New morale system

In essence this is just classic dice pool tech applied to a new topic, morale. I work-shopped these rules with Eero. Used them in play just once, but it was hella successful, so I thought I'd share.

First, determine the base morale of the unit, usually a number between 1/6 and 5/6. 3/6 is the default for trained combatants. 1/6 is a pack of cowards or totally untrained combatants. 5/6 is zealous. If you need to go higher than 5/6, you can, you'll just use bigger dice for the pool (see below), and a number like 7/8, 9/10, etc.

In a basic combat situation, you roll 1d6 (or a bigger die for super zealous fighters) and try to get less than or equal to the morale score. If the check fails, the unit won't advance or attack, though they will defend themselves.

Now let's get fancy. Make a pool of bonus or penalty dice for every advantage or disadvantage, respectively, the unit has at the start of the fight. Bonus and penalty dice cancel out. Advantages are things like "outnumber the enemy", "had a great speech from a talented commander", "have surprise on the enemy", "great tactical setup". Disadvantages are the opposite. You will figure out in play what matters to your group, tactically -- in other words, what you care to model.

Now, roll the pool. If you have bonus dice, the check succeeds if any one die in the pool succeeds. If you have penalty dice, the check fails if any one die in the pool fails.

If you succeed with bonus dice, count up all the successful dice; this is your degree of success. If you failed with penalty dice, count up all the failed dice; this if your degree of failure. (In every other case, your degree of success or failure is 1.) If you have a degree of success or failure greater than 1, we'll say you have extra degrees, 1 fewer than your total degree of success/failure. (For instance if you got 5 degrees of success you have 4 extra degrees.)

If you have 1 degree of failure, the unit won't advance or attack, though they will defend themselves. If you have more than 1, their morale breaks entirely, and they flee or surrender as appropriate. Make a reaction roll if you're not sure which one.

(Fleeing is not "making a fighting retreat". People are smart. They understand that, if they're in a losing battle, they shouldn't just carry on like normal. They will make a fighting retreat as part of their normal combat activity, while their morale holds.)

You're going to keep making morale checks through the fight. Every time something quite good happens -- the enemy leader is slain, we have gained control of the objective, we now outnumber them -- remember it, and use it for a bonus die on the next morale check. Also add extra degrees of success or failure as bonus or penalty dice on the next morale check. When something bad happens, make a morale check. Some of the (dis)advantages from the initial morale check will still apply (outnumber the enemy) but some will not (had surprise, had a great speech from the commander).

If a unit that has fled tries to regroup, they should make a morale check to do it.

And that's the system. In sum:

1. Determine base morale as an n/6 (or higher for extreme cases)
2. At the beginning of combat, count up advantages and disadvantages as bonus and penalty dice
3. Roll. Record degrees of success or failure
   
4. With 1 degree of failure, refuse to charge. With 2+ degrees of failure, flee or surrender. Otherwise fight as normal
5. When good things happen, record them for bonus dice on future morale checks; when bad things happen, make a morale check, also adding bonus/penalty dice from extra degrees of success/failure