So my game last week was a disaster. I broke my own rule and regretted it.
My rule, learned from prior failed campaigns, was "thou shalt not abuse NPCs".
Way back when I last DM'ed, I used NPCs in the party a lot. I found ways to insert them in with the party, as guides or whatever. They were really "DM avatars", I wanted to play a character as well as DM. I basically abused NPCs in my game.
I vowed never to do it again. I think it's a lousy thing to do to your players. It's too easy to make that NPC the focus instead of the players, it's too easy to have that NPC save the day or solve the mystery instead of letting the players win or lose on their own merits, and it bogs down combat from your player's viewpoint as you roll more and more dice while they sit on their thumbs and wait their turn.
I've been running this campaign for nearly a year, and I honestly think I've been doing a decent job and my players are enjoying it. Last session, the party needed to cross an environmentally hostile land. I had two scenarios prepped: one if they travelled the land on their own, and another if they decided to hook up with a caravan. They decided to wait for a caravan. I gave them one, and spent 1/2 an hour or more describing all the wagons and having them role-play meeting the key NPCs and stuff. This must have been boring for the players, it was way too much and took way too much time.
Then there was a central, set-piece battle, and I spent half the combat rolling dice for NPCs. To make matters worse, the "big battle" I had prepped ended up being a cakewalk. I built the combat to challenge thr PCs, not the players plus NPCs. So the encounter was basicaly 1/2 the strength it should have been for the number of PCs and allies. Way too easy and way too pointless.
Now I not only have to extricate my campaign from this mess (I am going to cut the "crossing the desert" section way down and get things back in track), but I feel I should apologize to all the players for a crappy session.
Ugh, what in the world was I thinking.
Why not allocate some of the NPCs to each player - have the players as 'leaders' as it were, each with a small team. Then the players roll all the 'good guy' dice.
The difficulty is a different issue - couldn't you throw in some extra challenge when you realised the situation would call for it?
If I had a nickel for every time I did something I know I shouldn't do, I'd be rich. Then poor, since I'd gamble it all away even though I know I shouldn't.
Recognize the problem, set about correcting it in the future, and don't sweat it. From the players' perspective, it might not have even been that bad. If you're not sure, ask them what they thought and how it can be improved.
One crappy session a failed campaign does not make. I think you're being too hard on yourself. Learn from the mistake (if indeed it was a mistake - did you ask your players what they thought?) and don't do it again, or modify the way you use NPCs so that they are plot drivers but leaving the spotlight to the PCs.
I try to think of mistakes as opportunities to become a better DM. There’s nothing wrong with apologizing and moving on.
In situations where the PCs are in a big battle with NPCs on their side, I generally put whatever the NPCs are doing in the background. They’re off fighting other enemies, while the PCs concentrate on the real encounter.
Won't help you now. But for future scenario's.
I usually do this:
*Lay out battlefield around the single caravan cart the PC's are in and ask players to put their minuatures in the cart and roll initiative. The battlefield map also includes the back of the cart in front and the front of the cart in back.*
"The caravan is beset from all sides by bad guys." *I place the bad guys on the battlefield* "You only have eyes for your immediate surroundings as it offer enough targets to pummel, not noting a lot more enemies that are not on this battlefield map but they are off fighting the other caravan guards."
*let players take their turn* *let monsters take their turn but also narate the larger battle raging around the player party in a small sentence or two*.
At the beginning of the second round I mention "If you want you can from this point on dedicate ranged attacks to off-map enemies; just announce that you fire on an off-map enemy and tell me your attack and damage." Just narate the results of the attack on some hypotetical enemy. Also narate the fact that the off-map allies are clearly thankfull for the help.
During the third and further rounds I roll a 1d4 or even 1d6 on higher levels after the enemies turn and mention "you see a cluster of x enemies standing in close proximity to each other off-map." (usually the wizards or other AoA people will light up and take the oppertunity to do some massive damage off-map if they lack AoA targets on-map, just let them have this moment to shine since it won't influence the "real combat").
The more damage they spend helping people "off-map" the less allies will lay dead after the figthing. They could gain some extra rewards from the people they have saved.
As soon as the players defeat the main battle the rest of the baddies run away and you can narate a chase scené if appropriate.
This is usually how I run "Massive combats" and as soon as my players where used to my style they adapted to it and asked for more options to interact with off-map narration. Once they asked the two melee fighters to act defensivly as not to attract attention and all the ranged people did was fire off-map. Eventually the enemy "noticed" their tactic and I spawned more enemies to force them to deal with the danger at hand. After that battle I awarded all the PC's a medal for "going-beyond-the-call-of-duty"... one of them posthumously. It was glorius.
- You can introduce fresh enemies entering the map in these types of scenario's. I usually let them come in "waves" and I make sure to introduce the next wave just before the last wave is fully destroyed.
