The Big Goblin Raid on Sandpoint *spoilers inside*


Rise of the Runelords


So, here's the deal. I decided to change up things by having Nualia's plan be a little quicker to come to fruition. It's been about two weeks since the Swallowtail Festival and she's ready to launch the big raid on Sandpoint. The PCs attacked Thistletop. They kicked in the front door, killed all the goblins, killed the Tentamort, killed Bruthazmus, and then fled before Nualia and her henchmen. My call on the matter is that Nualia has decided she doesn't have time to continue hunting before the raid. She's going to take the reins of the Thistletop goblins that yet survive and gather the tribes. She's going to get them to attack Sandpoint. She'll give them her dark blessing and leave the battle to the chiefs.

After all, she doesn't care who wins. She just cares that it's bloody.

I'm thinking that it's going to be too much for Orik. The module mentions he's having reservations about this, so I've decided he only learned the full extent of the plan now and has decided to pack it in. Bodyguarding her and helping her make a transformation is one thing, but butchering the entire village of Sandpoint to make an army of monsters is causing him to flake. He's going to leave Nualia's group and head for Sandpoint post haste. Once there, he'll tell the players of Nualia's plan regarding the runewell. He has no idea how to use it himself, he doesn't care about such things. He also doesn't know how to disable it. He's just going to tell them that Nualia has no intentions of capturing the town and intends to destroy it. He'll hang around long enough to see if the town wants to hire him on to help defend them. If not, he's fleeing before the goblins arrive.

I'm going to be assembling a cheat sheet of the major NPCs in the town and rough class levels. The PCs are going to be put in charge of organizing the defense itself. They'll have full use of the town watch and Sheriff Hemlock to be certain. From there, they are going to have to gather allies. I'm looking at running this in two sessions. The first session will be making their plan and rallying the defenses. The second game session will be the battle for Sandpoint, since I expect that to take a while.

What I'm looking for is ways to spice this up. I want to make it more than the baddies line up over here and the goodies line up over there, and then they must fight. I'm looking for things the goblins will be doing. I'm looking for clever ideas the townsfolk will be putting forward. I'm looking for a couple of things the PCs can do to prepare for this, like perhaps something they could raid for supplies. I'm looking at making the bard in the group do some talking to try and convince locals to help with the defense, but other than diplomacy checks I'm not sure what to do on that yet.

The goblin pencent for songs means their army is most certainly going to use a war song or war chant of some sort. I'm thinking perhaps the goblins will surround the village and then send forth some of their 'heroes' to put on a small display, like whirling some blades around or other such posturing. This display would be a distraction while they send some canoes around the coast to try and slip into town.


Awesome! How are you going to do the mass combat? Are you using mobs? Having the PCs battle vs. the leaders determine the ebb and flow of the battle? Skill checks for marshalling and deploying the troops?

The Exchange

roguerouge wrote:
Awesome! How are you going to do the mass combat? Are you using mobs? Having the PCs battle vs. the leaders determine the ebb and flow of the battle? Skill checks for marshalling and deploying the troops?

There are no rules in Kriegsspiel: Its all about fog of war, command and communication problems, and friction of War - Killing your own people because you lost track of the enemy, arguing with other personalities in your own army, getting orders through and getting information back, coordination of attacks, ect.

Goblins like fire - that means that your populace are going to be too busy putting fires out to hold a spear line or charge enemy placements.


yellowdingo wrote:


Goblins like fire - that means that your populace are going to be too busy putting fires out to hold a spear line or charge enemy placements.

This reminded me of that scene in the Seven Samurai, where the bandits burn the three outlying houses of the village and the villagers start flipping out about it, and deserting their posts.

I love that movie.

Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy

My PCs are not even considering going to Thistletop, and have assumed from day 1 that they will need to prepare defenses in Sandpoint. I plan on throwing some harder stuff at them if it comes down to this, as picking off goblin hordes against a newly constructed wall will be farly easy. Some of the bugbear variants in Classic Monsters Revisited, especially the murds and the ones (whose names escape me atm) who can look like people. I plan ot have the disguised bugbears enter the city as farmers looking for refuge behind the barricades and then attack from the inside. The PCs are also planning on damming the Turandurok river to release a flood on goblins who try to ford the southern entrance to town (since they are dismantling the bridges). I plan that this will backfire and cause flooding in town when they dam it, and murds will take their mud form to get into town that way.

Basically, if the PCs want to fight on their own turf, I'm going to make it much harder for them than just the standard number and type of enemies they will encounter in Thistletop.


yellowdingo wrote:
roguerouge wrote:
Awesome! How are you going to do the mass combat? Are you using mobs? Having the PCs battle vs. the leaders determine the ebb and flow of the battle? Skill checks for marshalling and deploying the troops?

There are no rules in Kriegsspiel: Its all about fog of war, command and communication problems, and friction of War - Killing your own people because you lost track of the enemy, arguing with other personalities in your own army, getting orders through and getting information back, coordination of attacks, ect.

I was asking the OP, who made reference to diplomacy checks. I don't know what system you're talking about here, or why you're answering for the OP. Clarify, please.

