Chapter 1: Determining Ability Scores

Creating an Army

Determine Equipment

Because the Monster Manual already provides equipment that the Kobolds use, we are just going to use that for our Kobold army. The dragon in charge doesn't wish to spend more than they have to on this grand army.

Note: Ranged weapons lose their normal ranges in place of a more simplified range system. See the Equipment section for more information.

Determine Specialty Units (Optional)

While each and every Kobold is very unique and special, these Kobolds have no specialty units. See Specialty Units for more information.

Determine Spellcasters (Optional)

While Kobolds are magical, these Kobolds just don't have any. See Spellcasters for more information.

Finishing Touches

Our Kobold army has a few ancestral abilities that other armies don't possess like their Pack Tactics and their Sunlight Sensitivity. We are going to add this into their stat blocks, slightly modified for our Abstracted Warfare system. See Traits and Bonuses for more information.

Because every army gains 1 trait as a green army, we are going to give the Kobolds the Finesse trait so that the Kobold army can use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier for their melee attack and damage rolls.

They also receive the standard Army traits and immunities.

Note: There are a few new things added, like they have a Tactics instead of Speed and they are given the standard Condition Immunities that all armies recieve.

Finished

Our Kobold Army is finished, and there has never been a finer army. It is easy to quickly create an army based off of the stat blocks provided in the Monster Manual as well as referencing the Equipment and Traits and Bonuses section of this system.

When creating your own armies, try to choose stat blocks that are CR 1 or lower. Picking a stat block from a higher CR creature can truly make an army far more powerful than a typical character-run army, though it may provide a very hard challenge for other armies to overcome.

Option 2 - Standard Stat Array

On page 13 of the Player's Handbook are the numbers for a Standard Stat Array, because we only need to provide scores for five of our abilities instead of 6, our Standard Stat Array for building an army will be adjusted:

Determine Equipment

It is assumed that every army is proficient with certain simple weapons and padded armor. If your army is made of a single ancestry, they may provide additional proficiencies for the army. Starting equipment for an army is based off of the kingdom's wealth and their willingness to purchase more expensive equipment. New armies only start with a Club, Sling, and Padded Armor for free, this is what the soldiers bring with them when they are forced to join the army.

You can purchase additional equipment for your army, see the Equipment & Proficiencies section for more information.

Determine Specialty Units (Optional)

For our example, our capital has no specialty units.

Determine Spellcasters (Optional)

For our example, our capital has no spellcasters.

Finishing Touches

Our capital army, as it is composed of mixed races, has no innate ancestral traits available to all of the army. An army gains new traits depending on their experience level, and you can find more information in the Traits & Bonuses section. As they are a green army, they get access to a single trait and a bonus Skill proficiency.

For now, we are just going to add in their Tactics value, Condition Immunities, and the standard Army trait.

This is our second example army created, and to see how to use them, see the Combat section for more information.

Option 3 - Point Buy

Instead of using the Standard Stat Array, you can instead buy your points using the rules put forth in the Player's Handbook, though you only have 23 points to spend. You can not invest points into Constitution.

Option 4 - Rolling 4d6

Instead of using the Standard Stat Array, you can instead roll randomly for your abilities using the rules put forth in the Player's Handbook. You can not roll for your Constitution.

Beyond Creation

Once an army has been created, it is ready to go out and conquer the world. The more battles an army wins, the stronger and deadlier they become, though an army is only as good as it's weakest members. Fresh conscripts can decrease the power and abilities of an army, forcing the army to constantly train and improve. For every 4 battles your army has won, their proficiency bonus, Skills, Traits, and even damage begin increasing.

See Army Experience for more information.

Chapter 2: Army Experience

Chapter 3: Army Size

The number of soldiers in your army determines the army's Constitution Score. Once you know the size of your army, you can then determine the number of hit points your army has. Before any battles or campaigns, the army always has the maximum number of hit points possible, this number will decrease as they suffere damage during a campaign.

Our King's Army has 6,000 soldiers, this means we have a Medium sized army and our Hit Die will be a d100. To determine our Constitution score, take the number of soldiers and then divide it be their Hit Die. For a Medium army, this means there will be 1,000 soldiers for every 1 point of Constitution. The King's Army has a Constitution Score of 6 (-2), and the army has 600 hit points with 6d100 Hit Die.

Chapter 4: Skills

Chapter 5: Equipment & Proficiencies

Dealing Damage

When an army deals damage, they roll their weapon's damage die a number of times equal to their proficiency bonus, then add their Strength of Dexterity modifier based on the type of weapon being used. Melee Weapons, unless they have the finesse quality and the army has the Finesse trait, use Strength. Ranged weapons use Dexterity to determine their damage.

A green army with a 12 Strength has a +1 modifier and has a +2 proficiency bonus, if they are using a shortsword they will deal 2d6 + 1 damage on a hit. If the army had a 16 Strength, which is a +3 modifier, they would deal 2d6 + 3 damage on a hit.

