I need to plan the ambush of a caravan my players are leading the security of. It consists of six wagons and a group of 12 mounted npcs. I may be unecessarily complicating things so I'd appreciate some help.
The area is a small town with a monastery overlooking it. There are orchards and fields in rolling country nearby for about four miles in each direction. Cottages dot parts of this. The town itself is on either side of a road with a brook running through it. The monastery is on a hill.
(the town for other game purposes is deserted but that's another story--just suffice to say that no one is there)
The ambushers are to be a large enough party of ghouls and ghasts as to overwhelm the caravan. The pcs are a high level group (10th) and so I need to have sufficient reason for them to retreat. It is meant to be a kind of 28 Days Later/Dawn of the Dead scenario where a hoard of hungry dead swarm at them. What is the best way to plan and present this?
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Right off of the bat I can think of one way.
Have a small number of the ghouls standing in the road between two fields with relatively tall crops, corn or wheat would be best. Enough to look like a threat and require some kind of a response, but not enough to be alarming. This should cause one or two, or perhaps more, or the PCs to move forward and deal with them.
While those PCs are away from the wagons have another group of ghouls suddenly spring out from the fields where they were hiding and attack the mounted guards, concentrating on trying to grapple the guards and pull them out of the saddle. I’d say at least two or three per guard.
By now the first group has probably been wiped out, or at least seriously decimated, and the players will most likely turn back to support the remaining guards. This is when the third, and probably final, group emerges from the fields in the direction you don’t want the party to go, and thinking that this would hapen behind the character's now turned backs, and possobly allow some surprise attacks aganst the players, and advances towards the characters and the wagons.
While the characters themselves may not be too worried any lower level NPC who is in charge of the caravan itself should be really freaked out by now, and convinced that there are more of these creatures out in the fields, so it would make sense for that NPC to order the remainder of the caravan to retreat.
I’m assuring that you want the party and the caravan to retreat to either the town or the monastery. What time of day do you expect to stage this? If its’ at night the option for extra creepiness grows exponentially.
That's a good plan. What I want is very much something that actually IS tactical but will seem random and chaotic and overwhelming. (I'll use the very traits of the ghouls and ghasts to do this last I think, emphasize their foul smell, bloodstained teeth, weird eyes and tattered clothing, overgrown nails)
I was thinking in response to your idea about it being an npc who orders the retreat that I might have the original leader killed as say three ghouls drag him shrieking from his horse--that would unnerve anyone.
Ultimately I want the pcs plus any surviving npcs in the monastery, though if they decide to hole up in buildings in town (I have a detailed map and details on the stronger buildings including an inn and a manor house) I'm fine with that. What I also want is to have them outnumbered and clearly unable to retreat into the countryside.
I'd prefer the attack to take place around dusk. The caravan arrives at this town expecting to gain shelter and the benefit of local commerce, information and possibly beneficial spells from the monastery and so on. I'm deliberately going to have a couple of previous encounters with local settlements that are fairly tame but interesting.
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As long as you want a more tactical approach, Wiglaf has got a pretty good one. One thing you may want to consider is that since Ghasts are supposed to be more clever, have perhaps five or six Ghasts leading many Ghouls, say around a total of 20-35.
The first wave should be about six or seven, possibly eight; enough to distract the players from the second wave, which should have a similar number. The first wave may or may not have a Ghast among them issuing orders, your call. It could allow the players a clue that this situation is more than it appears.
Be sure that the second wave attacks the caravan directly once the first wave is about half-way gone, and signify this by having the player characters make spot checks at this point. This wave should definitely have at least one Ghast leading them, if not two.
The third wave that approaches should be all that is left, possibly from two directions, to drive the caravan to the monastery. One of those two directions should be up the road(the direction the caravan was headed), the other should be behind and to the side, so that the only remaining direction of retreat is toward that monastery.
You can even play it off as the Ghouls and Ghasts doing this purposefully because they like to "play with their food".
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I need to plan the ambush of a caravan my players are leading the security of. It consists of six wagons and a group of 12 mounted npcs. I may be unecessarily complicating things so I'd appreciate some help.
This may all be too much if used together. Then again, maybe not.
Ghouls are smart and there are templates all over the place for making a character with class levels into a ghoul. Use one of those on a couple of spellcasters. The spelcasters can now use things like spike stones, wall of X, soften earth & stone, caustic mire, through either themselves or wands or scrolls, to make the battlefield harder to move through. In addition, use the old "trenches full of pitch" trick and have a ghoul cleric command his four torch-holding zombie minions to light them at an opportune moment, funneling PCs into a batch of spiked pit traps. Ghouls should always go for horses first, then rider with their paralyzing touch. Even a heavy warhorse has a 25% chance of being paralyzed by a ghoul's touch, which means on average, four ghouls swarming a horseman will put his horse out of commission on the first round. And then don't forget alchemical devices. Tanglefoot bags, smokesticks, and thunderstones will throw the scene into an even greater level of chaos. Also remember, ghouls are EVIL, not just hungry. Have them go for the most helpless and innocent people they can with cruel glee, tearing off fingers with their teeth and reveling in the horror, suffering, and terror they create. And remember, they can still talk. Having three ghouls hold some helpless, innocent person and another casually rips sensory organs off their face while taunting them about how ugly they are, asking "does that hurt?" and taking bites out of their flesh would probably be pretty horrific to witness. The movie 30 days of Night would be a good source of inspiration for this, I think. Play up the fire everywhere, the creams of agony and terror, the choking smoke, the blood and death all around them, and the sadistic, mocking laughter of the ghouls themselves.
Edit: Another couple ideas idea: casual, terrified observers will likely be unable to tell the difference between ghouls and zombies. A couple of ghoul clerics with the maximum compliment of human commoner zombies each can vastly increase the apparent size of the attacking force of ghouls, especially if you have a few ghouls move with the zombies. The zombies won't do much but get in the way and perhaps bludgeon a few people, but that should be enough. There's a second-level spell called "divine interdiction" in the spell compendium that cuts clerics off from their ability to turn undead. Getting that cast on any PC clerics and/or paladins should be a top priority for the first few rounds of combat.
The biggest problem I see with this three staged ambush is the first stage. With 10th level players and a fairly normal distribution of classes, I would expect something like this:
DM: You see four ghouls in the road ahead!
PC: Fireball. Now, moving on....
The party has no reason to move away from the caravan. Thus, all the ghouls have accomplished is loosing some of their own. (As an aside, once the ghouls do close in on the caravan, the fireballs will likely dissappear, since friend and foe will be in close proximity to each other).
