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This is a conversion of the Company mechanics of the role-playing game Reign to the FATE system, and integrated into a FATE style combat system. In future drafts, this will be integrated with other rules, like being able to garrison your Company into a settlement or stronghold.

The FATE Ladder, Quality, Stress, and Consequences
While these rules are intended to apply to many tabletop roleplaying systems, it would take far too long to create one built to the numerical scales of every game in existence. Thus, this article will describe things in terms of a few FATE mechanics. Some of them are based on Legends of Anglerre, a highly modular FATE ruleset, while others are from the core FATE book.

The Ladder: A scale of quality, ranging from -2 (Terrible) to +8 (Legendary), with 0 being Mediocre. This is a modifier applied to a roll of either 4 fudge dice, or 1d6 - 1d6. 0 is the most likely result of either roll, meaning that while serendipity and wild misfortune are possible, results are more consistent than a lot of other dice systems.

Quality: The rating of any attribute any creature or item might have. It is an intuitive process to assign a Quality to something that hasn't already been written down. For example, if most people are average at a given skill, then, if you are required to test an NPC on that skill, you can simply roll with it at +1.

In many cases, you do not need to imagine a minimum result to succeed. Say someone wishes to climb something. If it was a waist height scramble while hiking up a hill, even a Terrible climber would get up it eventually, but an agile person might be able to chase someone over several such obstacles. A brick wall with many handholds might require a Good climber, while scaling a frictionless surface 100 feet tall is the stuff of Legends.

Effort, Spin, and Shift: The result of the tested Quality + the dice roll is known as the ''effort. A quality of +3, plus a roll of +2, would be an effort'' of +5.

A shift occurs when an effort is greater than the minimum needed for a test. +5 when only a Good effort is required, results in a shift of +2. This is typically used in combat, with one quality representing attack and the opposing quality representing defense, and shift + 1 representing the resulting stress.

Spin is the opposite of shift, and represents failure. This is typically used in situations where your opponent is time, or irrevocable failure. For example, you may be trying to pick a lock, and once accumulate -4 spin, a guard show's up, and the lock takes +2 shift, counted seperately, to open.

Stress & Consequences: These represent health, sanity, resources, and other things that are depleted in an extended conflict. Stress is the accumulated of negative results, starting from 0 and increasing with greater "damage", while consequences  are what result when stress is too great. How stress and consequences are used in a FATE system depends on what you use as a source, and what narrative you are trying to represent. The USS Enterprise might have Shield, Hull, and Energy stress, while

Company
A group of mercenaries, soldiers, retainers, and camp followers who accompany the Player Characters (PCs) on their endeavours. Since the micromanagement of so many individuals is not practical within the methodical pacing of your typical role playing game, they are abstracted down into a number of governing Qualities:

Might: The strength, skill, and overall power behind your company. -1 for rabble with sticks and stones, 0 for ragtag conscripts without their own weapons or armor, +3 might be a group of mercenaries with well maintained gear, and +5 possibly a famous band of knights.

Treasure: The "war chest" of your company. Soldiers may need to be paid, but this can represent something else, like repairs and mana upkeep for golems. A press gang in rags kept loyal only by whip and truncheon might be -1, while a prosperous army would be around +4. Players may attempt to improve this quality out of their personal coffers, and once done so, tends to remain a self-mainting quality, but it can be spent as well.

Influence: The amount of respect and prestige the company, as a gestalt, commands within their territory. -1 may be a negative reputation, with 0 being obscurity and +5 being worldwide reknown.

Territory: The land your company holds, either through legal and civil means, or through military occupation. Starts at 0, you can't really have negative territory, though feel free to if you think of a way how. +1 for a keep, +2 for a village, +3 for a town, +4 for a city, +5 for a region. +8 might be world domination, which exceeds the scope of this material.

Sovereignity: Loyalty to the Company, its ideals, creeds, coat-of-arms, order, and all about morale. -1 overtly hates their company, while +5 is a completely cohesive unit that see each other as family.

Creating a Company is a cooperative matter between players and whoever is running the game. It could be based entirely on the story of the campaign, but a more interactive method might to give each player two points to distribute between the qualities. A combat-favoring party should at least have four points between might, treasure, and sovereignity, but a narrative-focused one can get away with a more creative spread. Territory is not suggested for a starting Company, as you'll want to focus your initial resources on bolstering your muscle, and gain territory as a reward for successful adventures.

