An army for the PC's? [Archive] - Wizards Community

An army for the PC's? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
The_Puppetmaster
06-14-06, 02:37 PM Hello all. My Pc's have been hinting at the idea that they would like to see a "horde of enemies filling up the map" in one of my campaigns.

I have ideas for the next campaign I'm going to run, and I'm writing it around the party being chased by a country's military, while they themselves are persuing the real culprit. I would like to have an encounter perhaps, where a good portion of the military steps in to "attempt" to put an end to this chase.

Problem is, I've never balanced how strong each soldier / commander would have to be in order to give my pc's a chance.

My players are all around level 12-14.
I have 6 Players: Paladin, Druid (inexperienced), Ranger, Ninja, Fighter (very headstrong), and a Psion.

I want to really challenge them here, and give them a sense of, "oh crap, we have to give up, or fight this army?!", feeling, like they seem to want.

How many soldiers, commanders, and/or maybe a hero or two should I make in this encounter, and how strong should they be as to really challenge the party, but not have them have no chance of survival?

Thanks!
OravennasBrother
06-14-06, 02:53 PM Once the party starts Fighting against troops sent to bring them in (ie innocents just trynig to do their lawful job) the Paladin is going to lose his status pretty quick.
Abyond that, it is the sort of encounter where you should NOT worry about making it survivable for the party if they Choose to fight.
Do you worry they might jump into an active volcano when designing an aventure? Right, so this army is the same thing - no sane CHARACTER would attack them.
For numbers etc, try the Kings elite cavalry - around 200 troops, all with elite array, all minimum of 3rd level all full BAB classes (125 to 150 Warriors, others are PC classes)- a fair number of leaders of levels 7-9 and one court appointed Wizard/priest of level 12 (or higher) for guidance about magic. They should have horses and the King's writ (which allows hem easier access to remounts etc.)
If the party fights, let them know beforehand that IF they win they are wanted criminals forever after in that kingdom - even if they are guilty of no other crime than fighting against the King's troops, that act alone is High Treason and punishable by death. Then, if they still insist on fighting, pull no punches - try to TPK the party - because that is what the troops ARE trying to do.
Lincoln Hills
06-14-06, 05:38 PM Just give them a heads-up. "Your characters have plenty of experience. They can tell that fighting a group this large would probably cost you a couple of casualties, maybe even doom you all - not to mention taking a long time and wasting spells. You're better off figuring out how to dodge them and getting back on the trail of your real enemy."

(Avoiding the army successfully, by the way, should be 'overcoming a challenge' and they'd receive XP commensurate with the difficulty. I don't know how many XP: there's a difference between the DC of a hundred Warrior-2 soldiers with their mighty Listen and Spot of +0, and the DC of a unit including mages with see invisibility and a team of Ranger 6s with trained tracking hounds...)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
The_Puppetmaster 06-14-06, 02:37 PM	Hello all. My Pc's have been hinting at the idea that they would like to see a "horde of enemies filling up the map" in one of my campaigns. I have ideas for the next campaign I'm going to run, and I'm writing it around the party being chased by a country's military, while they themselves are persuing the real culprit. I would like to have an encounter perhaps, where a good portion of the military steps in to "attempt" to put an end to this chase. Problem is, I've never balanced how strong each soldier / commander would have to be in order to give my pc's a chance. My players are all around level 12-14. I have 6 Players: Paladin, Druid (inexperienced), Ranger, Ninja, Fighter (very headstrong), and a Psion. I want to really challenge them here, and give them a sense of, "oh crap, we have to give up, or fight this army?!", feeling, like they seem to want. How many soldiers, commanders, and/or maybe a hero or two should I make in this encounter, and how strong should they be as to really challenge the party, but not have them have no chance of survival? Thanks!
OravennasBrother 06-14-06, 02:53 PM	Once the party starts Fighting against troops sent to bring them in (ie innocents just trynig to do their lawful job) the Paladin is going to lose his status pretty quick. Abyond that, it is the sort of encounter where you should NOT worry about making it survivable for the party if they Choose to fight. Do you worry they might jump into an active volcano when designing an aventure? Right, so this army is the same thing - no sane CHARACTER would attack them. For numbers etc, try the Kings elite cavalry - around 200 troops, all with elite array, all minimum of 3rd level all full BAB classes (125 to 150 Warriors, others are PC classes)- a fair number of leaders of levels 7-9 and one court appointed Wizard/priest of level 12 (or higher) for guidance about magic. They should have horses and the King's writ (which allows hem easier access to remounts etc.) If the party fights, let them know beforehand that IF they win they are wanted criminals forever after in that kingdom - even if they are guilty of no other crime than fighting against the King's troops, that act alone is High Treason and punishable by death. Then, if they still insist on fighting, pull no punches - try to TPK the party - because that is what the troops ARE trying to do.
Lincoln Hills 06-14-06, 05:38 PM	Just give them a heads-up. "Your characters have plenty of experience. They can tell that fighting a group this large would probably cost you a couple of casualties, maybe even doom you all - not to mention taking a long time and wasting spells. You're better off figuring out how to dodge them and getting back on the trail of your real enemy." (Avoiding the army successfully, by the way, should be 'overcoming a challenge' and they'd receive XP commensurate with the difficulty. I don't know how many XP: there's a difference between the DC of a hundred Warrior-2 soldiers with their mighty Listen and Spot of +0, and the DC of a unit including mages with see invisibility and a team of Ranger 6s with trained tracking hounds...)