I'd use something else. Perhaps a decoy: a ghoul wearing thick clothing, laying in the road, writhing and moaning. To the party, he appears like a wounded man in need of aid. Think of a reason for the party to approach him alone. Or perhaps you can have the ghouls in the road ahead, but give the party a reason to hold off on the artillery. Maybe they have a captive they appear poised to eat. Whatever; just come up with a cunning plan for the ghouls to draw the party away from the caravan. Simply appearing threatening in the road ahead only marks them as XP chunks to be harvested.
While the party is off doing their thing ahead of the caravan, that would be a good time for a quick strike against the caravan. The party hears shouts and turns just in time to see the leader's feet dissappear around a corner or into the fields. The ghouls grabbed him before anyone could do anything. Maybe one or two are still fighting at the caravan. The party might try to pursue the captured leader, but as soon as they get any distance from the caravan, enter wave two. This will pull the party back and let them know there's some serious shit going down here. When wave two is about half depleted, call in wave three.
This definitely needs to be done in the dark, when you can't really see what's going on outside of the torch light around the caravan. If done at dusk, think about having it set in the shadow of the monastery (and the hill I assume it's on from your description). You could even use this to describe some dramatic lighting, the last rays of the sun falling on the abandoned stone ediface and offering the caravan what looks to be its only sanctuary.
You may also want to think about having a BBEG type figure mixed in here. Perhaps a Large zombie of some sort. Really anything big and scary that can loom out of the darkness if the party starts doing too well. It can tie them up, or at least split their efforts, while the ghouls continue to wreak havoc on the caravan. Maybe even introduce this creature after the initial decoy: the party goes ahead for whatever reason, this thing jumps out between them and the caravan, and the ghouls descend on the hapless NPCs. Some party members would likely try to run past the big thing to help their friends. Make sure it has Combat Reflexes in this case.
I need to plan the ambush of a caravan my players are leading the security of. It consists of six wagons and a group of 12 mounted npcs. I may be unecessarily complicating things so I'd appreciate some help.This may all be too much if used together. Then again, maybe not.
Ghouls are smart and there are templates all over the place for making a character with class levels into a ghoul. Use one of those on a couple of spellcasters. The spelcasters can now use things like spike stones, wall of X, soften earth & stone, caustic mire, through either themselves or wands or scrolls, to make the battlefield harder to move through. In addition, use the old "trenches full of pitch" trick and have a ghoul cleric command his four torch-holding zombie minions to light them at an opportune moment, funneling PCs into a batch of spiked pit traps. Ghouls should always go for horses first, then rider with their paralyzing touch. Even a heavy warhorse has a 25% chance of being paralyzed by a ghoul's touch, which means on average, four ghouls swarming a horseman will put his horse out of commission on the first round. And then don't forget alchemical devices. Tanglefoot bags, smokesticks, and thunderstones will throw the scene into an even greater level of chaos. Also remember, ghouls are EVIL, not just hungry. Have them go for the most helpless and innocent people they can with cruel glee, tearing off fingers with their teeth and reveling in the horror, suffering, and terror they create. And remember, they can still talk. Having three ghouls hold some helpless, innocent person and another casually rips sensory organs off their face while taunting them about how ugly they are, asking "does that hurt?" and taking bites out of their flesh would probably be pretty horrific to witness. The movie 30 days of Night would be a good source of inspiration for this, I think. Play up the fire everywhere, the creams of agony and terror, the choking smoke, the blood and death all around them, and the...
This raises an interesting point. Well, two. First, how well equipped are these ghouls likely to be? Second, what is the exact nature of the scene you want to portray to the players? There's certainly a big difference between shadowy killers attacking from the fields in waves (particularly when the PCs are actually quite safe by simple virtue of their high level), and a militaristic assault with magic and equipment to back it up (in which the party might actually be in some real danger itself). Even in terms of the type of horror that it evinces; the first relies more on fear of the unknown, the second relies on graphic depictions.
Of course, if the answer to the first question posed is "not very" (i.e., no equipment), then consideration of the second might become moot (unless you wish to change your premise or handwave it away).
I would have to say that the simpler, former approach is actually more likely to induce a retreat. I think the party would be likely to try and stand their ground in the second case, and making the battlefield hard to move across might actually make retreat impossible.
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The BBEG idea isn't bad, but why a big zombie? If you've got the advanced bestiary, slap the dread mummy template on a deinonychus (use the stats in the actual, printed MM, not the SRD; they're different). That brings heat metal, mummy rot, and a level-draining breath attack to the party, plus nasty melee attacks (talons for 2d6+11, plus mummy rot), all for the low, low cost of CR 6. Since it's large-sized, you could even have one of the ghoul casters I mentioned in my first post use it as a mount.
Edit: more ideas.
In terms of stopping PCs in the road, halfling ghouls in thick clothing at night being led by a female ghoul in similar thick clothing on the same night will look an AWFUL lot like a peasant woman with her children. Concoct some sort of "we need aid!" scenario for them to use.
Packs of ghoul-templated dogs or wolves to chase down anyone who breaks free of the initial assault may not be a terrible idea, either. And even if you go for the initial no-equipment idea, you may want to do this. Undead canines are effing SCARY.
Okay, I did some calcualtions. Have a look at this:
5 CR 6 opponents (4 ghouls with 5 class levels each and the aforementioned dread mummy deinonychus) 30 regular ghouls, and 100 human commoner zombies comes to about CR 14. (13.8, but with all the prep work and coordination, be nice and make it 14) You may also want to look into making packs of ghouls and/or zombies using the mob rules from the DMG II if you have that.
It'd be difficult, but a good group of PCs could be expected to survive.
Oh! and have them drag a few people off so that they can haul them out into a field and start torturing them to entice the PCs to come out of the monastery/inn/whatever. To the evil (and ghouls CERTAINLY qualify) innocents are nothing but another tactical resource.
Also: what's the makeup of your party? With that knowledge I can "mix" this encounter's makeup better.
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Here is a thought. Instead of Halfling ghouls, have them actually be children turned into ghouls. My impression is that the ghouls are actually the townspeople that have vanished, so they probably lack specialized equipment, as well as any magical ability larger then an Adept or low level Cleric.
I’m concerned that, as is mentioned above, a more dramatic battle scene will make the party want to stay and fight instead of thinking about running away. If you are willing to entertain the notion that not everyone in the town in dead, then perhaps having a gathering of ghoulish children attacking their shrieking mother in the middle of the road would be enough to gain a reaction from the characters, thus causing them to be out of position when the second wave attacks. I really support the idea of playing up the description of the ghouls looks and mannerisms. Anything that might unnerve the players and the NPCs is a good thing at this point. Taking out the horses is a great idea. People are less likely to try and flee across country if they have to do so on foot, so they would be more likely to look out for a safe place to hole up.
