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Hey guys,
I'm going to be running the Carrion Crown Adventure Path shortly, but with a slight deviation in the storyline. It will take place either after Part Four of Five of Carrion Crown, and involves agents of the Whispering Way trying to distract the PCs from stopping their nefarious plot by instigating one of the Orcish clans of Belkzen to break through Bleakwall and lay siege to the capital of the Palatinate of Casterwall: the fortress-town of Tamrivena. The heroic PCs are naturally forced to break off their quest to help stop this more immediate threat (or they may deal with it on the way back).
I came up with the idea from the Pathfinder Rival Guide, when I decided to use the Night Harrows as some of the primary antagonists in the AP. We're told in the Rival Guide that the vampire Vesnic Demicci has an Orcish warlord named Kourzek in his thrall. Meanwhile, in Rule of Fear, the entry for Tamrivena states that there are rumors of an Orcish attack being imminent. I simply decided to simply make Kourzek the warlord known as the "Flayed Skull."
I have been wanting to bring some slightly more traditional fantasy elements into this AP, and Orcs can still be quite horrific if they are handled correctly. I also did not want to waste such an opportunity since the Hold of Belkzen is Ustalav's next-door neighbor.
The main problem that I am faced with is my lack of creativity and imagination when it comes to actually executing such a grandiose diversion.
Long story short, I need a module that centers around a siege of a fortified town, city or castle, even if it is from an earlier edition of D&D, as long as it can be converted. If it involves a siege by orcs or other vicious monster race, all the better.
Does anyone have any recommendations?
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If anything your best bet is to either use this side trek after Wake of the Watcher. If the PCs get Raven's Head the WW will need time to engineer another component for the Carrion Crown and they're not present in part 5 in any case. It's the perfect time to revisit old ground.
Now one way to connect this plot diversion is to heavily invest the PCs with the Crooked Kin. Use the circus troupe as a foreshadowing device (PCs defending the monstrous from the normals) in Tamrivena. When the troupe and the PCs arrive have the Wallguard immediately be suspicious of the freakshow, even accuse them of some crime and arrest them. If the PCs care about the innocent circus folk they'll have to convince the Palatine Council (esp the changeling Zoenessa Thell) and the Foreguard's Captain Daladmin Quin to come to their aid. Make sure to use the aging Captain or the lovely councilwoman as a mentor, patron, or love interest to form a solid reason for the PCs to want to come back.
Then use the Crooked kin on the road from Illmarsh to Caliphas to deliver the message that the orc attack has happened.
--Vrocky Horror
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These are actually great ideas, King of Vrock. Thank you. I hadn't even thought about the Crooked Kin serving as the people who would warn of the attack, and was wondering how I would involve them after the Trial of the Beast. I have to say that their involvement in such a siege is a fantastic idea. I think you are right that making the siege take place after Wake of the Watcher is appropriate. They'll be just high enough where they can take on such a horde, but not so high as to where it won't even be a challenge.
And I also like your take on the actual siege, Helaman. While an assassination mission would be interesting, I imagine it will be too late by the time they get the news, as Kourzek will practically be at the gates of Tamrivena. Kourzek will be in the midst of hundreds of bloodthirsty Orcish troops who will be ready for an attack on their War Chief.
I really want my PCs to act as the heroic bulwark against near-hopeless odds where strategy and teamwork are an absolute must. I've also been wanting to demonstrate the savagery of Orcs when they perform siege warfare, and the terror they inflict upon a near-helpless populace. I want to give my PCs a real run for their money, and these Orcs won't be the typical CR 1/2 cannon-fodder Orcs; rather, they'll be the cannons. I'll be using high-level Orcish Barbarians and Clerics for the battle (lifting the NPCs from The Game Master Guide). It also gives me the chance to use Orcish beasts of war, such as Siege Owlbears or perhaps a War Rhino.
The fight will reach its crescendo when the PCs finally have to take on War Chief Kourzek, his Shaman, the Orcish standard-bearer, and his bodyguards. Once these Orcs are slain, the Horde will lose its morale, and break, but not after doing extensive damage to the Town in those areas where they actually managed to break through and cut through the militia.
If the PCs manage to survive this, I want them to be received as both the heroes and saviors of Casterwall, gaining an unassailable reputation within the Palatinate that even the more sordid members of the Casterwall Council dare not question publicly. That way, when they get to Caliphas, their reputations will have preceeded them somewhat. If they manage to truly distinguish themselves, they may be invited to receive accolades and rewards by Prince Ordranti himself.
How are you planning on doing the mechanics of siege warfare? I'm not aware of any rules for mass battles, although I understand the recent pirate-themed AP had rules about mass naval battles, so there may be something useful in there. I'll be curious to hear how you handle this.
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How are you planning on doing the mechanics of siege warfare? I'm not aware of any rules for mass battles, although I understand the recent pirate-themed AP had rules about mass naval battles, so there may be something useful in there. I'll be curious to hear how you handle this.
That's a good question, and kind of the reason I started this thread. I had the idea, but didn't know the mechanics with which to execute it. I was not planning a Mass Combat between armies, such as the one seen in Kingmaker.
I wanted to make it more centered around the parties efforts, and have them deal with multiple problems at once. For example, first they are repelling orcish raiders from climbing over the wall. Next, they are forced to rush over to the gates to stop and orcish-ridden owl bear from tearing the portcullis down. And finally, they are forced to face Kourzek himself.
A friend of mine actually suggested using the first adventure path book for Rise of the Runelords (the Goblins or Giants attacking Sandpoint) for how the siege is actually dealt with. I think I will go with that idea.
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The best scenario I have seen involving defending a town against monstrous hordes is Red Hand of Doom. It is a 3.5 module so you will have to adjust accordingly and you'll want to change the hobgoblins to orcs and some of the spawn of Tiamat adversaries to something more thematically appropriate. It is for 9th or 10th level PC's so keep that in mind when building encounters. It also has the handy victory point system from Heroes of Battle to help determine how much the PC's influence the final outcome of the battle. I highly recommend using the Battle of Brindol as the template for this side trek.
Tides of Dread from STAP focuses on preparing for and fighting off a pirate attack on a town. It's fairly high level 9-10is IIRC. Essentially, the first part of the adventure focused on ways that the party could help ready the town (e.g. fortifications, recruiting allies etc.). The actual battle was a a series of set-piece battles and challenges that were crucial to turning the tide of battle. You may be able to use the framework and simply change the terrain. The adventure does feature a Victory Point system that helps measure and indicate the degree of success or failure the party has over the entire conflict.
Also, Paizo had a 3.5 adventure, the Enemy Within that centered around a town under siege by demonic forces. I dont recall very much about mass battles in it though.