- You can introduce "arrow volleys" (low level) or "dragon fly-by attacks" (high level) in between "waves", dealing damage to everything on the map that is not in cover.
- You can allow for charisma based skill checks to either taunt extra enemies unto the map (effectivly "dealing damage" to the enemy force akin to firing off-map)
... or intimidate them off the map towards allies (effectivly "subtracting damage" to the enemy force).
- You can allow for charisma based skill checks to influence/command/inspire allies off map (dealing "damage")
- You can allow for perception checks that give information about how the battle is going (How many rounds until the next "wave", and from what direction are they comming from? A single round warning before a "arrow volley". A chance to shout a warning to some ally about some enemy sneaking up on them.)
- You can allow ranged healing to effect off-map allies (effectivly "dealing damage" to the enemy force akin to firing off-map).
- Animal familiars and other "minor allies" can act as messengers between high command and the party, giving vital information both to and from the party (like the timing of allied arrow volleys).
If you absolutly have to introduce extra allies on the map to flesh out the immediate battlefield around the party do the following:
- Let them act all on the same initiative (they are usually drilled soldiers anyway).
- Keep it to one type of ally at the same time.
- Don't roll attacks. Instead roughly determine what their chance of hitting an enemy is roughly and narate roughly that percentage of them hitting roughly and the rest of them missing. Just pick speudo randomly and don't think strategically about it. Did I mention it is ok if this is done roughly?
- Don't roll damage. Allies do a specific amount of damage to enemies.
- Don't roll attacks against them. Again determine beforehand and rougly estimate.
- Don't roll damage against them. Again the enemy does a specefic amount of damage to them every time. (I usually just give allies 1 or 2 hp. And enemies do 1 damage per attack if they hit them).
- Sometimes allies just run away or spot an enemy off-map that they run towards. Use this to get rid of them when they are in the way.
- Sometimes allies are in shock and don't do anything because they are frightened. Use this to skip their turn if they bog down combat. (might even need a persuasion check from a player to keep fighting).
- Let allies listen to the orders of the awsome heroes figthing beside them. Especially the charismatic ones. This includes orders like "Go help somewhere else. We can handle these". (This sends the allies off-map, again increasing damage dealt to the off-map enemy force).
- When the players seem to enjoy interacting with these nameless red shirts than (and only than) you can introduce some personality into them and flesh one or two out during the combat. "This soldier suddenly seems to be overcome by fury and hurls itself onto the gaints back, effectivly climbing it." Next round "the soldier climbing the gaints back is now standing on it's head, desperatly clinging to it's hair." Next round "The soldier stabs at one of the gaints eye, blinding it on one side but than suddenly falls from the gaints head as it whirls it's body side to side in pain." (lets hope one of the players prepared feather fall or can make an ahtletics check to catch the falling hero and save it from massive falling damage). Or something completly random that has no gameplay effect at all like "A stray off-map arrow comes hurling towards <PC wizard> but this soldier jumps in front of you and catches the arrow on her shield. She nods to you as she turns her attention to the enemy onces more."
Emphasize the chaos of battle by doing things like this:
- An enemy wanders onto the edge of the battlefield only to be shot down the same round by attacks that also come from outside the battlefield. Don't actually roll the attacks or damage just determine that this happens. If the players actually kill this enemy on the edge of the map before he is peppered ot death, they gain extra "off-map" damage bonus points.
- Some enemies randomly decide to walk off the map. Some other enemies randomly join the map from the other side next round (use the same statistics and HP values. These guys are allready wounded from figthing something else, technically speaking they are the exact same enemies and they just teleported to the other side of the map, but narativly speaking it's different).
- A siege tower collapses and changes the stragetic battlefield completly by adding burning wooden wreckage here and there.
- An allied cleric walks into the map, heals some PC's, hands out some spells scrolls to the people low on spell slots and than ventures onwards (especially effective in between "waves").
- If an enemy dies, leave his token on the battlefield. If two dead or unconsious bodies occupy the same square, that is now "difficult terain".
- The PC's recieve orders to "relocate". Let them fight to the edge of the map and let them enter a new map, complete with allies and enemies allready in combat and a reason for beeing ordered to go there (a VIP ally that needs extraction, a battlefield ritual that needs to be finished/stopped, a balista that needs to be taken out/protected/manned! etc.)
You sound like you are being your own worse critic. You don't sound certain when you say:
"This must have been boring for the players, it was way too much and took way too much time."
It doesn't sound like this was a sentiment that was expressed by your players. It possible that you're being overly critical of yourself over a problem that doesn't actually exist. The good news is the players don't know that it was suppose to be a challenging battle unless you suggested it should have been.
Don't treat it as a failure just yet. The PCs are likely to be feeling pretty safe which gives you the perfect opportunity to yank the rug out from under them. In the end, you could come out of it with the appearance that the pace was intentionally slowed all as a set up your big moment. 