Running Large Battles

[TooManySecrets]

Does anyone have suggestions about how to run large battles? I'm talking 50+ agents.

So far, I've just been winging it, using my best DM approximating skills, but if there was something more concrete, that would be much appreciated.

While this is primarily for D&D 3.5, if there is stuff for running large battles in other systems, I'd love to hear about it.

[HMS Invincible]

I made a thread for it already.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...=army+scenario

Essentially, swarms+minions+ elite squads of soldiers.

[overduegalaxy]

Heroes of Battle is always an essential read for stuff like this. While YMMV using the Victory Points system, it still offers very good advice without having to add, alter, or adjust any existing rules.

[BobVosh]

Heroes of Battle is always an essential read for stuff like this. While YMMV using the Victory Points system, it still offers very good advice without having to add, alter, or adjust any existing rules.

++

Also having small side encounters for the PCs as they have to bolster the wall/etc and just having an opinion how it is going to go is easy way to do it.

Although I have known groups to play Warhammer 40k to decide battles.

[TooManySecrets]

Well, the problem is that I have a dread necromancer with an army of about 50 skeletons, 30 zombies, then a couple skeleton hydras and other misc. stuff. So he's the direct commander. I can't really make "side encounters" (at least not until he awakens some of his undead and they gain a bit of autonomy).

(Note, it isn't a problem that he has an army. He's level 15 and I've made it clear that that makes him one of the most powerful people on this world)

I'll take a look at the other thread as well.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Well, the problem is that I have a dread necromancer with an army of about 50 skeletons, 30 zombies, then a couple skeleton hydras and other misc. stuff. So he's the direct commander. I can't really make "side encounters" (at least not until he awakens some of his undead and they gain a bit of autonomy).

(Note, it isn't a problem that he has an army. He's level 15 and I've made it clear that that makes him one of the most powerful people on this world)

I'll take a look at the other thread as well.

Ask the player if he honestly wants to run that. If yes, then do it as a seperate session or 3, in combination with the victory points system mentioned above(if you have no access to Heroes of Battle, we can break it down for you, but the book does it better). If he doesn't want to run it, incorperate his army into the larger one, then mention how well the undead army is doing every time you describe the overall battle. If he gets to see his army having an influence on the outcome, if the Hydra is standing in the only open space on the field, enemy units running in fear at it's approach, a trail of dead bodies in it's wake, bones dyed red with blood, he probably won't feel gypped for not having direct control.

[kieza]

I'm going to add my usual plug: if you have 50+ units and a lot of terrain, treat squads as individual units, scale down the battlefield, and treat it as a wargame with PCs as leaders or squad-equivalents. I have rules that I keep meaning to post somewhere...

[Malacode]

Hmm... I've used Warhammer Fantasy Battles in this situation, but unless you have $150 on you that you don't really want, that's not a real option. That $150 would only get you the Dread Necro's army anyway.
In D&D rules, I'll have to third Heroes of Battle. There's always doing it statistically, too. Work out the chance of everything (Easier than it seems), open up an excel spreadsheet to do all the maths and insta-outcome. Then again, this isn't really that much fun

[Crow]

Just make the call. Decide in advance how the battle will go down, and as things move along, leave it up to the PC's to change it.

[TooManySecrets]

Ask the player if he honestly wants to run that. If yes, then do it as a seperate session or 3, in combination with the victory points system mentioned above(if you have no access to Heroes of Battle, we can break it down for you, but the book does it better). If he doesn't want to run it, incorperate his army into the larger one, then mention how well the undead army is doing every time you describe the overall battle. If he gets to see his army having an influence on the outcome, if the Hydra is standing in the only open space on the field, enemy units running in fear at it's approach, a trail of dead bodies in it's wake, bones dyed red with blood, he probably won't feel gypped for not having direct control.

No, you see, it's already solo sessions (I'm trying something new in DMing. Everybody starts out solo then they become a group) so I'm not worried about slowing the game down, making other players feel left out, etc. It's also not a matter of him feeling like he's out of direct control. My issue is purely one of efficiency. I've talked with him about, he trusts that if I gloss over something that I'll do it fairly (i.e. no going "Your hydra was destroyed...somehow") but I was just wondering if there was a more time-efficient way of doing it.

In D&D rules, I'll have to third Heroes of Battle. There's always doing it statistically, too. Work out the chance of everything (Easier than it seems), open up an excel spreadsheet to do all the maths and insta-outcome. Then again, this isn't really that much fun

I would probably program it in Python or something like that instead (more control that way) but, yeah, while I (as both GM or Player) have no problem with computer simulation it seems that a lot of people seems that it takes away control (despite the fact that it's statistically the same, or close enough that it doesn't matter).

Just make the call. Decide in advance how the battle will go down, and as things move along, leave it up to the PC's to change it.

That's what I've been doing. For example, when the PC attacked a city with shadows, I knew that he was going to win (everyone else in the world is relatively low-leveled and only the elite guard even had magic weapons, and +1 at that). It's just at some point somebody is going to disagree with my call or the battle is going to be too close to just decide arbitrarily and still be believable or something.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

It's just at some point somebody is going to disagree with my call or the battle is going to be too close to just decide arbitrarily and still be believable or something.

I'd say generally, rule with the PCs in those situations, or as stated, check out Victory Points from HoB.