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Warfare in 4e
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<blockquote data-quote="Amphimir Míriel" data-source="post: 4301741" data-attributes="member: 55933"><p>If an army gets ambushed in a forest, and no one hears it, does it make an attack roll?</p><p></p><p>If no PCs are involved in the matter, it is just DM prose.</p><p></p><p>If the PC's are involved in the matter, then there are several ways to handle it, without having to micromanage the attack rolls for hundreds of combatants.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>My suggestion for running a big battle would be doing it "epic movie style":</p><p></p><p>On one hand, we have the sweeping vistas of the thousands of soldiers in the battlefield, with the occasional closeup to the commanders shouting orders and gnashing their teeth as they see the armies clash.</p><p><em>This part is handled by an extended, opposed skill challenge between the strategists on both sides.</em></p><p></p><p>On the other hand we see the protagonists, hacking and slashing through tens of minions and occasionally an opposing champion or two.</p><p><em>This part is handled by the regular combat scene, where "shaky camera-close up action" (a.k.a.: "the fog of war") prevents the party from affecting stuff happening outside of a certain radius.</em></p><p></p><p>The DM then alternates between adjudicating the results of the Skill challenge between both strategists, narrating the battle on a grand scale, and running the "regular" melee of which the PCs are part.</p><p></p><p>Every once or twice the action switches between "big picture" and "up-close and personal", the DM can declare a "new encounter" has started, more enemies are added to the battlemat (position and numbers might be influenced by the current results of the skill challenge), and per-encounter abilities are recharged.</p><p></p><p></p><p>How does that sound?</p><p></p><p>(of course, you may add a third set of actions where the plucky comic relief characters try to avoid the melee altogether, running and cowering and trying to hide beneath rocks, corpses, and discarded shields, but that's a matter of taste)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Amphimir Míriel, post: 4301741, member: 55933"] If an army gets ambushed in a forest, and no one hears it, does it make an attack roll? If no PCs are involved in the matter, it is just DM prose. If the PC's are involved in the matter, then there are several ways to handle it, without having to micromanage the attack rolls for hundreds of combatants. My suggestion for running a big battle would be doing it "epic movie style": On one hand, we have the sweeping vistas of the thousands of soldiers in the battlefield, with the occasional closeup to the commanders shouting orders and gnashing their teeth as they see the armies clash. [I]This part is handled by an extended, opposed skill challenge between the strategists on both sides.[/I] On the other hand we see the protagonists, hacking and slashing through tens of minions and occasionally an opposing champion or two. [I]This part is handled by the regular combat scene, where "shaky camera-close up action" (a.k.a.: "the fog of war") prevents the party from affecting stuff happening outside of a certain radius.[/I] The DM then alternates between adjudicating the results of the Skill challenge between both strategists, narrating the battle on a grand scale, and running the "regular" melee of which the PCs are part. Every once or twice the action switches between "big picture" and "up-close and personal", the DM can declare a "new encounter" has started, more enemies are added to the battlemat (position and numbers might be influenced by the current results of the skill challenge), and per-encounter abilities are recharged. How does that sound? (of course, you may add a third set of actions where the plucky comic relief characters try to avoid the melee altogether, running and cowering and trying to hide beneath rocks, corpses, and discarded shields, but that's a matter of taste) [/QUOTE]
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