The Exchange

roguerouge wrote:
yellowdingo wrote:
roguerouge wrote:
Awesome! How are you going to do the mass combat? Are you using mobs? Having the PCs battle vs. the leaders determine the ebb and flow of the battle? Skill checks for marshalling and deploying the troops?

There are no rules in Kriegsspiel: Its all about fog of war, command and communication problems, and friction of War - Killing your own people because you lost track of the enemy, arguing with other personalities in your own army, getting orders through and getting information back, coordination of attacks, ect.

I was asking the OP, who made reference to diplomacy checks. I don't know what system you're talking about here, or why you're answering for the OP. Clarify, please.

Offers little rat trying to carry off his books a piece of cheese...

Kriegsspiel is [u]the[/u] wargame ruleset. Me Just throwing in a two cent alternative to massive amounts of hideous D&D rules on combat. As long as you are making diplomacy checks, perhaps fatigue checks as well might be in order.


I'm sorry about not getting back to this thread for so long. One of my roommates just gave birth, so providing support to her and her husband has been my priority. I'm pretty sure you'll all understand. Real life always comes before D&D, no matter how fun the game.

Roguerouge, I haven't decided yet how I'm going to run the mass combat stuff. I'm open to suggestions. I'll have to take a look at this Kriegsspiel, I seem to see it pop up a lot. The mobs idea has some elements I really like, but I'm not sure about some of the aspects like the uber-grapple and such. It might be a touch too abstract for my taste. Ultimately, I suspect I'll decide how I'm resolving it when I learn what my PCs are using for a strategy. I've got the luxary of having the next game session be a war council and supply gather, then two weeks before I have to run the war itself. Your observation about the goblins liking fire is dead on. I want to try and incorperate the 10 rules of Goblin into the battle strategy of the Goblins as I can.

Toyrobots, would you believe I haven't seen that yet? It's on my list of things I must see.

Yoda8MyHead, I'm curious, did you have Sheriff Hemlock suggest the plan of assassinating the leaders at Thistletop? My players basically just told the Sheriff they'd help however he thought best and left the planning to him. They know that this time they'll be expected to form the strategy.

I've assembled a list of the Important NPCs from a war perspective, as far as I can tell. Several of them are just plain going to help. Others I think are going to need some convincing.

Father Zantus of the Cathedral and Naffer Vosk are a shoe in. I believe they'll be willing to step in and serve as healers for the battle. This is Sheriff Hemlock's job, so he'll obviously throw down, as will the 11 remaining town watchmen (1 was brought up on bribery charges for his role in the Swallowtail Festival incident and was taken to Magnimar when the Sheriff went to get the recruits), the 12 fresh recruits he brought back, the jailor and the 62 militia mentioned in the Barracks entry. Ameiko sees this whole incident as the fault of her family, so she'll almost certainly pitch in unless my PCs somehow offend her. Daviren Hosk would likely have to be held back if they didn't want him to help. Shalelu likewise is a certain contributor. I expect everyone else would need various degress of convincing.

Orik I already plan on having show up. I'm debating if he should simply give all the information he has up front or demand a fee for it. He's certainly going to demand a fee to participate in the fight. I don't know what would be a good fee for him yet though, I'm thinking along the lines of 100 gp for his sword, 200 gp for his information. Otherwise he'll simply flee the area as quickly as he can. It may have looked like a nice town, but I don't see him being attached to it without staying there for a while. I expect it would be rather easy to convince Hannah and Niska to act as healing support, though they have no direct duties to do so. I expect that convincing Titus Scarnetti to contribute funding to the cause would be relatively easy, but I also suspect his contributions would get the backs up of several of the other locals who otherwise would be more helpful.

I expect that Jubrayl could be one of the most interesting NPCs in regards to this prepwork. If the PCs could learn how important he is and bring him alongside, Jubrayl could bring a lot of firepower to the fight. 24 goons, Aliver Podiker, and not to mention his 7 class levels. However, he'd upset a lot of people. I'm looking specifically for ways to have Jubrayl show up as a possibility but make it one that the PC's don't neccessarily like. Perhaps he'll make them a side deal, saying he can make his people available for some sizable sum of cash, or perhaps in exchange for some item someone else in town owns that he couldn't otherwise get. It would have to be a deal on the side, mind you, and they couldn't tell the Sheriff about it, lest he find himself in a jail cell...

As far as the rest of the town, I see them needing to do some footwork. Some of these people would be known to be capable, like Sir Jasper or Gaven Deverin. Others, like Jargie Quinn, might not be obvious. I'm thinking perhaps a Bardic Lore or Knowledge : Local check would help people identify who could help in the fight. Diplomacy will likely scale depending on who it is, what their motive to help is, and if someone they dislike or like is already 'on the roster'.

Anyone see anybody on this list particularly likely to help or not help? Anyone able to think of cool ways to recruit these people?

