The Ironfang Invasion: Fangs of War

Game Master vayelan

Cyrioul nods. Fairly said, Cedric. I know that we can use them, I'm just thinking of the options. I'm ready to move on them tomorrow, if we all are, presuming that we cannot use this very caravan as a ruse to get close to the camp...

Or maybe that is its best use? We could empty the containers at Hidden Hope right now, quickly, then bring the cart back to this spot, move it further forward on the trail, and then torch it - make it look like the ambush happened in another spot, and send a trail that leads back to their own encampment. If they should send a patrol looking for it in the morning, it might give us a bit more time to deal with some of those in the main camp before they return.

Of course, if they send out a patrol to look for it tonight, then yes, we'll have to trust the track-covering abilities we have here.

He looks around at the others. My spell of invisibility will not grant much time at the encampment, but perhaps enough for one of us to run up to the watch tower and use these flasks of alchemist fire to light it on fire. After that, we'll see what the battle brings, no?

What happens if you tie multiple flasks of alchemist fire together? Could we create a bundle of ~3 or so as an incendiary device for the tower? Like a satchel charge.

That's what I'm hoping for! :)

I'm guessing we're discussing these ideas on the way back to camp
"Alternate but related idea. We unload the wagon at base, reload it with fakes, or what not. Then a few of us assume disguises. Lily (being the best as disguises) drives the wagon into the camp at top speed, with a few "injured companions" in the back, hollering about an ambush, maybe attackers behind her. As soon as they let her in, and with everyone looking behind her, we hit from their flank. Those in the wagon take out the tower. Or something like that."

"We're barely enough for a squad as we are, do we really want to split into teams? We could just roll a burning wagon into one of their tents if that's the plan, but I can think of a lot of uses for a wagon."

just spit-ballin' ideas :)

Yup yup. My first thought was a war wagon, but that wouldn't be very useful in a forest :(

we'll turn this forest into Mad Max in no time

"Im just worried that at sometime they might see through my disguise as deception is pretty my only specialty."

They probably wouldn't see through it quickly enough, Boudra signs kindly, but I agree with Thorek. Putting you right in the thick of the foes like that is taking more of a risk with one of our own than I want to!

If you wish to bring the wagon and its precious cargo back to Hidden Hope, you must take one of two obvious options. You must either appeal to the mistreated horses, showing them that you mean them well, and get them to cooperate, or you will need to unyoke them and pull the wagon yourselves.

Please roll Handle Animal if you want to bring the wagon home. If you are relying on Cyrioul's Floating Disk spell and your own carrying capacity, let me know what you are taking and what you are leaving.

Bree approaches the horses using as soothing a voice as she can manage. She might even have something edible with her to offer them.
handle animal: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
feel free to aid!

The horses quickly recognize that Bree is a more compassionate handler than the slain Ironfangs, and the draft animals become receptive to her commands. With their cooperation secured, it only takes a couple hours to steer the wagon off the trail and navigate the rough forest terrain back to Hidden Hope. The sight of an entire wagon rumbling up to the sanctuary's proverbial doorstep catches the sentries by surprise at first, but that soon gives way to great excitement when the refugees see the sheer volume of supplies you have brought back.

Boudra helps unload the wagon, taking particular care to make sure the healing supplies are squared away. We should make sure that the trail is hidden, she signs to Thorek.

Is that within the realm of a Survival check? I know rangers can do it whenever in their favored terrain, but...

Yes, Survival would be the skill check to cover your tracks.

Pointing down the trail, Thorek suggests bia to Boudra If you head that way and start concealing, I'll start here and move towards your starting point. If we went together I'd only slow you down.

I can take a 10 for a total of 17, or 18 if I can cast Guidance a few (dozen) times

Boudra nods and moves silently off into the woods to start her work.

If we can take 10, I get 21 (22 if Guidance would apply). If you need an opposed check:

Survival: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15

Bree and the others quickly unload the wagon and get the supplies into the shelter. Several members of the militia quickly take up the arms and armor from the wagon and begin drilling with them.

"Okay, guys. We discussed a couple of ideas. What's our final plan?"

"I'm still partial to a hit-and-run. Burning the watchtower and a few tents, then falling back to a prepared position and killing off any pursuit that could sniff us out. Hit them again as soon as we're ready."

can you use alchemist's fire to make fire-arrows? Lily could light up some tents from a good vantage point

Lily leans upon a tree quietly contemplating their options for few minutes. "Im think we should limit to one more attack. The longer we draw this out the greater the chance Im going to make a mistake in their favor. I still haven't entirely gotten over the panic attack the last time I deceived them." she says trembling ever so slightly.

Thorek tries for a comforting expression through the burn scars. "I don't know if we can take them in one go, Lily, they'll have us outnumbered significantly."

