line
Traini
ng
+9
+7
+7
+9
+6
+7
+9
+6
+9
+11
+4
+4
+4
+4
+4
+4
+4
+5
+4
+5
+4
+5
+5
+5
+7
+7
+8
+7
+9
+6
+9
+7
+9
+11
+9
+8
+8
+6
Veteran
BA
Traini
B
ng
+6
+11
+6
+9
+6
+9
+6
+11
+7
+8
+6
+9
+6
+11
+6
+8
+6
+11
+7
+13
BA
B
+8
+8
+8
+8
+9
+8
+8
+8
+8
+9
Elite
Traini
ng
+13
+11
+11
+13
+10
+11
+13
+10
+13
+15
+6
+6
+6
+6
+6
+6
+6
+7
+6
+7
+6
+7
+7
+7
+8
+8
+8
+8
+8
+8
+8
+9
+8
+9
+8
+9
+9
+9
+11
+11
+12
+11
+13
+10
+13
+11
+13
+15
+13
+12
+12
+10
+9
+9
+10
+9
+11
+8
+11
+9
+11
+13
+11
+10
+10
+8
Stygian
Tauran (skirmishers)
Turanian
Vendhyan
Zamorian
Zingaran
+1
+2
+2
+2
+2
+2
+4
+7
+7
+5
+5
+5
+3
+4
+4
+4
+4
+4
+6
+9
+7
+7
+7
+7
+5
+6
+6
+6
+6
+6
+8
+11
+9
+9
+9
+9
+7
+8
+8
+8
+8
+8
+10
+13
+11
+11
+11
+11
Battles in the Hyborian Age
Battles in the Hyborian Age Empires system are abstract there are no maps or miniatures used
at all. Unlike in character combat, using a map is not even an option. The battle comes down to
the relative power of the military units and the skill of the commanders and soldiers. Players and
Games Masters looking for a more tactical system should use the Open Mass Combat System
available as a free download from Mongoose Publishing's website or the narrative system of mass
combat described in Conan: The Free Companies. This system is intended for fairly quick
resolutions of wars and skirmishes instigated by nobles, whether Player Character or Non-Player
Character, and the political effects of winning or losing such battles.
Summary
Like melee and ranged combat, mass warfare is cyclical; everybody acts in a regular cycle of
rounds. Each round represents roughly thirty minutes of time in the game. Mass warfare follows
essentially the same sequence as regular combat, as follows:
1. Each military unit starts out flat-footed. Once a military unit acts it is no longer flat-footed.
2. Determine which characters are aware of their opponents at the start of the mass battle. If
some but not all of the military units are aware of their opponents (or even that a mass
battle has begun), a surprise round happens before regular rounds of combat begin. The
military units that are aware of the opponents can act in the surprise round, so they use
their Spot roll for initiative. In initiative order, highest to lowest, military units who start the
battle aware of their opponents each take one action (either a standard action or a move
action) during the surprise round. Military units who are unaware do not get to act in the
surprise round. If no one or everyone starts the mass battle aware, there is no surprise
round.
3. Military units who have not yet rolled initiative do so. All military units are now ready to
begin their first regular round of mass warfare.
4. Military units act in initiative order, highest to lowest.
5. When everyone has had a turn, the military unit with the highest initiative acts again and
Steps four and five repeat until the mass warfare ends.
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Quick Mass Combat

The mass combat rules detailed in this chapter allow many characters to interact and influence a
war. However, it may well be the case that a Games Master does not need to go into details with a
mass combat, especially with military units not commanded by the Player Characters or if the
Player Characters are absent from the combat.
At certain points in these rules, you will see Quick Mass Combat boxes. These put forward
alternate ways to deal with mass combat. These alternative rules are always faster and easier to
multitask than the normal rules, but will not contain the full spectrum of options open to those
military units using the full rules.
[[[ End Box ]]]
Prior to Mass Combat

Assigning a Commander: Nearly all military units will automatically have a commander in place,
usually the highest ranking officer, shaman or nobleman. On the rare occasions where this is not
the case, the commander must be decided upon now. The choice may be obvious or not so
obvious, as Khoraja's nobles found out when Yasmela revealed Conan with the exclamation, 'And
there is the man who shall lead you!'
If the commander is not a Player Character or a named Non-Player Character, he will simply
use the normal soldier traits (BAB and Training) for all attack rolls and skill checks.
If the commander is a Player Character or specific Non-Player Character, he will use his own
calculated attack bonus and skill bonuses. Note that those soldiers without Formation
Combat will suffer a -4 non-proficient penalty to relevant skill checks and other rolls.
Assign Military unit Roles: Military unit roles should be assigned well before combat begins. Any
Player Characters who are in a military unit may be assigned to handle specific tasks. Each order
has a skill associated with it. A Player Character may be assigned to handle all orders involving
that skill. Only one Player Character can be assigned per skill.
In smaller military units, where the Player Character is the only one with the skill in question, it can
be assumed the Player Character is acting directly. In larger military units, he is most likely
ordering subordinates around and lending a hand as required. In this latter case, the Player
Character uses his skill bonus rather than the general soldier Training bonus when making these
checks (even if this results in a lower bonus to the check). It is for this reason that only the
competent are put in command of a section of a military unit's soldiers, as otherwise they will
suffer rather than benefit from a Player Character's leadership. A noble may add his Lead by
Example bonus to these checks.
A Player Character can only be assigned to one military unit role in any one turn. The Military Unit
Roles and Skills Table details which skills may be used by the character in his role and whether he
makes attack rolls.
Any skill check that is not covered by a Player Character in a military unit role will be taken by the
soldiers instead, using their Training bonus rather than a skill bonus.
Military Unit Roles and Skills

Military Unit
Role
Commander
Adjutant
Lord Engineer
Officer
Pilot/Navigator
Quartermaster
Scout
Uninvolved Player
Character
Character may only make the following skill

checks:
Bluff 1, Concentration, Diplomacy 1, Intimidate 1,
Knowledge (any), Ride, Spot, Sense Motive, Swim
Concentration, Knowledge (any), Ride, Search, Spot,
Sense Motive, Swim
Concentration, Craft (any), Knowledge (any),
Profession (any), Spot, Use Rope
Bluff 1, Concentration, Diplomacy 1, Intimidate 1,
Knowledge (any), Ride, Spot, Sense Motive, Swim
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (any),
Profession (any), Spot
Concentration, Knowledge (any), Ride, Search, Spot,
Sense Motive, Swim
Bluff, Spot, Listen, Hide, Knowledge (any), Move
Silently, Ride, Search, Sense Motive, Swim, Survival
Any that do not involve the functioning of the military
unit
Character can
make attack rolls?
Yes
No
Yes (siege engines
only)
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
Use of one of these skills by a commander imparts a -2 cumulative penalty to any attack rolls
and skill checks made by the character later in the same turn.
Helping Out: Rather than being assigned to lead a soldier section, a Player Character may instead
opt to 'help out' a specific section. The Player Character may make a relevant skill check at DC 10
(or attack roll against Defence Value 10) to grant a +2 bonus to a Training check, skill check or
attack roll made by a section commander. A Player Character who is helping out may not make
any other skill checks.
Uninvolved Characters: Player Characters not assigned to a military unit role or helping out are
assumed not to be involved in the running of the military unit. They make other skill checks,
though, such as Heal checks to patch up injured crew. The Games Master also may call upon the
players of uninvolved characters to make attack rolls and Training checks for the general military
unit soldiers.
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Quick Mass Combat Military Unit Roles

In Quick Mass Combat, simply roll BAB or Training when checks or rolls are called for. Do not worry
about individual skills.
[[[ End Box ]]]
Mass Combat Checks & Rolls

Attack Rolls: This is an attack roll, using the unit's base attack bonus, plus any modifiers. This roll
is then compared to the Defence Value of the target. Should the attack roll equal or exceed the
target's Defence Value, it is a success and the attack roll hits.
Random Military Unit Damage Rolls: These rolls use 2d6 and the result is compared to the
Random Military Unit Damage Table on page XX. Random Military Unit Damage rolls determine
where a military unit has been hurt if the location is not immediately obvious.
Spot Rolls: This is a Spot check, adding the military unit's Spot modifier. It is normally compared
to another unit's Stealth score.
Skill Checks: There are a variety of skill checks that are made in mass combat. They are normally
made as part of, or in response to, orders executed by a craft. A character may not take 10 or 20
when making skill checks in mass combat. Also, a natural one rolled on the d20 is automatically a
failure, while a natural 20 is an automatic success (except in the case of opposed checks).
Position
Few mass combats have happened without a strategic or military goal being at the core of at least
one of the combatants' plans. At the beginning of every mass combat, the Games Master chooses
a 'centre' for the combat. As Conan reminded Thespides in Black Colossus, do not give up the
advantage of position.
The Centre
The centre of a mass combat is normally represented by the strategic goal fought for by one or
more combatants. Normally this is a large landmark of some kind, such as a castle, river ford or
mountain pass. The centre can also be a particular military unit or other moving spatial object,
such as a commander or a particular noble. Military units in combat are in one of three range
bands in regard to the centre.
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Games Mastering the Centre

