Mass Combat Resolution

Army Ratings:

The following lists contain ratings for the different factors that are involved in the outcome of a battle.  By adding these numbers, both the Attacker and the Defender (Attacker and Defender are terms used to distinguish each side in the battle, and may not specifically apply to the situation) can determine their battle rating.  Note: 1 unit equals approximately 200HD worth of creatures.

Common Ratings:

1  1	Foot Unit (Infantry, Archers, Pikemen, etc.)  Weaker Monster Units (Goblins, Orcs, etc.)
2  2	Mounted Units (Cavalry, Knights, etc.)  Elite Infantry and unique foot units
2  3	Stronger Monster Units (Bugbears, Ogres, etc.)  Unique Mounted Units
3  4+	Very Strong Monster Units (Hill Giant, etc.)  Very Powerful Monsters (Storm Giant, etc.)
-2  -1	Very Low Morale (1-3)  Low Morale (4-7)
1  2	High Morale (14-17)  Very High Morale (18+)
-2  -1	Very Unfavorable Terrain  Unfavorable Terrain
1  2	Favorable Terrain  Very Favorable Terrain
1  1	Local Popular Support  Home Ground Advantage
3  1-10*	Artillery (only vs. Castles and Fortifications)  Castles, Fortifications**

Character Ratings:

0  1	Non-magic User (lvl 0-6)  Non-magic User (lvl 7-12/14)
2  2	Warrior (lvl 13+)  Rogue (lvl 15+)
0 (+1 at odd lvls)	Magic User (Priests of war gods receive a +1 bonus)
2  3	Engineering Non-weapon Proficiency (only vs. Castles and Fortifications)  Siegecraft Non-weapon Proficiency (only vs. Castles and Fortifications)***
1  1	Strategy Non-weapon Proficiency***  Battlewise Blood Ability***

* Castles receive a rating of 1-10 based on the relative strength of the fortification, with a level 1 castle representing little more than a simple wooden fort, and a 10 a massive construct.  This is based on the system used in the Birthright Setting.
** Castles can only be brought down through the use of Artillery, Very Powerful Monsters, Magic Users (lvl 9+) or those armies with characters who have the Engineering or Siegecraft Non-weapon Proficiencies.  Otherwise, only a long drawn out siege can bring down the fortress.  Such sieges require a number of units equal to the level of the castle and a number of months equal to 3 times the castle level.  If the number of units drops below that of the castle, the siege is broken and must start from the beginning. (See Birthright Boxed Set for details.)
*** These Non-weapon Proficiencies and Blood Ability are specific to the Birthright Setting.

Resolution Roll:
Once the Attacker and Defender have calculated their total ratings, subtract the Defender's rating from the Attacker's rating (a negative result is acceptable).  Then make a roll on the following table and add the final result of the above calculations to the roll (remember, a negative will result in a lower number).  Unless the loser is annihilated, assume the loser retreated.  If retreat is impossible, the loser is annihilated under any result.  Surviving units are chosen at random.  Numbers of surviving units are rounded down but cannot drop below 1 for the victor.  NPCs and PCs are assumed to have survived in any case.

Roll 1d20

20+  19	Attacker wins.  Attacker loses 0%, Defender Annihilated
18  17	Attacker wins.  Attacker loses 0%, Defender loses 60%  Attacker wins.  Attacker loses 30%, Defender Annihilated
16  15	Attacker wins.  Attacker loses 0%, Defender loses 30%  Attacker wins.  Attacker loses 30%, Defender loses 60%
14  13	Attacker wins.  Attacker loses 60%, Defender Annihilated  Attacker wins.  Attacker loses 30%, Defender loses 30%
12  11	Attacker wins.  Attacker loses 60%, Defender loses 60%  Attacker wins.  Attacker loses 60%, Defender loses 30%
10  9	Defender wins.  Defender loses 60%, Attacker loses 30%  Defender wins.  Defender loses 60%, Attacker loses 60%
8  7	Defender wins.  Defender loses 30%, Attacker loses 30%.  Defender wins.  Defender loses 60%, Attacker Annihilated
6  5	Defender wins.  Defender loses 30%, Attacker loses 60%  Defender wins.  Defender loses 0%, Attacker loses 30%
4  3	Defender wins.  Defender loses 30%, Attacker Annihilated  Defender wins.  Defender loses 0%, Attacker loses 60%
2  1-	Defender wins.  Defender loses 0%, Attacker Annihilated

My brother and I thought an example of a battle resolved using these rules may be helpful.  What were the results of Thoreon's battle against the orcs?   The Battle

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