Just offhand I'd suggest giving a few ghouls and maybe some ghasts levels in rogue and the Spring Attack feat. If they struck from the crops they could weaken the caravan and caise major panic and chaos as they picked off the vulnerable members of the caravan. The PCs would hear a scream every now and then and would find another person dead. If the ghouls attacked from different directions in groups of two, than they could probably finish off an NPC every round. Also, if squads of the ghouls attacked from multiple directions, than the PCs would probably have to split up to effectively guard the caravan. Once the PCs caught on to what was going, the real assault could begin. Ghouls could converge on the PCs (who would probably be weakened by now) from all sides, supported by some Ghast spellcasters.
Hm...you've all raised some interesting points that are really helping me flesh things out here. So I guess first comes the crunch stuff.
I'm thinking that first of all there is a kind of underlying purpose here. This is sort of the start of a war of undead vs. the living, and this town is the discovery point. I wanted it to be ghouls and ghasts so I could have more of a 'fast zombie' feel to things. It seems to me that ghouls and ghasts are smart enough to use weapons and spells if capable, so what I was thinking is this:
1. Most of the ghouls and ghasts are ex commoners and experts; they have rudimentary knowledge of weapon use at best and would be better off just using nails and teeth.
2. Some of them are low level warriors/rangers/rogues who would have been part of the town militia, local merchant-venturers and scouts and whatnot. In these cases perhaps bows or crossbows, swords, axes, spears would be available, plus even remnants of armour.
3. I need to figure out if any of them have priest or other spellcaster levels--the monastery would as I see it have mostly had non spellcasting or very low level priests, and besides I'm picturing the original undead attackers apart. But let's say a few ghast leaders have such levels.
4. I was thinking that dog idea could work well--quite possibly the warriors guarding the monastery might have had guard dogs or hunting dogs or both. Perhaps say ghoul-affected mastiffs and wolfhounds?
5. I like the idea of using the springing attack, I think that would make the normal route of defense against such creatures almost moot.
6. I'm not going to warn the pcs but there will be fields of wheat and corn about, thatched roofs, etc; a fireball spell might cause a large fire.
7. I like the idea of emphasizing the evil of the attackers, in fact I think it's one of the most important points.
8. I am a little torn about the numbers...your numbers sound sensible but won't the zombies' advance be too slow? I do appreciate the work you put in btw. I may go with the mob rules idea instead.
BBEG: I like the idea of a dread mummy or something similar. The idea I have for why this is all happening is that in another location altogether a lich has begun creating a vast undead army to conquer the region. This is like a clue that it is happening, a warning so that the pcs can try to prevent that. So the BBEG should be a suitable lieutenant for a lich. The only little doubt I have about this is that I kind of wanted the leader to be some kind of improved ghast. Would a ghast who say has levels as sorceror or something work for this? Or would some other kind of undead work better?
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I really like the set up you have here. Very creepy style. Two ideas for the BBEG are a Blackguard or a Death Knight somehow sworn to the service of the lich. The 2nd edition Monster Manual has some great ideas for the use of Death Knights. If you don’t have it you can find a PDF of it here. That book is recommended as an idea mine for all sorts of monsters.
Another idea that you could use to enhance this setting is the inclusion of a “Cauldron Born” concept, like from the book The Black Cauldron. Basically, the remains of long dead warriors, and newly dead warriors, are placed into the cauldron and then raised as deathless warriors who retain the weapon skills they had in life. This artifact could essentially create a limitless army under the lich’s command, since the only thing needed is a dead warrior. These could be the ‘Elite’ of the lich’s forces, and a small number used as bodyguards for the BBEG. One variant on this idea says that the proximity to the cauldron which created them has an effect on their abilities. The closer they are to it the more powerful they are.
Now, if you wanted to add that idea you’d need a way to destroy it. The way that was used in the book is that a living being has to climb into the cauldron of his, or her, own free will knowing that to do so will cause their death. This can cause all the current Cauldron Born to ‘die’ or it could simply be a means to prevent more from being created. Your choice. You could have an NPC do this, or set it up so that one of the Characters should be the one, thus emphasizing the need for heroic self sacrifice to ensure the destruction of great evil.
I appreciate the compliment. I like the idea of a death knight, some former nobleman of the region perhaps as an indication of evil corruption in the region in general.
For the device: I'd like to use a version of the Totentanz Gate that was in Dungeon 90, except instead of stripping people to skeletons it just turns them into undead. I'd like to use something like your undying warriors idea.
The monastery is meant to be a place of refuge and information, but will also be creepily haunted. The haunting is not truly dangerous but will be unsettling; more or less reflecting the horrible deaths of the monks and priests before one dying priest managed to use a magical rod to cast a powerful hallow spell. Ultimately I want this whole scenario to paint a picture of the horrors being visited upon the land so that the pcs will be motivated to stop them, and find the source of them.
More recommendations:
Personally, I aesthetically like ghouls and ghasts sans the weapons. Anyone can hold a weapon, so giving these baddies some kind of takes away from their ghoulishness, to an extent. Further, it's creepier to have them bite and claw.
Similarly, I think simplicity goes a long way... at least initially. What I mean by this is, rather than hitting the party all at once with undead kids and wolves and commoner zombies, fade it in. Start with just the "simple" ambush described initially, enough to make the party retreat to the monastery (which, by the way, sounds much cooler with a minor haunting presence; good thinking!). Perhaps throw in some type of BBEG to hint that there's still worse things out there.
Then, when the undead want to try to lure the PCs out, they send out the children. The party sees them out on the road or something, and of course runs out to save the kiddies. That's when the baying of undead hounds comes behind them (the party); they have to fight and/or race to save the kids even more. When the PCs actually reach Johnny and Suzie ghoul (possibly still under attack from zombie Fido), have the kids keep up the ruse as long as possible- see if they can fool the party into taking them back inside the monastery (assuming whatever magic wards it doesn't mess with the kids too much; or maybe let it- if the party is particularly dense and doesn't catch on, that can be the final "clue").
Likewise, don't even reveal they have spellcasters to start with. Just use the bare bones (pun intended). Then, after they've been thoroughly creeped out by the Little (undead) Rascals, and try to get out again, that's when you reveal that they have some magic on their side. Keep the party guessing, but not in a contrived way.
Finally, when the party thinks they're free at last, free at last... enter the batallion of undead commoners, and maybe some bigger monsters as well. Perhaps the party's only escape route in the long run takes them through a staging ground for the army. Then they realize the monsters at the monastery were only a small part of the larger force. By the time the PCs get back to civilization to report on all this, they will be thoroughly harrowed and suffering no illusions about the evil and power of the undead menace confronting them.
