I’ve hinted at a possible invasion of redgorge to my players, and they got pretty exited about it. So I’ve been thinking about ways of running it as part of the demonscar legacy.
Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
Both Nabatharon and Vhalantru have an interest in the invasion of Redgorge. Vhalantru wants the chisel eliminated and Nabatheron can’t return to his abyssal home unless Redgorge falls. Their plan is straightforward. They use the cauldron tax riot and Sir Alec’s challenge and the the tax riot (incited by the chisel) as a pretext to the invasion.
Conveniently, Vhalantru has gathered a small army of half-orc mercenaries for just this purpose. Shorty after order is restored in Cauldron, he sends out captain Skellerang with orders to sack Redgorge. Skellerang takes as many of the mercenaries as he can spare with him to Redgorge lays siege to the town.
Nabatheron, in the mean time, gathers many of the lesser demons from the demonscar and heads to Redgorge. He orders Dregarkus (his trusted Herzou Lieutenant) to keep an eye on Sir Alec (who is in the vault at the other end of the starry mirror). Instead of battling Nabatheron at the end of Demonscar legacy, the PC’s fight the Herzou and a few lesser allies. Nabatheron’s troups consist of Vrocks and babau, together with one or two lieutenants. He does not have the time to gather many of the lesser demons (the Rutterkin, Chasms etc.) Nabatheron and his troupes set up camp on the other side of Redgorge, cutting of the town’s escape route.
I’ve been reading through heroes of battle in order to get some inspiration for encounters during the invasion. Here are some of the ideas I came up with:
* build defences – players get a chance to coordinate the town’s defences: cast spells, set traps etc. This impacts how easy it is for the enemy to overcome the town’s defences.
* steal enemy’s plan – the PC’s must sneak into the mercenary camp and take (or copy) the enemy’s plan without getting noticed. If they do get noticed, the mercenaries alter their tactics and the stolen plans become useless.
* raid enemy’s camp - The mercenaries quickly start constructing siege equipment. The PC’s lead a raid against the camp in order to destroy the half-built siege engines. In order to gain a full success, they must also destroy the mercenaries’ tools, preventing them from simply building new siege engines.
* Defend strategic point - The pc’s have to defend a strategic point (such as the gate-house) from an assault by Nabatheron’s troupes. If they fail, the town falls and many citizens die.
* Nightly raid – Nabatheron sends a group of Babau over the wall, ordering them to either capture (or kill) one or more members of the chisel, or open the gatehouse. The PC’s of course, must stop them.
* Knife in the back – during a battle with the mercenaries (preferably one where the PC’s are involved), captain Skellerang gets knifed in the back one of the half-orcs. Vhalantru quickly replaces Captain Skellerang by Zarn Kyass.
There’s a couple of considerations, though:
* what happens to sir Alec? Nabatheron doesn’t need Alec dead to continue his invasion. Of course, having a paladin around during the invasion can get messy for him, so he’s content merely to stop anyone trying to rescue him. What about sir Alec’s prophecy? When should I use it?
* how (or when) to introduce Kaurophon? If I’m going to run this adventure before test of the smoking eye, there’s got to be a way to work him in after (or during) the invasion.
* How does the town prevent Nabatheron or other demon’s from just teleporting over the wall? Maybe some protection Surabar Spellmason left there? What other magical protections remain in Redgorge?
Here are some things to think about:
1. Are Vhalantru and Nabthatoron in league with each other? And if so, would the PCs find any proof of this or did Vhalantru cover his tracks too well? What about Vhalantru using devils as lieutenants to enforce order in Cauldron? Or would he be showing his hand too soon?
2. Kaurophon could show up to save the PCs from certain death at some point during the battle, perhaps even teleporting them away from Nabthatoron to Occipitus?
3. If your PCs are lawful, what would they do if they were actually being ordered to attack Redgorge?
4. Is the invasion of Redgorge going to be allowed to dominate your campaign?
5. Why would Nabthatoron want to go home to the Abyss?
There’s a couple of considerations, though:
* what happens to sir Alec? Nabatheron doesn’t need Alec dead to continue his invasion. Of course, having a paladin around during the invasion can get messy for him, so he’s content merely to stop anyone trying to rescue him. What about sir Alec’s prophecy? When should I use it?
While Nabtatheron does not need Alek in order to destroy Redgorge, remember than Nabatheron has been burned badly in the past by doing exactly what you are describing he send his lieutenant to do again.
At this point, unless you've rewritten the adventure, Alek is still in the Starry Mirror, and he'll be stuck there until he dies or figures a way out of it. If you have rewritten the adventure, you could make him the key figure to Nabtatheron's victory, and have the combat that is scripted in the adventure occur on the battlements of Redgorge (or something equally climactic).
* how (or when) to introduce Kaurophon? If I’m going to run this adventure before test of the smoking eye, there’s got to be a way to work him in after (or during) the invasion.
You could easily have him rescue one of the PCs right before they are defeated - with a large scale battle, I'm sure someone will overextend themselves at some point.
* How does the town prevent Nabatheron or other demon’s from just teleporting over the wall? Maybe some protection Surabar Spellmason left there? What other magical protections remain in Redgorge?
That is an interesting question, and one that I have thought about myself. There is nothing in the description of Redgorge to indicate this, so I would say let the demons have at it - it will make for a chaotic battle, but they /are/ Chaotic Evil after all...
1. Are Vhalantru and Nabthatoron in league with each other? And if so, would the PCs find any proof of this or did Vhalantru cover his tracks too well? What about Vhalantru using devils as lieutenants to enforce order in Cauldron? Or would he be showing his hand too soon?
I'm not sure if I'm a fan of this approach. Part of the appeal to the Nabthatoron plot is that it is mostly isolated from the rest of the storyarc. Also, with the dedication of the Cagewrights and Vhalantru to the demodands, why go with the more difficult demons?
2. Kaurophon could show up to save the PCs from certain death at some point during the battle, perhaps even teleporting them away from Nabthatoron to Occipitus?
I'm right there with you on this one. It would make the most sense, and is perfectly in keeping with Kauraphon's character. Or he could summon his minions (as he does in the adventure) and have the PCs protect him during the siege; this could definitely cement him as a 'good guy' to the PCs.
3. If your PCs are lawful, what would they do if they were actually being ordered to attack Redgorge?
That depends on where they are from ... if they are Cauldronites, I can see this working, but even then they have no legal obligation unless they are part of the town guard.
4. Is the invasion of Redgorge going to be allowed to dominate your campaign?
Another good point. Don't waste energy if it's not needed. Although running the invasion as a mini-storyarc will allow you to replace most of the adventure as written, and keep your PCs XP at the right place.
5. Why would Nabthatoron want to go home to the Abyss?
It's his one goal - the reason he was banished was that he failed at destroying Redgorge. Until then, he's lost most of his powers and is considered a native. If he dies on the Prime, that's it for him.
While Nabtatheron does not need Alek in order to destroy Redgorge, remember than Nabatheron has been burned badly in the past by doing exactly what you are describing he send his lieutenant to do again.
See, this is a basic question concerning evil outsiders. How much do they learn from their mistakes? Would Nabthatoron avoid attacking Redgorge or would he be obsessed with his failure and attack it again?
I always assumed that demons and their lawful counterparts, devils, are unable to change their natures. They are immutable and unchanging in their evil. Thus, while a vicious tanar'ri could certainly change its tactics to better shred a party of adventurers, their basic outlook on existence will never change throughout countless eons.
Besides, doesn't the book even state that Nabthatoron is still engineering a plan to wipe out Redgorge, this time using "precision rather than force?"
And we may even say that Nabthatoron is counting on history repeating itself and engineering the destruction of his untrustworthy lieutenant... If Dreghakus succeeds, Redgorge is finished. If Dreghakus fails...