The centre of a mass battle may change in a given encounter. Doing so is entirely at the behest of
the Games Master, however, and the new relative positions of all military units in the vicinity will
be regulated by the Games Master.
In essence, changing the centre of a battle is the ultimate plot device of mass combat. By
changing the centre, the Games Master can suddenly move the focus away from a castle, for
example, and shift it to the retreating military unit effectively altering a mass combat encounter
from a defensive battle to a chase sequence.
Note that there is no problem with making the centre of the battle a mobile point. Enemy military
units are often the centre of mass battles. Two things to bear in mind if a military unit is the centre
of a battle:
Pull Back orders will not move the centre military unit. Instead, every other military unit is moved
on range band further away from the centre military unit.
Close for Battle orders may not be issued by the centre military unit.
Despite the obvious advantages a Games Master has when changing the centre of a mass combat,
it is recommended that he does not do so more often than necessary within a given encounter.
[[[ End Box ]]]
Range Bands
Spot Range Band: Military units within this band are outside of weapons range and are only
close enough to scan (through sight or sound) the area around the centre. They can detect other
military units but cannot fire on them or be fired upon. They may or may not be detected by
another military unit's scouts or lookouts (see Detection). This is also referred to as being
disengaged.
Long Range Band: Military units within this band are far from the battle's centre, but are still
interacting with the combat. Any military unit within long range of the centre is also within long
range of any other unit in the long or close range bands.
Close Range Band: The military units are close together, as distances for mass combat go. Close
and long range weapons may be brought to bear.
Melee Range Band: The military units are crashed together into virtually the same space. Melee
weapons only can be used at this range.
Any military unit within close range of the centre is also within close range of any other military
unit in the close range band. Any military unit within close range of the centre is also within long
range of any military unit in the long range band.
The Close for Battle and Pull Back orders are the usual ways in which the distances between
military units and the centre can change. A change in distance to close or long range is always in
relation to the centre, never to another military unit. However, by changing one's position in
regards to the centre, a military unit will also change its range to any other military units in the
area.
The Military Units Relative Positions table summarises at what ranges military units may be to one
another in mass combat, dependent on their band in relation to the centre.
Military Units Relative Positions

Military Unit
2
(Beyond Spot
Band)
Spot Range
Band
Long Range
Band
Close Range
Band
Melee Range
Band
Military Unit 1
Long Range
Close Range
Band
Band
(Beyond Spot
Band)
Spot Range
Band
Spot Range
Spot Range
Spot Range
Spot Range
Spot Range
Long Range
Long Range
Long Range
Spot Range
Long Range
Close Range
Close Range
Spot Range
Long Range
Close Range
Melee Range
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Melee Range
Band
Armies
At the beginning of a combat, military units that are already aware of one another usually
military units on the same side can be declared as an army (or a fleet if the military units consist
of ships). This means that they all share the same figurative 'space' in the battle. One military unit,
normally the most powerful or that carrying the highest-ranking officer or noble in the army, is
designated as the core. Being in an army has the following effects:
Military units in an army are automatically aware of one another.

An enemy military unit that moves to within spot, long or close range of one of the military
units is considered to be at the same range to the entire army.
Every military unit within an army suffers a -5 penalty to Stealth.
An army military unit is only considered to be within an army if it mimics all the Close for
Battle and Pull Back orders that the army core performed in the army core's previous turn.
If an army military unit does not mimic all the Close for Battle and Pull Back orders that the
army core performed in the army core's previous turn, it is considered to have split off from
the army and is no longer part of it.
[[[ End Box ]]]
Detection
Military units begin most combats disengaged from one another as they enter the spot range band
before the long or close range bands. Nevertheless, a Games Master may determine that a
military unit arrives by sorcery or by some other method and is actually within the long or even
the close range band of the centre.
If military units are not already aware of each other, they may slip by. Each military unit makes a
Spot roll and compares the result to the Stealth score of every other military unit within spot
range.
Should the military unit be within long range of the other military unit, the spotting unit gains a +5
bonus to its Spot roll.
A result that equals or exceeds the Stealth score of another unit means that the scouts or lookouts
have become aware of the presence of that military unit.
A military unit arriving through sorcery will automatically be noticed by any other military unit's
spotters. The arriving military unit will need to make a Spot check as normal to detect other
military units and determine its place in the Initiative order.
These Spot rolls determine which military units are aware of one another and which are unaware.
It is quite possible to be aware of some military units in the vicinity and yet unaware of others.
A military unit may not target a military unit which it is unaware of. This means it will not fire or
attack the stealthy unit or execute any orders that require a specific target.
A military unit performing any order that draws attention to itself is considered to have made its
presence known to all other military units in the vicinity. Orders that will automatically reveal a
military unit are punctuated with an exclamation mark (!).
Initiative
The secondary use of these Spot rolls is that they determine the Initiative order of the combat. The
highest result acts first in Initiative order, the second-highest result acts second and so on. This
initiative order may later change (see page XX) but will otherwise continue in this manner for the
whole combat.
As long as there are two or more opposed military units within spot range of one another, a
combat is considered to be continuing.
Spotting Military Units in Later Turns

A military unit may be called upon to spot another military unit after the start of a battle. In this
case, the spotting military unit makes a Spot roll at the beginning of its turn. This roll does not
change the military unit's Initiative place.
Taking Actions
A military unit may only take actions that target another military unit once it is aware of that
military unit's presence.
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Quick Mass Combat Detection

In Quick Mass Combat, assume that every military unit is aware of every other military unit.
[[[ End Box ]]]
Attacking
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]

'But can you lead men and arrange battle-lines?'
'Well, I can try,' he returned imperturbably. 'It's no more than sword-play on a larger scale. You
draw his guard, then stab, slash! And either his head is off, or yours.'
Robert E. Howard, Black Colossus
[[[ End Box ]]]
If an offensive order is given, it most likely involves attacking another military unit with weapons.
Certain criteria must be met before two military units may attack each other with ranged or melee
weapons.
Arcs of Fire
A mobile military unit has four arcs of fire Fore, Aft, Left and Right. A ship has four arcs of fire
Fore, Aft, Port and Starboard. A fortification has an arc of fire determined by compass directions.
Each offensive order specifies which arc of fire is used and only weapons in that arc of fire can be
used.
Range
Only weapons within range may fire at a target. 'Close' weapons may only fire at close range.
'Long' weapons may fire at close or long range. No weapons may fire at spot range.
Firing Archery or Artillery Weapons

Whenever an offensive order is issued, the commander of the military unit decrees which weapons
will fire as part of that order. All weapons within arc and range can be fired at a single target. Any
artillery or siege weapons fired require a separate attack roll.
Attacking with Melee Weapons

Whenever an offensive order is issued with melee units in melee range, the commander decrees
which weapons will be used if the unit has choices. All weapons can be used against a single
target. Each formation space with a melee weapon requires a separate attack roll.
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Quick Mass Combat Massed Attack Rolls

In Quick Mass Combat, instead of rolling an attack for each formation space, just roll once per
military unit and modify the Total Offence according to the following table:
Quick Offence Modifiers

Superscale Size
of Unit
Fine
Diminutive
Tiny
Small
Medium
Large
Huge
Gargantuan
Colossal
[[[ End Box ]]]
Offence
Modifier
-8
-4
-2
+0
+2
+4
+8
+16
Attack Bonus
The attack bonus for archers in mass combat is as follows:
Archer Unit's Base Attack Bonus + Miscellaneous Modifiers
The attack bonus for siege engineers in mass combat is as follows:
Engineer Crew's Base Attack Bonus + Miscellaneous Modifiers
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Quick Mass Combat Attack Bonus

