TEXT: Warfare for Beginners  is a short EN 
  Publishing  supplement
   for
   the 
  PATHFINDER  RPG by  Russell  Morrissey, 
  around which the final battle aspects of 
  The  War  of  the  Burning  Sky  adventure 
  path were  hinged.  The  system  was 
  modified to meet the requirements of the 
  adventure, but it is presented here in its 
  original form. Game masters can use the 
  supplement  as  is  or  modify  it  to  suit 
  their own adventures.
  This  supplement  presents  an easy-
  to-use  mass-battle  system  which 
  involves  your  player  characters  on  an 
  individual level. The key to the system is 
  focusing  on  tactical  and  strategic 
  missions  which  affect  the  overall 
  outcome of a large battle.
  The system assumes that the player 
  characters are integral to the battle — in 
  other words, without their actions, the 
  battle will be lost. That’s why we play 
  fantasy role-playing games, right?
  You’ll  find  that  the  system  is 
  remarkably  simple  to  use,  and  allows 
  your  players  to  feel  they  truly  are 
  affecting the course of the battle in a vital 
  way, without forcing you to adopt large-
  scale  and  clunky  mass-battle  rules 
  involving army units and the like.
  The Basics
  The system works on a basic Victory 
  Points  scale.  Successful  missions 
  performed by the PCs earn their “side” 
  Victory Points, while the passage of time 
  deducts Victory Points. The scale runs 
  from 0–20; if the PCs’ Victory Points total
  reaches 20, the battle is won; if it reaches 
  0, the battle is lost.
  Generally speaking, the heroes’ side 
  will start with 10 Victory Points, adding 
  Victory Points when the PCs succeed in a 
  mission, and deducting Victory Points as 
  time  passes.  This  creates  a  sense  of 
  urgency, because if the PCs sit around 
  doing nothing  for  too  long,  the  battle 
  will, left to its own devices, be lost.
  Missions  include  such  things  as: 
  assassinations, captures, reconnaissance, 
  spying, sabotage and so on. A successful 
  mission will earn 1–4 Victory Points: the 
  more  difficult  the  missions,  the  more 
  Victory Points.
  Passage  of  time  reduces  the  PCs’ 
  Victory Points tally at a rate of 3 Victory 
  Points per day.
  Optional Rule
  Make the PCs’ task easier or harder 
  by increasing or decreasing the starting 
  score. Apply a 2-point bonus or penalty 
  for major conditions that affect one side 
  or  the  other,  such  as  being  greatly 
  outnumbered,
   
  having
   
  significant 
  fortifications, having flying troops, being 
  thoroughly
   
  prepared
   or
   
  being 
  completely surprised, and/or for having
  either extensive or next to no experience. 
  Try not to add or subtract more than 6 
  Victory  Points,  or  the  PCs’  job  may 
  become  either  trivial  or  next  to 
  impossible.
  The Missions
  Each day, roll 1d20 three times and 
  offer  the  players  the  three  resultant 
  missions. They are free to attempt any or 
  all  of  the  missions  available.  Any 
  missions failed or not undertaken on a 
  particular day may be undertaken on a 
  later day unless failure incurs a penalty, 
  in which case the damage has already 
  been done to the heroes’ side.
  A  successful  mission  gains  the 
  party’s side the number of Victory Points 
  indicated  in  the  “Success”  column, 
  above. A failed mission means that the 
  party’s side loses the number of Victory
  Points in the “Fail” column, above.
  If  the  failure  penalty  is  0  Victory 
  Points,  the  mission  can  be  attempted 
  again at any point.
  Roll 
  (d20)
  Victory Points
  Mission
  Success
  Fail
  1-2
  Minor 
  Assassination
  1
  0
  3-4
  Major 
  Assassination
  3
  0
  5-6
  Minor Sabotage
  1
  0
  7
  Artifact
  4
  0
  8
  Major Sabotage*
  2
  -1
  9-10
  Reconnaissance
  1
  0
  11
  Spying
  3
  0
  12-13
  Minor Abduction
  2
  0
  14
  Major Abduction
  4
  0
  15-16
  Defence
  2
  -2
  17
  Bodyguard
  1
  -2
  18
  Counterspy
  2
  -2
  19
  Morale
  2
  0
  20
  Allies
  4
  0
  *Major  sabotage  may  constitute  a  larger,  or  better 
  defended  installation  than  Minor  sabotage,  or  it  may 
  comprise three acts of Minor Sabotage.
  Important Note
  Missions with a penalty for failure 
  count  as  failed  if  they  are  not 
  undertaken. They are time critical: the 
  PCs don’t get to wait until tomorrow to 
  defend that breach in the wall.
  Daily Events
  Each day, roll 1d12 for a Daily Event. 
  The event can apply to either side in the 
  battle — which side that is should also 
  be  determined  randomly.  The  heroes’ 
  side gains or loses the number of Victory
  Points indicated, depending on whether 
  the event benefits them.
  Roll 
  (d12)
  Event
  Victory 
  Points
  1-2
  Weather  Change:  A change  in 
  weather favors one side or the 
  other.
  1
  3
  Reinforcements:
  Reinforcements arrive for one 
  side or the other.
  3
  4
  Illness:
   Plague  or  other 
  widespread
   
