Tides of War A mass combat fan supplement for

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2 n d Edition

Introduction
Tides of War is an unofficial fan supplement for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
2nd Edition focusing on mass combat. This system is broad enough in scope, and
general enough with mechanics, that it could easily be adapted to any RPG
system, fantasy or otherwise, with minimal modification.
Tides of War is based on the Total War fan supplement, which is in turn based
on the Legend of the Five Rings mass combat system. Tides of War is a
refinement, an expansion, and a simplification on those rules, to grant the
system wider utility and more control, with less GM fiat required.
This supplement is broken into three sections:
1. The Anatomy of War details the components of mass combat—units,
magnitude, generals, etc.,
2. Mass Combat Battles details the rules for running a mass combat battle—
how rounds work, the tides of war roll, moments of heroism and
desperation, etc.,
3. And the Appendix details some example moments, units, and other
facts of warfare for GMs to use.
Tides of War
The Anatomy of War
A battle is made up of two or more forces, which are themselves made up of
one or more units, which are likewise comprised of troops.
Troops are individual soldiers, who fight together as a unit. Each troop need
not be detailed, but instead an archetypal troop is created for each unit that
represents the standard member of that unit, and is used as the unit’s profile.
This profile is created just like any other character, has characteristics, skills,
talents, trappings, and careers, and gains 100 XP per battle it survives.

Units
Units have additional mechanics for mass combat, however, which include a
type, one or more favoured engagements, and potentially some tags.
A unit’s type determines their role on the battlefield, as well as sets out the
standard template for how they function in mass combat rounds. These rules
detail how many zones a unit can move in a round, in which zones the unit
can attack, and the unit’s favoured engagements. The types, and their
mechanics, are:

➢ Infantry: Foot soldiers equipped with melee weapons. Infantry can

move 1 zone per round, and can only attack within their own zone.
Their favoured engagements are Heavily Engaged and Line of
Battle.
➢ Marksmen: Foot soldiers equipped with ranged weapons. Marksmen
can move 1 zone per round, and can attack within their own zone, or
any adjacent zone. Their favoured engagements are Line of Battle
and Skirmish/Disengaged.
➢ Cavalry: Mounted soldiers equipped with melee weapons. Cavalry can
move 2 zones per round, and can only attack within their own zone.
Their favoured engagements are Line of Battle and
Skirmish/Disengaged.
➢ Ranged Cavalry: Mounted soldiers equipped with ranged weapons.
Ranged Cavalry can move 2 zones per round, and can attack within
their own zone, or any adjacent zone. Their favoured engagements
are Line of Battle and Skirmish/Disengaged.
➢ Artillery: A team of soldiers controlling a heavy weapon, such as a
ballista or a cannon. Artillery can either move 1 zone or attack up to 2
zones adjacent to their own zone, but cannot attack within their own
zone. Their favoured engagements are Skirmish/Disengaged and
Reserves.

Units on the Battlefield

The battlefield is divided into several zones, which are areas of the battlefield
which are mechanically and strategically distinct from each other. These are

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defined at the beginning of the battle. Each zone has an engagement which
represents how close the fighting is in that zone. The different engagements
are:

➢ Heavily Engaged: An area of combat that is up close and personal, with

foes pressed against each other. This is the most savage of combat,
where Infantry thrive.
➢ Line of Battle: An area of combat where the battle lines are still distinct
enough for ordered combat to occur, side by side with allies. This is the
typical arena of war, where all soldiers are on a level playing field.
➢ Skirmish/Disengaged: An area of combat slightly removed from the
battle lines, where archers or raiders can harry their opponents, and
where soldiers can withdraw to out of the main battlefront. This is a
dangerous no-man’s-land where Marksmen and Cavalry thrive.
➢ Reserves: An area removed from the front lines completely, where
soldiers are kept back to await orders. Here, soldiers are kept in reserve
so they can reinforce zones which become threatened. This is also the
engagement where Artillery thrive, as they rain down hell on the
Line of Battle.
Whilst fighting within their preferred engagements, a unit may roll as
normal. If a unit is attacked outside of their preferred engagements, they
suffer a -30% to their rolls!
The engagements of a zone are fluid, and will change throughout a battle.
They are determined by the GM at any given moment, but the best rule to go by
is that wherever opposing Infantry meet is likely Heavily Engaged, or if not so
brutal, at least the Line of Battle. The other engagements tend to radiate out
from these points.

