Building NPC Phalanx formation

[JW86]

Hello,

I'm writing to seek some advice on getting a decent mid-op NPC Phalanx set up.

I'm thinking of recreating some "Tower Guard" style combatants, armed with one-handed Spears and Tower Shields, in MW Full Plate. These are to be well trained soldiers (Fighter 4, perhaps a level in Crusader), above the average skill of your typical guardsman.

What feats would be useful for helping these NPC soldiers form a defensive line that works well together. I'm looking for AC around 30, good use of cover/concealment, and the ability to aid one another.

Also, any ideas to boost them a bit. I was think perhaps having an occasional Marshal as part of the formation? Creative ideas welcome. Sergeant type characters could be up to Level 6, perhaps Level 7 at a push, but no higher. :)

Thank you for any ideas.

[Red Fel]

Sadly, the notion of a spears-and-shields phalanx doesn't work as well in D&D as it should. But there are excellent options available.

For example, the Hold the Line feat (Complete Warrior) allows you an AoO as soon as something enters your threatened range. With a reach weapon, that means anything that comes within 10 feet of you. If you have a group of soldiers standing shoulder-to-shoulder, chances are they all get that AoO. Bam. (As an aside, the Great Rift Deep Defender PrC (Shining South) gets this feat for free, and is surprisingly adequate for cramped-tunnel fighting.)

But let's back up for a moment. Let's make the absolute maximum "You will not pass" protector.

Let's start with a Crusader 5. That gives him access to Thicket of Blades. That means that anything that moves within his protected area, as well as anything leaving it, provokes an AoO. Let's add Combat Reflexes and Hold the Line. Now anything entering that area also provokes an AoO. Since you've got a swarm of these guys, built the same, anything that moves in their immediate vicinity gets skewered. Finally, if this guy is human, let's use his bonus feat to take Stand Still. Now, if something tries to move out of his threatened area, he can use his AoO to instead stop it in its tracks, allowing his buddies to skewer it.

That's all of the basic synergy you need, really. Any one of them can now stop a target still while the others turn him into a pincushion.

Now, if we were going further, we could design more elaborate builds. For example, Combat Expertise + Improved Trip + Knockdown to actually knock them prone instead of just freezing them. Have the soldiers alternate Thicket of Blades with Iron Guard's Glare so that enemies get a penalty to attack anyone. Toss Karmic Strike on top of that to punish them for trying.

If you wanted something more tactical, get them up to Crusader 6 so they can take White Raven Defense and Clarion Commander. Choose Tactics of the Wolf as your stance. But wait, you say, that only triggers from flanking. You're right. That's what Clarion Commander is for. But first, White Raven Defense gives you AC bonuses, great for a phalanx. Now, Clarion Commander. Look at the second option: Perpetual Flank. You and your allies treat the target as flanked for one minute - that's ten rounds. Thanks to Tactics of the Wolf, that means your allies gain a bonus equal to 1/2 your IL - so, +3 - to damage. Now, imagine the following chain reaction. Step one, use Perpetual Flank. On your next turn, an ally (who also has Clarion Commander) uses Aid Another on your attack. It hits, and now everyone is flanking. Your ally then gets (thanks to Pile On) an AoO on the guy. On the next go-around, everyone uses Aid Another on one guy, who obviously hits - meaning that everyone now gets an AoO. The guy who you aided then makes a Diplomacy check to trigger Following Up, and picks an ally to take yet another free AoO. And around she goes.

[nedz]

You can't do phalanxes with Long Spear and Shield, though with Improved Buckler Defence you could do Long Spear + Buckler, but this is only really worth it if you are enchanting your bucklers.

Feat combo's for Reach Weapons
Stand Still + Combat Reflexes
Combat Expertise + Improved Trip
Hold the Line (maybe)

You can build a shieldwall with feats such as :-
Shield Specialization, Shield Mate, Phalanx Fighting and Improved Shield Mate
But this is very low OP and doesn't work for Tower Shields — so Heavy Shield and one handed weapon, but it's not a great option. Actually Phalanx Fighting requires Shield+Light weapon :smallfrown:

[Tibbit Tamer]

Imma just gonna leave this here- http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?PHPSESSID=ejbomniqeac0m3d0s90is0rge6&topic=4963

[nedz]

Imma just gonna leave this here- http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?PHPSESSID=ejbomniqeac0m3d0s90is0rge6&topic=4963

Cool link, some issues:

The Dwarf Spartans are more like classic Roman Legionaries.
Running a large unit of Crusaders sounds like a nightmare for a DM — due to the recovery mechanic.
Teamwork benefits might be OP if used by a horde of mooks


Otherwise it's good.

[gorfnab]

How about back-porting the Phalanx Soldier Fighter Archetype (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/fighter/archetypes/paizo---fighter-archetypes/phalanx-soldier) from Pathfinder?

[VoxRationis]

You can't do phalanxes with Long Spear and Shield, though with Improved Buckler Defence you could do Long Spear + Buckler, but this is only really worth it if you are enchanting your bucklers.

Feat combo's for Reach Weapons
Stand Still + Combat Reflexes
Combat Expertise + Improved Trip
Hold the Line (maybe)

You can build a shieldwall with feats such as :-
Shield Specialization, Shield Mate, Phalanx Fighting and Improved Shield Mate
But this is very low OP and doesn't work for Tower Shields — so Heavy Shield and one handed weapon, but it's not a great option. Actually Phalanx Fighting requires Shield+Light weapon :smallfrown:

Since we're building NPCs, we're speaking from the view of a DM, and I as a DM would rule that the Phalanx Fighting feat would be applicable to actual phalanx fighting, with a longspear and heavy shield.

[nedz]

Someone, I forget who, did post some relevant houserules on this a while back. This was based upon weapon proficiencies, EWP Longspear allowed you to fight Spartan style.

Longspear.
Simple weapon: two handed, d8, x3, brace, reach.
Martial weapon: two handed, d8, x3, brace, switch reach. Switch reach as a swift action
Exotic weapon: one handed, d8, x3, switch reach. Switch reach as a swift action
The longspear is the lance, the lance is a longspear.

switch reach allows you to switch between 5' and 10' reach.

Phalanx fighting seems designed with Roman Legionaries in mind.

[VoxRationis]

Which bugs me, because they used Manipular formations, not phalanges. (Phalanxes?) It's an entirely different philosophy and an entirely different tactical outcome. The manipular formation is more vulnerable to direct assault, but more flexible and maneuverable. Not to mention that the Roman scutum would best be represented as a tower shield, given its historical use in the testudo formation.

[nedz]

Well maniples were a battlefield formation, so unless your D&D games feature several cohorts of mooks it's probably irrelevant.

Also, D&D has never done shields very well — let alone tower shields. So I have bigger fish to fry on this issue.