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Old 08-21-2017, 11:28 AM   #1
WaterAndWindSpirit
 
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Default Morale rolls in battle

Hello all! So I wanted a way to make morale rolls for people in a fight. After all, most fights in real life end with one side running away/surrendering after meeting too much opposition.

So here is what I want such a system to handle:

Training (I assume a military veteran would be much near impossible to scare with what he knows fully well to be less lethal weapons while a random thug who picked up a knife to threaten some easy scores for their wallets and has zero training would run away/surrender the second someone got a good hit on him even if the actual injury he has received is nonexistent).
Desperation (someone who believes that surrender will lead to their death will likely fight to the death or escape rather than surrender).
*Perceived* relative strength (As Batman said, "criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot" and the typical street thug in a fantasy setting could possibly be scared away with a magical light show even if the one trying to scare them has zero offensive spells, and I assume most thugs upon shooting once or twice with pistol weapons to no effect wouldn't try to see if they're really dealing with Superman or an impersonator with body armor/Superman robot that could be taken down by more gunfire, and so on).
Losses on both sides (Even if you're winning, you might not believe victory to be worth the cost and cut your losses and run).
Other allies running away.
Loyalties involved in the fight (I won't fight over my wallet. I will fight over a friend being beaten down).
Stakes involved in the fight (some wouldn't fight over their wallets but would fight over a million dollars for instance).
Anything reasonable I might have forgotten.

Thank you in advance!
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Old 08-21-2017, 11:34 AM   #2
sir_pudding
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Default Re: Morale rolls in battle

Take a look at the reaction table, under potential combat situations, and note the "a fight already in progress" section.

Tactical Shooting has rules for exposing oneself to fire, and combat stress as well.

Last edited by sir_pudding; 08-21-2017 at 11:37 AM.
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Old 08-21-2017, 11:44 AM   #3
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Default Re: Morale rolls in battle

Personally, I would make a skill roll based on Will (instead of the usual basic attribute - See Using Sills With Other Attributes, Basic Set, Characters, page 172).

The choice of the skill would depend on the character: Karate for a trained karateka, Judo for a judoka, Fencing for a fencer, Soldier, for a soldier, and so on.

And for all the other details, I would simply use modifiers. +1 or -1 if it is a minor factor, +2 or -2 if it is a more important one, +4 or -4 if it is a major one ...

I will only require such roll when it becomes clear for the character than things are going wrong for him: as long as you believe that you win, you think that you can go on ...
Now, I'm almost sure that there are some more precise rules somewhere. In Tactical Shooting, or Mass Combat maybe. I let those who have got those books, or another one, tell it to you.
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Old 08-21-2017, 11:48 AM   #4
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Default Re: Morale rolls in battle

Quote:
Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
Take a look at the reaction table, under potential combat situations, and note the "a fight already in progress" section.
Oh yes. A very good hint!

Quote:
Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
Tactical Shooting has rules for exposing oneself to fire, and combat stress as well.
I was sure!
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Old 08-21-2017, 11:58 AM   #5
sir_pudding
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Default Re: Morale rolls in battle

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gollum View Post
Oh yes. A very good hint!
I have a thing about when to roll for morale, that is currently trying to find a home.
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Old 08-21-2017, 01:47 PM   #6
OldSam
 
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Default Re: Morale rolls in battle

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gollum View Post
Personally, I would make a skill roll based on Will (instead of the usual basic attribute - See Using Sills With Other Attributes, Basic Set, Characters, page 172).

The choice of the skill would depend on the character: Karate for a trained karateka, Judo for a judoka, Fencing for a fencer, Soldier, for a soldier, and so on.

...
Nice, I like that idea! :) ...could well be that I try to use it in my next campaign...
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Old 08-21-2017, 02:21 PM   #7
evileeyore
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Default Re: Morale rolls in battle

Quote:
Originally Posted by sir_pudding View Post
I have a thing about when to roll for morale, that is currently trying to find a home.
Depends on the setting but I have some loose fast rules. Any time one of the following occurs I make two rolls for an NPC force, one Tactics (Will) for the leader and a Will for the unit (plus Leadership bonuses from the leader). These rolls will take effect on their next round of actions.

The Tactics roll is to determine if the leader has a strong enough grasp of the situation to order a retreat or hold fast. A failure means the unit will keep doing as it's doing, a success allows the leader to shout orders to give bonuses to the unit (and thus apply the trained Leadership bonus to their Morale check). On a critical failure the leader will panic and order a retreat (no Trained Leadership bonus to the unit's roll).

The unit's roll is not simply pass/fail. If they pass they hold fast or retreat (as per orders), but if they fail, a number of them equal to the MoF will panic and flee. This could cause another set of rolls on the next turn...

Panicked individuals only Move away from the source of panic. If trapped they will All-Out Defend (a successful Leadership roll from their leader can switch this to All-Out Attack).


Morale Check Events:

Man Down! - Any time one side loses someone in a single round. This individual must go from relatively healthy to fallen in one round (and not just stunned, it must be obvious they are out of the fight, dead or unconscious).[1]

We're Surrounded! - If a force finds itself suddenly fighting on two or more fronts (or if completely boxed in).

Out Manned! - Every time the enemy reaches a multiple of the force's numbers. Outnumber 2:1, 3:1, etc.

Exhausted! - If the fight has gone on so long the combatants taking FP loses from the length of the battle. Every FP lost due to battle length adds a penalty of -1 the reaction roll.

Center Cannot Hold! - If the 'center' is lost. This could be the Leader, or someone/thing the force is protecting, etc. It's basically the 'reason a force is willing to fight'. Some forces (mindless forces mostly) do not have a center. Any group on a Killing Ground ignores the loss of it's center.


Bonuses:
All In! - +5 for the first round of combat, reduced one per round till zero.

Shouted Orders! - Each side gets a trained Leadership bonus (+1 at IQ +1, +2 at IQ +2, etc).

Out Gunned! - Unit has more spellcasters, unit is inflicting more wounds, unit has a healer, unit has skirmishers, unit has superior positioning (defensible terrain, uphill, etc), etc. +1 for each category the unit has and the enemy does not.

This Is BAD! - BAD applies positively to NPCs. Yes, 'double dipping' is allowed.

Penalties:
This Is BAD! - BAD applies negatively to PCs and PC forces.

It Got Worse! - Each morale roll after the first suffers a penalty equal to the number of rolls already made, and a bonus equal to the number of rolls the opposing side has made.

Men Down! - The unit suffers a -1 for every one of them that falls beyond the first.[1]

Out Gunned! - Enemy has more spellcasters, enemy is inflicting more wounds, enemy has a healer, enemy has skirmishers, enemy has superior positioning (defensible terrain, uphill, etc), etc. -1 for each category the enemy has and the unit does not.

Out Manned! - -1 for every full multiple the force is outnumbered.



[1] Note: This only applies to non-expendable units. IE if one side has a group of Zombies they are using as 'make-weights', the zombies won't necessarily count. Or if say a unit of Orcs have some Goblin slaves fighting for them, gobbo loses won't affect Orc morale. Etc.
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Old 08-21-2017, 03:07 PM   #8
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Default Re: Morale rolls in battle

Woah I like those modifiers! Good job there.

I have something vaguely similar, but totally informal and only in my head. I roll Will Checks for the NPCs with bonuses/penalties along those lines, and they retreat or panic accordingly.
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