Strategic Mass Combat
T
he Player’s Handbook combat rules are designed
to model small fights with less than twenty
combatants. These rules provide a framework
to extend D&D combat to model larger-scale
conflict with dozens or hundreds of soldiers on
either side, while still leaving room for
individuals to turn the tide of battle.
Rolling Large
These rules scale up many things in combat. Hit points
represent not just an individual's mettle and health, but
casualties and fatalities amongst a numerous cohort. An
attack roll is not just a single swing, but a massed attack from
twenty allies. Distances are abstracted even further than
normal, and dozens or hundreds of creatures act at once.
Scale
These rules assume the use of a grid with miniatures or
tokens. Each round of combat represents six seconds, as
normal. Distance, however, is scaled differently:
Squares. A single square measures 30 feet on each side.
Diagonals. Squares that only touch at a corner (touch
diagonally) are not considered adjacent; each is 1 square away
from the other.
Ranges. The normal rules for ranges apply, simply on a
coarser grid, with the exception that a range of less than 30
feet can reach into an adjacent square.
The Combatants
Under these rules, an army has two kinds of elements:
Units, which each represent twenty creatures of the same
kind, and act as a single entity.
Commanders, which are the important individuals, such
as adventurers or generals, who act alone.
Units
A unit consists of twenty identical creatures that move and
fight as a single entity. A unit of creatures occupies the same
space on a 30-foot grid as a single one of those creatures
would on a 5-foot grid.
Creature Size Space
Medium or smaller 1 square
Large 2 × 2 squares
Huge 3 × 3 squares
Gargantuan 4 × 4 squares
Statistics
A unit has identical statistics and abilities to a single one of
the creatures it represents, such as Armor Class, hit points,
attacks, and so on, except for the following changes:
Falling to 0 Hit Points. Units don’t make death saving
throws and are eliminated if they reach 0 hit points.
Reach. Unit melee attacks can reach targets in adjacent
squares. If a unit takes the Attack action with a melee attack
that has a reach longer than the size of the individual
creature, it can make another such attack as a bonus action.
Speed. The speed of a unit is equal to the speed of the
individual creature. Moving one square costs 30 feet of
movement, with the exception that creatures with a speed
above 0 and below 30 feet can use all their movement to move
1 square, which can be into difficult terrain if they took the
Dash action this turn.
Commanders
A commander is a significant single creature on the
battlefield, usually a player character or a powerful NPC or
monster. Each side in a mass combat will nearly always start
with at least one commander.
A commander has the following characteristics:
It occupies one square, regardless of the creature’s size.
It can move through and end its turn in allies’ space at no
extra cost.
It can give orders (see orders, below).
Because of the difference in number and scale, whenever a
commander interacts with a unit:
The commander has disadvantage on attack rolls and
saving throws.
Attack rolls against it have advantage.
Damage it deals is halved and damage it takes is doubled,
with the exception of large area effects (see area effects,
below).
It can’t apply conditions or any other non-damage effect to
units, with the exception of through large area effects.
Combat Procedure
Mass combat is much like normal combat, except that the
commanders control the flow of battle through giving orders.
In a normal round, commanders act on their own initiative
and give orders to their units. Units act as soon as they are
ordered to, and can only receive one set of orders in a round.
At the end of the round, units that haven’t received orders this
round take a default action based on their situation.
Initiative
Each commander rolls for initiative normally. Units don’t roll
for initiative; they act when their commanders order them to,
or at the end of the round otherwise.
Rounds
Mass combat is organised into discrete rounds, from the
highest initiative count to the lowest. Units that have not
received orders in a given round act after the lowest initiative
among combatants.
Commanders and units can be surprised as normal.
Surprised units don’t act in the first turn they normally would
and can’t take a reaction until that turn ends.
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 Commander Turns
Commanders take their turns as they normally would. They
can attack and interact with units and other commanders.
Orders
Commanders have a special action they can take: the Give
Orders action.
They can take this action when they are adjacent to or in
the same space as an allied unit. They order that unit and any
number of contiguous units they choose (units adjacent to the
first one, and units adjacent to those, and so on) to take a turn
to do a certain set of things.
Decide what actions the units will take, what their targets
will be, and how they will move. Units can take any action that
would be available to the individual creature they are
composed of. The same action is chosen for all the units
ordered, though they may have different targets and paths
chosen. Units can’t break up their movement, but otherwise
have a normal turn, including taking a bonus action if one is
available and/or interacting with an object, all of which is
decided during the order.
After giving orders, the commander continues their turn.
Unit Turns
Immediately after a commander’s turn, if that commander
gave orders during their turn, the units that were given those
orders take a shared turn to execute those orders.
The units act simultaneously. Execute the first action or
movement in the orders, then the next, and so on. Resolve
each in its entirety, including any reactions taken by any
combatants, before moving on to the next part of the turn.
