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

Trained military units can assume any of four basic formations as best suits changing battlefield conditions. Because these formations measure the density of large units rather than describing the actual geometric structure of their deployment, commanders can order any particular configuration that fits in the listed strictures. The denser a formation's structure is, the higher the Drill rating necessary to execute it.

Unordered (Drill 0)

This "formation" is a total absence of such—a loose band of like-minded combatants rallied behind a charismatic leader. Unordered units can win battles by sheer dint of numbers, but they fight at a distinct disadvantage against better-organized units. Only barbarians field their forces in such a chaotic manner by choice, although professional units may be forced into unordered drill if directed attacks take out the relays necessary to maintain order.

Skirmish (Drill 1)

In this formation, unit members stand far enough apart that they could barely reach one another with a long staff. This increases mobility and minimizes the casualties imposed by arrow volleys and other ranged attacks, but it leaves the formation more vulnerable in close combat against units that can rush into the gaps in the ranks.

Relaxed (Drill 1)

This is the default formation, spacing unit members wide enough apart that they can each touch the nearest soldier's fingertips if they spread both arms wide. Relaxed formation takes a middle road between skirmish and close, gaining no advantages nor suffering any of the drawbacks of the others.

Close (Drill 2)

In this compact arrangement, soldiers stand shoulder to shoulder without any gaps for enemy troops to press through. Close formation ranks fight with maximum synergistic efficiency, gaining bonuses to their defenses and morale. However, their tight spacing leaves them more vulnerable to area-effect attacks from siege weapons, sorcery, First Age Essence discharge weapons and the like. On modern Second Age battlefields, such weapons are less common, so professional forces usually engage enemies in close formation.

Other Unit Rules

Although mass combat rules abstractly represent complementary units as characters, they remain groups of individuals. This situation confers a range of special rules modifications:

Targeting

Any magic or effect that specifically targets one character must be directed at the commander or a special character within the unit, rather than at the unit as a whole. Effects that extend to multiple targets must be capable of affecting a number of individuals equal to the unit's Magnitude to affect the unit. Effects that target an area rather than individual targets must reach most of a unit in order to affect that unit. Effects that extend to every target in sight work if the majority of the unit is within line of sight.

Note that a commander may use reflexive and/or supplemental Charms to benefit his own unit's actions regardless of the unit's Magnitude. In this case, the Charm activation does not actually represent a single Charm use, but rather, a repeated and dramatic use during the action ticks that is reinforced by the unit's own action. For example, an Archery Excellency could add dice to the attack of a 300-man wing, which translates to a particularly effective archery volley rallied by the example of the commander's own skilled archery. Adamant Skin Technique does not actually grant every member of a unit invulnerability, but rather, represents a unit failing to lose enough soldiers to translate into a lost health level. For a particularly small unit, this might mean the leader threw himself into the path of the enemy like a mother bear guarding her young. In a larger unit, his example of heroism inspired the unit to greatness so that only a handful died or deserted. Obviously, not every Charm translates into such a rationalized context, so the Storyteller will have to adjudicate every new Charm use to see if it possibly makes sense (vetoing those that do not). That said, Storytellers should be lenient when it comes to interpreting unit-supported Charm uses, erring on the side of drama and coolness whenever in doubt.

Immunities

Complementary units do not suffer wound penalties or any other internal penalties not universal to all members. Similarly, groups cannot suffer knockback or knockdown—magical or otherwise—unless the effect encompasses every member of the unit (such as an earthquake). If a unit is successfully knocked back or down, it must check immediately for rout. Units may not be grappled; the closest equivalent to a mass combat grapple is an Envelop attack. Crippling effects must be able to simultaneously affect every member of a unit in an identical fashion to have any effect at all.

Order of Battle

Declaration of War

Small-scale battles begin when a character uses the Join Battle action to switch the scene from narrative time to combat time. Large battles follow the same general process, switching from narrative time to war time when a unit commander initiates the Join War action. Apart from name and scope, Join War is almost exactly like Join Battle, prompting all units who see the initiator's aggression to reflexively Join Battle as well in response. The roll to determine the characters' first action for Join War uses ([Wits + War] – Magnitude). Solo units use (Wits + Awareness) as normal, as do any heroes or sorcerers who wish to independently calculate their initial action in order to act separately from their units.

