ORCSES!

... The Evil Henchman's Guide Before performing guard duty, familiarize yourself with the sound of a tossed pebble, and learn to avoid being distracted by it. When performing guard duty, do not stare continually in one direction, but take a moment now and then to look around. And while you're pulling guard duty, if anyone shows up with a prisoner transfer or maintenance job, and you don't know about it, arrest them on the spot. When you are fighting intruders, do not fight them quietly, but yell "Intruder!" while you still have breath. When issued armor or uniforms that contrast with the service environment, respectfully inquire after more sensibly-colored attire. Get plenty of missile-weapon practice. Don't attack the hero alone or in pairs. The Evil Overlord hired a million of you for a reason. Learn how to lead from the rear and command from afar, just like the Evil ...

The New Rule After initiative has been determined (Step 2) and before First Movement (Step 3), both players roll d4 for each unit. On a roll of "1", that unit suffers a random event -- roll d100 to determine the exact result, and must follow the instructions as closely as possible. The result is shown to both players ( it's more fun this way ). An M indicates that the random unit must be chosen among the player's missile units. An I indicates that the random unit is only among non-missile units. An F indicates that the random unit is only among flying units. All results are in effect until the end of the turn, unless otherwise stated. THE EVENTS Disturb a swarm of bees -- mandatory morale check at start of unit's move Commander gets ill -- unit is out of command Unit offerred a bonus for good fighting -- plus 1 ML for rest of battle Unit has a personal grudge -- plus 1 ML for rest of battle, but must only fight nearest enemy unit until one or the other is d...

One of the limitations of the Battlesystem system is its lack of rules for adding new races and monsters to the battlefield. Let's say that you've just seen some hot miniature in the stores, and now you're hungering to field an army of those soldiers on the tabletop. How can you add it to the system? The following provides guidelines for estimating a figure's game stats, if you know how that race or monster compares to other creatures in the world. ATTACK DICE This rating determines how much damage the creature does when attacking. It stands for a particular dice or combination of dice. 4-sided dice -- peasant rabble, dogs, insignificant races 6-sided dice -- the infantry of most races, including Men 8-sided dice -- elves, the cavalry of Men, large natural animals 10-sided dice -- big creatures such as ogres, the lizard races, and elephants 12-sided dice -- giants and trolls two 10-sided dice -- very large giants 12-sided plus 8-sided dice -- dragons ARMOR RATIN...

Official Battlesystem Errata (As originally printed in the Castles 3-D Boxed Set product.) Since the publication of the Second Edition Battlesystem rules, the following errata and updates have been compiled. CREATURES WITH SPECIAL ATTACK DICE Some creatures make attacks requiring more than one die roll (AD 2d12, for example). To determine the hits for such attacks, follow these steps: roll each die individually, determine the hits caused by each die, and then add the total hits together. It is possible for a single attack to cause more than 4 hits. (The method in the Battlesystem rulebook is incorrect.) Example One: An adult copper dragon (AD 3d10) breathes on a unit of goblins. Three ten-sided dice are rolled, with results of 7, 1, and 6. According to the combat conversion table, these rolls cause hits of 2, 0, 2 The unit suffers a total of 4 hits from the attack. Example Two: A shot fired from a trebuchet hits its target, causing AD 3d12 hits. The die rolls are 11, 8, and 5. The hit...

Bruce Laue BattleSystem is the best miniatures game I've found for playing out large battles (or wars) from your D&D campaigns. It is limited in what magic is put into the book, but there is plenty to be had at the various web sites. The rules are fairly well covered, and can handle most situations, but there are times when you will have to make a decision as to how you will handle specific situations. This isn't all bad: we get the chance to be our own game designers in the process. The points system for "balancing" games leaves much to be desired. I've found that you can't really rely upon their point ratings, but they offer a good starting point. Magic is very powerful, and it's quite easy to under-estimate its impact on a game. Terrain is not covered as to how it will balance/unbalance a scenario either. These are matters which can best be learned from experience. The saddest part about this game, is that it continues to gain in popularity at con...

