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Reply To: Does the historical period dictate the minimum and/or maximum size of a battle ?

February 18, 2021 at 7:42 am #1612787

scribbs

14509xp

For earlier periods I’d see it more as a case of using skirmishes as indicative of a number of small engagements that would set up conditions for the larger battles. So there might a skirmish around foraging, with the outcome resultsing in less troops/ troops with condition modifiers in the larger battle. A successful raid skirmish might mean that troop numbers are reduced to represent diverting resources to counter the raiders. Success in a scouting skirmish might give a player an opportunity to change terrain placement to represent picking the ground of their choosing.

Basically, some creative thought as to why a particular skirmish is being fought can be translated into an outcome for setting up a larger battle.

For modern settings the timeline for events can be be condensed to represent speed of communications/travel, so within days of a larger battle. For earlier periods the timescale stretches to weeks or months, and the skirmishes are more abstracted examples of ongoing operations.