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#Post#: 63--------------------------------------------------
The Runes of War: A Fantasy Wargaming Ruleset
By: Knight Errant Date: January 10, 2013, 2:46 am
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The Runes of War
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v1.0
Envisaged, enscribed and effected by Knight Errant
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Contents
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1:Preface
2:Turns
3:Dice Mechanics: The 2D6a System
4:Traits
5:Unit Classes
6:Unit Stats
7:Sample Armies (The Oak's Leaf [JG])
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1:Preface
---------------------------------
The Runes of War is a fantasy wargame which can be adapted to
(hopefully) any setting involving swords and sorcery. It is
primarily designed to cater for small-scale skirmish actions
between less than a hundred soldiers, but simple modification of
the core rules should enable either larger-scale or quick-play
battles if so desired.
Note: All personal pronouns are automatically masculine. This is
simply to help with ease of flow in explaining the rules.
---------------------------------
2:Turns
---------------------------------
The standard Runes of War turn is comprised of Initiative,
Magic, Ranged, Movement and Combat. In more detail:
---------------
Initiative
---------------
Initiative determines which commander kicks off the turn. To
roll for initiative, just use a D6. 1-3 = commander 1, 4-6 =
commander 2.
---------------
Magic Round
---------------
With initiative now decided, the winning commander's Magic units
can cast any spells in their repertoire. Any non-damaging spells
will stay in effect over the course of the game unless the mage
or the target unit dies, or another mage removes/counters the
cast spells.
Initiative here is vital: the commander with the initiative can
force his opponent to waste magic points with low-level spells,
thus preventing any magical attacks against himself. Once all
Magic units have casted the round is complete.
Hits taken are marked during the course of the round. Any
casualties incurred are removed from the field at the conclusion
of this round.
---------------
Ranged Round
---------------
With magical combat now concluded, Ranged units are free to make
their attacks. Again, the commander with the initiative has
priority in attacking with his units. Once all Ranged units have
attacked the round is complete.
Hits taken are marked during the course of the round. Any
casualties incurred are removed from the field at the conclusion
of this round.
---------------
Movement Round
---------------
It is now time for the commanders to move their troops across
the battlefield. Again, the commander with the initiative has
priority in moving with his units. He can, however, choose to
defer his movement and force the other player to move first
(this can have its advantages). Movement is measured in cm. Once
all units have moved the round is complete.
---------------
Combat Round
---------------
Any units in base contact are now considered to be in Combat.
Combat units and any Ranged/Magic units in melee from the
previous turn make their rolls now. Note: unless otherwise
specified, Ranged and Magic units have all of their roll levels
in melee halved (with decimals rounded up). Again, the commander
with the initiative has priority in attacking with his units.
Once all Combat units have attacked the round is complete.
Hits taken are marked during the course of the round. Any
casualties incurred are removed from the field at the conclusion
of this round.
The game then rolls back to the Initiative round and the next
turn begins.
---------------------------------
3:Dice Mechanics: The 2D6a System
---------------------------------
Unlike the traditional 2D6 system, in which two D6 are rolled
and then totalled to produce a number between 2 and 12 (11
options in total), the 2D6a system (my term for it, anyway)
treats each die as part of a two-digit number (36 options in
total). For example, a 3 and a 5 are rolled. In the 2D6 system,
this would give a total of 8. But in the 2D6a system, this
instead gives us a result of 35. The full table is as follows:
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6
-- -- -- -- -- --
L1|11 12 13 14 15 16
L2|21 22 23 24 25 26
L3|31 32 33 34 35 36
L4|41 42 43 44 45 46
L5|51 52 53 54 55 56
L6|61 62 63 64 65 66
L1, L2, L3 etc. represent the Levels of attack rolls within the
2D6a system. Levels determine the overall power of a unit's
attack against a particular class of opponent. For example, a
certain unit may have a Level 2 attack against Cavalry (thus the
maximum attack value will begin with a 2), but a Level 4 attack
against Infantry (thus the maximum attack value will begin with
a 4).
S1, S2, S3 etc. represent the Strength of a unit. Unlike Levels,
Strength is a fixed attribute, so if a unit had a Strenth of 4
then at attack Level 1 its maximum roll would be 14, at attack
Level 2 its maximum roll would be 24, at attack Level 3 its
maximum roll would be 34 and so on.
This combination of Levels (i.e an R-P-S system of class
scaling) and Strengths (i.e a fixed attacking maximum) delivers
a new level of uniqueness to unit configurations, and commanders
must weigh up the probabilities as they position their units for
the attack.
---------------------------------
4:Traits
---------------------------------
Traits are special bonuses applied randomly to each non-Hero
figure on the battlefield. There are 12 traits in total (as of
1.0), but each Race is restricted to only 6 of these traits.
