In my next session I'm planning on running a mass battle involving (mostly) Crab v. (mostly) shadowlands. So those are the factions that I'm most concerned about right now, but if people want to throw in other armies/cohorts it may be nice to have a list available for use as a GM resource.

I have 5 PC's, so I need 5 cohorts per side. On the "Crab" side is going to be a Kuni cohort, A Hida cohort, a crab ashigaru cohort, a Shinjo cohort, and a Daidoji cohort. I plan on using the "Samurai elite army" to represent the crab force, but I'd like to differentiate the Hida, Daidoji, and Ashigaru infantry somewhat. I also don't feel that the normal rules for "mystics" really applies to Kuni that will.. especially as the Kuni would probably be more focused on killing shadowlands in this instance. Finally, I feel like Shinjo cavalry should have some slight advantage over normal cavalry. I'd also kinda like to see ideas for a moto cohort, possibly using moto white guard and/or wardogs.

So with 5 (or six) cohorts on the heroes side, there should also be 5 or 6 shadowlands cohorts. I've already established that the shadowlands forces consist of well-trained goblins and slightly rebellious (but more intelligent) Ogres. This shadowlands force also has the assistance of a bloodspeaker cult and a band of ronin. I'm considering throwing in a band of dark moto and/or some minor oni.

While those are my main concerns at the moment, I'd love to see all the army/cohort ideas people can come up with. I'd like to see this thread become a go-to source for all your mass battle needs.

You can do worse than steal some of the cohorts from the Battle of the Third Watchtower in the beta:

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Teeth-Taker: A brutal and intimidating goblin, Teeth-Taker has earned his name for the trophies he collects after fights. He wears most of them on strings of rope across his body, but some he uses to replace his own long-gone teeth. While strong for a goblin, he does not seem much of a threat to a trained samurai. Nevertheless, those who have underestimated him in the past now adorn his grisly regalia.
Teeth-Taker commands hordes of goblins and is a vicious, clever fighter.

Old Prickly: One of the so-called “goblin shamans,” Old Prickly is a wizened little creature who has remained dangerous despite the years. He has only mastered a few mahō spells, but that is enough to command the respect of his fellow goblins. His troops are mostly goblins but include a few lesser Shadowlands creatures. He also has access to “magic mud,” a flammable paste that he uses to cover some goblins and send them forward as flaming, shrieking living weapons.

Kazuyoshi: Kazuyoshi was also a rōnin, but when he marched south, he didn’t stop at the Wall. Now one of the Lost, he strikes back at Rokugan with all the fury of a man who feels he has been cheated by the Celestial Order. Kazuyoshi is a gifted duelist who still wears the katana of his ancestors in battle. The Shadowlands have made him into a much stronger warrior than he was before, and he commands a mix of Tainted humans and zombies in battle.

Moto Morikazu: One of the fabled Dark Moto, Moto Morikazu is the closest thing to a samurai commander the Shadowlands army has, despite looking like little more than a skeleton in armor. He and his troops ride on onikage, the monstrous steeds of the Shadowlands, and they are some of the only troops equipped with bows. Morikazu would like to make a name for himself by defeating the Crab, but he won’t hesitate to retreat if his un-life is threatened.

Sakae: A mahō-tsukai and oni summoner, Sakae lacks physical strength but has tremendous spiritual power. A commoner born with the ability to hear the kami, she was seduced by kansen with promises of power. Her troops are a mix of weak oni and other Shadowlands creatures, such as Trolls and ogres.

Cohorts of skeletal bushi would form a nice 'elite infantry' equivalent. Their functional immunity to mundane weapons thanks to Does Not Bleed means they're at least as scary a foe as mortal bushi.

Some bestial oni would form interesting creatures. If you want to scare the heck out of the PCs, Living Cannons might be interesting.

those are some pretty interesting concepts. I actually have an old Clan War book around and might modify some abilities from that as cohort abilities.. the only issue is that I've only run 1 mass battle so far, so I have no idea what's really appropriate as far as power level.

15 hours ago, Black_Rabbit_Inle said:

those are some pretty interesting concepts. I actually have an old Clan War book around and might modify some abilities from that as cohort abilities.. the only issue is that I've only run 1 mass battle so far, so I have no idea what's really appropriate as far as power level.

honestly massed battles are a scene type which could do with fleshing out most. I'd just stick with the generic army abilities. I can't think of too many classes of unit which don't fall into one or other pidgeonholes.

Note that the Cohort Abilities are a subset of the Army Ability Elite Training - i.e. Shadowlands don't normally get it but get relentless and monstrous enemies instead - their most effective way to win is pretty much to let panic and battle fatigue overwhelm an enemy rather than trying to break their army strength.

yeah. I was really disappointed that the shadowlands book didn't go into more, at least in relation to fighting the shadowlands and defending the wall. The way FFG seems to be doing their books though, I imagine there's a Warfare/ Lion centric book on the horizon.