Friends Join Us, I Have A Spectacle For You
I have long pondered on how to bridge the intricacies of tabletop to forum roleplay in a manner that is both accessible and approachable and allows prospective players with some knowledge of tabletop mechanics to seamlessly bridge into the setting, while DnD-esque mechanics seem to slowly be making their way into these settings, the necessity of manuals and models and a strong grasp of complicated quantitative and stat based mechanics can be hard to keep track of in casual settings.
But how do you bring something such as the skirmish based mechanics of Warhammer, unit synergies or the narrative layering of pathfinder. The result of my humble musings and ponderings was an experiment I have named "Warpath".
What is Warpath?
Warpath is an open-access scalable system to emulate anything from single character to party based to skirmish based roleplay, it centers heavily on a definitive combat and encounter system while yielding to writers individual creativities in sort of "filling out the details" surrounding how an action might be taken, what reactions might occur and how the character will navigate themselves in that instance. The stats and numbers in this system are intended to give a sense of order and structure to the narrative without necessarily emphasizing rules or hard maxims, they are intended to produce predictable definitive outcomes but without sacrificing storytelling, creative liberty and character development.
I created warpath because I like to roleplay battles, epic battles that mirror the scale of the charge of the rohirrim from lord of the rings but I feel like heroic charges into the fray soon lose their appeal once you've written them a hundred times, then how do you add spice to the mix, a bit of unpredictability to put some challenge and risk in the mix. The inspiration for Warpath came from a system called SOVL which I found very intriguing, it had a stupidly simple but brilliant tactical depth to it all.
So without further ado, I present my rough draft of Warpath, with explicitly admitting this is not a finished product by any means nor an edition. I wanted to pilot this to get feedback from the community, whether you find utility for such a thing, whether you find there are ways to improve it, whether you've got grievances with the way its laid out. I am all ears, open to critique and opinions all the same, let me hear it !.
My penultimate dream would be to see WarPath used in some of your forum RP's !
Without further ado,
Welcome To The Warpath
The game is essentially divided between alternating phases
The entire game uses primarily d6 dice and d2 (which is actually more like a coin flip) dice for deciding encounters or events for turn. The game is played by a hero character and their accompanying regiment consisting of 5-6 models called a company collectively. Each company is composed of the hero and his retinue complete with their individual stats, abilities and so on.
The unit types are
Heroes - with a set number of wounds which act as part of the retinue but make their own rolls
Retinue - where each model has a base wound value of 1 and counts as 1 dice roll
Elites - Units with special abilities that are a complement to the base retinue they had 3-4 models with wound values between 1-3 each and special abilities, typically the ace in the hole, hard hitters or having abilities.
Heavies - Monsters, Siege Engines etc. - These are typically individual units with high wound values, that are either melee, range or hybrid focused e.g. siege cannon, dragon rider, giant.
Strategic Phase - Encompasses movement, ranged combat, cantrips, special actions such as evasion, laying traps or setting up defenses and such. This is the default phase and the only phase when outside of combat and decides progression, characters strategize on what actions to take based if there is an event or encounter e.g. use the phase to trade with a passing merchant but not knowing whether in the next turn there may be an encounter while trading.
If more than 1 party is involved the hierarchy of strategic moves is decided 1d(number of parties/players)
While in combat the strategic phase is used to mobilize, evade and get in range - mobility based actions are decided by a units inherent agility stat, e.g. If a large unit has an agility stat of 5 then that means they have to get a score of 5 or lower to take the desired mobility action.
In terms of ranged combat - Equipment plays a role here as well, if this character has a cannon with a range value of 5 this means they can roll and if they get 5 or higher they are considered in range and ready to fire, each weapon has unique characteristics, the cannon for example rolls 4d6 and has a damage stat of 4 which means every dice that has 4 or higher has either an AoE effect or 4 damage counters for example if the cannon fires against a heavy unit with 4 wounds and has all 4d6 at 4 it means it killed that unit however if it fired against a retinue (consisting of 6 models) then it would kill 4 models.