The traits are:
||Agility: -1 Level to each incoming Combat attack roll
||Resilience: -1 Level to each incoming Ranged attack roll
||Wild Blood: -1 Level each incoming Magic attack roll
||Blademaster: +1 Level to attack rolls against Combat units
||Bowbreaker: +1 Level to attack rolls against Ranged units
||Witch-Hunter: +1 Level to attack rolls against Magic units
||Dreadnought: Unit can force 1 reroll of attacker's 2D6a per
turn
||Brutal: Unit can reroll 1 attack 2D6a per turn
||Fleet-Footed: +10 Movement Points per turn
||Hero-Slayer: +1 Level to attack rolls against Heroes
||Inexorable: Attackers' Traits are negated
||Legendary: Unit can reroll of any 1 2D6a (attack or defence)
per turn
Unlike the primary 2D6a system, Traits are rolled for with a
single D6. Before the game begins, roll a D6 for each figure on
the battlefield, and tally it with the racial matrices below.
You should either mark a piece of paper or the figures
themselves to help with remembering individuals' traits.
The Trait system gives a semi-RPG bent to the game, as
commanders must co-ordinate their soldiers to place their skills
where they will be most effective. It also raises the stakes:
would you be willing to sacrifice a valuable Legendary unit in
the hopes of forcing a breach for your Witch-Hunter to break
through and attack the enemy sorceror man to man?
---------------
Example Racial Traits
---------------
||Elves:
1|Agility
2|Wild Blood
3|Blademaster
4|Dreadnought
5|Fleet-Footed
6|Legendary
||Men:
1|Resilience
2|Bowbreaker
3|Witch-Hunter
4|Dreadnought
5|Brutal
6|Hero-Slayer
||Trogs/Goblins:
1|Agility
2|Wild Blood
3|Bowbreaker
4|Fleet-Footed
5|Hero-Slayer
6|Inexorable
||Demons:
1|Wild Blood
2|Witch-Hunter
3|Brutal
4|Hero-Slayer
5|Inexorable
6|Legendary
||Monsters:
1|Resilience
2|Wild Blood
3|Brutal
4|Hero-Slayer
5|Inexorable
6|Legendary
||Mages:
1|Agility
2|Resilience
3|Wild Blood
4|Witch-Hunter
5|Inexorable
6|Legendary
---------------------------------
5:Unit Classes
---------------------------------
Each unit in Runes of War falls into a particular Class. Classes
determine how the unit performs in combat against other Classes.
The classes are:
||Hero
Heroes are powerful and valiant warriors or wizards, renowned by
their people for their skill in war and leadership in peace.
They will generally have high attacks and the ability to take
more than one 'hit' in combat.
||Monster
Monsters are ferocious creatures, often wild or magical, brought
into the service of the many warring armies of the land to lend
their inhuman strength and cunning to the battlefield. Note that
the Monster class also includes Demons.
||Infantry
Infantry are the core of most armies, and include swordsmen,
spearmen, archers and more. They are usually lightly-armoured
troops deployed en masse to swamp the enemy with their glinting
steel.
||Armoured Infantry
Armoured Infantry are Infantry equipped with resilient forged
armour capable of fending off many regular blows. Though not
always more powerful than regular Infantry, Armoured Infantry
usually have the strength and training to pack a decisive punch
against their foes.
||Rider
Riders are mounted infantry, traversing the battlefield on their
bold steeds to harry and harass their foes. Although Riders may
be well-armed their mounts generally are not, and so they can be
vulnerable to the other classes in protracted melee.
||Armoured Rider
Armoured Riders are the iron fist of any force. They and their
mounts are bedecked in menacing plate, and often their steeds
are trained to kick, flail and bite, adding further punch to
their devastating attacks. They also have the ability to Charge
their enemies, making them exceptional at smashing even the
toughest formations aside.
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6:Unit Stats
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The following is a rundown of all of the individual elements of
a unit's statistics:
||Unit Name
Race: The unit's Race (if they are not a Hero then this will
also affect their Trait options).
Class: The unit's Class.
Weapon: This indicates in which round the unit can make its
attacks.
Hit Points: A particularly resilient unit may be capable of
taking more than one major wound before it dies.
Spell Points: If the unit has magical abilities, this is its
'ration' of magic for the turn.
Movement: The maximum distance the unit can move in one turn (in
centimetres).
Range: The maximum distance a ranged/magic unit can engage an
opponent at.
Strength: The base attack Strength attribute (see Die Mechanics
for details).
Attacks: The different Levels of attacks this unit can make
against different classes (see Die Mechanics for details).
Spells: A table of spell options for magical units to use, with
their Spell Point cost in square brackets.
