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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

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Appendix 3: Warfare

Preparing for War

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 567
Before sending armies into battle, you need to gather, train, arm, and maintain those forces at the end of a Kingdom turn's Activity phase.

Army Activities

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 567
After the PCs complete the Civic Activities step of a Kingdom turn, they may take an Army Activities step, in which each army currently maintained by the kingdom may take a single Army activity. The order in which they are attempted is chosen by the players. Army activities are presented below, and may only be taken during the Army Activities step (but note that Recruit Army is a Leadership activity instead).

Army Stat Block

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 569
For generic armies, the alignment trait is listed as “Any.” An army comprised primarily of one type of creature has an alignment that's representative of that type of creature.

Armies have one of four type traits. Infantry consists of soldiers or creatures that move on foot. Cavalry consists of mounted combat units. Skirmishers consist of a small number of highly mobile units. Siege armies focus on the deployment of siege engines rather than personal combat.

Army NameArmy (Level)

Rarity TraitAlignment AbbreviationType Trait
Scouting This entry lists the modifier for an army's initiative—typically equal to the Perception modifier of the army's individual creatures—or the Scouting DC to detect an army that lies in ambush in a hex (to generate a Scouting DC, add 10 to the Scouting modifier).
Recruitment DC This lists the DC required to recruit the army (as a general rule, this DC is equal to the standard DC for the army's level)—see Recruiting an Army above; Consumption This lists the number of Food Commodities the army consumes during the Kingdom turn's Upkeep Phase; see Pay Consumption. If you fail to pay Consumption during a Kingdom turn, all of your armies increase their shaken and weary conditions by 1 An army whose shaken or weary conditions reach 4 or higher as a result of this increase immediately disbands; this causes the kingdom to gain 1d4 Unrest and increases one Ruin of the party's choice by 1.
Description This gives a brief description of the army.
AC This lists the army's Armor Class; Saves Armies have two saving throws: a Maneuver save and a Morale save. Maneuver This modifier applies to all checks made by the army to maneuver, be it to execute a complex tactic or to minimize damage and effects from unusual physical dangers; Morale This modifier applies to all checks made by the army to avoid becoming shaken or to resist effects that undermine cooperation, bravery, loyalty, and such.
HP This lists the army's Hit Points. When an army's Hit Points reach zero, it becomes defeated. An army cannot be reduced to fewer than 0 Hit Points. The army's Rout Threshold (RT) is listed in parenthesis after its Hit Points. RT is typically half its maximum HP. An army that is resistant to fear or is particularly brave generally has a lower RT, while the rare army composed of creatures that are entirely immune to fear won't have an RT listed at all.
Melee The name of the attack the army uses for a melee Strike, followed by the attack modifier. An army inflicts 1 point of damage on a hit and 2 points on a critical hit. Melee Strikes can only be used against engaged armies.
Ranged The name of the attack the army uses for a ranged Strike, followed by the attack modifier. An army inflicts 1 point of damage on a hit and 2 points on a critical hit. An army can use its ranged Strike up to 5 times in each war encounter before its ammunition is depleted (unless it has the Increased Ammunition tactic). An army automatically replenishes its ranged Strike shots at the end of a war encounter.
Tactics Any tactics known by the army are listed here.
Gear Any gear outfitted by the army is listed here.
Special Abilities Additional unique abilities possessed by the army are detailed here.

Army Hit Points

As with creatures and objects, armies have Hit Points, but an army's HP cannot be reduced by damage— they are reduced only as the result of a war action. Typically, a successful army Strike reduces the target army's HP by 1, or by 2 on a critical hit. An army's HP doesn't automatically recover at the end of a battle.

Who's in an Army?

As the majority of citizens of the PCs' kingdom are assumed to be humans, the majority of the soldiers in a basic army are humans as well. Other ancestries may also be part of the army, but not enough to adjust the basic assumptions of the army's abilities. For example, having some dwarves in a mostly human army won't grant the entire army darkvision. There are some tactics that allow armies to specifically train to take advantage of ancestry abilities like this, and some of the specialized armies you'll eventually have the chance to recruit are made up entirely of ancestries other than humans.

At the GM's option, the PCs could recruit a basic army comprised entirely of one of the core ancestries other than human. The easiest way to model these armies is to require them to take Darkvision, Keen Eyes, or Low-Light vision (as appropriate for the ancestry) as their first tactic.

Recruiting an Army

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 570
When you recruit an army from a specialized group encountered during the course of play, the GM provides you with the army's statistics, but the majority of your kingdom's armies will be recruited from its citizens. When you recruit an army, follow these steps.

