Has anyone got a map handy for running this battle? I'd also love to know how the fight went w/ your PCs ... I love the idea of my group getting ambushed by these murderous little buggers.
But, I suppose they should get a shot at using Diplomacy to let them pass through, since they're really on the same side.
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I have used the maps from the third adventure in the Shadows over Istvin adventure arc published in Dungeon Magazine (issue #119), in my first RotRL run.
Next time, i plan on using the Darklands flip-mat.
In my game, the PCs managed to parlay with the redcaps (after the party dwarf ranger got roshambo'd a few times in a dark tunnel) and recruit them as temporary allies. This let them use the tunnels as a rest & recuperate location once. The next time, the forgefiend rampaged through the redcap tunnels looking for the party... who had decided to instead rest up in the troll-ambush cave area. So in the end, things didn't turn out too well for the redcaps.
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I added a network of tunnels and used the rules for squeezing present in the "Drow of the Underdark" to create a claustrophibic nightmare. I basically had a very twisty tunnel with multiple areas where players had to make Escape Artists checks to move 5' and they couldn't use two-handed weapons in some spots. Add to this tunnelway numerous bolt-holes for the redcaps to pop in and out of, and what I got was a nightmarish, easily remembered encounter of fey horror. It was only the act of channeling (brandishing the holy symbol) that ended the encounter. What was interesting was that until this relatively innocuous act was perfomed, it was nearly a TPK.
I was looking for some ideas how to make this part of chapter 4 shine, so thanks for that.
So, let's say my particular party has pooled their money and made an Enlarge Person spell on the party's barbarian permanent for some nice combat bonuses. So he's large now. In these tunnels.
Oh dear...
Ah! the redcaps - who really highlighted my inability to do accents. 5 different murderous fae, four sporting a different accent from across the northern UK and the last something no-one is quite sure what it was.
I don't do accents anymore.
I didn't really map out the tunnels as a whole, just quickly scibbled 40' square or so of interconnecting tunnels on to the battlemat that forced the party to spread out and then had the redcaps hit and run. Prior to that really just described the claustrophobic nature of the tunnels and how easy it would be to get lost (without the druid anyway). It was a brutal and fun little fight that would have been a lot less nasty without the constraints of tight, interwoven tunnels, allowing the 'caps to attack from nearly any direction at will.
My second group (who got ahead of my first group) faced mostly flavour description and a quickly scribbled map with just lines for tunnels. It helped that - thanks to the druid - they were accompanied by several swarms of spiders of which the redcaps were very wary (because the redcaps knew that undead spiders were guarding the river exit). That resulted in the redcaps running ahead to warn Enga, and the party facing Enga and the redcaps together in Enga's lair, backed up by some other inhabitants of the complex. This forced the party to retreat and find a different entrance strategy.
When my first group got into the tunnels, I used the Twisted Caverns flipmat to run a redcap ambush, and afterwards Enga's attack. That worked well for us. (Although since I didn't hide the unexplored tunnels, I had to remind one overly enthusiastic player that his character couldn't make short-cuts based on what the player saw on the flipmap.)
My main complaint about the redcap encounter is that they don't have darkvision (did they have it in 3.5?). This makes certain forms of ambush and stealth rather difficult.