If an army has a +0 modifier or a negative modifier, they roll their damage as normal and then add their negative modifier to the total. An army can deal 0 damage but never negative damage.

Depending on the army size, they may be able to make an attack roll multiple times in a round.

New Recruits and Training

When you add new soldiers into your army, most typically will not have any special proficiencies, unless they are of a specific ancestry or the DM decides they do. In order for your army to not be adversely affected by adding in new recruits, the army must succeed on a Charisma (Performance) check or Intelligence (History) check.

The DC for this check is determined by the number of additional recruits being added to the army, as the recruit's impact is dependent on army size. Thus, the DC is determined by the number of Hit Die that the army gains, for every additional Hit Die the army increases by, the DC increases by 1 with a starting DC of 8.

This means that if your army's Hit Die increases by 2, you must succeed on a DC 10 check.

On a success, the recruits quickly pick up on how the equipment works with the aid of your veteran troops. On a failed check, the recruits are unable to pick up the proficiencies required and you either must send them through training, and they are unable to take part in battle for a set time, or attempt the check again one week later to see if they picked it up with more time. If the army fails the check again, the only way for the new recruits to learn is to send them through training.

Whenever you gain new recruits, you can only make this check once per week and at the end of the week, or earlier per the DM's discretion.

Retraining Abilities

An army might come to the point where they would like to refocus in a different direction, either to grow their spy network and increase their Intelligence, or to focus on drills to make their soldiers stronger and increase their Strength.

An army can spend 2 months retraining and can decrease one Ability Score of their choice by 1, and increase one Ability Score of their choice by 1. You can not increase or decrease your Constitution Score using this method. The army can still take part in battles while they are retraining but the Ability Scores do not change until after 2 months of retraining.

Chapter 6: Specialty Unit

Experience Level

A specialty unit is assumed to have the same experience level as the main army, this might mean that despite them being victorious across 10+ battles, they may still be considered green for their proficiency bonus. If the DM so chooses, they could track their experience separately.

At 0 Hit Points

If the specialty unit is knocked to 0 hit points, the unit is destroyed and the army, if they wish to keep a specialty unit, must begin training new recruits.

Morale

The specialty unit is responsible for rolling their own morale checks. If they fail their check, they retreat for the day and can not rejoin the army until the end of the day. If the army fails their check, the specialty unit immediately fails it too.

Maximum Number of Units

You can only have a number of specialty units equal to the army's Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1). This represents your army's ability to properly train specialty units, keep them organized, and to use them effectively in battle.

Minimum Size

A specialty unit's minimum size is equal to the maximum value of a single Hit Die, thus the minimum size for a specialty unit in a small army, whose Hit Die is a d10, is 100 soldiers. If a specialty unit's size decreases below that, they are unable to create a strong enough force to be useful in battle as a specialty unit.

A medium army's Hit Die is a d100 and has a minimum size of 1,000 soldiers.

A large army's' Hit Die is a d1,000 and has a minimum size of 10,000 soldiers.

Decreasing Power and Damage

A specialty unit is typically a lot smaller than an army, and thus doesn't have the same ability to deal as much damage as an army does. A specialty unit only rolls a single die for their damage and if they are smaller than 20% of the army, they only deal half their rolled damage. A DM may decide that a suitably sized unit deals more damage.

If the elite unit is made up of 100 soldiers, and the army is only 1,000 strong, then the unit makes up 10% of the army. If the unit charges the enemy, when they roll damage they will deal half the damage they rolled. The main army will deal their normal amount of damage.

Ancestry Proficiencies & Traits

If a specialty unit is made up of only a single ancestry while the army is made up of multiple ancestries, the specialty unit gains any ancestral specific proficiencies and traits. They lose the those proficiencies and traits if they take on new recruits that are not of their ancestry or when they rejoin the army.

Splitting up an Army

It might come to a point where a specialty unit becomes so large that it makes more sense to treat them as a separate army. At that point, it is recommended that you build this army using the Army Creation tools located at the beginning of this system, this way you can decide what abilities, skills, traits, and more are most important to this new army.

Creature Size and Specialty Unit

If a creature is a larger than medium, it gains additional hit points and damage die based on its size. See the chart below.

Examples of Units

Chapter 7: Spellcasters

Battlefield Protection

1 Action, at least 5th-level spells, requires Arcane casters, Range 0
The spellcasters use their action to thwart their enemies and summon stone fortifications to protect the army. The army gains an increase to their AC for the round equal to half the army's maximum spell level, rounded down.

Divine Healing

1 Action, any spell-level, requires Divine casters, Range 0
The spellcasters use their action to heal the army and restore hit points. The army heals a number of d4s equal to half the maximum spell-level of the army, minimum of 1. The army recovers these hit points at the end of the round, after damage is rolled.

If the army has a high number of casters, the healing dice increases based on the percentage of casters: At 2% the dice increase to a d6, 3.5% - d8, 5% - d10, and 7.5% - d12.

