So, my (DW) players have gotten themselves into the situation where their characters are probably going to storm the sewers (and cellars and catacombs) of the city (with a bunch of army/guard help) in order to root out a small army of goblins that has snuck into town to try to destroy the city from within before the army of orcs shows up to destroy it from the outside. Does anyone have any advice for running a large-scale battle in DW? I’m thinking I may adapt the “fighting a kaiju” move someone posted here last week. Anyone have any other ideas?
So, my (DW) players have gotten themselves into the situation where their characters are probably going to storm the…
So, my (DW) players have gotten themselves into the situation where their characters are probably going to storm the…
.sub – have a big battle coming up soon with goblins lead by an ogre storming the duke’s seat coming up. Want to hear how others do it.
For myself, I’ve been thinking the character’s role is to try to make their way to the ogre and his gnoll henchmen and try to chop off the army’s head.
.sub – have a big battle coming up soon with goblins lead by an ogre storming the duke’s seat coming up. Want to hear how others do it.
For myself, I’ve been thinking the character’s role is to try to make their way to the ogre and his gnoll henchmen and try to chop off the army’s head.
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I’ve thought a lot about this sort of thing, but haven’t put my thinkings into practice yet. Anyway, my general idea is to do it the way they do it in the movies: the protagonists take human-scale actions that have large consequences to the overall battle. E.g. “If we can sneak around behind and take out their commander, then our forces will rout them.”
So, you or the players come up with one/some pivotal actions that will decide the course of the battle, and then play those out. Once the PC-level scene(s) is resolved, someone narrates how the overall conflict turns out.
I’ve thought a lot about this sort of thing, but haven’t put my thinkings into practice yet. Anyway, my general idea is to do it the way they do it in the movies: the protagonists take human-scale actions that have large consequences to the overall battle. E.g. “If we can sneak around behind and take out their commander, then our forces will rout them.”
So, you or the players come up with one/some pivotal actions that will decide the course of the battle, and then play those out. Once the PC-level scene(s) is resolved, someone narrates how the overall conflict turns out.
Make it an adventure front with some grim portents. Your players are responsible for a pivotal mission, but their 6- rolls could affect what’s going on in the battle at large.
Make it an adventure front with some grim portents. Your players are responsible for a pivotal mission, but their 6- rolls could affect what’s going on in the battle at large.
Scott Selvidge Perfect.
Scott Selvidge Perfect.
I haven’t done this in DW yet, but I’ve done it a few times back in my D&D days.
Much like John Willson suggests, the players take individual scale actions. Then there is a final role, the result of which is modified by a number representing the level of success the party had at their smaller actions.
Almost every Bioware game handles large scale combats like this, which is where I got the idea.
When it comes to DW, something like this could work, but with a custom move to decide the outcome of the larger battle. Either that, or Scott Selvidge’s idea; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I haven’t done this in DW yet, but I’ve done it a few times back in my D&D days.
Much like John Willson suggests, the players take individual scale actions. Then there is a final role, the result of which is modified by a number representing the level of success the party had at their smaller actions.
Almost every Bioware game handles large scale combats like this, which is where I got the idea.
When it comes to DW, something like this could work, but with a custom move to decide the outcome of the larger battle. Either that, or Scott Selvidge’s idea; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
John Willson’s idea added on to Scott Selvidge’s idea is the way I would go.
John Willson’s idea added on to Scott Selvidge’s idea is the way I would go.
John Willson Scott Selvidge Jacob Densford Here’s what I’m thinking: Keep track of their successes and failures in the events leading up to the battle by means of awarding (and removing) Hold. They can spend Hold to achieve certain elements of their plan, a certain number of which are necessary for ultimate victory. Possibly they can use Hold also as a bonus to dice rolls? This may require a lot more prep than I usually do! Thanks for the advice, guys!
John Willson Scott Selvidge Jacob Densford Here’s what I’m thinking: Keep track of their successes and failures in the events leading up to the battle by means of awarding (and removing) Hold. They can spend Hold to achieve certain elements of their plan, a certain number of which are necessary for ultimate victory. Possibly they can use Hold also as a bonus to dice rolls? This may require a lot more prep than I usually do! Thanks for the advice, guys!
Edward Hickcox Cool, let us know how it goes!
Edward Hickcox Cool, let us know how it goes!
UPDATE! – So, I used a modification of the Kaiju-fighting rules. The players laid out their plans which I set up as sort of “action items” to be accomplished. The Kaiju-fighting move generates Hold, which can be spent to essentially achieve your goals and finally complete your plan. It went pretty swimmingly, once my players got the hang of it. I basically narrated the battle based on the players’ rolls, and the whole adventure took about an hour less than a normal run would have. I think everyone was pretty satisfied with the results. We’re taking a few weeks off since this was the end of a chapter, and hopefully we’ll pick things up again later!
Thanks again for the advice!
UPDATE! – So, I used a modification of the Kaiju-fighting rules. The players laid out their plans which I set up as sort of “action items” to be accomplished. The Kaiju-fighting move generates Hold, which can be spent to essentially achieve your goals and finally complete your plan. It went pretty swimmingly, once my players got the hang of it. I basically narrated the battle based on the players’ rolls, and the whole adventure took about an hour less than a normal run would have. I think everyone was pretty satisfied with the results. We’re taking a few weeks off since this was the end of a chapter, and hopefully we’ll pick things up again later!
Thanks again for the advice!