Some help with battle mechanics?

[Balor01]

I know 3.5 is not made for large scale battles. And in my case, it is really not a large scale battle - it is PCs+20 helpers vs 15 enemies.

Now, I really do not want to roll (or pre-roll and print) results for every single combatant, thus I was thinking of a chart that will "spawn" creatures around PCs during the battle.

Here is my idea:

Each round:

1. 1d4 Enemies
2. 1d4 enemies and one Ally
3. 1d4 enemies with 50% health
4. fire blast (as in a small barrel of gurning oil being thrown into the crowd)
5. arrow fired at PC 1 (+5 to hit, 1d8+1)
6. arrow fired at PC 2 (+5 to hit, 1d8+1)
7. arrow fired at PC 3 (+5 to hit, 1d8+1)
8. Special enemy (CR+2)

... now battle should last five turns, so it should end quickly, but my system can surely be improved.

thanks

[UndertakerSheep]

There's a 3.5 campaign called ''The Drow War'' that has a very interesting Mass Combat rule in the appendix of its first book ''The Gathering Storm''. I would suggest giving that one a look. Instead of being a system of multiple enemies appearing every round, it strives to create a very enjoyable series of encounters where the players feel like they're making a difference for out come of the battle.

Both sides roll an opposed ''battle check'' to see which side is wining. Things like commanding the troops, defeating enemy commanders and completing tactical objectives (like securing a hill or getting a siege tower to the wall) give bonuses to your side's battle check. They also give some ideas for involving characters who aren't focused solely on combat.

You could also try stealing the minion rule from 4e. Give the enemies that 'spawn' only 1 hitpoint, and average their damage rolls (1d8+4 becomes 8 damage, for example). This way you can throw more of them at them per round than 1d4 (1d8?), and the wizard/sorcerer can really shine with his AoE spells. Casting a Fireball spell in the midst of an enemy army is going to deal a lot of damage.

[Arc_knight25]

Hero's of Battle is a great source for what to do in large battles. They have alot of good mechanics to aid you in your creation of this battle.