In Quick Mass Combat all attack rolls are resolved with the following formula for the attack bonus:
Soldier's Base Attack Bonus
[[[ End Box ]]]
Attack Roll
All attack rolls are made by rolling 1d20 and adding the base attack bonus of the unit. If the result
equals or exceeds the Defence Value of the defending military unit, a hit is scored. A roll of one is
always a miss. A roll of 20 is always a hit and may be a critical hit (see Mass Combat Critical Hits).
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Iterative Attacks
Unlike personal combat, a character making an attack roll in mass combat does not get to make
iterative attacks if he has a high (+6 or higher) base attack bonus.
[[[ End Box ]]]
Mass Combat Critical Hits
When a military unit's combat attack roll gets a natural 20 (the d20 shows 20), the unit hits
regardless of the target's Defence Value and the unit has scored a threat of a critical hit. To find
out if the hit is actually a critical hit, the character immediately makes another attack roll with all
the same modifiers as the attack roll that scored the threat. If the second roll also results in a hit
against the target's Defence Value, the attack is a critical hit (note that the second roll just needs
to hit to confirm a critical hit; the unit does not need to roll a second 20). If the second roll is a
miss, then the attack just adds to Total Offence as normal.
A critical hit with the first (or only) weapon that hit in a barrage multiplies that weapon's Offence
by x2.
A critical hit with the second, third or any other subsequent weapon that hit in a barrage also
multiplies that weapon's Offence by x2. In effect, this means that the weapon's Offence is not
halved when calculating the Total Offence for the barrage.
Calculating the Total Offence of a Hit

When a target has been hit by one or more successful attack rolls, the military unit must calculate
its Total Offence for the barrage. This is equal to the weapon with the greatest Offence that hit,
plus half the Offence for each subsequent weapon which hit.
Damage
The Total Offence represents the amount of sheer violent force that an attacking military unit has
unleashed against the target. Before this is applied to a military unit, this Total Offence is
mitigated by the target's Armour.
Total Offence Armour = Damage
If the calculated damage of a hit is reduced to zero or lower by Armour then the attack is fully
absorbed by the military unit's defences and deals no damage.
If the calculated damage of a hit is one or more, then the attack has succeeded in causing damage
to the military unit. Each point of damage results in a single Formation Space on the opposing
military unit being destroyed. This represents the fact that as military units take damage, they lose
functionality or formation cohesiveness (depending whether the unit is a structure or a group of
people). Destruction, in this context, does not necessarily mean total death or the collapse of a
structure. Rather, it means the people and structures in that space are no longer functional and
cannot contribute to the unit's actions. People get captured, wounded, knocked unconscious and
so on. Siege engines may have vital components snapped or locked. Damage is dealt with in the
following manner:
1. Roll 2d6 on the Random Unit Damage table or choose the formation unit damaged if
obvious (if a cavalry unit crashes against the front lines of an infantry unit, then infantry
spaces are the first to be damaged).
2. Delete a number of formations spaces of the designated type equal to the damage.
3. If there is still damage remaining, or if the military unit in question does not possess
structural spaces of the type indicated, deduct one from the Random Unit Damage Table
roll and apply the damage to that area.
4. Repeat Step 3 until all damage has been accounted for.
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Quick Mass Combat Damage

In Quick Mass Combat, do not roll for where the damage is applied. Simply deduct the damage
from the struck military unit's total formation spaces. Once the military unit's total formation
spaces have been reduced to zero or lower, it has either been destroyed or disabled (Games
Master's choice).
In Quick Mass Combat, a military unit will not suffer any ill effects (such as having a formation
impaired) until it reaches zero total formation spaces at which point it has been neutralised.
[[[ End Box ]]]
Effects of Damage
Damage to a formation will have one of three effects it will either completely destroy or
otherwise neutralise the formation area, impair the formation's functionality, or be negligible.
Impaired Formation Areas

If the damage removes some of a formation area's spaces, but not all, there is a chance the
formation will become impaired and lose its capability to function properly. In order to try to
contain the destruction and limit the effect of the damage, the military unit's members must make
a skill check of the type specified in the Effects of Formation Damage table.
The members of the military unit receive a +1 bonus to this check for every ten formation spaces
of that type still remaining on the craft. A roll of one on this check is always considered a failure. A
roll of 20 is always considered a success.
If the check succeeds, the formation has only suffered negligible damage and no additional ill
effects, other than the loss of formation spaces caused by the damage. Essentially, the gaps have
been filled, people are holding the line or the damage is so spread out through the available
spaces that the net effect is not immediately felt.
If the check fails, then that formation area is impaired. It will remain impaired until it is fully
repaired (every formation space is restored to the area) or it is temporarily repaired. The effect of
the impairment is detailed in the Effects of Formation Damage table.
Further damage may still affect the impaired formation area as normal. The area cannot be further
impaired but it can be destroyed by reducing its remaining formation spaces to zero.
Destroyed Formation Areas

If the damage is sufficient to reduce a formation area's spaces to zero, that area is destroyed and
loses functionality. This will have an effect as designated on the Effects of Formation Damage
table. This effect supersedes any impaired effect that the formation area may have suffered.
Damage to Ships: If a ship loses formation spaces, it has an equal percent chance of flooding
when the damage is (i.e. if a ship has lost 40% of its formation spaces it has a 40% chance of
flooding). Flooding causes the loss of one additional random component per round in addition to
any additional damage the unit might sustain. Once a ship has lost 80% or more of its
components, it is floundering and will sink in 1d100 rounds.
Effects of Formation Damage

Formati
on Area
Skill Check
to Resist
Impairment
Training check
(DC =
Formation
Integrity)
Training check
(DC =
Formation
Integrity)
Training check
(DC =
Formation
Integrity)
Effect if Impaired
Effect if Destroyed
-2 to attack rolls and

halve Offence with
attacks by Archery
units; -2 Training
halve Offence with
attacks by Cavalry
units
-2 Training, -4 Spot,
-2 to all attack rolls
and skill checks
Archer units may not attack. All archery

soldiers are dead, wounded or captured; -4
Training for rest of unit.
Gate
Knowledge
(engineering)
DC 25
Infantry
Training check
(DC =
Formation
Integrity)
Training check
(DC =
Formation
-2 Training for all

formation spaces in
the fortification. -2
Military Cohesion for
the fortification.
halve Offence with
attacks by infantry
units
halve Offence with
attacks by marine
Archer
Cavalry
Comman
d
Marine
Cavalry units may not attack. All cavalry

The military unit is out of command. -6 Spot,
-4 to all attack rolls and skill checks. The
commanders are all dead, wounded or
captured. Only the Brace for Impact, Hold the
Line or Rally to Me orders may be issued; -4
The gate is breached. Military units may enter
the fortification; -4 Training and Military
Cohesion for rest of unit.
Infantry units may not attack. All infantry
Marine units may not attack. All Marine
Oars
Passenge
r
Rigging
Scout
Siege
Engine
Integrity)
Knowledge
(engineering)
DC 25
units
-2 Training
Knowledge
(engineering)
DC 25
Knowledge
(engineering)
DC 25
-1 Training; -1 to
Armour
Training check
(DC =
Formation
Integrity)
Knowledge
(engineering)
DC 25
Benefit of having
scout formation units
is halved.
Supply
Training check
(DC =
Formation
Integrity)
Tower
Knowledge
(engineering)
DC 25
Wall
Knowledge
(engineering)
DC 25
-2 Training

halve Offence with
attacks by this siege
engine
50% chance that
cargo is merely
halted (cannot
advance further with
military unit) instead
of destroyed.
Armour is halved for
tower formations.
Armour is halved for
wall formations.
Unless the ship also has sails, the ship has

lost all control of its speed, movement and
direction. The ship has lost the ability to
control its course or heading. The ship is
considered to have a Training of 5 regardless
of its normal Training score. This will affect
Defence Value as normal.
-2 Training and Armour; any NPC passengers
killed or taken captive.
Unless the ship also has oars, the ship has
lost all control of its speed, movement and
direction. The ship has lost the ability to
control its course or heading. The ship is
considered to have a Training of 5 regardless
of its normal Training score. This will affect
Defence Value as normal.
Military unit loses all Spot bonuses derived
from having Scout formations.
Siege engine is destroyed and may not be
fired
Cargo is completely destroyed or looted.
Military units must scavenge for supplies after
the day is done. Besieged fortifications will
often surrender at this point. On a ship, there
is a 75% chance the ship will start to sink.
Tower has collapsed. All military units inside
on top (typically one formation space) are
destroyed. Military units may enter the
fortification; -4 Training for rest of unit.
Wall is breached. Military units may enter the
fortification; -4 Training for rest of unit. Any
wall mounted formation spaces are also lost.
Formation Integrity
Many defensive orders require the military unit to perform tight turns, about faces or other rapid
changes in facing or direction. This places a great deal of stress on the tight formations of most
military units. The quality of military training and the style of formation used determines the limits
on these orders.
Some orders carry the risk of integrity damage to the military unit. If the order's skill check
succeeds, the risk of integrity damage has been averted and the order is carried out as normal.
If the order's skill check fails, there is a chance that it failed due to the undue stress placed on the
formation. The military unit's members must make a Training check. The DC for this check is equal
to military unit's Formation Integrity statistic. Success averts any integrity damage. Failure
indicates 2d6 Armour damage upon the military unit (which can go below zero, meaning when
attacked, they are in so much disarray they actually increase the damage of the attack against
them, hurting themselves).
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Quick Mass Combat Formation Integrity

