City Walls & Dying Dreams
Dark Ages “Military Force” Background
Prerequisites
1. At least Resources x 2
2. One Sphere of Influence at Level 5 – This is to represent what type of force you
control. Street would give you a militia. Church would give you crusaders.
Transportation would give you a navy. Specific details are specific to each
individual.
3. Leadership x 5
4. Tactics x 2
5. Empathy x 1
6. Intimidation x 1
7. Fame x # - # is the level of your Military Force you’re trying to obtain.
Military Force
The actual forces you control are not vampires or ghouls. If you wish to attempt creation
of a ghoul or vampire army, don’t. Your forces are human. They follow your orders
because you order well, and you pay them. ALL MILITARY FORCE ACTIONS ARE
DONE BEHIND THE SCENES. You may not sack an individual with your force.
The levels of the background determine the size of the force. You may have forces for
more than one influence sphere (as long as the sphere is at 5) but you may not have more
than 5 dots of Military Force on your sheet.
* You have a small force. About 25-30 men.
** You have several platoons. About 80-150 men.
*** You have a small army fit for a city. About 300-400 men.
**** You have a large army fit for a province. About 800-1000 men.
***** You are a tried and true power. Your army is famous. Thousands of men.
Combat with your MF will go hand in hand with the Resource Traits system we use for
Resources. You will be able to allocate your Resources (and the resources of others) into
your Military Force to buy status traits for your MF. 2 points of Resources must be
allocated to the MF at all times, and each level allocated here allows you to purchase one
Military Status which will be used to determine your MF traits for battles and sieges, as
well as help flesh out the role playing backlash from your MF.
Military Status
You will receive a Social Challenge (retest listed) against each of these traits that you
purchase with allocated resources. Wins, Ties, and Losses will be calculated into the
army’s final score and the battle will be resolved behind the scenes. You will be given a
battle report at the beginning of the following game informing you of the outcome.
SALARY (Automatic)
This trait is one of your automatically allocated resources. You must pay your
army, plain and simple. The bonus is you do get the traits for it.
FOOD & WATER (Automatic)
Your army must have fresh food and water.
UNIFORM / COLORS (1R)
Having your army uniform and/or flying your colors increases morale and yields
better results on the field of battle. Having these crafted by a master craftsperson
may grant you a retest.
WELL FED (1R)
Your army is well fed and cared for, therefore, they will fight harder for you.
Retest with Leadership.
WELL PAID (1-3R)
Your forces are well compensated for their troubles. Be wary paying too much,
because while money is motivation to fight, too much money is motivation to
leave. Retest with Leadership.
STRICT OFFICERS (1R)
You pay your officers a little extra for beatings, floggings, whipping, and other
such torturous hazing. It will keep the army in line, but it won’t paint you in the
best light. Retest with Intimidation.
WEAPONS (1-3R)
Your army is equipped with good weapons. Even without this status, your army is
armed, just not well. The level of resources determines the variety and value of
your weapons. Having an IC master craftsperson may allow you a retest.
ARMOR (1-3R)
Your army is equipped with armor. Even without this status, your army is
somewhat armored. Maybe they have some chain mail here, or a helmet there, but
there are many troops with nothing. The level of resources determines the
completeness and resilience of your armor. Having an IC master craftsperson may
allow you a retest.
COMBAT TRAINING (1R)
You’ve given your army combat training for this battle. Retest with Tactics.
COMBAT STRATEGO (1R)
Your army has been taught the combat stratego for this particular battle. Retest
with Tactics
GOOD INFORMATION (1R)
You have paid for expert scouts to map out the target. Retest with Intimidation.
CALVARY (1R)
Your officer(s) ride horseback. It’s good for morale. I may allow a retest for
Horse Breeding.
ENTERTAINMENT (1R)
Varied gypsy entertainment for your army after combat. Retest with Leadership.
FEAST (1R)
A true feast awaits your army upon return. Retest with Leadership. Possible
CRAFTS retest if you have a master cook to prepare it.
CHRONICLERS (1R)
Scholars and chroniclers to witness your soldiers heroic feats for future tales. No
retest.
MEDICS (2R)
You have hired combat medics and doctors to accompany your army. Retest with
Tactics.
CLERICS (2R)
You have made a significant donation to the church for them to send priests into
battle with your army. Morale is increased. Retest with Leadership.
The above status traits will help the Narrator calculate the battle statistics for the
comparison of armies. We will not tell you these stats. However, you will quickly
come to discover what works well and what doesn’t.
A successful campaign will yield mostly in character, role playing based results.
Your army does get a mechanical bonus based on their record on the fields of battle,
but most of the reward is based on intangible in character assets. Keep in mind, just
like in war, a successful campaign may still result in a reduction of the background,
as people still perish in the fights, however, it may be easier to recruit replacements.
A failed campaign however, will reflect poorly on your backgrounds and possibly on
the resources of yourself and others who may have supported your efforts. Also,
sending a force back into battle too soon after a loss may lose you more
backgrounds and possibly even fame and influence. You may tell if a MF is ready
for battle with a static Empathy test, difficulty set as your MF rating x2.
There are other not-so-static factors that may have an effect on your force.
Disciplines could play a part if used creatively.
While the addition of a seasoned character to your army may help your chances in
battle, we must make this perfectly clear: IF A PLAYER CHARACTER CHOOSES
TO ENTER BATTLE WITH YOUR ARMY, THEY MAY SUFFER THE SAME
FATE AS THE ARMY. THIS INCLUDES THE PERSON WITH MF ON THEIR
SHEET. I refuse to run out an entire combat of you versus an army. If you join the
core, you fight with the core, and you will have an effect on the numbers, but if the
core dies, you might die with it. By sending your PC into the army, you accept the
behind the scenes fate. We don’t discourage you taking such actions; we simply
encourage you to understand our decision regarding combat.