Army Construction Rules (Part 1)...A Campaign Design Process Update

 

Army Construction Rules

The process of constructing armies for the campaign are essentially the same for all history periods, with some variances where technological and theoretical advances or changes would have an impact on unit types or army structures.

There are three basic troop type, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, which will each have their own sub-divisions and nuances throughout the campaign world’s historical timeline.

However, the foundation for every unit’s capabilities and utility on the tabletop is the combination of its characteristics, also referred to as its stat-line, plus any special rules assigned to it. Each is represented numerically, with higher numbers being better than lower. These are defined as the following:

Close combat (C): The hand-to-hand or melee strength of the unit, but also includes any very close range thrown weapons as well as point-blank range shooting.

Ranged combat (R): The relative strength of its ranged shooting capability with either primitive missile weapons, gunpowder, or advanced lasers, and anything in-between.

Gear & Grit (G): The apparent ability of the unit to withstand or avoid damage through mental toughness and/or physical armor.

Strength (SP): Expressed in points, this represents the unit’s maximum combat strength as well as its current relative numerical strength in battle.

 

Stat-line

The stat-line will usually be depicted as the table below, when a part of an army roster or unit card.

Type	Unit	Weapons	C	R	G	SP	Special	Points

 

Units of a given historical era have a maximum base value which reflects the dominance of weapon system and the change in battle utility of a unit type. These limitations are for Standard-sized units, with adjustments allowed for tiny, small, and large-sized units. Other variations from these base values depend on the type of unit. Modifiers from tabletop conditions will adjust these numbers due to circumstances within a game.

Melee Dominance

Mythical

C	R	G	SP
15	15	6	6

Pre-History

C	R	G	SP
7	2	3	4

Ancient

C	R	G	SP
8	3	4	4

Post-Fall

C	R	G	SP
9	3	4	5

 

Hybrid

Early Recovery

C	R	G	SP
7	3	5	5

Late Recovery

C	R	G	SP
7	3	6	5

Early Modern

C	R	G	SP
7	3	6	4

Range Dominance

Early Modern

C	R	G	SP
6	3	5	4

Modern

C	R	G	SP
5	4	4	4

 

Tech Dominance

Early Technological

C	R	G	SP
6	8	3	3

Late Technological

C	R	G	SP
8	8	3	3

Futuristic

C	R	G	SP
10	20	3	3

 

Armies from the Mythical Era can only ever face opponents from that same era. Otherwise, it is possible that armies from different eras may indeed face each other on the battlefield. 

Note: Some of the "strange" values are meant to reflect the very basic level of utility of the common individual per unit type. The intent is to increase the base stat through special rules, especially as technology advances to our modern era, of composite tank armor, tactical nuclear weapons, and the like. 

It is very likely that, through gaming the campaign, necessary adjustments will be identified and made. These figures are the current working base-line.

Part 2 of this post will detail the actual construction of individual units, much of which has been seen here, but will now be the "official" working version of my rules; the ones that I am sending to friends for playtesting.