The other thing that bugs me is when the lesser races use what seems like advanced tactics and strategy. They have an average intelligence of 10 so they should not be doing anything too fancy generally. There can be elite groups that get really fancy and direct a few other groups. But in general I think their tactics should be poor and their strategy worse.
I don't understand this. Humans have an average intelligence of 10, and humans have done this kind of stuff for millenia. Goblins are no less capable of dirty tricks and traps like this than any given PC race.
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The other thing that bugs me is when the lesser races use what seems like advanced tactics and strategy. They have an average intelligence of 10 so they should not be doing anything too fancy generally. There can be elite groups that get really fancy and direct a few other groups. But in general I think their tactics should be poor and their strategy worse.I don't understand this. Humans have an average intelligence of 10, and humans have done this kind of stuff for millenia. Goblins are no less capable of dirty tricks and traps like this than any given PC race.
Every human does not use advanced tactics or strategies. If you asked me to invade a country or even a town I would be terrible at it. Many people in the military are bad at it. If you asked me to defend my house I am sure my strategy would be easily defeated. I am a smart guy but I am terrible at strategic thought (which tends to make my players happy).
My point is that games where the entire warren is a deathtrap just seem silly. These creatures are evil and NE and CE creatures tend to be really unreliable. They will do shoddy work or not do the work. They will slack off their guard.
I can understand defenses throughout the warren that were set up by some elites but they should be poorly executed by most of the chumps. Half of an active defense depends on the creatures actually doing their roles properly. If they slack off their guard or fail to maintain their defenses then the whole thing works much less effectively.
The other thing that bugs me is when the lesser races use what seems like advanced tactics and strategy. They have an average intelligence of 10 so they should not be doing anything too fancy generally. There can be elite groups that get really fancy and direct a few other groups. But in general I think their tactics should be poor and their strategy worse.I don't understand this. Humans have an average intelligence of 10, and humans have done this kind of stuff for millenia. Goblins are no less capable of dirty tricks and traps like this than any given PC race.Every human does not use advanced tactics or strategies. If you asked me to invade a country or even a town I would be terrible at it. Many people in the military are bad at it. If you asked me to defend my house I am sure my strategy would be easily defeated. I am a smart guy but I am terrible at strategic thought (which tends to make my players happy).
My point is that games where the entire warren is a deathtrap just seem silly. These creatures are evil and NE and CE creatures tend to be really unreliable. They will do shoddy work or not do the work. They will slack off their guard.
I can understand defenses throughout the warren that were set up by some elites but they should be poorly executed by most of the chumps. Half of an active defense depends on the creatures actually doing their roles properly. If they slack off their guard or fail to maintain their defenses then the whole thing works much less effectively.
Mmm, I've played way too many strategy games, read far too much into the area of strategy. So I have encountered players which just can't pull it off, don't know that you run cavalry into flanks, don't know what skirmish to victory even means, how to organise a defence of a structure/use the tools available.
For dnd, a common one is players not tracking their hp, and thinking powerful attacks will just win the day. And then a snake grapples them, they can't use their two handers, and they die. :{
People who play cavaliers need to know, you can always dismount and get stuck in there. The mount can also be just a tool to move you to a better position, you can get off it and walk around. Archers are usually smart enough to use stealth and shooting, but climb to get into a sweet spot can also be overlooked. Get into the bird's nest and you can be god.
Short of specialized feats or abilities, two small creatures cannot share the same square, tsunstarr77. Also, those natural 20s don't mean much when the goblins are stuck with 1d6 damage mundane weapons at best against a protection from arrows spell.
All of those 100 normal soldiers were protected by a Protection from Arrows spell? That's a lot of casting. Also in mass combat that spell doesn't last very long. Remember it only absorbs 90 points even from mundane weapons before failing. It will probably buy the caster enough time to escape but I wouldn't rely on it long term if the ranged attacks target you.
I agree with an earlier poster it sounds like a fun game. I would have enjoyed the dungeon crawl. I am just trying to offer a little advice on the mass combat.
Short of specialized feats or abilities, two small creatures cannot share the same square, tsunstarr77. Also, those natural 20s don't mean much when the goblins are stuck with 1d6 damage mundane weapons at best against a protection from arrows spell.1d4 actually
if all 5k took a shot in the first round, thats 250 automatic hits regardless of armor 12 of them crits.
around 800 damage. for every other number (19, 18, etc) that would hit, add another 800
Rules state you cannot end your move in the same space as an enemy, if you do you get pushed back out
It really depends how you interpret the rules. In theory you could have an unlimited number of mobs attempt overruns as long as the intended "ending" square is open for each. Just imagine a bunch of little nasty agile kid sized things doing a total dogpile. Could easily be more than 8
Also, Should they succeed with a overrun or trip and knock you prone, you are not laying down in a 1X2 square and 10 can surround you legally
I could just as easily say "rocks fall, you all die." Fortunately, I'm not that kind of GM.