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I appreciate the compliment. I like the idea of a death knight, some former nobleman of the region perhaps as an indication of evil corruption in the region in general.
For the device: I'd like to use a version of the Totentanz Gate that was in Dungeon 90, except instead of stripping people to skeletons it just turns them into undead. I'd like to use something like your undying warriors idea.
The monastery is meant to be a place of refuge and information, but will also be creepily haunted. The haunting is not truly dangerous but will be unsettling; more or less reflecting the horrible deaths of the monks and priests before one dying priest managed to use a magical rod to cast a powerful hallow spell. Ultimately I want this whole scenario to paint a picture of the horrors being visited upon the land so that the pcs will be motivated to stop them, and find the source of them.
For your death knight, I humbly submit the following homebrew feat and accompanying build:
You combine twisted honor with sinister magic to vanquish your foes.
Prerequisites:Knight's Challenge, Hexblade's Curse
Benefit:Your Hexblade and Knight levels stack for determining your uses and potency of both your Hexblade's Curse and Knight's challenge abilities. In addition, you may choose to spend two knight's challenge uses and a Hexblade's curse use to use both abilities on the same foe simultaneously.
Special:The possession of this feat can be used in lieu of ranks in the hide skill for the purposes of qualifying for the Blackguard prestige class
Human Knight 3/Hexblade 4/blackguard 5
Feats:
H Power Attack
1 Cleave
3 Improved Sunder
6 Black Knight
9 Combat Brute
12 Divine Might
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It would appear that I said one thing and meant another. A Death Knight is really good for the role you want. I still recommend it, but there is another monster that I really like, and I don’t believe it was ever translated into 3rd edition. Here is a brief overview of what it is.
The Warrior Skeleton is a powerful undead created from the unwilling remains of a mighty fighter. It is controlled through the use of a magic circlet which contains its’ soul. Whoever wears the circlet is able to actively control the warrior, and even see through the warrior’s eyes. However, the owner of the circlet may not move or cast spells while in active control. If passive control is used then the warrior lies inert. Should the wearer of the circlet ever lose possession of it, or allow the warrior to move beyond 240 ft of the wearers position then control is lost and the warrior immediately turns around and rushes towards the former controller and does not rest until the controller is killed, or control is re-established. If the warrior regains possession of the circlet and places it upon his head then he vanishes never to return.
There is more, but the rest is more related to the rules for what happens should a player character gain possession of the circlet. As it is written this is a pretty interesting monster, but I have a few ideas on how to make it more interesting.
First, get rid of the distance limit. This turns the Warrior into an ideal scout and general for a villain who might lack alternate means.
Second, give the warrior a bit more of a mind, and the ability to talk. This could allow you to play up its’ forced servitude and might even allow it to try and plot its release.
Third, there is nothing which states that the controller has to be more powerful than the warrior. Anyone, from a lich to a young child, could come into possession of a circlet by design or accident. This can lead to an interesting development in any game should it be discovered that the warrior is more powerful than his controller, yet unable to do anything about it due to the circlet. Also, imagine the moral quandary should a child become a controller. Would this warrior, who seeks eternal peace and release from his horrible existence, be willing to slay a child to gain his rest?
Now, my recommendations to you, or anyone really, who might want to use this would be as follows. Start with a base rce, I like Human, Half Orc, or Half Elf for this one, the book calls for at least 9 hit die so make it a Fighter of at least 10th level, or maybe more. And then add the skeleton and undead traits to him. Also, the book lists him as having 90% Magic Resistance and can only be harmed by magical weapons. And, they cannot be turned and cause anyone with fewer than 5 hit dice to flee in panic upon seeing them.
It seems to me that this could create a very interesting, and dynamic, villain for your scenario. An unwilling servant compelled by magic who, when not under the direct control of his master, desires only freedom and rest. Perhaps the warrior is tortured by memories of what he has been forced to do by his current and past masters, and could even try to atone for his actions during the times when his body is his own. A good recipe for a reoccurring villain and potential temporary ally.
Saern: thanks very much for the ideas--I do like the simpler ambush in a lot of ways and I'm leaning in that direction. I LOVE the idea of the 'children' being chased by undead dogs and wolves. The ghasts would probably pick ones that can look as human as possible, with wounds that can be concealed by clothing. And yeah, the dog scenes in the "Resident Evil" movies were probably the best scenes, disturbing and frightening.
Timespke and Wiglaf:
Now I'm very torn between this adventure's BBEG ideas. I love the idea of using the Death Knight very much, just for sheer combat stats alone, but the backstory idea for the Skeletal Warrior is great too. There's something very weird about an intelligent animated skeleton that I think will creep my players out, but at the same time possibly intrigue them if he turns out to have an odd sense of chivalry or something.
Your suggestion seems good to me but I have to ask for some responses about these questions then.
1. The map I downloaded shows a number of lanes and cottage style houses that seem to have garden plots near them. Near the outskirts at certain points there are orchards. Paddock walls for animals exist in some areas. Do these seem like suitable areas to block an easy withdrawal by undead occupying houses?
2. What if the pcs don't lead the caravan into town at all? If they ask any reasonable questions they'll notice it looks deserted. There is a place where the road seems to branch two ways--one around the town to the northeast and the other directly through town. This seems like a logical place to stop if they end up stopping right near town. Coming near enough to have a really good look short of the pcs doing some kind of long recon on their approach will at least take them near the fields.
3. I have to admit that the idea of halting the caravan altogether (ie taking out the lead and rear wagons, then attacking the guards) seems like the reasonable way to do it. I'm only worried that it may be TOO effective, resulting in a last stand as opposed to a retreat. Any thoughts on this?
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Saern: thanks very much for the ideas--I do like the simpler ambush in a lot of ways and I'm leaning in that direction. I LOVE the idea of the 'children' being chased by undead dogs and wolves. The ghasts would probably pick ones that can look as human as possible, with wounds that can be concealed by clothing. And yeah, the dog scenes in the "Resident Evil" movies were probably the best scenes, disturbing and frightening.
Timespke and Wiglaf:
Now I'm very torn between this adventure's BBEG ideas. I love the idea of using the Death Knight very much, just for sheer combat stats alone, but the backstory idea for the Skeletal Warrior is great too. There's something very weird about an intelligent animated skeleton that I think will creep my players out, but at the same time possibly intrigue them if he turns out to have an odd sense of chivalry or something.