---------------------------------
7:Sample Armies
---------------------------------
The following are sample armies from Levantera's "The Oak's
Leaf" setting on JG to demonstrate how the game's statistics
might apply to individual figures:
---------------
High Elves
---------------
Courtesy of Levantera (JG)
||High Elf Commander
Race: Elves
Class: Hero
Weapon: Combat
Movement: 10
Strength: 2
Attacks:
-vs Hero: L2
-vs Monster: L3
-vs Infantry: L5
-vs Armoured Infantry: L4
-vs Rider: L5
-Vs Armoured Cavalry: L3
||High Elf Standard Bearer
Race: Elves
Class: Armoured Infantry
Weapon: Combat
Movement: 10
Strength: 4
Attacks:
-vs Hero: L2
-vs Monster: L2
-vs Infantry: L4
-vs Armoured Infantry: L3
-vs Rider: L3
-Vs Armoured Cavalry: L2
Special: At the beginning of the turn, each Standard Bearer
rolls a D6. The result is the number of units within a 10cm
radius to which the Standard Bearer can grant a reroll of one
attacking or attacker's roll each. This stacks with the Brutal,
Dreadnought or Legendary traits if applicable.
||High Elf Blade Kindred
Race: Elves
Class: Armoured Infantry
Weapon: Combat
Movement: 10
Strength: 3
Attacks:
-vs Hero: L2
-vs Monster: L2
-vs Infantry: L4
-vs Armoured Infantry: L3
-vs Rider: L3
-Vs Armoured Cavalry: L2
||High Elf Arrow Kindred
Race: Elves
Class: Armoured Infantry
Weapon: Ranged
Movement: 10
Range: 20
Strength: 6
Attacks:
-vs Hero: L1
-vs Monster: L1
-vs Infantry: L3
-vs Armoured Infantry: L3
-vs Rider: L3
-Vs Armoured Cavalry: L3
---------------
Cadecians
---------------
Courtesy of Levantera (JG)
||Hero: Arbest the Ranger
Race: Men
Class: Hero
Weapon: Ranged
Hit Points: 2
Movement: 15
Range: 30
Strength: 6
Attacks:
-vs Hero: L3
-vs Monster: L4
-vs Infantry: L5
-vs Armoured Infantry: L5
-vs Rider: L5
-Vs Armoured Cavalry: L5
Special: Being an exceptionally skilled Ranger, Arbest suffers
no melee attack penalty in close combat.
---------------
Ayzetarians
---------------
Courtesy of Icy Icy (JG)
||Ayzetarian Strider
Race: Men
Class: Infantry
Weapon: Combat
Movement: 15
Strength: 3
Attacks:
-vs Hero: L1
-vs Monster: L1
-vs Infantry: L5
-vs Armoured Infantry: L4
-vs Rider: L2
-Vs Armoured Cavalry: L1
||Ayzetarian Strider Berserker (non-canon unit)
Race: Men
Class: Infantry
Weapon: Combat
Movement: 15
Strength: 6
Attacks:
-vs Hero: L3
-vs Monster: L3
-vs Infantry: L5
-vs Armoured Infantry: L5
-vs Rider: L3
-Vs Armoured Cavalry: L2
---------------
Sumarol
---------------
Courtesy of Michael Krein (JG)
||Hero: Sumarol
Race: Mages
Class: Hero
Weapon: Magic
Hit Points: 4
Spell Points: 3
Movement: 15
Range: 25
Strength: 6
Attacks:
-vs Hero: L4
-vs Monster: L4
-vs Infantry: L5
-vs Armoured Infantry: L5
-vs Rider: L5
-Vs Armoured Cavalry: L5
Spells:
>Wizard's Wrath: Regular attack as per tables above [1pt]
>Binding Malice: Prevent 1xD6 enemy units from moving [1pt]
>Shadow Cloak: All attack rolls against Sumarol lose 1 level
[2pts]
>Dispel/Counter: Sumarol can block the casting of any one spell
[2pts]
>Summon Fire Imp: Sumarol summon a Fire Imp to his position (to
a maximum of 3 summoned Imps) [3pts]
||Fire Imp
Race: Demons
Class: Monster
Weapon: Magic
Hit Points: 2
Movement: 15
Strength: 4
Attacks:
-vs Hero: L2
-vs Monster: L1
-vs Infantry: L4
-vs Armoured Infantry: L4
-vs Rider: L4
-Vs Armoured Cavalry: L4
[spoiler=Figures for above
example:][img]
HTML http://www.juniorgeneral.org/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=10239.0;attach=48358;image[/img][/spoiler]
#Post#: 102--------------------------------------------------
Re: The Runes of War: A Fantasy Wargaming Ruleset
By: Carausius Date: January 11, 2013, 7:08 am
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I wrote some lotr lists for the Runes Of War I can publish them
here if people are interested :) If they are popular I'll do
some Game Of Thrones
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