The SWD rules give no suggestion for the length of a round in a Mass Battle are there any rules or hints for how long this should be for a battle type and size anywhere?
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asked Jan 12, 2012 at 8:39
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Mass battles are very abstract and cinematic in nature, and the length of individual rounds can and should vary depending on the size and type of forces involved, and may also change from round to round depending on the situation and what each side is trying to acheive.
The example in SWD describes a planetary invasion where one turn lasts a couple of hours. I've also seen and run examples where turn lengths have been between 15 and 30 minutes. These tend to be where there are two smaller armies facing off against each other. The formula for working out how much ammo/power points characters use also hints at this. 3d6 shots for a ranged weapon, trebled for burst or full auto indicates an extended period of time.
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\$\begingroup\$ I had hoped that there was more, but there isn't. \$\endgroup\$ Jan 19, 2012 at 8:29
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\$\begingroup\$ Is there any precedent for not having 3d6 of a category be consumed in a round? I have a character which used melee most of the time, but is an effective counter-spell caster so when faced with a thorny caster (and the expected combat time isn't very long) she counter-spells the enemy caster(s) while the rest of the group mops up the other combatants (she's not trying to kill them as much as distract them and render them impotent), but 3d6 Power Points could spend her entire set of Power Points and she wouldn't do that in a prolonged combat unless the expenditure was really worth it or needed. \$\endgroup\$– FluxIXJul 27, 2017 at 23:50
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\$\begingroup\$ @FluxIX With mass battles there's a lot of flexibility built in to allow the GM to do whatever makes sense with what you're proposing your character does for however long a round lasts given whatever types of enemy they're facing. I could certainly see scenarios where I lower the maximum amount of power points spent a little. However, don't forget that even a 15 minute 'round' is 150 normal combat rounds. Even if you roll that you've spent 15 power points in that time, that's only one, single power point spell cast every 10 rounds, which is nothing. \$\endgroup\$– WibbsJul 28, 2017 at 6:45
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\$\begingroup\$ @Wibbs That expenditure is nothing if the character's purpose is magic caster, but a support caster (especially a tactical support caster) may not cast any magic in that time, preferring to favor other actions. The problem is a character declares what type of action they are doing for the mass combat round without and of the circumstantial selection of actions. I'm not saying the GM has to narrate the round, but laying out "this focus in this specific case, otherwise that focus" and then making a flat roll (something like percentile) to determine the balance of effort wouldn't be too onerous. \$\endgroup\$– FluxIXJul 28, 2017 at 13:21
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\$\begingroup\$ @FluxIX then you're firmly in the realms of house rules, and its a discussion you need to have with your GM :) \$\endgroup\$– WibbsJul 28, 2017 at 13:42