Already Helping

Spoiler:

Father Abstalar Zantus, Cleric 4, runs the Cathedral
Naffer Vosk, Rogue 1/Cleric 2, runs the Boneyard
Sheriff Belor Hemlock, Fighter 4, issues with Garridan, relationship with Kaye
Vachedi, Barbarian 3, jailor, wants money to buy back sons from slavers
11 town watchmen, Warrior 2, one was sent to Magnimar to face charges of bribery
12 new town watchmen, Warrior 1, Sheriff Hemlock brought them from Magnimar
62 militia men and women, Warrior 1, poorly equipped
Kendra Deverin, Aristocrat 4/Expert 3, Town mayor
Ameiko Kaijitsu, Aristocrat 1/Bard 3/Rogue 1, Tsuto is in jail, it's her family's problem
Daviren Hosk, Ranger 4, runs the Goblin Squash Stables and is a retired goblin hunter
Shalelu Andosana, Ranger 2/Fighter 1, goblin hunting ranger

Needs Convincing

Spoiler:

Veznutt Parooh, Wizard 2/Expert 4, sells maps of waterways
Maver Kesk, Expert 3, the Jeweler, has 6 guards working for him who are Warrior 3
Gorvi, Warrior 3, dung shoveler for the town
Brodert Quink, Expert 7, library and Thassilonian scholar
Volioker Briskalberd, Rogue 2/Expert 3, locksmith, fan of the arts, dislikes scoundrels and Sczarni
Savah Bevaniky, Fighter 2/Rogue 1, runs Savah's Armoury
Risa Magravi, Sorcerer 4, blind and older, three sons Commoner 2
Das Korvut, Fighter 1/Expert 3, angry man, owns at least three mastiffs
Aliver Podiker, Adept 5, herbalist and secret poisoner, friend of Sczarni
Nisk Tander, Wizard 1/Expert 2, alchemist who sells some bum goods
Sabyl Sorn, Monk 4, runs the House of Blue Stones
Chask Haladan, Bard 3/Expert 3, owns the Curious Goblin
Cyrdak Drokkus, Bard 6, runs the theater, relationship with Jasper
Ilsoari Gandethus, Wizard 4/Rogue 2, retired adventurer, Turandarok Academy
Niska Mvashti, Druid 3, Sorcerer 4, Mystic Theurge1, very old, dislikes Sczarni
Jargie Quinn, Rogue 2, Expert 2, one legged, owns the Hagfish
Turch Sterglus, Rogue 1/Expert 5, retired fisherman
Gaven Deverin, Paladin 2/Expert 3, in his 50s
Sir Jasper Korvaski, Paladin 3/Expert 1, relationship with Cyrdak, Scarnetti hate him
Hayliss Korvaski, Cleric 2/Expert 2, brother of Jasper, hates Scarnetti
Gressel Tenniwar, Rogue 2/Expert 1, runs the Fatman's Feedbag
Jubrayl Vhiski, Rogue 7, runs the Sczarni, 24 'goons'
Kaye Tesarani, Rogue 3/Sorcerer 1, 3 Shoanti bouncers Barbarian 3, Scarnetti hate her
Vorvashali Voon, Wizard 2/Rogue 2/Expert 2, runs the Feathered Serpent
Hannah Velerin, Cleric 3/Expert 1, healer and herbalist
Titus Scarnetti, Aristocrat 6, controls the Scarnetti fortune
Orik Vancaskerkin, Fighter 3, mercenary for hire


yoda8myhead wrote:
Basically, if the PCs want to fight on their own turf, I'm going to make it much harder for them than just the standard number and type of enemies they will encounter in Thistletop.

I planted rumours about the Hornhead goblins (the next batch north). We know that there are lots and lots of bands of goblins, and that Burnt Offerings only details the five closest to Sandpoint. We also know that Nualia planned to use many more bands, so I included one. I said that they were too tough for her to easily intimidate without a success under her belt, which is why she stopped at five bands instead of going on for the sixth.

I made the leader a psion (seer), her second in command a half-dragon, and I included a goblin with the quickling template (from the Advanced Bestiary). I also gave the Hornhead goblins lots of psionic tattoos, since those seemed more in character than magic items.

Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy

Thantrax wrote:
Yoda8MyHead, I'm curious, did you have Sheriff Hemlock suggest the plan of assassinating the leaders at Thistletop? My players basically just told the Sheriff they'd help however he thought best and left the planning to him. They know that this time they'll be expected to form the strategy.

They really took his request to stick around Sandpoint in his absence to heart, and are now trying to institute martial law to prevent the attack. No one has suggested a raid on Thistletop to the PCs, but I will have Shalelu do so, if anyone does. For now, I'm having fun watching the PCs scramble to assemble high level casters (most of whom will not grant them the deus ex machina they are expecting) and turn the town upside down for a plan that utlimately won't get the job done. I figure I'll let them run their plan, and either some sinspawn'll sneak up from the Catacombs or I'll have the variant bugbears sneak in. When they see that even with all their efforts, the town is still not safe, they might reconsider their tactics. I'll let you know how it goes when we play again, which will be sometime after GenCon, though I don't know when (real life, you know).

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