Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Mass Combat rules
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Primitive Screwhead" data-source="post: 5738942" data-attributes="member: 20805"><p>I agree with Stalker0 {not too surprising there!} that the actual number is really a side-issue on this. Rather the appropriate level and size matters.</p><p></p><p>The way I have been doing the conversion is to up-level a critter, add an aura, modify the attacks to be simpler, and usually add a 'death burst' effect that leaves minions in the wake of the Throng.</p><p></p><p>Something else on the other thread I like is the idea of bloodied transformations, I have the following written down, not sure who posted them to begin with</p><p></p><p>[sblock]</p><p>When bloodied, reduce the size of the swarm and possibly add an</p><p>effect. Here are som more ideas on effects on swarm units upon</p><p>becoming bloodied. Think of these as part of the unit breaking up,</p><p>disbanding or plain and simple being killed.</p><p></p><p></p><p>(Brute) Berserk Formation - Decrease the space of the swarm two steps</p><p>if Gargantuan and one step if not - e.g. 6x6 becomes 3x3, 3x3 becomes</p><p>2x2. The swarm gains an aura 2 (or 3 if it started put as Gargantuan),</p><p>creatures that enter the aura or start their turn there take X damage.</p><p></p><p>(Soldier) Phalanx Formation - Decrease the space of the swarm two</p><p>steps if Gargantuan or one step if not - e.g. 6x6 becomes 3x3, 3x3</p><p>becomes 2x2. The swarm splits into two identical swarms (overlapping</p><p>each others spaces after the split, if necessary). The swarms share</p><p>hit points but have separate actions.</p><p></p><p>(Skirmisher) Guerilla Formation - Decrease the space of the swarm two</p><p>steps if Gargantuan or one step if not - e.g. 6x6 becomes 3x3, 3x3</p><p>becomes 2x2. The swarm gains a +4 bonus to (all its) speed(s). Also,</p><p>the swarm can shift 2 squares as a move action (or an additional</p><p>square if a power already grants them a similar ability).</p><p></p><p>(Artillery) Orb Formation - Decrease the space of the swarm two steps</p><p>if Gargantuan or one step if not - e.g. 6x6 becomes 3x3, 3x3 becomes</p><p>2x2. The swarm cannot be subject to unvoluntary forced movement. Also,</p><p>the swarm no longer provoke opportunity attacks when using ranged or</p><p>area powers.</p><p></p><p>(Lurker) Scattered Formation - The swarm splits into a number of</p><p>minions. The number is twice the amount of single creatures capable of</p><p>fitting along a single side of the swarm (e.g. 2x2 swarm becomes 4 1x1</p><p>swarms of medium creatures, 4x4 swarms becomes 8 1x1 swarms of medium</p><p>creatures or 4 2x2 swarms of large creatures). The minions are placed</p><p>anywhere within the space formerly occupied by the swarm, and can</p><p>shift (or teleport, if it is appropriate) their speed as a free action</p><p>upon being placed.</p><p></p><p>(Controller) Controlled Formation - Decrease the space of the swarm</p><p>two steps if Gargantuan or one step if not - e.g. 6x6 becomes 3x3, 3x3</p><p>becomes 2x2. The swarm can alter the space it occupies by one step</p><p>once per round as a free action, reverting to its real space at the</p><p>start of its next turn. Also, the size of its bursts and blasts are</p><p>increased by 1.</p><p>[/sblock]</p><p></p><p>In play this has worked very well and the players felt like they were wading through hundred of enemy Soldiers. I was clear to introduce the Throng in a meta-game way stating "around the corner come 50 Ragesian Veteran Warriors, the kind you faced back in the battle of the Obelisk. I am now treating them as two 'monsters' rather than 50 individuals. What this means is that you will face over 300 enemy combatants in this encounter!"</p><p></p><p>However, I am not sure that I will be able to scale up beyond this level well and the capstone battle is at 30th level. Meaning these Huge sized platoons will be minions and the PCs will face, literally, thousands of enemy combatants.