These qualities can be used in two manners. One is to resolve problems without fighting. Maybe your might is so great that you can collect a village's back taxes for your liege without having to make a demonstration. Or you test your influence to raise the funding for your next venture, gaining a temporary bonus of +1 to your treasure until you've succeeded or failed at your stated goal. Characters may also wish to act on their Company's behalf using personal skills such as Diplomacy.

The other method, is done via Formation Combat, using Warbands.

Warbands
Each player can interact with in a company battle via their warband. Each warband is made up of a single class of character, such as archers, wizards, fighters, and scouts. The concept of each player's warband can be customized to who their characters are via the following:

Attack, Defense, & Special: Players use their company's might to determine one of these qualities, treasure for another, and sovereignity for the third. Which they choose should be based on the role they wish to serve in a battle. Up front warbands that take the hits for the rest of the company will want their best quality to be defense, while those who sit in the back and pelt the enemy from afar will want attack. The importance of special is covered later, but generally it is either your most or least important quality in the array.

Line & Attack Type: Your line determines where in the battle you fight: You should build your attack, defense, and special according to which line you which to fight upon. Special Ability: Every Warband has one special ability which they can use to distinguish their role on the battlefield. These utilize the special quality in various ways; sometimes it does not become relevant until they've been bloodied. Abilities with a persistent effect like Turtle or Harass last until the Warband's next turn.
 * Front: Front line units use melee attacks, which can only hit the warbands nearest them. Proximity is ranked as follows: front, mobile, mid, and back, with each one becoming the nearest as the previous is taken out of play, ie if all front Warbands are taken out, melee attacks target a mobile Warband. These could potentially represent halberdiers, phalanx, cavalry, other melee fighters, and users of short range magical attacks.
 * Mobile: Mobile units use sneak attacks, which can hit the two closest lines. For example, if the enemy has both a front and back line with nothing in between, they may target any warband on the field.  If there was front, mid, and back warbands, then either front or mid would have to be taken out before back could become targetable. These could potentially represent assassins, dragoons, or users of teleportation magic.
 * Mid: Mid line units short range attacks, which use the same rules for targeting as mobile line warbands. These could represent straight line shots that need to go through gaps in the formation to avoid friendly fire, and/or need cover to prepare the next attack, such as crossbowmen.
 * Back: Back line warbands use long range attacks can target any warband on the field, however, the Turtle special ability prevents the mid line from being targetable by back line units when it is active. These are typically long range attackers that benefit from higher ground, like archers.
 * Turtle: (Front line only) You may use your turn to activate ths ability, Long range attacks cannot target the mid line. You gain a free attack whenever you are attacked with a melee attack, against your attacker only. When bloodied, long range attacks bypass this ability on a successful roll of attacker's attack vs your special.
 * Harass: When using an attack action on your turn, your target has a -1 to all qualities until your next turn.  The attack does not have to hit. When bloodied, this effect only takes place on a successful roll of your special vs your target's defense.
 * Detonate: Your attacks target every enemy on a line, and both most roll to avoid damage. If activated while bloodied, roll your special, an effort of 1 or less will take your Warband out of play (kaboom!)
 * Heal: You may use your turn to target an allied Warband other than yourself. You reduce that Warband's stress by your special plus a roll. Warbands are not damaged by a negative result. Currently.
 * Inspire: When using an attack action on your turn, an ally of your choices has +1 to all qualities until your next turn. The attack does not have to hit. When bloodied, this effect only takes place on a successful roll of your special vs your target's defense.

Example Warband Creation
''The party, with their freshly rolled characters, are asked to each devise the Warband they will use in formation combat. The DM has allowed them to each create anything they want, as long as it is suited to the fantasy setting. After then, they will need to have the proper context to change the nature of their warband.''

Brekkle the Strong: "I command a mighty phalanx! I'll use the company's best quality for defense, to empower our shields. I will use the next best quality for attack, so that I may skewer those who get too close on our spears. My special ability will be Turtle. We fight on the front line, of course."