I'm actually considering trying to replace Test of the Smoking Eye with the battle over Redgorge and tackling Nabthatoron and his gnoll worshipers and demon horde. At least I might prepare something along these lines as an alternative. I just have trouble seeing the players decide to abandon Redgorge to its fate to go traipsing off to the Abyss with Kaurophon, unless I make it seem like suddenly the fate of the universe depends on their doing so. But if I do that, I'm afraid it will feel too much like railroading. It seems that tackling negotiations with Skellerang to defuse the attack of the mercenaries, and then bringing retribution on Nabthatoron for his evil plot would be a more satisfying next step. Then the heroes return to Cauldron and face the challenges of the Secrets of the Soul Pillars adventure.
Here are some things to think about:
1. Are Vhalantru and Nabthatoron in league with each other? And if so, would the PCs find any proof of this or did Vhalantru cover his tracks too well? What about Vhalantru using devils as lieutenants to enforce order in Cauldron? Or would he be showing his hand too soon?
well, they have a common goal: getting rid of those meddling kids.. er the Chisel. Other than that, I think they pretty much leave each other alone. Vhalantru figures he can either entice Nabatheron to join him, or get rid of him after the ritual of planar junction. Vhalantru is happier with his (more controlable) humanoid alies than with some strong-willed demons if you ask me. Of course, the alignment difference between the Nabatheron and Vhalantru may also become a problem.
2. Kaurophon could show up to save the PCs from certain death at some point during the battle, perhaps even teleporting them away from Nabthatoron to Occipitus?
I think i'll use that. He doesn't need his contrived story or his expensive scrolls if he does it this way.
3. If your PCs are lawful, what would they do if they were actually being ordered to attack Redgorge?
this isn't really a problem in my game. Most of the PC's are lawfull allright, but their part in the tax riot has caused them to be branded traitors of cauldron. Jenya is smoothing over the situation right now, but won't finish before the invasion starts.
Another diference is that I sort of fused the striders and the chisel into one organisation. Fario and Felian, as well as Shensen are members of the Chisel and work directly for Maavu. Also, the Chisel isn't neutral but good.
4. Is the invasion of Redgorge going to be allowed to dominate your campaign?
I'm not sure. It depends on my PC's I supose.
5. Why would Nabthatoron want to go home to the Abyss?
That is an interesting question, and one that I have thought about myself. There is nothing in the description of Redgorge to indicate this, so I would say let the demons have at it - it will make for a chaotic battle, but they /are/ Chaotic Evil after all...* How does the town prevent Nabatheron or other demon’s from just teleporting over the wall? Maybe some protection Surabar Spellmason left there? What other magical protections remain in Redgorge?
I'm not very happy with that solution. After all, what use is the basalt bastillon if the demons it was meant to protect the town against could just teleport in? And why would the demons bother with destroying part of the bastillion (as can be seen on the map of Redgorge)? Of course, the magic could have faded...
thanks to everyone for their response.
Does anyone have any aditional sugustions for running the invasion itself?
With respect to the teleporting, I think the battle will be more interesting strategically if the basalt does block teleportation. Of course, some of the demons might still be able to fly over, etc. or might have seige weapons to break down part of it.
This weekend I'm finally running this adventure. I'm prepared and exited about it. The invasion is going to take place after the test of the Smoking Eye. It made more sense IMC. That means a few changes have allready taken place:
* The Lord mayor has allready disappeared and Lord Vhalantru has taken his place.
* Many of the citizens have allready left Cauldron due to the high taxes.
* Todd Vanderboren has been killed. The stormblades won't participate in the invasion either way.
* In my campaign, the party didn't battle Nabatheron at the end of Demonscar legacy, but his luitennant, the Herzou Dreghakus. In other words, Nabatheron still lives. His Lieutenant, unfortunately, is no more.
* In my campaign, magic woven into the basalt Bastions by Surabar Spellmason causes teleportation to go wrong in dramatic ways near Redgorge. Nabatheron and his demonic army is unable to teleport into, or close to the town. In other words, they need to cross the distance between the Demonscar and Redgorge on foot (or flying)
* Flying directly over Redgorge is also very difficult. Surabar took care of that.
I've made a map of the redgorge area, for use with invasion. I've posted it on the scap resources page. here's a link
I've come up with the following flow of events:
Day 1
Cauldron delivers ultimatum: pay our taxes or else! Skellerang marches on Redgorge, taking half the town guard, 100 men at arms and 20 sergeants. Most of these are the Blue Duke’s men. Zarn Kyass, the blue Duke accompanies the army
Jenya sends a warning to Redgorge. Redgorge prepares its defences
Day 2
Skellerang arrives at Redgorge and demands access to the town treasury to collect back taxes. Mayor Sind Nebern refuses. Skellerang lays siege to Redgorge, blocking off the Cauldron gate. He sends a few men to watch the caravan gate.
Day 3
The Blue Duke manipulates Skellerang with his guile and a well placed charm person spell. He tricks Skellerang into attacking early and without proper preperation. Skellerang leads the charge on the Cauldron gate. The charge is repelled, but Skellerang is stabbed in the back by one of the Blue's men. Many of the men loyal to Skellerang are killed. The Blue Duke takes over command of the Cauldron forces and proclaims himself to be captain of the guard.
The Blue Duke secretly sends a message to Nabatheron, claiming Redgorge is his for the taking. Nabatheron gathers his most powerfull forces and heads for Redgorge.
Day 4
Some of the original Cauldron guards are distressed by the Blue Duke’s seizing power and return to cauldron. A platoon of the Blue Duke’s men follow and ambush them, slicing their throats and dumping their body into the river.
The Blue Duke’s men start constructing siege engines and a defensible camp.
Day 5
Nabatheron arrives with two dozen Vrock and almost a hundred Babau and sets up camp on the mesa south of Redgorge. The vrock gather stones from the nearby mountains. After a few hours, the Babau grow impatient and storm the walls. The babau are repelled. about a thrid of the babau forces are killed.
That night, a small group of 6 babau sneaks into the town and sets fire to several neighborhoods. Redgorge is taken by surprise. Many citizens are killed.
Day 6
The Blue Duke’s troopes assault Redgorge under the cover of morning fog. The troupes use battering rams and mangonels to break through the gatehouse, and ladders to climb the walls. The forces are repelled, but both sides suffer severe casualties.
At dusk, Vrocks start to bombard the walls with boulders in waves of 6. The walls are breached. Babau charge in, constructing bridges out of trees.
Redgorge is evacuated. Many citizens die. The Chisel eventually sets up a temporary base in the Lucky Monkey.
I've got stat's ready for most of the troops.
Cauldron's Guard:
* 100 men at arms (half-orcs and humans fighter 4)
* 12 sergents (half-orc fighter 8 )
* 8 clerics (half-orc cleric 8)
* Skellerang (human fighter 10)
* The Blue Duke (Ogre mage fighter 4)
Redgorge's Guard
* 600 citizens (human commoner 1)
* 25 men at arms (human fighter 4)
* Bailiff Pragat Millak (human fighter 6)
The Chissel:
* The Foreman (Oliron Marsh) ftr3/wiz7/hgh4
* The Honest Minstrel (Ekaym Smallkask) ftr3/brd4/hgh3
* Cammel Driver (Maavu) exp5/wiz4/hgh1
* Bird Seed (Mikimax) comm5/exp2/hgh1
Nabatharons' forces:
* Nabatharon (Glabrezu)
* 24 Vrock
* 100 Babau
I'm leaving most of the pc's activities up to them. I put a few possibilities in the first post. One of the final options is for the PC's to find Nidrama and petition her for aid.
That's all. What do you guys think? anything I left out?
Flavorwise it sounds great. But the forces you've aligned against Redgorge seem too overwhelming. I don't see how Redgorge can repel the initial assaults as described in your outline. The good guys have mainly commoners and a handful of mid-level heroes against a powerful force from Cauldron and a devastating force of demons. The demons' common troops can go toe-to-toe against Redgorge's leaders or your player characters (and then the demons have leaders too), while Redgorge's commoners are nothing but victims waiting to be slaughtered. Unless your player characters are extremely powerful for their level (or much higher than expected for Demonskar Legacy), the most useful thing they can do for Redgorge is help them try to flee at once, or kill them mercifully before they are captured alive by demons.