Empowered Weapons

1 Action, at least 3rd-level spells, Range 0
The spellcasters use their action to magically enhance the weapons and the army wield magical weapons. The army gains an increase to their attack and damage rolls equal to a third of the army's maximum spell-level, rounded down. This enhancement lasts until the end of the round.

Eldritch Horrors

1 Action, at least 2nd-level spells, Range 0
The horrors of the Beyond are called forth as an action and the opposing army must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw vs the save DC of the army (10 + the maximum spell-level of the army) or become frightened. On a failed save, the enemy army has disadvantage on their attack rolls for this round, and they are unable to move closer to the opposing army.

Additionally, the enemy army takes a penalty to their Morale check equal to a third of the maximum spell-level of the army, rounded down (minimum of 1). This penalty can only be applied once per day to the same army or unit affected by the spell.

False Fog

1 Action, any spell-level, Range 0
The spellcasters use their action to summon a thick cloud of fog that obscures every range occupied by their army. The army is heavily obscured while they stay in the fog and the fog travels with them unless a strong wind disperses it.

Fiery Bombardments

2 Actions, at least 8th-level spells, Range 3
The spellcasters summon fiery motes of earth that crash into the ground. The army chooses a number of hexes, within range, equal to their proficiency bonus and any army or unit in those ranges must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw vs the save DC of the army (10 + the maximum spell-level of the army) or suffer a number of d4s of fire or bludgeoning damage, your choice, equal to their maximum spell-level. Any fortifications and structures automatically fail their Dexterity saving throw. On a successful save, they take half damage.

If the army has a high number of casters, the damage dice increases based on the percentage of casters: At 2% the dice increase to a d6, 3.5% - d8, 5% - d10, and 7.5% - d12.

Seize the Walls

1 Action, any spell-level, Range 0
The spellcasters use their action to shape the earth, allowing their army to easily assault the enemy's fortifications. The spellcasters grant a bonus to any Strength (Athletics) checks to move past barricades, scale walls or similar activities. The bonus is equal to half the maximum spell-level of the army.

Spellcaster Hunt

1 Action, any spell-level, Range 0
The spellcasters use their action to hunt for their counterparts in the opposing enemy and focus on destroying them before they can act. The army must make a Wisdom (Insight) check opposed by the enemy's Charisma (Deception) check, each army gains a bonus to their check equal to half their maximum spell-level.

On a success, the spellcasters can choose to stop the enemy spellcasters from doing their action this round or kill the enemy spellcasters and their maximum spell-level is decreased by 1 (to a minimum of 0) for the day.

At the end of the day, an army can attempt to regain their lost spell-levels by succeeding on an Intelligence saving throw equal to DC 8 + the number of spell-levels lost that day. On a success, they regain a single lost spell-level, on a failure they permanently lose their highest spell-level. They must repeat this saving throw for each spell-level they lost, the DC decreasing by 1 for each attempt.

If the spellcasters lose all their spell-levels, so they effectively have access to only 0-level spells, the spellcasters for the army are destroyed and the army must replace them.

Movement

Spellcasters automatically move with the army, though there might be occasions where the casters must stay behind or are used for different purposes.

If the spellcasters use all of their actions for the day, it typically means that they are spent on all their spell slots, though the DM may decide that certain actions or spells are still possible for them to cast, but only for a select few and they can't help the whole army.

Spell-Levels

When an army takes casulties, there is always a chance that they also lose powerful spellcasters and lose access to high spell-levels. At the end of each day of combat that the spellcasters take part in, the army must succeed on a DC 8 Intelligence saving throw or lose one spell-level. If they are brought to 0-level spells, the spellcasters for the army are destroyed and the army must find new replacements.

Chapter 8: Traits and Bonuses

Ancestral Traits

Ancestral traits can not be selected when your army increases in experience, instead this are automatically given to any army that is made up of a singular ancestry. If additional soldiers join an army made up of a single ancestry, the DM can decide when an army loses these traits.

See the Ancestral Traits and Bonuses chart for more information.

Class Traits

Some armies might be made up of a single 'class' or style of fighting. These traits can not be selected by an army, but rather a DM decides if an army qualifies for them.

Chapter 9: Combat

Step 2: Movement & Tactics

Each army can choose to immediately move up to 1 range, the aggressor army moves first followed by the defending army.

Then, every army at the start of each day, not round, gets a set of orders that they must follow. This is considered the strategy of the army and once orders are dispatched, the army follows those orders to the best of their ability. After the initial orders are given, the army can choose to change their Tactics on subsequent turns by sending out new orders.

An army continues their set Tactics until...

• They leave combat for the day
• The opposing army leaves combat
• Their Tactics specifies it ends after a certain amount of time
• They change their Tactics by expending one of their uses of Tactics or by succeeding on a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check if they are out of Tactics

Once the aggressor army decides their Tactics, the defending army then gets to choose their Tactics. Each army is aware of the other army's Tactics unless the armies are hidden from each other's perception or one attempts to obfuscate what they are doing.

