Extra Leaders

Battlestorm plays well with anywhere between 2 and 200 or so miniatures on the tabletop. Pit fights and gladiator battles usually involve a handful of heroes on each side, but for bigger battles players usually have an equal number of points to spend on “Combat Value” to build/buy the army of their choosing.

A 500 point army usually consists of 4 to 6 squads, a monster and a hero.  A pair of 500 point armies can fight on a small tabletop in about an hour or so.  It’s a fast-paced enjoyable game, which sometimes favors the lucky as well as the smart player.

A battle between two 1000 point armies involves about 50 models on each side. This battle can be fought on a small to medium tabletop and will generally last from between 30 minutes and 2 hours. Often luck takes a back seat to strategy in bigger games, as the law of averages catches up to most players.  While at under 1000 points Battlestorm is a "beer-and-pretzels game", at 1000+ points per side Battlestorm begins to simulate a real battle.

We find that once you know the rules, even a battle between 2000 point armies plays reasonably quickly for the amount of miniatures involved.  Such a battle may last between 1 and 4 hours and the action will not let up for the duration.  As in a real battle, luck will swing back and forth.  Luck in the bigger game is something than cannot be counted on or defended against—it’s just something each player has to deal with as best he can.  In these larger games, Battlestorm gives one the feel of a real battle and players will find that real life tactics play out very nicely.  A large battle works best on a tabletop that is at least 4 foot by 6 foot.  However, players may find that a single “Leader”, as described in the Battlestorm rulebook, will have a hard time keeping his troops in command over such a large span of tabletop.

At the Shenandoah Valley Game Guild (where Battlestorm was birthed) we often had several armies on the board on each side of the table.  This simple option is always available and works quite nicely.  However, where each side commands only one army, we offer the following as the OFFICIAL rules for extra leaders in large battles:

Maximum Leaders Allowed of each type by Army Value

Note the following:

You may have an extra Captain for every 750 points after 4500.

Every army must have at least 1 general or marshal.  

Additional leaders are recommended and allowed but not required.

In addition to the above, for every 25 miniatures the army fields, the player may name a corporal.  (He may also nominate a standard bearer and a musician, for 5 points each, as explained elsewhere on this site).

Definitions and Rules

Captain — A captain is the general’s right hand man.  He can effectively carry out the general's battle plan, and thus extend the command radius of the general.  A captain has a command radius equal to one half his Leadership in inches.  The captain must remain within the general (or marshal's) command radius to extend that leader's command radius.   If  he should stray beyond the general's command radius, he must pass a d20 INT check to use his command radius and prevent units under his sole command from being considered "out of command".   A corporal may be promoted instantly to replace a fallen or dead captain.  If there is no corporal available, the captain is simply lost.

General — A general is played exactly like a “leader” in the Battlestorm rulebook.  A general is the commander and therefore can never be considered out of command.  If a general is lost, a captain may be promoted to take his place.  A corporal (or any troop other than a captain) may NOT be automatically promoted to general.  If no captain is available, the new leader must pass a d30 Leadership check as described in the Battlestorm rulebook.  Note, if a general is killed, all troops under his command must make an immediate Courage check. (On a failed roll, the unit is removed from the board.)  The command radius of a general is equal to his Leadership stat in inches.

Marshal — A marshal is a supreme warlord and a commander of  any and all generals.  His command radius is equal to two times his Leadership stat in inches.  In all other respects he is exactly like a general and should be treated as such.  If a marshal is killed, a general may NOT be promoted to take his place.   If a marshal is killed, all troops that are solely under his command must make a Courage check (i.e., those within a remaining general's command radius will not have to make a Courage check).  If they fail, they are removed from play.

Corporal — A corporal is a battle-hardened leader from the ranks of the common men. A corporal is any common troop that the player names at the start of the game, however the corporal may not be a character or creature with Fate.  A common troop that is upgraded to corporal adds 2d4 to his Leadership stat. (Remember that any squad has the option of rolling Courage checks against either the Courage of the unit (modified as appropriate by the unit's formation) or the highest Leadership in the unit, which may be the corporal's Leadership +2d4)  Note that a corporal promoted to replace a fallen captain does not retain his -1 C.E.R. bonuses as he is too busy with his new responsibilities!

A corporal must fight in the front rank, though he is always the last model in that rank to be wounded.  The corporal’s unit gains –1 to its C.E.R. whenever he is in the unit.  A corporal may have as many models in his squad as the player deems appropriate.  A fallen corporal may not be replaced by another rank and file trooper and a corporal may only command a unit that is composed of troops of his own type.