I seem to remember a fairly recent adventure that featured a mob of shadows (using the mob template from DMGII. Can anyone point me toward the issue?) Many thanks!
Or maybe it was a mob of allips?
I'm desperately seeking an example of an incorporeal mob for er, research purposes.
Jason Nelson-Brown's "Man Forever" (#137) has a mob of allips. It had some other good ideas, too, but as a whole the execution was weak; my group got so sick of it halfway through that we had to put it away.
Yes! That is it.
An interesting note: the allip horde follows the rules for mobs in the DMGII, except for its CR (11) and that its Strength drain seems to have been increased from 1d4 Wis to 2d6 Wis (the size difference between Medium and Gargantuan damage). Both differences seem like logical deviations from the DMGII rules, though.
Both differences seem like logical deviations from the DMGII rules, though.
I agree. And I liked his "fake vampire" hook a lot, and the ettin dire-werebats. But man, that adventure just DRAGGED once the PCs hit the hag encampent.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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Yes! That is it.
An interesting note: the allip horde follows the rules for mobs in the DMGII, except for its CR (11) and that its Strength drain seems to have been increased from 1d4 Wis to 2d6 Wis (the size difference between Medium and Gargantuan damage). Both differences seem like logical deviations from the DMGII rules, though.
I really hate the mob mechanics in general, due to several oddities they give monsters. For example, a mob of Com1 has more hp than the consituent commoners do. And takes LESS fireball damage. But with undead, it's particularly obnoxious in terms of how the mechanics break down. An example - cleric should absolutely be able to turn the members of the mob, as it doesn't follow that a bunch ghouls should be more or less immune to turning. Another - why exactly do the undead disperse and become harmless when you've "killed" the mob? It's not like they can become demoralized like living things can.
Too that end, mobs just don't fit some monsters. Mob of dragons? You're 'aving a laff!
While I understand that there are some issues with mobs and how they work, and not everyone will like them, in all honesty, it doesn't matter how many hit points they have, as hit points are an abstract term. A "real" human, weather a peasant or a seasoned warrior, can both die if a sword gets shoved through their heart. The point of mobs, at least as I see them, is to show that a large mass of creatures, even "low level" ones, should still be able to harm a high level character.
As far as undead and clerics go, I can easily see that if undead are all close to one another and focused on attacking, this might bolster them to the point to where a cleric couldn't turn them.
As to what would actually create a mob, well, I think that there should be a good roleplaying element to explain what has whipped up the group into a frenzy. Undead might instinctively swarm around an artifact of evil because of its nature, and a band of disorganized orc raiders fleeing from a more powerful military force over the hill would probably be good excuses for a mob, and a stampede of horses is a perfect excuse for a mob as well.
While I don't think in many cases undead become demoralized, I do think that a large number of them being destroyed would cause them to have less of a blood frenzy to kill a given opponent, thus breaking up the mob.
Overall, the mechanics may not be perfect, but I like the option to at least make a band of orcs or goblins or even ghouls more dangerous to PCs at higher level.