Step 3: Action

ach army decides on an action to take, this is typically, but not limited to, making an attack. Attack rolls are made, but damage is not rolled until the end of the round.

Step 4: Resolving the Round

At the end of the round, damage is rolled and applied to each army, specialized unit and fortifications. Each army must then make their Morale checks, and then can decide if they wish to continue the combat or to fall back.

If an army fails their Morale check, they have no choice but to fall back and a rout begins against them. An army that falls back immediately moves 1 range back and on the next round, the army can attempt to retreat, renew the attack or anything else using their Move.

Actions in Combat

Most times, the action used by armies will be to make an attack roll with a weapon of their choice.

Tactics in Combat

Every army determines their initial order, a Tactics, for the day, if they change their orders during the Tactics phase of a round, they must expend a use of their Tactics or succeed on a check to issue new orders to the army. Otherwise, if no new orders are given, the army continues following the last Tactics they were ordered to carry out.

Each army features a Tactics score. This is the number of Tactics they can automatically use each day, they expend these uses first. If they exhaust their use of Tactics they have available, they can still change their Tactics, but they must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. The DC increases by 2 after each attempt. On a success, they army can perform the new Tactics on this turn, otherwise they are unable to change their Tactics from before.

Available Tactics

Movement and Position

Armies are in constant motion, at the beginning of every round, before Tactics are declared or actions determined, they can move 1 Range in an attempt to close distance.

Army Size

Each army takes up a different amount of space. The Size Categories table shows how much space an army of a particular size controls in combat. Specialized units are assumed to take up the size as a small army, though they may take up more space as determined by the DM.

Occupying Multiple Ranges

If an army is occupying multiple ranges, the army must always be in corresponding hexes with sides that are touching each other. If you split an army apart and move them away from each other, the army should be split into smaller armies so that they can make their Tactics and Actions independently, this may affect their overall size and decrease them from one size category down to another. This would change the Constitution score, and the hit points, of the armies.

If a medium army of 6,000 splits into two, this would create two armies of 3,000 each. This would decrease each of their sizes from medium to small.

If the armies combine back at the end of the day, they make the end of the day checks, like to recover hit points, as usual. If they end the day separated, they must make their own checks independent of each other.

Making an Attack

When you make an attack, there is a simple structure to it.

1. Choose a target. Pick a target within your attack's range: a creature, an object, or a location.

2. Determine modifiers. The DM determines whether the target has cover and whether you have advantage or disadvantage against the target. In addition, spells, special abilities, Tactics, and other effects can apply penalties or bonuses to your attack roll.

3. Resolve the attack. You make the attack roll. On a hit, you roll damage, unless the particular attack has rules that specify otherwise. Some attacks cause special effects in addition to or instead of damage.

Routing the Enemy

In a battle, both sides are attempting to break the other army's morale and attack the army when it's morale breaks and it flees. Such an attack is called a rout.

An army can make a rout when the opposing army or unit begins fleeing at the end of the round, to make a rout attack, the army must decide to continue the battle and on the next round, must immediately move from their position, like a fortification, and follow the fleeing army, cutting down at the stragglers. You have advantage on the attack and the opposing army can not attack you back during this round. You must then succeed on a Constitution saving throw or the rout ends.

An army can continue attacking the fleeing army on subsequent rounds, but they must continue moving further and further away from their original location in the chase and at the end of every round must succeed on a Constitution saving throw. On a success, they can continue the rout, on a fail the rout ends as the fleeing army escapes.

The DC begins at 10 and increases in difficulty by 1 for every subsequent round after. If an army continues the rout with a specialized unit with special bonuses to their movement, like calvary, they have advantage on the saving throw. Each round of a rout is roughly 30 minutes.

Cover

Walls, mantlets, fortifications, and other obstacles can provide cover during combat, making an army more difficult to harm. An army can benefit from cover only when an attack or other effect originates on the opposite side of the cover.

There are three degrees of cover. If an army is behind multiple sources of cover, only the most protective degree of cover applies; the degrees aren't added together. For example, if an army is behind a mantlet that gives half cover and a stone wall that gives three-quarters cover, the army has three-quarters cover.

Damage and Healing

Armies use equipment designed to maim and destroy, employing spellcasters to cast down destruction and devestation.

Damage Rolls

An army deals damage when it fights another army and that army is within range of the attacks. An army rolls their damage die or dice, adds any modifiers, and applies the damage to the target.

Damage rolls are only made after both sides have made their attack rolls. Damage is determined at the end of the round, not during it so an army, even if it is destroyed during the round, still deals damage back to the other army.

With a penalty, it is possible to deal 0 damage, but never negative damage.

When attacking with a weapon, an army adds their ability modifier — the same modifier used for the attack roll — to the damage. This modifier is also used to determine how much damage they deal if they miss the attack roll by more than 5 against the target's Armor Class.

