I am thinking of starting a campaign and at one point depending on the player's actions will be to protect a caravan till they reach the next town. They will be harassed on and off by goblins on wolves. The boss fight near the end of which will involve a large raiding party lead by a chieftain on a chariot.
That said, I haven't found much rules on how to do combat with vehicles likes chariots so here are my thoughts.
The goblin chariot will be goblin tech, so in this case I am thinking of rolling a D10 after its second turn. ON a 1 it falls apart. If I decide to make it surdier, will go with the following
A light chariot (think what the Pharaohs would often use) so meant for speed. Pulled by at least 2 dire wolves but may add more. At least 3 gobos will be on the chariot. The chief will be amongst them, but will have at least one driver, one archer with a short bow, and one with a spear picking off anything that gets too close.
Will have scythed wheals. These were used so as a chariot rode passed enemies, the blades that stook out on the wheel's hub caps would take out enemy legs, leaving them mangled and the warrior they were once attached to bleeding to death.
Some ideas I gleaned from suggestions on some Facebook forums as I asked this:
TO allow it to add some cover to the crew, so I am thinking +1 or 2 to AC.
If one of the wolves is killed, the chariot can't move well.
Can only make right angles as it is harder to maneuver than say a lone rider on a lone mount.
What are your thoughts on this?
I will try to think of other types of chariots after I get this fight down.
If you can find a copy (or a website with a summary of it), Dragon Magazine #81 has rules for chariots. That's from 1984, though, and 5th edition is very different from how things were then, so it might not be a lot of help.
Its a start, but if we are going to have it in the game might as well use it.
Edit:
Found it. Some things that is brought up is due to the time, coast, and complexity, only the wealthy could use them because they were the only ones that could afford to buy and maintain them.
Something used by a number of peoples was not as a war machine but as a taxi to transport fresh troops to the front and tired ones to the back.
A couple problems they could face.
Difficult terrain: They may have been the tanks of their day, and had the reputation to match, they were far from invincible. For starters most charioteers would prefer to not run over an enemy. The weight and power of the war machine and the horses could definitely kill a man, but that warrior was probably armed and able to wound or kill the horses and without them the thing won't move.
Next it didn't deal with difficult terrain very well. Flat or hilly grass lands: It was death incarnate. In a heavily forested or in rocky terrain, it could get stuck or damaged. I forget the name of the spell, but I can see a life cleric or druid casting a spell that makes a small forest grow, or brambles and vines to entangle it.
Also given the size and weight, I can see the dash option not being available.
I am thinking of starting a campaign and at one point depending on the player's actions will be to protect a caravan till they reach the next town. They will be harassed on and off by goblins on wolves. The boss fight near the end of which will involve a large raiding party lead by a chieftain on a chariot.
That said, I haven't found much rules on how to do combat with vehicles likes chariots so here are my thoughts.
The goblin chariot will be goblin tech, so in this case I am thinking of rolling a D10 after its second turn. ON a 1 it falls apart. If I decide to make it surdier, will go with the following
A light chariot (think what the Pharaohs would often use) so meant for speed. Pulled by at least 2 dire wolves but may add more. At least 3 gobos will be on the chariot. The chief will be amongst them, but will have at least one driver, one archer with a short bow, and one with a spear picking off anything that gets too close.
Will have scythed wheals. These were used so as a chariot rode passed enemies, the blades that stook out on the wheel's hub caps would take out enemy legs, leaving them mangled and the warrior they were once attached to bleeding to death.
Some ideas I gleaned from suggestions on some Facebook forums as I asked this:
TO allow it to add some cover to the crew, so I am thinking +1 or 2 to AC.
If one of the wolves is killed, the chariot can't move well.
Can only make right angles as it is harder to maneuver than say a lone rider on a lone mount.
What are your thoughts on this?
I will try to think of other types of chariots after I get this fight down.
If you can find a copy (or a website with a summary of it), Dragon Magazine #81 has rules for chariots. That's from 1984, though, and 5th edition is very different from how things were then, so it might not be a lot of help.
Its a start, but if we are going to have it in the game might as well use it.
Edit:
Found it. Some things that is brought up is due to the time, coast, and complexity, only the wealthy could use them because they were the only ones that could afford to buy and maintain them.
Something used by a number of peoples was not as a war machine but as a taxi to transport fresh troops to the front and tired ones to the back.
A couple problems they could face.
Difficult terrain: They may have been the tanks of their day, and had the reputation to match, they were far from invincible. For starters most charioteers would prefer to not run over an enemy. The weight and power of the war machine and the horses could definitely kill a man, but that warrior was probably armed and able to wound or kill the horses and without them the thing won't move.
Next it didn't deal with difficult terrain very well. Flat or hilly grass lands: It was death incarnate. In a heavily forested or in rocky terrain, it could get stuck or damaged. I forget the name of the spell, but I can see a life cleric or druid casting a spell that makes a small forest grow, or brambles and vines to entangle it.
Also given the size and weight, I can see the dash option not being available.