Although the retinue moves as a single unit, each model constitutes a single dice, for example if a retinue is equipped with muskets with a range value of 4 and a damage value of 3 then two rolls of 4d6 decide the outcomes, supposing the musketeers are in range, they make a damage roll of 4d6 to fire, and get 3/6 3/6 2/6 1/6 5/6 5/6 then the unit made a damage of 2 against a desired target.
units/heroes/retinues have characteristics that might influence the rolls needed to attack them at range, a unit with the evasive stat for example might make a 3d6 roll at 5 or higher to negate ranged damage. Similarly retinues with heavy armor equipment might make a saving roll of 3 or higher for each unit to see which one is saved. Or if a unit
Special abilities or cantrips can be used during strategic phases which carry over, for example a commander may use eagle-eye to make all successful range rolls at 3 or higher for the turn, or they may use dead-eye to add +2d6 to ranged damage attacks for this turn, in this way commanders emphasize using abilities which turn the tide of battle, some commander may use direct abilities instead such as bombard that for an enemy within range of any allied unit make a 3d6 attack roll.
Equipment and abilities can be improved and acquired as the game goes on. Use this as inspiration to generate more ideas. Units may take actions to fortify their positions or set traps at 1d2, successful attempts will give them a stat boon or invulnerability e.g. Shield wall negates ranged damage by -2 this turn or Ramparts makes the unit invulnerable to charges, spike traps make 1d2 damage roll for 1 model or 1 wound for up to 3 turns including the current, seek cover make negate ranged attacks on this unit this turn. Failure on these sorts of rolls will result in damage or defense penalties and potentially self-damage rolls.
Charge Phase -
Units can initiate a charge, roll 1d2 to decide if a charge can be initiated provided the enemy unit is within range, failed charges (1) incur a 1d6 self-damage roll that weighs against the units defense stat e.g. if the unit has a light armor equipment (1d6 5 or higher) and a base defense stat of (1d2 negate -x amount of damage upon d2) e.g. a 1d6 self damage against a unit with 0 base defense and no armor provided a 6 will lose 6 units or 6 wounds. Successful charges will give the melee unit a damage bonus of +1 by default and allows them to make a 1d6 instantaneous attack roll (weighted against the defense of the unit) without retaliation and make them immune to ranged damage the next turn, but units with charge competencies e.g. Lancers with the charger trait might have up to +3. Units that are being charged against have the ability to roll 1d2 to declare a countercharge for most units this means rolling a 1d6 defense roll with an inherent -1 but some units may have special abilities e.g. Stalwart Defense negates charge damage by +2 or Pikewall might trade the defense roll for a 1d6 attack roll against the chargers
Combat Phase -
The simplest phase - units within range are able to engage in this (note that ranged units cannot make attacks during this phase (unless they charged which means they can no longer make ranged attacks in the strategic phase) but can defend against them - counter roll - they do have a melee stat which factors in here, different from their ranged attack stat which is decided more on equipment, accuracy and agility) - retinues and units make attack rolls on each other and essentially iron it out between their attack and defense states, the rule of the mightiest here. For example a retinue of 4 pikemen with the monsterslayers perk (+1 against beasts and monster) have an attack stat of 4 (meaning the maximum damage they can inflict on a unit with wounds per turn is 4 but against a retinue it is a free for all and a successful attack means 4 or higher), are equipped with cuirass for a defense stat of 4 for 4d6 with base defense stat of 0, up against a lesser ogre with 6 wounds and an attack stat of 3d3 and a defense stat of 1d2 for -2
Pikemen roll
A : 4/6 5/6 1/6 1/6 ( Attack For 2 wounds +1 = 3 wounds)
Ogre roll for defense
D : 1/2 ( Ogre takes full damage = 6-3 = 3 wounds remaining )
Ogre Attacks
A : 3/3 4/3 5/3 ( 3 damage )
Pikemen Defense roll:
D : 2/6 4/6 4/6 1/6 ( 3 damage from ogre - 2 pikemen slain 2 pikemen survive - damage negated x1)
Constant Work In Progress.