Step 1—Choose a Basic Army Type

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 570
(Skip this step when recruiting a specialized army—its type is listed in its stat block.) Choose the basic type of army you want to recruit from infantry, cavalry, skirmishers, or siege engines. Statistics for all four basic armies are found below.

You cannot choose an army whose minimum level is higher than your current kingdom level.

Step 2—Recruit the Army

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 570
Take the Recruit Army activity during the Leadership Activities step of a Kingdom turn to recruit the army.

Step 3—Adjust Statistics

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 570
When you recruit an army, be it a, its level adjusts to match your kingdom level. Unless you recruit an army at minimum level when your kingdom is the same level, this means you must adjust the army's DCs and check modifiers as detailed under Basic Armies by Level.

Step 4—Choose Initial Tactics

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 570
All armies can know at least one tactic. When you recruit a basic army, choose its tactics from any that it qualifies for (but note cavalries and siege engines “spend” their first tactic on Overrun and Engines of War respectively). Specialized armies already have one or more tactics listed in their stat blocks; you only add tactics to these armies after they increase their level.

Step 5—Place the Army

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 570
A basic army starts in the same hex as one of your kingdom's settlements. A specialized army starts in the hex in which you first encountered and recruited them. A settlement can support any number of armies.

Step 6—Adjust Consumption

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 570
When you recruit an army, your kingdom's Consumption score increases by the army's Consumption score. You don't have to pay Food Commodities for the army immediately, but you will need to do so during the Upkeep phase of your next Kingdom turn.

Step 7—Name the Army

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 570
Give your army a unique name and decide on any other flavorful elements for the army at this time if you wish. While the quality and magical nature of gear affects your army's statistics, the specific weapon and armor types do not.

Basic Armies

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 570
The statistics for each of the basic armies present them at their minimum level.

Basic Armies by Level

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 571
The table below lists the standard values for basic armies by level. These values can be adjusted by tactics, conditions, and gear.

Scouting gives the army's base scouting check, typically used to roll initiative in a War encounter.

Standard DC is used for the army's Recruitment DC as well as for any special abilities it might learn.

AC, Saves, and Attacks have the values listed. Armies have a high save and a low save, but which is which depends on the army. An army uses the same attack modifier for melee and ranged Strikes, but not all have both forms of attack.

Max Tactics lists the maximum number of tactics the army can know at any one time. (Armies learn tactics with the Train Army activity)

Basic Armies

LevelScoutingStandard DCACHigh SaveLow SaveAttackMax Tactics
1+71516+10+4+91
2+81618+11+5+111
3+91819+12+6+121
4+111921+14+8+142
5+122022+15+9+152
6+142224+17+11+172
7+152325+18+12+182
8+162427+19+13+203
9+182628+21+15+213
10+192730+22+16+233
11+212831+24+18+243
12+223033+25+19+264
13+233134+26+20+274
14+253236+28+22+294
15+263437+29+23+304
16+283539+30+25+325
17+293640+32+26+335
18+303842+33+27+355
19+323943+35+29+365
20+334045+36+30+386

Leveling up your Armies

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 571
When your kingdom gains a level, each army gains a level as well, increasing its stats as detailed on the Basic Armies table. When an army increases its level, it may also increase the maximum number of tactics it can know—these new tactics are not gained automatically, but must instead be learned through the use of the Train Army activity.

Specialized Armies

Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 571
To recruit a specialized army, you must first establish diplomatic relations with the associated group, after which you can attempt the Recruit Army activity using a Statecraft check. Only one specialized army can be recruited from each group. The level listed for each army indicates the minimum kingdom level at which the army can be recruited.

DC and Modifier Adjustments: As with basic armies, specialized armies immediately adjust upward in level to match the level of the PCs' kingdom, but unlike basic armies, the DCs and checks for specialized armies have different baselines. In stat blocks for specialized armies, the DCs and modifiers are given for that army at its minimum level, followed by an adjustment value in parenthesis. When the PCs recruit a specialized army at a level above its minimum, calculate its DCs and modifiers by starting with the values for a basic army of that level from the Basic Armies table then applying the adjustment values given here.

Darkvision: Many of the specialized armies presented on the following pages possess the Darkvision tactic—they gain this tactic for free, and it does not count against the maximum tactics they can possess.

Unique Tactics: Specialized armies possess at least one unique tactic. These tactics count against the maximum tactics the army can know, and these unique tactics cannot be replaced.