She just closes her eyes for a bit. "I know it's just Im afraid that we're just kicking a hornets nest and at some point they will just grow frustrated and attack us in mass regardless. I'm not a tactical person so it's not like I have a better idea. Just kind of freaking out that we're even this successful and my mind is telling me all the ways this can go wrong ," she says dryly.

I understand that, Lily, Boudra signs, but our best chances are Stealth and surprise. They don’t know where we are, remember. This is how we Nirmathi have survived Molthune for generations. No one knows the forest like us. Turning to the room at large, she adds, I do think that Lily’s trick will only work once. After that, they’ll have passwords and ways to watch out for it. So, if we’re just trying to do a quick attack—maybe we save that for later? Or we have to make sure we have a way to get past them on the next strike.

Cyrioul helps with the distribution and tracking of goods as best he can, making sure that those most in need of better food get it quickly.

When the talk turns to battle plans, he listens cautiously. I have to say that I'm more partial to an initial hit and run attack. We just need some place to run to - preferably one with lots of hidden bear traps that we have set. Wherever we run to needs to be incredibly fortified, and ready to mete out a great deal of justice quickly.

Thorek and Boudra trail behind the stolen wagon to cover the party's tracks. They do their best to conceal the wheel ruts with rocks, leafy branches, and heaps of turf. The horses' hoof prints are a bit easier to efface.

Once you are back within sight of Hidden Hope, the pair are confident that their efforts will be successful and the refuge will remain secret.

.....

The influx of pilfered supplies keeps morale high among the refugees, and the small casks of ale are an especially valued luxury. During the evening meal, Aubrin raises her silver tankard and loudly calls a toast honoring the heroes of Hidden Hope. A gallery of smiling faces all turn and raise their cups, offering praise, bows, and grateful thanks to all that the party has done to keep them safe.

Later, Kining approaches you with the Ironfang caravan's lockbox in her hands. She turns it over, appraising the lock, and speaks without really looking at you. She offers to get it safely open in exchange for 10% of whatever is inside.

.....

You spend a somewhat restless night discussing your next move, and when the morning light creeps over the canopy of the Chernasardo, the time comes to scout a prospective "fall back" site from which to launch your potential raid.

I've also updated the Chernasardo regional map at the top of the page to show the location of the Ironfang's forward camp in relation to Hidden Hope.

Kining's offer seems fair to me, but with Cedric as our appointed leader Thorek will respect the chain of command and adhere to his decision.

Bree wants a crack at the lock first. She's annoyed that Kining is being petty about money when they're trying to survive dammit
disable w/luck: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
if that doesn't work, she'll go along with it, but she's still pretty miffed about it.
"What the hell good is money out here anyway?" she mutters.

Boudra mostly ignores the slight disagreement over the lockbox - for all the reasons that Bree's articulating.

When it comes time to scout out a location for an ambush, she racks her brain for any likely place she's seen recently, or any landmarks that might lead to one.

Survival to look around for a good spot?: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

Bree snatches the lockbox from the skinflint woman. She struggles to find purchase against the tumblers protecting the sturdy box. Kining hazards a haughty smile, amused by the academic's frustration.

However, that smile vanishes when a sharp, distinct click issues forth from the lockbox. The lid slides open on its hinge, revealing the bounty within. Hundreds of gold coins fill the container, bearing a mixture of mintage. Most appear to be Molthuni and Nidalese, but there are also Chelish sails and Absalom measures among them.

Kining stalks away without another word, denied her share of the wealth.

The opened lockbox contains 550gp, the payroll intended for the Ironfang camp.

.....

On the morrow, Boudra climbs atop an elevated vantage point and identifies an unusual cleft in the forest's distant canopy. Traveling to investigate further, she leads the party to a discovery that confirms her suspicion: a feeble, muddy stream leaks forth from a rock face, and its crooked course has carved a sharp ravine upon the forest floor.

Lily blushes at the response of the survivors over the dinner. "Listen I appreciate the sentiment but there is still so much we have to do. We haven't saved you yet," she stammers.

Upon hearing about Boudra's discovery she paces back and forth around the camp nervously doing minor chores to keep herself from thinking about the impending fight.

Thorek accepts the civilians' praise stoically, and toasts them in turn. "To you, the brave folk Hidden Hope! Survivors and fighters each and every one, unwilling to surrender to the darkness or despair! Though less dramatic than battle, do not think your labors any less crucial to our survival!"

As Boudra leads the group to the ravine, the warpriest grins fiercely. "Well done, Boudra! This will do nicely as an ambush spot!"

What are the dimensions of the ravine? Trying to decide what sort of traps/ambushes we should stick in there.

Later on, Bree will approach Kining. Whether or not Kining acknowledges her, she says, "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be a smart ass. I just don't want us to lose sight of the big picture. Especially not to something as petty out here as money. Here," she says, handing the merchant 25 gold pieces. "A down payment on the next lockbox. Never know when I may need a hand."
diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26

feel free to remove the gold from my share. It's a small price to keep folks from bickering

Boudra smiles her thanks at Thorek. She’s been hanging back a bit lately—toasts, feasts, and social niceties are hard for her, since so few people sign—but in the woods she feels at home.

