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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7156136" data-attributes="member: 20323">[MENTION=6876021]kagayaku[/MENTION] I have experience doing battlefield encounters focused on the PCs at a variety of levels from 1-10. Can you talk a little more about the specifics of your scenario? Sounds like you have an "evil humanoids lay siege" scenario and both sides are armed with pikes fighting for control of a gate? That's all I could get from your description.Some things off the top of my head...<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Define 3-5 battlefield objectives for the PCs to accomplish in the mist of the battle. These should be poignant, involve meaningful choices, and have an immediate impact on the flow of battle (and possible in the long-term). If you're having trouble defining interesting objectives, think of what the villains are trying to accomplish, the disposition of their troops, and the personality of their commanders. Now think about the site and its defenses, and personalities of their commanders.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Keep the action focused on the PCs. Personally, I almost entirely avoided mass combat rules. In the situations when the PCs had gathered or called upon allied military units, I created "unit cards" they could play to gain certain benefits apropos of that particular unit. When played, the card had an effect that might be a one-off or ongoing.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Using Morale is great. Describing the clash of armies is great. However, you want to avoid scenarios where you roll against yourself or where NPC rolling overshadows the PCs.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Mob rules in the DMG p.250 are a great resource. Consider using them if the PCs are ever outnumbered (i.e. draw fire to themselves and don't have their own unit's support). Also, when doing this, minimize opportunity attacks against the PCs in most situations.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Think of the battle kind of like a dungeon. The battle should have different zones (rooms) that have different units active in them and different hazards associated with them. For example, Press of Pikes might be a zone at the center front of the battle, and you write up a paragraph on the situation. Difficult terrain. Supporting one side requires DC # Strength check, with these consequences for individual/group success or failure. If a character ends up caught in the middle, they have to squeeze and are limited to small or tiny weapons.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Don't rule out the possibility for exploration or interaction on the battlefield; maybe they need to convince a stubborn commander to issue a tactical withdraw before his forces are routed, or maybe they witness an enemy scout get killed while carrying intelligence reports and have the option of riding out to retrieve those reports.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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