So why not combine them? Good news, by the way. The creature he's talking about WAS updated to third edition, it was just updated by Necromancer Games, that's all. If you have the Tome of Horrors (revised) it's on page 393. If you DON'T have the Tome of Horrors (revised), GET IT HERE. $10 for over 440 pages of really good monsters is one of the best values in gaming. I highly recommend both sequels and the advanced bestiary by Green Ronin, too. (all of which have been seeing excellent use by Paizo staff in the Rise of the Runelords adventure path, BTW.)
Anyway, it's a template. It may not be quite the power word-wielding, fireball-chucking killing machine a death knight is, but with turn immunity, damage reduction, a fear aura, and spell resistance, it's no slouch, either (CR+3). So make the Knight/Hexblade/Blackguard I suggested, slap the template on it it, give the circlet to someone, and go. :)
I have to admit that the idea of halting the caravan altogether (ie taking out the lead and rear wagons, then attacking the guards) seems like the reasonable way to do it. I'm only worried that it may be TOO effective, resulting in a last stand as opposed to a retreat. Any thoughts on this?
Yes. If it would be too lethal, just don't do it. The ghouls don't know exactly what they'll come up against with the party and the caravan. And the party won't know what the ghouls exact plans were, either. I don't think they'll sit around smirking about how stupid those ghouls were because they didn't execute a perfect, by-the-book ambush... particularly if they're too busy recouping from the terror of the attack and the loss of several NPCs.
Returning to my personal sense of aesthetics, ghouls are smart and cunning, but I've always thought of them more as feral stalkers and predators as opposed to actual strategists. In my mind, there's a difference even between the roughly coordinated waves and twisted decoys, and paramilitary battle plans. I think both can easily work to pull off a memorable encounter with ghouls that is "true" to their style (as I understand it); sense you don't want a total massacre, just tone down their tactics a little bit. The caravan is still in real danger, and the creepiness will still be more than enough to carry the encounter successfully.
Also, what about wights? I don't want to clutter the field too much with too many options and ideas, but wights can also be good and scary; perhaps your "death knight" could be a leveled wight with the Wight Blade feat from whatever Dragon had Ecology of the Wight (can someone list the number, please?). Give him Improved Toughness (Complete Warrior and Libris Mortis both have this feat, and maybe some other sources, too), and as a nasty bit of DM fiat they PCs will never know about, slap on Unholy Toughness (see Monster Manual III; I know it's in other places, but that's the first which springs to mind). Perhaps give him a reach weapon, or a feat that extends reach (I think there's one in the PHB II?), as well as Combat Reflexes and a boosted Dex score, and you'll have a warrior with control over the battlefield. Place him between the party and somewhere or someone they want to get to in a hurry, and they'll have to deal with his melee attacks, which drain levels in addition to their normal damage.
That sounds about wight. :P
Saern: Good points, and I'm pretty much sold. All this planning leaves out that whole grey area where the players may think totally outside the box and do something utterly brilliant or completely stupid. So I'm going to avoid presenting it as a tactical problem anyway; the pcs will simply find the caravan under devastating attack.
Actually Wights are a good idea, btw. This is what I've decided. The Skeletal Warrior won't be present here. It diminishes in a way the sense of utter horror I want. I want it for a later encounter as the pcs gain a greater understanding of the sheer scope of the lich's plans. On the other hand an improved wight and some lesser wights controlling this mob will be initially hard to distinguish from the ghouls and ghasts at first.
Tome of Horror btw sounds ideal for my campaign! The general atmosphere I've been building to is the sense that the evil creatures in the world are genuinely horrifying. I prefer to avoid the humans in funny suits thing and make monsters alien or creepy, and even to make friendly creatures mythological in some way. Anyway I really appreciate the suggestion.
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Thanks for the tip about Tome of Horrors. I'm reading it now.
Edited to add;
I am very pleased. Thank you. This book is more useful to me than the 3rd edition MM II and III combined.
If you think the first volume is good, you should see what's in the next two! I just got all three of these in the last month or two, and I'm very satisfied with all of them. I came to D&D with the release of 3rd edition (unless you want to count Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment), and yeah, they're great. The funny thing is, I'm not all that enormous an adherent to the "first edition feel" they talk about. My setting is loaded with steam tech, psionics, and weird forms of magic (I use incarnum, binders, warlocks, martial adepts, you name it) but well-made monstersare well-made monsters. Oh, and I'm serious about the Advanced bestiary, too. That has a multiplying effect on your existing monster book collection. For examples of Paizo's use of Tome of Horrors and Advanced Bestiary creatures, see The Headless Lord, The Hidden Beast (a particularly cool one), The Scribbler, etc.
The thing that I find refreshing about the Tome of Horrors series & Advanced Bestiary is that the monsters (and templates) have defined ROLES to them. You can read an entry and start thinking "oh, that would fit really well in X place in my game."
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Tome of Horror btw sounds ideal for my campaign! The general atmosphere I've been building to is the sense that the evil creatures in the world are genuinely horrifying. I prefer to avoid the humans in funny suits thing and make monsters alien or creepy, and even to make friendly creatures mythological in some way. Anyway I really appreciate the suggestion.
The first one is a huge update of creatures from previous editions, the next two volumes are new stuff. Almost all of it is absolutely fantastic. I can see uses for well over 80% of the stuff in there. Compared to the 20%-50% efficiency rating of MMII, Fiend Folio and MMIV, that's not too bad...
If you REALLY like monster books, the next ones I'd recommend are the Monsternomicon and Monsternomicon II by Privateer press. Those are also excellent, but a fair number of the monsters therein have a steam fantasy flavor, so you may want to check it out in a store first.
Thanks everyone for all your advice--I'm looking forward to running this event tomorrow night.
Thanks everyone for all your advice--I'm looking forward to running this event tomorrow night.Tell us what you do and how it goes!
Yes; I'm extremely curious now, too.
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A few late thoughts for you (I don't think anyone mentioned these) ...
Somebody brought up the possibility of PC tossing a bunch of fireballs around. Have your undead baddies haul around a couple of live meat-shields. PCs would probably think twice about fireballing innocents.
Also, knowing that fire might be a danger, maybe the ghouls fling oil on the road around the PCs and all over the caravan wagons.
Thanks for the thoughts btw--I didn't use the meat shield idea but I may yet use it since the adventure isn't over yet. There's of course the mystery of the monastery to be dealt with while the pcs are under siege by the horde of the walking dead.
I led up to this part of the adventure with a good 2/3 of the session devoted to dealing with mundane stuff. Roleplaying one pc having difficulty maintaining fidelity; another dealing with intrigues and so on. Because the journey is important I kind of lulled them into thinking that they had to spend all of it being diplomatic and friendly with locals and making sure the caravan got from point A to point B.
I played during all this selections from various albums in a compilation on my laptop that were mostly harp, pipe and bodhran drum, that kind of thing, sort of lively, vaguely medieval and pleasant.