I have long pondered on how to bridge the intricacies of tabletop to forum roleplay in a manner that is both accessible and approachable and allows prospective players with some knowledge of tabletop mechanics to seamlessly bridge into the setting, while DnD-esque mechanics seem to slowly be making their way into these settings, the necessity of manuals and models and a strong grasp of complicated quantitative and stat based mechanics can be hard to keep track of in casual settings.
But how do you bring something such as the skirmish based mechanics of Warhammer, unit synergies or the narrative layering of pathfinder. The result of my humble musings and ponderings was an experiment I have named "Warpath".
What is Warpath?
Warpath is an open-access scalable system to emulate anything from single character to party based to skirmish based roleplay, it centers heavily on a definitive combat and encounter system while yielding to writers individual creativities in sort of "filling out the details" surrounding how an action might be taken, what reactions might occur and how the character will navigate themselves in that instance. The stats and numbers in this system are intended to give a sense of order and structure to the narrative without necessarily emphasizing rules or hard maxims, they are intended to produce predictable definitive outcomes but without sacrificing storytelling, creative liberty and character development.
I created warpath because I like to roleplay battles, epic battles that mirror the scale of the charge of the rohirrim from lord of the rings but I feel like heroic charges into the fray soon lose their appeal once you've written them a hundred times, then how do you add spice to the mix, a bit of unpredictability to put some challenge and risk in the mix. The inspiration for Warpath came from a system called SOVL which I found very intriguing, it had a stupidly simple but brilliant tactical depth to it all.
So without further ado, I present my rough draft of Warpath, with explicitly admitting this is not a finished product by any means nor an edition. I wanted to pilot this to get feedback from the community, whether you find utility for such a thing, whether you find there are ways to improve it, whether you've got grievances with the way its laid out. I am all ears, open to critique and opinions all the same, let me hear it !.
My penultimate dream would be to see WarPath used in some of your forum RP's !
Without further ado,
Welcome To The Warpath
The game is essentially divided between alternating phases
The entire game uses primarily d6 dice and d2 (which is actually more like a coin flip) dice for deciding encounters or events for turn. The game is played by a hero character and their accompanying regiment consisting of 5-6 models called a company collectively. Each company is composed of the hero and his retinue complete with their individual stats, abilities and so on.
The unit types are
Heroes - with a set number of wounds which act as part of the retinue but make their own rolls
Retinue - where each model has a base wound value of 1 and counts as 1 dice roll
Elites - Units with special abilities that are a complement to the base retinue they had 3-4 models with wound values between 1-3 each and special abilities, typically the ace in the hole, hard hitters or having abilities.
Heavies - Monsters, Siege Engines etc. - These are typically individual units with high wound values, that are either melee, range or hybrid focused e.g. siege cannon, dragon rider, giant.
Strategic Phase - Encompasses movement, ranged combat, cantrips, special actions such as evasion, laying traps or setting up defenses and such. This is the default phase and the only phase when outside of combat and decides progression, characters strategize on what actions to take based if there is an event or encounter e.g. use the phase to trade with a passing merchant but not knowing whether in the next turn there may be an encounter while trading.
If more than 1 party is involved the hierarchy of strategic moves is decided 1d(number of parties/players)
While in combat the strategic phase is used to mobilize, evade and get in range - mobility based actions are decided by a units inherent agility stat, e.g. If a large unit has an agility stat of 5 then that means they have to get a score of 5 or lower to take the desired mobility action.
In terms of ranged combat - Equipment plays a role here as well, if this character has a cannon with a range value of 5 this means they can roll and if they get 5 or higher they are considered in range and ready to fire, each weapon has unique characteristics, the cannon for example rolls 4d6 and has a damage stat of 4 which means every dice that has 4 or higher has either an AoE effect or 4 damage counters for example if the cannon fires against a heavy unit with 4 wounds and has all 4d6 at 4 it means it killed that unit however if it fired against a retinue (consisting of 6 models) then it would kill 4 models.