If you have spellcasters, and they helped this round, they add to the damage per the action that they took to help.

If you missed on the attack roll, the attack still deals some damage to the other army based on how close you were to hitting their Armor Class. Battles take 2 hours for each round, and it is almost impossible to deal no damage to another army.

Healing

There are a few ways of regaining hit points, though it is difficult to regain hit points once they are lost as men who die on the battlefield can't all be brought back with magic. You can only use up to a number of Hit Die per day equal to your proficiency bonus (minimum 1).

Locations and Combat

Chapter 10: Morale

Fanatics and Morale

Some armies are considered fanatics, meaning that they believe so completely in their cause that they are harder to break and will often fight to the death. Fanatical armies, per the DM's discretion, have advantage on their Morale checks and on checks to Recover Morale and to recover from a rout.

Access to Magic

Magic is a great solver of many problems, and creating a defensive wall is something that druids, sorcerers, and wizards can all accomplish if they have mastery over 5th-level spells. A true archmage, one who can cast 9th-level spells, could cast the spell wall of stone up to 11 times a day, allowing them to create a 6-inch thick wall that is 10 feet high and 220 feet long in as little as 3 hours. That is only 1/24th of a mile and would require far more spellcasters to help speed it along. In 30 days, a single spellcaster could create a wall that is 1.25 miles long - or double that if you are willing to sacrifice wall thickness.

This is a faster process of building defensive walls, though spellcasters typically ask for enormous sums of money for their services and may not wish to use all their powerful spell slots every day for months on end.

Determining City Sizes

A general rule of thumb is that 5,000 to 50,000 people in a city need 1 square mile to live in, meaning a wall to protect a city of that size would be up to 4 miles long. On the other hand, ancient Rome was ~7 square miles and said to have a population of 1,000,000 - that is a population density of 142,857 people per square mile.

Structures

Structures can take on a wide variety of shapes and sizes, as well as what defenses they offer and how they can protect an army. When designing a structure, think about how long that structure has existed for, how much wealth has been devoted to its upkeep and for building it up.

Mantlet

Mantlets are mobile wooden shields used for archers of attacking armies and these large wooden structures can be moved around on wheels. The mantlet only provides its bonuses to range attacks and is 5-feet wide by 5-feet tall with a thickness of 1-inch, AC 10, 15 HP per inch of thickness, resistance to piercing, immunity poison and psychic damage, and a damage threshold of 10.

Moat

Moats are dug trenches that are typically 12 feet wide or wider, and 3- to 30-feet deep. These earthern works are used to repel invaders and keep it difficult for the soldiers to bring up siege equipment or climbing the walls. While a moat, whether dry or with water, is still in working order, soldiers can not bring siege engines to the walls and it is treated as difficult terrain.

What is Damage Threshold?

A fortification has immunity to all damage unless it takes an amount of damage equal to or greater than its damage threshold, in which case it takes damage as normal. Any damage that fails to meet or exceed the damage threshold is considered superficial and doesn’t reduce the structure’s hit points.

Targeting

A mile long crenellated wall that is 240-inches thick would have 7,603,200 hit points, but the goal of siege equipment is not to destroy the entire wall but key locations to send the soldiers through. A 10-foot section would only have 14,400 hit points and is easier to breach. See Siege Equipment for more information.

Chapter 12: Weather Conditions

Chapter 13: Travel

Example

If an army has 3,000 soldiers, with 200 of them being calvary and 300 spellcasters with an army spell level of 3, that means that the army has 2,800 regular soldiers, 200 calvary and 300 spellcasters that they must pay. To figure out their pay:

Regular Soldiers: 2,800 * 7 gp = 19,600 gp

Calvary: 200 * 21 gp = 4,200 gp

Spellcasters: 300 * (10 gp * 3) = 9,000 gp

Total Cost per Week: 32,800 gp

Spellcaster Pricing

It can be difficult to judge how much spellcasters should be paid, as their spells are invaluable and only a few might be blessed enough to learn magic. Depending on your world, it might be more sensible to have the cost be 100 gp * army's spell level if magic is very rare, or it might make more sense for the cost to be 3 gp * army's spell level if anyone can cast a level 1 spell.

The amount to pay spellcasters is per DM's discretion, though some cities may require spellcasters to join the army no matter what and pay the spellcasters very little. This could have a negative effect on the army's Morale DC.

Paying During a Siege

If a city is under a siege, the army may not need to be paid but instead pressed into service.

That's a lot of Money

Its incredibly expensive to keep an army around, and most kingdoms will simply disband the army after their campaign and they no longer have to pay the soldiers. The guards of a city were what many considered to be the defense of a city, though an army could be called forth from the serfs and nobles. This could take anywhere from a few days to a few months based on how big and spread out the kingdom is.