Unit Tags
The final component of a unit is are their tags. Not all units have tags, though
some have multiple. They modify the normal rules for a unit’s type, and give
them greater utility. The tags available are:

➢ Heavy: The unit is particularly well equipped and trained for the
roughest and toughest of fighting. The unit gains the Heavily Engaged
preferred engagement. If the unit already had this preferred
engagement, it gains a +10% bonus to rolls within this zone.
o Artillery, instead, gains a +10% bonus to rolls whilst within
the Reserves engagement, but may not move the round after
attacking.
➢ Light: The unit is particularly well equipped and trained for mobility
and guerrilla tactics. The unit gains the Skirmish/Disengaged
preferred engagement. If the unit already had this preferred
engagement, it gains a +10% bonus to rolls within this zone.

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o Artillery, instead, may move and attack within the same
round, like other unit types.
➢ Versatile: The unit is equipped with multiple types of weapons, and is
able to modify their tactics throughout a battle. Infantry with this tag
may spend their movement for one round changing their type to
Marksmen before attacking, and vice versa. Cavalry may do the same
to Ranged Cavalry, and vice versa. Artillery cannot take this tag.
Note that a unit cannot be both Heavy and Light.

Mass Combat Battles

Before a battle can begin, set-up must occur.

Set-Up
There are three steps to set-up: determining generals, determining scale and
magnitude, and laying out the battlefield.
Determining Generals
Each force requires a general, a character that is leading the entire battle. This
general may either be engaged in the fighting itself, or might be assessing
everything from afar. Either way, the general needs to have their engagement
set as with any normal character during the actual battle itself.
If none of the PCs want to, or are suited to being a general, an NPC can take the
roll.
Each round, the generals will be rolling for the tides of battle, to determine
which force is winning the battle for that round. If a general ever falls,
another general must be immediately chosen, though they suffer -20% to their
tides of battle rolls for the following round.
Determining Scale & Magnitude
Scale indicates how large the battle is, and is the primary way that these rules
can scale upwards or downwards to meet any size of warfare. The scale is
determined by finding the largest common denominator among all of the units
involved in the battle, in both forces. This number then becomes the scale.
E.g. Two forces are facing off against each other—Imperials and Greenskins. The Imperials
have a unit of 20 Gunners, 40 Pikemen, and 30 Cavalry. The Greenskins have 80 Boyz,
and 40 Squig Riders. The largest common denominator here is 10, as each of the units can be
divided by 10. Therefore, the scale of this battle is 10.
Magnitude is an abstraction of the total size of a unit to ease the maths and
bookkeeping of a battle. Magnitude acts as a second round of wounds for a
unit—when a unit’s wounds drops to 0, they lose a magnitude, and replenish
their wounds to full. When a unit’s magnitude drops to 0, the unit breaks
apart and is lost.
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Magnitude is determined by dividing the size of a unit by the scale. Cavalry
and Ranged Cavalry units multiply their magnitude by 2, to represent their
greater force, given their mounts. Artillery units always count as magnitude 2
at the beginning of a battle, and are ignored whilst calculating scale.
E.g. The Imperials’ line up now looks like: Gunners (magnitude 2), Pikemen (magnitude 4),
Cavalry (magnitude 6). The Greenskins look like: Boyz (magnitude 8), Squig Riders
(magnitude 8). The Greenskins outnumber the Imperials, and have a higher magnitude
total. This is going to be a tough fight for the Imperials!
Note that PCs do not influence scale or magnitude, and should be ignored
when calculating these numbers. Also note that exact numbers are irrelevant to
scale—314 is a useless number, just round it out to 310, or even 300.
The Battlefield
The battlefield should be laid out by the GM, cut into zones, and given
objectives and other mechanics if necessary or desired. For example, a zone of
marshlands may impose a -10% penalty to Agility Tests whilst within it.
GMs should create at least 6 zones for a battlefield, so that there is adequate
room for all of the engagements to be used.
Then, the table should come to a consensus where all of the units begin a battle.

The Mass Combat Round

Once set-up is complete, the battle begins!
At the beginning of each round, the tides of battle are determined. Both
generals roll an Opposed Academic Knowledge (Strategy/Tactics) (Int) Test.
The winner of the roll is winning for the round, and the loser is losing. If the roll
is a tie, the round is a deadlock.
For every 2 magnitude total that a general’s force has more than their
opponent, they gain a +10% to their roll, to a maximum of +30%.
E.g. Karl Franz is the general of the Imperials, and rolls 5 degrees of success on his test.
Gorbad Ironclaw is the general of the Greenskins, and because they outnumber the Imperials
12:16, he gets +20% to his roll. Still, Gorbad only rolls 1 degree of success on his test. The
Imperials, despite being outnumbered, are winning at the beginning of the first round.
The winning general gets to make the first action, followed by the losing
general, and then back and forth until every unit has acted. During a unit’s
action, they may move their allowed zones, and they may attack within their
allowed range, up to an amount of attacks given on their troop profile.
Artillery have special rules for moving and attacking in the same round.
Combat, at this point, is handled exactly the way normal combat is handled in a
standard WFRP battle, except:

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➢ If an attack is missed, dodged, or parried, it is instead reduced to
Damage 0, and still counts as having hit. These Damage 0 attacks are
called attrition.
➢ Units gain +10% to their rolls for every magnitude higher they have
than their opponents, to a maximum of +30%.
➢ If a unit is attacked whilst in an engagement that isn’t their
preferred engagement, they suffer -30% to all rolls!
Units can move into and out of zones occupied by enemy units without penalty
or provoking attacks of opportunity, however, a unit cannot move through a
zone that is Heavily Engaged, and if they attempt to move through a zone that
is the Line of Battle, it instead becomes Heavily Engaged.

Player Characters in Mass Combat

PCs must be placed within a unit to participate within a battle. There are two
levels of integration that characters can be at:

➢ Participating: The character acts as a normal soldier among the troops

of the unit, and fights alongside them. They may also be directing them
with orders.
➢ Directing: The character leads the unit without being among them,
and without fighting themselves.
Each round, a character can change their integration within a unit as they see
fit once, and then act. When acting, they roll depending on their integration:

➢ Participating: The character acts like the rest of the unit, but may
substitute one of their own rolls for that of the unit, and grants the unit
+1 Damage (even on attrition). If the unit takes any hits, the character
also suffers those hits. If the character has more attacks than the unit,
they may perform additional attacks that deal 1 unmodified Damage.
o The character can perform a Command (Fel) Test, and
substitute it for a roll of the unit.
o The character may perform a relevant Academic Knowledge or
Trade Test as a substitute in addition to their other rolls.
o Magisters may perform a Channelling (WP) Test in lieu of any
of their other rolls.
➢ Directing: The character rolls a Command (Fel) Test, and a single
Academic Knowledge or Trade Test that’s relevant, which they may
substitute for any roll made by the unit they’re attached to. If the
Command (Fel) Test is failed, the unit takes wounds equal to the degrees
of failure. The character doesn’t take normal hits, but suffers a single
attrition attack if the unit is under attack.
Note that more than one character can be participating in a single unit, but
only one can be directing a unit. A single unit can have characters
participating in it and directing it.
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Tides of War
Moments of Heroism & Desperation
Moments are scenes within a larger battle, where the characters have the
chance to change the battle in their favour. Because most battles don’t result in
one force entirely annihilating another, it is actually during the moments of
heroism and desperation that the battle is truly decided.
Moments should have clearly defined boundaries, clearly defined success or
fail. For example, repelling a charge isn’t a good choice because it’s hard to say
when it was successful or not, whilst the smoke clearing for a moment, and a
clear shot at the enemy commander is a great moment—you either strike true or
you miss. At the end of this section are many examples of good moments.
Moments come in two types: moments of heroism are chances for the
characters to shine, and push the battle one step closer towards victory, whilst
moments of desperation are when things go wrong, and the characters have
the chance to prevent disaster.
At the end of each round, each player rolls a d10. The PC who rolled highest has
a moment—more than one character can be present in a moment, depending
on circumstances. They then roll another d10, and consults the following chart:

Roll Winning Deadlock Losing

1-3 Desperate Desperate Desperate
4-5 Heroic Desperate Desperate
6-7 Heroic Heroic Desperate
8-0 Heroic Heroic Heroic
Once a character features in a moment, they do not roll for moments again
until all characters have featured in a moment.
After a moment, it is up to the group to determine if a moment was a success
or failure. It should be pretty obvious, but the GM has the final say. A successful
moment of heroism confers a +10% to the general’s tides of battle for the
following round. A failed desperate moment confers a -10% to the general’s
tides of battle for the following round.
Feel free to add additional mechanical effects to moments as well—a moment
of heroism could instantly scatter an enemy unit, reducing them in
magnitude, or it could prevent them from acting on the following round, etc.