Although the retinue moves as a single unit, each model constitutes a single dice, for example if a retinue is equipped with muskets with a range value of 4 and a damage value of 3 then two rolls of 4d6 decide the outcomes, supposing the musketeers are in range, they make a damage roll of 4d6 to fire, and get 3/6 3/6 2/6 1/6 5/6 5/6 then the unit made a damage of 2 against a desired target.
units/heroes/retinues have characteristics that might influence the rolls needed to attack them at range, a unit with the evasive stat for example might make a 3d6 roll at 5 or higher to negate ranged damage. Similarly retinues with heavy armor equipment might make a saving roll of 3 or higher for each unit to see which one is saved. Or if a unit
Special abilities or cantrips can be used during strategic phases which carry over, for example a commander may use eagle-eye to make all successful range rolls at 3 or higher for the turn, or they may use dead-eye to add +2d6 to ranged damage attacks for this turn, in this way commanders emphasize using abilities which turn the tide of battle, some commander may use direct abilities instead such as bombard that for an enemy within range of any allied unit make a 3d6 attack roll.
Equipment and abilities can be improved and acquired as the game goes on. Use this as inspiration to generate more ideas. Units may take actions to fortify their positions or set traps at 1d2, successful attempts will give them a stat boon or invulnerability e.g. Shield wall negates ranged damage by -2 this turn or Ramparts makes the unit invulnerable to charges, spike traps make 1d2 damage roll for 1 model or 1 wound for up to 3 turns including the current, seek cover make negate ranged attacks on this unit this turn. Failure on these sorts of rolls will result in damage or defense penalties and potentially self-damage rolls.
Charge Phase -
Units can initiate a charge, roll 1d2 to decide if a charge can be initiated provided the enemy unit is within range, failed charges (1) incur a 1d6 self-damage roll that weighs against the units defense stat e.g. if the unit has a light armor equipment (1d6 5 or higher) and a base defense stat of (1d2 negate -x amount of damage upon d2) e.g. a 1d6 self damage against a unit with 0 base defense and no armor provided a 6 will lose 6 units or 6 wounds. Successful charges will give the melee unit a damage bonus of +1 by default and allows them to make a 1d6 instantaneous attack roll (weighted against the defense of the unit) without retaliation and make them immune to ranged damage the next turn, but units with charge competencies e.g. Lancers with the charger trait might have up to +3. Units that are being charged against have the ability to roll 1d2 to declare a countercharge for most units this means rolling a 1d6 defense roll with an inherent -1 but some units may have special abilities e.g. Stalwart Defense negates charge damage by +2 or Pikewall might trade the defense roll for a 1d6 attack roll against the chargers
Combat Phase -
The simplest phase - units within range are able to engage in this (note that ranged units cannot make attacks during this phase (unless they charged which means they can no longer make ranged attacks in the strategic phase) but can defend against them - counter roll - they do have a melee stat which factors in here, different from their ranged attack stat which is decided more on equipment, accuracy and agility) - retinues and units make attack rolls on each other and essentially iron it out between their attack and defense states, the rule of the mightiest here. For example a retinue of 4 pikemen with the monsterslayers perk (+1 against beasts and monster) have an attack stat of 4 (meaning the maximum damage they can inflict on a unit with wounds per turn is 4 but against a retinue it is a free for all and a successful attack means 4 or higher), are equipped with cuirass for a defense stat of 4 for 4d6 with base defense stat of 0, up against a lesser ogre with 6 wounds and an attack stat of 3d3 and a defense stat of 1d2 for -2
Pikemen roll
A : 4/6 5/6 1/6 1/6 ( Attack For 2 wounds +1 = 3 wounds)
Ogre roll for defense
D : 1/2 ( Ogre takes full damage = 6-3 = 3 wounds remaining )
Ogre Attacks
A : 3/3 4/3 5/3 ( 3 damage )
Pikemen Defense roll:
D : 2/6 4/6 4/6 1/6 ( 3 damage from ogre - 2 pikemen slain 2 pikemen survive - damage negated x1)
Constant Work In Progress.
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