More about Mass Combat in Dungeon Worlds

For those of you just joining in, you'll find the original blog post on mass combat here. I'm coming back to that because some things could stand to have further detail, and I hear there is some more information on Mass Combat since I wrote it.

Population and Battle "Turns"

The size of a battlefield determines how long it takes for the armies to kill each other off, if for no other reason than the fact that those in the front have to either die off or move so those in the back can have a go, and if they die off, the ones in the back have to wade through bodies.

Population                   Turn Length

Up to 100                    15 minutes

Up to 1,000                 30 minutes

Up to 10,000                1 hour

Up to 100,000              2 hours

Up to 1 million             4 hours

When considering soldiers in conveyances vs. other soldiers in conveyances, don't multiply by the size of their crew, but use the number of vessels/vehicles instead. So a battle of 5 ships vs. 4 counts as a population 100 or less battle.

Multiply the length of a turn by 2 if a whole unit has superior armor (3-4 points). Divide turn length by 2 if a whole unit has cartridge based firearms, or by 4 if they are capable of rapid fire. These also count for troop superiority.

Superiority

These rules are outdated Use the rules here, unless you don't want to use A Whole Damn Army.
As noted in the previous blog post, a side gets bonus damage based on a numerical advantage it has over the others, but this rule permits certain units to have more effect than their population would otherwise indicate.

Mobility

One component of superiority is how the unit moves. Each unit must have one of these

Aerial (Air)- This unit counts double against units that aren't either Aerial, Artillery, or Ranged.
Aquatic (Aq)- This unit counts double in liquid environments, and half outside them (if that's even possible). Amphibious (Amp) units overcome this limitation.
Foot (Ft)- This unit only gains superiority in tight spaces, such as indoors.

Mounted (Mtd)- The soldier and his mount are counted separately, and are doubled again vs foot soldiers.

Vehicular (Veh)- This unit counts double against units with Mtd mobility, and double again vs. those with Ft mobility.

Tactics

The other component of mobility is the kind of attacks they employ

Armored (Arm)- This unit is capable of reducing the average damage of its opposition's attack by half, and therefore counts as double vs. any attack that doesn't explicitly nullify or pierce armor.

Artillery (Art)- This unit negates armor superiority, and has superiority over any unit that is not armored.

Fortified (Frt)- This unit represents permanent civilizations, who have walled cities, or take to the streets and improvise riot barriers. It counts double its population vs. units without engineering. Hoarder tag.

Engineer (Eng)- This unit negates Fortified. Devious tag.

Ranged (Rng)- This unit counts double against mounted melee units, and double again vs. melee units with Foot mobility.

Reach (Rch)- Pikes and spears negate Mtd superiority, although the soldier and the horse count separately for population purposes.

Recon (Rcn)- This unit employs stealth, and counts double against units that move into territories it uses as cover. Stealthy tag.

Transport (Tpt/Tons)- This unit can transport the specified number of tons, or ten times that many humans. it always has Veh mobility.