Yesterday, my PCs made their initial assault on the Hextorite temple. Six PCs went up against a somewhat-increased force, including plenty of mook-cultists, half again as many tieflings, a displacer beast for the Beast, and Garras and Kendra boosted to level 3 (where Garras had been shifted from a fighter/cleric to a crusader). Though their initial incursion went well, the tide turned in the Battle Temple, and the party lost their two frontline fighters in their retreat.
Crunk, the half-orc barbarian/fighter who cut a swath through the Hextorites with Kullen's +1 greataxe, Power Attack and Cleave, fell in the Temple but stabilized as the party fell back. I plan to have him "recover" under the care of the Faceless One, properly charmed of course. Mac, the goliath warblade, fell during the retreat and the party did not have the resources to save him from bleeding out. I plan to have Theldrick cast animate dead on Mac's body, the displacer beast, and the fallen tieflings and cultists to supplement the remaining cultists. This will be also reinforced by Theldrick or Kendra casting desecrate upon the statue of Hextor in the Battle Temple.
I was thinking that Theldrick might make a gift of Kullen's axe and the cloak of resistance taken from Kullen's lieutenant to Grallak Kur, in order to give them motivation to stage a timed (but limited) flank attack from the Erythnul segment when the PCs venture back into the Dark Cathedral to attack the Hextorites again.
I suspect that the distrust between Theldrick and the Faceless One would prevent any serious support from the wizard.
So, what other measures would seem reasonable for Theldrick and his forces to take, since they'll be anticipating the PCs return within at most a couple of days?
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Were I one of the cult leaders, I would realise that the time for secrecy is over since outsiders have discovered their presence. I would also expect the Militia to partake in the next assault against them and would prepare accordingly. A few options:
1) To prevent the PC's from reporting the presence of a cult below Dourstone mine, Theldrick and Grallak Kur could send some grimlock assassins to kill the PC's the very same night that they're recovering from their first foray.
2) Since the only thing really keeping the cultists in Diamond Lake is the birth of the Ebon Aspect, I imagine the cult leaders would try to waken it prematurely. To buy more time, they could send Ragnolin Dourstone to the town officials with charges against the PC's for the murders of several miners.
3) Since the cultists lack an escape route and sneaking out of Diamond Lake isn't exactly a feasible option, they could decide that they'll make a final stand against any intruders. They could set up a decent ambush in the Dark Cathedral and perhaps even rig the elevator to fall (although I imagine they would be hesitant to destroy the elevator since it's their only means of contact with the outside world).
I faced a similar problem in my game after the assault on the Battle Temple of Hextor, which resulted in the deaths of pretty much every Hextorite as well as three PC's. I simply ruled that Grallak Kur was too busy with his visions and too crazy to care. As for the Faceless One, since I had equiped him with a potion of gaseous form with would allow him to flee, he didn't much care about the fates of the other cultists, seeing an opportunity for the carnage to fuel the birth of the Ebon Aspect. When my players returned, they were ambushed by a few reanimated Hextorites and a few kenku which led them into the Labyrinth.