  illness
   
  affects 
  oneside or the other.
  3
  5-6
  Spy:  One  side’s  secrets  are 
  leaked to the others’ by a spy.
  2
  7-8
  Hero:
   One  side  is  badly 
  damaged  by  a  successful 
  mission by a hero of the other 
  side.
  2
  9
  Omen: An omen reduces morale 
  of one side.
  1
  10
  Desertion: Desertion
  problems weaken one side.
  2
  11
  Traitor: An important
  individual or unit defects to the 
  other side.
  3
  12
  Major  Death:  An  important 
  individual or unit dies, either
  slain on the battlefield or at the 
  hands of an assassin.
  3
  Putting All This Into Practice
  The preceding sections outlined the 
  basic mechanic for outlining the course 
  of a battle. However, this needs to be put 
  into  practice.  You  can’t  just  tell  your 
  players:  “Your  daily  event  is  Illness. 
  Missions
   
  available
   
  are
   
  Major 
  Assassination,  Minor  Sabotage  and 
  Defence, plus the Reconnaissance saved 
  from yesterday.” You need to translate 
  these results into interesting and varied 
  game encounters!
  You  should  keep  your  players 
  apprised of the score they have achieved, 
  and the Victory Points available for each 
  mission. This allows them to weigh their 
  strategic and tactical options and creates 
  tension when the score approaches one 
  end of the scale or the other.
  Each  available  mission  should  be 
  described as an encounter. For example: 
  “General  Arvistas  calls  you  to  his 
  tent. He informs you that three artillery 
  
