To really test my revised mass combat rules out, I thought I might build a couple army lists. The first army list will be humans. The other will be goblins (of course).
Building an army with the mass combat rules is as simple as the two army commanders (two players, or a DM and the players) choosing a point budget to build their armies with and then purchasing units with that budget. The units point costs are equal to their challenge experience rewards.
Design Notes
More changes made. I decided to drop the bludgeoning/piercing/slashing swarm-like resistances. Fortunately, this makes calculating CRs way easier, too.
I think now I’ve got a pretty solid idea of how most “normal” creatures work.
Errata: I changed the rules a little more when I did the undead army. I’ve adjusted this one to match those changes. I also cut the size of Large units in half and corrected the abilities to represent that. The CRs were just too high and it didn’t feel right.
Bugbear Unit
Huge unit of Medium humanoids (goblinoid), chaotic evil
Armor Class 16 (hide armor, shields)
Hit Points 270
Speed 30 ft.
Abilities Str 23 (+6), Dex 14 (+2), Con 13 (+1), Int 8 (-1), Wis 11 (+0), Cha 9 (-1)
Skills Stealth +12, Survival +5
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned
Senses passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Goblin
Challenge 16 (15,000 XP)
Chaotic Unit. The unit makes morale checks with disadvantage, and friendly creatures have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion and Intimidation) checks to stop the unit from fleeing.
Surprise Attack. If the unit surprises a creature and hits it with an attack during the first round of combat, the target takes an extra 70 (20d6) damage from the attack; if the unit has half its hit points or fewer, the target instead takes an extra 35 (10d6) damage from the attack.
Unit. The unit can occupy the space of a Medium or smaller creature and vice versa, and the unit can move through any opening large enough for a Medium goblin. Spells and attacks that affect an area deal triple damage to the unit if the area of effect completely encloses the unit. The unit can’t regain hit points or gain temporary hit points. The unit has advantage on attacks against creatures in the same space as it.
Unit Actions
Morningstars. Melee Weapon Attacks: +11 to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. Hit: 96 (20d8 + 6) piercing damage, or half as much damage if the unit misses. If the unit has half its hit points or fewer, it instead deals 51 (10d8 + 6) piercing damage on a hit and no damage on a miss.
Javelins. Melee Weapon Attacks: +11 to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. Hit: 76 (20d6 + 6) piercing damage, or half as much damage if the unit misses. If the unit has half its hit points or fewer, it instead deals 41 (10d6 + 6) piercing damage on a hit and no damage on a miss.
Javelin Volley. The unit targets a point that it can see within 120 feet of it. Each creature in a 15-foot cube centered on that point must make a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take 76 (20d6 + 6) piercing damage on a failed saving throw, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the unit has half its hit points or fewer, the target instead takes 41 (20d6 + 6) piercing damage on a failed saving throw, and no damage on a successful one.
Goblin Unit
Huge unit of Small humanoids (goblinoids), neutral evil
Armor Class 15 (leather armor, shields)
Hit Points 70
Speed 30 ft.
Abilities Str 16 (+3), Dex 14 (+2), Con 10 (+0), Int (+0), Wis 8 (-1), Cha 8 (-1)
Skills Stealth +6
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned
Senses passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Goblin
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
Hit-and-Run. The unit does not provoke attacks of opportunity when it moves out of another creature’s reach.
Unit. The unit can occupy the space of a Medium or smaller creature and vice versa, and the unit can move through any opening large enough for a Medium goblin. Spells and attacks that affect an area deal triple damage to the unit if the area of effect completely encloses the unit. The unit can’t regain hit points or gain temporary hit points. The unit has advantage on attacks against creatures in the same space as it.
Unit Actions
Scimitars. Melee Weapon Attacks: +6 to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. Hit: 38 (10d6 + 3) slashing damage, or half as much damage if the unit misses. If the unit has half its hit points or fewer, it instead deals 20 (5d6 + 3) slashing damage on a hit and no damage on a miss.
Shortbows. The unit targets a point that it can see within 120 feet of it. Each creature in a 15-foot cube centered on that point must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 37 (10d6 + 2) piercing damage on a failed saving throw, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the unit has half its hit points or fewer, the target instead takes 19 (5d6 + 2) piercing damage on a failed saving throw, and no damage on a successful one.
Hobgoblin Unit
Huge unit of Medium humanoids (goblinoids), lawful evil
Armor Class 18 (chain mail, shields)
Hit Points 110
Speed 30 ft.
