I'm building an army to take over the Empire!

[Greenfield]

Wanna help?

I have an invasion force of several thousand, primarily Human or other PHB PC races. They're coming from a desert region invading someplace a bit more temperate.

I'm seeing cavalry for fast scouting, with horse archers, totaling about 500 over all.

Infantry? 2,000 to 3,000.

Archers? 1,000 to 1,500

Specials? Here's where the fun begins.

I'm thinking Sand Giants in place of siege engines, and perhaps a few Sand Worms (essentially Purple Worms) being herded along.

Casters are a given, of course, as part of the Artillery corps, as well as for healing.

Any other suggestions? A bit of color or fluff, inspiration or desperation?

Note that the army has already advanced almost a thousand miles through enemy territory, so it's makeup will have evolved with the capture or recruitment of people and/or creatures along the way, so the exact make up or desert theme isn't carved in stone.

 

[Jon_Dahl]

A thousand miles through the enemy territory? A foreign volunteer unit of collaborators has potential... Such as Europäische Freiwillige or something like that. It's always interesting to see those who should be fighting against you instead fighting on your side.
I don't know about the enemy, but let's imagine they are orcs (?). So personally, I find it inspiring to imagine a small bunch of more or less "enlightened" ex-POW orcs marching alongside of elves and/or dwarves.
"That Blurgh is a fake and from the cowardly clan of Gutbusters! Bunch of sissies I say, the lot of them! He ain't no king of orcs lemme tell you that! I'd rather have a dwarf as my general! How about that!"

 

[Dandu]

You should get lots of bards who wield masterwork drums and boost IC to high heaven.

 

[Greenfield]

The enemy is another nation of human/elf/PC type humanoids. In essence, Persia is invading Greece.

Bards on drums are more or less a given. The cheapest combat boost for an virtually unlimited number of troops. MW drums work. Add in the Amplify spell, and you can hit a huge area.

Even so, unless they're significantly leveled their influence is limited, given the all-day time span of a serious battle.

Q: What's the limit on how long a Bard can maintain a Bard Song? I think there is one, but I'm not sure.

 

[Dandu]

There is no actual limit on how long your bard song can last for; best bet would be to look up world records for, say, drum performances and set that as the maximum.

A level 2 bard with the Song of the Heart feat, the Inspirational Boost spell, and the Badge of Valor (1400 gp) item gives a +4 bonus to attack and +5 to damage when using masterwork drums (C. Adv).

If BoED is allowed, Words of Creation will double that bonus.

 

[Greenfield]

I think you need to be higher than 2nd to get Song of the Heart: One of the pre-reqs is 6 ranks in Perform, as well as Inspire Competence, which only comes at 3rd level.

But other than that, it's a good combo. For large numbers of low level troops in conflict with equally low level troops, it's a game changer. That can shift the entire tide of battle.

So let's see...

The Masterwork Instrument adds +2 to the Perform check.
Badge of Valor adds +1 to the Inspire Courage bonus.
Song of the Heart also adds +1.
Inspirational Boost adds another +1.

So I can see the total +4, presuming the effects of these stack. How did the damage bonus jump to +5?

 

[Dandu]

Special feature of Mastework Drums, as detailed in the Complete Adventurer. They add +1 to damage and -1 on the save bonus.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Awakened Sand.

Like Ankhus.

 

[Ranger19k]

Air support? Try a squadron of Manticore... or some good old fashioned breath-weapon strafing runs. Also use air for recon since cavalry scouts in a land of flying creatures and magic is a bit too restrictive.

That and maybe a sapper squad that comes up from underground: umber hulk/earth elemental hit squad? Really anything with earth glide would work.

 

[Dozen]

Don't forget some fast moving guerilla fighters who could cut into supply lines and hunt down smaller enemy units. Some Scouts, Rogues, maybe Barbarians and Rangers coupled with a good chaotic commander can do wonders to shift the tide.