This weekend, I'll be running a game in which the party is going to have to cross the territory of a gnoll tribe. Their first encounter will be with an outpost, and the gnolls have about a 95% chance of getting a signal fire lit. This will alert the rest of the tribe to intruders.
After another small skirmish, I'd like to introduce a gnoll hunter, either a ranger or a druid, who heads a band of his tribesmen in pursuit of the party. I'd like to make this into an overland chase in which the party is trying to get away from the gnolls for a couple of days. But I'm not sure how to pull it off. I've done shorter chase scenes in urban environments, but I've never pulled off an overland wilderness chase as well. Several issues confront me:
1. How do I let the party know they're being pursued by this hunter and his brethren? There will be an NPC with the party, and I think I'm going to have him know a bit about the gnolls to help the party out in some other areas. But what other options would there be for setting the scene, as it were? If I simply had the enemy attack them, there's a chance the party wouldn't run (rather, dying themselves or killing the villain and obviating the chase element), which leads me to...
2. How to I make the party run, rather than staying and fighting? I'm pretty sure this group would respond if I gave them hints that running is not only an option, but a good one (their pretty cautious), but I've never tried conveying that message before and I'm not sure how to go about doing it without being too blunt.
3. What would be a good final encounter? If the party can take the hunter and his band themselves, why would they run from him in the first place? I'm currently considering having whatever bridge or pass they come to be held, so the PCs would have to fight their way through that opposition before the pursuers catch up. But I think it would be cooler to actually involve the gnoll who's after them more directly.
The party is very wilderness-savvy: they have a barbarian, druid, and ranger, all with max ranks in survival. The party is low-level, so I can't use anything too lethal on them. They are passing through this region, a rocky and barren stretch of hills, on their way to an abandoned dwarven settlement. They will eventually return along this same path, but are likely to be a couple levels higher.
Thanks in advance!
1. You could always have the PCs hear the gnoll cackles from a distance. They might prefer to sneak up on things and ambush them, but if there is a metric ton of them, they might figure its more advantageous to scare the stuffing out of the prey and have them run themselves to death.
The gnolls might be particularly good at masking their numbers with sound, and the PCs might hear what sounds like hundreds and hundreds of gnolls that turn out to be not nearly as many, but the PCs don't know an exact count, because they can only hear the calls, not figure out that the gnolls are masking their numbers.
2. Even if you have a tough encounter planned that the PCs could win, if they think that there are hundreds of gnolls as per the above, they may get the idea that, even if they take out a lot of them, hundreds of gnolls are beyond their capabilities.
3. Gnolls are lazy. Its possible that most of the pack splits off to take on easier prey, and only the lead hunter and the gnolls within reach (i.e. the ones most afraid of him) keep tracking them. You may even want the PCs to have a shot at using their wilderness lore to figure out that the gnolls have thinned in numbers.
I was really happy with the chase rules presented in Kobold Quarterly #3, and I modified them to include not just the "run" check from the article, but also a climb or balance check for rooftops in an urban environment.
You may have the PCs have to jump or swim a stream, or climb a hill, in order to keep ahead of the gnolls, or present a "shortcut" to them where they might get an extra "length" ahead of the gnolls by using one of these abilities.
Well. as far as how do they know they are being hunted? They are gnolls. They will hear the yips echoing through the hills as the (large) warbard is formed and sets off in persuit.
If the leader is a canny hunter, have him take advantage of the terrain to send smaller flanking parties in routes to cut the party off (smaller winnable ambush encounters) make them change directions (deadfall ambushes) or otherwise be used as the basis for reactive encounters. Perhaps the smaller skirmish bands are either overconfident, foolhardy, or overcome with the hunting thrill/bloodlust and will "jump the gun" a bit, trying to take the party themselves and get the glory.
Gnolls on top of a ridge or waterfall firing arrows down as the party dashes across the open killzone to safety on the other side.
Maybe they communicate with drums, and the party can hear them from different directions. Most likely they'd alter courses in trying to adapt. Easiest way to make the party run is to make them fear the magnitude of what they face but not make them painted into a corner. If they have 1 or more avenues to go, they will.
Regarding a final, maybe the Leader will get more and more eager or frustrated as the party slips past attempt after attempt. He could push his personal cohort into a grueling forced march that has several collapse and be left behind, leading to a "Ha! finally cought you, you thought you could escape ME?!?" final encounter when the group is on the edge of safely or believes they've left them behind for good.
Other encounter ideas. :
Advance scout encounter. A couple gnolls with hyenas. far sweeper role, they're supposed to find and flush out the group. even if the party kills them, their location is known.