The second edition of Battlesystem is markedly different from the first (1985) edition -- much of the record keeping has been eliminated, combat has been simplified and the combat results table revamped, and the number of spells has been reduced considerably. A referee is no longer required. All that aside, what is Battlesystem ? This is a game which can fit directly into an existing AD&D fantasy role-playing campaign, and when in the course of the story a major battle occurs, the players can transition directly to these rules. The players might include their own characters as heroes in the battle, or their characters might even be commanders or local lords. In addition, Battlesystem can be played as a fantasy battle game unconnected with any campaign -- a point system allows opponents to easily design scenarios and create custom armies from the provided troop types. The game is divided into three sections -- the Basic Game, the Intermediate Game, and the Advanced Game. Players c...

By Jason Nelson-Brown This column provides advice for DMs whose campaigns are in trouble. Do your players constantly bicker or complain about issues both inside and outside of the main campaign action? Do your best ideas fall flat? Have you set up a situation that you now wish you hadn't? Worry no more, because Jason Nelson-Brown has the answers to save your game! Problem: Managing Epic Battles I'm not quite in full understanding as to how I can manage the sheer numbers of characters and NPCs in a battle scene. How would I control this? --Austin Zohner War is a great theme for fantasy, and one with which we are all familiar, both from our own knowledge of history (and current events) and from the abundant examples of warfare in fantasy fiction, most famously in Lord of the Rings . Given how prominent a place combat holds in the D&D game, it is also a natural extension of the usual dungeon-crashing and monster-bashing that we see every night around the gaming ...

Designer Interview Interview by Bart Carroll In this month's exclusive interview, the lead designer and developer of the new Heroes of Battle accessory discuss mass combat in D&D, running a battlefield adventure or campaign, teamwork benefits on the battlefield, commander auras, and the challenges of adapting real-world military operations to the D&D game. Wizards of the Coast: Before asking about the book's contents, I'd like to ask about the initial concept for Heroes of Battle. How did the idea for this book come about, and how did it evolve through the various stages of development? When did you each get involved? David Noonan: The fundamental concept behind the book was pretty simple: Show the reader how a battlefield can make a really good dungeon. Though it's not a dungeon in the literal sense, a battlefield is nevertheless a site full of dangers and enemies, in which characters can run around fighting, looting, and undertaking missions and quest...

By E. Gary Gygax - October, 1980 Too often DMs complain that monsters are too weak, spells and magic too strong, or players too clever. What is actually stated in most such cases is that the DM is a Dungeon Milquetoast rather than Master. Players plan and cooperate, so naturally they tend to utilize all their strengths and abilities collectively, thus, defeating monsters and DM alike. The classic, unthinking reaction of DMs so abused is to create the “Monty Haul” campaign— “I really wanted my players to walk all over everything, even me!“—or the “Killer Kampaign” game— “It’s them or me, and none of those bastards will survive to tell the tale!” The game is supposed to be overseen by a disinterested judge, referee, and moderator. The DM creates the milieu, sets the stage, and then observes and relates information. The important part usually overlooked is the active (but still impartial) role of the DM as the force behind each and every creature encountered not otherwise represented...

By Gregory G. H. Rihn - December 1980 Gary Gygax’s article (The Dragon #29) about the half-ogre and hair-tearing about the potential hodgepodge of crossbreeds prompts me to set down in print my own rationalizations regarding the multiplicity of humanoid races, based upon recent research in the evolution of the human race. It’s not that I’m super-lawful, but I enjoy drawing logical connections between outwardly similar things. I find it helps give a nice consistent basis to the campaign. In the early days of my D&D campaign, I always did, and continue to, visualize orcs and ogres as far more human-looking than portrayed in the AD&D Monster Manual. From a genetic standpoint, the prospect of a successful union between a human and a pig-snouted thing seems somewhat unlikely . . . . Genus Homo Men (Homo sapiens sapiens) Men are the chief surviving humanoid life form wherever they exist, due to their intelligence, extreme adaptability, and rapid rate of reproduction in compa...