Quote from: SHARK on December 28, 2024, 10:50:37 AM

Quote from: Thorn Drumheller on December 28, 2024, 10:44:14 AMDude, it's threads like these that I love reading and love this site for.

Greetings!

Thorn Drumheller! Thank you, my friend! I am happy to contribute! It's good to see you!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Good to see you too! The problem is I see book recommendation and I'm like....damn....more stuff on my wishlist LOL

Greetings!

In my own game campaigns, I have developed several useful tables that assist whenever I or the Player Characters are engaged in large scale warfare and military operations. I have a TIE Table--Torture, Intelligence, and Espionage Table. This table is used for various random events and snippets of information and clues, as well as incidental discoveries and lore, gained from efforts involving Torture, Intelligence, and Espionage. There is also the Logistics Operations Table, which details random events and challenges involved with a logistics train, and operations involved with securing supplies and much needed resources. There is a Grand Strategic Theater Events Table, and a Tactical Operations Table.

I have rules that note and detail a variety of different skills that characters can learn and use whenever they are engaged in such military operations. I have specialized Subtables for Infantry Operations, Cavalry Operations, Skirmishers Operations, Siege Warfare Operations, and Special Forces Operations. Of course, there is also a Booty and Plunder Events Table. The Booty and Plunder Events Table has a related subtable, "The Strong Hand of Conquest" Events Table, which describes various animals, resources, and slaves that can be gained through victorious conquest. Various modifiers and skill rolls can enhance the value of the goods, animals, and slaves taken in battle during operations.

I can display operations and events for everything from a platoon of some 50 men, to cohorts and legions of several hundred or several thousand men, to vast armies of hundreds of thousands of troops, all operating simultaneously.

Certainly, some players will have far more interest and enjoyment from engaging with such details, while other players will have less interest. Typically, my male Players have been far more interested in such details, while the women players, well, obviously less interest. *Laughing* However, I have found ways to make such events and dynamics more interesting and meaningful to such players, such as women, typically. Such methods work just as well for male players that are more interested in quick, large-scale overviews of such operations than getting into deeper levels of detail and mechanics. I usually use a few mini-adventures and social encounters dealing with various people and such important concepts, and that has worked well for such players. They too, can gain an appreciation for how important and meaningful such details can be for their own success, but also the success of the forces and troops under their command.

For example, there was a unit of several hundred troops fighting in a sector of an ancient besieged city, and they were assisted by a group of Wizards. The force was cut off by the enemy fozrces, and the Player's forces experienced logistics problems from poor organization and mishaps--but also enemy marauders had infiltrated behind the lines and disrupted their supply trains and depots. Because of all of this, the force, and a half dozen Wizards, all died. The Players got involved in fighting off the marauders, improving supply line security, firing incompetent Logistics commanders, and promoting new people into key roles of management and action. It's like a personal "ZOOM" screen, brought into focus for such Players. It can be a lot of fun, as well as drama, all within the larger scope of dealing with somewhat nebulous topics of military operations, unit discipline, operational logistics, and Command Culture.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Like others said it really depends on how much the players are interested in it. Most won't care at all. There's also the issue of limited information and the fog of war. The enemy might have a giant logistics operation behind the scenes, but as a small group of player characters you might never see it unless you're actually leading the army or you're specifically sent on a mission related to it.

In my own personal settings I prefer goblins, orcs, etc. to be evil spirits that don't necessarily have to follow all the same rules.