Fantasy Wargaming

JG Dungeoneer 15 included some commentary concerning the suitability among the general population for military service.

The Dungeoneer 24 - Dec/Jan 1980

The Mass Combat Supplement to OD&D titled Swords and Spells contains a rather extensive section on Morale.  I think one can see influences from both Chainmail and OD&D as this system develops.  Likewise, several ideas carries over into AD&D. When to check Morale: Base Morale Scores: Adjustments for different creatures, troop types, formations, positions, etc.: Additional circumstantial bonus: What happens upon a failed Morale check:

The Judges Guild provided a wealth of supplemental information for the original version of Dungeons and Dragons.  One particular publication JG0014 The Ready Reference Sheets gathered useful tables in one place.  One such table involves Morale on p. 36: A few observations: 1.  This is a 2d6 table, so the bell curve makes results cluster at the 7. 2.  A Morale score is established at the creation of the NPC is added to the result.

When developing Non-Player Characters, one of the factors to determine is Bravery.  GG defines this on DMG 102: To randomize the attribute for an NPC, two methods are given: PERSONAE OF NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS - TRAITS TABLES on DMG 101: And NON-PLAYER CHARACTER ENCOUNTER/OFFER REACTION ADJUSTMENTS on DMG 102: Interesting insight in an unlikely place, DMG 82: Seems pretty clear to me that +1 Bravery equals +5% an Morale checks while +4 Bravery equals +15% on Morale.  However, we know from the Reaction adjustment table above the max % adjustment is 20%, so how would you tie these together? If the descriptions from the Traits table were combined with the possible Morale adjustment percentages and ordered them may look like this: 1. Foolhardy  +20% 2.  Fearless +10% 3.  Brave +5% 4.  Normal 0% 5.  Normal 0% 6.  Normal 0% 7.  Cowardly -5% 8.  Craven -10% If we look at as a s...

Analyzing the possible results of a Morale check, we consider now the result: Flee in Panic.  What exactly does this mean? Our first clue comes from DMG 78 in the descriptions of the effects of Psionic attacks. A creature who is panicked has a condition that last 2d4 rounds and includes the effects of a Fear spell from a magic-user.   Here is the description of that spell f4om PHB 76: The Panicked creature must immediately check to determine if they drop whatever they are holding, then the following round move away from the source of their fear at their fastest for 4 rounds.  Another effect of this movement is the ability of the opponent to attack the fleeing creature, from PHB 105: That's a rear attack, defined on DMG 70: Yhe step-by-step how this works at yhe Table: As an example:  You have a company of 80 Mercenaries in Mass Combat on a 10:1 figure scale, so 8 figures. 1.  As soon as the 2nd figure is hit with a deathb...