d20/3.x army

[tsj]

What would be good army rosters ?

I was thinking that army leaders could be wizards that do battlefield control

[ComaVision]

Dragon #309 has [War] spells, some of which are pretty neat.

[BowStreetRunner]

There are a number of resources including Minatures Handbook and Heroes of Battle that can be helpful for putting together an army.

In a fantasy army I would see the wizards being more like artillery and other indirect support units. They stay out of direct combat as much as possible and don't lead troops into battle.

The actual frontline battlefield leaders are going to be high CHA characters with abilities that make the troops around them better.

The generals running the show from behind wouldn't necessarily need to come from any particular group, so a battlefield control wizard might be the general issuing the orders, but it could just as easily be a member of just about any other class present in the army.

[Jay R]

In a 2e game, I trained disbelievers - one in each unit. Their job was to consider everything sent against them and question whether it was a possible illusion. They trained against illusory units constantly.

[I don't think this works as well in 3.5e, however.]

I also tried to have a low-level wizard in each group, with a wand of magic missiles, fireballs, hold person, or other specific attack. Their job was to aim at the other side's leaders.

[Scorponok]

If I were the leader of an army, I'd make shirts that looked like armor so my wizard isn't going into battle with a pointy hat and begging to get shot at. Kinda like shirts that look like tuxedos that were popular in the 90's. Whatever happened to those??

[Jay R]

If I were the leader of an army, I'd make shirts that looked like armor so my wizard isn't going into battle with a pointy hat and begging to get shot at. Kinda like shirts that look like tuxedos that were popular in the 90's. Whatever happened to those??

The same thing that happened to every product no longer around, from non-smart cell phones to triremes. People stopped buying them.

[BowStreetRunner]

The same thing that happened to every product no longer around, from non-smart cell phones to triremes. People stopped buying them.

Except that if you Google the words "tuxedo t shirt"...

[Jay R]

Except that if you Google the words "tuxedo t shirt"...

Look hard enough, and you can probably buy a cellphone and a trireme, too. But they aren't mainstream any more.

[KarlMarx]

Possible roles by class:

Barbarian: Shock troops/berserkers. Send these guys to punch a hole in an enemy line and let lesser troops swarm through.

Bard(and possibly Adept): Quick, mobile support. Could be found attached to any unit type, and might function well as a leader of a small group.

Cleric(and possibly Adept): Provide long-term support to a specific unit, including healing and support casting. Another potential small-group captain.

Druid: Rare on battlefields. I would use them as a kind of commando spellcaster, able to infiltrate using wild shape, with a useful range of spells, and capable enough to defend themselves in combat.

Fighter/Warrior: Mainline, dedicated, professional soldiers. Capable of a variety of mundane tasks and combat roles. Most common battlefield units.

Monk: Another good commando unit. Could also be an extra-light yet useful infantry unit on the battlefield, and good at taking out high-priority targets.

Paladin: Similar to fighters, though rarer and probably used as last-line-of-defense units. Also could be elite units, particularly cavalry, especially if organized in knightly orders.

Ranger: Commando, skirmisher, or archery specialist.

Rogue: Probably not found on the battlefield. These guys should be infiltrating the enemy's command HQ:smallbiggrin:

Sorcerer/Wizard: Long-range artillery/magical support. Sorcerers probably better at the former, wizards at the latter.

Aristocrat: Probably a general or other high-ranking officer, based on historical medieval combat.

Expert: An artillery specialist, sapper, engineer, or other high-skilled job. Could also be a conscript who the recruiters didn't distinguish from the...

Commoners: Conscripts/throwaway light infantry. They could be organized as long-range archers, but more likely their job is to overwhelm the enemy with numbers alone.

[tsj]

Thanks for all the feedback :-)

Good to have some ideers for large scale combat in 3.x/pf :-)

[Telonius]

Dread Necromancer: In charge of stop loss/additional recruitment