Abilities Str 21 (+5), Dex 12 (+1), Con 12 (+1), Int 10 (+0), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 9 (-1)
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Goblin
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Lawful Unit. The unit makes morale checks with advantage, and friendly creatures have advantage on Charisma (Persuasion and Intimidation) checks to stop the unit from fleeing.
Unit. The unit can occupy the space of a Medium or smaller creature and vice versa, and the unit can move through any opening large enough for a Medium hobgoblin. Spells and attacks that affect an area deal triple damage to the unit if the area of effect completely encloses the unit. The unit can’t regain hit points or gain temporary hit points. The unit has advantage on attacks against creatures in the same space as it.
Unit Actions
Longswords. Melee Weapon Attacks: +9 to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. Hit: 95 (20d8 + 5) slashing damage or 115 (20d10 + 5) slashing damage when wielded with two hands, or half as much damage if the unit misses. If the unit has half its hit points or fewer, it instead deals 50 (10d8 + 5) slashing damage or 60 (10d10 + 5) when wielded with two hands on a hit and no damage on a miss.
Longbows. The unit targets a point that it can see within 120 feet of it. Each creature in a 15-foot cube centered on that point must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 46 (10d8 + 1) piercing damage on a failed saving throw, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the unit has half its hit points or fewer, the target instead takes 23 (5d8 + 1) piercing damage on a failed saving throw, and no damage on a successful one
Goblin Worg Riders
Gargantuan unit of Small humanoids (human) on Large monstrosities, neutral evil
Armor Class 15 (leather armor, shields)
Hit Points 198
Speed 50 ft.
Abilities Str 24 (+7), Dex 14 (+2), Con 13 (+1), Int 7 (-2), Wis 11 (+0), Cha 8 (-1)
Skills Perception +8
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned
Senses passive Perception 18
Languages Common, Goblin
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Hit-and-Run. The unit does not provoke attack of opportunities when it moves out of another creature’s reach.
Keen Hearing and Smell. The unit has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Mounted Combatants. The worg riders have advantage on attacks against Large or smaller creatures.
Unit. The unit can occupy the space of a Large or smaller creature and vice versa, and the unit can move through any opening large enough for a Large worg. Spells and attacks that affect an area deal double damage to the unit if the area of effect completely encloses the unit and the unit has half its hit points or more. The unit can’t regain hit points or gain temporary hit points. The unit has advantage on attacks against creatures in the same space as it.
Unit Actions
Multiattack. The goblin worg riders make two attacks: one with its bites and one with its scimitars.
Bites. Melee Weapon Attacks: +11 to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. Hit: 49 (12d6 + 7) piercing damage. If the unit has half its hit points or fewer, it instead deals 28 (6d6 + 7) piercing damage on a hit.
Scimitars. Melee Weapon Attacks: +11 to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. Hit: 28 (6d6 + 7) piercing damage, or half as much damage if the unit misses. If the unit has half its hit points or fewer, it instead deals 17 (3d6 + 7) piercing damage on a hit and no damage on a miss.
Ogre Unit
Gargantuan unit of Large giants, chaotic evil
Armor Class 11 (hide armor)
Hit Points 354
Speed 40 ft.
Abilities Str 27 (+8), Dex 8 (-1), Con 16 (+3), Int 5 (-3), Wis 7 (-2), Cha 7 (-2)
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 8
Languages Common, Giant
Challenge 13 (10,000 XP)
Chaotic Unit. The unit makes morale checks with disadvantage, and friendly creatures have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion and Intimidation) checks to stop the unit from fleeing.
Unit. The unit can occupy the space of a Large or smaller creature and vice versa, and the unit can move through any opening large enough for a Large ogre. Spells and attacks that affect an area deal double damage to the unit if the area of effect completely encloses the unit and the unit has half its hit points or more. The unit can’t regain hit points or gain temporary hit points. The unit has advantage on attacks against creatures in the same space as it.
Unit Actions
Greatclubs. Melee Weapon Attacks: +13 to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. Hit: 61 (12d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage. If the unit has half its hit points or fewer, it instead deals 34 (6d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage.
Javelins. Melee Weapon Attacks: +13 to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. Hit: 49 (12d6 + 7) piercing damage. If the unit has half its hit points or fewer, it instead deals 28 (6d6 + 7) piercing damage.
Javelin Volley. The unit targets a point that it can see within 120 feet of it. Each creature in a 20-foot cube centered on that point must make a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw or take 49 (12d6 + 7) piercing damage on a failed saving throw. If the unit has half its hit points or fewer, the target instead takes 28 (6d6 + 7) piercing damage on a failed saving throw.
Next: undead armies
That moment when, somehow, a pack of midgets on strange dogs is almost as strong as an army of lesser giant-kin.
CR calculations can be hillarious.