time to make us some generals

[kulosle]

so here is a fun idea. almost everyone has thought about making a character with a massive army behind them at one point or another. i always thought of the master summoner, while other fantasies about having an army of undead or constructs or animals, or just some dude with way too many cohorts apprentices and followers. we all decide against it for one reason or another, too much work, takes up too much time, but usually it because the DM wouldn't let us. so lets actually give it a go.

rules:
1)all wizard of the coast official material, but no homebrew.
2)list all resources you use
3)name your general and nothing lame like master of undead, be creative.
4)show your general at levels 10, 20, and 30, even 40 if you want to go crazy with it and discuss how what its capable of at that level
5)a character with a freakishly high leadership score is not a general by itself

guidelines:
1) we are trying to make a character that commands a lot of people not necessarily one that is in control of them (ex: the man with too many chorots)
2) quality and quantity- an army of flies may have 2 billion members any wizard with fireball can kill them all. aim for as large of an army as you can, but your army needs to be able to stay alive.
3) if you have a grand army but any sniper can kill you, you aren't exactly a general. the army is important but don't neglect yourself.
4) post if you have a build or if have a suggestion for a general you would like to see. comment on the quality of other peoples generals.
5) if your general goes into a fight against another general who would win? try and make it yours

have at it.

[Kol Korran]

As a former army man of the Israeli army, and part of a tactical control headquarters in reserve, a few words:

first of all, a general and his/ her/ it's army are never separated from the terrain, the kind of enemy, the resources, the state of their nation (if they have a nation), their culture and ehtics and so on.

an army of dwarves with their bizarre inventions might seem great, but not fighting in marches. Undead seem awesome, but perhaps not against the holy empire of Clericdoom. the general may want to raise a great army of magical construct and have all 10000 regular soldiers have an item that grants them flight 1/ day, but the country is poor and buy it's ores from the gnomes, who charge exorbitant prices.

or you may have a huge army of mystical half dragon barbarians, but no one on your little island kingdom knows how to build ships that survive the waters around...

if you want a sort of neutral setting- define one.

also- generals often answer to heads of state (unless they ARE the head of state). which kind are you referring to?

an elite soldier does not a general make. these are two different professions (as will be explained). to my opinion the general might have different skills (profession tactician? profession strategist?) to express their capabilities. war making is a complex, complex, complex field, despite various computer games. these take dedication.



guidelines:
1) we are trying to make a character that commands a lot of people not necessarily one that is in control of them (ex: the man with too many chorots)

i'm not sure the regular mechanics can cover the "general". often you don't follow a commander out of leadership (especially not in the army) but rather out so "that's what you're supposed to do " sense (lame, but true), or a sense of duty, or belief in the cause, or because you trust their abilities, and that doesn't have to do anything with leadership. leadership helps, (it makes the soldier strive harder, be better soldiers), but it's rarely a perquisite. armies usually rely on obedience, so that you might follow the orders of a complete stranger with sufficient ranks of your own commander is taken down.

in short, i think this is much more a roleplay (or "heroes of battle") thing thant regular rules and leadership.


2) quality and quantity- an army of flies may have 2 billion members any wizard with fireball can kill them all. aim for as large of an army as you can, but your army needs to be able to stay alive.

Lenin once said "quantity is it's own quality". most armies rely on both- often the quality of people you get (and despite all claims for equality, there is a difference) means that you can't have all your soldiers to be top one. resources are often used to train the army to different levels of expertise and quality, with top notch soldiers, technology and so on costing from 50 times to 100 times and more of more mundane technologies. most of the army's jobs are taken up by the dregs, and they are some jobs they are far better suited for! the high quality ones you keep training and training all the time, and use for special operations.

an army with nearly all units in similar quality will fail, especially considering modern ideas of warefare.


3) if you have a grand army but any sniper can kill you, you aren't exactly a general. the army is important but don't neglect yourself.

protect yourself yes, but a competent general is rarely the most powerful one combat wise. a general is measured on his abilities to read the situation, the enemies plans, think for his army, and best utilize it in the situation. most generals have let themselves go through the years, old men with not-quite-in-shape bodies.

they do however have enough elite protection around them. (such as the PCs)


5) if your general goes into a fight against another general who would win? try and make it yours
At least in the real world, (even in ancient times) the general rerey if ever get to actually face an enemy soldier- they work off reports from the forces in the field, and tell them what to do. generals THINK, soldiers fight.

though in fantasy i realize it's more common for the leader to face off in a great battle against the other general, this is one of the WORST ideas there is- tactics is about maneuvering, keeping yourself safe, and getting enough force (such as PCs) to take down key resources (such as the enemy general).

these are just my remarks, which may help or hinder or be ignored. i think it may be an interesting idea, but i think it will be even more interesting with a few more realistic touches.

[ILM]

I have a Silverbrow Human Bard 4/ Warblade 6/ Warchanter 10 (Warblade levels are staggered to get better maneuvers) with Leadership and Extra Followers, for a total of about 320 guys - so, not really an army - and a pet dragon cause hey, who doesn't like dragons?

I didn't push IC/DFI cheese to the top with Exalted stuff, but she can still grant pretty much anyone in her army a +6 morale bonus to attack and damage, plus 6d6 fire damage on top of that. Or set her allies' BAB to 20 and give them 6d6 damage, but that only works within 100 ft. By weaving in Inspire Toughness regularly, she can also grant them 20 temporary HP while still maintaining the bonuses to offense (though that tends to burn through her Bardic Music uses rather quickly).

I haven't statted all the mooks, but it's safe to say they kick copious amounts of ass.

Also, one of her level 6 followers is a Dragon Shaman 1/ Binder 5, who can get everyone who's not dead back up to full hp within minutes of the end of a battle.