Mentioned above: Deadfall. a escape/speed route gets blocked when gnolls trigger a rockslide down into the ravine the party was travelling/fleeing through.
Waterfall/ridgeline: Gnoll archers fire down as the party has to get across an open area to temporary safety on the other side.
Underbrush ambush. a coupel fast moving gnolls. (barbarian 1?) managed to get ahead of the party and explode from underbrush when the party reaches them. They start in melee or the middle fo the party and could be a serious threat. may want to keep numbers low to avoid squishy-caster-instant-deaths
Shamanistic wrath: a gnoll shaman animates several hyena/gnolls/dead foes into skeletons and sets them on the party. they can catch up in the dark hours of the night weather or not the party camps. undead never rest during persuit.
Gnoll Leader Flind/Ranger or Barbarian.
Gnoll Shaman with Leader perhaps or seperate encounter. Gnoll cleric or druid if you wish. could use adept class as well. Say he had a couple scrolls for the above animate dead.
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Chase scene guidelines for DMs:
1} Whoever is chasing the PCs should have obvious superior numbers (or CR). If 350 NPCs start chasing the PCs they won't choose to fight. Mobs in D&D make swarms look pitiful!!!!
2} Because the PCs have to run make sure you don't railroad them. Design the encounter with choices of where to run: "Do y'all want the river road (boxed in on the river but the sure way not to get lost) or do y'all want the hilly road (high vantage points but easily visible to your pursuers) or do y'all want the forest way (think of your own damn pros & cons)???
3} Chases have to be fast and scary! So, when they have decision time count up rounds out loud: "1 round passes... 2 rounds, still no decision? heh... 3 rounds... Do this as they're arguing amongst themselves about which friggin road to take.
4} Design the pursuers' actions also. If there's 350 of 'em decide that they'll break off into groups at certain points. Based on the NPCs' INT and knowledge of the area (and how much time they have before they begin the chase) design what they are most likely to do for each part of the chase. Give this info to the PCs to help them make decisions on what they want to do as appropriate.
5} Throw away any fuc!<ing battlemap you might normally use. If someone starts counting squares or or somesuch kill him or her -- not the PC, the actual Player... You can use a map of the overland area but it should be scaled something-like 1 hex = 1000 yards or something.
6} Plan for an ending! I cannot emphasize this enough for Wilderness scenes (not as important in urban areas). If the PCs don't think about an ultimate destination you've got to come up with one or two for them -- just don't tell them until several rounds into the chase.
7} Come up with a number of fluff things to say during the chase: the way the torches look behind the PCs, the stink of the pursuers, how a PC falls on his face, etc. Use one or two for each round -- your mileage may vary depending on your gaming group.
8} Memorize what the NPCs will do. NOTHING in a chase scene is worse than a DM who slows down the game checking for something.
9} Read the advice given in the DMG 2 and then ignore it. But still read it; just because I disagree with it doesn't mean it's not a good read and food for thought.
-W. E. Ray
Thanks for the speedy replies! They've given me some great ideas. To begin, the PCs might be able to see a thick column of smoke rising in the distance and figure out that the gnoll tribe is mobilizing. They can use Listen and Survival to hear the horns the gnolls call to each other with and ascertain that there their foes have split into three groups: one to the north, south, and west (the party will be heading east). Each of these will consist of perhaps a half dozen to a dozen several smaller units, two gnolls and a wolf (no hyenas in this part of the world). These hunting duos will stay a relatively good distance apart, but also one will carry a horn. Gnolls are chaotic and prideful, and would love to take down the PCs with as little help as possible, so they aren't likely to immediately use the horn. But when things turn bad, they'll blow it and reinforcements from the rest of the search parties in their band will arrive in something like 3d6 rounds or the like. Enough time for the party to win a fight and start running again while still keeping them under the gun.
For their part, the PCs will be entitled to Survival checks. They'll have a map of the region and so not have to worry about getting lost (which could be fatal), but can use the checks to find short cuts navigable by skill checks (Climb, Swim, etc.). The gnolls might arrive if they take too long, forcing them back onto the normal path, but otherwise, this will give them a lead over the gnolls. Gnoll outrunners will race ahead to natural choke points (I like the waterfall idea, and I think I might throw in an encounter on a rope bridge). If the party successfully takes a short cut, they arrive early, with the gnolls nipping at their feet. If they fail to take the short cut, the gnolls hold the terrain and the party has to fight through.
