Raekr posted the idea about using Council Rules for Mass Combat / Battles in another thread.
But in TOR1e there were a few really well thought out sets of rules specifically for Battles; have any of these TOR1e version been ported across? I haven't seen any, and I have made up a short-ish set that lets a PC directly and significantly influence Combat inside a Battle. (I needed something for an online game in Tavern Keeper. The game is 1e, but the rules are very 2e in style: adding/subtracting d6.)
The key mechanics are organised like this:
1. A Player-Hero character can be selected to be an Officer of one fighting Unit in an Army. The Officer's Valour should match the Attribute level of their Unit, or a Player can use their Calling (Leadership, Champion) to qualify as an Officer, but the LM can always permit good narration.
2. Units in an Army are given a "Combat Rating" which is how many d6 Success Dice are added to the d12 Feat die for a total which is their fighting success that round (This is essentially the ATTRIBUTE level of the Unit). This total is called the Action Score.
3. The Player-Hero has two influences on the Action Score. (a) they make the FEAT die Favoured and (b) if any Success die come up as a 6, then roll a further d6 to increase the Action Score.
4. In a Round of Combat a Unit fights an enemy Unit by simply comparing Action Scores. The highest wins. The loser in the Round must retreat AND - this is key - the retreating unit MUST get away from the fighting. Retreats can be getting behind a friendly Supporting Unit, OR to Retreat into Cover. If it cannot do that, it Breaks and flees the field.
If a Player-Hero loses a Round in a mass combat, they must Retreat behind friends/cover too, and can then return to the line in a later Round. But if their unit Breaks, the PC can narrate how the PC survives the rout, or make a roll if the LM decides.
5. The LM customises +/- d6 for specifics in any Combat. e.g. defenders in cover gain +1d6 or +2d6. e.g. PCs can roll Battle for bonus d6.
My aims here are (A )That a PC can make a direct and immediate contribution to a battle; and (B) that there is no need to keep a running total of numbers in the Army. [A Unit is simply the right size (say 20 to 30 individuals?); the 'Retreat or Rout' rule ignores number of casualties.]
I am running an online fight with seven PCs being Officers. https://www.tavern-keeper.com/roleplay/14257 . As it happens, my LM "ambush" by nearly 20 Orc units has itself been surprised by an attack by one PC and now a right bloodbath has occurred. In open combat the PC led units have a significant edge over common orcs, so that is working, but there have been PC Retreats and one case of a Defeat where the PC avoided being Wounded and rescued a few warriors from his Unit.