I took the numbers striaght out of the book. Basically I sent over the entire mercenary camp stationed outside of cauldron and the mayor demons in the demonscar.
As I said in my previous post, I'm running this adventure after test of the smoking eye, so my party is about 4 levels higher than the level recomended for demonscar legacy. Still, decreasing the number of demons (especially babau) might be a good idea.
On a regular battlefield, the Redgorge forces would be slaughtered. However, The demon horde has been around for centuries, and Redgorge has managed to repel them at every turn. So they must have some ace up it's sleeve.
I think a town like Redgorge is virtually impossible to take with a conventional army. Medeival castles were known to be able to withstand a force vastly superior to its own, Sometimes even ten times it's own size. So i'd say Redgorge is safe from the Cauldron forces.
The Basalt Bastions are hard to breach with normal siege engines. The SCAP book says they are easily as impressive as Cauldron's walls so I'd say they rate as Metropolis walls (DMG p99; 1170 hp, 40ft high)
The crenellations offer half or total cover from anyone on the ground. With commoners firing voleys of crossbow bolts at the Cauldron troops, they have the potential to do a great deal of damage. Redgorge also has other defences ready, such as pots of hot oil and whatever the Chisel can throw at them.
That leaves the demons. As the SCAP book says, the inhabitants are well prepared to deal with invadng demons. I assume they have a large stock of cold iron weapons and arrows ready. They should also have barrels full of holy water ready to pour over the approaching babau. Those attempting to scale the walls must first cross the river and climb up the other side of the gorge. Then it's two full round actions to climb the walls before they can attack. I don't expect many demon's to reach the top of the wall in the first wave. On the other hand, those that do have the potential to wreak havoc.
One of the demon's most usefull ability: summon Tanar'ri doesn't work near Redgorge. Surabar's magic took care of that.
In the second wave (on day six), Redgorge is supposed to lose. Only a string of extremely lucky breaks can prevent that.
So can the demons teleport into Redgorge? Or do the basalt bastions block demon teleportation (the latter makes sense to me, as otherwise it would seem Surabar's walls were pointless against the demon horde they were built to protect against.
Wow, this all sounds great flavour and a way to give players more investment in the political events (which are also a bit more exciting/devious in your version). I might very well steal this if you don't mind. A couple of points:-
I definitely think you are right to do this AFTER test of the smoking eye.
How do you see the backdrop to the next 2 chapters unfolding? Are you going to have the party operating in an essentially hostile-controlled Cauldron, freedom fighting against the new authorities with the help of Striders and unofficial help from Jenya and guards like Skylar to prevent/reverse the coup d'etat?
I think if I were to use this, I might leave Nabthatoron in the Demonskar legacy, as he will probably escape anyway. Then the players can get their revenge at the Battle of Redgorge (or try to!) when they are more capable.
Also, do the demons and the corrupt Cauldron forces need to be in league? There doesn't seem to be a reason for this and the demons could still take advantage of the opportunity presented to attack Redgorge. Maybe they could fall on both sides at the end-which could explain why the corrupt Cauldron authorities are not able to get a stranglehold on the City before the party can strike against them, as they have been weakened too. It might even be interesting if Zarn's men and the PC forces have to make common cause against the demons to save all their skins-how far can the 2 sides trust each other, especially as the end of the conflict approaches or in a desperate retreat from Redgorge....
So can the demons teleport into Redgorge? Or do the basalt bastions block demon teleportation (the latter makes sense to me, as otherwise it would seem Surabar's walls were pointless against the demon horde they were built to protect against.
No they can't. As a matter of fact, all teleportation into or near Redgorge doesn't work. This also extends to the summon tanar'ri ability most of Nabatheron's forces have. I'm not sure if the Basalt Bastions cause this, or something else. If it's the first, would breaching the bastion negate the effect? I like it better if there is something else that prevents demons from teleporting. Not sure what it is yet, though.
Wow, this all sounds great flavour and a way to give players more investment in the political events (which are also a bit more exciting/devious in your version). I might very well steal this if you don't mind. A couple of points:-
I definitely think you are right to do this AFTER test of the smoking eye.
How do you see the backdrop to the next 2 chapters unfolding? Are you going to have the party operating in an essentially hostile-controlled Cauldron, freedom fighting against the new authorities with the help of Striders and unofficial help from Jenya and guards like Skylar to prevent/reverse the coup d'etat?
yep. That's exactly how I envision the last couple of chapters. The party gets plenty of help from their allies in Cauldron, but are at the top of everyone's most wanted list. The party has lots of opertunities to win allies over to their cause (such as the nobles, the stormblades, the merchants and the other chruches). It makes the beginning of Foundation of Flame a lot more rewarding.
I think if I were to use this, I might leave Nabthatoron in the Demonskar legacy, as he will probably escape anyway. Then the players can get their revenge at the Battle of Redgorge (or try to!) when they are more capable.
I agree on the Nabatheron issue. On the other hand, my party did defeat the Herzou I sent in stead of him. Other GM's have reported that the party defeated Nabatheron before he was able to slay Alek Tercival. So you have to be certain he survives. Otherwise you're in trouble.
Also, do the demons and the corrupt Cauldron forces need to be in league? There doesn't seem to be a reason for this and the demons could still take advantage of the opportunity presented to attack Redgorge. Maybe they could fall on both sides at the end-which could explain why the corrupt Cauldron authorities are not able to get a stranglehold on the City before the party can strike against them, as they have been weakened too. It might even be interesting if Zarn's men and the PC forces have to make common cause against the demons to save all their skins-how far can the 2 sides trust each other, especially as the end of the conflict approaches or in a desperate retreat from Redgorge....
I like your take on this.
Zarn Kyass send a message to Nabatheron because he feels they both have a common foe. The enemy of my enemy... Still, there is little in the way of co-operation between the two forces. As a matter of fact, there is a huge deal of distrust. Canny pc's might take advantage of that. And there is no reason for Nabatheron to stop at Redgorge. After all, Cauldron is only a day's march away.
On the other hand, Zarn may feel that with Nabatheron's forces at a clear disadvantage. They're away from home ground, in hostile teritory and weakened from the battle with Redgorge. Zarn may attack Nabatheron after the demonic forces have taken hold of Redgorge.
I'm about to run the invasion of Redgorge for my players next session. They just barely drove off Nabthatoron after he killed Alek Tercival in the desert tomb on the other side of the Starry Mirror. Then they used teleport to travel to Sasserine to spend their loot and recuperate. They did a divination to find out how much down time they had before Redgorge is attacked, so I gave them this as the divination's answer (it's not exactly cryptic, but I wanted to be clear about how much time they had):
Red flow Redgorge streets with blood,
Under the pale blue moon,
In three white days and two black nights.
The weak without help die soon.
Men's fate hangs by a thread-thin thread.
Women and children cry.
Night of slaughter echoes with dread,
Under the moonlit sky.
Thanks for all these great ideas! I had wanted to run a Seige of Redgorge scenario but didn't get a chance. Now the PCs have finished Test of the Smoking Eye (in which the gnome barbarian became Master of Occipitus - but that's another story) I'm going to run the scenario thanks to all your great ideas.
In my campaign a retired PC (preist of St Cuthbert) challenged Terseon for the post of Guard Captain. The PCs rescued him from the Demonskar and stashed him in Redgorge while they did the Test.
I thought I'd had Terseon and the city guard march on Redgorge and give the PCs the chance to placate him. In my game Terseon is basically a good guy struggling to do his job in an increasingly corrupt city. So they should manage to turn him back. Just as they are breathing a sigh of relief Nabrathon and his demons and gnolls show up to lay seige to the town. The PCs and Chisel have to fight them off and do some of the other cool missions mentioned by other posters.
Chef (& anyone else who has run this senerio),
I have a few questions because I find the concept interesting and am thinking of using something similiar (after being inspired by your great ideas) myself-
(1)Have you written this up in more detail? If so can you post it up on the RPGenius website.
