I'm thinking of taking a leaf out of 4E D&D and respeccing the bog-standard hobgoblin troops as "minions", meaning they have all the skills, attack bonuses, etc. that are listed in their stats, but only 1 hit point.
The reasoning is that it's simply fun and cinematic for PCs to wade through the bad guys, dropping them with single sword strokes and arrows.
Now, the issue is that of course, this means they'll be worth less in terms of XP and challenge. I was thinking of using maybe twice or even three times the number of Ironfang Recruits in any encounter which uses them...does that sound reasonable?
(Incidentally, I don't use awarded XP - we just level up at the appropriate times)
This may be what you're looking for.
Ah, thanks for the heads-up. Will check it out.
just have the masses fight as skirmish groups, then narrate as players hack through 5 or 6 hobgoblins around.
It also keeps them a challenge due to their skirmish abilities