A unit that has been given orders can’t receive new orders
in the same round.
Invalid Orders
If an action or move is invalid by the time a unit reaches it, the
unit does as much as it can, but doesn’t change any targets or
paths. Units ignore any part of an order that they are
completely unable to execute.
Reactions
Units take reactions individually. The turn in which they act
counts as their turn for reactions and other effects. Whenever
a unit can take a reaction, it does.
An Example of an Order
A commander orders a set of units to move and
then attack, choosing paths and targets as he does
so. He proceeds to use his own movement and
ends his turn.
During the turn for those units, they will first all
move as ordered, then all attack the targets the
commander chose. None of them can move after
attacking, nor attack before another unit in the turn
moves, nor switch the target of their attack after
another unit in the turn hits or misses. All the
choices are made when orders are given.
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Units Without Orders
At the end of the round, after all other combatants have acted,
units that have not received orders this round act based on
their situation.
Unordered units take the first course of action that applies
to them out of the following:
Break. If they're at 5 HP or less, they take the Dash action
and move, seeking a safe path away from enemies.
Skirmish. If they're adjacent to an enemy, they take the
Attack or Multiattack action to make melee attacks, and
don't move.
Regroup. If they're not connected to an allied commander
that they're aware of by contiguous allied units, they take
the Dash action and move towards the nearest allied unit
that is so connected.
Continue. Otherwise, they attempt to continue or repeat
their most recent orders, standing idle if their orders are
explicitly completed or if they have none.
Group unordered units by which of the four above courses
of action they take. Starting with Break, resolve the turns of
the units taking that course and any relevant reactions, before
moving on to Skirmish, and so on.
If more than one side in the combat has unordered units
taking the same course of action, group and resolve them in
order based on their dexterity modifiers, from highest to
lowest, breaking ties randomly.
Area Effects
Spells and other abilities that affect more than one target
creature act differently depending on whether their extent is
less than a single square, or equal to or more than a single
square.
Small Areas
A small area effect is one with an extent of less than one
square. Cones and cubes of less than 30 feet in size, and
spheres and cylinders of less than 15 feet radius are
examples.
This category also includes effects with a fixed number of
targets from two to nineteen.
Units
A unit targeted by a small area effect is affected as if it were
the primary target, and as if it were one secondary target as
well. In most cases, this will mean saving throws are made
twice and/or damage is taken twice.
Commanders
A commander using a small area effect on a unit or targeted
by one from a unit is subject to the normal commander
penalties of dealing half damage and taking double damage.
A commander in a willing unit’s space can affect that unit
with a small area effect as if it were a large area effect if the
area is at least three times wider than the space an individual
creature in that unit would occupy. Essentially, a unit can
'cluster around' a commander to best utilize such an effect.
Lines
Long lines narrower than 30 feet but at least 60 feet long and
other similar shapes may affect multiple squares, but still
apply to each of them as a small area effect.
Large Areas
A large area effect is one with an extent equal to or greater
than one square. Cones and cubes of 30 feet or more in size,
and spheres and cylinders of 15 feet or more in radius are
examples.
To evaluate which squares are included in such an area,
choose a corner or center of a square as the point of origin of
the effect, then follow its rules as normal. If the area covers at
least half a square, it affects that square.
This category also includes effects with twenty or more
discrete targets.
Units
Units should almost never be able to use large area effects.
When they do, treat those effects as twenty simultaneous and
independent effects, targeted at the same locations or
different ones.
Commanders
Commanders suffer no penalties when using or targeted by
large area effects. Using large area effects enables
commanders to have a massive impact on the battlefield,
affecting one or more full units at a time.
Appendix I: Optional Rules
Solos
Some large battles contain individuals that have a substantial
effect on their own but aren’t an authority over any troops. For
those individuals, simply use the commander rules, but
remove the ability to give orders, and the DM decides whether
or not unordered units treat them as a commander when they
Regroup.
These powerful individuals, called solos, will still interact
on the correct scale with the units around them, but are no
longer tightly linked to their allied troops. This is appropriate
for spellcasters, giant monsters, and so on. You can also use
this rule for player characters if they are participating in a
battle but not in a position of authority.
Siege Weapons
Siege weapons are treated as solos, but they don’t have a turn
in the initiative order. Instead, a unit that shares a space with
one or more siege weapons can use its action to operate them.
When a unit takes this action, it can either:
Move any siege weapons sharing a space with the unit
along with the unit’s movement later this turn; or
Load, aim, and fire any number of such siege weapons as if
the unit had twenty actions with which to do so.
No siege engine may be loaded twice, aimed twice, or fired
twice this way in a single turn.
Terrain
Rubble, forests, and water are examples of terrain that can
substantially alter the battlefield. The DM designates areas of
significant terrain, which will usually have an effect on units
and commanders occupying squares in those areas.
