[PF] Getting hirelings and henchmen to work in Pathfinder without choking the system?

[harpy]

I'd like to bring some old school feel back to Pathfinder with the use of hirelings and henchmen.

The real stumbling block I have though is that the battlegrid system isn't very friendly to large numbers of combatants. 5-foot steps, attacks of opportunity, and so on already bog down combat as is with a handful of actors on the field. If you add in another dozen or so you can make things drag out far too long.

So I'm trying to figure out ways to make hirelings and henchmen have a special stripped down status that removes a lot of the tactical decision making that you normally do with the system, and in that way hopefully be able to have these small mobs have a presence in combat, but not cause it go move at a glacial pace.

Has anyone tried to tackle this before?

[Talentless]

I'd like to bring some old school feel back to Pathfinder with the use of hirelings and henchmen.

The real stumbling block I have though is that the battlegrid system isn't very friendly to large numbers of combatants. 5-foot steps, attacks of opportunity, and so on already bog down combat as is with a handful of actors on the field. If you add in another dozen or so you can make things drag out far too long.

So I'm trying to figure out ways to make hirelings and henchmen have a special stripped down status that removes a lot of the tactical decision making that you normally do with the system, and in that way hopefully be able to have these small mobs have a presence in combat, but not cause it go move at a glacial pace.

Has anyone tried to tackle this before?

Don't use them beyond traps and ambushes?

Like hire a whole lot of level X warriors with crossbows and whatever +'d ammunition required for penetrating DR for the level of enemy. Like 500 or more hirelings.

Have them wait in a location with readied actions to shoot the Dragon or whatever.

Lead the Dragon(Probably wouldn't work due to how an intelligently played Dragon would fight, but eh, this is an example) on a merry chase to the location.

Roll however many D20s of hirelings you have(Preferably in the handy dandy WotC dice roller from their website, it lets you do a whole lot of rolls in 1 go)

Count all the 20s(Because be honest, a hirling doesn't have the BAB and Dex to beat the AC on most enemies on anything less than a 20 anyways, if they can, you don't even need to bother to roll damage, because if they can hit it over 50% of the time, you likely just killed the thing before it could react.)

Roll for critical threat, count the double 20s.

Tally up the damage. You likely just insta-gibbed the mob. Grats, his loot from his lair or whatever will pay for the hirelings and the plussed ammunition you used 5 times over.

Repeat ad nauseum.