I purchased the book on the assumption that it would supply me with a framework in which to run a large scale battle where the focus falls upon the adventurers. Does this book achieve this? Yes. So why am I at a loss to explain the book? Because it doesn't supply any rules for mass combat. In a rules heavy game like D&D, where rolling the d20 to find the outcome of something is the de facto way of making rules based decisions, to simply say...
"...you might simply make an educated estimate, based on the strengths of the units involved. In a large battle with many units, you can use this method to determine how long the battle will last and who might ultimately be victorious..."
...is a major disappointment. Really, I don't need to purchase a book to be told this.
A further disappointment is that the authors clearly found it hard merging some of the basics of D&D. This is no better clearly illustrated than in the section Treasure in a War Campaign, which tries to set out how treasure might be found/awarded/looted etc. After touching on a few ideas, it eventually falls upon:
Huh? Surely that is what this book was trying to get away from? The book is riddled with stuff like this, which is a real shame."You could even send the PCs into a dungeon..."
On a positive note, there is some good stuff in it. It gets you to plan the battlefield and gives some great examples (using flowcharts) of how things might develop. The charts are a little overly complicated, but it really is a good way for the DM to keep control of what is going on. There are good rules on siege engines, volleys of arrows, etc, all of which will be useful in the battlefield. You'll find stuff on leadership, morale, aerial bombardment. You know, all the stuff associated with mass battle. There is even a concept of victory points. Unfortunately, these can be best summed up with:
In other words, their value is entirely arbitrary once again. Which is a shame, because Victory Points should have been about calculating who was winning and losing and, ultimately, who the winner was. And I mean a system, not just some abstract concept."When the battle nears its climax, the DM compares the victory point total amassed by the PCs to a list of potential outcomes designed for that battle."
For those who buy books for PrCs, Feats, etc, this book offers four PrCs (all battlefield orientated, obviously), a bunch of feats (lots of additional leadership feats and battle orientated stuff) and a plethora of new spells and magic items.
So, overall, I'm disappointed. I have an idea for starting a campaign in just such a setting - with a huge battle going on as a backdrop, while the PCs go about their stuff. I don't want to just make up the outcome of the battle. I want the PC's actions to have a real impact. There's stuff in here that I'll use - indeed, some good stuff - and the book offers some great advice and ideas on how to build things up and keep it going. But for the rules, I'll have to go elsewhere.