In Quick Mass Combat, ignore the Formation Integrity rules.
[[[ End Box ]]]
Terrain & Environment

Wars are rarely fought on clear fighting arenas. Fighting in the Pictish wilderness is different than
fighting on a sir glacier. Although there are thousands of types of terrains, obstacles and
impediments to combat, for this system a simpler method needs to be used than listing all terrains
and their modifiers. Simply rank a terrain's slipperiness, slope, obstacle, footing and glare levels
for each unit and apply the appropriate modifiers.
Slipperiness
Obstac
le Type
0
1
Definitio
n
Not
slippery
Slightly
slippery
Example
Effect
Dry terrain
No effect
Rainslicked
cobbleston
e
Wet grass,
polished
stone
Unit must make a Balance check (DC 10) before executing any
orders. Failure institutes a -1 BAB, Defence, Armour and
Offence penalty, as some members have slipped.
Quite
slippery
Highly
slippery
Ice
Frictionle
ss
Ensorcelle
d terrain
orders (Charge! or other orders involving running characters
require a DC 15 check). Failure institutes a -2 BAB, Defence,
Armour and Offence penalty, as some members have slipped.
Armour and Offence penalty, as most members have slipped.
Any formation unit struck by damage must make a Balance
check (DC = Damage dealt) or be impaired (or double the
impairment penalties if already impaired).
Armour and Offence penalty, as most members have slipped.
Any formation unit struck by damage must make a Balance
check (DC = Damage dealt) or be impaired (or double the
impairment penalties if already impaired).
Slope
Slope is how steep the ground is. At a certain point (60 degrees), a slope is considered a wall and
normal climbing rules apply. The Games Master must determine who is upslope from whom in a
melee mass combat (slope does not really matter in ranged combat).
A military unit attacking from higher ground gains a +1 circumstance bonus to melee
attack rolls.
The downslope target of a Charge! offensive order must make a Training check (DC 18).
Failure institutes a -1 BAB, Defence, Armour and Offence penalty for the next round, as
some members were knocked prone.
Charging upslope is more difficult than charging downslope. Any military unit making a
charge attack upslope suffers a -1 circumstance bonus to attack rolls.
Footing
When fighting on a surface less than a few feet wide, such as a narrow ledge, the character risks
falling and must make Training or Balance checks with each order. The DC varies depending on the
width of the surface. Add the slipperiness rating of the terrain to the DC if necessary. If it fails, the
unit takes 1d6 random damage per order (not mitigated by Armour) as people fall off the edges. If
another unit attacks a unit with uncertain footing, it deals +2 to Total Offence which supersedes
any Armour adjustment as the force of the blow knocks people off the ledge.
Width of Footing
four persons or animals can stand
abreast
three persons or animals can stand
abreast
two persons or animals can stand
abreast
one person or animal can stand
safely
one person or animal can balance
precariously
D
C
10
13
15
18
23
Obstacles
Obstac
le Type
0
1
Definition
Example
Effect
No obstacles
Small, loose obstacles
Several large, immobile

objects that minimally
impede movement but
cannot be totally ignored, or
an even footing with
opportunities to trip.
Movement in a straight line
is almost impossible.
Arena floor
High grass,
ankle deep
water
Moderate
Forest, kneedeep water
No effect
-2 circumstance penalty to Military
Cohesion (effectively lowering Defence
by one).
-2 Military Cohesion and -1 attack roll
penalty, except for attacks with
piercing weapons. Anyone in long
range has cover and anyone in spot
range probably has total cover.
Dense Forest,
waist-deep or
fast moving
water
Military Cohesion suffers a -4 penalty

and attack rolls suffer a -2 penalty,
except with piercing weapons. Anyone
in close range has cover; anyone in
long range or further probably has total
cover.
Military Cohesion suffers a -6 penalty
and attack rolls suffer a -3 penalty,
except with piercing weapons, which
are at -1. Anyone beyond melee range
probably has total cover.
Rapid movement is
impossible. Each step must
be carefully considered.
Impassable
Forest, chestdeep or rapidly
moving water
Glare
Fighting with the sun in one's eyes can be difficult. Snow blindness caused by glistening fields of
ice is another problem. Glare is an often overlooked aspect of combat. There are two levels of
glare: brilliant and blinding.
Brilliant
Brilliant lighting is the normal level of glare that has an impact on mass combat. The light is bright
and harsh, and vision is difficult. Staring into the light is painful but looking down or shielding one's
eyes exposes a person to attacks. If attacking into brilliance (such as into the sun), all melee
targets have one-half concealment and all ranged targets have three-quarters concealment.
Blinding
Blinding light is so bright that the briefest exposure can blind someone. This is usually only found
in the most extreme of circumstances, such as the desert sun reflecting off a field of polished
stone or a winter sun shining off a field of ice. In blinding light, melee targets have three-quarters
concealment and ranged targets have total concealment.
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Quick Mass Combat Terrain & Environment

In Quick Mass Combat, ignore the Terrain & Environment rules.
[[[ End Box ]]]
Orders
A round of mass combat is roughly a minute in length and consists of many shots, manoeuvres,
counter-attacks and so forth. Once the initiative order is determined (see page XX), the military
units involved all take their turns in sequence.
In every military unit's turn, it may perform a number of actions these individual actions are
called orders and are either issued by the commander of the military unit to his soldiers, who carry
them out; or are simply performed by lone soldiers without a unit.
The number of orders which a military unit can perform depends on the skill of its commander.
Consult the Orders per Turn Table and Orders per Turn (Fine Units) Table for details and examples
of how many orders a particular commander may issue per turn (or how many orders a lone
warrior can enact per turn).
The Soldier Experience column in these tables is a handy reference for Games Masters Raw
Recruits can perform one order per turn; Line Warriors can perform two; Veteran Soldiers three;
and Elite Soldiers four per turn.
If a commander and his soldiers are out of synch, meaning an Elite commander is trying to
command a troupe of Raw Recruits, the commander may still issue his allotted number of orders
and the Raw Recruits may attempt to follow them, but this requires a Formation Integrity check. If
successful, the soldiers follow the additional orders. If unsuccessful, the soldiers follow the first
orders up to their allotted Number of Orders.
For Example: If King Conan, a legendary commander, takes the field with a group of Veteran
soldiers, Conan may issue five orders per turn. The Veterans are trained to follow three per turn,
but may follow five if they make a Formation Integrity check. If they fail, they follow Conan's first
three orders. If they succeed, they follow all five orders.
Orders per Turn

Number of
Orders
0
Soldier
Experience
Example
Raw Recruit
Line
Veteran
Elite
A military unit commanded by a fresh, young

officer
A military unit commanded by an experienced
knight
A unit of Nemedian Adventurers commanded by a
veteran of the battle of the valley of Valkia.
The Black Legion of Aquilonia led by the giant
Bossonian Gromel.
The Black Dragons led by King Conan
Commander
Out of
Command
Legendary
Commander
A derelict ship, a group of deserters
Orders per Turn (Fine Units)

Number of
Orders
0
Commander
Out of
Command
1
2
3
4
5
Legendary
Commander
Soldier
Experience
Example
Raw Recruit
Line
Veteran
Elite
A lone soldier ill-equipped to survive the terrain

