Strategic Objectives

At the beginning of each round, each army’s commander chooses one strategic objective for the entire army for that round (a few examples can be found below). The commander should also describe some specifics of the objective, fitting the details into the story of the battle that has unfolded so far.

To fulfill this strategic objective, the army’s leaders must take actions to accrue momentum points toward this goal (see page 253). Once a particular strategic objective has been fulfilled, the commander cannot choose that objective again for three rounds. If an objective was not completed in a prior round, the commander may select it again, and the army’s progress toward it continues.

When a leader’s action completes a strategic objective, that leader is awarded 3 glory, and the effects described in the strategic objective resolve. Note that only the leader who personally completed the objective gets this glory reward—others who contributed do not receive the same benefit.

Sample Strategic Objectives

In addition to these examples, the GM can also prepare objectives specific to the battle. Players can even set their own goals for their army. In the latter case, the GM should have the players describe what they want to accomplish and then provide guidance on the narrative and mechanical avenues they must take to achieve it.

Capture a Position

The commander calls for the leaders to uproot the enemy from a specific position this round, so that the army can occupy it. This position must be a fortification or piece of terrain occupied by the enemy. Each type of position or fortification has a difficulty value, which is the number of momentum points an army must achieve to capture it (see Fortifications on the opposite page).

How to Achieve It: After a leader performs an Attack action against the enemy leader’s cohort occupying the fortification, the army accrues 1 momentum point toward capturing the position per casualty the enemy army suffered.

Fulfilled When: This strategic objective is fulfilled after the army accrues momentum points equal to or exceeding the difficulty value for the specific fortification. Alternatively, it can be fulfilled if the enemy army vacates the position and a friendly leader successfully performs the Reinforce action there.

Upon Completion: When a leader completes this strategic objective, the enemy cohort occupying the fortification is driven out and no longer counts as occupying it. The leader who completed this objective may choose to have their cohort occupy the fortification immediately.

Cut Off the Head

The commander calls for their army to corner and kill a particular leader in the enemy force, having identified this person as a serious impediment to victory. The difficulty value to corner a particular enemy leader in battle is equal to their focus attribute.

How to Achieve It: After a leader performs an Attack action against the enemy leader’s cohort, the army accrues 3 momentum points toward this objective.

Fulfilled When: When the army accrues momentum points equal to or exceeding the difficulty value to corner the leader, the character who accrued the last momentum point may perform a finishing blow on the target as if they were fighting a duel (see The Finishing Blow on page 259). Alternately, this objective can be fulfilled if one of the army’s leaders is able to kill the enemy leader in a clash via the Challenge action (see page 263).

Upon Completion: When a leader completes this strategic objective against an enemy leader, the enemy army suffers 10 panic. When a leader completes this objective against the enemy commander, the enemy army suffers 20 panic instead.

Draw Them In

The commander tries to draw the foe into attacking a hardened position, preparing for a counterattack.

How to Achieve It: After an enemy army’s leader performs an Attack action against a friendly leader’s cohort, if that cohort suffers 3 or fewer casualties, the army accrues 1 momentum point.

After an enemy army’s leader Challenges or accepts a Challenge from a friendly leader, the army accrues 1 momentum point.

Fulfilled When: This strategic objective is fulfilled after the army accrues a number of momentum points equal to or exceeding the enemy commander’s vigilance.

Upon Completion: When the army completes this strategic objective, the enemy army suffers 5 panic. During the next round, double all attrition the army’s leaders inflict.

Grind Them Down

The commander calls for the army to focus on inflicting harm on the foe to weaken their forces and break their resolve!

How to Achieve It: After a leader performs an Attack action against any enemy leader’s cohort, the army accrues 1 momentum point per casualty the enemy army suffered.

Fulfilled When: This strategic objective is fulfilled after the army accrues momentum points equal to the enemy commander’s Glory rank plus ranks in Command.

Upon Completion: When a leader completes this strategic objective, the enemy army suffers 10 panic.

Seize Victory!

The commander calls for their forces to deliver a final blow to the enemy army. A commander can declare this strategic objective only after a number of other strategic objectives have been fulfilled during the battle. The GM sets the number of strategic objectives required; three is the recommended starting number, but the GM can adjust this up or down as they see fit.

