NPC Sacrifice in Big Battles

Epic battles with many NPC allies

Sometimes we want to run a big combat where the characters gather all their allies in one epic brawl. Think the battle of Hogwarts, or the battle at the Black Gate. But how do we run a combat with so many NPCs in our D&D game?

Previously, we introduced the idea of Ally Actions. But there’s an even simpler method which originates with Mike “Slyflourish” Shea: the NPC sacrifice. Instead of running each NPC as a combatant with a stat block, HP, and a turn, we treat them as a resource for the characters. In important situations, players can “use” an NPC to better their chances of success. If they do so, however, there’s a chance the NPC dies in the process of helping.

Using NPC sacrifice

Here’s how it works. We come up with a list of NPC allies of the characters which are part of the battle. During the combat, once per turn when they roll a d20 or force a saving throw, a character can choose to have an ally NPC help them, or hinder an enemy. When they do so, they apply a bonus to the roll, or subtract a penalty from an enemy’s saving throw. Usually, the bonus/penalty is a +4/-4.

Once the bonus/penalty is applied, we roll a d20. If the roll is an 11 or higher, the NPC is fine. If it’s a 10 or lower, the NPC dies.

We can tie this into the drama of the combat by describing the heroic sacrifice of the NPC. For example, the ally leaps across the chasm to grapple the evil necromancer, giving the ranger an opening to land their arrow. But then, the necromancer falls into the chasm, taking the ally with them towards their death.

Variant: Scaling NPC bonuses

Some NPCs are stronger than others. We can reflect this fact by scaling the bonus/penalty of an NPC sacrifice according to the power level of that NPC. Khemed, the human foot soldier grants a +/-3, Reidoth the druid gives a +/-4, while Uthor the storm giant grants a whopping +/-5. Each of them has to roll their d20 of death after a player invokes their help. So players are inclined to use the lower-powered NPCs early in a battle, and bring out the big guns when it really matters. This adds to a satisfying arc of tension in which the important NPCs jump in to help the characters at the most crucial moments.

Describing epic large-scale battles

Even when players aren’t using a NPC sacrifice each round, we can create the atmosphere of a large, epic battle through description. Instead of running every NPC with a separate turn, they each are part of the ambient battle scenery around the characters. The characters as protagonists fight their own combat within the larger battle, and call on NPC allies to help them in important moments.

Meanwhile, we can pick one or two NPCs each round and describe how they’re fighting around the characters. For example, “You see Uthor the storm giant cleaving through hordes of undead while Reidoth the druid is healing the giant warrior’s wounds. But then your eyes focus on the half-dragon honor guard of Iymrith who are surrounding you, bloody swords drawn.” We can do this at the beginning of every round. Describe what one or two NPCs are doing, then focus back on the immediate enemies of the characters.

By describing how NPCs are part of the ambient battle scenery around the characters, and using Ally Actions or NPC sacrifice to showcase individual NPCs supporting the characters, we can run epic, large-scale battles smoothly, effectively, and cinematically.