Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Greyfell 01-15-06, 04:43 PM	inspired by the 'resisting a siege' thread on this sub forum, I'm debating sending my own party on a sidequest where they'll have to fight a sort of "Helms Deep" battle in game. (Party is the following: elf wizard, HUman druid, a dwarf cleric, half orc monk and a dwarf fighter) What to do you folks think is a decent level to have the party at to defend a minor fort against a storming the walls type attack by goblinoids? I'm thinking several hundred humanoids versus the party and maybe a a handful (20-30) warrior 1's. The fort will be a celtic style wood/earth hill fort, to make it harder to defend. The enemy will be mounting a hasty attack, and not terribly organized, o there won't be a great deal of siege technology but they will have some shaman/adept caster types to help even it up. The idea is for the party to hold the fort which seals a strategic mountain pass while the militia/army are called up behind them and mobilized. The goblinoids are a first wave of fast marching/riding warriors trying to keep the main armies path open ahead of them. On the other hand, if I want the party to have to use magic to build the fort/defenses from scratch in only a few days, what level do you suggest?
Type2Demon 01-15-06, 09:12 PM	What you describe is an Alamo style last stand. Will the players have extra soldiers helping them, or are they on their own? Your players should only have to withstand a certain number of assaults before the friendly army gets there to turn the tide of battle. Watch movies like the Alamo or Zulu for ideas. Study the rules for Cover, Traps and special conditions like smoke or getting set on fire. If it is just the characters doing a heroic last stand against a 200 strong goblin army, then IMO they should be level 5 +. Give them a few days to improvise defenses. (set traps, create decoys, reinforce doors, etc.) When the enemy horde arrives, have then send a small force 20 -30 lesser units to rush the keep and test its defenses. If the party (and allies if any) make a strong show of force, then they gain the enemies respect and the goblins will be more cautious and use probing tactics to find weaknesses in the forts defenses. (thus giving the adventurers time recoop their hit points [10 -15 mins between assaults). If the initial assault appears to be at least partially sucessful, then the goblins throw caution to the wind and have 50% of their force charge the gate. (possibly falling into a trap/ambush set by the adventurers if the players are clever enough to have thought of that.). The adventures win if : A: 50%+ of the attacking force is destroyed. (there by forcing the goblins to wait out a long siege) The Friendly army will arrive in time to route the remaining goblins. B: They hold out for 5 assaults scattered over a 1 day period without losing ground. Then the goblins think that the fort is a tougher target than they originally imagined and they take a few days to scavenge and build siege equipment...giving enough time for the rescuing army to arrive. The adventures only partially win if: A: They destroy 25% of the attacking force before retreating. (The goblins will hole up in the captured fort for a few days to regroup...giving the players and the friendly army to go on the offense and siege the fort.) B: They hold off at least 3 assaults before retreating (Make sure to give them a way to retreat or you may get a TPK.) This will enrage the goblins who will try to pursue the adventures. A smart party will loose them or drag them into the friendly army who will stage an ambush. The adventures loose if: A: They die. TPK (Doh!) B: They can't hold more than 2 assaults. The goblins overrun the place and are able to secure it. The friendly forces are pushed back and must now remain on the defensive. This way the adventurers' actions can effect the course of the war.
Greyfell 01-16-06, 12:58 AM	very nice suggestions, all. I'll keep a sort of 'victory scale' like that in mind.
jazzman831 01-16-06, 01:28 AM	Out of curiosity, how are you planning on doing the mass combat? Is there a system you are going to use, or mostly just RP it. I've always loved the idea of a last-stand kind of battle but the last time I tried doing somehting like that (and at not nearly the scale you are doing; there were like 30 combatants total) it... well, it sucked.
Greyfell 01-16-06, 01:54 AM	As mentioned post 1, the PC's will probably have 20-30 warr-1's with them (soldiers). I'll probably just loosely roleplay how the combat goes if the enemy gets to grips, coming to a acceptable conclusion based on how many goblins and how tough, run into how many soldiers. If the PC's are there, I'll let there actions have major affects in swinging the tide. After all, their heroes and all :)