Lady Margo: "My paladins charge in on white steeds, paragons of the battlefield. I'll use our best quality for attack, so that my troops may carry the best lances. The next best will be used for defense, so they may continue to bless their allies under duress, using Inspire. They fight on the front line, charging in ahead."

Archmagus Nore: "Some of these lousy conscripts seem to at least have a little magical potential, and I've whipped them up into battle wizards, issuing them some staves with mnor enchantments, and their best quality is attack. I can only give them some grubby robes to wear, without even fine hats such as mine, so our worst quality is defense. We fight on the mid line, lobbing fireballs over the front that Detonate on impact.

Agent Snarkovsky: "Ve move in quiet, ve stab the target, ve move out. Attack ve do best, defense ve do second best, ve hide vell and are wery hard to kill. Harass is beink our talent, and ve are wery mobile."

High Cultist Braun: "Menkh has taught me and my followers the ways of blood magic, giving us the means to H'eal' those who are not an enemy of His teachings. Our greatest quality is special, allowing us to purify the taint from our allies and allow His love into their souls. Second best is defense, as we are always beset by unbelievers. We fight on the mid line, so that we may be properly shielded from heresy.

Lormedios, Friend of the Forest: "Elves are masters of the bow and move as quietly as a breeze. Our enemies see our arrows, not ourselves. If our mighty Attack does not slay our enemies outright, then they will be Harassed by a perpetual rain of arrows. Defense is not a high priority; we are focused on calling out targets and dealing bursts of damage, then disappearing before the battle has gone on too long. We fight from the back, where we have our choice of targets in front of us."

The Flow of Formation Combat, Stress, Bloodied, Victory Points, and Surrender
In Formation Combat, each side takes turns attacking the other, until one side is completely taken out of play, or surrenders.

Formation Combat is designed as such that it can take place with nothing but a chat room or a group of people with dice and scratch paper. Figurines and grid maps, and other such visual aids will heighten the immersion, and make it easier to see what's going on, but aren't strictly necessary, as movement is an abstract process covered by lines.

Formation Combat involves a few simple steps
 * 1) Ambush: Unlike a surprise attack conducted by an adventuring party, one Company ambushing its enemy is an adventure in itself. Players will have to scout the location beforehand, be aware of their enemy's movement or have accurate information regarding it, and catch them unaware. However, if successful, the party may select one enemy Warband to be bloodied at the start of combat.
 * 2) Determine turn order: There is no initiative. A simple contest like the DM and one player rolling high against each other is sufficient.
 * 3) Play out turns on a side by side basis: Every Warband on one side is considered to act simultaneously on their turn. This allows those who decide quicker to act sooner, rather than being at the mercy of initiative.

Stress
Stress is the "hit points" of a Warband. It starts at 0, and is added to by successful attacks, to a maximum threshold of 5.

When one Warband attacks another, its attack value is rolled against its target's defense. If the effort is greater than the defense, then the attack hits, and the difference is counted as shift. The amount of shift, plus 1, is dealt to the victim in stress.

Bloodied
The first time a Warband's stress is brought to 5 or above, it is said to be bloodied. When this happens, stress is reduced to 0, and the opposing side who dealt the stress is awarded a victory point, which are used to determine the narrative result of combat.

Out of Play
When a bloodied Warband is again brought to 5 stress, they are "taken out". This removes them from play for the rest of the Formation Combat encounter. If they were the last Warband on their line, they no longer influence which Warbands can or cannot hit each other. This, like bloodied, awards a victory point.

Victory & Surrender
The victory point count comes into play when one side wants to end the combat. If the DM and/or players agree, each side tallies up its victory points. One total is deducted from the other, leaving a positive sum determing what happens to the side who ended combat with fewer VP:

Even Scores: Disengaged

1 VP: An orderly retreat

2 VP: A chaotic retreat

3 VP: A bloody retreat.

4 VP: Capture/surrender/annihilation/otherwise at the enemy's mercy

If every Warband in a combat is "taken out", the VP don't matter, even if one side has more VP due to superior numbers on the other. Once completely taken out, you are at the enemy's mercy.