(2) Do the above events just transpire or are dice involved? What I mean by this do the players roll for the defenders and you roll for the attackers (demons &/or gaurds) in a sort of Battlesystem type style (ie each troop has hit points, an attack & damage, AC etc)?
(3) Have you the stats for the different events and individuals involved who are not written up in the SCAP?
(4) Do you need to kill Tereson so obviously?
I'm concerned about killing off Tereson in such a dramatic way and having Zarn assume the leadership of the town gaurd without any pretense.
Having Tereson go down during the fighting and the players find him with an axe(?) wound in his back would still arise their suspicions but not make the murder so blantantly obvious that they begin to assult the half-orcs openly and the government in general.
Perhaps having Zarn the well known second in command (foreshadowing is important here) would be more seemless and less openly suspicious to me.
IMHO I get the sense that at this stage the players should be beginning to become suspicious of the government/gaurd/Vhalantru but do not have enough proof to act directly.
Similiarly your idea of having Vhalantru assume the Lord Mayor position already may cause the players to attack him too early.
My players have just finished the Flood Festival, have done a few side treks and are just about to become involved in Zeniths Tajectory - so I'm still at early stages but I'm trying to engineer a trust for Vhalantru in the players. I have made him out to be a funny drunked (He is the ultimate champion of drinking during the Flood Festival afterall :)).
I have foreshadowed the tax increases and half-orc recruitment during the Demonskar Ball by having Vhalantru ask the characters advice in how they would correct the damage to the city during the recent floods and how to allivate the citizens feelings of worry and vulnerability after the goblin raids and spate of kidnappings. He mentioned that Celeste (who was sitting with him at the time)had suggested tax increases for the time being and that Tereson had been demanding more gaurds from the Lord Mayor. This will, hopefully, make the players less suspicious of both events and Vhalantru overall.
When the Lord Mayor disappears I want to do a similiar thing with Vhalantru telling the players that Lord Taskerhill and Tereson (who they both should be very suspicious of and may even outright hate, by this stage) have been nominated to take over the Lord Mayor position. I'm hoping the players try to urge Vhalantru to run for the position thus making future events, including the discovery that he is the ultimate evil mastermind, even more dramatic later on. If they don't (perhaps sensing manipulation or suspicious circumstances) when he does assume the leadership it will only escalate these suspicions for them, so either way its a win/win ;).
(5)What effect will the party have on the siege in terms of attack power - ie
- what damage do the seige weapons do to the walls so if the party destroy these they will avoid this attack?
-what effect (again in game terms) will stealing a copy of the enemies battleplans?
-what damage does the demon raiders have on the defenders defences once again so if the party defeat the creatures before a certain time frame then they will stop x from occuring?
-how will the defense of the gatetowers play out? This will be a much smaller force so what would be the players objective ie defeat 10 demon soldiers, 2 vrocks and Nabtharons or another leader before they destroy/open the gate...???
(6)Why does Redgorge have to be defeated and flee?
(7)Is Skylar part of the sieging force? This could make for an interesting conflict of loyalties for the party if they have made a previous relationship with him especially given his conflict of morality vs duty in this circumstance.
Anyway thankyou for you patience and well done on an excellent idea. By the sounds of it a lot of people have already used it and played it out themselves.
Keep up the great work
Delvesdeep
The issue of building trust on Vhalantru is an interesting one. My PCs like him. They think he is an elven noble with a soft spot for adventurers. He has provided them with a lakeside villa to live in while in Cauldron (complete with a loyal servant to spy on the party), helped one of them out of a tricky legal situation and awarded them medals for their part in Flood Season. They don't seem him very often but think of him as a benefactor. They are suspicious of the city but not of him - suspecting the lord mayor and captain of the guard (though not enough to act on it). What fun!
Hi delvesdeep,
As always you are very thorough my friend! I will try to answer all your questions. First, though, I'll give everyone a summary of what happened when I ran the game:
As I mentioned earlier, b.t.w., my invasion of Redgorge takes place after the PC’s return from Occipitus. I’ve included most of the changes to cauldron after this chapter.
When the PC’s received Jenya’s message they decided to take care of the problem right then and there. Instead of preparing for an all out invasion, they went to Cauldron and sneaked into the barraks. They kidnapped Skellerang and took him to Redgorge, for questionioning. A few sense motive and dispel magic checks later, they find out that skellerang has been charmed for quite a while. Their conclusion was that Zarn Kyass is somehow responsible for that. Not a bad conclusion, but not entirely accurate either… See, Lord Vhalantru had a little to do with that too. That’s how the Blue Duke and his mercenaries gained employment in cauldron in the first place.
The PC’s find that kidnapping Skellerang doesn’t affect the timetable for the invasion much. So, they decide to kidnap the Blue Duke. What’s good for the goose and all that... This plot goes horribly wrong. The PC’s try to sneak into Lady Rhiavadi’s manor, but find it well warded. The Blue Duke, having been warned when the PC’s try to enter the manor has time to prepare. Quickly grabbing his effects he leaves the room, sending in his personal bodyguards. Meanwhile, the other guards stationed in the manor hear the commotion and decide to check out the perimeter of the mansion. They see and shoot at the PC’s, driving them off. The PC already inside the manor quickly decides to hide. She flees when she sees lady Rhiavadi approach with a wand. This scene was a perfect foreshadowing for the events in Lords of Oblivion, and it allowed me to set up the Blue Duke and Zarn Kyass as the bad guys.
That morning, the Blue Duke’s men head for Cauldron. As his men set up camp, the PC’s strike again. This time taking out the Blue Duke and routing many of his men. The PC’s manage to avert the siege without spilling a drop of Redgorge blood.
However, a message sent by Dyr’ryd himself already reached Nabatheron. The Lord of the Demonscar arrives with a following of Vrock and Babau, and the siege of Redgorge starts in earnest. The vrock start collecting boulders from the nearby mountains, while the babau clear a camp. That night, a small squad of babau, bored by lack of action, sneaks over the wall and into the city, rampaging and setting fire several buildings. The PC’s are woken by the screams of innocent citizens being slaughtered. They quickly strike down the babau. That morning the siege starts in earnest. The PC’s defend the caravan gate while the chisel takes care of the babau that try to access the city through the river. The PC’s defeat several waves of both vrock an babau, while the town guard pepper them with cold iron arrows and barrels of holy water. The Vrock let loose a barrage of boulders, damaging but not destroying the gate-house. In the end, the PC’s face lord nabatheron and are victorious. The remaining demons are routed and the PC’s are proclaimed the heroes of Redgorge.
I have a few questions because I find the concept interesting and am thinking of using something similiar (after being inspired by your great ideas) myself-
(1)Have you written this up in more detail? If so can you post it up on the RPGenius website.
I posted a map I used for the invasion, to mark troops and the progress of the battle. I don’t have a more elaborate write-up. I find that broad strokes work well with my style of GM-ing and my players style of play. Anyway, they do something completely unexpected every other session (such as kidnap skellerang), so I have to make up details on the spot as often as not. Just having prepared stats and NPC’ motivations is the most usefull perperation imo.
(2) Do the above events just transpire or are dice involved? What I mean by this do the players roll for the defenders and you roll for the attackers (demons &/or gaurds) in a sort of Battlesystem type style (ie each troop has hit points, an attack & damage, AC etc)?
I followed the suggestions in Heroes of Battle: I determined a “worst outcome” and a “best outcome”, as well as something in between. Depending on how successful the PC’s are at whatever they do during the battle, I chose the outcome of the overall battle. For example, if the PC’s manage to kill a fair amount of demons assaulting the caravan gate, but the demons take out many of the guards, I determine that the demons do the same elsewhere. In that case, the wall is eventually breached and the demons flood the town. PC’s have to scramble over to the breach and hold it long enough for either one of the chisel to plug it with a wall fo stone spell, or for the citizens to flee the town.
(3) Have you the stats for the different events and individuals involved who are not written up in the SCAP?
