War. It’s the drumbeat of countless fantasy epics, a crucible that forges heroes and shapes kingdoms. From the sweeping battles of The Lord of the Rings to Conan’s gritty skirmishes, war has always been central to the fantasy genre. Even modern fantasy leans heavily on the backdrop of conflict, often zooming in on the personal stories of individuals caught in its tide.

In TTRPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, war seems like an obvious theme to explore. But translating epic wartime narratives into compelling, player-driven experiences can be tricky. After all, TTRPGs are fundamentally about personal choices and agency, while war is a massive, impersonal machine that often renders individual actions insignificant. Balancing these conflicting dynamics is no small task.

But fear not, brave DM. With a bit of forethought and creativity, you can craft war narratives that feel personal, impactful, and, most importantly, fun for your players. Let’s dive into how to make it work.

Understanding War in TTRPG Contexts

War has always loomed large in fantasy storytelling. It’s a canvas for epic struggles, where the stakes are high and the lines between good and evil often blur. But in TTRPGs, there’s a fundamental challenge: war is too big for a small group of adventurers to control. This conflict between the scope of war and the personal focus of roleplaying games can leave DMs scratching their heads.

It’s worth remembering that TTRPGs have their roots in wargaming. But early players quickly moved away from commanding armies to telling personal stories of adventurers with unique goals. While the DNA of war remains in TTRPGs, the focus has shifted. That’s our design challenge: to honor the grandeur of war while keeping the game personal.

Common Pitfalls in War Scenarios

Many of the problems with integrating war stories into adventures stem from a mislaignment of how DMs align the grand scale of war with the personal focus of TTRPGs. Recognizing these mistakes can help you avoid common pitfalls in adventures that include these stories.

Treating PCs Like Armies

One mistake DMs often make is treating the party as a tactical unit capable of single-handedly winning battles. Sure, a group of adventurers can decimate a squad or even a company of soldiers, but if your players can rout entire armies, why does your world even have armies? Why not just let champions duke it out gladiator-style to decide wars? It’s a question that can undermine your setting’s internal logic.

Moreover, overpowering the players can lead to a lack of tension. If every challenge is easily overcome, the stakes diminish, and the epic feel of the war narrative can be lost. It’s essential to maintain a balance where players feel impactful yet not omnipotent.

Overemphasizing Grand Strategy

Another common pitfall is focusing too much on the big picture. Grand strategy might be thrilling in historical simulations, but most players didn’t roll up a bard to debate supply lines. If the game veers too far into abstract logistics, it risks alienating the players.

While some players might enjoy a strategic layer, it should enhance, not overshadow, the core roleplaying experience. Remember, the heart of TTRPGs lies in character interaction and storytelling, not in simulating military command.

Forgetting Player Agency

War narratives can also strip players of agency. Orders from above and the chaos of battle can make it feel like their choices don’t matter. Without a sense of personal impact, the game loses what makes TTRPGs unique.

Players thrive when they can make meaningful decisions that affect the outcome of events. Even in the midst of a vast war, ensure there are moments where their choices have clear and immediate consequences.

Neglecting Emotional Stakes

War isn’t just about armies clashing; it’s about people. Ignoring the personal and emotional aspects of war can lead to a flat narrative. Without connections to NPCs or investment in the conflict’s outcome, players might not feel compelled by the war’s progression. This can be a difficult balance, DMs neither way to overplay or underplay emotional stakes. DM should also never tell players how their characters feel about the war. That’s their player’s job and a well designed adventure will allow different characters to have different reactions to the same events.

Designing War Narratives for TTRPGs

To avoid these pitfalls, focus on scenarios where the players can influence the tide of war without overshadowing it entirely. Here are several types of scenarios that work beautifully:

The Fulcrum

In these scenarios, the battle hinges on a specific event the players can directly affect. Imagine a key bridge that must be captured, a city gate that needs to be opened, or an enemy war engine that must be destroyed. Success or failure has consequences that ripple across the battlefield.