Special Victory
The context of why you're fighting is important. If you're trying to escort a wealthy merchant through a dangerous desert, he will be worth more than one VP to the enemy when taken out. On the other hand, if you are trying to clear out a cave of kobolds, their chieftain can be worth more, making him a priority target for a speedy resolution.

Optional Rule: Spin, and Pressing the Advantage
Spin occurs when an effort is less than the quality needed for success. It does not matter for most combat checks, failure is failure. However, it can be more. Fights than both the DM and the players want to be "epic" can be spiced up with presses. When each side has taken their turn, tally the spin generated by each side. Whoever generated less can opt for a press. When pressing, you roll, and add 1 if your territory quality encompasses the area you're fighting in, such as a city you're sworn to protect, or goblins defending their hovel.

If the effort is positive, you may reinforce one of your Warbands by removing bloodied using the following table:

+1: A back line Warband may remove bloodied

+2: A back or mid line Warband may remove bloodied

+3: A back, mid, or mobile line Warband may remove bloodied

+4: Any Warband may remove bloodied.

If not all four lines are actively occupied, either because the Company hasn't filled them, or those lines have been taken out, then for each missing line, the effort required for the maximum result is one less. For example, a Company with only its front and back lines still active only needs a +2 effort to reinforce either line, determined by skipping the results relevant to missing lines. "Taken out" lines cannot be reinforced.

This should only come into play in battles in which one or both sides can be "reinforced". If a Company is cornered, and no one is coming for them, then it's only the other side that will be getting any help. There are exceptions that make the rule, however. Maybe our kobold chieftain is a powerful shaman, healing critical wounds with his strange magic. This would allow him to press even if every kobold in the cave was in the battle. And losing him would likely have his followers fleeing or surrendering.

Another example: your Company is part of a larger scale war, and your immediate goal is only to give the engineers enough time to dig trenches, build barricades, and set up encampments for triage. In a situation like this, the goal is to reach so many turns played without giving the enemy 4 or more VP. Both sides will want to press as often as there's a chance it may benefit them. Neither side has a territory advantage in an open field, either, even if it's emminent domain, as territory implies you have logistical superiority.

Victory Points Do Not Mean Victory
As illustrated by the open battlefiend example above, victory conditions vary. Sometimes, the objective is for your Company to help your adventuring party. Perhaps you want to distract the manor guards while your party breaks in and assassinates the head of household. The amount of turns combat lasts could dictate how long you're given to take your target out. Even if your Company is forced to surrender, the people who've captured them no longer have a boss. Perhaps they'll join you instead!

Respecializing Your Warband
During character creation, you should be free to change your Warband around as you see fit, adjusting to the kinds of Warbands your party wants to make, getting the synergy correct. The first session or two should allow for changes as well, as you learn what works and what doesn't. And when might, treasure, or sovereignity go up, the basis of your combat-relevant qualities change too, and you might have to shuffle what Warband qualities they're assigned to, to get the most effectiveness out of their intended role.

Outside of that, though, the DM may require that any other changes occur between sessions, or, to be stricter, make your character do something in-game to achieve the desired changes. Maybe to find someone who effectively uses a longbow, you must journey to the forests to recruit some rangers or elves.

When to use Formation Combat
Never, if players hate it. It can be a completely invisible system used to decide what the next adventure will be, with the occasional rolls on Company qualities made in secret. It exists only for those who enjoy it, and could easily be too simple, too convoluted, or too narrative-oriented to some.

Company Rewards
Generally, any game session that involves use of your company, should allow you take a point in the quality that makes the most sense. If you took in a great haul, that is sufficient justification for a point in treasure. If you had a great influx of new, well-armed recruits, that'll bolster your might. The higher the quality of the Company aspect, the less inclined the DM should be to let it be freely improved. Beyond "good" on the FATE table, it should take a specific endeavor to improve it, and not just be a windfall of the final event of the evening.

Company Consequences
Just because even failure is rewarded, doesn't mean failure is meaningless. Maybe the humiliation you recieved at the hand of your enemy drove you to improve your might or work together with more sovereignity. But to put those lessons into practice, they have to spend some time licking their wounds. Depending on the severity of a defeat, access to your Company may be lost for the rest of the session, the rest of the next session, or more. Or you may retain control of them, but with a -1 penalty to a Company quality that lasts until you can work it off.