Chapter 15: Siege Engines

Ammunition

You can craft ammunition from the local material, though it requires proper stone and wood that may not be available depending on how well defended the city is. The army must succeed on a Wisdom (Survival) saving throw against the DC of the terrain every day in order to find ammunition, other wise you must pay the cost of ammunition.

Per the DM's discretion, there might not be any available ammunition in the area, like the gunstone and gun powder required for a cannon. In this case, you must have purchased it before the siege or have a way of obtaining it.

If the enemy is using siege engines against you, you can recover up to half of their spent ammunition except for cannon ammunition.

Targeting

When attacking a siege engineer specialty unit, you can either choose to target the men operating the engine or target the engine itself. In certain cases you may not be able to target the men operating and moving the device.

Example Siege Engines

Siege Tower, Small

Gargantuan siege object

• Armor Class: 15
• Hit Points: 200
• Damage Immunities: poison, psychic
• Damage Threshold: 15
• Crew: 50 men (construction & movement)
• Days to Construct: 5
• Purchase Cost: 500 gp
• Movement Rating: 1 round
• Range: 0

A siege tower is a mobile wooden structure with a beam frame and slats in its walls. Large wooden wheels or rollers allow the tower to be pushed or pulled by soldiers or beasts of burden. Medium or smaller creatures can use the siege tower to reach the top of walls up to 40 feet high. A creature in the tower has total cover from attacks outside the tower.

Siege Tower, Large

Gargantuan siege object

• Armor Class: 18
• Hit Points: 500
• Damage Immunities: poison, psychic
• Damage Threshold: 25
• Crew: 200 men (construction & movement)
• Days to Construct: 5
• Purchase Cost: 1,000 gp
• Movement Rating: 2 rounds
• Range: 0

This siege tower is 30 feet wide and long, with a height of 200 feet. A siege tower is a mobile wooden structure with a beam frame and slats in its walls. Large wooden wheels or rollers allow the tower to be pushed or pulled by soldiers or beasts of burden. Medium or smaller creatures can use the siege tower to reach the top of walls up to 200 feet high. A creature in the tower has total cover from attacks outside the tower.

Trebuchet, Counterpoise

Gargantuan siege object

• Armor Class: 18
• Hit Points: 300
• Damage Immunities: poison, psychic
• Damage Threshold: 20
• Crew: 100 men (construction & movement), 10 (operating)
• Days to Construct: 10
• Ammunition Cost: 75 gp per round
• Purchase Cost: 1,200 gp
• Movement Rating: 4 rounds
• Damage: 10d10 bludgeoning damage * proficiency bonus
• Range: 2/3 (can not target Range 0)

A trebuchet is a powerful catapult that throws its payload in a high arc so it can hit targets behind cover. A counterpoise trebuchet relies on an extremely heavy counter balance to allow it to hurl heavy stone blocks and requires 75 gp per round for ammunition. It can hurl other kinds of projectiles with differing effects, like alchemist fire or the carcass of an animal.

Traction Trebuchet

Huge anti-personnel object

• Armor Class: 15
• Hit Points: 100
• Damage Immunities: poison, psychic
• Damage Threshold: 15
• Crew: 50 men (construction & movement), 75 (operating)
• Days to Construct: 2
• Ammunition Cost: 15 gp per round
• Purchase Cost: 200 gp
• Movement Rating: 1 round
• Damage: 3d10 bludgeoning damage * proficiency bonus
• Range: 1/2

A trebuchet is a powerful catapult that throws its payload in a high arc so it can hit targets behind cover. A traction trebuchet relies on an a large number of men to pull on dozens of ropes in order to hurl heavy stone blocks and requires 15 gp per round for ammunition. It can hurl other kinds of projectiles with differing effects, like alchemist fire or the carcass of an animal.

Building and Scrounging

In order to build siege engines or create ammunition, you must be close to a source of resources or be willing to send off the specialty unit in order to travel further and find the required resource. This might require beasts of burden to drag the resources back to the army.

Basic materials are provided to help the DM determine a DC for a specific location. If a city or fortification would know it was going to be sieged, they would often gather up all available resources and the DC increases by 5.

After a week or more of a siege, the DM may determine that the available nearby resources have been depleted and the DC increases.

Appendix A: Variant Rules

Seek and Destroy

The character must make a Wisdom (Insight) check contested by the opposing army's Charisma (Deception) check, on a success they can locate a key soldier in the opposing army and strike out at them. They then can make an attack, either with a weapon or spell, if they would hit against the AC of the army, or if the army must make a saving throw and they fail, they can roll damage. If their damage would equal the key soldier's hit points, determined by multiplying the army's proficiency bonus times ten, they kill the key soldier and the army suffers a penalty to their next attack and damage roll equal to the character's proficiency bonus.

If they are unable to kill the key soldier, the character suffers a number of d4s of damage equal to the opposing army's proficiency bonus. This damage can not be reduced. They can choose to keep targeting this same target on subsequent turns and the damage they deal is cumulative.