I used vrocks and babau listed in the book. I buffed nabatheron and created stats for a few lieutenants, but nothing more. I posted these to the SCAp pages
(4) Do you need to kill Tereson so obviously?I'm concerned about killing off Tereson in such a dramatic way and having Zarn assume the leadership of the town gaurd without any pretense.
Having Tereson go down during the fighting and the players find him with an axe(?) wound in his back would still arise their suspicions but not make the murder so blantantly obvious that they begin to assult the half-orcs openly and the government in general.
Perhaps having Zarn the well known second in command (foreshadowing is important here) would be more seemless and less openly suspicious to me.
IMHO I get the sense that at this stage the players should be beginning to become suspicious of the government/gaurd/Vhalantru but do not have enough proof to act directly.
Similiarly your idea of having Vhalantru assume the Lord Mayor position already may cause the players to attack him too early.
Well, remember that my invasion of redgorge takes place *after* the PC’s return from Ocippitus. So according to the book, Vhalantru is already in the position of Lord mayor.
Zarn Kyass is indeed a lieutenant to Skellerang. After all, he directly commands many of the mercenary troops. The fact that he sleeps at a fellow noble’s mansion rather than in the barracks as the captain of the guard does underlines the fact that he is superior to Skellerang in all but rank. It is only natural that Zarn Kyass takes on the mantle of captain of the guard after Skellerang passes away. However, I like your suggestion of an axe (or halberd) in the back. That should get the message across very nicely.(5)What effect will the party have on the siege in terms of attack power - ie
- what damage do the seige weapons do to the walls so if the party destroy these they will avoid this attack?
-what effect (again in game terms) will stealing a copy of the enemies battleplans?
-what damage does the demon raiders have on the defenders defences once again so if the party defeat the creatures before a certain time frame then they will stop x from occuring?
-how will the defense of the gatetowers play out? This will be a much smaller force so what would be the players objective ie defeat 10 demon soldiers, 2 vrocks and Nabtharons or another leader before they destroy/open the gate...???
I decided that all these victories together determine the outcome of the battle. The mechanic used in heroes of battle is to award victory points for each encounter. A certain number of victory points earns you a complete victory (the best possible outcome) while earning too little victory points means your side looses (the worst outcome).
Now I didn’t actually use victory points. Instead I just winged it. After all, the PC’s pull unexpected stuff on me all the time, and there’s no use in assigning victory points if I have to make up stats and adjust outcomes all the time. I used the flow of events I described in my first post as a sort of guideline. i.e. what happens if the PC’s do nothing, or at least nothing special?
(6)Why does Redgorge have to be defeated and flee?
I doesn’t. It’s just the most logical (and the worst) outcome afaict. As you can see from my description of how the invasion played out, Redgorge could well come out better that it was, having routed the demons once and for all!
(7)Is Skylar part of the sieging force? This could make for an interesting conflict of loyalties for the party if they have made a previous relationship with him especially given his conflict of morality vs duty in this circumstance.
I considered this. In the end I decided against it. I want to use Skylar in later adventures. Including him here might mean he gets killed, either by the Blue Duke’s men or through some other fluke. I didn’t want to risk it.
It’s funny because I control these kind of events. Still, I’m pretty rigorous in outcomes. If an important NPC dies because of PC actions (or lack thereof), he’s dead. And chances are he won’t be raised either.
Anyway thankyou for you patience and well done on an excellent idea. By the sounds of it a lot of people have already used it and played it out themselves.
Keep up the great work
Delvesdeep
Thanks Delevesdeep.
I have to say that your concepts have inspired me to insert Red Hand of Doom into my SCAP.
I've redesigned Elsir Vale to correspond with the basic information from the SCAP, and have designated Cauldron as sitting atop an incredibly powerful earth node (from The Underdark.
This node is one of the reasons why there has been so much activity around Cauldron - the kopru utilized it, the spellweavers coveted it, the demons want it, and Surabar Spellmason used it. It also explains the hook from the vanished earth wierd in Redgorge - she was there because of the node itself.
Now the Red Hand marches towards Cauldron, burning and pillaging its way towards the last hope of the region. The PCs will be tapped by the "dwarves" to try to find Zenith Splintershield, the last scion of the dwarven rulers in the area and will ally with the Blue Duke and Skellerang's forces to drive off the attackers.
The PCs will be overwhelmed by the size of the horde, but hope will come from an unlikely source: Kauraphon. The fiend will broker a deal between Nabthatoron and the PCs, and the gnolls and demons will destroy a significant amount of the Red Hand before turning on Redgorge in its weakened state.
What will the PCs do? Will they allow the destruction of Redgorge to save Cauldron? Will they push the combined forces of the dwarves and city guards to sally forth and stop Nabthatoron? Will a small strike force of PCs infiltrate the Demonskar to put an end to the madness? Only time will tell... :)
Thanks for you quick reply Chef.
I'm going to use your concept and expand it a little if you don't mind. I'm thinking of writing it up a in more detail and breaking it down into events and investigations (a bit like what I did with the Demonskar Ball). I hope this is alright with you?
If everything goes well I may post it here and/or on the RPGenius site.
I still don't play this adventure/side quest for a while (we are in between Chapter 3 & 4 currently) so it might be a way off yet but if I could use your base idea and maybe even use you to sound a few ideas off from time to time that would be tremendous.
I want to include events such as (what yourself and others have included above) -
* Destruction of Seige Weapons
* Defending a key location
* Getting Allies
* Facing Nabthatoran on the Battlements
* Smuggling in weapons/armour/etc
* Sneaking into the enemy camp to convince Skylar to return with the rest of the human gaurds to Cauldron &/or stealing the enemy battleplans
* Defending against a raid
Any other ideas
I did think about the players attempting to find the Earth Oracle or a way to have it return but I'm worried the adventure may blow out. My idea was to have the characters travel to the jungles outside of Sasserine to an ancient Earth Temple to return the Oracle but this is just another idea of course...
Anyway if you have any other ideas I could add please let me know and I'll post up what I've done so you can comment when I get around to writing it up.
In my opinion I see The seige of Redgorge similiar to the Demonskar Ball - another great way to add colour, background and foresadowing to the SCAP.
Thankyou once again
Delvesdeep
if it's anything like the demonscar ball or the Sasserine write-up you did, it should be great.
i'm looking forward to reading your work
I'll be running this in just over three weeks, so I'll share any useful thougths or notes I come up with, too.
I would have timeline for the invasion depend on the progress your pc’s are making rather than on some pre-set number of days. It’s a great way to put the pressure on your pc’s. So if they make good progress, they should arrive back at redgorge just as Skellerang’s men knock on Redgorge’s gate.
As for what timeframe is believable: I think Skellerang can mobilize his men within a day. He’s had enough time to prepare the invasion, so the necessary supplies should be ready to load onto wagons and ship to Redgorge. He’ll march the next day and attack either late that day or early the next.
Delvesdeep, did you ever get this written up?
IMC the clock was ticking on the invasion, they got to Alek, and now they're off on Occipitus. When word got back (via sending) that Alek was dead, the army was already halfway to Redgorge. Based on 7 days for an army to march from Cauldron to Redgorge (they're going at a slow march to arrive there fresh and to allow word to go ahead that they're coming so Redgorge can surrender Maavu-- plus I wanted to give them a ticking clock, but not TOO much of a ticking clock), it looked like the PCs weren't going to get back in time to save Redgorge.
So I stopped the army when Terseon found out that Alek was dead. Currently, the PCs know that messengers have ridden to the north (back to Cauldron for advice from Vhalantru), to the south (to give them another chance to surrender Maavu now that Alek isn't coming to be their champion), and to the west (from the Blue Duke, asking Nabthataron to come help in the sacking of Redgorge).
So I figured the party would get back from the test to find Redgorge under seige from both the half-orc army and the demons of the Demonskar. Nabthatoron got away from a very beat up party at the end of Demonskar Legacy, so they really want a piece of Nabby now that they're levelled up. I also thought to bring in the Stormblades as captains of the army of Cauldron. I thought that might set up some nice conflict and even have the Stormblades leave the army when they finally find out that they're fighting on the same side as the demons.