</p><p></p><p>I do like how the XPV version tracks well with the system I already use for up-leveling monsters into the higher tiers by changing their type from Solo to Elite to Standard to Demi-monster to Minion. Changing to a Throng allows me to continue to use that Ragesian Master Archer that the group faced way back at 4th level <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Primitive Screwhead, post: 5738942, member: 20805"] I agree with Stalker0 {not too surprising there!} that the actual number is really a side-issue on this. Rather the appropriate level and size matters. The way I have been doing the conversion is to up-level a critter, add an aura, modify the attacks to be simpler, and usually add a 'death burst' effect that leaves minions in the wake of the Throng. Something else on the other thread I like is the idea of bloodied transformations, I have the following written down, not sure who posted them to begin with [sblock] When bloodied, reduce the size of the swarm and possibly add an effect. Here are som more ideas on effects on swarm units upon becoming bloodied. Think of these as part of the unit breaking up, disbanding or plain and simple being killed. (Brute) Berserk Formation - Decrease the space of the swarm two steps if Gargantuan and one step if not - e.g. 6x6 becomes 3x3, 3x3 becomes 2x2. The swarm gains an aura 2 (or 3 if it started put as Gargantuan), creatures that enter the aura or start their turn there take X damage. (Soldier) Phalanx Formation - Decrease the space of the swarm two steps if Gargantuan or one step if not - e.g. 6x6 becomes 3x3, 3x3 becomes 2x2. The swarm splits into two identical swarms (overlapping each others spaces after the split, if necessary). The swarms share hit points but have separate actions. (Skirmisher) Guerilla Formation - Decrease the space of the swarm two steps if Gargantuan or one step if not - e.g. 6x6 becomes 3x3, 3x3 becomes 2x2. The swarm gains a +4 bonus to (all its) speed(s). Also, the swarm can shift 2 squares as a move action (or an additional square if a power already grants them a similar ability). (Artillery) Orb Formation - Decrease the space of the swarm two steps if Gargantuan or one step if not - e.g. 6x6 becomes 3x3, 3x3 becomes 2x2. The swarm cannot be subject to unvoluntary forced movement. Also, the swarm no longer provoke opportunity attacks when using ranged or area powers. (Lurker) Scattered Formation - The swarm splits into a number of minions. The number is twice the amount of single creatures capable of fitting along a single side of the swarm (e.g. 2x2 swarm becomes 4 1x1 swarms of medium creatures, 4x4 swarms becomes 8 1x1 swarms of medium creatures or 4 2x2 swarms of large creatures). The minions are placed anywhere within the space formerly occupied by the swarm, and can shift (or teleport, if it is appropriate) their speed as a free action upon being placed. (Controller) Controlled Formation - Decrease the space of the swarm two steps if Gargantuan or one step if not - e.g. 6x6 becomes 3x3, 3x3 becomes 2x2. The swarm can alter the space it occupies by one step once per round as a free action, reverting to its real space at the start of its next turn. Also, the size of its bursts and blasts are increased by 1. [/sblock] In play this has worked very well and the players felt like they were wading through hundred of enemy Soldiers. I was clear to introduce the Throng in a meta-game way stating "around the corner come 50 Ragesian Veteran Warriors, the kind you faced back in the battle of the Obelisk. I am now treating them as two 'monsters' rather than 50 individuals. What this means is that you will face over 300 enemy combatants in this encounter!" However, I am not sure that I will be able to scale up beyond this level well and the capstone battle is at 30th level. Meaning these Huge sized platoons will be minions and the PCs will face, literally, thousands of enemy combatants. I do like how the XPV version tracks well with the system I already use for up-leveling monsters into the higher tiers by changing their type from Solo to Elite to Standard to Demi-monster to Minion. Changing to a Throng allows me to continue to use that Ragesian Master Archer that the group faced way back at 4th level :) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Mass Combat rules
Top