Help! Need Strategic Advice!

[roguerouge]

Okay. I need tactical advice on how lizardfolk would defend their village against what they perceive as reinforcements, but which are actually PCs that rolled a 1 on their spot checks and thus never got to talk to the scouting party.

The lizard folk are in a village in a raised area of a swamp. They've got a stalemate between them and the sorcerer cultist who's taken over half their village. They perceive the 4 humans and 4 Paizo goblins as being reinforcements to this necromancer. How do they respond?

Here's the forces:

Lizard folk: 46 regular lizard folk warriors, 2 Warrior 4s, Adept 6, and Warrior 8. Goal: get village back fully under control. Vulnerabilities: racial distrust of humans currently reinforced, hatchery, superstition.

Cultist forces: human Sorcerer 5/Alienist 5 with necromancer focus, 2 Ogre zombies, 9 controlled lizard folk zombies, 6 controlled lizard folk skeletons, and a corral of uncontrolled undead reinforcements (7 zombies, 6 skeletons). Goal: capture and destroy temple. Vulnerability: top heavy force depends on leader.

The Party: the PC Bard 7/Rogue 1, the cohorts (Fighter 5 and Sorcerer 4/Expert 1), NPC Cleric 4, and 4 Pazio goblin Warrior 2s (somewhat under control via treats, treasure, and being overawed).

A stream runs through the center of town, which marks the no-man's land between them. The cultist can retreat to two caves with his ogre zombies.

The PC has yet to see the lizard folk village, but is making her way there. She knows that the cultists are trying to stop her from getting there, but has little idea why.

So, how do the lizard folk deal with this new threat, which they may very well perceive as a threat to their very existence? What are their tactics? What preparations do they make?

And how do I make this fun?

[Jerry Wright]

Given the Lizardfolk's experience with the Cultists, they might assume the PC is much more powerful than she is, and avoid a direct confrontation. They'd likely attack from ambush, using missile weapons and traps to try to whittle her force down as she moves toward the village.

From their point of view, even if the PC is more powerful, her party is more vulnerable than the cult, and so is easier to attack. The problem you have is how to get the Lizardfolk to see that she is not on the side of the cultists.

One way to do this is to have a scout from the cultist group discover the PC, and see how the PC deals with that. The Lizardfolk would maintain a watch over the PC at all times, spying from the forest around her. If the scout is dealt with harshly, the Lizardfolk have a chance to see that the PC might be friendly. It shouldn't be too hard to arrange for the scout to be hostile.

Another way might be for one of the PC's goblins to recognize the tribe of Lizardfolk, and to offer to mediate to avoid hostilities. After all, a goblin might be willing to cooperate with even a hated foe to avoid getting killed. If the PC doesn't speak the language, the goblin could be a translator. The role-play involved could be a lot of fun.

[roguerouge]

You don't think that they'd send a sizeable force to attack the reinforcements before they united with the cultist?

[Digitalelf]

Lizardfolk aren't stupid...

They could see that these 2 humans are somehow different (they aren’t surrounded by the walking dead, and even though they are traveling with goblins, they are rewarding them with "treats and treasure" instead of whipping them into obedience)...

Even if the lizardkolk do not notice these details, I don't think they would send (or make a show of) any kind of outright force to deal with them. They would know that this would leave the village even more vulnerable to the necromancer and his undead...

No, I think they that would instead send out small "teams" and use guerilla war-fare like tactics on this new perceived threat (i.e. the PC and company)...

I also think that upon learning of these new "intruders" (i.e. the PC and company), the necromancer would send a few undead to "investigate" as well...

The lizardfolk would then see the PC and company destroy these undead, and might come to think that these humans are not "friends" of the necromancer after all...

Which at that point, could force an "Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend" scenario (at least until the necromancer is dealt with anyway)...

Hope this helps...

-That One Digitalelf Fellow-

[roguerouge]

One of the things that I'm struggling with is that lizardfolk have absolutely no skill at spotting, listening, hiding or moving silently. The only reason that the PC didn't get a chance for a face-to-face with their patrol was because she rolled a one after a bunch of failed spots. (Distance penalties saved the patrol there.)

I guess deadfalls and sinkholes are the way to go.

[Digitalelf]

roguerouge wrote:

I guess deadfalls and sinkholes are the way to go.

Definitely...

But, just because they do not have skill in those other areas, does not mean they can't (or won't) try...

The 3.5 SRD concerning Lizardfolk wrote:

if their territory is being invaded, they set snares, plan ambushes, and make raids to hinder enemy supplies. Advanced tribes use more sophisticated tactics and have better traps and ambushes.

You really should have all three groups interact in some way so as to let the lizardfolk know the PC is not a threat...

You can do this by having a small group of lizardfolk setting a trap (or an ambush), and have your PC stumble upon them while setting it...

Sure a fight will probably ensue (perhaps even initiated by that small group of lizardfolk setting the trap/ambush)...

Have them fight for a couple of rounds, then have a group of the necromancer's undead show up...

This should have both the lizardfolk AND the PC stop fighting each other, and turn their attention upon the undead...

This in turn should lead to the "Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend" scenario I discussed in my previous post...

Just tossing out some ideas for you...

-That One Digitalelf Fellow-