A fully trained but inexperienced soldier
A veteran soldier who fought in a major war
A veteran scout along the Pictish border, veteran
of hundreds of Pictish skirmishes
King Conan has taken the field
A lost commoner.
Order Types
There are three types of mass combat order offensive, defensive and tactical.
Offensive orders govern the use of a military unit's weapons to destroy enemy targets. This
includes archery or artillery shots fired at will, concentrated archery or artillery barrages and
coordinated barrages with other units. See Attacking on page XX for rules on resolving attacks.
Defensive orders govern keeping a military unit from harm. Moving to protect weakened sections
of the formation or making a retreat are common defensive orders.
Tactical orders involve preparing a military unit to gain an advantage in the next round closing
with the enemy or beginning a retreat, bringing siege weapons to bear and so on. Tactical orders
also cover other miscellaneous orders, such as beginning breach operations, abandoning a castle
or ship or repairing structures.
Issuing Orders
During a military units turn, the military unit's commander specifies which orders the unit will
perform. Any combination of orders may be performed, as long as the commander does not
exceed his maximum number of orders per turn. Thus a Veteran commander focused on
destroying the enemy may issue three offensive orders in his military unit's turn. A Raw Recruit
may only wish to escape and so perform a single tactical order. Or an Elite general such as Count
Trocero may decide to perform two tactical orders as well as a defensive and offensive order.
Sequence of Orders
Orders may be carried out in any sequence within the military unit's turn. However, most
commanders find it beneficial to issue tactical orders first (so their benefits may be used with any
following orders).
A commander can wait to see the effect of one order before deciding on his next order.
Responses
A commander need not issue all, or indeed any, of his orders at once. He may elect to hold one or
more of his orders as responses. When a commander elects to hold on to a regular order, he must
indicate which type of response order he is holding: offensive, defensive or tactical.
For Example: Count Trocero, an Elite commander who may issue four orders in his turn, is not
sure which side of a battle between two of his Poitainian vassals he should support with his
knights. He elects to only issue one order (Defensive Position) during his turn and saves his
remaining orders to be used as responses. He chooses to hold one defensive, one tactical and one
offensive response. Count Trocero does not have to specify which particular defensive, tactical or
offensive responses he is going to make or in which order they should be made.
Types of Response
Just like regular orders, response orders come in three varieties, offensive, defensive and tactical.
When choosing responses during his turn, a commander need only state the particular type of
response he need not state the actual response order. Note that some orders function slightly
differently when issued as response orders and some orders may only be issued as responses.
Defensive Responses: Defensive Position
Offensive Responses: Opportunity Attack!
Tactical Responses: Close for Battle; Pull Back
Using Responses
A response order may be issued during another military unit's turn, at any time when they attempt
an order punctuated with an exclamation mark (!). Normally, the two commanders will make
opposed Knowledge (warfare) checks the winner manages to perform his action first.
Response Rules
Responses may not be used to interrupt response orders.
All response orders that require a target may only target the interrupted military unit.
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Quick Mass Combat Response Orders

In Quick Mass Combat, do not use the response order rules all orders must be issued on a
military unit's turn.
[[[ End Box ]]]
Executing Orders
Not all orders are equally easy to carry out. Attack at Will! is fairly simple, while Concentrate all
Fire! is somewhat less so. Each order has a specific skill check DC, representing how hard it is for
the military unit's members to obey that particular order.
If the skill check is a success, then the order is successfully carried out and the Success section of
the order is resolved.
If the skill check is a failure, the order fails and the Failure section of the order is resolved.
Note that success at this skill check does not always mean that the final objective of the order has
been achieved it can merely mean that another action, such as an attack roll, has been made
possible.
For Example: Attack at Will! has a Training check DC 5. In order to successfully order the Black
Legion to attack at will, the Black Legion must make a Training check by rolling d20 and adding
their Training modifier (+15), which is pretty much a sure thing for this particular unit.
The overall Training of the crew can be used, or individual Player Characters in various roles in the
military unit can execute the orders.
[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]
Quick Mass Combat Response Orders

In Quick Mass Combat, all skill checks are Training checks. Also, it is recommended that only the
following orders are implemented: Attack at Will!; Close for Battle; and Pull Back.
[[[ End Box ]]]
Defensive Orders
Brace for Impact
Type: Defensive
Skill Check: Training DC 10
Success: Military unit members prepare themselves and their ship or fortification for a ramming
or siege weapon attack. Add a +2 bonus to any checks made to resist impairment due to damage
to a formation area. Also, every formation area damaged this turn has one less space destroyed.
The effects of this order last for the remainder of the round. Only one Brace for Impact order may
be executed per round.
Failure: The above benefits are not received. No other effect occurs.
Defensive Position
Type: Defensive
Success: The military unit members prepare themselves so as to reduce the number of people
exposed to enemy fire or charge by raising shields, ducking behind cover or bracing pole arms. On
a ship, the ship turns so as to reduce the amount of damage it might take. This will have one of
the following effects:
On a ship, the ship's commander may add one to any Random Military Unit Damage rolls
his ship is subject to due to an enemy damaging his ship or crew. The commander may
choose to add one to the roll after the 2d6 have been rolled or he may choose not to add
one at all it is up to him.
On a ship, if the attack was one that targeted specific formations (such as Target their
Sails!), then a random roll is used to determine areas damaged. This random roll may not
be altered through the prior option.
The Defence Value and Armour of the military unit increase by +1.
The effects of this order last for the remainder of the round. Only one Defensive Position order may
be executed per round.
Hold the Line

Type: Defensive
Success: The military unit prepares themselves for an imminent barrage of enemy fire or a
charge. Add a +2 bonus to any checks to resist impairment due to damage to a formation area.
Also, every formation area damaged this turn has one less space destroyed. Further, if the unit has
pikes, spears or similar weapons, the unit inflicts Offence to a charging unit as if they had
attacked. The effects of this order last for the remainder of the round. Only one Hold the Line order
may be executed per round.
Offensive Orders
Attack Them All!
Type: Offensive
Arc: All
Success: The military unit simply uses whichever weapons it wishes (that are within arc and
range) against as many designated targets as the commander sees fit, generating a broad field in
order to increase the number of targets hit. These targets may be within the same army or fleet if
the military unit's commander wishes. A specific formation unit's weapons may only fire at one
target. Attack rolls are made as normal. A target fired upon by one arc's weapons may not be fired
upon by another arc's weapons. Multiple Attack Them All! orders may be executed per round.
Failure: The military unit fails to attack with any kind of accuracy. Attack rolls are still made but
all attack rolls during this order suffer a -4 penalty to hit.
Attack (Fire) at Will!

Type: Offensive
Arc: Any one
Success: The military unit simply uses whichever weapons it wishes (that are within arc and
range) at a single designated target. Attack rolls are made as normal. Multiple Attack at Will!
orders may be executed per round.
Failure: The military unit fails to attack with any kind of accuracy. Attack rolls are still made but
all attack rolls during this order suffer a -4 penalty to hit.
Broadsides!
Type: Offensive
Arc: Port and Starboard
Success: This order requires that there be two or more targets within range of the ship. The ship
angles itself so that both port and starboard weapons (including archery units) can open fire upon
two (or more) separate targets. These targets may be within the same fleet if the ship's
commander wishes.
The ship fires whichever weapons it wishes (that are within arc and range) at the specified targets.
A specific weapon formation unit may only fire at one target. Attack rolls are made as normal. A
target fired upon by port arc weapons may not be fired upon by the starboard arc weapons and
vice versa. Multiple Broadsides! orders may be executed per round.
Failure: The ship's crew fails to attack with any kind of accuracy. Attack rolls are still made but all
attack rolls during this order suffer a -4 penalty to hit.
Concentrate Your Attacks!

Type: Offensive
Arc: Any one
Success: The best defence is an overwhelming offence! This order instructs a military unit to
focus on attacking one target, paying no heed to return attacks or other distractions. The military
unit attacks with whatever weapons it wishes (that are within arc and range) at a single
designated target. Attack rolls are made with a +2 bonus. The attacking military unit also loses its
Military Cohesion bonus to Defence Value. The bonus and penalty last until the military unit carries
out its next offensive order. Multiple Concentrate Your Attacks! orders may be executed per round.
Failure: The military unit's members fail to attack with any kind of accuracy. Attack rolls are still
made but all attack rolls during this order suffer a -4 penalty to hit rather than a +2 bonus. The
unit still loses its Military Cohesion bonus to Defence Value.
Target Their (Formation Space)!