I thought that might be a great way to kill Todd and have the Stormblades dissolve.
I ordered Heroes of Battle today, but anything else you guys have would be appreciated. I have probably a month or so before I have to run this.
Almost finished. Just have to write up the final 3 parts which are -
Event EightThe party rush to defend the Chisel from an assassination attempt lead by Nabthatoran’s sergeant – Dreghakus, and a strike team of powerful demons with the Redhead Miners Inn. The death of the demons signals the beginning of the Invasion of Redgorge.
Event Nine – Defence of the Gatehouse
Under the cover of night the Half-Orc Merceries and Demonic army attack Redgorge. The party are left to defend the most important defence point of the assault, the Gatehouse, where they battle the Blue Duke and his personal ogre mage guard from opening the gate.
Event Ten – The Demonic General
As the conflict begins to turn the way of the defenders, Nabthataron and two advanced vrocks, fly to the battlements and begin to face off against Alek and/or the party in the final battle.
Conclusion – The Aftermath
Nabthataron, the Blue Duke and their armies are defeated and what’s left of their forces, flee back to the Demonskar or the half-orc camp.
It's taken me a more time than I anticipated writing up Town Improvements and the mini-adventures the party can do to gain Victory Points.
Also I have a 4 month old daughter who, with my little boy and tired wife, are taking a far amount of my free time. My players are entering the Demonskar tomorrow night so my time line is similiar to your own so, all going to plan, I should have it finished (or at the very least an unpolished version) in the next couple of weeks.
Delvesdeep
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I also thought to bring in the Stormblades as captains of the army of Cauldron. I thought that might set up some nice conflict and even have the Stormblades leave the army when they finally find out that they're fighting on the same side as the demons.I thought that might be a great way to kill Todd and have the Stormblades dissolve.
I was thinking of doing the exact same thing! I'm hoping I can structure it as a battle between The Stormblades/Cauldron and The PCs/Redgorge for a while, then have the demons attack and have the citizens of Redgorge have to open the gates to allow the Cauldronites in to help defend against the demons. Then you can forge a marriage of necessity between the two rival adventuring groups and have Todd's death mean a lot more when he's the first one to reach the wall when Nabthatoron breaches it.
Let us know how it goes!
In my game, after the blue duke was killed, there were three two candidates for the post of captain of the guard:
Khyron Bonesworth, put forward by Lord Vhalantru and Lady Rhiavadi and Cora Lathenmire, put forward by Lord Taskerhill. Of course, neither candidate was very suitable, so the party went looking for a third. They had a fairly large group of candidates to chose from. My PC's managed to save all their allies in previous sessions. There was Alek, Skylar Krewis, and even Skellerang Himself.
We had a great session that time. I think I have a link here
Also I have a 4 month old daughter who, with my little boy and tired wife, are taking a far amount of my free time.
Delvesdeep
Man, I know what that's like
Also I have a 4 month old daughter who, with my little boy and tired wife, are taking a far amount of my free time.
Delvesdeep
Cute bub Chef! You do know exactly what I am going through!
Okay, I've been reading Heroes of Battle and rereading the stuff here and starting to put together my own scenario using the numbers you guys have provided. I'm a little worried about the party just mowing into the half-orc army and wiping them out.
I'm adding Fario, Fellian, and Shensen to the defenders, and the Stormblades to the army of Cauldron.
Also, IMC one of Zenith's prophecies to our fighter was, "You will be killed by the man in blue." He's really taken that to heart, and when the fire elementals attacked Cauldron he actually fought them alongside the Blue Duke. He thought the BD was a wimp (although the Cone of Cold saved their asses). Currently I'm not sure they're equal. When they get back from Occipitus the fighter should be 9th level (he's died twice there, once for each test so far). Do you think the Blue Duke vs. 9th level fighter is a good match or should I give him a level or two?
I like the assasination of Terseon. IMC Skylar died in the tax riot, so he's not a factor.
So the current plan is for the party to arrive from Occipitus shortly before or during the Caldron army's first assault. The first task for them should be to get inside the city walls through the battle.
So, here's what I've got:
Day 1
First attack led by Skellerang, Stormblades, and Zarn Kyass. Siege engines already built (part of the long march and delay in getting to Redgorge was building the siege engines). Skellerang is killed, Zarn Kyass takes control. Stormblades grumble. Attack is repelled, but patched portion of Redgorge's walls is breached. Shensen patches the breach with Stone Shape, but it's a patch, as Stone Shape won't work (nor will any other magic) on Surabar's original walls.
Party must get into the city, probably from the south where there are smaller patrols just making sure the residents of Redgorge don't flee during the siege.
Day 2
Second attack, this time led by Zarn Kyass.
The party is tasked with taking out the siege engines.
While the party is behind enemy lines and the battle rages, the Demonskar demons arrive and open up a second front from the south. Defenders must split their force.
Dregarkus (whom the party has never met or heard of) and a force of babaus make it to the top of the wall. Chisel members give their lives to repel him.
At this point the party may be between a vrock and a hard place (ha!). If they don't take out the siege weapons, the patched breach will surely fall and the half-orcs will pour into Redgorge. If they don't rush to the south Dregarkus will kill Chisel members.
Optimal outcome would be both siege weapons are destroyed and Dregarkus is killed and the demons repulsed. Worst outcome would be the walls are breached from the north and demons pour over the walls from the south, leading to mass slaughter and house to house fighting (which is what would happen if the party wasn't there).
The only light in this tunnel is that once the demons arrive, the Stormblades realize they are not on the side of right. They will abandon the fight and try to leave. Todd will be the only one to refuse, will try to turn the tide of battle himself, and be killed. The Stormblades will collect his body and leave.
Day 3
With the half-orcs battle weary and probably at half strength, theirs is now the lesser of the two forces. Nabthateron takes over running this battle, and Zarn Kyass becomes merely a lieutenant in their army. The remaining defenders of Redgorge know they can't last another day agains the onslaught of demons. The party is tasked with taking out Nabthateron himself, and Dregarkus if he still lives.
Once the head is cut off, discipline in the demon army will disintegrate and they will fight among themselves for the leadership.
If the battle is lost, Zarn Kyass will return to Cauldron. If he's killed... I don't know yet. Probably replaced with a newly levelled Kazmoejen (since, IMC he got away).
****
And yes, the party will be wanted should they return to Cauldron. That should lead nicely into the assassin attack.
Thoughts? Questions? Nitpicks?
Day 1
First attack led by Skellerang, Stormblades, and Zarn Kyass. Siege engines already built (part of the long march and delay in getting to Redgorge was building the siege engines). Skellerang is killed, Zarn Kyass takes control. Stormblades grumble. Attack is repelled, but patched portion of Redgorge's walls is breached. Shensen patches the breach with Stone Shape, but it's a patch, as Stone Shape won't work (nor will any other magic) on Surabar's original walls.Party must get into the city, probably from the south where there are smaller patrols just making sure the residents of Redgorge don't flee during the siege.
This part is pretty straightforward. It sounds good. I like the stone-shape detail. It focusses the attackers and defenders on certain key points and gives the party something to do during the assault.
Day 2
Second attack, this time led by Zarn Kyass.The party is tasked with taking out the siege engines.
this is good. In my 'invasion of redgorge', leading the town's defences sort of fell to the party, with the foreman chiming in with advice occasionally. This is one of the things I would change if I could do it again. Make sure redgorge has a well established leadership during the siege. That way, the PC's are free to do what they want.
Good timing. Really dives home a sense of urgency. Make sure the party is aware of the timeline, though. For example, a spot or survival check reveals that the demonic horde will be uppon the wall within 3 minutes (or something).
While the party is behind enemy lines and the battle rages, the Demonskar demons arrive and open up a second front from the south. Defenders must split their force.Dregarkus (whom the party has never met or heard of) and a force of babaus make it to the top of the wall. Chisel members give their lives to repel him.
At this point the party may be between a vrock and a hard place (ha!). If they don't take out the siege weapons, the patched breach will surely fall and the half-orcs will pour into Redgorge. If they don't rush to the south Dregarkus will kill Chisel members.