Take Charge

The character can jump to the front of the line and push a specialty unit that they are in to greater feats. The character makes an attack roll, that attack roll replaces the Attack action of the specialty unit. On a miss, the attack is treated as normal against the opposing army or unit, on a hit, the character gets to add a number of d4s equal to half their proficiency bonus as damage against the opposing unit.

Witch Hunter

The character must make an Intelligence (Arcana) check contested by the army's Dexterity (Sleight of Hand), Dexterity (Stealth), or Charisma (Deception) check, their choice. On a success, the character spots a powerful wizard in the opposing army's ranks. They can proceed to make an attack, either with a weapon or spell, if they would hit against the AC of the army, or if the army must make a saving throw and they failed, they can roll damage. If their damage would equal the key wizard's hit points, determined by multiplying the army's proficiency bonus times five, they kill the powerful wizard and the opposing army's maximum spell level is temporarily decreased by 1, to a minimum of 0, for the day.

If they are unable kill the powerful wizard, they suffer a number of d6s of damage equal to the opposing army's proficiency bonus. This damage can not be reduced. They can choose to keep targeting this same target on subsequent turns and the damage they deal is cumulative.

Smaller Hit Die

If an army has a Constitution score of 10 or less, it can choose to change it's Hit Die to that of a smaller army and gains 10 Hit Die for every Hit Die it changes. A medium army could swap out a 1d100 for 10d10, or a large army could swap out a 1d1,000 for 10d100. A small army can not decrease their Hit Die, and once a Hit Die has been changed, the swapped Hit Die can not be changed back until an army regains all their Hit Die. This has no effect on their Constitution score or modifier.

An army can not spend more of these smaller Hit Die when they attempt to regain hit points at the end of the day.

Appendix B: Sample Armies

The Capital's Army

Small (green) army, -

---

• Armor Class 11 (padded armor)
• Hit Points 300 (30d10)
• Proficiency Bonus +2
• Tactics 0

---

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	11 (+0)	30 (+10)	15 (+2)	14 (+2)	9 (-1)

---

• Skills Athletics +5, Perception +4
• Condition Immunities Charmed, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Prone, Restrained, Stunned
• Senses passive Perception 14
• Weapon Proficiency Clubs, Daggers, Slings, Light Crossbows
• Armor Proficiency Padded Armor
• Army Size 3,000 Soldiers

---

Army. The capital army can occupy another army’s space and vice versa, and the capital army can move through any opening large enough for a medium creature.

Craftsmen. Prices for equipment are decreased by 10%.

Actions

Club. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, Range 0, one army. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) bludgeoning damage

Sling. Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, Range 0/1, one army. Hit: 5 (2d4) bludgeoning damage

Kobold Army

Small (green) army, chaotic evil

---

• Armor Class 12
• Hit Points 80 (8d10)
• Proficiency Bonus +2
• Tactics 2

---

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
7 (-2)	15 (+2)	8 (-1)	8 (-1)	7 (-2)	8 (-1)

---

• Skills Stealth +4
• Condition Immunities Charmed, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Prone, Restrained, Stunned
• Senses Darkvision, passive Perception 8
• Weapon Proficiency Daggers, Slings
• Army Size 800 Kobolds

---

Army. The kobold army can occupy another army’s space and vice versa, and the kobold army can move through any opening large enough for a small creature.

Finesse. The kobold army can use their Dexterity instead of their Strength with weapon attacks using finesse weapons.

Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the kobold army has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Pack Tactics. The kobold army has advantage on attack rolls against another army while occupying the same space as that army.

Actions

Daggers. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, Range 0, one army. Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) piercing damage

Slings. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, Range 0/1, one army. Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) bludgeoning damage

Orc Warband

Medium (regular) army, chaotic evil

---

• Armor Class 13 (hide armor)
• Hit Points 1,500 (15d100)
• Proficiency Bonus +4
• Tactics 1

---

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	12 (+1)	15 (+2)	7 (-2)	11 (+0)	10 (+0)

---

• Skills Athletics +7, History +2, Intimidation +4, Survival +4
• Condition Immunities Charmed, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Prone, Restrained, Stunned
• Senses Darkvision, passive Perception 10
• Weapon Proficiency Greataxe, Javelins
• Army Size 15,000 Orcs

---

Ambushers. Advantage on all attack rolls against an enemy that hasn't taken an action so long as this army is the aggressor.

Army. The orc army can occupy another army’s space and vice versa, and the orc army can move through any opening large enough for a medium creature.

Martial Advantage. The army deals an addition 1d8 points of damage (included in the attack)

Swift Footed. Once per day, the army can move an additional range.

Actions

Multiattack. The army makes two attacks.

Greataxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, Range 0, one army. Hit: 29 (4d12 + 3) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) slashing damage.

Javelin (x1). Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, Range 0/1, one army. Hit: 17 (4d6 + 3) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) piercing damage.

