D&D 5E Designing a fantasy army in 5th

[Reynard]

I concur with the above statement about this force very elite. Obviously, I don't know your campaign world's population & class level density, but it seems like this quite a powerful force to gather in a sleepy corner of the country/kingdom (I use sleepy because it sounds like your town and the surrounding area don't have anything remotely like this kind of force or power density). Have they been gathered from all over the kingdom? Where is there base of operations that began the march? How did they all get organized and trained to form a real army? These things don't happen in an instant or in a vacuum with no one aware. These questions may not matter as much to the immediate scenario, but they might have an over all bearing on the make up and tactics of this army. I would think that even such an elite force would have a large routine of servants/slaves, drovers, wagon drivers, cooks, armorers and such support staff to help with the mundane and day to day tasks (I doubt they could use magic for everything, and if they are using magic for everything it would have to weaken the offensive and defensive firepower considerably). They might even have some 'cannon fodder' peasant levies or plain mercenaries to fill out the ranks and undertake some military tasks that would be a waste for Eldritch Knights or Arcane Tricksters. Such forces, even if relatively well trained, take time to marshal, organize, coordinate and set in order for the days march and can be delayed when things go wrong, even with magic.

It is [MENTION=23464]ranger[/MENTION]Wicket 's campaign not a published adventure -- "reviewing" it like you would the latter is kind of rude IMO.

That said, I think the PCs are in for a world of hurt. The leading magic users should have no trouble learning that an ambush is coming and should be perfectly preapred for it. The troops are all spellcasters, which is going to bring some serious hurt. Don't get me wrong, I am all for it, but I think there is a chance that not only will the PCs have to flee, but the bad guys might succeed. I hope you have a plan for how the demon lord is going to enjoy his new earthly domain!

 

[Quickleaf]

What I'm thinking is that the 100 soldiers are 80 3rd level eldritch knights, and 20 3rd level arcane tricksters (for those unfamiliar with 5e, these aren't prestige classes; they're just alternate styles of fighters and rogues). Plus they have one summoned xorn, two summoned erinyes (each with a wand of magic missiles) and a war mammoth (that's actually a stone golem). The tricksters are the forward scouting force, and the knights spend each night casting alarm around the perimeter of the camp. The mid-level mages have a few handy spells for crowds of soldiers (i.e., fireball), but aren't well equipped to deal with a guerrilla force.

Lots of good advice and ideas so far. Your bard PC will be in for an interesting time, that's for sure. I wonder what the rest of the party will be doing while the infiltration happens? Will be interested to hear which you use for your Monday game!

One more thought: What you basically have is a small army of spellcasters. If you're using 3rd-level Eldritch Knights & Arcane Tricksters as inspiration for these NPCs, then they all have access to 1st level abjurations/evocations and enchantments/illusions respectively. I'd be cautious with their spell selection because if the PCs meet a large force of them with, say, magic missile, then at least one PC will be taking a dirt nap (without a recourse of defense against the spells).

EDIT: Oh, and I'd create Baphomet based on a Goristro demon. You know, in case it comes up

 

[Reynard]

Lots of good advice and ideas so far. Your bard PC will be in for an interesting time, that's for sure. I wonder what the rest of the party will be doing while the infiltration happens? Will be interested to hear which you use for your Monday game!

One more thought: What you basically have is a small army of spellcasters. If you're using 3rd-level Eldritch Knights & Arcane Tricksters as inspiration for these NPCs, then they all have access to 1st level abjurations/evocations and enchantments/illusions respectively. I'd be cautious with their spell selection because if the PCs meet a large force of them with, say, magic missile, then at least one PC will be taking a dirt nap (without a recourse of defense against the spells).

EDIT: Oh, and I'd create Baphomet based on a Goristro demon. You know, in case it comes up

In my head, these caster soldiers are all headhunted recruits (rather than indoctrinated cultists), so their specific capabilities vary a bit (while still fitting into an overall type that the would be wizard king prefers). For any given mook, I would create quick random charts for their known cantrips and spells -- not of the whole wizard list, but of an especially useful subset. I would also have some tables on hand to further develope with race and background any individual bad guy with which the PCs had extended interaction. Much more interesting with more potential for follow up encounters and adventures, IMO.

 

[Derren]

Given the typical tech level portrayed (late medieval to early renaissance; 14th to 15th C)...

There won't be a standing army of any note. There may be a castle guard or city guard, but those will only fight at their hired location. The army will be 755 to 95% infantry. The officers will almost all be cavalry. Most of the infantry will be light infantry, mostly peasant levies. Artillery will typically be rare - few armies had them; mercenary artillerists were constantly sought for the summer fighting seasons... and starving in winter.

Thats false.
An army like this would fit the dark ages, but by that time you put D&D in no one used peseant levies (militias) any more as they were too weak and needed on the fields.
Instead armies consistet entirely out of trained mercenaries and knights, all of them being well armored as plate could be made easily in big quantities.

In D&D there will likely be mages among the mercenaries, mabe even whole companies of warcasters. After all, being a mage is a learned profession and does not require some rare gift.

