Inter Arma Appendix II - Campaign

Inter Arma Appendix II – Campaign
v1.00
by Andrew J. McCory

0. Introduction

This appendix provides additional rules for campaigns using the Inter Arma set of skirmish rules or its first appendix of fantasy additions.

Campaign rules contain the following:
Calculating movement on maps
Weather and seasons
Provisions
Recruitment
Levelling skills
Sieges

1. Basics

Movements are tracked on maps: a square or hex grid is advised for easier measurement of moves. In the following, movements on map are given in squares/hexes.

2. Movement

By default a party is able to move 5 squares/hexes on map per turn. In addition, each party rolls 1d6 for a modifier:
1 = 4 grids only.
3-5 = standard.
6= 6 grids.

Further modifiers:
-1 if heavily armored (more than half of the party)
+1 if on horse (acquiring horses/packhorses is available, see Recruitment)
When following a road or sailing in steady sea currents and rolling 1-2 at the beginning of turn, a party can still move 5 grids if staying on said road/current.

Special rules: if a fantasy setting allows travelling in air and parties use this, it adds +1 to movement.

3. Weather and seasons

Bad/good weather can affect movement both on land and sea.
Rain: Reduces movement by 1, 2 if party is heavily armored,
Fog: If not following a road, reduces movement by 1, 2 if sailing.

Effect of different seasons:
Spring and autumn: roll an extra 1d6 to check the status of roads, rolling 1-2 results in a movement reduction by 1 (meaning roads are too muddy), and in case of party is mounted or heavy with packhorses it removes the bonus given by these.
Winter: has an effect on provisions, see later.
Summer: Heavily armored party members suffer from heat, either reducing movement by 1 or taking their armor off and putting them on carts/packhorses, in this case when starting a battle roll 1d6, 1 means they start as non-armored units.

4. Provisions

Provisions can be acquired in towns/villages. Players are free to set currencies and the amount of loot a party can have. Parties, of course, can attack and sack villages as well.

Roll 1d6 for basic provisions when wishing to buy: 1-2= not enough provisions available; 3-6 there are enough provisions.
During winters, reduce roll by 1 and double the conventional price of food.

Special: setting villages. Roll 1d8 to see how much a village is equipped with craftsmen (unless clearly set before starting the campaign).
1-2 – herders only.
3-4 – improved agriculture.
5-6 – pottery and bowyer.
7-8 – Blacksmith with skills to repair armor or forge new weapons.

Players are free to set each craftman’s skills so rarely they can buy well-made items of weapons or armor. These, along with looted items, can enhance a character’s skills.

Special: looting. Looting a dungeon or a village/fort etc. results in throwing 1d8:
1: Nothing of value.
2-3: Basic amount of currency.
4-5: Extra currency.
6-7: Extra currency with relics or useful items.
8: Special item enhancing skill.

When a special item drops, party members of the same character (using magic, melee, archery, stealth etc.) can roll if agreed to see who loots it – or, by default, the one who rolled for it the first time can acquire the item.

Packhorses: Mules, packhorses etc. can be used while travelling to carry equipment and make the party’s movement faster. These can be bought at improved villages and towns.

5. Recruitment

When a party wishes to recruit in a village, roll 2d6 (or 1d12) to determine the value of available troops:
1-2: no men available.
3-4: some peasants available with no equipment. ((These are, according to Appendix IV, counted as Conscripts/Militia and have a lower quality in combat.))
5-6: basic troops with weapons
7-8: basic troops with javeliners/archers, equipped with shields.
9-10: heavily armored professionals available.
11-12: Elites/veterans available.
Add +1 to roll if there’s a blacksmith in the settlement; add +2 if it’s a town with castle/fort.
By default increasing quality of troops reduces quantity: while, for instance, one can hire a dozen of armed peasants, the amount of free knights/professional men-at-arms can only be 4-5 at best.

6. Levelling skills

Skills are widely available as set in the Fantasy Appendix. By gathering experience, party members can further enhance these.
As stated earlier in the first appendix, it is not advised to switch troops between the three basic classes (Regular, Elite and Commander) – in case one would insist, there is a table provided for these too.

Experience gained:
For battles won: 10
For battles lost and survived: 3
For killed non-wounded enemy: 2
For wounded enemy: 1
Average amount of loot: 2
Extra amount of loot: 4

Skill levels as follows:
Level	Exp.
2	30
3	80
4	200
5	450
6	800
7	1650,

whereas three/two level of skills equals one level of classification. This means:
From Regular to Elite: 310 XP,
From Elite to Commander: 1250XP.

Each level increases the effectiveness, recharging rate etc. of skills by the skills’ nature and players’ desire – further set, again, in Appendix I.

7. Sieges

This was a serious fault of the original set of rules – despite including movement modifications on the table for units entering/leaving buildings, it did not set any special rules for sieges. These sessions of combat, after all, affect both participants’ morale and take time. An indecisive combat can make it last many turns, therefore sieges are included here.

a) Villages
When sacking villages, locals can set up roadblocks and walls and defend themselves behind these. In this case tabletop combat contains one session; when the attackers are successful, they stay in the village for one turn. If they don’t succeed in taking the village (the battle is either indecisive or lost), their movement reduces to 3 grids and they take off next turn on the map.

b) Fortifications
When sieging ’real’ forts, combat sessions can last up until the battle is finally decided. As well as that, besiegers can attempt different techniques from siege ladders to blowing up walls.

Siege ladders – in the turn the army reached the castle, they can launch the first siege, and another session of attacks in each following turn. If the ladders are destroyed, the besiegers have to wait another turn until new ones are made. Siege ladders count movement as ’crawling’.
Mines – for crossing the walls from below, the besiegers have to station undisturbed for two consecutive turns below the walls. Using the fantasy rules for underground units, players can either simulate the process of diggers, and their defense by the units on the surface. After the diggers reach the castle, one combat session follows: besiegers cannot route but surrender and being captured.
Blowing up walls – the army has to wait for three consecutive turns. Characters with skill Combat Engineering can reduce this to two. After the walls are blown up, a full-scale attack can be launched, be it either with cavalry. Besiegers do not take morale tests during this type of siege.
Breaking gates – with the necessary items provided (it takes one turn to build a battering ram or a catapult) besiegers can attempt to crush the fort’s gates and launch a full-scale attack (no cavalry included) in one session of combat. If the defenders are undisturbed for one following turn, they can repair the gates (if the attack is unsuccessful, the besiegers retreat, but cannot start attacking the gates again, however, they can use ladders the next turn).
Poisoning – Characters with the skill Poisons can attempt to poison the city’s provisions. They can either risk the character simulating a session of combat in which he/she has to get past the guards without being spotted or roll dice for a decision. If the city is poisoned, in every 3 turns the able defenders became halved and their morale falls by 1.
Starving – If the city lacks provisions, besiegers can attempt to starve the defenders. If no provisions pass through, the defenders lose 10% of their men in every five turns.

8. Notes

This addition for the Inter Arma set of rules (current version: 0.99; http://pastebin.com/9cfdu9L2) was created on 06/09/12. Further modifications on this specific appendix to be noted below.

Ver. 1.00: Changed dice modifier on movements on map, added cross-references to other appendixes.

Created by Andrew J. McCory.
Critics on the rules are more than welcome on the 'Rules' page of my blog, http://randomncreative.blogspot.com.