Retrospective: Red Arrow, Black Shield

One of my gaming white whales is a means to adjudicate large scale, strategic-level conflicts in a way that's simultaneously straightforward (if not necessarily easy) and meaningful. What I want is not a wargame, at least as generally understood, but rather a system of some sort that produces the right mix of randomness and plausibility. That's almost certainly too much to ask of any system intended for use with RPGs. Nevertheless, it's one I have long sought. 

That's why, back in 1985, when TSR released module X10, Red Arrow, Black Shield, I immediately sat up and took notice. Written by Michael S. Dobson, the module touts itself as a "strategic wargame" that allows players to fight a massive war against the Master of the Desert Nomads. It's more than that, though. The module also includes a diplomatic adventure, with the player characters being appointed Ambassadors Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of the Republic of Darokin. Their mission is to travel across the length and breadth of the Known World in an attempt to sway its realms to the side of the Republic, as it squares off against the Master. 

Red Arrow, Black Shield includes a 48-page booklet, a full-color hex map of the Known World setting (or "D&D Expert Set game world, as it's called here), and 200 die-cut counters to represent the military forces of the various nations. Despite not being much of a wargamer, I adore counter sheets. Seeing them included in a RPG product always brings a smile to my face. Outside of The Fantasy Trip, I can't think of many contemporary RPG products that include counters of any sort, which is a shame. I'd love to see counters make a resurgence in contexts like this.

The adventure consists of a series of min-scenarios, each associated with a kingdom of the Known World. Depending on the characters' actions, they may positively or negatively influence the attitude of the kingdom's rulers toward the Republic of Darokin or the Master of the Desert Nomads. The outcome of each mini-scenario thus determines the final order of battle for the war that is brewing. If the characters are very successful, Darokin's alliance will be stronger, while the reverse is true if they fail. It's a simple approach but a solid one, since it keeps the diplomacy "adventuresome," which I think is a good call. 

The module also includes an overview of the war, with notes on how to use Battlesystem to adjudicate its battles. However, the expectation is that the the DM will make use of the War Machine rules presented in the D&D Companion Rules. War Machine is looser and less detailed than Battlesystem, placing an emphasis on speed and ease of use over precision. They're closer to the kind of thing I want in a mass combat system, even if there are some aspects of them I don't like. Regardless, they work well in this context, I think, and it's partly why I still think so well of this module. The other reason is that Dobson provides guidelines, albeit short ones, on how to handle the aftermath of the war. For me, that's vital and a big part of why I wanted a product like this in the first place.

Red Arrow, Black Shield isn't perfect, but I like it. If nothing else, it provides a possible foundation on which to build a system for handling macro-events in a RPG campaign. I'd love to see some enterprising fellow to take up this task. Otherwise, I might have to do it myself. My House of Worms campaign long ago reached the point where large scale events, including wars, became important. Thus far, I've been winging it without the help of any systems to supplement my own creativity. There's nothing wrong with that, of course – my players haven't complained – but there are many times when I would like events to happen independent of my choice. This is a matter that demands more attention.