Has anyone used mobs to do mass battles?

[Ry]

I was just wondering if anyone had used the mob template to do big epic battles... can it work?

 

[awayfarer]

Now, I can't say for sure, but I believe the DM of our WLD campaign has been adding the mob template to critters in the area we're in. I assume this is the case because IIRC the WLD was entirely core material and out prior to the release of the DMG2.

To make a long story short (too late), we have been encountering mobs and they can make for a pretty hair-raising experience just due to the massive grapple checks. I suppose most large creatures are like this though. Kind of sucks when the mob carries off your PC's and threatens to drag them through the wall of blades the party cleric just put down.

 

[Evilhalfling]

No but I would if it came up.
Archer mobs need a ranged attack -
something like 3d6 damage in a 5' radius burst, reflex save DC 15 for 1/2
range = 1 range increment of weapon

 

[Stalker0]

I have and it worked alright, though I made several tweaks to the mob system.

changed mob HD based on bonuses to con and the type of armor.
changed mob damage based on strength and type of weapon.
gave mobs cleave vulnerability, so those feats don't become useless.
added an archer mob.

 

[Nightfall]

Ryn,

No but that's a pretty cool idea. I might take that for another day.

 

[EricNoah]

I used a couple of mobs of hobgoblin soldiers in the City of Brindol chapter of Red Hand of Doom. My players did a nice job of whittling them down as they slowly moved down the street. It was definitely more effective than just throwing 60 1st-level hobgoblins at a bunch of 10th level characters, so in that sense it was a success.

I like the ideas I've seen above. Not sure how I would handle a ranged attack myself. I would want the PCs' shields to be effective against a hail of arrows. I don't know if I'd want a rogue to be able to use evasion. So I'm not sure a Reflex save mechanic is the way to go. Not that I have a better solution!

 

[Klaus]

I used a couple of mobs of hobgoblin soldiers in the City of Brindol chapter of Red Hand of Doom. My players did a nice job of whittling them down as they slowly moved down the street. It was definitely more effective than just throwing 60 1st-level hobgoblins at a bunch of 10th level characters, so in that sense it was a success.

I like the ideas I've seen above. Not sure how I would handle a ranged attack myself. I would want the PCs' shields to be effective against a hail of arrows. I don't know if I'd want a rogue to be able to use evasion. So I'm not sure a Reflex save mechanic is the way to go. Not that I have a better solution!

I'd have archer mobs use the concentrated fire rules from Heroes of Battle. Specifically, they don't fire at a characterm but rather at a series of squares shaped like the mob itself. See HoB for details.

For Cleave/Great Cleave, Whirlwind Attack:

A character with Cleave deals double damage against a mob.
A character with Great Cleave deals triple damage against a mob.
A character with Whirlwind Attack deals make separate attacks for each mob square within 5' of them (so it pays to move to the middle of a mob).

 

[Garnfellow]

The WLD has a horde template, which is similar to the mob template from DMGII in concept.

I've used both templates extensively to model big battles between the PCs and large numbers of opponent mooks. I think the basic theory is spot on, but unfortunately in practice both templates are a little wonky and don't quite model what I want.

I've had better luck skipping templates altogether and making unit stat blocks from scratch.

 

[Bayushi Seikuro]

I was just coming in to say what Klaus said about the archers.

Basically, archer mobs fire volleys that are area of effect in an area shaped like the mob.

So, a group of ten archers, lined up five wide, and two deep, hits those same squares. Heroes of Battle covers it, but basically they do damage equal to each arrow, save for half. So, 10d6 in those squares, with a reflex save for half.

 

[Klaus]

I was just coming in to say what Klaus said about the archers.

Basically, archer mobs fire volleys that are area of effect in an area shaped like the mob.

So, a group of ten archers, lined up five wide, and two deep, hits those same squares. Heroes of Battle covers it, but basically they do damage equal to each arrow, save for half. So, 10d6 in those squares, with a reflex save for half.

Not quite.

The area matches the area of the line of archers (or mob, in this case). The archer commander makes an attack roll against AC 15 (but modified by Int instead of Dex), modified by range. Each creature in the target area must make a Reflex DC 15 save or take normal arrow damage.

There's also concentrated volleys, which function more or less like you described. The archers all fire at a single 5' square (the leader rolls against AC 20). If successful, the archers deal damage equal to one-fifth of the numbers of arrows fired (Reflex DC 15 for half). The maximum number of archers that can target a single square is 10.



Just the other day I was beginning to stat up different mobs, but I only got so far as a zombie mob...