Type: Offensive
Arc: Any one
Success: This order is used to cripple enemy units, targeting whatever formation space
(command, supplies, scouts, infantry, archers, rigging and so on) with the intent of crippling their
ability to use those formations. Attempting so precise a strike alters the Defence Value of the
target their Base Defence Value becomes equal to that of a military unit four superscale sizes
smaller than usual. Targets of Small superscale size or smaller may not be attacked with this order.
If a hit is scored and damage incurred, do not roll on the Random Military Unit Damage table.
Instead, all damage is applied automatically to the desired spaces. Should this reduce the spaces
to zero, roll on the Random Military Unit Damage table to discover where the excess damage is
allocated.
Only one Target Their (Formation Space)! order may be issued per round.
Failure: The military unit fails to attack with any kind of accuracy. Attack rolls are still made
against the greater Defence Value of the target but will not automatically strike the desired
formation spaces.
Tactical Orders
Charge!
Type: Tactical
Skill Check: Training DC 10 plus Special
Success: The military unit is sent full speed into an enemy military unit, entering into melee
combat with the unit. A military unit must be at close range to the target and must have obstacle
type zero or one terrain between itself and the target in order to attempt a charge action. If an
entire unit does not charge, but instead sends ahead, say, cavalry formation spaces, figure out
how many spaces separate from the main unit and recalculate its size; cavalry units add one to its
superscale size if it is less than Colossal.
If the unit ordered to charge is made up of conscripts, raw recruits or mercenaries, add +5 to the
Training DC required (Gundermen are exempt from this). If the charge is successful add the
damage from Charge Damage table to the Total Offence of the weapons used in the charge. At the
conclusion of the charge, the units are in melee range.
Only one Charge! order may be issued per round.
Charge Damage
Superscale
Size
Fine
Diminutive
Tiny
Small
Medium
Large
Huge
Gargantuan
Colossal
Charge Damage
1d10 Total Offence

1d20 Total Offence
d% Total Offence
d% +10 Total
Offence
d% +20 Total
Offence
d% +50 Total
Offence
d% + 100 Total
Offence
d% + 500 Total
Offence
Failure: The order is wasted.
Close for Battle

Type: Tactical
Success: The military unit moves one range band towards the centre of the battle. A military unit
cannot execute a Close for Battle order while in the melee range band. Only one Close for Battle
order may be issued per round.
Failure: The military unit's members succeed in moving the military unit one range step but fail to
keep in formation. The military unit loses its Military Cohesion bonus to Defence Value and suffers
a -2 penalty to all attack rolls for the rest of the round.
Get The (Formation) Back

Type: Tactical

Success: This is often one of the most desperate orders a commander may give to his military
unit, as he commands his soldiers to reform a destroyed formation no matter the cost. The military
unit must have at least one command space remaining in order to execute Get the (Formation)
Back. This order has one of the following effects:
All of a ship's rigging or oar spaces have been destroyed. The ship's bosun must make a
Knowledge (engineering) check DC 20. Success restores one rigging or oar space and the
ship is considered impaired in its rigging or oars.
All of a military units formation spaces of a certain type are destroyed. The commander or
an appropriate officer must make a Charisma check modified by Social Power DC 20.
Success restores one unit of the destroyed space as wounded or defeated men rally, or
other types of soldiers fill the slots. The formation unit in question is considered impaired.
All of a military unit's siege weapons are destroyed. The engineer must make a Knowledge
(engineering) check DC 20. Success restores one siege weapon to operation and the
weapon is considered impaired.
If a military unit has no command spaces left, it must first successfully execute a Rally to Me order
before a Get the (Formation) order can be given.
Lost supply or passenger spaces may only be restored when a military unit is re-supplied. Multiple
Get the (Formation) Back orders may be executed per round but they may not be applied to the
same formation area.
Failure: The above benefit is not received. No other effect occurs.
Hold Her Together (Siege Weapons & Naval Units Only)

Type: Tactical
Skill Check: Knowledge (engineering) DC 15
Success: This is the generic order given to repair damage suffered by a naval ship. The
fortification must have at least one command formation remaining in order to execute Hold Her
Together. It has one of the following effects:
If a fortification has had oar, siege engine, rigging or command formation spaces
destroyed, but still has some remaining, then the unit can make a Knowledge (engineering)
check DC 15. Success restores one formation space. If the restored space means that all of
the spaces of a formation have been restored, then that formation automatically recovers
from any impaired status.
If a fortification has had oar, siege engine, rigging or command formation spaces impaired,
but still has some remaining, then the unit can make a Knowledge (engineering) check DC
15. Success means the remaining spaces are no longer impaired.
If a naval ship is flooding, then the unit can make a Knowledge (engineering) check DC 15.
Success means the remaining spaces are no longer flooding.
If a naval ship has no command spaces left, it must first successfully execute a Rally to Me order
before a Hold Her Together order can be given. Multiple Hold Her Together orders may be executed
per round but they may not be applied to the same formation areas.
Failure: The above benefits are not received. Also, there is a 25% chance that the necessary
materials to continue repairs on that particular structural area or siege weapon have been
exhausted. In this case, no more Hold Her Together orders may be issued for that formation area
until the military unit has been resupplied with more supplies and equipment.
Join Army (Fleet)

Type: Tactical
Success: By moving along the same course as an army, a military unit joins the army (or fleet) of
allied military units. The military unit must be within close range of the army or fleet in order to
join. See page XX for the benefits and drawbacks of being in an army or fleet and the
requirements for remaining part of an army or fleet.
Failure: The military unit's members succeed in joining the army or naval fleet but fail to keep the
military unit in formation. The military unit loses its Military Cohesion bonus to Defence Value and
suffers a -2 penalty to all attack rolls for the rest of the round.
Move Alongside
Type: Tactical
Skill Check: Special
Success: The naval ship moves into melee range from close range with another ship, grappling it
with ropes and hooks. Opposed Training checks are made. If the ship attempting the manoeuvre
wins, the craft are grappled together. Both craft lose Military Cohesion bonuses for the Defence of
the ships. Only one Move Alongside order may be issued per round.
Failure: The opposing ship keeps from being grappled, and the opposing ship remains at close
range.
Pull Back
Type: Tactical
Success: The military unit moves one range band away from the centre of the battle. A military
unit that executes a Pull Back order while in the spot range band leaves the battle.
If Pull Back is successfully performed before the order that it interrupted, any attacks that target
the military unit during that order suffer a -2 penalty to hit. Note that the range between the two
vessels will also have changed, which may affect which attacks may be used.
Only one Pull Back order may be issued per round.
Failure: The military unit succeeds in moving back one range step, but fails to keep in formation.
The military unit loses its Cohesion bonus to Defence Value and suffers a -2 penalty to all attack
rolls for the rest of the round.
Rally to Me
Type: Tactical
Skill Check: Charisma (possibly modified by Social Power) DC 25
Success: A tenacious character attempts to restore a measure of control to a military unit that
has had all of its major officers destroyed, wounded or captured. This order can only be issued if
all of a military unit's command spaces have been destroyed. The character must make a
Charisma check DC 25 (Charisma can be modified by Social Power if appropriate). Characters with
the Leadership feat gain a +2 bonus to this check. Success restores one command space and the
military unit's command spaces are considered impaired. Only one Rally To Me order may be
executed per round.
Failure: The above benefit is not received. No other effect occurs.
Ram Them!
Type: Tactical
Skill Check: Special
Success: The naval ship is sent full speed into an enemy ship in its attempt to destroy the target.
A military unit must be at close range to the target in order to attempt a ramming action. The two
craft make opposed Training checks, applying each craft's superscale modifier to the checks. As
long as the ramming craft's check result exceeds the target's check result, the ram is successful. If
the ramming ship does not have a ram weapon, the ramming ship takes the same amount of
damage the rammed ship takes. If the ramming ship does have a ram weapon, it only takes 20%
of the damage it deals. The crew of the ship may board the enemy ship and engage in melee
combat if a Close for Battle order is given after a successful ram. If the other ship is not destroyed,
the ramming ship is stuck in the other craft and the check to perform a Pull Back order is
increased by +10.
Only one Ram Them! order may be issued per round.
Ramming Damage
Superscale
Size
Fine
Diminutive
Tiny
Small
Medium
Large
Huge
Gargantuan
Colossal
Ram Damage
1d10 Total Offence

1d20 Total Offence
d% Total Offence
d% +10 Total
Offence
d% +20 Total
Offence
d% +50 Total
Offence
d% + 100 Total
Offence
d% + 500 Total
Offence
Failure: The ship strikes the opponent's ship on an angle, damaging the ship but not significantly
(roll normal damage for the ram). The two military units are close enough for boarding actions.
Seize the Initiative!