Additional Rules
Characters & Broken Units
If a unit breaks from being reduced to 0 magnitude, but they have a character
within them, this immediately triggers a moment of desperation for that
character. This moment is a special one, with a clearly defined ruleset.
Broken—The troops around you have been broken by the enemy, and are scattering and
being cut down. If you don’t act quickly, you’ll share their fate. Still, there is a chance for you

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to rally some of the survivors, and get them back to safety. The character must perform
a Command (Fel) Test to rally the forces. A failure means that the moment of
desperation is a failure as well, but the moment isn’t over. The PC must also
pass an Agility Test to make it to an adjacent zone with a friendly unit, and join
them. If there is no such adjacent zone, the PC is cut down and must expend a
Fate Point to survive (though unconscious), or they are swamped by the enemy
unit and perish.
Dismounting Cavalry
If a unit of Cavalry or Ranged Cavalry chooses to dismount, or is forced to for
whatever reason, they are converted to Infantry or Marksmen respectively,
and have their remaining magnitude halved, rounding up. Cavalry or Ranged
Cavalry may be dragged from their horses during a moment of desperation,
or by being held in Heavily Engaged for several rounds.
A unit cannot mount up again after dismounting.

Ending a Battle
A battle ends when one of the following conditions is met:

➢ All the PCs have been forced to retreat, or have died.

➢ All of one force’s units have been scattered or destroyed.
➢ The PCs succeeded in as many moments of heroism as there are PCs,
which results in victory for the PCs.
➢ The PCs failed in as many moments of desperation as there are PCs,
which results in defeat for the PCs.
➢ One force elects to withdraw from the battle.

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Tides of War
Appendix
Example Unit: Tilean Mercenary Veterans
Type: Infantry (Marksmen). Preferred Engagements: Heavily Engaged, Line
of Battle, (Skirmish/Disengaged). Tags: Heavy, Versatile.
Human Veteran (ex-Mercenary)—18 advances
Main WS BS S T Agi Int WP Fel
Current 51% 41% 41% 41% 36% 31% 36% 31%
Scheme 20 20 10 10 15 - 15 -
Taken 20 10 10 10 5 - 5 -
Secondary A W SB TB M Mag IP FP
Current 2 15 4 4 4 0 0 0
Scheme 1 6 - - - - - -
Taken 1 3 - - - - - -
Skills: Common Knowledge (Tilea +10), Dodge Blow, Drive, Gamble, Gossip,
Haggle, Perception, Secret Language (Battle Tongue), Speak Language (Tilean
+10).
Talents: Quick Draw, Strike Mighty Blow, Sharpshooter, Specialist Weapon
Group (Two-handed).
Trappings: Cutlery Set, Flask with Good Craftsmanship Spirits, Healing
Draught, 4 days Rations, Uniform.
Weapons:

➢ Tilean Pike; Two-handed, SB Damage, Fast.

➢ Hand Weapon (Gladius); Ordinary, SB Damage.
➢ Shield; Ordinary, SB-2 Damage, Defensive.
➢ Crossbow; Ordinary, 4 Damage, Range 30/60, Reload Full. 10 bolts.
Armour: Medium Armour (Full Mail Armour).
Soak: Head 7, Body 7, Arms 7, Legs 7.
Special Rules:

➢ Pike Stance: The Tilean Mercenary Veteran grounds their pike and
waits for an opponent to approach. When an opponent comes within 6
yards (3 squares) of the Tilean Mercenary Veteran, they may
immediately make a single melee attack with a +10% WS bonus. If the
attack hits, their opponent cannot move any further this turn, as their
pike has kept them at bay. Pike stance lasts until the beginning of your
next turn, regardless of whether the Tilean Mercenary Veteran got a
chance to make their attack. They may make only one attack with this
action, regardless of how many opponents move into range.

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Example Army Sizes
➢ The average mercenary company is 300 troops of a given type.
➢ A village can muster approximately 1/3rd of its population as militia,
which means 20 for a hamlet (60), 40 for a village (120), 300 for a village
(1,000), and 1,500 for a city (5,000).
➢ A large army is about 1,500 troops strong.
➢ The largest army the Valley of Blood ever saw was 85,000 troops strong—
the invading Arabyan army during the Crusades.
➢ The Stonesnake Janissaries are 300 troops strong.
➢ The Hundred Banners are 1,200 troops strong, and represent the single
largest fighting force in the Valley of Blood.