  pieces mounted  on the hills to the east 
  are creating havoc amongst the defenses, 
  and  that  it  is  imperative  that  these 
  weapons  be  destroyed.  As  far  as  he 
  knows, each is manned by three ogres.” 
  [Major Sabotage]
  “Spies have identified the tent of one 
  of the opposing generals, Lord Borstas, 
  and  General  Arvistas  has  decided  to 
  attempt to abduct him. A small group 
  will need to sneak through the enemy 
  camp at night, infiltrate his tent while he 
  sleeps, and  transport  him  back  to  the 
  fort.” [Major Abduction]
  “Morale  is  low,  and  supplies  are 
  running short. In the nearby village of 
  Bitterne,  a  cellar  full  of  beer  can  be 
  found. Obtaining this beer and bringing 
  it  back  for  the  troops  will  result  in a 
  great morale boost.” [Morale]
  The mission possibilities are almost 
  endless.
  Designing the Encounters
  The  most  important  piece  of 
  information  you need  when designing 
  the mission encounters is the same piece 
  of information needed when designing
  any encounter: you need to know how 
  powerful your PC party is and create a 
  challenging mission.
  Some  missions  will  be  easier  than 
  others.  The  difficulty  of  the  mission 
  matches  the  number  of Victory  Points 
  gained for succeeding: between 1 and 4 
  Victory Points. A 1-point mission should
  be fairly easy, while a 4-point mission 
  should stretch the party to its limits.
  In terms  of Challenge  Rating,  a 2-
  point  mission should  have an average 
  CR equal to the PCs' average party level 
  (APL); see the  PATHFINDER core rulebook 
  for more information.. A 1-point mission 
  (easy) should have a CR 1 less; a 3-point 
  mission (challenging) 1 more; and a 4-
  point mission (hard) 2 more. 
  So  a  party  of  8th-level  characters 
  undertaking  a  3-point  (challenging) 
  mission  will  find  that  the  CR  of  the 
  encounters  that  make  up  the  mission 
  will  be  9.  If  they  undertake  a  very 
  difficult 4-point mission, the average CR 
  of the encounters will be 10.
  VP
  Mission
  CR
  1
  Easy
  APL -1
  2
  Average
  APL
  3
  Challenging
  APL +1
  4
  Hard
  APL +2
  The Mission Itself
  You should divide your mission into 
  three parts:
  1. The Approach: Do the PCs need to 
  scale  a  cliff,  sneak  though  the  enemy 
  camp, fight their way across a guarded 
  bridge,  or  explore  a  secret  tunnel  or 
  cave?
  2. The Mission: This is the bit where 
  the  PCs  actually  accomplish  the  task 
  they have been set.
  3. The Escape: In most cases, the PCs 
  will need to go back the way they came 
  —  but  this  doesn’t  necessarily  always 
  have to be the case.
  Passage of Time
  As  mentioned  earlier,  the  default 
  assumption  is  that,  without  the  PCs’ 
  help, the battle will be lost. Therefore, 
  every day, the heroes’ side automatically 
  loses 3 Victory Points. In other words, if 
  the  PCs  do  nothing,  eventually  their 
  Victory Points will reach zero and the 
  bad guys will win.
  Scaling
  It’s  easy  to  scale  these  rules.  The 
  default  assumption  is  a  battle  of  2–7 
  days, roughly, with short missions that 
  can be accomplished in a day.
  
