Morale and Cohesion in Mass Combat

 

I recently read an excellent series of posts on pre-modern generalship by Bret Devereaux at A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry. The series is truly amazing and inspired me to write some morale and cohesion rules for mass combat in tabletop RPGs. I will summarize some of the key points below:

The Charge of the Light Cavalry Brigade via Wikipedia

Morale & Cohesion

Morale - the commitment the combatants have to their leadership and their cause

vital in motivating troops and making them persevere, particularly outside of combat

components:

1. belief in goal/cause

2. belief in eventual success

3. belief in leadership's plan to cause success

Cohesion - the force that keeps a unit together 

the force that holds a unit together by means of the bonds between individual soldiers (and possibly officers)

vital in battle, staying calm in face of danger

emerges from:

1. personal bonds

2. possibility of shame

3. drilling (both preparedness and by building bonds)

Both measures could be used to present a more nuanced vision of troop coherence

Troops lacking morale but maintaining cohesion might:

• desert when out of combat (lost faith in cause or cannot win), turn homeward or to banditry

• refuse orders, not advance (if they feel like they cannot win)

• turn on their leaders (if leadership is the problem)

Troops maintaining morale but lacking cohesion might:

• turn and run from battle (possibly to reform when out of danger)

• refuse orders, not advance

Deaths on the order of 5-10% could be expected in premodern battles. Thus even small numbers of casualties could cause units to lose morale/cohesion.

Modern casualty figures show typical casualty rates in the 10-20% range before units lose cohesion. 

Hand-to-hand combat is more likely to cause cohesion / morale failure.

View from the receiving end of the same charge.

Here are some rules based on the above ideas:

Units get a fixed modifier to checks based on quality (-1 to +3) and have a morale/cohesion status that can be modified up or down. This status carries over, so low morale out of battle will affect morale/cohesion in combat. Morale/cohesion is a single status and results adjudicated based on context: 

(battle tends to produce cohesion loss, out of combat failures morale loss - adjudicate reaction according to context and unit’s state of mind)

2d6 + unit modifier + conditional modifiers → 10+ morale level increase, 7-9 morale maintained, 4-6 down a level, <4 down two levels

Other modifiers:

In combat:

Casualties -1 per 5%

Leader lost -2

Surprise -1

Positional effects -1 to +1

Perceived chances of success (or other GM discretionary factors) -2 to +2

Leadership skill / Charisma modifier (the unit commander should be within view)

Out of combat:

Food, pay, conditions, perceived likelihood of success, belief in cause/leadership - each provide -1, 0, +1

Morale levels:

	Unit Behavior
Fanatical	Willing to engage in highly risky maneuvers with extreme chance of losses. Outside of combat can maintain grueling physical activity while ignoring 2 negative modifiers
Steady	Respond to orders normally  Outside of combat conduct themselves within expected norms
Wavering	Unwilling to charge, delayed advances  Outside of combat, less willing to conduct labor, forced marches
Breaking	Only hold position, will not advance, -1 to effectiveness Outside combat, at risk of depletion through desertion, lose 10% / week if morale does not increase.
Routed	Will run away without regard for unit (cohesion failure), will conduct orderly retreat (morale failure only) - may reform later if morale permits Outside combat - depending on context for morale failure, may desert as individuals or a whole unit, might steal/loot, might turn against commanders

Morale checks:

In combat

• pre-contact

• first losses

• 5% casualties

• 10% and other increments (at increasing difficulties)

• loss of leader (increased difficulty)

Outside combat

• on leaving combat can make a check to reform unit (typically combat modifiers should not apply - if unit does not improve to breaking, ceases to be a functional unit)

• at fixed intervals outside of combat (modified by pay, food, conditions, perceived likelihood of success, belief in cause/leadership)

• on receiving significant news about the status of army/campaign

These rules are intended for military campaigns and/or domain play. The idea is to create situations that call for a wider range of player actions than simply killing enemies. Hopefully the rules will challenge players to address logistical problems and morale concerns and provide multiple means of achieving success in mass combat. Most mass combat systems already have morale rules in combat, so these rules can act as a replacement or the modifiers and behaviors can be used to augment existing rules, particularly out of combat.

*For smaller units in a tactical combat setting, a flat -1 to morale checks per casualty may be appropriate. 

*These rules have not yet been playtested. I hope to update them as I do. Any feedback is welcome.

[Alternative - eliminates need to remember previous state : 2d6 + unit modifier + conditional modifiers → 12+ Fanatical, 9-11 Steady, 6-8 Wavering, 4-5 Breaking, 2-3 Routed]