Forest areas provide half cover and heavy obscurement to
occupants, and are difficult terrain.
Defensive fortifications provide half, three quarters, or
full cover to their occupants, depending on their
construction. Units cannot cross walls without climbing,
breaking, or otherwise bypassing them.
Shallow water, between knee- and waist-deep, is difficult
terrain and attacks against units in shallow water have
advantage.
Deep water can only be occupied by units and
commanders that have a swim speed.
High ground, if particularly defensible against its
surroundings, grants advantage on melee weapon attacks
by occupants.
Other simple obstacles, like loose sand, deep snow, or thick
mud, are difficult terrain. In most cases, creatures with a
speed of 55 feet or less can't enter a square of difficult terrain
unless they take the Dash action.
Ending the Battle
The encounter continues until the fighting stops. Most
commanders will not continue a lost battle to the point of total
elimination, instead opting to retreat, surrender, or otherwise
cease fighting.
Each side entering a battle goes in with a goal in mind,
whether that goal be simply killing as many of the enemy as
possible, or some particular objective that the opposing force
happens to be an obstacle for. If you can’t think of any,
consider why that side is engaging in costly battle at all.
If you need a concrete way to decide when a side gives in,
use these goals and objectives to define victory conditions for
the fight.
Victory Conditions
A victory condition is any situation that, once achieved, will
cause one or more sides in a battle to no longer have a reason
to keep fighting. This is usually because one or both sides can
no longer make progress towards their goal, either because
they have achieved it, it is impossible, or continuing would be
too costly.
Victory conditions can include:
The destruction of an important structure such as a bridge.
A side achieving a defensible position that another cannot
effectively assail.
A force successfully crossing a chokepoint.
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 The elimination of certain important commanders or units.
The acquisition and extraction of an object or resource,
such as a siege engine.
Determine which victory conditions are possible before a
battle begins. When one of them is achieved, determine which
sides, if any, no longer have a goal they can effectively fight for.
The commanders of those sides, when they recognize the
situation, will try to retreat or surrender unless both of those
options are untenable.
If a losing side does fight to its last member, consider
stopping the encounter early and narrating the remaining
combat, to reduce how much time is spent on the encounter
after the outcome is aready decided.
Calculating Casualties
A unit being eliminated doesn’t mean its members are all
dead, just that it is sufficiently disabled physically or
psychologically to no longer function on the battlefield. After
fighting ceases, if allies have time to safely access the
battlefield, survivors can be recovered.
Able Survivors. For each eliminated unit, roll a d10. The
total is the number of able survivors, who can recover to
fighting condition in 10 days of rest without travel if food,
water, and medical help is available.
Permanent Casualties. For each eliminated unit, roll
another d10. The total is the number of alive but permanently
disabled casualties. Some of these are physically disabled,
while others are victims of the psychological consequences of
war.
Hits-to-Drop Instead of
Hit Points
In particularly large battles, it can get harder to manage the
dice efficiently. To aid this, one can replace the Hit Points of
each unit with hits-to-drop.
Divide the hit points of each unit by the average damage
dealt by the most common attack amongst that unit’s enemies,
and round up to find that unit’s hits-to-drop. Mark this number
with a die on or in place of that unit’s miniature or token.
Whenever a unit takes a hit, rather than roll damage, simply
reduce the hits-to-drop by one (or two for a critical hit). For
unusually strong attacks, such as from a siege engine,
subtract two or more points instead proportional to how much
more damage those attacks deal. At 0 hits-to-drop, a unit is
eliminated.
Lastly, units at 1 hit-to-drop, rather than 5 hit points or less,
will Break if lacking orders.
Uniquely Scaled Units
There’s no reason five or so powerful creatures can’t be
represented by a unit. Simply divide the hit points of the
creature by the appropriate factor (in this case, four), and do
the same for damage. Five is about the lower limit where the
advantages of being a unit are maintained; below that, use one
or more commanders instead.
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The reverse can be done to represent more than twenty
creatures with a single unit, which is useful for particularly
small or weak creatures.
Initiative. You can also place such a unit in the initiative
order like a commander. If you do, it can’t receive orders, but
the DM may allow it to give orders if it is in a position of
authority.
Alternate Actions for
Unordered Units
The list of courses of action under Unordered Units (see
above) applies to most intelligent units, but should be
modified for units that usually act in a very different way.
The simplest way to do this is to remove actions from the
list. For example, religious zealots may never Break, even
when near death.
You can also change the order of the existing actions. For
example, independent scouts may Continue their last orders
even when disconnected from a commander, only choosing to
Regroup if their orders are complete.
You can also replace the whole list with one or more new
actions. For example, mindless undead will always walk
towards and try to attack the nearest living creature they can
see unless magically ordered otherwise.
