Help with Dungeon Ecology!

[KILLDROID]

I need to flesh out my dungeon for tonight and need ideas...

Synopsis:
A Soothsayer type was kidnapped and has left clues to lead the party to save her.
She was kidnapped by a secret cult of which the party has seen clues of in past sessions but has not encountered.
They are mainly a cult of witches, evil clerics, and rogue assassin types.

So, if you were running this, what would the players find when they got to where the girl is?

Should it be an old abandoned house in the forest?
A traditional dungeon?
A small frontier-style ghost town?

What would you run, how would it play out ideally, and please list any cool encounter ideas.

Oh, and the party is 6th level consisting of:
Rogue (w alchemist level splash)
Fighter (sword and board)
Bard
Ranger

I can also throw in a Gunslinger that is also looking for the soothsayer girl. He will show up at just the right time, if the players get in over their head.

Thanks in advance!

[bfobar]

Your environment dictates the best tactics to use on approach. A forest encampment around an abandoned temple or standing stone ruin favors the ranger. A ghost town favors the rogue. A more urban scene with lots of loosely affiliated minions would favor the bard.

For the location, remember that organized humanoids are smart. They will have guards and use tactics. If your party storms right down main street ghost town, your party should be getting hosed with crossbows from every 2nd floor window.

Such an organization wouldn't cohabitate with other critters unless they play a guard dog role. Good guard dogs would be mindless undead guarding back doors and underground storage areas, animated objects, actual dogs, and maybe a gelatinous ooze trapped in the sewers or midden heap.

If you want to have a more classic dungeon, you could always go with the "hidden cave behind the waterfall leads through caverns into the sewers up to the crypt in the back of the temple" routine. You could even hook the adventure by having the party approached by a goblin or kobold -- the last surviving member of the tribe that used to live behind the waterfall until the cult wiped them out for living too near their hideout who wants revenge for his slain people.

[KILLDROID]

Great info bfobar, thanks!

I have a few ideas. this is what I have so far:

A ghost town that was once an old mining town before mines collapsed or whatever... so the buildings in the town serve as guard posts but the encampment itself is in the mine. the villain is using a tunnel dug from one of the buildings to the mines... so:
if the players scout the place, they see people going in and out of the old general store... if they enter they find a secret tunnel going into the old mines.

What encounters would you run in this situation?
it is a basic rescue situation, but what would make it unique?

I like the idea of undead sentries. Maybe some hired mercenary lackeys in the ghost town that aren't allowed below?

any ideas or suggestions appreciated!

[Michael Radagast]

As near as I can recall, cults tend to be fairly communist in organization - so probably not many outsiders? There may be 'lower initiate' types, though, and evil clerics certainly suggest undeads. Probably undead miners. :P

Rogue assassins means snipers - probably with poison-tipped arrows, yes? Covens of Witches with Misfortune hexes would be pretty mean, too. Oh, and my favorite alternative use for Fumbletongue (assuming there are no casters to mess with) is to break down party communications. A Bungle right before a save never hurts, either.

Entangle/Entanglement traps are very atmospheric in a mine...also, they're bound to mess with the structure of the place. You could have the collapse of the mine as a very real possibility. Climb checks down old mine shafts could be dangerous...heading feet-first into possible danger.

To amp the rescue aspect rather than the hack'n'slash dungeon aspect, I'd have the PCs discover early on that they are patently overpowered and cannot fight their way through. The sneaky approach would seem to favor the Rogue/Ranger/Bard sort of party, so long as the Fighter can keep up. (By the way, make them roll Perception checks periodically, and don't say why. Keeps 'em on their toes.) Allow for lots of windy side-paths, clever distractions, that sort of thing. Let some of those Bard-ish spells shine, like Ventriloquism and Silent Image. Encourage non-lethal sneakattacks to knock those guards out, then let the Fighter take care of those undeads. (If he's sword-strong, make sure at least some of them are more ghoulish than skeletons, unless it's getting too easy for them. Otherwise he's stuck with shield-bashing. And kicking.)

[KILLDROID]

very good stuff Michael!

I wouldn't mind more explanation on "clever distractions" as you said above.
The bard advice is great as I am having trouble getting his character to shine.

Thanks again!

[KILLDROID]

game went great. There was something for everyone and each player had their chance to shine.

Thanks for all of the help!