A few thoughts on a way to set up a wargaming solo campaign of almost any length.
You could adapt it to an RPG as well if you wanted, without too much fuss.
Originally shared by Ivan Sorensen
Idle thought about solo'ish wargaming campaigns.
You have a list of encounters, could be 10, 20, 30 depending on length.
Each is written out as a particular set of opponents. (f.x. in a platoon sized game ala Chain of Command, an entry might read "2 German squads, 1 Panzer III, 1 50mm Anti-tank gun")
They could even have a specific objective associated or you could keep that separate.
Each turn, roll a suitable die (D6, whatever). Roll a 3? You fight encounter number 3, then strike it off the list (so everything below it moves up a slot).
As you move down the list, encounters get tougher, better equipped, more numerous, better troops etc.
When you finally roll a number that is bigger than the remaining number of encounters, you've beaten the campaign.
Variant: To speed things up a bit, you also strike off the top entry of the list each turn. So if you roll a 3, strike encounters 1 and 3 for example.
You could do something like that to also model a timeline.
ReplyDelete... #26 the first of the canisters from Mars fell today. Allied and Axis forces hunkered down to see what would happen. Then, the Germans decided to send a squad to investigate... You could also have pivotal events that if you roll equal to or higher than that number you take that scenario before moving on.
Amusing coincidence, I just bought your War Story rules about an hour and a half before I saw this post.
ReplyDeleteI guess Fate wants me to play out some War Stories!
Todd Zircher both fantastic ideas!
ReplyDeleteronald v let me know how you get on with it! It’s a bit older and does need an update but if you like narrative gaming, I hope you’ll dig it.
It would be interesting to apply this randomised list-based system to RPGs - the items on the list could be rooms (if exploring a dungeon), non-combat obstacles (e.g. a stubborn parking official, if playing as an interplanetary trader), artifacts (e.g. the Boot of the Bronze Prince) etc.
ReplyDelete'Moving up the list' could signify something different in each case (going deeper into the dungeon, getting closer to the galactic core, digging deeper into the archaeological site).
This technique allows you to do preparation beforehand while still maintaining an element of surprise, as you don't know the order in which you'll encounter the items. Thanks for sharing, Ivan Sorensen!
Jerry Colhurst very cool. You could have certain number ranges represent specific dungeon levels, parts of town etc.
ReplyDelete