Optimal outcome would be both siege weapons are destroyed and Dregarkus is killed and the demons repulsed. Worst outcome would be the walls are breached from the north and demons pour over the walls from the south, leading to mass slaughter and house to house fighting (which is what would happen if the party wasn't there).
The only light in this tunnel is that once the demons arrive, the Stormblades realize they are not on the side of right. They will abandon the fight and try to leave. Todd will be the only one to refuse, will try to turn the tide of battle himself, and be killed. The Stormblades will collect his body and leave.
One of the things the party could do is convince the stormblades to join Redgorge. This could be a real tide-turner.
Day 3
With the half-orcs battle weary and probably at half strength, theirs is now the lesser of the two forces. Nabthateron takes over running this battle, and Zarn Kyass becomes merely a lieutenant in their army. The remaining defenders of Redgorge know they can't last another day agains the onslaught of demons. The party is tasked with taking out Nabthateron himself, and Dregarkus if he still lives.Once the head is cut off, discipline in the demon army will disintegrate and they will fight among themselves for the leadership.
remember the demonic forces are a chaotic and unruly bunch They are just as likely to attack each other as the enemy. nabatharon leads by force, and cowers the others into submission. As soon as the are out of Nabatheron's sight, the revert to their true nature. In other words, they're not disciplined :)
If the battle is lost, Zarn Kyass will return to Cauldron. If he's killed... I don't know yet. Probably replaced with a newly levelled Kazmoejen (since, IMC he got away).****
And yes, the party will be wanted should they return to Cauldron. That should lead nicely into the assassin attack.
Thoughts? Questions? Nitpicks?
I like that you reintroduce Kazmojen this way. Good idea.
I had the assasinathing take place in Redgorge, should the PC's decide that enering Cauldron while being wanted is a bad idea.
I hope these tips help you (and you too Delvesdeep)
Good Luck!
I'm now putting together a flowcharts a la Heroes of Battle. The first problem I see is this:
Party must get into the city, probably from the south where there are smaller patrols just making sure the residents of Redgorge don't flee during the siege.
The party may not want to get into the city, because they'd rather harrass from the back. So I've got to make that contingency. I figure if they start a fight from the back, the defenders of Redgorge will figure it's reinforcements from their allies in Cauldron. Fario and Fellian will make a sortie, using their best cavalry (still commoners, but the ones who can ride) in order to (hopefully) end the battle there and then.
The party will then have to save this group, once it proves wholly inadequate on the field. So it'll turn into a rescue mission for the party.
The party is tasked with taking out the siege engines.
Just looking at how they're scaling the encounters in Heroes of Battle and knowing the relative levels of my party (9th-12th by then, with most around 11th or 12th) I'm really worried about the Cauldron forces. I need to beef up the siege engine forces. Thinking of adding some Ogre Brutes as "slaves" for loading. They're allies that come with Zarn Kyass, but you put a collar on them for show.
One of the things the party could do is convince the stormblades to join Redgorge. This could be a real tide-turner.
That's actually a great idea, as one of my new players is a bard with a massive diplomacy rank. I think (given their past) that the party will rather seek out a showdown on the battlefield with the Stormblades.
I've just scanned the rest of the campaign and I can't find anymore appearences of the Stormblades, aside from Todd's body sitting in the temple of Wee Jass. Is there any other role written for them that I might have missed?
If not, then if the party wants to fight the Stormblades, I'll let them. It will be a huge minus when it comes time to decide how Cauldron will be ruled. If the party sways them to defend Redgorge, it could still affect that meeting. After all, the party will be declared "traitors" and the nobles will see them as a bad influence on their sons and daughters. I think that'll be fun.
remember the demonic forces are a chaotic and unruly bunch They are just as likely to attack each other as the enemy. nabatharon leads by force, and cowers the others into submission. As soon as the are out of Nabatheron's sight, the revert to their true nature. In other words, they're not disciplined :)
Yeah, that's what I figured, but in order for the army to disintegrate, both Nabthateron and Dregarkus need to fall. That's a "best possible outcome."
I'll post my version on RPGenius when I get it written up.
I've just scanned the rest of the campaign and I can't find anymore appearences of the Stormblades, aside from Todd's body sitting in the temple of Wee Jass. Is there any other role written for them that I might have missed?
The stormblades can help the party during the final chapters of the campaign. Either by helping them evacuate cauldron, or by storming the fiery sanctum with them.
I'm looking forward to your writeup of the invasion.
Two questions:
Looking at the map of Redgorge, why don't the vrocks just fly to the east and come in from the direction of the quarry? If the walls deny them their flight, well, there are no walls there, just the river and cliffs, but vrock can fly over water, right?
The Hall of Carvings (as detailed in Dungeon 104, I can't find it in the HC) would be a great place for a "last stand." I would expect the Chisel to put their families down there, while non-Chisel families would hide in the mines. Is that too callous? Would the Chisel let the party into the Hall if the walls are overrun? I would think so, but rules are rules.
Well, I ran the first session of this, and true to form, it went entirely off the rails.
This was set after the Test of the Smoking Eye. My party had just fought Kaurophon and beaten him. The bard now has the Smoking Eye template (he sacrificed himself when it looked like Kaurophon was going to get it). The party was pretty much out of spells, but it was dusk and according to Jenya's sendings, the army of Cauldron should just have been filing into the plain in front of Redgorge.
Scouting parties had already been deployed.
They plane shifted onto the road within sight of the southern entrance to Redgorge only to find Todd Vandorboren and a party of about 20 4th-level orcs guarding the gate to ensure that no one (like Maavu) fled.
One amazing Diplomacy check later (something in the 40's) on the bard's part, and Todd is willing to overlook the fact that his rivals are part of a group trying to get into Redgorge (at this point 3 members of the party have never met the Stormblades), and recommends that his fellow noble leave this part of the world. Cross the river above the falls to the west, and head to Cauldron. Whatever, but there's going to be a fight here, and you don't want to be a part of it.
I believe it was the nicest thing Todd has ever done.
The party retreated to the south, and, after much discussion, used two more plane shifts (they took the lesser amulet off Kaurophon, as well as now owning a pile of plane shift scrolls), to travel to the eastern shore of the river, where the mines are. As they approach the bridge they find it rigged to blow with piles of alchemists' fire, and a squad of commoner crossbowmen guarding it. Some more diplomacy and Maavu is sent for. The party is welcomed into Redgorge.
Now I'd just like to say that my write-up had two possibilities for the party getting into Redgorge: either they approach from the south and encounter Todd's squad. They fight and probably kill Todd (leading to all sorts of ramifications)...
OR they approach from the north, through the main body of the army. They fight the rest of the Stormblades, and three squads of orcs. During the fight, Fario leads a sortie from the Cauldron Gate which actually gets into more trouble than the party should be in. They save Fario (or not), and whatever remnant of commoner soldiers is left, and fight their way into the city.
So that was a lot of planning that just gets thrown onto the pile. Ah well, such is the life of the DM.
After meeting with the leaders of the Chisel, and reuniting with Fario, Fellian, and Shensen, the party gets a good night's rest. They are awakened shortly before dawn because the army of Cauldron is getting into formation.
The plan is this is the first battle for the north wall and the now patched breaches. The army of Cauldron has scaling ladders and longbows, and it should be a pretty straight-up fight that the defenders can win even without the party's help. The big thing the party will do is tip the balance and cause more 1/2-orc casualties and fewer commoner casualties. The 1/2-orcs have longbows, but the commoners have cover. I'd planned on using the volley of arrows rules from Heroes of Battle, and then get into some light fighting on the wall. If the Blue Duke and the 1/2-orc clerics could, they'd try to do some damage to the patched breaches with magic. The big event would be the death of Terseon Skellerang and the rise of the Blue Duke.