Unexpected attacks in mass combat are resolved similarly to normal surprise attacks but require actual concealed ambush to enact. A unit cannot spring at another unit in a peaceful situation and take them by surprise, since a unit that is in sight will betray its intentions too soon for any possible bonus. The roll to conceal a unit is ([Dexterity + Stealth] – Magnitude) but otherwise follows the same rules and is resisted by the highest (Perception + Awareness) of the commander or any special characters in any unit that has a chance to spot the ambush.

Action Options

The actions possible in mass combat parallel the actions available in standard combat (see [Action Options Summary). Similarly, each action has a Speed that determines how many long ticks the unit must wait before acting again, as well as a DV penalty indicating how much the action impairs defense. The following changes apply.

Move

Units move at X times their normal movement rate per long tick, where X is a Speed modifier based on the formation of the unit (see the accompanying table). For solo units, apply this multiplier after subtracting any penalties from wounds or armor. Unlike many tasks, the movement rate of a complementary unit is not based on its commander's statistics, but rather, on the average Dexterity of unit members (minus the average mobility penalty of the armor with which the unit is equipped).

Formation	Speed Multiplier
None (Solo)	x100
Unordered	x30
Skirmish	x100
Relaxed	x70
Close	x40

Terrain Effects

Although terrain can certainly play a role in personal combat, the small scale of such conflicts lessens the tactical significance. In mass combat, terrain is extremely significant. Units gain the usual DV bonuses for cover and height, using the following guidelines to determine the cover afforded by a particular condition: tall grass (25% cover); heavy terrain such as boulder fields and forests (50%); makeshift field fortifications, siege lines, dense jungle or bamboo groves (75%); bunkered in prepared stone fortifications (90%). If multiple conditions apply, only the most advantageous determines the cover afforded. In addition to providing cover, terrain also affects movement options:

Open: Terrain is considered open if it provides a maximum of 25% cover and both mounts and humans can run through it without difficulty or risk of serious injury. Any unit can move freely through open terrain.

Difficult: This terrain allows infantry to pass with normal movement (but not with a dash). However, the land is dense or unstable enough that horse-sized mounts move across at half speed (after all modifiers) and chariots, wagons and limbered artillery cannot pass through at all. Examples include forests and other conditions affording a maximum of 50% cover.

Extreme: This terrain is all but impassable. Infantry moves through at half speed, and anything larger cannot pass. Examples include abatis, thick underbrush, marsh and the like. When actual barricades are the source of extreme terrain, they may be attacked as if they were an oak door, with each destroyed section opening a path wide enough for a unit to pass and deep enough to move a full move action through.

Cavalry

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Flight

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Dash

In mass combat, a dash is called a charge or a forced march and has the same Speed multiplier for formation order as a basic move. For mounted units, a dash action doubles their listed Speed for the duration of the action. This rate is calculated assuming average unit statistics. Solo units can dash normally without a roll, but complementary units require greater coordination. To execute this maneuver, the unit must be in a formation other than unordered, and the commander's player must roll (Charisma + War) at difficulty (the unit's Magnitude – Drill)—minimum difficulty 1. The Endurance of any unit that makes a charge immediately decreases a number of points equal to the average fatigue value of the armor worn by unit members.

Guard

Units following this order focus on defense, an advisable tactic for steadily advancing units under fire from ranged volleys.

Inactive

The inactive action remains in mass combat to accommodate units prevented from doing anything. However, since a unit cannot be knocked unconscious or grappled, such circumstances rarely come up in play. A spell that induces sleep across a wide area is an example of what would be required to make a complementary unit inactive. Of course, solo units could become inactive far more easily.

Miscellaneous action

Besides the aforementioned Join War action replacing Join Battle, a number of additional miscellaneous actions are possible and often necessary within the scope of mass combat. Note that multiple units cannot coordinate attacks, since coordination of combat effort is implicit in the unit structure. If multiple solo units wish to band together, they must take the Merge Units action for each to fold into the group, designating a unit leader and any special characters. Quite often, it is better for such characters to remain solo than to band into such a weak unit where the rank-and-file assume a disproportionate risk of dying.

Change Formation (Speed 5, -1 DV)

By giving this order, a commander can rearrange a unit's configuration for maximum tactical advantage. The unit must have sufficient Drill to assume the desired formation, and the commander's player must successfully roll (Charisma + War) at a difficulty of (the unit's Magnitude – [[Drill])—minimum difficulty 1. If any relay in the unit has a better (Charisma + War) than the commander, use her pool instead. If the unit was attacked since its last action, add one to the difficulty. If that unit is currently engaged with an enemy unit, add two instead. The benefits and drawbacks of a new formation go into effect immediately, making the Change Formation action ideal for pulling a spread-out unit into a tightranked close order to hit an enemy’s lines with a flurry. Units can wait to take their usual afforded move on a tick until after completing this maneuver.