When running a Fulcrum scenario, make sure the stakes are clear and the mission is urgent. Time pressures are particularly effective here. In one campaign I ran, the players infiltrated a necropolis beneath a besieged city to destroy a magic artifact empowering the enemy. They had to work against the clock, knowing that if they failed, the main assault would be a slaughter. The timer added tension, and their success felt earned.

The Stop Loss

Sometimes, it’s not about winning; it’s about surviving. Stop Loss scenarios focus on retreating, evacuating allies, or delaying the enemy. These stories emphasize the cost of war and force players to make tough choices about who or what to save.

One of my favorite examples comes from a Star Wars campaign. The players evacuated Yavin base moments before the Death Star’s attack, only to face an Imperial facility blocking the civilian fleet’s escape route. They had to infiltrate and sabotage the base, knowing every moment they delayed cost lives. It was tense, emotional, and quintessentially Star Wars.

The Hidden Blade

In covert operations, the players act as a scalpel rather than a hammer. They might assassinate an enemy general, steal intelligence, or sabotage supplies. These scenarios let the party operate behind enemy lines, where their actions can shift the tide of war in subtle but meaningful ways.

The key here is balance. Make sure the players’ contributions feel significant without making them overshadow the broader war effort. A successful mission might turn the odds slightly in their side’s favor, but it shouldn’t feel like they single-handedly won the day.

The Home Front

War affects more than just soldiers on the battlefield. The Home Front scenario focuses on the impacts of war on society and the player’s personal lives. Players might defend their hometown from enemy incursion, deal with espionage, or manage wartime resources. This approach personalizes the conflict and can make the stakes feel incredibly real.

In a campaign I ran, the players returned to their village to find it occupied by enemy forces. They had to rally the townsfolk, plan guerrilla attacks, and navigate the moral complexities of rebellion. The emotional investment was high because they were fighting for their own homes and loved ones.

The Diplomatic Mission

Not all wars are fought with swords and spells. Sometimes, the most crucial battles occur in the courts and councils. Assigning players to a Diplomatic Mission to prevent a war, forge alliances, or negotiate peace can lead to rich roleplaying opportunities. It challenges players to use their wits and charisma rather than their combat prowess.

Enhancing Engagement in War Scenarios

Once you’ve chosen a scenario type, you can deepen player engagement with these techniques:

Time Pressure

A ticking clock adds urgency and forces tough decisions. Whether it’s a literal countdown to an enemy’s attack or a metaphorical race against dwindling resources, time constraints heighten tension. Use time pressure to keep the pace brisk and the stakes high.

NPC Connections

Allies and civilians can ground the stakes in personal relationships, making losses feel real. Introduce NPCs that players care about—comrades, mentors, family members. Their fates can serve as emotional anchors, motivating players to act and adding weight to their decisions.

Variable Outcomes

Avoid binary success/failure. Instead, design scenarios with degrees of success that influence the larger narrative. Perhaps the players achieve their primary goal but at a significant cost, or they succeed partially, leading to unforeseen consequences. This complexity reflects the unpredictable nature of war.

Leveraging Player Backstories

Integrate the players’ personal histories into the war narrative. If a character’s hometown is under threat or their family is involved in the conflict, their investment in the outcome increases dramatically. Personal stakes can drive engagement and foster deeper roleplaying.

Moral Dilemmas

War is rife with ethical gray areas. Present the players with choices that test their morals: sacrifice a few to save many, uphold their code of honor or achieve victory at any cost, follow orders or do what they believe is right. These dilemmas add depth and can lead to memorable roleplaying moments.

Dynamic Battlefields

Make the environment an active participant in the scenario. Battles can take place in hazardous terrains like burning forests, crumbling castles, or magical storms. Environmental hazards force players to adapt their strategies and keep encounters fresh and exciting.

Incorporate Mass Combat Mechanics

If you want to represent larger battles without bogging down gameplay, consider using streamlined mass combat rules. Systems like “Unearthed Arcana: When Armies Clash” for D&D or other third-party supplements can help simulate large-scale conflicts while keeping the focus on the players’ actions. They key is still to keep the focus on the players’ actions without turning them into military units. The fun you can add to a game by using mass combat rules are the uncertinty of the outcome and the chaos of battle. If you base outcomes on actions and rolls, even the DM can be surprised. I find this fairly fun, but it’s not for everyone. Again this can be a fun addition to a campaign, but don’t lose sight that the game is about the players’ actions and choices.