When they arrived at the town I didn't give them any real hints, just described that they could see beyond the meadows bounteous fields of corn and wheat on either side of the road ahead, pleasant looking peasant cottages with garden plots around them, they could see a forge and a mill, and rising above everything else the U shape of the monastery, with its tall peaked roofs and the faint flash of stained glass from the upper story of the main hall, the outbuildings around it on the hill.
One player then said, "Are there any PEOPLE?" And I said, "No...everything looks quiet and you don't see a soul."
This particular player headed in ahead to check this out with his Companion; noticing for example that the forge was pretty much cold; even at dusk there should have been warmth in it. He noticed also looking in more closely that there were signs of struggle here and there in the town.
At the same time one character sent a pseudo dragon companion to make use of camouflage and try to see what it could up ahead. The paladin, leading the group, ordered a halt to the caravan and for everyone to stand to. (I had the ranger levelled ghasts plan the ambush from the moment the pcs moved into the area--using their abilities against the pcs' with secret dice rolls, however I also based this on the pcs' own actions.)
Not long after that a spoiled butcher's shop stench of rotting meat hit them; at first a whiff and then overpoweringly as from either side of the caravan ragged, bloody toothed screaming people in tattered remnants of the clothing of farmers, craftsmen and shopkeepers rushed at them. (at this point the music changed to selections from "Aliens" "Starship Troopers" and "Dawn of the Dead")
The rear wagon was successfully hit; some poor men-at-arms were there with bows, while some footmen who were really armed commoners on the wagon and on foot near it braced themselves as best they could with broadswords or axes; within one round they were desperately engaged; in another they were overwhelmed. (I had some of the ghouls bring up stuff to fling into the wheel spokes of the wagons)
Meanwhile the ghouls and ghasts in the fighting squads were mainly focusing on the horses; the leading herald and the caravan commander were taken out at the end of the first round; the pc party for the most part (except for the overextended one, who was in the town) rallied around the first wagon which had their VIP passenger in it. The cleric and paladin tag-teamed doing a field of protection around it. The mage took to the air, then did an ice storm to clear an area.
Interestingly my players for the most part didn't take to the air. Only two did; the Mage who used a Fly spell and then hung about casting spells; the Psion who has a very young dragon companion and made use of her to help clear a path of retreat. Before this could happen the psion was attacked by five ghasts at once, almost overwhelmed and with severe hit point loss managing to take to the air. (Wasn't too happy with the spring feat attack btw--that really sucked for him)
Much as predicted they tried to make a stand, however I made sure the ghouls were constantly trying to outflank them, trying to take out mounts and surround and then divide. In fact three of the wagons were completely overwhelmed before they realized that they'd still be caught in the open if they just retreated. (I made good use of the spring feat attack from time to time, and seemingly unpredictably, to freak them out. I also would have the ranger-ghasts (since the stench was everywhere anyway) crawl under the melee only to suddenly spring up now and then)
Furthermore the pcs could only protect so many npcs and deal with so many problems at once. (for example damaged wagons had to be dealt with and so on) The paladin realized that the town seemed unoccupied still and directed (with Leadership) a retreat in that direction. While they did manage to begin this retreat some ghouls had been concealed in town and emerged from windows or onto roofs to fling things down onto the wagons as they passed by, like pots of burning pitch or beehives or whatever.
They managed to get three wagons out and to save 24 npcs. (bearing in mind this was not too many--they started out with 50) As they reached the monastery half the party with cohorts and companions turned to slow down the advance of the undead, more or less doing a combo of spells plus breath weapon on the narrow road leading up to hold them off--aware that the ghouls were climbing up the other parts of the hill. It was a brief delay.
It was really only the undead reluctance to actually go into the monastery grounds that prevented them being overwhelmed. Realizing this, the pcs rushed inside, made sure all the doors and windows were blocked off, and then announced their intention to explore. One was smart enough to say, "Alright, anyone who was bitten or scratched, please assemble over here..."
We left off when part of the group went into a dormitory and saw that some of the cots had been overturned, and that there were dried bloodstains in the room.
Ghoulish Stuff:
I made sure that the ghouls all seemed to have at one time been normal people. Little details like:
- a powerfully looking ghoul in a blacksmith's leather apron and half his throat torn away
- a man in studded leather jack, missing an ear and part of his scalp
- a woman in half torn away blue and white robes whose face is spattered with dried blood
or things they did:
- a ghoul who was once a stately burgher in velvet robes is now a leering savage undead monster, yanking a shrieking maidservant from a wagon to 'kiss' her on the mouth
- two tattered ghouls shout and laugh as they eviscerate a screaming horse
That kind of thing.
It sounds like the session was a great success. Thanks for posting, and keep us updated on how this scenario develops and plays out!
Thanks for the encouragement!
Now here's something else: I want ultimately a 'land of the dead' scenario where this particular realm is overrun--the idea is that the pcs are in a region that is part of the epicentre of an invasion, and are literally surrounded more than they think.
Do you think that:
1. The idea of anyone say trying to teleport or scry to the last town they were in and seeing it overrun by another undead army is over the top (bearing in mind I want the sense of 'overrun' to hit them hard)
2. That forcing a 'survival first' then 'figure things out' will work best by having simply more undead around than they can deal with even by most effective combat will work without it seeming too much like railroading?
I should clarify here--I want the BBEG to really seem awful and effective; not to have some kind of plan the pcs might be able to simply interrupt but literally to present the idea that it will take a major quest of some kind, possibly several, to stop him.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Now here's something else: I want ultimately a 'land of the dead' scenario where this particular realm is overrun--the idea is that the pcs are in a region that is part of the epicentre of an invasion, and are literally surrounded more than they think.
Do you think that:
1. The idea of anyone say trying to teleport or scry to the last town they were in and seeing it overrun by another undead army is over the top (bearing in mind I want the sense of 'overrun' to hit them hard)2. That forcing a 'survival first' then 'figure things out' will work best by having simply more undead around than they can deal with even by most effective combat will work without it seeming too much like railroading?
I should clarify here--I want the BBEG to really seem awful and effective; not to have some kind of plan the pcs might be able to simply interrupt but literally to present the idea that it will take a major quest of some kind, possibly several, to stop him.
Well, I'm not really sure about the first question. But in regards to the second, it depends on the modes of transport they have. Let's say they have overland flight. First, if the undead have any flying creatures in the area (skeletal wyverns jump to mind as a cool option, perhaps with some kind of intelligent undead rider to guide them), let the party know about this beforehand. Let them see these creatures up in the air so that they (the PCs) know what they're getting into. If they then try to leave via flying, they will quickly draw the attention of these creatures. Make the fight hard, but winnable. Just enough to make the party go "Damn, that was hard!" Then, as they contine to fly along, they see the fields and towns and countryside swarming with undead. They have their out, their escape route, and you let them go where they please, but it's also quite obvious, even if it's just a bunch of skeletons, that there are too many undead for them to do anything.
