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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Truename" data-source="post: 5747052" data-attributes="member: 78255">SPOILERS ahoy, cap'n!I'm about to run my players through The Battle for Gallo's Fend (Act IV of The Mad King's Banquet) and I love the Paragon-tier feel of the battle. The actual encounters as written... not so much. So here's an attempt at improving things. Please critique!Goals: I want to create the feeling of a major battle with hundreds of soldiers; I want the players to be at the forefront; I don't won't things to be slow or grindy; and I don't want it to be too abstract.Solution: I'm going to use the basic setup and tactical encounters provided in the 4e module, but replace the monsters and give the players more control. My approach is to turn squads of soldiers into swarms, similar to the Bloodspear Savage Throng in the DDI Compendium. The players will control the allied units and I'll run the enemy units. Before the battle, the players will have an opportunity to set up the battlefield.Specifically, they'll have two in-game hours before the battle to prepare the battlefield. (The reason I've provided is that Duke Gallo doesn't want to tip his hand until the enemy troops begin to move.) In that time, their soldiers can perform 32 actions (move a 5' cube of earth, create a 5' fraise, or place caltrops and other hindering terrain in a single square). The players can also cast rituals such as Earthen Ramparts.They also get to choose and place their units. They get two Gallo Chaplains for free and have 3,600 XP to spend on Gallo Pike Squares and Gallo Archers. (See the attached stat blocks.) To model the feeling of a real battle, the pike squares have tons of stopping power when they stand still. The archers' attacks are bursts, which the enemy swarms will be vulnerable to, but they're risky to use once the battle's been joined, as they hit nearby allies on an attack roll of 5 or less. They're also very vulnerable if enemies make it through the lines.During the battle, each PC controls a set of allied units, as long as they stay within 20 squares. (Otherwise, I control them.) If they use the Battlefield Elocution ritual, there's no range limit.That's the allied side. I'll put the Steppengard forces up later. Thoughts on what I have so far? I'm particularly interested in critiques of the stat blocks.PS: The stat blocks were created with power2ool.com, which is simply awesome, and free.</blockquote>

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