Archers on the ravine’s sides? she queries. And some way for the people fleeing to get out of the back end, of course. Do we have ladders we could pull up?

The corner of the sour dwarf's mouth curls up for an instant before she quashes the involuntary hint of a smile. With a quick nod of her head, she offers Bree a quiet "Thanks" before accepting the money and shuffling off, back to her workshop below.

The normally cantankerous Kining Blondebeard is warming up to Bree - of course, she would never admit this.

.....

The ravine is about 80 feet across and twice as long. The sloping walls are rather steep and somewhat unstable, with clumps of earth likely to crumble in the hands of anyone trying to scale the sides unassisted.

DC 15 Climb check to scale the walls without rope.

80ft by 160ft? That's gonna be a BIG battle map, GM!

How many archers can we muster, aside from Lily? I'm only a passable shot with a crossbow, and they'll have plenty of room down there.

" Yeah it's worth pointing out that while I can fire a bow pretty well Im better at doing more damage at shorter distances. I can't really poke at the enemies brains at long distances. But I'm up for anything."

My original size conception for the ravine was even bigger before I scaled it back. I plan to only depict a portion of the ravine in the encounter map.

Boudra frowns. I'm...not sure. Have the militia been training with bows? That's what I was thinking of. But you're right-- she looks around. It's larger than I realized down here. Still, if we don't use the ravine to pen them in somehow, what's the point? We don't want to fight them down here, with our backs to the wall.

"We could rig parts of the ravine to create a rockslide to box them in. Mind you Im not an expert on anything let alone that.... Well okay maybe making water filters. But still its an idea."

"How many bows do we have? Cause we can always use slings. Or hell, just throw rocks. Remember, a rockslide can be used as an attack as well as a barrier."

Given how large the ravine is, they could easily huddle near the center and avoid any rockslides we sent their way. I fear we don't have the numbers to make this location workable.

When it comes to the nitty gritty of planning an ambush, Cedric isn't much help. He's more of a big-picture kinda guy, so he lets the others plan as they see fit. With everything else seemingly resolved until then, he spends what time they aren't scouting continuing to minister to the needs of the camp.

Sorry I've kind of disappeared for a bit, there. Getting down to the last days of buying a house, and that's been eating a lot of my time lately. Should be back to normal by the end of next week.

Cyrioul lifts his own cup to Aubrin's praise, and is grateful for the news about the gold. That'll certainly help us with Novvi, I suppose.

When the discovery of an ambush spot, Cyrioul applies his mind as best he can to the coming action. Hmm, I might be able to engineer something for us to trip, and bring part of the hillside down on them. It would be a tricky thing to do well, of course, but, well, let me think...

Kn(Engineering): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

...yes, I think that we could maybe weaken the hillside there, there, and there, and with a long rope to pull out the supports, we could at least slow them down. Maybe not enough to bury any of them, but certainly a way to slow them down.

GM, let me know if that's out of order, and we'll retcon.

A flash of brilliance from Cyrioul rescues the potential of the ravine as an ambush point. In addition to using the bear traps recovered from Kelloch's cabin as a way to hem in the Ironfangs, the diviner is easily able to identify the best places to engineer deadfalls and rockslides along the ravine's crest.

However, perhaps the more ingenious suggestion comes from an examination of the cavern from which the stream at the bottom of the ravine flows. The opening is large enough to enter, albeit requiring a human-sized being to hunch down a little. The watery passageway, almost knee deep, stretches back and seems to lead to a sizeable cavern at the rear.

The idea is soon hatched: if you could lure some of the Ironfangs inside, they could be easily sealed within by triggering an engineered landslide.

"It's a good plan! Let's disguise this cave entrance like it's inhabited; a little campfire inside, a crude door, whatever we can do quickly to create a false base to lure them in. Thoughts?"

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

"I see no way this carefully laid plan can possibly fail," says Cedric without any hint of irony, or indeed any knowledge of the normally-sarcastic usage of that phrase.

"Sounds better than anything I can come up with. Though how are we going to deceive them? Want me to lead them with false information about our location," she says while making air quotes.

We hit some of them when they're coming or going, Boudra suggests, and let them give chase. It's easy to leave a trail. They'll think they finally know where we're holed up, and then... She makes a decisive-looking chopping gesture. We don't want to use your tricks too soon, Lily. I think they'll only work once.

Constructing a fake refuge that will fool the likely on-edge Ironfangs will require a skilled, collaborative effort.

This will require three skill checks: Survival to make the cavern look lived in, Craft (Traps) to rig the landslide, and Disguise to conceal incriminating details. I will also allow a variety of other skills to be used for Aid Another if you can offer a good justification.