House Rules: Mobs and Troop Templates, Exotic Locations: Celestial Empire

Update for House Rules here.

I've always felt that D&D completely underwrites 'the power of the people' as it were. These are official rules of course, but they are new and obscure. Most players are used to smashing groups of low level creatures to pieces, the aforementioned "Field of goblins" as it were.

I think large groups of people and military units should generally trump small groups of adventurers, as it were. These rules allow the effective massing of firepower and demonstrate the effectiveness of a mass that is greater than the sum of it's parts.

Some may argue, that these rules go against D&D's grain of fantasy and the idea of one person trumping others. I think that it enchances the fantasy. The idea of the baker and the blacksmith taking up arms and revolting against the king's troops is as much a fantasy as a flying wizard. Historically, most peasant revolts were brutally crushed by armed fighting men. The truth is those highly trained knights and footmen really were capable of dominating foes that sorely outnumbered them. Today's troops are only trained and in service from their 20's for a few years. Back in medieval times, fighting men were raised from birth and did service until they were died or otherwise rendered unable.

Situations like 'Zulu' arose because British conscripts were fighting against warrior class men who had been hunting and killing for their entire lives.

Exotic Locations
I've added Exotic Locations for the Celestial Empire. Details are on the Well of Souls and the Lizard Folk Tribes.