BATTLESYSTEM:
Creating New Troop Types

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

• 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 RATING

• 9 -- peasant rabble
• 8 -- goblins and orcs, apes; the light infantry of Men
• 7 -- lizardmen, elves and dwarves; the medium infantry of Men
• 6 -- giants, walking trees; the cavalry and heavy infantry of Men
• 5 -- animated stone monsters, super-heavy human cavalry
• 4 -- large giants, adult dragons
• 3 -- adult metallic dragons
• 2 -- ancient adult dragons

HITS

• .5 -- kobolds and pixies
• 1 -- dwarves, elves, goblins, halflings and Men
• 2 -- lizardmen, ogres, and the cavalry of Men
• 3 -- trolls and great apes
• 4 -- griffons
• 5 -- lesser giants
• 6 -- greater giants, walking trees
• 7, 8 -- adult dragons
• 9, 10, 11 -- ancient dragons, legendary giants

MORALE

• 7, 8 -- peasant rabble
• 9, 10 -- animals, pixies, insignificant races
• 11 -- goblins and orcs, the infantry of Men
• 12 -- dwarves, lizardmen, and the heavy infantry of Men
• 13 -- centaurs and elves
• 14 -- the heavy cavalry of Men
• 15 -- lesser giants, the super-heavy cavalry of Men
• 16 -- greater giants
• 18, 19, 20 -- giant insects, other beings without natural fear

MOVEMENT

• 6" -- dwarves, goblins, lizardmen, zombies, and the heavy infantry of Men
• 9" -- halflings and orcs, the medium infantry of Men
• 12" -- elves and giants, the light infantry and super-heavy cavalry of Men
• 15" -- the heavy cavalry of Men
• 18" -- centaurs, the medium cavalry of Men
• 24" -- the light cavalry of Men

RANGE

• 5"/10"/15" -- giants hurling stones, the shortbowmen of men
• 6"/12"/18" -- orc archers
• 7"/14"/21" -- elven archers, the longbowmen of Men
• 8"/16"/24" -- dwarven archers

An Example of Creation

Attack Dice. In my imagination, these troops do a lot of damage with their hail of barbs. 8-sided dice puts them just a bit stronger than most infantry, which feels right.

Armor Rating. These figures are obviously wearing little armor, and don't even have shields. A rating of 8 seems appropriate, which makes them the same as apes and other fur-covered creatures.

Hits. They are about halfling size, which is still in the range of most troops -- 1 hit.

Morale. I picture these troops as being less steady than most (perhaps due to less training, or less of a martial temperament). A morale of 10 sounds good, but I would increase it to 13 if they were fighting in or defending their home woodlands.

Movement. They are equipped like light infantry, but with their bowed legs I don't think they move that fast. So I'll put them a notch below light infantry, at a movement of 9".

Range. I can't believe that blowguns have that much range, but then again, I want to believe that these are superb blowgun-armed troops. Let's try 6"/12"/18" and see how it feels in combat.

Miscellaneous Stuff. Are these troops Irregular or Chaotic, or do they have a favored terrain or enemy?

Irregular could go either way, as logically these guys should not be very regimented, but from a visual perspective I think it'd be cool to see them marching in a tight group. So they're not Irregular.

As for being Chaotic, I think not. It seems that troops which are Chaotic are less likely to follow orders, and I think these folks are obedient (until they fail morale...).

Favorite terrain? Sure. The woods. (I've decided these guys live in the woods, and not in the jungle.)

Favorite enemy? I think everyone should have a favorite enemy. If these folk live in the woods, then perhaps they use their blowguns to defend their tree houses from marauding animals -- bears! They hate bears.