How to Achieve It: After a leader performs an Attack action against any enemy leader’s cohort, the army accrues 1 momentum point per casualty the enemy army suffered.

Fulfilled When: This strategic objective is fulfilled after the army accrues momentum points equal to or exceeding the enemy commander’s focus plus their ranks in Tactics.

Upon Completion: When a leader completes this strategic objective, the enemy army is driven back and must retreat from the field. While the enemy army might not be destroyed completely, it can no longer achieve a meaningful victory in this battle due to strategic considerations.

Initiative

During this phase of a mass battle, each army selects a commander, who then makes an Initiative check and assigns leaders.

1. Choose Commander: At the start of Phase 1: Initiative, each army selects its commander.

2. Initiative Check: The commander performs an Initiative check to marshal and organize the forces of the army by making a TN 1 Command check.

3. Select Leaders: Next, the commander chooses the army’s leaders. The commander may choose to personally be one of the army’s leaders. The commander must choose at least one leader (generally, it is a good idea to make each PC or important NPC a leader).

Taking Turns

During this phase of a mass battle, commanders give leaders strategic direction and leaders direct their cohorts against enemy cohorts. Each leader commands their cohort in performing one action on their turn.

Commanders Determine Order

At the start of Phase 2, the commander with the higher initiative result decides if their army makes the first move or waits. If the commanders have the same initiative result, the one with the lower honor must have their army make the first move. Then, starting with the army that makes the first move, each commander nominates one of their leaders who has not acted yet that round to act, alternating back and forth until all leaders have acted.

Select Strategic Objective

At the beginning of each round, each commander chooses the army’s strategic objective for the round. If they are not sure what to do, a PC commander may make a Tactics check with TN equal to the enemy commander’s vigilance to gain insight into their foe and what sorts of moves they could use to gain the upper hand.

Rounds

Each cohort leader takes one turn each round when called upon to act by their commander.

Mass Battle Actions

In addition to these sample actions, characters can also perform actions created for the circumstances by their players (and approved by the GM) or actions that have been granted to them by their techniques and abilities.

Assault

Description: You move your cohort to a particular position, attacking the cohort of a chosen enemy leader.

Activation: As an Attack and Movement action, you may make a TN 2 Tactics check to lead your troops in a strike targeting one enemy leader’s cohort.

Effects: If you succeed, you deal attrition to the enemy army equal to your ranks in Command plus your bonus successes.

Challenge

Description: You stride to the forefront of your force, bellowing a challenge to the enemy leader.

Activation: As a Movement and Scheme action, you may make a TN 1 Command check targeting one enemy leader with a challenge to single combat.

Effects: If you succeed, you stake 10 honor and 5 glory, which you forfeit if you sabotage the clash. Then, the target must choose whether to accept or decline your Challenge. Based on the target’s decision, resolve one of the following:

If the target accepts, they stake 10 honor and 5 glory, which they forfeit if they take any Attack or Scheme action before the clash. At the end of the round, you and the target enter a clash (see Clashes, on page 263).

To decline, the target must forfeit glory equal to your ranks in Command plus your bonus successes. Their army suffers 3 panic. Then, you gain 1 Void point.

If you win the clash, the enemy army suffers 5 panic. If you lose the clash, your army suffers 5 panic.

Rally

Description: You command your troops to regroup and support an allied contingent.

Activation: As a Support action, you may make a TN 1 Command check targeting one friendly leader’s cohort.

Effects: If you succeed, your army removes 1 panic, plus 1 additional panic per bonus success.

If you succeed or fail, the target counts as having your assistance (see page 26) on their next check before the end of the scene.

Reinforce

Description: You call for your troops to dig in and hold a position at all costs.

Activation: As a Movement and Support action, you may make a TN 2 Tactics check to have your cohort dig in at one chosen position.

Effects: If you succeed, increase the TN of Attack action checks targeting your cohort by 1, plus an additional 1 per two bonus successes. This effect persists for one round.

If you choose an unoccupied fortification or piece of terrain this way, you are considered to be occupying it until you narratively leave it or perform an action other than Challenge or Reinforce.

Resolving a Mass Battle

A mass battle can end in a number of ways, such as:

Rout: If an army’s casualties exceed its strength, it is routed at the end of the round. All minion NPCs who are part of the army are killed or scattered to the winds. Each PC and adversary NPC who is part of the army suffers a critical strike with a severity of 12. At the GM’s discretion, any PC or adversary NPC might be captured or simply left for dead on the battlefield instead.