Special Weapons
The rules for attacks with a long reach represent how units
with such attacks can bring more of their weapons to bear at a
time. If a more accurate simulation of special weapons is
wanted, use these rules.
Lances. Lances are most useful during the initial charge,
becoming less useful as the melee develops.
Attacks with lances are at disadvantage unless the wielder
entered reach with their target earlier on the same turn. This
replaces the Special property of the lance.
Siege Weapons. Body armor is normally ineffective against
heavy projectiles such as rocks from a mangonel or trebuchet.
To reflect this, replace the attack roll from such a weapon
with the target making a Dexterity saving throw with a DC of
10 plus the attack bonus of the siege weapon, taking the
damage on a failed save.
Awareness
Usually, it's okay to assume that units are aware of all friendly
commanders that have not taken the Hide action. To
introduce communication as a complication, limit
commanders to only giving orders to units that can see or
hear them.
Line of Sight. Units of a given size category obscure
commanders of the same size category that are behind or in
the same space as them. For example, a human general on
foot can't be seen behind human footsoldiers, but that general
on a horse can.
Hearing. A creature can shout to be heard over battle noise
within 90 feet. War horns, drums, and similar instruments can
be heard within 1 mile.

Playing on Hexes
If the battle is run using a hex grid rather than a square grid,
the rules for opportunity attacks should be changed to retain
the character of engagement and disengagement.
When playing on a hex grid, units and commanders provoke
opportunity attacks from an enemy whenever they move from
a hex within that enemy's reach, even if they're moving to
another hex within that reach.

Appendix II: Player Options

Feats
A DM can allow players to take these feats in a campaign that Author’s Notes
focuses on mass combat, to help meet the demands of such a This ruleset was based on the Unearth
a campaign that aren't present in a traditional adventure. ed
When Armies Clash mass combat batt Arcana:
These feats can help distiguish the styles of different lesystem,
where rescaling is used to apply stan
dard combat
commanders and ensure that players feel like their characters rules to larger fights. However, maj
or modifications
are uniquely capable in a mass battle context. are made to streamline the system.
Scale. This ruleset uses 30-foot squa
res and 6-
Frontline Commander second rounds, and treats token-to
ken interactions
almost identically to creature interact
You excel in leading troops right from the thick of the fray. combat.
ion in standard
When you’re a commander, you gain the following benefits: Goals. My main goals for this ruleset
are twofold:
When you share a space with an allied unit, your AC is To cut the heavy bookkeeping of stru
always at least equal to theirs. states that the UA When Armies Clas
ctures and
h
You can take the Give Orders action as a bonus action battlesystem requires; and
instead. To minimize the number of strategi
c and tactical
Whenever a unit you are sharing a space with moves, you decisions that need to be made, espe
cially as
can use your reaction to move along with it to its new army sizes increase.
location. Bookkeeping. To the first end, the enti
of what UAWAC calls Units was drop re structure
Figurehead General attaching solos to stands and designat
ped, as was
ing particular
You are adept at managing and inspiring the troops around commanders. Configurations, the ‘cas
ualty’ state,
you. When you’re a commander, you gain the following and the ‘broken’ state were replaced
with other
benefits: mechanisms to reduce what needs
to be tracked.
Decisions. To the second end, the num
ber of
You can Give Orders to a unit and its contiguities at a different things happening in a roun
d is strictly
distance of sixty feet. limited by the number of commanders
on the field,
Allied units Regrouping toward you don’t provoke which is a number the DM can easi
ly control. As the
opportunity attacks. number of combatants grows, it take
s
Allied units that can see you never Break. increasing amount of expertise to mana mildly
age the dice,
but the mental load grows very slow
ly. Increasing
Lone Champion the size of the armies does not incr
ease the number
of decisions to be made.
You have learned how to best fight when enemies abound. Tracking. In this ruleset, each unit has
only two
When you’re a commander or a solo, you gain the following things that need tracking by default:
Hit points, and
benefits: whether they’ve acted this round. Ever
ything else
just falls into the positions on the batt
Damage units deal to you isn’t doubled. ‘contiguous’ limitation on orders han lefie ld; the
dles morale
You don’t provoke opportunity attacks from units. and force integrity without added boo
kkeeping.
You can enter the space of a hostile unit. Their presence Commanders. Despite the penalties,
commanders
does not cause their space to be difficult terrain for you. are not intended to realistically repr
esent lone
Additionally, being a commander or solo doesn't grant you combatants on this scale. Though less
strong than
disadvantage on attacks against them while you’re in their in UAWAC, commanders still have
a certain heroic
space. quality, and have a fighting chance
agai
greater numbers. One cannot simply nst vastly
break down an
army into commanders or solos.
You can ask questions over at the Hav
server, in the #homebrew-discussion en discord
channel.