As the party looks out over the arrayed forces, the bard uses a spell from Heroes of Battle that basically allows your voice to be heard across the battlefield (hey, if I bring the book in, they can use it too). He performs the epic tale of Maavu's flight from Cauldron, the search for Alek, the recovery of Alakast, and the tragic death of Cauldron's favorite paladin at the hands of Nabthateron himself.
Annah tries a countersong, but her perform checks are no match for his.
There is grumbling in the ranks. Some of the troops aren't sure they're doing the right thing, but more of them just don't care (hey, a battle is a battle, let's kill something). The Blue Duke is visibly moved, but Terseon holds fast to his purpose (he's now got a couple of levels of Legendary Leader, and some amazing Char bonuses and a stupendous Will save). This poses a problem because Terseon is charmed by the Blue Duke and acting on his orders. Hmmm. There is a conference among the leaders, and a couple of rolls later, Terseon convinces his master that the story is just another bard's fabrications. They know what's really going on here, and the writ must be served. Maavu must be executed, and this rebellion on the part of Redgorge must be put down.
Annah begins a song about the rule of law, and pursuing criminals. The party's bard countersongs and it's a Battle of the Bards. Annah loses. There is more grumbling.
Terseon reads the lawful proclamation of the mayor of Cauldron calling for Maavu's execution, then gives them five minutes to produce the criminal or suffer the consequences.
The party's bard casts Mass Suggestion (from a scroll that Kaurophon was carrying) on Terseon, the Blue Duke, and the Stormblades. Zach and Cora are the only ones to make the will save. The suggestion is, "Take the army back to Cauldron and confirm the legality of your orders."
So they order the retreat.
And that was the end of the session.
The Mass Suggestion will last 11 hours, at which time everyone will come to their senses. OR Zach has a Dispel Magic, which he could use on Terseon, which may break both the suggestion and the charm, in which case, Terseon would continue the retreat anyway (to be assassinated by Zarn Kyass at the 11-hour mark). I keep wavering about it, because Zach doesn't see the need for this whole war, but then again some fighting would be nice...
In any event, the party has bought Redgorge 22 hours.
But since the seige engines weren't going to show up until the second day (they move slowly), now they'll have to contend with the full army (instead of an army that's taken 20% casualties) AND seige weapons manned by Hill Giants. So without knowing it, they've made their second battle more difficult by avoiding the first battle.
Oh, and the order of the day will be for every member of the army to stuff cotton in their ears to "Combat the treacherous sorcery of the enemy."
The party is planning to go all A-team and set traps and such in anticipation of the army's return.
After a summer hiatus, we ran the second session of this, and I've got problems.
First of all, with the Mass Suggestion, the party had basically two days to prepare Redgorge for the half-orcs, since they marched north for a day, camped, then marched back.
This basically meant that the two heavy mangonels would arrive with a full-strength half-orc army. They would rain boulders on the wall, the patches would break, and the half-orc army would attack.
Going by the Heroes of Battle book, the way to run a D&D adventure in a war or battle is to give them specific, small objectives that will affect the course of the battle. So the idea was to have them go after the heavy mangonels (crewed by 4 hill giant barbarian brutes) while the battle took care of itself.
Except the range of a heavy mangonel is 200 ft., well within range of most destructive spells. So the party stayed on the wall, lobbed destructive spells at the mangonels, and lobbed arrows at whichever attacking orcs weren't falling into all the pit traps they had the commoners dig in the previous two days.
It was a total mess of record keeping for me, and I don't recommend it.
In about 5 rounds the 125-strong half-orc army's morale had broken (wall of spirit? Basically a big fear-inducing wall), one of the mangonel crews was lying in a charred heap, and a lucky spot roll on the monk's party caught the Blue Duke cutting down Skellerang in the midst of the battle.
But it was day 3, right? So the demons attacked from the south.
The group saw the 100 commoners they left on the south wall shooting volleys of light crossbow bolts at... something. The paladin, rogue, and monk lit out for the south, but it would take them 4 rounds to get there (paladin called his mount). This was good for them and saved their lives.
3 rounds later, the Vrocks outside the south wall completed their Dance of Ruin (the volleys were absorbed by the 10 babaus and the hezrou). Boom, a crackling wave of energy (20d6) basically vaporizes the commoners, and the Honest Minstrel, and Mikimax fall.
The party converges on the south wall and a good old fight ensues. That's the good part-- 1 Hezrou and 10 babau vs. the party (vrocks flew away). It was a good battle, and the party won.
So now we have Nabthatoron + 60 babau + 20 vrock + the remnants of the half-orc army outside the north wall.
The party thinks that there is no way they can hold the town vs. that force. The bard has plane shifted to Celestia to beg for help. He has been told, "Cut off the head and the body will disintegrate" which is as clear as I can come to just saying, "Kill Nabthatoron and you'll be fine."
My problem now is how do I set up a battle with just Nabthatoron?
I've got a decent encounter where the Stormblades are going to try to get away. (Stormblades + party vs. 5 babaus + 3 vrock while trying to get to Cauldron) I could have them try to defect to the city walls instead, but I think that the party wouldn't bother to help them and they'd get ripped apart by demons.
Also, the party is now probably at half resources, spell-wise. The first encounter with Nabby specified they should be at full, granted that was 2 levels ago, but I worry.
So, aside from having Nabby just rush the wall, can anyone think of a way to isolate that encounter from the rest of the battle?
I love the way this sounds, a large-scale siege with a couple sets of invaders involved, an attempt to complete Nabthatoron's obligation, and the (probable) alienation of the group from the growing powers in Cauldron.
Reading through, I couldn't quite make sense though of the Terseon angle when it comes to timing. Based on the original adventure, Alek is dealt with by the demons, and the groups is whisked away to the Smoking Eye adventure. Once that is complete, this new section has the group return to deal with this siege. How did the timing of this work out? Does time pass faster in Occipitus than in the Prime? If so, won't the players take advantage of this to heal/craft items? Is this a bad thing? (It would allow a number of the following adventures to be very fast paced, as the group can recover completely in a day of "Prime Time"). I thought Terseon was preparing to march onto Redgorge and would be there quickly. If time does not pass faster, then how can the Smoking Eye be completed so quickly?
I also like the consideration of using Kaurophon during the siege to "rescue" characters, thereby befriending them. But this reverses the timing of the siege vs the Smoking Eye.
How has everyone that has run this already dealt with the disparity?
Reading through, I couldn't quite make sense though of the Terseon angle when it comes to timing. Based on the original adventure, Alek is dealt with by the demons, and the groups is whisked away to the Smoking Eye adventure. Once that is complete, this new section has the group return to deal with this siege. How did the timing of this work out? Does time pass faster in Occipitus than in the Prime? If so, won't the players take advantage of this to heal/craft items? Is this a bad thing?
The way I dealt with the timing was that it takes an army on the march more time to cover the distance from Cauldron to Redgorge that it would a small party on horseback.
So while it took the party 3 days to get to Redgorge (this was a number I pulled out of my butt during a session when asked, "How far is it to Redgorge?") it takes an army with supply carts, infantry and such 7 days (it is mountainous terrain).
That gave them a week to do Demonskar Legacy. They did it in 4 days, and sent a sending to Jenya that Alek was dead. She "got word out" in Cauldron, and after a night of rest in the desert (which Kaurophon said was okay because Occipitus was a dangerous place) they got a sending from Jenya that her watchers (actually Fario, Fellian, and Shensen) report that the army of Cauldron had stopped and that messengers had gone out to the north (back to Cauldron), and to the west (secret message from the Blue Duke to Nabby).
This is also the time the army acquired the mangonels and half-orc artillerymen and Hill Giant Brutes to man them through the Blue Duke's mercenary network.
That gave the party time to do the Smoking Eye, which took them another 3 days. As they entered the skull they got a sending from Jenya that the army was on the march again and would be at Redgorge in 2 days time.
In bad guy terms, that was when Nabby ordered the Blue Duke to continue the assault, and he charmed Skellerang to continue it.
The party arrived at Redgorge about the same time (evening) as the army. That gave them a night to rest and prep spells before the first battle, which ended without a fight as the bard mass suggested the leadership into a retreat.