Utilize Propaganda and Information Warfare

Introduce elements of misinformation, propaganda, and espionage. Players might need to expose enemy lies, protect their own secrets, or influence public opinion. This adds a layer of psychological warfare that can be engaging and thought-provoking.

Fitting War into the Fantasy Framework

Fantasy worlds offer unique opportunities for wartime storytelling. Magic, legendary weapons, and fantastical creatures can all add flavor. But balance is key. If the players wield too much power, it undermines the setting. At the same time, war provides a chance to explore morally complex choices. Who are the heroes and villains, really? What does victory cost?

Magical Warfare

Consider how magic impacts warfare. Siege engines might be replaced with spellcasters, teleportation circles could be used for troop movements, and magical communication can alter strategies. Integrate these elements thoughtfully to enhance the setting without unbalancing the game.

Legendary Creatures and Constructs

Incorporate dragons, golems, or other mythical beasts as instruments of war. Perhaps the enemy has tamed a dragon, or your side has constructed warforged soldiers. These can serve as significant challenges or allies and add epic scale to encounters.

Artifacts and Ancient Weapons

Introduce powerful artifacts that both sides seek to control. The quest to find or protect these items can drive the narrative and give players a clear objective that impacts the war’s outcome.

Cultural and Racial Dynamics

Use the diverse cultures and races in your world to enrich the war narrative. Different factions might have unique fighting styles, philosophies, and motivations. Exploring these differences can add depth and complexity to the conflict.

The Aftermath

Don’t forget to address the consequences of war. How does the conflict change the political landscape, the environment, and the people? Exploring the aftermath can lead to new adventures and character development opportunities.

Embracing the Moral Complexity of War

War is rarely black and white and it’s much more complex than anyone appreciates. Here I want to pause and encourage everyone to be thoughtful about how they encorporate war into their campaigns. I am not going to say there is one right or wrong way to do it, but as a real world topic, people can have very strong feelings about how it’s portrayed. DMs would do well to consider the players at the table and how they might feel about the topic, particularly if they have personal experiences with war. As a veteran, this if often a problem for me as I don’t appreciate when people simplify the complexities of war. That’s a personal thing, but I think it’s important to be thoughtful about how war is portrayed in our games becuase other people will have other feelings and experiences.

As strongly as I can say this, I recommend you do not use personal politics as a driver for your war scenarios. It’s a good way to offend people and likely an insult to whatever cause you think you’re championing. By all means, make commentary in youir game, but I recommend you keep it at a high level and not focus on the minutiae of whatever real world events are currently in vogue to have a political position on.

That sayd, embrace its moral complexities of war at a high levelcan lead to a richer narrative:

• Questionable Orders: Present players with commands that conflict with their morals. Do they follow orders or their conscience?
• Sympathetic Enemies: Humanize the opposing side. Perhaps the enemy soldiers are conscripts or fighting for a cause they believe is just.
• The Cost of Victory: Highlight the sacrifices required to win. Victory might come at the expense of innocent lives or personal losses.
• Rebuilding and Healing: After the battle, focus on the efforts to rebuild and the lingering traumas. This can lead to profound character moments and future plot hooks.

The trick to working with moral complexity in game design is to stick to asking questions and not making statements. This is not only good practice, but it puts the emphasis where it should be, the characters points of view, not the DM’s.

Conclusion

War in TTRPGs is a challenge worth taking on. By designing scenarios that focus on player agency, balancing power dynamics, and embracing the unique possibilities of fantasy settings, you can craft wartime stories that resonate with your group. The next time your campaign calls for epic conflict, don’t shy away. Lean in and let the battle unfold.

Remember, the best war stories aren’t just about the battles won or lost but about the people who fought them and the choices they made. By keeping the focus on your players and their characters, you can ensure that your wartime campaign is both epic and deeply personal.

War is calling, adventurers. The question is: how will your table answer?