Advice for mass combat

[Daddison]

So, let's say we have a group of PCs (say 6). They are with a larger host (say 30 more) of allies.

This group encounters a group of 100 baddies in the forest....

What's the best way to handle initiative/combat in a scenario like this so that it doesn't take 2 hours for everyone to have a turn?

Thank you in advance -

[ComaVision]

Mob template from PHBII (I think)

[Flickerdart]

There are mass combat rules in Complete Warrior and (I think) Miniature Handbook.

However, I haven't read those rules, and they are probably not very good. Here's what you can do:

Take a map of the area, and ask the PCs to deploy their 30 guys on it, in blocks of, say, three guys (10 blocks total) and the party (as an 11th block).
Deploy your 100 guys (33 blocks total) opposite of them.
Move some* or all of the blocks forward until they meet in the middle. This is where fighting happens. If any blocks meet more than one block, one side in that fight has extra guys. If a block moved forward without meeting guys, they don't get into a fight.
While this is happening, ask your PCs what they do. Most likely they will go somewhere on the battlefield and join that battle. Play out the tiny encounter.
While the encounter was going, the fights that happened also resolve, and the blocks that didn't get into a fight can move again (potentially flanking some other blocks or providing backup in a fight). Resolve the fight simply - roll a d6 per block involved and add the number of guys in the block, the losing side loses a guy.
The PCs will want to go to another spot in the battle, and so on.



* Typically, a large fighting force does not deploy all their guys forward at once. A smart commander keeps a reserve force, while a bad commander may not be able to mobilize all his soldiers in time.