As long as it's on fire, it doesn't really matter.

But Halberd. A Flaming Halberd.

... crossed arms.

And he looks quite like the dude playing Littlefinger on Game Of Thrones.

Only with him is a pack of armored killers with bared blades, and the Evil Warlord Villain drawls "I'd offer to take your surrender, but that'd just give you time to plan something.  So my men will just take your heads, instead.  I know you'll all die bravely."

If my Evil Warlord type is one who leads with his men/monster rather than from the back, I wobble between two weapons:

Great Sword

Great Axe

Typically two handed weapons, and he will wade into battle with no fear, no surrender and a willingness to sacrifice everything to kill, maim, destroy those who've been foiling his plans.

After all, the Players NEVER encounter the Warlord first thing, they have to build up to getting his attention first, then when they have it, that's when he or she (I've had several Evil and Not-So-Evil Barbarian queens over the decades of GMing) gets into the fray.

What's the movie quote again:  "At first you had my attention, now you have my interest."

Quote from: Arkansan;842900I went with bizarre alien bio weapon cause these days I'm feeling science fantasy more than just straight fantasy.

Yeah, and it's what helps keep on top of the dogpile. I'm thinking the old z-movie Laserblast.

...restraining order?

...silver chain with you father's silver-plated skull on its end?

...big bag of gold coins and a bribey smile on his lips?

...wicked-looking sex toy that's clearly incompatible with human anatomy?

My warlord wouldn't enter dramatically. They would send an envoy with complete diplomatic credentials allowing the envoy to negotiate in the warlord's absence, who also does double duty as a Forward Observer.

So that the offsite artillery (or more likely, the offworld ortillery) can get good targeting information for the first few barrage salvoes. That is, assuming that the "good guys" do not acquiesce to the warlord's demands.


Seriously guys, I know this board loves its D&D and OSR clones, but if you are really thinking about kingdom building or nation smashing as part of the campaign then read a good history book. Or read some military science fiction like Space Viking by H. Beam Piper or the Janissaries series by Jerry Pournelle. IMHO, no self-respecting warlord is going to go and enter a kingdom until it is pacified enough to do so. That warlord will send in a trusted flunky to be the sharp end while they are safe in back.

... Keys to the killdozer.
... The ring that's imprisoned the soul of the original warlord, letting the demon run the body like a sock puppet.

Quote from: jeff37923;842948Seriously guys, I know this board loves its D&D and OSR clones, but if you are really thinking about kingdom building or nation smashing as part of the campaign then read a good history book. Or read some military science fiction like Space Viking by H. Beam Piper or the Janissaries series by Jerry Pournelle. IMHO, no self-respecting warlord is going to go and enter a kingdom until it is pacified enough to do so. That warlord will send in a trusted flunky to be the sharp end while they are safe in back.

Too true! Not a lot of would-be conquerors went too far leading from the boar's head. But all too often gamers crave the high drama and terminality of chopping off the serpent's head. I too adore history, and crave verisimilitude more often than not, but I feel both things should serve gaming rather than the other way around.

And to be fair, nothing about the question posed suggested that the kingdom the action is set in hasn't been "pacified" and that the PCs aren't springing an ambush or leading an assassin.

That said, it's a great point, and I like the cut of your jib.

Quote from: jeff37923;842948Seriously guys, I know this board loves its D&D and OSR clones, but if you are really thinking about kingdom building or nation smashing as part of the campaign then read a good history book. Or read some military science fiction like Space Viking by H. Beam Piper or the Janissaries series by Jerry Pournelle. IMHO, no self-respecting warlord is going to go and enter a kingdom until it is pacified enough to do so. That warlord will send in a trusted flunky to be the sharp end while they are safe in back.

History is not why we play these games.  It's often boring and written by the winners.

Quote from: jeff37923;842948My warlord wouldn't enter dramatically. They would send an envoy with complete diplomatic credentials allowing the envoy to negotiate in the warlord's absence, who also does double duty as a Forward Observer.

So that the offsite artillery (or more likely, the offworld ortillery) can get good targeting information for the first few barrage salvoes. That is, assuming that the "good guys" do not acquiesce to the warlord's demands.


Seriously guys, I know this board loves its D&D and OSR clones, but if you are really thinking about kingdom building or nation smashing as part of the campaign then read a good history book. Or read some military science fiction like Space Viking by H. Beam Piper or the Janissaries series by Jerry Pournelle. IMHO, no self-respecting warlord is going to go and enter a kingdom until it is pacified enough to do so. That warlord will send in a trusted flunky to be the sharp end while they are safe in back.

Agreed. But I was thinking about the warlord that succeeded a decade ago.
If the PCs are meeting him at all, they're obviously leading the revolt!

That said, there were successful leaders that were leading from the the front. One of them wept for lack of known lands worth conquering, the legend says.


Fun fact for the guy who said morningstars aren't a noble weapon, the origin of the scepter is the humble mace!

Kilt, of course. Any man who would wear that to fight is crazy and to be feared.

Quote from: Christopher Brady;842962History is not why we play these games.  It's often boring and written by the winners.

Pedantry over historical accuracy in a game is a bit much at times, but don't write off history just because of an online argument over games. I'd much rather read a history book than a fantasy novel. However, I also wouldn't object to a warlord showing up personally in a game because that can be exciting.

Quote from: AsenRG;842963Fun fact for the guy who said morningstars aren't a noble weapon, the origin of the scepter is the humble mace!

You're thinking what D&D calls the Morning Star vs. the German version, which is what D&D calls a 'Flail', it's a stick with a chain and a spiked ball, or balls,m on the end.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;842975Pedantry over historical accuracy in a game is a bit much at times, but don't write off history just because of an online argument over games. I'd much rather read a history book than a fantasy novel. However, I also wouldn't object to a warlord showing up personally in a game because that can be exciting.

My point is, if my players are going to end up to face a Warlord type NPC villain, and a fight HAS to break out, the bad guy will willingly wade into battle (with his friends/troops) with the PC's and have a good chance of winning.  Or at least believing he'll win.

History can be fun, but for the most part it's rather mundane compared to what can happen in a RPG where Magic can twist the laws of reality.  The other thing is that most of what happens rarely involves a group of 'heroes' against the world, it's often army vs. army with the leaders who often don't do much, being the obvious faces we are expected to remember.  Maybe that works for some people, but not me.

Again, as always, this is just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Quote from: AsenRG;842963That said, there were successful leaders that were leading from the the front. One of them wept for lack of known lands worth conquering, the legend says.

I think it was more than by his age, Megas Alexandros was already dead, having trounced the mightiest empire in his time and traversed half the known world.

A spoon... to eat someone's heart out. Like Sean Connery's thumb, in his hands the spoon does mega damage. Because Warlord Villain.