These rules’ main objective is to give every type of School in a party a role in achieving victory in battle, be it bushi, shugenja, courtier... Battles following these rules are supposed to have a few squadrons of combatants on each side, mostly foot-soldiers with a few samurai acting as officers. They can be used to simulate the entirety of a small battle or a single flank of a larger clash of armies.
These rules assume that one player will play the role of General for their army, while the other players will each function as Officers in charge of specific roles, like Scout, Herald, Champion, etc. What these officers do will be explained in their respective phases of play.
MILITARY POWER: Each side must determine its Military Power. Each squad of soldiers represents 1 MP or more, adding +1k0 per point of MP to the general's Battle/Perception roll during later steps, if they are engaged in battle and are in excess of the other side’s numbers.
Example: Both sides have 5 MP of soldiers, but one side sends only 3 squads while the other sends everyone. The side that sent all squads adds +2k0 to their roll, for having two more troops engaged in battle than their opponent.
Certain elite units can be worth more MP, either because of superior training, better equipment or blessings from shugenja. The number of soldiers represented in 1 MP can be variable, but I normally use squads of 10 to 15 soldiers at most. Because each squad of soldiers can have such particularities, it’s important to differentiate them. Creating small cards for each squad or using specific tokens are good options.
Every time an army loses one or more points of MP, they lose the equivalent 1k0 bonus as well. If a side loses half their troops, their General must immediately roll Battle/Willpower to keep the rest of their soldiers fighting. On a failure, the army loses morale and flees, ending the battle. When a side loses all MP, they lose.
After a squad of soldiers is destroyed in battle, they can be temporarily recovered with medics or magical healing to get back into the fray. The rules to do so are presented later. But every squad that suffers defeat at least once suffers the risk of being permanently lost. After the battle ends, roll 1d10 for each squad that was defeated. A result of 1 or 2 means that squad is permanently lost. If that squad was returned to battle and defeated again, increase the chance by one for each time this happened. A shugenja can spend a Water spell slot to reduce this chance by one per spell slot spent, to a minimum of 1 chance in 10. A medic can do the same by spending uses of their medicine kit in the same way.
TACTICAL MAP: A tactical map abstracting the location of the battle must be presented at the center of the game table. I usually divide it in five segments (or zones), each segment having a Battlefield Size symbolising how many squadrons on each side can engage at the same time in that zone, and it can have other qualities altering the battle happening at that location as well.
Squads that can’t be in a zone because of its Size can still be considered to be in that zone, they just can’t engage in combat. The actual location of armies are to be abstracted, unless they are particularly important to the fiction.
Usually, a battle will start with combatants at the center. Every time an army loses a round of battle, they are pushed back one segment. Once an army is pushed outside of the Tactical Map, they lose.
Tactical map example:
This is a tactical map for a very simple battle: the group of PCs are defending their seat of power while an army attacks it from outside the walls.
You can have zones connecting to multiple others, different effects in zones, etc. At the end, I’ll present a few other effects I used before, as examples.
THE BATTLE - BEFORE ROUND 1
STEP 1: The Scout Officer for each side of the conflict rolls Stealth/Perception or Investigation/Perception to scout each other's formation, not get surprised, get information about the enemy, etc. Winning this roll gives the initiative for the first round of battle. Each Raise on this roll gives +1k0 to your general’s first Battle roll.
STEP 2: The Herald of each army approaches the center and sets conditions/negotiate surrender/talks shit. Roll Sincerity/Awareness or Intimidation/Willpower, resisted against the enemy Herald. Success inflicts -1k0 on the enemy general's next Battle roll. Each Raise increases the penalty by -1k0 or gives +1k0 to your side’s next Battle roll.
STEP 2.5: Champions can Iaijutsu Duel, if agreed. The side who wins gets +1k0 to your side or inflicts -1k0 to the opposite side's next Battle roll. If the victory is particularly spectacular, increase the bonus/penalty proportionally. If the duel is shameful (nobody wins in one strike), both sides get -1k0 or greater penalty, if the rolls are particularly pitiful.
This step can be abstracted by rolling a single Focus roll between the duelists, with victory being defined as rolling 5 above the opponent. Less than five is a shameful victory. The benefits are -1k0 to the opponent or +1k0 to your side, plus -/+ 1k0 per Raise. I recommend always using this abstracted form of dueling for mass battles, they are long enough already.
If the penalties accrued by a General in this step and the previous reduces their first Battle Roll to 0 dice rolled, they chicken out and retreat from battle, losing -0.5 Honor and Glory in the process. More, if they have high values in Honor/Glory.
ROUND 1
STEP 3: The General who lost initiative in step 1 sets the FORMATION of their army (presented at the Appendix), chooses if they want to ADVANCE or HOLD GROUND and then decide how many troops and Officers they'll send to the frontline. Then, the General who won the initiative does the same.
