Mass Combat

Although it is theoretically possible to run a combat with dozens or even hundreds of active participants, such battles last interminably and quickly stop being fun. As a result, Exalted uses the following rules to abstract mass combat into the existing system by making battle a clash of units rather than individual characters. Units do not fight in the standard one-tick increments of individual battle. Instead, they track time with long ticks that last approximately one minute each. Storytellers should keep in mind that these rules aren’t appropriate to every engagement, particularly if the clash of armies only serves as a dramatic backdrop to smaller-scale personal combat. Once protagonists become involved in the direction of mass combat or the Storyteller wishes to leave a battle’s outcome to dice rolls and strategy rather than a plot device, use these rules. Moreover, mass combat in Exalted assumes that unit leaders fight at the vanguard, leading from the front rather than the safety of the rear. Those who wish to direct a battle from the rear are not unit leaders. Instead, they take the role of generals, using relays and standard bearers to communicate orders to the unit leaders under their command. Therefore, a distant general can direct an entire force but cannot personally rally troops to victory through her own prowess.

Units

Every unit on a battlefield falls into one of two broad categories. First, there are solo units, who are individual characters that are not part of any group. However, most units are complementary units, made up of a commander and all those who directly follow her orders. Statistically, a complementary unit is its commander, with trait bonuses awarded according to the numbers, equipment and training of her troops. The special traits of complementary units include:

Magnitude: The size of a unit.
Drill: The trained discipline of a unit.
Endurance: The physical reserves of a unit's members. Solo units also have this trait.
Might: The overall mystical power of a unit, factoring inmagical equipment.
Close Combat/Ranged Attack Rating: The skill of the unit members at attacking.
Close Combat/Ranged Attack Damage: The lethality of unit members when attacking.
Armor: The average protection provided by unit members' armor.
Morale: The overall bravery of a unit.
Special Characters: A non-numerical listing of important characters within a unit's ranks.
Formation: A non-numerical trait that describes a unit's current tactical arrangement.

Magnitude

The Magnitude of a unit is a direct assessment of the number of characters that are part of it. High Magnitude confers the advantages one would expect; such units inflict more damage and can take more damage (as expressed through casualties). However, large units have trouble executing orders with any speed. Consequently, most professional militaries strike a balance, breaking their forces into manageable unit sizes, each led by a different commander. The following table assumes that a given unit is made entirely of extras (apart from the commander). If this is not the case, then the appropriate number of health levels indicates how many standard combatants a character type qualifies for. For example, heroic mortals have seven health levels instead of three. This means that every heroic mortal is worth a little more than two unit members.

Since heroes have a substantial advantage, Magnitude rounds up to a factor of 3. Exalted and other magical beings might qualify for substantially higher factors. Each Magnitude value over 9 has a maximum member size double to the previous rating.

Magnitude	Members	Equivalent
0	1	Solo
1	2-10	Fang
2	11-75	Scale(s)
3	76-150	Talon
4	151-300	Wing
5	301-650	Dragon
6	651-1,250	—
7	1,251-2,500	—
8	2,501-5,000	Legion
9	5,001-10,000	First Age Legion

Drill

While sheer numbers can win a battle, disciplined training is what separates an angry mob or a howling barbarian horde from professional soldiers. The Drill trait represents the degree to which rigid military discipline, marching and formation practice and individual combativeness have been instilled into the unit. Drill provides flexibility, allowing units to rapidly change formation as needed to respond to threats. It also enhances the survivability of troops, keeping them together and their formation dressed even in the press of battle.

Drill is not a function of average personal prowess, but rather, a cooperative spirit ingrained through intense training. As such, the trait cannot be precisely calculated based on the average statistics of unit members. To determine this value, consult the following table for reference examples.

Drill	Description	Example
0	Undrilled	Solo units; mobs, throngs, rabbles, warbands, thugs in uniform
1	Barely Disciplined	Poor village militia, gendarmes, low quality troops
2	Disciplined	Good militia, mediocre troops, Imperial peltasts, Lintha pirates
3	Crisp	Excellent militia, good troops, Imperial medium foot, Seventh Legion reservists
4	Crack	Excellent troops, Imperial heavy foot, Seventh Legion line troops, Immaculate monks, Mountain Folk warriors
5	Flawless	Superb troops, the Legion of Silence, tiger warriors, Seventh Legion veterans, brass legionnaires, brides of Ahlat, veteran Mountain Folk warriors

Endurance

Although units composed of automata or the walking dead might be functionally tireless, mortals cannot march and fight indefinitely. Therefore, every complementary unit has an Endurance rating equal to its (Drill + Stamina). For solo units, Endurance equals (Stamina + Resistance). This trait decreases precipitously over the course of a battle. If Endurance drops to 0, the unit is at -2 on all actions from fatigue effects.

If unit members have not rested for several hours before a battle, subtract the fatigue value of the troops' armor from their starting Endurance.

Might

Instead of figuring out every power that supernatural forces bring to the battlefield and trying to figure out the complex interactions thereof, Exalted mass combat abstracts such capability into a single rating. To figure out a unit's Might, use the following table, adding the best equipment bonus (if any) that applies. Keep in mind that the following numbers assume that the overwhelming majority of unit members possess the listed powers and/or equipment. A handful of Exalted scattered among a throng of their followers do not impart Might to the whole. Instead, such individuals qualify as special characters. Few units outside of the Army of Heaven qualify for Might greater than 3 in the Second Age.