Depending on how long it takes to get somewhere, there may be several nights which have to be spent on the ground (depending on the undead and how you run them, it may be wise to travel by night, when it's harder to be seen and so that the party is resting in the day, when the undead are less active... if you run them that way). These could be good opportunities to have some lighter skirmishes, as well as possibly gathering some clues on the ground. And while flying overhead, all they see for the longest time is this vast number of undead and the terrible remnants of villages, towns, castles, etc.
Alternately, you could let the party just kind of fly away from the monastery to begin with, and not encounter a flying patrol until much later, perhaps if they happen to be leaving on a route that takes them even closer to the epicenter of the catastrophe. This, and what they see on the ground from their lofty position, could give them some vital information for when they get back to civilization.
Now, if they try to scry the last town they were in, I would give them some vision of what has happened there, too. I could see this being handled in two ways:
1) They are immediately greeted to a scene of carnage, with ghouls ripping corpses to pieces; an obvious repeat of what has happened in their location.
2) The PCs don't initially see anything, just the village... but abandoned. Then either have a small group appear in the field of view; perhaps some surviving guards or soldiers, or even another adventuring group. Have them move slowly, cautiously through the area. Build up just a bit of tension, then spring the undead on this group en masse. The party can choose to watch the ensuing massacre, or not. Alternately, the village is abandoned, but shapes move in the shadows, scurrying around in strange stop-and-go ways. A sound or light comes from behind the scrying sensor. The shapes seem to react. Then describe to the best of your ability a ghoulish face lunging past the sensor (try to scare the players). Bits of flesh might fly by after that, followed by the sound of the undead's feasting.
Regardless of the tactic employed, the party comes away with a sense of what has happened at this other location. They will realize that it's useless to try going back the way they came.
What about the NPCs the party has with them? They will likely force the party to simply walk out. That could get ugly in a hurry. Lots of hiding, close encounters with wandering undead, some light skirmishes... perhaps wandering closer to the epicenter by accident, or just seeing an undead staging area and getting some more information about what's going on (not from a direct confrontation; it should be clear that skirting unnoticed around the edges is the only real option).
Alternately, if the party is in the monastery for some time, they could get "rescued" (in quotes because survival still isn't guaranteed). Perhaps a band of clerics and/or paladins, maybe some others, have survived the attack and are trying to reach civilization again. They could have some refugees with them, too. They gladly take the party with them, happy to save some more people and to benefit from the party's combat abilities. Then, while there would still be some stealth involved, it would mainly be an extended "protect the caravan/NPC" mission... again. Plan up some light encounters and some heavy ones; the former just to impress them with the sheer numbers and scale of this undead invasion, the latter to keep things interesting and remind them not to get too confident.
This approach might sacrifice the "survivalist" feel somewhat, but perhaps not. It depends on the method of execution. You can keep up the feel by having some particularly foul deaths amongst the combatant and non-combatant NPCs. But in the end, the overall survival rate of all involved is likely higher this way.
Folks, this has been truly evil, mean, rotten, and nasty.
I've been taking notes.
And my players know this. >:D
Don't know what you mean, Doc. ;)
Saern, I quite like your ideas. As far as the npcs with the group goes there's the following:
- 5 aristocrats (1 boy heir, 2 knights {1 being the present caravan commander, the other being a snobbish fop) 1 lady (noncombatant) 1 squire, 1 page)
- 6 military escort (1 low level ranger, 5 low level warriors)
- 13 commoners/experts (ie a musician, a cook, 2 domestics, an ostler, a groom, a teamster, a scribe, a clerk, a clothier, etc)(Most at this point are armed with something like a club, cleaver or staff)
(more or less like the Canterbury Pilgrims)
One of the pcs wants to teleport the boy heir to his castle. I was thinking of having that overrun as well, or at least fighting so desperately that it's not really safe either. (Perhaps for example the pc and potentially hysterial boy encounter someone from behind dressed as a lady in waiting or something only to turn out to be a ghoul or something) There might then be sounds of fighting from outside and in the surrounding town, desperate rallying cries, fires, screams and shouts.
I like your idea for the ambush of the other group of refugees, I think that would be sobering.
The idea too about the wyverns is good--my pcs have encountered wyverns before, but encountering undead ones would probably unnerve them.
You make a very good point about the importance of having them be able to sneak around--they'll have to then decide what to do with the non-party npcs with them, though being a good party I imagine they will only be satisfied with bringing them somewhere safe.
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Okay. If you want to keep them stuck, there's little better way to do so than flying undead, but while I like skeletal wyverns, there's so much more that can be done!
Blackwings or deadborn Vultures from MMV would work, as would a dread vampire anything, scylla flocks from Monsternomicon are SCARY. (Undead birds that gain extra abilities from slain victims.) Crawling Apocalypses can't fly, but they present their own issues. A pack of flying wights (eagles, bats, vultures, flying humanoids, whatever) led by a dread wraith could be good, too.
I don't have MMV; I have MMI, Liber Mortis, fthe Draconomicon, and Fiendish Codex II. I'm thinking of getting Tome of Horror but I'm trying to budget my spending a little so if I get a new book I'm likely to get that given the strong endoresement I got in this thread. I also don't know any other DMs in town I could borrow anything from that I don't already have.
I don't have MMV; I have MMI, Liber Mortis, fthe Draconomicon, and Fiendish Codex II. I'm thinking of getting Tome of Horror but I'm trying to budget my spending a little so if I get a new book I'm likely to get that given the strong endoresement I got in this thread. I also don't know any other DMs in town I could borrow anything from that I don't already have.
You could use limewire to simply download the books you need, thats how I get the majority of my books, that and some site like Paizo you can buy the book in PDF format for just acouple of dollars. Mostly everyone in my group uses laptops, we use an electonic char sheets that way we dont have to keep making up nice clean one as they get used. and I do have a copy of all sheets so I know my people arent cheating
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I don't have MMV; I have MMI, Liber Mortis, fthe Draconomicon, and Fiendish Codex II. I'm thinking of getting Tome of Horror but I'm trying to budget my spending a little so if I get a new book I'm likely to get that given the strong endoresement I got in this thread. I also don't know any other DMs in town I could borrow anything from that I don't already have.
Sorry. I occasionally forget that my library is freakishly large by the standards of most gamers.
