Swarm: does base creature's size matter?

[sengmeng]

For instance, could if I wanted to treat, say, a pack of dogs as a swarm, possibly because they are rabid or otherwise too maddened to function as a normal pack, would they need to be mechanically different than a swarm of rats? And if so, what would it really add to the game? Cats, rats, dogs, lizards, would they have different stats?

[Curmudgeon]

Swarm Subtype: A swarm is a collection of Fine, Diminutive, or Tiny creatures that acts as a single creature. Standard dogs are size Small, so they just don't qualify to act as a swarm. You would need to come up with stats for a Chihuahua dog first, and then you could work up a Tiny dog swarm.

[HalfDragonCube]

Magic them smaller.

Personally I would love to see a swarm of Fine tarrasques.

[sengmeng]

Chihuahua
Tiny animal
HD: 1d8 + 2
Initiative: +3
Speed: 40 ft.
Armor Class: 16
Base attack/grapple: +1/-8
Attack: Bite +2 melee (1d4)
Space/Reach: 2.5' x 0'
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +1
Abilities: Str 11, Dex 19, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills: Jump +7, Listen +5, Spot +5, Survival +1*
Feats: Alertness, Track
CR: 1/3
Organization: Yapping Swarm (15-20, plus celebrity owner)

The chihuahua is a toy breed of dog that is treated as such. Their primary attack is to annoy enemies with high-pitched yapping, but they've been known to bite as well, because they are bad-tempered little things and also because they generally are considered harmless, therefore they aren't trained to behave well.

Skills: chihuahuas get a +4 racial bonus to survival checks when tracking by scent.

[Forged Fury]

It's not quite the same thing, but I think there were rules for mobs in Cityscape somewhat similar to the swarm template that might be adaptable to other small/medium sized creatures.

[Amnestic]

It's not quite the same thing, but I think there were rules for mobs in Cityscape somewhat similar to the swarm template that might be adaptable to other small/medium sized creatures.

"A mob is treated as a single entity, like a swarm, but is composed of Small, Medium or Large creatures." (Cityscape, pg.124)

The entry on mobs in general is only half a page long with another page and a half made up of two large statblocks (for adults and child humans respectively). Still, it might come in handy for the OP's ideas.

[Yora]

Zombie mobs are awesome. :smallbiggrin:

[Greenish]

What is the collective noun for zombies? Mass? Horde?

[Vangor]

What is the collective noun for zombies? Mass? Horde?

An Unmurder of Zombies.

[The Glyphstone]

A cranium of zombies.

[some guy]

What is the collective noun for zombies? Mass? Horde?

According to The Stoakes-Whibley Natural Index of Supernatural Collective Nouns (http://wondermark.com/566/) it is a vexation of zombies.

[IthroZada]

What is the collective noun for zombies? Mass? Horde?

In the Walking Dead they call them "herds."