Might	Unit Composition
0	No supernatural abilities; strictly mortal troops.
1	God-Blooded, trained thaumaturges, young Dragon Kings, average ghosts, Mountain Folk warriors.
2	Younger Terrestrial Exalted, neomah and other non-combative First Circle demons, weak gods and elementals, ghost warriors, young faerie nobles, elite Mountain Folk warriors.
3	Older Terrestrials or younger Terrestrials with numerous Charms for enhancing one another, Immaculate monks, young Celestial Exalted, erymanthoi and combative First Circle demons, lesser combative deities such as lion dogs and scarab guardians, veteran nemissaries or war ghosts, experienced faerie nobles
4	Experienced Celestial Exalted or very old Terrestrial Exalted, Immaculate masters, Second Circle demons, Dragon King elders, warlike divinities such as celestial lions.
5	Lesser elemental dragons, elder Celestial Exalted (Essence 6+).
Bonuses	Equipment
+1	Thaumaturgical talismans and alchemical potions.
+2	Basic magical armor and weapons, powerful thaumaturgical artifacts such as gunzosha armor.
+3	Essence-discharge weapons, magical power armor such as warstriders or dragon armor.
+4	Powerful First Age artifacts or divine weapons.

Close Combat/Ranged Attack Rating

Every complementary unit has a Close Combat and Ranged Attack Rating, representing the overall skill of its members. To derive the values, take the average (Dexterity + appropriate combat Ability) for all unit members and halve this pool, rounded down. A unit has access to its Close Combat Rating only when equipped with appropriate weaponry. Even though a regiment of archers could theoretically punch and kick their opponents in close combat, the fact that they are carrying bows means that they can use only their ranged attack. If every member of a unit carries the same weapon (which is generally the case), the Accuracy of that weapon factors into the attack pools before halving them. Therefore, a squad of elite soldiers (Dexterity 3, Melee 4) equipped with chopping swords (Accuracy +1) would have a Close Combat Rating of 4.

Close Combat/Ranged Attack Damage

These traits measure the amount of injury that units can inflict with their close combat and ranged attacks, respectively. To derive these values, average the damage of the primary weapons carried by the unit members. (This is just the weapon damage if they all have the same weapon.) Then, divide (Strength + weapon damage) by three, rounded up. Do not factor in the effects of any Charms or non-constant bonuses/supernatural effects. For example, the aforementioned elite infantry (Strength 3) with their chopping swords (+5L) have Close Combat Damage 3.

Morale

As every wise commander soon learns, high morale can lead weaker units to victory over larger and better-equipped units. Conversely, low morale saps the effectiveness of the best units. The Morale of a unit equals the lower of either its members' average Valor or the Valor rating of its commander. In the case of mounted units, Morale uses the average Valor of the steeds if that is less than the soldiers' normal Morale. Units comprised chiefly of walking dead and automata have perfect Morale even if their commander does not, indicating they automatically succeed on any Morale check (and therefore do not bother making them). Assorted battle magic can temporarily confer perfect Morale or an equivalent bonus on other units.

Special Characters

In the most basic unit formations, the commander is the only person of importance and guides his followers through heroic example and prowess. In practice, however, such a simplistic model carries numerous weaknesses. First, a warband led by a champion risks falling apart entirely if that champion falls in battle. Therefore, it is advisable to have lesser officers on hand who can assume command if the worst comes to pass. Second, commanders cannot efficiently manage large units on their own, so they require aides to repeat and carry orders through the unit. Finally, a commander/followers model fails to take advantage of other distinguished combatants within the horde who can contribute unique skills or powers to the success of a unit.

A complementary unit may have a maximum number of special characters equal to (Magnitude x 2). These can be freely mixed and matched from the three options that follow, and unit commanders do not count against this limitation. However, unless they are directly targeted, all special characters in a unit always survive until the unit loses its last dot of Magnitude, when they sacrifice their lives at the last to protect their commander.

At the end of a battle, or whenever a unit regains points of Magnitude during a battle, all special characters in excess of the unit’s normal Magnitude limit must leave the unit.

=Hero

These characters are subofficers who are capable of assuming command if their unit commander dies. Furthermore, heroes may attack other units in close combat as if they were solo units, effectively giving their unit additional (but weaker) attacks. Finally, heroes can break away entirely and take part of a unit with them, transforming the breakaway group into a new unit under their own command. A hero can lend her Close Combat Rating to her unit, using her trait rather than the unit leader's, but this trait is limited as normal by the commander's War.

Sorcerer

These characters might be actual sorcerers, skilled archers or neutral observers embedded deeply in the ranks for their own protection, but First Age tactical manuals such as The Thousand Correct Actions of the Upright Soldier use the designation "sorcerer" for all such individuals. Sorcerers can lead the unit in missile fire, lending their rating in the place of the unit's. This is limited by the commander's War rating, as normal. In addition, sorcerers have the capability to make ranged attacks independently of their unit, but they cannot assume command or lead troops to break away into new units as heroes can.

Relay

Possibly the most important special characters to organized military units, relays are the assorted drummers, buglers, standard bearers and signalmen who carry the commander's orders through the ranks. Units with a Magnitude of 3+ must have at least one relay for every dot of Magnitude, or else, they suffer communication failure. This means the unit can only assume the unordered formation and it suffers a penalty of -2 to its effective Drill. Besides passively maintaining order and communication, relays can stand in for the commander when the unit hesitates and tests for rout, and in other situations when commands are vital.

Formation

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Other Unit Rules

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==Order of Battle

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