Alternatively, one or both sides can choose to retreat and abandon the battle by rolling Battle/Willpower TN 20 + their total MP. Success indicates an organized retreat, keeping an eye on the enemy to not allow sudden attacks or things of that nature. Failure indicates a panicked or disordered retreat. If one side does this, the other must immediately choose to attack or just let them go. If one side attacks unilaterally into a panicked retreat, the other side is forced into battle with a -5k0 penalty to all rolls on their next turn, even if that reduces them to 0 rolled dice. At that point, the result of their Battle/Perception roll is considered to have been 0.
STEP 4: PC Officers sent to the frontlines roll their choice of Weapon skill/Agility or Reflexes, based on weapon choice, Battle/Perception, Defense/Stamina, Divination/Intelligence, Intimidation/Willpower, Sincerity/Awareness or Spellcraft/Ring (only shugenja) versus the opponent’s Resiliency TN, as defined by their Formation. Success gives their General +1k0 to their Battle roll this round. Raises can increase the effect or add others (presented at the appendix). Shugenja officers can instead spend a spell slot to make a spellcasting roll using that element, having the same result as above, but each element has their own Raise effects, presented at the appendix as well. NPC Officers, instead of rolling, give an automatic bonus to their side:
Shore Defenses: Increase the Resiliency of their army by 5;
Attack Enemy Officers: Increase Attrition by +1k0;
Exploit an Opportunity: Provide +1k0 to their own general’s next Battle roll.
Certain characters can count as greater threads, effectively counting them as two or more officers.
STEP 5: This is THE Battle roll, when the generals of each side see who has the better strategy. All bonuses and penalties accrued so far are balanced out until only one side’s remains, and that side adds those to their roll (if any). The generals roll Battle/Perception. If a general decided to change their Formation from a previous round, they must make a Raise on their Battle roll on this round for each step in Formation they have changed.
If both sides roll within 5 points of each other, they are tied: the one who rolled higher wins initiative for the next round, both sides lose one squad of soldiers and nobody moves on the tactical map.
If one side rolls higher than 5 points from their opponent, they are considered winning the battle the next round. The winner gains initiative for the next round, pushes the loser back one zone and kills one of their troops (the general of that army chooses which troop they’ll lose). Raises can increase the effect (presented at the appendix). The winner only Advances if they chose that option at the beginning of step 3. If they chose to Hold Ground, they push the enemy back and stay put in the zone they’re in.
STEP 6: Roll Attrition for PC officers engaged this round. This damage doesn’t ignore Reduction.
ROUND 2+
If, at the beginning of Round 2 of battle, both sides don’t share the same segment in the tactical map, the General who won initiative last round can decide to simply continue fighting by repeating Step 1 and sending scouts again, or to repeat Step 2 and send Heralds to negotiate a respite, rendition or something like that. Step 2.5 can also happen again, if the combatants think that now is a good time to solve the issue through champions. The effects of all these steps still apply as previously stated.
If a pause in the aggression is achieved, both sides can heal by rolling Medicine/Intelligence or by using spells. The medic rolls and then distributes the points of healing amongst the Officers and troops (10 points of healing can get back one squad).
If both armies still share a segment, repeat steps 3 through 6.
FINISHING THE FIGHT
One side of the battle loses if they:
Are pushed past the last segment of the Tactical Map;
Have their Military Power reduced to 0;
Fail the morale check when their Military Power is reduced to half;
Their General dies;
When the battle ends everyone wins +0,1 Honor and +0,1 Glory, plus +0,1 Glory for each 2 points of MP they were outnumbered by, if any. If your side was outnumbered at least 2-to-1, add +0.3 Honor per full number you were outnumbered by, as well.
APPENDIX
BATTLE FORMATIONS:
Each formation is based on a Ring and has benefits, penalties and conditions they impose on the belligerents using them. Each formation is also strong against one other, adding +2k0 to the General’s Battle/Perception roll in step 5 if they clash (represented by the inner black arrows in the illustration below).
A general can change the formation their army is in, but that’s difficult in the middle of battle and can offer problems if discipline is not maintained. That’s represented by a Raise being called for each step the formation needs to be changed (represented by the external green arrows in the illustration below).
FIRE FORMATION: Represents a head-on, all-out attack. You MUST choose to ADVANCE this battle round, get +2k0 to your Battle/Perception roll. Resiliency TN 10.
WATER FORMATION: Represents a direct but controlled attack. This is a versatile formation, meaning you can choose to ADVANCE or HOLD GROUND this battle round. Resiliency TN 20.
VOID FORMATION: Represents a careful posture, letting the enemy act and reacting to their maneuvers. Versatile formation, +1k0 to your Battle/Perception roll next round. Resiliency TN 15.
AIR FORMATION: Represents a spread-out formation, skirmishing attacks to harass the enemy. Versatile posture, -1k0 to your Battle/Perception roll if HOLDING GROUND. Resiliency TN 25.
EARTH FORMATION: Represents entrenching oneself and defending to the death. You MUST choose to HOLD GROUND this battle round. Resiliency TN 30.