 

[Quartz]

The premise here is that the party's village happens to be near where an ancient urn that holds a demon lord has been buried. There's a group of mid- to high-level spellcasters (cleric 13, transmuter 11, bard 11, evoker 7, enchanter 7, illusionist 7, abjurer 7) who are leading a conspiracy to overthrow the king and establish a magocracy, and they want this demon lord's magic to help.

All those spellcasters plus 100 3rd level characters plus a few specials. Your party is 7th level. They're going to get creamed. Do they have any idea of the power of the enemy? Their only sensible options are to either take the urn (if possible) and run (with or without the villagers) or summon the demon lord themselves. And running is by far the more sensible option of those two.

 

[Tortoise]

The party is very clearly in over their capabilities. Getting as much of the town population on the move to safer locations, and getting the urn away from the enemy are both essential. Both will be very difficult, especially hiding the urn since the 13th level cleric will likely be divining the location periodically. Even a handful of the Tricksters or Eldritch knights could potentially take down a party member.

Some of the things I would expect as a party member facing this incoming army would be summoned and bound demons/devils/other entities accompanying the main force as defenders of the leaders. Scrolls and potions among the advanced force and outriders to assist communications with the main force, and bolster the scouts to delay incoming interference. Far advanced enemy scouts with access to invisibility and communications in case the population starts moving away which would signal awareness that the army is coming. They would also likely have some day and night aerial scouts among their familiars. Birds for day, bats for night.

Something useful for the party - watch for circling carrion birds in good sized groups - these often follow marching armies anticipating the upcoming feast. That gives the party a means of tracking the main force from a safer distance.

The only hope I can think of for stopping the evil army is if the party were to learn where the ritual formula is kept. Is it in someone's mind? Is it in a book or scroll? If the party can confirm this info then they can try to make a grab for that linchpin to destroy it and prevent the ritual from happening at all. Odds would be very long on success with all the alarms and guards, and other sorts of protection between them and the macguffin.

If they had more time I would have the towns people secretly digging tunnels out of town from places spies are unlikely to notice (a couple people digging out a new latrine would be common and not noteworthy for instance).

The enemy force will have a vast capacity for dealing with threats from the town's defenders. In fact, the 13th level priest may have Ressurrection, and Raise Dead available to bring back any important member of the enemy force the party manages to take down aside from himself.

This appears to be a Kobayashi Maru test. The party needs to change the parameters.

 

[Quartz]

The party is very clearly in over their capabilities

But do they know that? If they prepare for a level-appropriate opposition, then they're going to get a very nasty surprise which they will likely not survive.

 

[aramis erak]

Thats false.
An army like this would fit the dark ages, but by that time you put D&D in no one used peseant levies (militias) any more as they were too weak and needed on the fields.
Instead armies consistet entirely out of trained mercenaries and knights, all of them being well armored as plate could be made easily in big quantities.

In D&D there will likely be mages among the mercenaries, mabe even whole companies of warcasters. After all, being a mage is a learned profession and does not require some rare gift.

The US used levies right up to the 1820's. Technically, the concept remained in US law until the 1933...

The renaissance, by the way, starts in the 1400's in Italy. Italian city-states, including Venice, made use of tradesmen as troops right into the 18th C. Venice had the town watch duty rotate through the various guilds...

And what's the difference between peasant and young tradesman? Rural semi-unfree vs Urban semi-unfree.

 

[SilentBoba]

Is your goal to challenge the party or screw their plan royally and probably kill them? While I agree they shouldn't be able to just swoop in, grab the mage, and swoop out, thus breaking an entire army's morale, I also don't think you should punish their creativity if they still come up with some sort of way to take out the leader.

Is it terribly important to your story that the mage successfully perform the ritual? If so, try not to make it look so obvious as some folks have been suggesting that the party basically can't win.

 

[Derren]

The US used levies right up to the 1820's. Technically, the concept remained in US law until the 1933...

The renaissance, by the way, starts in the 1400's in Italy. Italian city-states, including Venice, made use of tradesmen as troops right into the 18th C. Venice had the town watch duty rotate through the various guilds...

And what's the difference between peasant and young tradesman? Rural semi-unfree vs Urban semi-unfree.

And yet no one used levies in the 100 years war. At least when the french resurgence began armies were all/mainly trained soldiers and mercenaries. And the italien states too made extensive use of mercenaries (Condottieri).
Mercenaries and standing troops (starting with the Janissaries) had training and their own equipment. Peseants had neither and had to tend the fields so that the nation doesn't starve next winter, thats why people stopped using levies.

Is your goal to challenge the party or screw their plan royally and probably kill them? While I agree they shouldn't be able to just swoop in, grab the mage, and swoop out, thus breaking an entire army's morale, I also don't think you should punish their creativity if they still come up with some sort of way to take out the leader.

Is it terribly important to your story that the mage successfully perform the ritual? If so, try not to make it look so obvious as some folks have been suggesting that the party basically can't win.

If the players come up with a genius plan and have the luck on their side let them succeed. But imo do not leave open holes in the defenses specifically for the players to exploit or let the enemy turn a blind eye to what their plan is. They should not automatically have a chance for success just by being PCs. Play the army to the best of your abilities. If the players can't come up with a way to bypass their defenses, and that will be hard indeed, then they should fail and when they do not flee there should be the realistic chance of them being killed.