I figure they would be weak (maybe 5 or 6 HD max), have no attacks, and give no xp (as good guys aren't supposed to kill civilians). The reason I ask is for things like the PCs and bad guys having a fight in a crowded town square or the like. This adds an extra challenge as the PCs can't use stuff like fireball as they (if they aren't evil) don't want to kill innocent people, whereas the bad guys have no qualms about this and will use AoE spells freely.
Probably just take an average citizen and apply the troop template with the rabble modification. Having them to do no damage I think would make their inclusion less interesting as they would just get ignored by both sides. If they aren't aligned with the heroes or villains then I would apply a permanent confusion effect on them. In this way it's random what they do. Now, the villains are more likely include civilians in AoE attacks as they are a nuisance, while the heroes will want to stay away to keep from getting attacked randomly. The damage being dealt is less the result of an intentional effort for the citizens to do harm. As it is the result from being pushed and/or trampled by a large group of panicked people.
The non-combatants would have to be trapped in some manner or oblivious to the combat for them to continue to pose as an obstacle for more than a round or two though. IRL if you were in a mall during holiday shopping and two customers suddenly broke out into a knife fight, an open area would form around said fight, with a densely packed crowd at its edge. As much as a shopper might want to get to a store on the other side of the ring they aren't going to risk getting stabbed to do it. Even if fights like this were common.
I wouldn't. The troop subtype is supposed to represent an organized group of trained soldiers, not a disorganized collection of noncombatants. Instead, I'd start with the crowd rules from the GameMastery Guide and adjust to taste.
I wouldn't. The troop subtype is supposed to represent an organized group of trained soldiers, not a disorganized collection of noncombatants. Instead, I'd start with the crowd rules from the GameMastery Guide and adjust to taste.
What page are the crowd rules on? I can't find
Not sure what page. The old PRD for it is here. (Huh, apparently I misremembered and it was in the Core Rulebook.)
I wonder if Ultimate Intrigue had anything useful on the subject? I've only read the classes and archetypes section so far.
Ok, I guess that would work. One thing I don't see though is if a villain shot a spell at the crowd how do you decide how many people die? I'm thinking give it a pool of HP and rule that, say, every 5 points of damage means one person dying, but I'm not sure how much Hp would be reasonable.
How would you make a troop of civilians / noncombatants?
With requisite levels of Monty Pythonesque banter.