In addition to changing formations as a normal action, commanders can also order their units to spread out when they come under missile fire. Resolve the incoming attack completely, including damage, and then make the usual command roll to switch. If successful, the unit immediately assumes Skirmish formation before the next tick, but the commander must also test for rout at increased difficulty for the formation.

Attack

Casualties

Mob Rule

Players and Storytellers reading through these rules might wonder how they model large numbers of leaderless disorganized adversaries, such as zombie hordes and angry torch-wielding mobs. The simplest way is to give the mob a leader. Zombies typically follow the necromancer who created them, and unless they are given very specific orders and constant direction, they tend to scatter and rampage through the countryside. Angry mobs usually have someone at the forefront spurring the group onward. The standard assumption of these rules is that units deprived of a leader disintegrate, but an army doesn't just vanish off the map in the span of a minute. It takes time for the ranks to crumble in demoralized panic (or wander off without direction, in the case of automata and zombies).

To handle this, the leaderless unit immediately assumes unordered formation and recalculates its core statistics as if an average member were the leader (which may be an extra, meaning that the unit now has only three health levels per dot of Magnitude). All relays immediately fade back into the ranks, lost in the confusion, while sorcerers must either break away as solo units or also fade into the rank and file. Lacking special characters, no characters can be singled out for attack. The unit must continue whatever general action plan it was in the process of doing when it lost its leader. (Units engaged with an enemy unit must continue to fight, while those marching to specific location keep moving until they get there.) Once a unit completes its task (defeats the enemy forces pressing against it, reaches the destination, etc.), it cannot move or do anything else except repeatedly guard. If attacked with ranged weapons, it can defend itself and thereafter respond with its own ranged attacks or move to engage the enemy unit in close combat. If attacked and engaged in close combat, the unit can defend itself and fight back, but it slips back into waiting as soon as it triumphs. Most importantly, leaderless units make an automatic check for rout at the beginning of every tick in which they have completed a course of action and are just waiting for orders that aren't coming (i.e., upon defeating an enemy or reaching the destination). The difficulty starts at 0 and cumulatively increases by one every time this specific rout check is made. Even units with perfect morale must make this check, rolling five dice. Therefore, a large horde of zombies might hold together long enough to devour a band of militia, but once it has done so, the zombies start wandering off.

The advantage of gradual disintegration is that a unit deprived of a leader can still fight on as it crumbles, possibly avenging its leader. More importantly, a hero from another allied unit can attempt to break away and rush to the floundering unit, reaching the soldiers in time to assume command before the whole unit falls apart. If these rules add undue complexity—if it furthers the story for a leaderless unit of extras to balk and perish in its hesitation without having further effect on the battle—don't use them. Assume the unit disbands and ceases to have an impact on the battle immediately, as the individual soldiers perish or flee.

Exhaustion

Every time a unit attacks or suffers an attack, that unit risks losing an Endurance point once the attack is resolved. Players of commanders or their best relays can avert this loss with a reflexive (Charisma + War) roll at a difficulty of the Fatigue value of the troops' armor. A number of modifiers apply to this roll, adding or subtracting from the difficulty as follows (minimum difficulty 1):

Circumstance	Difficulty Modifier
Unit's Morale 3+	-1
Unit has perfect Morale	-2
Unit is engaged with an enemy unit	+2
Unit charged as last action	+1
Hot weather/snowy	+1
Desert/blizzard	+2
Extreme temperatures	+3

Units with no Endurance remaining suffer a -2 penalty on all actions from fatigue.

Healing and Recruitment

While solo units recover from wounds like the characters they are, complementary units cannot miraculously regenerate reinforcements. Instead, a unit must spend a period of wellsupplied rest recruiting or integrating reinforcements sent by superiors. Healing a single dot takes a number of days equal to (the current Magnitude of the unit + 1), repeating the cycle as many times as necessary to recover full strength. Once the unit regains its first point of Magnitude in this fashion, it also regains full health. During an actual battle, limited healing is possible through rallying, but this is simply a reallocation and regrouping of forces.