  You may want to use these rules to 
  handle more epic battles lasting weeks, 
  months, or even years. All you need to 
  do is replace “days” with whatever unit 
  of  time  you  prefer,  and  make  the 
  missions themselves larger in scope.
  For  example,  you  could  have  an 
  massive  war  which  you  plan  to  take 
  months.  The  PCs  have  a  month  to 
  accomplish  a  given  mission.  These 
  lengthy  missions  may  involve  long-
  distance travel or major exploration of 
  expansive  locations.   In  this  type  of 
  campaign,  each  mission  is  actually  an 
  entire  adventure  and  is  part  of  a  full 
  length  
   PATHFINDER campaign  hinged 
  around this basic structure.
  Sample Battle
  Castle  Northam  is  under  siege! 
  Manned  by  a  few  regiments  of  green 
  troops,  it  is  surrounded  by  a  massive 
  army of veteran killers. To make matters 
  worse,  the  enemy  has  brought 
  monstrous allies: a group of hill giants 
  who  are  bombarding  the  fortifications 
  with  massive  boulders,  and  are  busy 
  digging  a  massive  tunnel  under  the 
  walls.  The  enemy  is  led  by  an  evil 
  wizard,  Count  Jarvis,  and  his  three 
  lieutenants. It is rumored that the enemy
  has a small dragon, but this has not been 
  seen as yet.
  The cause seems hopeless. 
  Start
  Default —  The defenders of Castle 
  Northam start with 10 Victory Points.
  Bonuses —  Castle Northam counts 
  as a significant fortification (+2 Victory 
  Points).
  Penalties  —  The  defenders  are 
  outnumbered  (–2)  and  are  rookies  to 
  boot (–2).
  Result — With 8 Victory Points, the 
  castle will fall in three days if nothing is 
  done. Enter the Heroes of Northam!
  Day 1
  Daily  Event:  Hero  —  A  mighty 
  minotaur, hero of the enemy army, slays 
  an entire unit of soldiers singlehandedly 
  (–2).
  Mission:  Minor  Sabotage  —  The 
  enemy  is  using  a  strange  mechanical 
  digging machine to construct its tunnel. 
  The  heroes  infiltrate  the  tunnel  and 
  destroy the machine (+1).
  Mission:  Minor  Abduction —  The 
  castle  commanders  have  decided  to 
  abduct  a  staff  member  on  the  enemy 
  side. The heroes sneak through the camp 
  at night and attempt to abduct a cook. 
  Unfortunately,  they  are  spotted  and 
  barely escape with their lives (+0).
  Mission: Bodyguard —  Spies report 
  that agents within the castle intend to 
  make an attempt on the general’s life. 
  The heroes mount a secretive watch, and 
  intercept a small band of kenku as they 
  close  on  the  general’s  private  quarters 
  (+1).
  Result — At the end of the first day, 
  the  heroes  still  have  8  Victory  Points. 
  They will need to do better than this if 
  they are to save the castle.
  Day 2
  Passage of Time —  The heroes’ side 
  loses 3 Victory Points automatically.
  Daily  Event:  Desertion  —  Reports 
  indicate that the enemy’s hill giant unit 
  has grown tired of the battle and left 
  (+2).
  Mission:  Minor  Sabotage  —  The 
  enemy has constructed another digging 
  machine. It is not in the tunnel yet, and 
  the heroes sneak behind enemy lines and 
  manage to destroy it (+1).
  Mission:  Major  Sabotage  —  The 
  enemy is almost certain to build further 
  digging  machines.  The  only  long-term 
  option is to flood the tunnel. The heroes 
  make their way to a nearby dam and 
  manage  to  destroy  it,  causing  the 
  enemy’s tunnel to fill with water (+2).
  Mission: Defense — The castle has a 
  small lookout tower one mile to the east, 
  which  has  been  used  to  spy  on  the 
  enemy camp. Unfortunately, the enemy 
  has decided to deal with this nuisance 
  and has dispatched a unit of ogres to tear 
  it down. The heroes mount  a stalwart 
  defense, barely scraping a victory. For 
  now, the tower stands (+2).
  Result —  Today was a much better 
  day for the good guys, who close the day 
  with 12 Victory Points. The tide of battle 
  seems to be swinging in their favor.
  Day 3 and Beyond
  If  the  heroes  can keep  racking  up 
  victories, and especially if they can find 
  and defeat that dragon, the defenders of 
  Castle Northam may yet snatch victory 
  from the jaws of defeat.
  MISSION IDEAS
  Assassination/Abduction
  Leaders (generals, clerics, wizards)
  Monsters (giants, dragons)
  Hero (captain, gladiator, champion)
  Sabotage
  Artillery (catapults, cannons, onagers)
  Structure (bridge, viewing tower, 
  gateway)
  Magic (portal, scrying pool, altar)
  Artifact
  Obtain the MacGuffin of Winning (a lance
  that is quite good at killing dragons; a 
  torch that can teleport armies)
  Reconnaissance
  Scout out a nearby hilltop
  Investigate a cave complex
  Search for a way across a river or gorge
  Spying
  Obtain maps, plans or other documents
  Eavesdrop on a meeting or council
  Recruit an agent
  Defense
  Rush to a breach in a wall
  Guard a bridge or other strategic location
  Prevent an assassination attempt
  Counterspy
  Identify and apprehend a spy or traitor
  Morale
  Organize a bardic performance
  Activate a symbol (a beacon, a flag)
  Obtain resources (ale, an entertainer, 
  food)
  Make a rousing speech
  Allies
  Incite an uprising of the populace
  Convince the nearby dwarves to help out
  
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  WIZARDS OF THE COAST!
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  15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE
  Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, 
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  System Reference Document, Copyright
  2000–2003 Wizards of the Coast, Inc., 
  authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip 
  Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David 
  Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, 
  based on original material by E. Gary 
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