Skeleton Horde

Large (green) army, lawful evil

---

• Armor Class 13 (armor scraps)
• Hit Points 19,000 (19d1000)
• Tactics 2

---

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	14 (+2)	19 (+4)	6 (-2)	11 (-1)	5 (-3)

---

• Damage Vulnerabilities Bludgeoning
• Damage Immunities Poison
• Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained, Stunned
• Senses Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9
• Weapon Proficiency Shortsword, Shortbow
• Army Size 190,000 Skeletons

---

Army. The skeleton army can occupy another army’s space and vice versa, and the skeleton army can move through any opening large enough for a medium creature.

Mindless. The army automatically succeeds on Morale checks and Charisma skills do not work on them.

Undead. The army has no need for food, drink, air or sleep.

Actions

Multiattack. The army makes four attacks.

Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, Range 0, one army. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) piercing damage.

Shortbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, Range 1, one army. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) piercing damage.

Barbarians of the Spine

Small (elite) army, neutral good

---

• Armor Class 13 (hide armor)
• Hit Points 120 (12d10) or 90 (unit deployed)
• Proficiency Bonus +6
• Tactics 1

---

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	12 (+1)	12 (+1)	9 (-1)	11 (+0)	9 (-1)

---

• Saving Throw Dex +7
• Skills Athletics +9, Intimidation +5, Medicine +5, Nature +5, Stealth +7 Survival +6
• Condition Immunities Charmed, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Prone, Restrained, Stunned
• Senses passive Perception 10
• Weapon Proficiency Javelin
• Armor Proficiency Hide Armor
• Army Size 1,200 Barbarians

---

Adaptable. Does not suffer penalties for marching through inhospitable terrain.

Army. The army can occupy another army’s space and vice versa, and the army can move through any opening large enough for a medium creature.

Grizzled (6/Day). The army can reroll a failed Morale check.

Specialized Unit. The army has 1 unit: Berserkers.

Actions

Javelin (x2). Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, Range 0/1, one army. Hit: 24 (6d6 + 3) piercing damage.

Berserkers of the Spine

Small (elite) unit, -

---

• Armor Class 14 (studded leather)
• Hit Points 30 (3d10)
• Additional Proficiencies Greataxe, Studded Leather
• Army Size 300 Berserkers

---

Size. The specialized unit makes up more than 20% of the army and deals normal damage on a hit if attacking an opposing army or unit.

Specialized Unit. The specialized unit has access to the main army's abilities, equipment, and traits.

Actions

Greataxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, Range 0, one army. Hit: 9 (1d12 + 3) slashing damage.

Abyssal Chicken Army

Small (green) army, chaotic evil

---

• Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
• Hit Points 100 (10d10)
• Proficiency Bonus +2
• Tactics 2

---

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
6 (-2)	14 (+2)	10 (+0)	4 (-3)	9 (-1)	5 (-3)

---

• Damage Resistance cold, fire, lightning
• Damage Immunity Poison
• Condition Immunities Blinded, Charmed, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained, Stunned
• Senses Blindsight 1 Range (blind beyond this point), passive Perception 9
• Army Size 1,000 Abyssal Chickens

---

Army. The army can occupy another army’s space and vice versa, and the army can move through any opening large enough for a tiny creature.

Natural Weapons. The army can use their Dexterity instead of their Strength with weapon attacks using their natural weapons.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, Reach 0, one army. Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) piercing damage

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, Range 0, one army. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) slashing damage

Paladins of Mykail

Small (regular) army, lawful good

---

• Armor Class 20 (Plate, Shield)
• Hit Points 50 (5d10)
• Proficiency Bonus +4
• Tactics 3

---

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	14 (+2)	5 (-3)	8 (-1)	10 (+0)	14 (+2)

---

• Skills Athletics +7, Medicine +3, Perception +4, Persuasion +6
• Condition Immunities Charmed, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Prone, Restrained, Stunned
• Senses passive Perception 14
• Weapon Proficiency Clubs, Daggers, Longswords*, Shortswords*, Slings, Light Crossbows, Heavy Crossbow*
• Armor Proficiency Padded Armor, Plate*, Shields*
• Army Size 500 Paladins

---

Army. The army can occupy another army’s space and vice versa, and the army can move through any opening large enough for a medium creature.

Lay on Hands (1/Day). The army can heal themselves, or another army whose range they occupy, for 4d4 points of damage at the end of a round.

Precise Orders. Gain an additional Tactics once per day.

Trained Physicians. Once per day when spending Hit Die, they can reroll a Hit Die and take either result.

Actions

Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, Range 0, one army. Hit: 21 (4d8 + 3) slashing damage or 25 (4d10 + 3) slashing damage if used with two hands.

Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, Range 0, one army. Hit: 17 (4d6 + 3) piercing damage

Crossbow, Heavy. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, Range 1/2, one army. Hit: 24 (4d10 + 2) piercing damage

Errata

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Abridged

This is an abridged version of the Abstracted Warfare system with plans of creating a more detailed version for those who want more information in regards to running mass combat and warfare.

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