Sorry. I occasionally forget that my library is freakishly large by the standards of most gamers.I don't have MMV; I have MMI, Liber Mortis, fthe Draconomicon, and Fiendish Codex II. I'm thinking of getting Tome of Horror but I'm trying to budget my spending a little so if I get a new book I'm likely to get that given the strong endoresement I got in this thread. I also don't know any other DMs in town I could borrow anything from that I don't already have.
I know the feeling I have more than 700 books. So I am never short of things to throw at my PC
There's a very big game store in town, so I'll also call them and see if they have it. I like actually owning books and stuff like that--buying online pdfs is okay though if I have to do that. Thanks for your help!
My pcs made their big break--they had been exploring the monastery (and discovered some important clues for the rest of the adventure path) but also had made use of spells/familiars/animal companions to cautiously scout around the monastery and the village a little. They discovered that the ghouls and ghasts had set a number of sentries to watch the place but that in the meantime a number of the rest were building some kind of machine of wood and parts from the mill and the forge.
Because of this I didn't get a chance yet to use the ghoul kids or the dogs--later. Because the pcs decided to make their break much more quickly; they didn't want to wait for the ghouls and ghasts to make a siege engine or two and just break in.
Inside, the npcs had been calmed by the bard playing a few pleasant songs and by some of the commoners being asked to prepare a meal. So they were told to get ready to form up as a caravan again. The plan was for the people to hurl lamp oil in oilskin bags or small casks after setting them on fire, while the wizard (using a fly spell) would move from place to place using affect normal fires to spread the flames. The paladin and cleric would have their cohorts act as a rearguard while they themselves would act as a team to prevent the ghouls from overcoming any part of the caravan. Meanwhile the Psion and his dragon companion would take to the air and cover everyone by generally attacking any ghouls or ghasts in a group.
Decent plan, right? It actually did work, though the Psion and Dragon companion almost got killed by a Bone Dragon that came swooping silently down on them--it was such a near fight that they both had just a couple of hit points left. Meanwhile the wizard to his humiliation was almost taken out by thrown rocks from some ghasts--rolled critical hits for all three of them and of course he doesn't have many hit points, so he went down like a sack of cement and had to be rescued by the paladin and cleric as he was being dragged off through the smouldering crops by a band of ghasts.
The paladin while on her warhorse flanked by a good cleric was pretty much like a tank ploughing through infantry with no anti-tank weapons though. I think the player was glorying in really having a chance to shine above all the other characters.
Anyway they managed to evacuate from the village but used up pretty much all their healing potions, most of their offensive spells.
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There's a very big game store in town, so I'll also call them and see if they have it. I like actually owning books and stuff like that--buying online pdfs is okay though if I have to do that. Thanks for your help!
Tome of Horrors Revised is only available as a PDF. It was never printed (the 3.0 version was, but good luck finding that for less than double its original cover price). Volumes 2 & 3 should be on the shelves at most game stres and shouldn't be too hard to get your hands on at Barnes & Noble (I work or the company and last I checked -admittedly a while ago-, we can special order 'em both.)
My pcs made their big break--they had been exploring the monastery (and discovered some important clues for the rest of the adventure path) but also had made use of spells/familiars/animal companions to cautiously scout around the monastery and the village a little. They discovered that the ghouls and ghasts had set a number of sentries to watch the place but that in the meantime a number of the rest were building some kind of machine of wood and parts from the mill and the forge.
Because of this I didn't get a chance yet to use the ghoul kids or the dogs--later. Because the pcs decided to make their break much more quickly; they didn't want to wait for the ghouls and ghasts to make a siege engine or two and just break in.
Inside, the npcs had been calmed by the bard playing a few pleasant songs and by some of the commoners being asked to prepare a meal. So they were told to get ready to form up as a caravan again. The plan was for the people to hurl lamp oil in oilskin bags or small casks after setting them on fire, while the wizard (using a fly spell) would move from place to place using affect normal fires to spread the flames. The paladin and cleric would have their cohorts act as a rearguard while they themselves would act as a team to prevent the ghouls from overcoming any part of the caravan. Meanwhile the Psion and his dragon companion would take to the air and cover everyone by generally attacking any ghouls or ghasts in a group.
Decent plan, right? It actually did work, though the Psion and Dragon companion almost got killed by a Bone Dragon that came swooping silently down on them--it was such a near fight that they both had just a couple of hit points left. Meanwhile the wizard to his humiliation was almost taken out by thrown rocks from some ghasts--rolled critical hits for all three of them and of course he doesn't have many hit points, so he went down like a sack of cement and had to be rescued by the paladin and cleric as he was being dragged off through the smouldering crops by a band...
So, do you get to use the rest of the devious plans hatched in this thread? If so, keep on updating us about how they go! If not, too bad. But it sounds like your game is going great, regardless. The PCs are getting to be heroic, if badly pressed, and came up with a pretty decent plan it sounds like. Kudos on letting them go through with it!Some DMs would get antsy and try to railroad, especially after so much thought had been invested. Pat yourself (and the players) on the back for letting them run with their idea and making it work!
Yes, I'm definitely using the other items later on! This is not a scenario that's just going to end in one adventure, but will involve a shift in my campaign as the lich's plans come to fruition. I very much appreciate all the help and advice I've been given.
And thanks for the compliments, I appreciate it and I'll pass it on to my players.
Update: undead children are scary. Gratifying to see pcs' eyes widen with horror as the little peasant children suddenly reach up with uncanny swiftness to tear and bite, screeching obscenities.
I really love giving the ghouls those springing attacks and using the undead dogs was shocking. BTW a little tip--make the dogs have pale fading eyes that are almost white, make sure that they LOOK bad...have patches of skin missing, trailing tattered bits of gut, bone gleaming through wounds.
I find that using zombies mostly as local colour or as a mob works best for higher level characters. The former is disconcerting but a mild irritation; the second can be shockingly effective--as they are distracted but then gradually realize that they're cut off, overwhelmed.
Update: undead children are scary. Gratifying to see pcs' eyes widen with horror as the little peasant children suddenly reach up with uncanny swiftness to tear and bite, screeching obscenities.
I really love giving the ghouls those springing attacks and using the undead dogs was shocking. BTW a little tip--make the dogs have pale fading eyes that are almost white, make sure that they LOOK bad...have patches of skin missing, trailing tattered bits of gut, bone gleaming through wounds.
I find that using zombies mostly as local colour or as a mob works best for higher level characters. The former is disconcerting but a mild irritation; the second can be shockingly effective--as they are distracted but then gradually realize that they're cut off, overwhelmed.
Excellent! Glad to hear things are going well. Undead get used so often that they run the risk of becoming mundane. It's nice to see that they can still stand hairs on end when used right.