I did a quick search but didn't find any threads om handling Mass Combat so I thought I'd start one, though I know DFRPG isn't really a game of Mass Combats, more small skirmishes.
The last session of our game was an Epic battle that took place in the Everglades and involved something over 100 bodies on both sides and naturally this got fairly complex and while I did a good job writing up the NPC's I didn't exactly have much of a plan of action in place for handling the actual combat so things got a lot complex, even after enlisting the help of Bobjob to Co-Gm one of the major bad-guy groups and gave control of the Allied groups to the players (each player had 1 block of allies to control). In the end I wasn't totally satisfied how things worked out and I know there will be another battle in the future, though nowhere near as many bodies, and I'd like to try to avoid the same problems in the future.
One of the problems I had was my map was far to complex, being an art major tends to do that though, so next time I'll set things up a tad more abstractly with just a loose map of the zones instead of the details of whats in each zone.
The biggest problem was that as a result of the sheer numbers of beings involved the role-play was at a minimum and everything devolved down to a numbers game, so the important dramatic scenes that should have occur did not occur because there was too much going on. I the future I can partially control this by reducing the numbers involved and/or relegating lesser NPC's to side-tasks so that the PC's can focus on the main goals. But to add a sense of chaotic battle I'd like to have some kind of Mechanic to determine how they fare.
What I had been doing is when NPC groups clash the controller rolled a Regular Attack but added one for every 2 people involved on that side and could divide the end result amongst the enemy targets as a Spray attack of sorts. Problem is that the enemies only got a single defense roll with no modifiers, which was fine if it was a whole bunch of NPC's ganging up on One target, but didn't work so well for group on group.
[Apologies to Fred and Company for mentioning another game but its for purposes of an example, but I'll remove it if asked]
One of the best simple ways I've seen mass combat handled was in the Legend of the Five Rings (and 7th sea) System where each round the characters chose what level of battle they wanted to be involved in (back, front, in the thick etc...) then each side would have a Commander and the two commanders would roll off every round using a tactics skill to see who "Won" that round and battle continued until a certain number of successes were achieved to determine the outcome of the battle. During each round individual characters would roll their own Tactics and compare the result against a chart of whether their side was winning, losing or tied and where they were in the battle. The result would determine how much damage they took each round, damage in battle being inevitable, as well as how much glory they earned (Important for L5R) and if there were any "Special Events" such as a chance to seize the enemy Banner, getting a shot at an Enemy Commander or a chance for a one-on-one duel or small melee.Various modifiers like types of armor or special tactical school training would adjust the results as well. The rounds would continue until one side achieved it's target number of successes and the battle ended.
I can see doing something similar for the DFRPG; A Zone Map is made up ahead of time as well as a list of objectives. Each side picks a Commander to roll the overall result, using Scholarship (with some Trappings/Stunts for Tactics and such), then each round the Characters choose what zone they want to be in and roll on a chart with modifiers for type of Weapon used (Weapons, Fists, Ranged, Guns or Magic) as well as type of Defenses used (Physical, Magical or Barriers etc...) to determine how much damage they take or the enemy takes and any opportunities to achieve an objective for that Zone. Hrmm Doing it this way mat require a chart for each zone so it may be easier to have a chart with a list of Zone Types (Lightly Engaged, Average Engagement, Heavily Engaged etc...) then each Zone on the Zone Map is listed a given type. Changing Zones would have to be declared at the beginning of each round, and moving from lightly engaged to heavily should not be possible without passing through a medium engagement zone first.
I know it sounds a little confusing, especially if you've never played L5R or any system with a similar set-up before, but I'll try to come up with a better example in the net few days including a Chart for the Zone types etc...for now I just wanted to get the ball rolling and get some thoughts put out there.