Type: Tactical
Skill Check: Knowledge (tactics) DC Special
Success: Through daring positioning and careful analysis of the battleground, the commander
attempts to improve the military unit's tactical situation. The commander makes a Knowledge
(tactics) check. Starting in the following round, this check result becomes the Initiative count for
the military unit. Multiple Seize the Initiative! orders may be executed per round.
Failure: No other effect occurs.
Shore up the Defences (Fortifications Only)

Type: Tactical
Skill Check: Knowledge (engineering) DC 15
Success: This is the generic order given to repair damage suffered by a fortification and close up
gaps in the defences. The fortification must have at least one command formation remaining in
order to execute Shore Up the Defences. It has one of the following effects:
If a fortification has had gate, siege engine, tower, wall or command formation spaces
destroyed, but still has some remaining, then the unit can make a Knowledge (engineering)
check DC 15. Success restores one formation space. If the restored space means that all of
the spaces of a formation have been restored, then that formation automatically recovers
from any impaired status.
If a fortification has had gate, siege engine, tower, wall or command formation spaces
impaired, but still has some remaining, then the unit can make a Knowledge (engineering)
check DC 15. Success means the remaining spaces are no longer impaired.
before a Shore Up the Defences order can be given. Multiple Shore Up the Defences orders may be
executed per round but they may not be applied to the same formation areas.
Failure: The above benefits are not received. Also, there is a 25% chance that the necessary
materials to continue repairs on that particular structural area or siege weapon have been
exhausted. In this case, no more Shore Up the Defences orders may be issued for that formation
area until the military unit has been resupplied with more supplies and equipment.
Stay in Formation
Type: Tactical
Success: This is the generic order given to repair damage suffered by a military unit and close the
lines. The military unit must have at least one command formation remaining in order to execute
Stay in Formation. It has one of the following effects:
If a military unit has had archery, cavalry, infantry, marine, scout or command formation
spaces destroyed, but still has some remaining, then the unit can make a Training check DC
15. Success restores one formation space. If the restored space means that all of the
spaces of a formation have been restored, that formation automatically recovers from any
impaired status.
If a military unit has had archery, cavalry, infantry, marine, scout or command formation
spaces impaired, but still has some remaining, then the unit can make a Training check DC
15. Success means the remaining spaces are no longer impaired.
before a Stay in Formation order can be given. Multiple Stay in Formation orders may be executed
per round but they may not be applied to the same formation areas.
Failure: The above benefits are not received. Also, there is a 25% chance that there are not
enough men left to fill the gaps in the formation. In this case, no more Stay in Formation orders
may be issued for that formation area until the military unit has been resupplied with more men.
Responses
Attack Them As They Charge!
Type: Offensive
Arc: Any
Success: By use of careful manoeuvring or preparation, the commander puts his military unit in
the perfect spot for shooting the horses out from under the cavalry (or the feet from under the
infantry) as they surge forward in a charge. No opposed Knowledge (tactics) checks are required
for this response order it automatically occurs immediately after the instigating order. This
offensive response is always used in response to a Charge! order. The targeted military units must
be within range of the chosen arc's weapon systems. Every formation space charging forward
suffers a single attack by one weapon that is within arc and range. The targeted military spaces do
not benefit from any Military Coherence bonus to Defence Value. Only one Attack Them As They
Charge! order may be executed per round.
Failure: The ship's crew fails to attack with any kind of accuracy. Attack rolls are still made but all
attack rolls during this order suffer a -4 penalty to hit
Close for Battle

Type: Tactical
Success: The military unit moves one range band towards the centre of the battle. A military unit
cannot execute a Close for Battle order while in the melee range band. If Close for Battle is
successfully performed before the order that is interrupted, any attacks that target the military
unit during that order suffer a -2 penalty to hit. Note that the range between two military units will
also have changed, which may affect which weapons may be used. Only one Close for Battle order
may be issued per round.
Failure: The military unit's members succeed in moving the military unit one range step but fail to
keep in formation. The military unit loses its Military Cohesion bonus to Defence Value and suffers
a -2 penalty to all attack rolls for the rest of the round.
Defensive Position
Type: Defensive
Success: As normal
Failure: The above benefits are not received. The military unit must also make a Formation
Integrity check.
Opportunity Attack!
Type: Offensive
Arc: Any
Success: The commander sees a second chance and takes it, attacking the target with whatever
weapons are available (within arc and range). Attack rolls are made as normal. Multiple
Opportunity Attack! orders may be executed per round.
Failure: The military unit fails to attack with any kind of accuracy. Attack rolls are still made but all
attack rolls during this order suffer a -4 penalty.
Pull Back
Type: Tactical
Success: The military unit moves one range band away from the centre of the battle. A military
unit that executes a Pull Back order while in the spot range band leaves the battle.
If Pull Back is successfully performed before the order that it interrupted, any attacks that target
the military unit during that order suffer a -2 penalty to hit. Note that the range between the two
vessels will also have changed, which may affect which attacks may be used.
Only one Pull Back order may be issued per round.
Failure: The military unit succeeds in moving back one range step, but fails to keep in formation.
The military unit loses its Military Cohesion bonus to Defence Value and suffers a -2 penalty to all
attack rolls for the rest of the round.
Common Order Combinations

Board Them
Soldier Skill Required: Veteran (three orders)

Orders Required: Ram Them! (or Move Alongside) followed by Close for Battle followed by
Attack at Will!
Description: The naval ship moves alongside the enemy ship and sends its crew over to the other
ship to attack.
Give Them Everything We've Got

Soldier Skill Required: Elite (four orders)
Orders Required: Charge! followed by Concentrate All Attacks! followed by Concentrate All
Attacks! followed by Concentrate All Attacks!
Description: The military unit moves from close range to melee range, then begins a merciless
slaughter designed to rip apart an enemy's formation spaces.
Keep Them At A Distance

Orders Required: Close for Battle followed by Attack at Will! followed by Pull Back.
Description: The military unit moves from spot range to long range, attacks the enemy with long
range weapons and then moves back to spot range.
Mounted Archery Run

Orders Required: Close for Battle followed by Concentrate All Attacks! followed by Pull Back.
Description: This is the most common attack used by Hyrkanian armies. The military unit moves
from long range to close range, pummels the target with arrows and then runs back to long range
once more.
The Aftermath of War

[[[ Box Text ]]]
The battlefield stretched silent, crimson pools among the still sprawling figures seeming to reflect
the lurid red-streamered sunset sky. Furtive figures slunk from the tall grass; birds of prey dropped
down on mangled heaps with a rustle of dusky wings. Like harbingers of Fate a wavering line of
herons flapped slowly away toward the reed-grown banks of the river. No rumble of chariot wheel
or peal of trumpet disturbed the unseeing stillness. The silence of death followed the thundering of
battle.
Yet one figure moved through that wide-strewn field of ruin pygmy-like against the vast dully
crimson sky. The fellow was a Cimmerian, a giant with a black mane and smoldering blue eyes. His
girdled loin-cloth and high-strapped sandals were splashed with blood. The great sword he trailed
in his right hand was stained to the cross-piece. There was a ghastly wound in his thigh, which
caused him to limp as he walked. Carefully yet impatiently he moved among the dead, limping
from corpse to corpse, and swearing wrathfully as he did so. Others had been before him; not a
bracelet, gemmed dagger, or silver breastplate rewarded his search. He was a wolf who had
lingered too long at the blood-letting while the jackals stripped the prey.
Glaring out across the littered plains, he saw no body unstripped or moving. The knives of the
mercenaries and camp-followers had been at work.
Robert E. Howard, The Hand of Nergal
[[[ End Box ]]]
Loss of Social Power & Wealth