The PCs can also spend some of the time bought by short cuts making traps. With a survival check, they can realize that a natural feature can be turned to their advantage. These traps won't just kill and injure gnolls, but also discourage the groups away from the BBEG, getting them to turn back.
I agree: the party should have a say in the route they take. I think I'll keep it simple and offer two: short and quick to the final destination, or longer and more difficult, but easier to lose pursuers on. Said final destination will be a natural feature at the edge of the gnoll lands, beyond which they aren't likely to pursue.
For the final encounter, the PCs will have passed out of the gnoll's lands and all the groups beside the BBEG's will turn back. The BBEG himself will press on after them, of course. I think I'll use a druid, since I had an evil ranger in the last adventure. Plus, I like the idea of using some undead. The gnolls of the BBEG's group grew tired and started slowing him down, so he killed them and raised them as skeletons using the aforementioned scrolls of animate dead. Therefore the BBEG gets to appear with an intimidating entourage. But the party has a cleric who should be able to turn the skeletons, making the fight more or less a solo combat against the BBEG.
I like it! I've got some work cut out for me, but the payoff sounds great. One more thing: gnolls are primarily nocturnal, while all the PCs are active in the day. What effect will this have on the adventure?
Another thought for the final encounter: the abandoned dwarven settlement is supposedly haunted, but the "ghost" is actually an ethereal marauder. What if, when the final boss is cut down to less than 10 hp or so, the otherworldly whine created by a marauder cuts across the field, and suddenly the hideous beast pops in and kills the gnoll druid? The party is next on the menu, of course. I'm pretty sure it will freak them all out, especially since I know they won't recognize an ethereal marauder.
The party has no means to see invisible or ethereal creatures, but should be able to defeat it with readied actions. One good hit from the barbarian will kill the thing, and even a ligher blow is likely to drive it away. Marauders don't fight to the death.
And thanks, Molech, for the suggestion to ditch the battle mat! I'll probably still use it for some of the skirmishes the party gets into, but definitely be sparing with it and shun it completely when the terrain isn't too complex.
Guten Tag, Saern
Since gnolls don't suffer ill effects from sunlight, it'll only affect the chase as you see fit.
From what you've indicated, the chase will be over the course of several miles. Don't forget the rules for long distance overland travel and force-marching.
Fatigue is nothing to laugh at, but it'll degrade the gnolls ability to function as well. If it's going to come into play, have the gnolls' fortitude checks pre-rolled, so you know at what point each group is going to drop out.
With the shortcut idea you mentioned, you can give the PCs the option to rest & try to recover from fatigue or wounds, should they get enough of a lead.
Gnolls being nocturnal, you could have them continue the chase through the night, forcing the party to keep on the move. It would also give stealth characters a chance to shine, scouting ahead in the dark to find ways between groups of hunting gnolls.
Don't roll stuff during the chase, arbitrarily decide who's lagging behind and tell them they're lagging behind.
Any mechanics you put into a chase scene will lessen the experience. Avoid at all costs.
-W. E. Ray
That's easy, the dwarven cleric! Everyone else wears light or no armor and has 30 foot speed (40 for the barbarian and the druid's wolf companion).
As for healing, they have a happy stick (a.k.a., wand of cure light wounds), almost fully charged. And a wand of false life, and though it doesn't have so many uses left, they should be able to recover from the battles well enough.
Food for thought.
To make the party want to flee give them a purpose that is more important than staying to fight. They have to deliver something or someone to the end point by a certain time maybe. Or they need to be to the end point by a certain time or they miss out on some important part of their ultimate goal and they know it. Perhapse they could find something after the opening fight that they will KNOW that the gnolls will stop at nothing to get and getting it away from there asap is an obvious choice knowing that hords of the creatures will stop at nothing to get it back.
The defeat of the gnoll leader by the murader seems a bit of a let down, I know that if I was playing I would be pissed if I lost my chance to get the last lick on something that chased me across the wilderness for several days. Sounds like it would be a cool end battle to catch the PC's between two foes, but let the heros kill both big nasties. Instead let the murader take out some of the lesser gnoll minions. It helps even the ranks to give the PC a fair chance with out stealing thier victory and still gives you the same cool intro for the new monster.
If the PCs and gnolls have to stop at night, have each gnoll tend 3 or 4 campfires....this will make it look like lots more are after the PCs.
Maybe give the gnolls some worg allies? (In my campaign, worgs and gnolls are thought to be cursed lycanthropes that can't shapechange anymore, so they're natural allies.)
If this goes on for several days, druids will probably make wise use of Longstrider.