[mh][mc] Vamps, Weres, and/or the Zombipocolypse.

[Luke Bunyip]

I know that this is not what PK probably had in mind when he started working on MH 1-4, but I just had a random thought about using Mass Combat to model a zombie outbreak, or a battle between werewolves and vampires.

Will it work? Any thoughts or comments?

[SCAR]

I don't see why not.
I'm pretty sure it's mentioned either in Mass Combat, or on these Forums that Mass Combat could be used for a battle between an adventuring party (and their allies) against a small band of orcs (say 12-20), if you wanted to.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Will it work?

Sure.

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Any thoughts or comments?

May require some kit-bashing of the sample elements from the book by the GM, with the specifics heavily-dependent on setting details, of course. For Example:

Zombie Horde: If we're looking at your typical Horror Zombie here, there is probably nobody in command. I'd just figure out the average IQ for a horde member and subtract 6 for their side's Strategy default, while never choosing Defensive Strategies. A typical Fantasy horde, on the other hand, will probably have a wizard or cleric calling the shots and can use that guy's Strategy or the Strategy of whomever he subordinates himself to. They are a Fanatic element, so all casualties are permanent, but a necromancer working on their side or contagious undeath might be able to transform enemy casualties into friendly troops after they win an engagement (see p 14, "Super Healing and Force Replacement"), and in a Romeroesque setting in which all dead will rise regardless of circumstances, simply transfer all unrecovered non-undead casualties from either side directly to the undead force. They probably also count as Sealed if they ignore gas attacks, vacuum, etc. Element types can be anything humanoid (or vehicular, if the zombies can drive/fly the thing), defaulting to Stone Age Warrior if the zombies are fighting bare-handed or with whatever they pick up. P 11's "Unliving Troops" and p 41's "Exceptional Powers in Battle" are also relevant.

Vampires: A large, organized force composed entirely of vampires is going to have some trouble feeding itself on the march in most settings, unless it is consistently engaging and beating living forces. The ability to create new vampires from fallen enemies could be valuable, if it comes with reliable mind-control (or if the new vampire's former allies would kill them for being vampires, unless the convert is enough of a Fanatic to try to rejoin them anyway). They may form any sort of element, and are likely to have better-than-average troop and equipment quality if vampires tend to grow in power and amass wealth as they age in-setting. Make them Super-Soldiers if they have inhuman strength, speed, etc. If they can turn into bats at will, I'd allow any element to serve as unequipped Flying Infantry for an engagement instead of whatever it normally is, if they need the air mobility and/or Recon advantage. If vampires in-setting are prone to thinking very highly of themselves, craving glory, etc, then most are probably Impetuous and many are probably Disloyal. They are, of course, Nocturnal.

Werewolves: Lots and lots is setting-dependent here, so I'm just going to picture something like the creatures in oWoD / Underworld for my example. The biggest advantage that selectively-changing werewolves will have is the ability to choose between their normal element type and the Beast type before an engagement. Throw in the option to choose the Ogre type if they also have a 9'-tall, 450# kill machine in the toolbox. If they regenerate fast enough to actively affect how long they can stay in a specific fight, make them Super-Soldiers for double TS in all forms, ignoring the extra 200% to raise and maintain (or call them double-TS Hero units if that bugs you, but I'd personally like distinct heroes among them, too). If silver is not used against them (because of poorly-equipped or uninformed enemies or whatever), all casualties are halved on the werewolf side, and permanent losses are halved again (ie: 75% of total will be temporary) for lack of death. If the enemy does use silver weapons (requiring foreknowledge and the ability to equip at least Fine quality), all casualties are doubled. See vampires for the potential effects of a contagious bite. In most settings werewolves are definitely Impetuous, at the very least during the full moon, will also have Night capability if they can see in the dark easily, and probably the Terrain (Woodland) modifier.

[Luke Bunyip]

Ta muchly.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Ta muchly.

No problemo... I kinda want to run this as an evenly-matched three-way now... The Zombies are a stupid but huge moving roadblock that can't be "recruited," they're probably not using silver weapons so the Weres can slug it out with them several times in between raiding the Vampires' huge logistical tail and bounce back, the Vampires could be smaller in number with more elite troops and special recon abilities like mind-reading... It's like Horror Starcraft. :]