Yo! to the plays or dms who run necromancers who want to make huge large armies how do you handle it without combat getting slowed down to a grinding halt?
Yo! to the plays or dms who run necromancers who want to make huge large armies how do you handle it without combat getting slowed down to a grinding halt?
I would combine the skellies into a single "character sheet" and run them as an aggregate group. Their combined hit points being attacked by the monsters/encounter, when diminished would represent a loss of that many skeletons represented by the hitpoints.
I'd maybe roll attacks as individually but simplify the rolls so you can run say; 20 dice or 5 dice 4x times and just see how many actual hits are placed. Or If there's 20 skellies roll the dice and the number represents how many percentage of them hit over the course of the turn.
Assume they don't all attack at once so spread their effects out over a turn. Maybe they all attack the same target and you know for certain that target will die by end of turn, so roll again to determine where in the course of the turn it does die. Maybe it doesn't die until it's completed all its actions...
So for instance you roll the skellies damage, giving you a percentage that do hit. That == x amount of damage, That will kill the target. But then you roll a 1d10 and if it's 10 then the target isn't killed until the last of the turn, meaning it might still get to go on that turn.
EDIT - I'd also let the Necromancer split the group but the necromancer can only give a command as an action; so they are using their actions to command each group.
EDIT 2 - a further example is let's say they have 40 skellies; a monster hits them for half their hp. Now there's only 20 skellies. Before you would roll 2d20 to see how many skellies actually hit. Now you'd roll only 1d20.
I'd also excuse the lack of normal "to-hit" as it's basically a World War Z zombie swarm...normal "to-hit" rules don't apply.
SOME undead-army will hit just by the sheer volume of blows coming in.
This could possibly work real well if you have 35 skellies. You roll a 2d20 and -5 to hit. Although realistically maybe a 1d20 and 1d12 and 1d4 -1 makes more sense. 3 simple dice to roll for 35 skellies without too much penalty etc.
You could include other penalties or bonuses that make sense; maybe making use of a necromancer's proficiencies etc.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Yo! to the plays or dms who run necromancers who want to make huge large armies how do you handle it without combat getting slowed down to a grinding halt?
I would combine the skellies into a single "character sheet" and run them as an aggregate group. Their combined hit points being attacked by the monsters/encounter, when diminished would represent a loss of that many skeletons represented by the hitpoints.
I'd maybe roll attacks as individually but simplify the rolls so you can run say; 20 dice or 5 dice 4x times and just see how many actual hits are placed. Or If there's 20 skellies roll the dice and the number represents how many percentage of them hit over the course of the turn.
Assume they don't all attack at once so spread their effects out over a turn. Maybe they all attack the same target and you know for certain that target will die by end of turn, so roll again to determine where in the course of the turn it does die. Maybe it doesn't die until it's completed all its actions...
So for instance you roll the skellies damage, giving you a percentage that do hit. That == x amount of damage, That will kill the target. But then you roll a 1d10 and if it's 10 then the target isn't killed until the last of the turn, meaning it might still get to go on that turn.
EDIT - I'd also let the Necromancer split the group but the necromancer can only give a command as an action; so they are using their actions to command each group.
EDIT 2 - a further example is let's say they have 40 skellies; a monster hits them for half their hp. Now there's only 20 skellies. Before you would roll 2d20 to see how many skellies actually hit. Now you'd roll only 1d20.
I'd also excuse the lack of normal "to-hit" as it's basically a World War Z zombie swarm...normal "to-hit" rules don't apply.
SOME undead-army will hit just by the sheer volume of blows coming in.
This could possibly work real well if you have 35 skellies. You roll a 2d20 and -5 to hit. Although realistically maybe a 1d20 and 1d12 and 1d4 -1 makes more sense. 3 simple dice to roll for 35 skellies without too much penalty etc.
You could include other penalties or bonuses that make sense; maybe making use of a necromancer's proficiencies etc.
3 approaches in here. https://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/448959
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
Alternatively, you can use the mob rules from the DMG.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Used to open up the Battle System box set for those kind of fights. The box is long gone, along with my collection of older RP gaming stuff.