RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32
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Well, this thread will probably have spoilers in it, so you have been warned. :)
I am getting ready to run the attack on Sandpoint that happens at the start of Chapter 4, The Fortress of the Stone Giant. I want to add color and description but I also want to minimize the amount of distraction that a huge battle of this can cause.
The goal is to make the battle seem flowing, continuous, violent, and quick. But not to make it more difficult.
So I am trying to come up with one or two round vignettes that I can use to "grey box" the chaos of the attack and give the PCs something to do to hold their focus. Here is the list so far (and these are not worked out in any detail):
- An NPC gets in trouble when the building he is in is hit by a boulder and collapses. The PCs must rescue him or he will be trapped. (This one will not be used because it will de-focus the event of the attack.)
- A boulder comes bouncing down the street, causing destruction as it comes. (Color, nothing the PCs can do to stop it just see it coming and know that there is something out there throwing stones.)
- A band of “bad guys” encounters the PCs – looters, Sczarni, or just some toughs. The bad guys drop whatever they were doing and fee in different directions when confronted.
- A woman screams as her building is hit by a boulder, no damage is done to her. (This may defocus the attack as well.)
- A small group of horses/ponies/cattle come stampeding down the street. (An opportunity to use stampedes :) )
- A town guardsman is attempting to pull people from a burning building.
- Another guardsman is hiding from the chaos and destruction.
- A large boulder hits in the middle of the street 1d4 × 10 feet in front of the PCs
- A runaway horse pulling a cart comes barreling down the street, littering goods, boxes, and fruit as it goes.
- A townsman is attempting to organize a fire brigade to combat a building in flames.
- An itinerant “holy man” is preaching about doom and destruction as the town dissolves into chaos around him.
- A solo rogue attempts to steal something as the chaos rages.
- A youth and his girlfriend are fleeing from the girl’s brothers as the attack happens.
- A child is sitting in the middle of the street crying, wailing for his “mommy.”
- A group of goblins, trailing the giants, attempt to attack but fall victim to the chaos themselves (e.g. running from the stampede of horses, caught in a burning building, quarreling over who gets what when they find a body with some silver pieces).
What do you think? Too much, not worth the time it would take to invest in it? Any suggestions?
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I do something like this regularly when the situation calls for it.
During my prep time I pick the "sideline" scenes to describe and decide where in the initiative order they are seen.
Of course, folks do initiative a variety of ways so this may not work for you. I do a count down: Who goes on 30...29...28...27...26, okay on 26 you guys peripherally see such-n-such. That's round 1.
I write out who's going in what order so I can just read off the list for who's next. For round 2: Munchkin-boy, your turn... okay, the BBEG does such-n-such... Loser-PC, your turn... okay everyone peripherally sees such-n-such.
Hope this helps.
-W. E. Ray
- An NPC gets in trouble when the building he is in is hit by a boulder and collapses. The PCs must rescue him or he will be trapped. (This one will not be used because it will de-focus the event of the attack.)
- A boulder comes bouncing down the street, causing destruction as it comes. (Color, nothing the PCs can do to stop it just see it coming and know that there is something out there throwing stones.)
- A band of “bad guys” encounters the PCs – looters, Sczarni, or just some toughs. The bad guys drop whatever they were doing and fee in different directions when confronted.
- A woman screams as her building is hit by a boulder, no damage is done to her. (This may defocus the attack as well.)
- A small group of horses/ponies/cattle come stampeding down the street. (An opportunity to use stampedes :) )
- A town guardsman is attempting to pull people from a burning building.
- Another guardsman is hiding from the chaos and destruction.
- A large boulder hits in the middle of the street 1d4 × 10 feet in front of the PCs
- A runaway horse pulling a cart...
How about...
- The old, you hear screaming and see a woman's body on the ground with a frightened baby crying her eyes out.(mother at -1 will die if left unattended for 9 rounds)
- A Horse breaks loose from the stables and rushes down the street dragging it's rider and trampling towns people every round until calmed.
- The side of the bath house crumbles dropping a bathtub filled with a woman and a man and sends them bobbing down stream.
- The stairwell to the complex below sandpoint is hit by a boulder blocking it.
- A drunk stumbles out into the street and starts relieving himself on or by a PC.
- Potion dealer steps out of his door with a quickly drawn sign "Protection from Missiles 50 gold pieces"
What I do for combat in my game is use initiative cards with one at initiative 10 (+0) that has the list of happenings in order to be checked off.
rustle
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I think those are good ideas. I am actually probably going to run the raid this coming friday, so I hope you don't mind if I steal some of your ideas. :)
What I did in preparation for the raid is to decide ahead of time which NPC's will be at each attacked location in town during the raid. Who will be near the tanner's bridge, who will be near the brewery, etc.
Then, I decided that on some rounds, one of those NPC's would get killed or captured.
Example:
Round 15, NPC1 dies.
Round 18, NPC2 gets put in a giant's bag.
Round 22, NPC3 dies.
So I'll know, depending at what round the PC's get to a certain location to fight a specific group of attackers, or manage to route all of the attackers, which NPC's they will have managed to save from death or capture. So literally, every round counts!! :)