RAISES for Generals:
1 Raise: +0.1 Glory.
1 Raise: Change one step in formation.
2 Raises: +1 damage to opponent's troops.
3 Raises: +1 tactical map advance.
5 Raises: Act as an Officer as well this round.
RAISES for Officers:
1 Raise: +0.1 Glory.
1 Raise: Reveal one hidden effect on a zone you’re in.
2 Raises: +1k0 bonus for the General.
2 Raises: Eliminate one effect in a zone you’re in, if possible.
3 Raises: Recover a captured Officer (explained below).
3 Raises: +1 damage to opponent's troops.
4 Raises: Capture an enemy Officer (explained below).
5 Raises: Raid the enemy General (explained below).
RAISES for Shugenja:
Instead of making a skill roll to help their general, Shugenja can spend a spell slot to make a spellcasting roll, using the following options for Raises:
Fire Spells: The same options as the “Raises for Officers” table.
Water Spells: +5 points used to heal anyone in the same status of engagement as you, per Raise.
Air Spells: Raise the army's Resiliency TN by 5 per Raise.
Earth Spells: Same as Fire and Air spells.
Void Spell: Any of the above, only available to Ishiken.
RAISES for NPC Generals:
1 Raise: Change one step in formation.
2 Raises: +1 damage to opponent's troops.
3 Raises: +1 tactical map advance.
3 Raises: Give another action to an Officer.
3 Raises: Recover a captured Officer (explained below).
4 Raises: Capture an enemy Officer (explained below).
5 Raises: Act as an Officer as well this round.
5 Raises: Raid the enemy General (explained below).
CAPTURING OFFICERS:
When you capture an enemy officer, the Attrition you suffer this round is increased by +1k1 per officer captured, given the intensity of fighting an enemy more dangerous than mere foot-soldiers. If you survive, you instantly gain +0,3 points of Glory per officer captured and they can’t be used by the enemy force until they are recovered. Holding captured enemy officers increases the TN of all your rolls by 10 per officer captured, until you spend an entire round to either execute them or send them to the rear, making them irrecoverable (at least during the current battle, in the second option).
Given the brutal nature of samurai warfare, executing officers during battle doesn't cause loss of Honor, but executing them after can, depending on the situation. You might also win Honor if you spare or release officers after the battle, but not during the fighting. That would actually be considered a breach of Duty to your lord.
If you recover an allied officer from capture, you suffer +1k1 Attrition this round, gain +0,3 Glory instantly and the officer in question will owe you a favor. PCs that suffer enough damage to fall to the Crippled Wound Rank or lower are automatically captured by the enemy.
Captured enemy officers can be negotiated by the Herald during a lull in the fight or can be later traded back to their army or clan by a substantial ransom. A good rule of thumb to calculate a typical ransom is the captured officer’s Status x10 Koku. A samurai is expected to return with their equipment when ransomed, but enemies outside of the samurai caste have no such protections. They also rarely can be ransomed back.
Stronger officers that count as more than one character follow all the rules presented in this section, but they still can be captured by only calling 4 Raises.
RAIDING AN ENEMY GENERAL:
This will allow you to roll a single Attack and Damage roll against the enemy General, and they can act once against you as well. No matter what the state of victory or formation your army is in, you suffer 3k3 Attrition this round, plus any bonuses the enemy Officers might have added to Attrition with their actions. If you manage to damage the enemy general with this action, they’ll suffer a -1k0 penalty to their next Battle roll, plus -1k0 per 5 damage you caused. No matter the result of this maneuver, the Official that executed it wins +0,3 Honor and +0,5 Glory. The enemy general damaged by this opportunity can choose to surrender and end the battle at this point.
If the enemy General is killed, the battle immediately ends, unless an Officer steps up and succeeds in a Battle/Willpower roll against TN 25 + the total remaining MP of their own army. They become the new General, but they suffer a penalty of -5k0 to their next Battle/Perception roll.
EXAMPLES OF ZONE EFFECTS:
Certain zone effects can be hidden initially, presented as “???” in the tactical map so that the players know there’s something to be discovered. They can reveal what the effect is by calling 1 Raise during their action as Officers, if they are in that zone, and certain effects can be eliminated by calling 2 or more Raises. Revealing a hidden effect in a zone doesn't prevent them from activating, unless contradicted by the effect in question.
Archery Towers: Increase the MP of an army fighting in an adjacent zone by X.
Ambush: Increase the MP of the enemy during the first Battle Round happening in this zone by X. This increase is in addition to the greater number of enemies in the area, to represent the effects of the ambush taking the enemies by surprise. The zone must have sufficient size to allow for the amount of troops stationed in it. If this effect is revealed, it’s automatically eliminated.
Defensive Frenzy: Increase the MP of the defensive side in this zone by X.
Moat: Decrease de MP of the attacking side by X.
Muddy Terrain/Swampy Terrain: Decrease the MP of all sides fighting in this zone by X.
Siege Weapons: Increase the MP of an army fighting 2 or more zones away by X. Depending on the weapons, can only activate exporadically.
Traps: Increase the Attrition in this zone by +Xk0. Usually can only be activated a limited number of times.
Walls: Increase the MP of the defensive side by X.
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