Morale Collapse: If an army’s panic exceeds its discipline, the army breaks apart. Each PC and adversary NPC can escape in the confusion.

Strategic Victory/Defeat: If an army succeeds in achieving the Seize Victory! strategic objective, it wins the mass battle at the end of the round (and any other armies involved lose). The winning army can be assumed to achieve the goals for which it took the field, such as driving the enemy out of a region, capturing a particular location, or making a show of force. Participating armies that did not fall prey to a rout or morale collapse withdraw relatively intact.

Length of a Mass Battle

Mortal armies can only remain in the field for so long before needing to resupply and recuperate. Mass battle rounds are quite long in the fictional time of the game; six rounds cover a full day of fighting.

After six rounds of a mass battle, strategic engagement generally terminates, and armies withdraw to their camps. If a commander decides to have their army remain in the field, both armies begin to suffer the effects of battle fatigue.

Example Armies

The sample armies provided here are for entire armies, not single cohorts, which do not have individualized profiles. In most mass battles, there are only two armies.

GMs are encouraged to adjust the strength, discipline, and abilities of these armies to reflect the circumstances of the story, or to build new armies of their own using these as models.

Peasant Levy

Farmers and townsfolk generally want to live their lives in tranquility, with minimal interference from their overlords and peace across the lands. After all, war is a scourge most of all upon the common people, even if they are never drawn directly into the fighting. Taxes rise, resources are drained, and vital goods become scarce. Crops are destroyed or confiscated, and starvation spreads. Banditry flourishes as order collapses. In such circumstances, even untrained citizens often find the resolve to fight. At other times, soldiers sweep in to conscript anyone able to hold a spear.

Strength: 35 | Discipline: 20

Conscripted (Army Ability): Each leader in this army increases the TN of their Attack actions by 1.

Ashigaru Army

The solid core of most fighting forces in the Emerald Empire, ashigaru are career soldiers. Though they are not of the samurai class and lack the elite training and equipment that birth into the warrior caste entails, many are veteran campaigners with more practical battlefield experience than the majority of Rokugani samurai.

Strength: 55 | Discipline: 30

Rank Formation (Army Ability): When a leader in this army performs the Reinforce action, they may spend as follows:

+: After an enemy cohort attacks this leader’s cohort, the enemy army suffers attrition equal to spent this way.

Elite Samurai Army

Fighting forces composed of samurai are relatively rare in the Emerald Empire. More often, samurai form the backbone of the officer corps that command ashigaru. Certain groups, however, such as the Imperial Legions, are primarily composed of members of the samurai caste, and these armies are terrifying to behold indeed.

Strength: 50 | Discipline: 45

Hardened Veterans (Army Ability): When this army would remove 1 or more panic, it may remove an amount equal to the glory rank of its commander instead.

Elite Training (Army Ability): Each cohort in this army confers one of the following abilities upon its leader:

Cavalry: After you perform an Assault action, if you succeed, the enemy army suffers panic equal to your ranks in Survival.

Siege Specialists: When performing the Rally action, if you succeed, add a number of bonus successes equal to your ranks in Labor.

Infantry: When you perform an Assault action, if you succeed, add a number of bonus successes equal to your ranks in Command.

Archers: After you perform a Reinforce action, if you succeed, the enemy army suffers panic equal to your ranks in Tactics.

Mystics: After you perform a Rally or Reinforce action, if you succeed, remove casualties or panic from your army equal to your ranks in Theology.

Shadowlands Horde

Goblins, oni, undead monstrosities, and other horrors rarely march to war in anything resembling an organized fashion. On the rare occasions they are rallied by a dread leader strong and cunning enough to control them, they are a truly horrifying foe to behold.

Strength: 65 | Discipline: 40

Relentless (Army Ability): The creatures of the Shadowlands live for battle, and their rage does not gutter out so easily as that of human soldiers. This army does not suffer the effects of battle fatigue.

Monstrous Enemies (Army Ability): At the end of each round, each opposing army suffers panic equal to this army’s leader’s ranks in Command.

Wake of the Shadowlands (Army Ability): After a mass battle against this army, the battlefield becomes Defiled terrain (see Terrain, on page 267).