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Worlds of Design: The Nature of Armies
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<blockquote data-quote="overgeeked" data-source="post: 8743530" data-attributes="member: 86653"><p>Just by way of example, let's have a look at some longbowmen and an adult red dragon.</p><p></p><p>Adult Red Dragon. AC 19. HP 256. No applicable immunities or resistances.</p><p></p><p>Longbowmen (using the Guard statblock). AC 16. HP 11. Longbow +3 to-hit, for 5 damage, range 150/600.</p><p></p><p>According to the mob rules (DMG, p250), you'd need four longbowmen to score one hit. So 400 longbowmen would score 100 hits, with an average of 5 damage...that's 500 damage, which is almost double the dragon's total hp. So one volley at roughly half that size would be enough to kill the dragon in one go. To be precise, you'd need a group of 208 longbowmen to down a dragon in one volley.</p><p></p><p>Because of range limitations and disadvantage, the longbowmen aren't going to hit well (or at all) until the dragon with within 150ft. But once the dragon is within 120ft, it can use frightful presence, which only 1-in-10 longbowmen will save against (using the same mob rules). More than likely, the longbowmen will see the dragon coming on the horizon (visibility to the horizon is usually 3 miles, sans obstructions) and ready their first (and for some, only) volley for when it comes into range. One-in-four longbowmen will hit for 5 damage each. </p><p></p><p>The longbowmen's optimal tactic would be stay between 120 and 150ft and keep firing. Not likely given the dragon's 80ft flying speed.</p><p></p><p>Once the dragon is within breath weapon range, the longbowmen will die by the score. Well, even being generous with the "fireball formation" and a bad reading of how many targets a 30ft cone can hit, the dragon will kill 30 longbowmen per breath weapon use. It's safe to assume it will multiattack & legendary and kill 14 longbowmen every round until its breath weapon recharges. Fourteen because of three normal attacks, assume hit and assume dead target, and three legendary actions, one extra tail for one extra dead longbowmen and again being generous with the area effect of the wing attack that will hit and kill 10 more longbowmen with each use.</p><p></p><p>The dragon's optimal tactic would be surprise, frightful presence & legendary, breath weapon & legendary, multiattack & legendary while breath weapon recharges. Surprise is not likely given the size of the dragon. If it's airborne, the longbowmen would see it coming, unless they're in perfect conditions, like marching on a road in a forest. If it's on foot for some reason, the longbowmen would hear it coming.</p><p></p><p>If the group of longbowmen is big enough to survive mixing it up in melee with the dragon long enough to be a threat via returned fire, then the group would have been big enough to down the dragon at range before getting into melee. So, as always, surprise is practically the deciding factor. If the dragon is in melee with the longbowmen before they can get a volley off, then they'd need to be a group of about 2000+ to kill the dragon (as only 1-in-10 would save vs frightful presence).</p><p></p><p>Estimates of how many archers with an army vary wildly depending on the battle and time period. Several hundreds to thousands was typical historically.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="overgeeked, post: 8743530, member: 86653"] Just by way of example, let's have a look at some longbowmen and an adult red dragon. Adult Red Dragon. AC 19. HP 256. No applicable immunities or resistances. Longbowmen (using the Guard statblock). AC 16. HP 11. Longbow +3 to-hit, for 5 damage, range 150/600. According to the mob rules (DMG, p250), you'd need four longbowmen to score one hit. So 400 longbowmen would score 100 hits, with an average of 5 damage...that's 500 damage, which is almost double the dragon's total hp. So one volley at roughly half that size would be enough to kill the dragon in one go. To be precise, you'd need a group of 208 longbowmen to down a dragon in one volley. Because of range limitations and disadvantage, the longbowmen aren't going to hit well (or at all) until the dragon with within 150ft. But once the dragon is within 120ft, it can use frightful presence, which only 1-in-10 longbowmen will save against (using the same mob rules). More than likely, the longbowmen will see the dragon coming on the horizon (visibility to the horizon is usually 3 miles, sans obstructions) and ready their first (and for some, only) volley for when it comes into range. One-in-four longbowmen will hit for 5 damage each. The longbowmen's optimal tactic would be stay between 120 and 150ft and keep firing. Not likely given the dragon's 80ft flying speed. Once the dragon is within breath weapon range, the longbowmen will die by the score. Well, even being generous with the "fireball formation" and a bad reading of how many targets a 30ft cone can hit, the dragon will kill 30 longbowmen per breath weapon use. It's safe to assume it will multiattack & legendary and kill 14 longbowmen every round until its breath weapon recharges. Fourteen because of three normal attacks, assume hit and assume dead target, and three legendary actions, one extra tail for one extra dead longbowmen and again being generous with the area effect of the wing attack that will hit and kill 10 more longbowmen with each use. The dragon's optimal tactic would be surprise, frightful presence & legendary, breath weapon & legendary, multiattack & legendary while breath weapon recharges. Surprise is not likely given the size of the dragon. If it's airborne, the longbowmen would see it coming, unless they're in perfect conditions, like marching on a road in a forest. If it's on foot for some reason, the longbowmen would hear it coming. If the group of longbowmen is big enough to survive mixing it up in melee with the dragon long enough to be a threat via returned fire, then the group would have been big enough to down the dragon at range before getting into melee. So, as always, surprise is practically the deciding factor. If the dragon is in melee with the longbowmen before they can get a volley off, then they'd need to be a group of about 2000+ to kill the dragon (as only 1-in-10 would save vs frightful presence). Estimates of how many archers with an army vary wildly depending on the battle and time period. Several hundreds to thousands was typical historically. [/QUOTE]
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