Losing a military unit has an impact on Social Power and, often, Wealth. Losing a Colossal army
usually causes the ruler to be overthrown, for example. The loss of military units threatens Trade
and Standard of Living. Without legal protection, the population is less likely to engage in
commerce, afraid to lose what is already theirs. By reducing the military protection of an area, one
puts both the trade and the standard of living in the area at risk. By losing the armies of vassals
and allies, a character has done them harm, and penalties will apply when dealing with those
vassals and allies in the future.
There are also penalties to Reputation if one loses to an inferior force (see Conan the Roleplaying
Game). Characters may be dethroned or lose their titles and lands if liege lords are unhappy
enough.
Add up all the military units lost to come up with a final size (i.e. losing six 5,000 man units
(Medium superscale size) is the same as losing a Colossal army). The same table can apply to lost
lands and cities. If the land or city represented that noble's source of wealth, it was a Colossal loss.
If the land or city meant nothing to the noble, it was a Tiny loss. This will require judgement on the
part of Games Master. The table below is a guideline only, not a hard-and-fast rule.
Loss to Wealth
Beginni
ng
Wealth
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Fine
0*
0
Army Size Lost or Value of Lands & Cities Lost

Diminut Tin Sma Mediu Larg Hug Gargant
ive
y
ll
m
e
e
uan
0*
0*
0*
0*
0*
0*
0*
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
0
-1
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-1
-2
-3
-2
-3
-3
-1
-1
-2
-1
-2
-4
0
-1
-1
-1
-1
-4
0
0
-1
-1
-1
-4
0
0
-1
-1
-3
0
0
0
0
-2
Colos
sal
0*
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-6
-4
* Characters with 1 Wealth have nothing to lose. Wealth scores do not go below 1.
Gain of Wealth
Capturing knights, lands and cities brings wealth and prestige to the victor. This requires a
judgement call on the Games Master's part. Is the captured city strategic or wealthy? Keep in mind
that what would be an incredible windfall for the lord of a manor would be a drop in a bucket for
the King of Nemedia. Gains in Reputation for defeating foes can also increase Social Power (see
Conan the Roleplaying Game for Reputation modifiers for defeating foes). Capturing important
sites or persons may earn characters additional titles to accompany their wealth, or if they capture
a target in the name of a vassal lord, the vassal may reward the character with titles and wealth.
These tables are guidelines only; do not break the game or permit unrealistic gains.
Examples of Gains
Value
Size
Fine
Diminuti
ve
Tiny
Small
Medium
Large
Huge
Gargant
uan
Colossal
Examples
Food for the next day; basic necessities
Fancy necessities; arms and armour
Manor; minor knight captured for ransom
A couple of manors; renowned knight captured for
ransom
Minor city or town; minor noble captured for ransom
Substantial city or trade route; important noble
captured for ransom
Major city; major noble captured for ransom
A province; several major cities; capturing a king for
ransom
A kingdom
Gain in Wealth
Beginni
Value of Captives, Lands and Cities Gained
ng
Fine
Diminut Tin Sma Mediu Larg Hug Gargant
Colos
Wealth
ive
y
ll
m
e
e
uan
sal
-1
+0
+1
+1
+2
+3
+4
+5
+6
+7
0
+0
+0
+1
+1
+2
+3
+4
+5
+6
1
+0
+0
+0
+1
+1
+2
+3
+4
+5
2
+0
+0
+0
+0
+1
+1
+2
+3
+4
3
+0
+0
+0
+0
+0
+1
+1
+2
+3
4
+0
+0
+0
+0
+0
+0
+1
+1
+2
5
+0
+0
+0
+0
+0
+0
+0
+1
+1
6
+0
+0
+0
+0
+0
+0
+0
+0
+1
7
+0*
+0*
+0* +0*
+0*
+0*
+0* +0*
+0
* There currently is no ranking above seven for Wealth, so any gain a Wealth Rank seven character
receives is going to be a drop in his bucket no matter what (or he would not be Wealth seven).
Infections
Wounds sustained in war often become infected because of unsanitary conditions on the
battlefield and poor medical care. Military unit surgeons are not usually scholarly Nemedian
healers. Even though many wounds, such as shattered bones, may heal on their own, the
wounded soldier may be crippled for life. The Games Master may require any character involved in
a major, prolonged combat to make Fortitude saves versus infection or disease, presuming the
character probably sustained at least a few physical wounds. This save is especially appropriate if
the character is healed by a person with less than 10 ranks in Heal or if the Heal check fails,
regardless of ranks. Some likely illnesses include blood poisoning (DC 10), gangrene (DC 14),
spotted fever (DC 17) or tetanus (DC 14). Additional lists of infections and diseases can be found
in Conan: Aquilonia, Flower of the West, Conan: Across the Thunder River and Conan: Stygia,
Serpent of the South.
Wound Infections
Disease
Blood
poisoning
Gangrene
Spotted fever
Infection
DC
Injury 10
Incubatio
n
1 day
Damage
Cure
1d3 Str
Derivation or Revulsion
Injury 14
1d4 days
1d6 Con
Medicine, Amputation, Rest,

Revulsion
Medicine, Exercise
Injury 17
1d8+6
1d3 Con, Fatigue
days
Tetanus
Injury 14
1d20+2
1d8 Dex1
Derivation, Exercise
days
1
Recovery from Tetanus is prolonged. Characters heal one point of ability damage per week
instead of one per day.
Disease: Diseases whose names are printed in italics in the table are supernatural in nature. The
others are extraordinary.
Infection: The diseases method of deliveryingested, inhaled, via injury or through contact. Keep
in mind that some injury diseases may be transmitted by as small an injury as a flea bite and that
most inhaled diseases can also be ingested (and vice versa).
DC: The Difficulty Class for the Fortitude saving throws to prevent infection (if a character has
been infected), to prevent each instance of repeated damage and to recover from the disease.
Incubation Period: The time before damage begins
Damage: The ability damage the character takes after incubation and each day afterward
Cure: Use of this cure or cures by a healer gives the affected character a +1 bonus to his Fort save
Blood Poisoning: Bacterial infection from wounds. Victims suffer high fever, chills and shivering,
rapid breathing and headache, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, low blood pressure and possible
loss of consciousness.
Gangrene: Disease that kills tissues around it, resulting in either sweet-smelling or foul-smelling
pus discharges as it eats away at the flesh. Amputation stops the disease (although the
amputation wound can become infected if not done cleanly).
Spotted Fever: Also known as Typhus or War Fever, this disease is spread through fleas from
rodents and from lice and ticks. This disease is especially known for following around wars. It
causes stupor, and mortality nears 100% in epidemics. Victims suffer from fever, headache, chills
and general pains that are followed by a rash on whole body except for the face, palms and soles
of the feet. Once you get this disease you are immune to it forever more.
Tetanus: Victims of any dirty wound, often caused by arrows or spears, suffer stiffness of jaw,
abdominal and back muscles, the contraction of facial muscles, fast pulse, fever, sweating, painful
muscle spasms near the wound area and difficulty swallowing.
Looting
Conan: The Free Companies has complete rules regarding looting.

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War in the Hyborian Age

Military Unit Descriptions

Fine Military Units

Military Unit Example The Black Legion

Modifiers for Military Cohesion

Under pressure; unit tiring

When following the Charge!

+2 to Total Offence and

2 Military Cohesion penalty

When following the Charge!

+1 to Offence of melee weapons; -2 to Spot and Stealth if not in hills and

[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]

Quick Mass Combat Offence of Weapons

Quick Offence Modifiers

Military Unit Soldiers

Battles in the Hyborian Age

Quick Mass Combat

Prior to Mass Combat

Military Unit Roles and Skills

Character may only make the following skill

Quick Mass Combat Military Unit Roles

Mass Combat Checks & Rolls

Games Mastering the Centre

Military Units Relative Positions

[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]

Military units in an army are automatically aware of one another.

Spotting Military Units in Later Turns

Quick Mass Combat Detection

[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]

Firing Archery or Artillery Weapons

Attacking with Melee Weapons

Quick Mass Combat Massed Attack Rolls

Quick Offence Modifiers

Quick Mass Combat Attack Bonus

Calculating the Total Offence of a Hit

Quick Mass Combat Damage

Impaired Formation Areas

Destroyed Formation Areas

Effects of Formation Damage

-2 to attack rolls and

Archer units may not attack. All archery

-2 Training for all

Cavalry units may not attack. All cavalry

-2 to attack rolls and

Unless the ship also has sails, the ship has

[[[ Boxed Tex ]]]

Quick Mass Combat Formation Integrity

Terrain & Environment

Several large, immobile

Military Cohesion suffers a -4 penalty

Quick Mass Combat Terrain & Environment

Orders per Turn

A military unit commanded by a fresh, young

A derelict ship, a group of deserters

Orders per Turn (Fine Units)

A lone soldier ill-equipped to survive the terrain

Quick Mass Combat Response Orders

Quick Mass Combat Response Orders

Hold the Line