Example Moments
Many of the below could be either Heroic or moment of desperations,
depending on how you frame them. They have not been separated, for this
reason.
A Clear Shot—In a moment of clarity amongst the clamour of battle, the smoke clears,
and you glimpse a key figure in the enemy’s midst. You have mere seconds to take a shot
before the opportunity passes. Are they the enemy commander, whose death could
demoralise their troops? Or are they a trusted friend, surrounded and about to be struck
down unless you take out their assailant? This could be as simple as a BS Test to take
out the target. As a moment of heroism, this could cause massive
demoralisation to your opponents. As a moment of desperation, this could see
a beloved ally cut down.
Behind the Lines—Suddenly, the fighting breaks in front of you and you realise you’ve cut
through their lines. Ahead, their forces are amassing and vulnerable. A successful charge at
this point could scatter the reserves, and provide relief for your forces still engaged behind
you. This could be an Intimidate (S) Test, or a Command (Fel) Test to rally your
forces. Maybe this could be played out as a single round of combat against the
reserves, and the side who succeeds the greatest wins. As a moment of
heroism, this could freeze up or damage a unit the opponents held in reserves.
As a moment of desperation, this could be the difference between your
opponents bringing to bear reinforcements or not.
Drive a Wedge!—The middle of a battle line is weakening, and if action is taken, it could
crumble—dividing a force in two. Are your enemies about to be cut off from one another, or
is your line at risk of fracturing? This could be a Command (Fel) Test, an Academic
Knowledge (Strategy/Tactics) (Int) Test, or a similar encounter. As a moment of
heroism, this could cut an opponent’s unit into two half-sized units. As a
moment of desperation, the reverse could be true, or an ally could be cut off
from retreat…
Capture the Standard—You spot a standard bearer fighting on the front line,
surrounded by foes. If you can slay this champion, and take their colours for yourself, the
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enemy will be shaken. Unless, that is, it is your standard, and your own forces at risk of being
scattered… This could be a short combat round to fight the champion, or it could
be an Agility Test to push through the throng of battle to get to them. As a
moment of heroism, this could reduce the magnitude of the enemy, or further
hamper their general’s tides of battle roll. As a moment of desperation, the
reverse could be true, and the tides of battle could be turning against you.
Hold this Ground!—You’ve captured a strategic point, but not you need to hold it. The
enemy rushes in at all sides. If it slips from your grasp now, everything could be undone. Or,
it could be a chance to push your foes back, and establish a beachhead. This is most likely a
short combat round, or perhaps an Opposed Strength Test (if holding a door
closed), or the like. As a moment of heroism, this could establish safe ground
for your troops, and convert a zone of Heavily Engaged to Line of Battle,
Disengaged, or even Reserves! As a moment of desperation, this could see
an important objective, like a bridge, gate, or section of wall slip from your
fingers.
Look Out, Sir—You see a prominent figure thrown from their horse, and smashed into the
mud. They’re pinned down, and a felling blow now could unravel your strategy. Alternately,
now could be the time for an act of heroism to inspire the troops, and to give them the
courage to press on into the heart of danger! This could be a short combat round, an
Agility Test to push through the crowd, or even a Heal (Int) Test to patch up the
fallen comrade. As a moment of heroism, it could see a powerful ally brought
back into the fight, and even raise the magnitude of a unit up again. As a
moment of desperation, it could be the final moment before a unit is scattered
entirely, or the final moments of an ally’s life…
Not. One. Step. Backwards!—Your troops are faltering, and looking ready to break and
be cut down. They need an act of heroism to inspire them back into the fight. Or they need a
grim reminder that retreat now will mean desertion and execution at your own hands. This
could be a Charm (Fel) Test, an Intimidate (S) Test, a Command (Fel) Test, or the
like. It could even be a BS Test to execute a soldier, if things are looking that
grim… As a moment of heroism, this could grant the unit bonuses to the
following round, as they push harder against the enemy. As a moment of
desperation, this could revitalise a unit and prevent them from scattering at 0
magnitude.
Something’s Wrong, Sir!—A vital piece of equipment has gone haywire, or a plan
unravels. Is it an unexpected ambush at the flank that’s picking apart your commander’s
orders? Is it a cannon that’s jamming and about to explode? Is it a grenade that’s been
thrown into your lines? This could be a Trade (various) Test, or an Academic
Knowledge (various) Test, or even an Agility Test to move quickly. As a moment
of heroism, this could be a chance to prove your own ability, and inspire the
troops through your competence. As a moment of desperation, this could be
the end for a vital piece of artillery your forces are relying on!
To the Death—Pushing out of the enemy lines is their commander. You lock eyes, and the
troops around you realise what’s about to happen… The lines retract from around you, and

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there’s a moment of calm. Then, with a bellow, their commander charges. This should be a
short—or even longer—combat encounter. As a moment of heroism, this
could be the chance to slay the enemy general, and force a lesser NPC to make
their tides of battle rolls. As a moment of desperation, this could be the final
seconds of a player character’s life!

Credits
Tides of War is a fan supplement for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition
created by Ben Scerri (@Ben_Scerri). For more like this, go to benscerri.com or
versamus.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).
Images from Wikimedia Commons, supplied under the Creative Commons CC0
1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, edited for this document.
This document is completely unofficial and in no way endorsed by Games Workshop Limited.
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