Warbands with Spells?

[u/DianWhey]

How do you run a warband that has spell casting?

Like a cultist warband would have

Hp:32 Lvl:4 Longsword +1 (3d8) .

But does the Deathtouch spell become (6d4) or does it stay the same and can only be used on unique beings. I didnt see anywhere thatd clarify spells for warbands.

[u/grumblyoldman]

Personally, I would keep the spells as normal, but allow up to 3 spell casts per round from the warband, each one deducting 1d8 damage from the longsword attack, if any, being made.

I can understand if that's too complex for some people's taste. I like it because it maximizes the chaos of spellcasting at warband scale. If there's a 5% chance of any solo spellcaster blowing himself up with mishaps, then spellcasting warbands are an... interesting tactical choice... for leaders to think about.

[u/DianWhey → u/grumblyoldman]

Thats a good solution.  As I was thinking about it though I liked the imagery of like 20 robed cultist all channeling their magic to blast a block of pikemen or men-at-arms.

[u/RhydurMeith]

Wouldn't you have to make spell casting checks? Would you do this as a unit or individually? If the warband attacks as a unit, a unit spell casting check would seem to follow the same logic.

[u/DianWhey → u/RhydurMeith]

I'd probably use it as a single action of the warband. Have nearly 20 extra castings is too much extra work for me

[u/ExchangeWide]

This is pretty much how I’ve already been handling mass combat in Shadowdark and in other games.

So this is what I’d do here:
I’d read Deathtouch as 6d4.
The warband rules say to retain the creature’s original talents and then triple its damage. A cultist’s Deathtouch is part of its original stat block and deals 2d4 damage, so tripling that to 6d4 seems like the most straightforward reading.

I’d also treat spells at warband scale. A warband is already an abstraction of a group of similar combatants acting as one creature, so if the whole unit casts the same spell, I’d have the effect apply to the target warband as a whole.

So a cultist warband casting Deathtouch deals 6d4. A mage warband casting Invisibility becomes invisible. A paralysis spell can paralyze the targeted warband. Buffs affect the whole unit. Movement magic moves the unit. That keeps the abstraction intact instead of suddenly making you track twenty individual spellcasters.

The book doesn’t specifically spell out how spellcasting warbands work, so this is still an interpretation, but it feels very consistent with the rest of the warband rules.

[u/dphamler → u/ExchangeWide]

This plus maybe adding 1 or 2 to their Spellcasting bonus seems like the best way to go

[u/Beneficial-Oil-662]

I would caution for some spells to just keep total HP in mindAnd general SD balance!

If getting to north of 8 damage die from a single attack/spell I would advise breaking that attack/spell up into multiple rolls or just “forcing” myself to divide the damage between multiple unique beings.

[u/FairCrumbBum]

I would add to the existing discourse by saying spells cast by Warbands can't apply to unique units that are in a warband, unless they have a skill that allows them to use damage dice on unique beings. Rabble have it in the player's guide, they have Burn the Witch which allows them to target unique units in Warbands. Of course nothing is stopping them from using a spell once the unique units are left behind after a rout. You can imagine a crowd of these cultists using Deathtouch would maim a PC of most levels.

[u/scarcely20characters]

I would do the 6d4, and describe it as a group cast - they have choreography!

[u/King_of_the_Hobos]

I asked Kelsey and she said she would triple the damage or triple the healing. For single target buffs, I would triple the targets