Erechel
Explorer
This is almost an old thread revamped, but what do people think about mass combat and warfare in D&D 5th edition? I know there is already an Unearthed Arcana regarding this topic, but it doesn't really cover AoE effects that on almost every edition render mass combat obsolete. A single fireball can wipe out entire battalions in one round.
Although 5e has toned down the raw power of spells with rules like Concentration, AoE effects are still pretty nasty to common infantry. Undoubtly, Cover and Dodge are a little better than in prior editions, as they also grant the benefits to Dexterity saves. But most field troops and mooks (as goblins, hobgoblins and guards, perhaps even the orcs)have weak HP, and even if they pass the Dex saves they are pretty much screwed. Even the beautiful pike horde is. And we aren't talking about big, powerful spells like Meteor Swarm, but the ever present fireball.
I know many people like to link AoE magic to modern artillery, and many even said that ancient battles pretty much ended with the introduction of cannon fire, a thing that isn't necessarily true. Many battles were fought in close formations, and the line combat ended very recently, more than four hundred years after the introduction of gunpowder and cannons to the battlefields (they ended mostly because of gatling guns, not really heavy artillery).
And this doesn't really recognizes the fact that artillery was used from very old times. The archer's volleys were in fact this more than anything else, but also the siege engines, like catapults with burning oil projectiles. And in fact, the usage of artillery (specially arrows) was one of the main factors that promoved the closed formations like shield walls and phalanxes. They were mostly defensive, although the offensive value of things like a pike formation was amazing. D&D history almost doesn't recognizes this. Except for one feat.
Shield master (among other benefits) allows for the first time to actually use a shield to cover against a red dragon's fire breath, granting the half cover's bonus to the Dex save and negating any damaging effect if the saving throw is successful. Combining this with a Dodge action and you have a very effective defense against most AoE effects. But, of course, this comes somewhat late in the game, and only to PCs, unless you use the Racial Trait's rules for NPCs and make all of them Variant Humans. Orcs, hobgoblins, and other small horde like monsters in general are still screwed.
But that feat is very inspiring. And in fact, once we understand how it works (a lot like half cover, although not exactly in the same way), we can work it out. And this pretty much brings us back us to battle formations.
Battle formations may function like collective stances, like the one introduced with the tunnel fighter combat style in the UA of the Underdark. This way, you can combine the efforts of the many to achieve the feats of the few to truly mantain the threat of the low-level enemies around many levels in this edition.
I've uploaded a small file to the DMs Guild with tentative rules for battle formations inspired on this. Of course, not all of them are defensive in nature (like the Shield Wall), including a pike phalanx (which doesn't really protect against a fireball) or a cavalry charge. The supplement has been worked to fully function whitin the mainframe of 5 Edition and the When Armies Clash Unearthed Arcana.
I truly believe that a meaningful mass combat can be achieved within this edition, although it still needs some tweakings and house rules to properly function. This small file is intended to achieve that (it's basically free, although a small contribution is always appreciated).
Thoughts? Ideas?
Although 5e has toned down the raw power of spells with rules like Concentration, AoE effects are still pretty nasty to common infantry. Undoubtly, Cover and Dodge are a little better than in prior editions, as they also grant the benefits to Dexterity saves. But most field troops and mooks (as goblins, hobgoblins and guards, perhaps even the orcs)have weak HP, and even if they pass the Dex saves they are pretty much screwed. Even the beautiful pike horde is. And we aren't talking about big, powerful spells like Meteor Swarm, but the ever present fireball.
I know many people like to link AoE magic to modern artillery, and many even said that ancient battles pretty much ended with the introduction of cannon fire, a thing that isn't necessarily true. Many battles were fought in close formations, and the line combat ended very recently, more than four hundred years after the introduction of gunpowder and cannons to the battlefields (they ended mostly because of gatling guns, not really heavy artillery).
And this doesn't really recognizes the fact that artillery was used from very old times. The archer's volleys were in fact this more than anything else, but also the siege engines, like catapults with burning oil projectiles. And in fact, the usage of artillery (specially arrows) was one of the main factors that promoved the closed formations like shield walls and phalanxes. They were mostly defensive, although the offensive value of things like a pike formation was amazing. D&D history almost doesn't recognizes this. Except for one feat.
Shield master (among other benefits) allows for the first time to actually use a shield to cover against a red dragon's fire breath, granting the half cover's bonus to the Dex save and negating any damaging effect if the saving throw is successful. Combining this with a Dodge action and you have a very effective defense against most AoE effects. But, of course, this comes somewhat late in the game, and only to PCs, unless you use the Racial Trait's rules for NPCs and make all of them Variant Humans. Orcs, hobgoblins, and other small horde like monsters in general are still screwed.
But that feat is very inspiring. And in fact, once we understand how it works (a lot like half cover, although not exactly in the same way), we can work it out. And this pretty much brings us back us to battle formations.
Battle formations may function like collective stances, like the one introduced with the tunnel fighter combat style in the UA of the Underdark. This way, you can combine the efforts of the many to achieve the feats of the few to truly mantain the threat of the low-level enemies around many levels in this edition.
I've uploaded a small file to the DMs Guild with tentative rules for battle formations inspired on this. Of course, not all of them are defensive in nature (like the Shield Wall), including a pike phalanx (which doesn't really protect against a fireball) or a cavalry charge. The supplement has been worked to fully function whitin the mainframe of 5 Edition and the When Armies Clash Unearthed Arcana.
I truly believe that a meaningful mass combat can be achieved within this edition, although it still needs some tweakings and house rules to properly function. This small file is intended to achieve that (it's basically free, although a small contribution is always appreciated).
Thoughts? Ideas?