Sounds like it was a fun game, but one question- did the PC that kept taking fire damage pcik up some kind of fire resistance-granting item after the adventure?
Sounds like it was a fun game, but one question- did the PC that kept taking fire damage pcik up some kind of fire resistance-granting item after the adventure?
They were paid 10,000gp each by the emperor for their services.
I don't recall anyone using it to buy fire resistance items, but instead to upgrade their belts, headbands, and weapons.
First of all, I really enjoyed reading all of what you wrote and I would have loved to play this adventure!
Now, a few considerations in random order:
- the absence of a BBEG could have been a let down for the players, I'd have put one in the dungeon (or outside just to let the cavalier do something)
- I'm totally against dividing parties. In every of our games we make this clear and there is no need to further clarify this in game, as we all come up with PCs who will stick together and work as a party. Roleplaying is good, but you should always know that you are playing a game with other people and never put "what your character would do" above all else: if you do so, and this causes troubles, it's because you designed a PC not keeping in mind the rest of the group and that's your problem. You made clear that if he choose to stay aside the game would have gone on without him: you did the right thing moving on.
- About letting him know that a cavalier was useless in a dungeon: your PCs were fighting goblins, a cavalier would have been almost indistinguishable from a fighter. If you felt that it could have spoiled your regular players game experience you did no harm telling him nothing.
- If your purpose was humbling your PCs, you probably failed: yes, they had a rough time, but the killed an army. They walked through hordes of enemies and lived, a feat few mortals could hope to duplicate: they will be probably more arrogant than ever.
- On arrogance: NPCs do not need levels or allies or anything else to command respect, they've got authority and that's enough. If your PCs acts too arrogant towards a general they should be put to trial and punished appropriately. Level has nothing to do with it. As a player I find annoying when one adventurer acts smug towards a king a have it his way: if the PCs acts rebellious they should be prepared to do it all the way through, bearing in mind the possibility of becoming enemies of an entire empire. Of course, a certain amount of arrogance can be tolerated if the PCs are really needed, but I'd advise to always think of what would have happened in medieval Europe.
- On advanced tactics: I see no problem in having goblins come up with those: int 10 is as much as a human, as it have been said. And as said this is a homebrew campaign, in which goblins are less idiotic. The dungeon however seems to be studied to kill a few powerful foes: this is hardly the occurrence you would usually plan against. Maybe the dungeon used to be the lair of a powerful mage which the goblins killed (or you could have simply put in a evil mage as BBEG)
- I think that number should ALMOST always win combat. Not everytime, let me elaborate this a bit:
Remember in large group combat, assume 5% of the enemies rolled a 20, 5% rolled a 19 etc. The PC's will get pincushioned real quick if the situation turns bad
Remember goblins are small and can stack 2 to a square. They will use their sheer numbers to overwhelm in any way they canYou want to humble some PCs? Have one fall into a group of goblins that immediately surround him and pin him down (up to 16 can surround, giving a +30 to CMB) Tie him up and do a Coup De Grace
All use aid another, one try to grapple, one get killed by a AoO. Kill some and repeat. Also, you don't let this many enemies surround you, you keep at the very least an ally close.
Soldiers should have reach weapon, thus keeping on killing goblins as they come in. They could also quite easily have combat reflexes, killing even more. Combine with what said above and you have improved your troops survival rate by far.
Short of specialized feats or abilities, two small creatures cannot share the same square, tsunstarr77. Also, those natural 20s don't mean much when the goblins are stuck with 1d6 damage mundane weapons at best against a protection from arrows spell.1d4 actually
if all 5k took a shot in the first round, thats 250 automatic hits regardless of armor 12 of them crits.
around 800 damage. for every other number (19, 18, etc) that would hit, add another 800
Rules state you cannot end your move in the same space as an enemy, if you do you get pushed back out
It really depends how you interpret the rules. In theory you could have an unlimited number of mobs attempt overruns as long as the intended "ending" square is open for each. Just imagine a bunch of little nasty agile kid sized things doing a total dogpile. Could easily be more than 8
Also, Should they succeed with a overrun or trip and knock you prone, you are not laying down in a 1X2 square and 10 can surround you legally
It's not like all 5k of them were fighting in a single place. A lot were killed in the dungeon, a lot in the fire and dispersed. If your read carefully what Ravingdork wrote, it's reasonable to assume that they flew in waves from the woods and found the soldiers wating for them: I see no problem in imagining a line of chosen spear bearers and behind them a score of archers with readied actions to kill the goblins who come out of the woods (unprepared).
Of course having 5k goblin against a bit more than 100 soldiers in an open field means that the goblin will win, but this was not the case.