Many, many years ago, I got the TSR official ruleset for Mass Combat system. (At least this is what I remember, it was so long ago, maybe it never existed and I am becoming senile... ? :eek: ) Anyway, so what I remember is that I was disappointed with this ruleset. It was cumbersome to use, it didn't turn the battle between dozens of combatants into something easy to run. I discarded it and sold it quickly.

So today I am asking your opinions and ideas on how to create a fun and easy-to-use Mass Combat system. I will propose two suggestions, but any new and different ideas, or fixes to these suggestions, are welcome. So:

1) I once created this:

- Usable only with a certain number of identical creatures (e.g.: 35 1d8HD orcs, or 28 2d8HD gnolls, etc.). It doesn't work if you throw various creatures in the mix.
- Add the average hit-points of all the creatures in a group (e.g.: average of 35 orcs would be 158; average of 28 gnolls would be 252).
- Calculate the percentage chance of each type of creature of hitting the other. Orcs vs. gnolls at AC5 = 30% chance of inflicting an average 4.5 of damage each round. So in effect each orc accounts for 1.35 pts of damage each round. So the orcs against the gnolls inflict them a total of 47 pts of damage each round. with the same method all the gnolls inflict on all the orcs a total of 56 pts of damage each round. As such, all the orcs are decimated in three rounds, at which time 12 gnolls remain alive (because there remain 111 hp of gnolls, divided by an average 9hp per gnolls, it makes for 12 gnolls at full hp left).

This method still requires to make some calculations, and is in fact totally lackluster, and very limited (only non-magic-using creatures pitted against each others, fighting to the death and never retreating, no tactics, etc.).

2) Trying to invent something else.

Lets say that you still have 35 orcs against 28 gnolls. First you reduce to a more manageable number, with approximate rounding up, so you actually run a normal D&D combat with 4 orcs against 3 gnolls. But in addition, there should be a table of random events to be rolled each round. This table will alter the combat in some way. For example, one entry could be: "Roll a morale check. For every point of failure, one member of your group flees, but if the check succeeds by more than 3 points, they all continue fighting and get a +1 bonus to hit for 1d4 rounds."

I think there could be three tables, and each of them having 7 entries would be fine. One table of random events rolled by the GM each round, affecting one side (random roll) or both; then one table for any creature (i.e. group of creatures) rolling a natural 20 for attack roll, and another table for rolling a natural 1 for attack roll.

You could use something akin to Sine Nomine's Exemplars & Eidolons where you are attacking HD instead of HP. The orcs have 1 HD and gnolls have 2 HD, and you could say both do 1D8 damage melee (axe, sword) and 1D6 ranged (spears, bows, etc). If you score 4+, you do 1 HD damage. If you score 6+, you do 2HD damage.

I do like the random events in combat chart. I've used something similar.

Think You are on the right track.  I used war game counters to inform my own version.   You'll want at most 5 numbers to define a creature (except for magic), such as Move-Attack-Defense (AC)-Hits, as that was about as many numbers as you can clearly get on a counter, three below the icon, one in each upper corner.  As to number of creatures in a "unit" there are two general trains of war game thought, constant unit size or constant unit area.  The former, one example would be most units would be a 6 creatures; that latter is the number of creatures that fit into a certain are, like a human unit might represent 6 creatures and a goblin unit 12 creatures.  This is assuming you are talking squad level combat 6-12 creatures per unit.  


If you are interested in OD&D to mass combat, Delta (of Delta's D&D Hotspot) has that for you...here's a link to I think to his first post on this, his "Book if War"
http://deltasdnd.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-of-war-released.html

He has several posts describing games he has rum with these rules, they are a blast.  Looks like real good stuff.


Lastly, there is always Chainmail