Alternately, the party will realize there are too many enemies and attempt to escape early on.
I was envisioning the party camped out while the enemies stealthily surround them.
Being swarmed with so many mooks that you can’t possibly win is not a “challenge”.
Well for one thing there should be some slim chance of success, there shouldn't be infinite mooks or anything like that. I don't see why you don't consider that a challenge though, I think it sounds fun - how many enemies can you take down? How many rounds can you last versus greatly superior numbers? THIS IS SPARTA!
Most parties are never challenged that way, partly because no one wants a TPK so many GMs use a light touch and never pit the PCs against a superior force (or fudge the dice when they accidentally do so.) The fun thing about this scenario, IMO, would be that you can push the PCs to their limit without any risk of a TPK.
(And a side note on the aftermath: I wouldn't drag out the captivity, I'd give the players back their gear no more than half a session after all of this occurs. Build up a little tension and then let them kill their captors.)
A Rogue with one level as Shadow dancer, With one or more Enchanted Sap's and the Sap Master feat. PCs will go to dreamland left and right. It may frustrate them but that makes beating the tar out of this sap wielding kidnapping expert all the more worthwhile when it happens.
** spoiler omitted **
You can’t attack while using Stealth, and even if you houserule it so you can, you become unstealthed right after the attack.
DON’T. Really. It comes a time where every DM wants to do the whole “take the PC’s prisoners, take their stuff away…” encounter. Players hate & despise these. But besides this, there is no way to do this without DM fiat or super-powerful foe (which is DM fiat) where one or more of the PC’s won’t die or escape.
And if you use DM fiat, you will just tick off your players that much more.
This is a great way to start a campaign. It’s Ok to use it as a way out of a TPK. But never, ever use it in the middle of a campaign. Cheap DM trick.
I agree, and to my shame ran exactly the sort of scenario you just described once. This will not be DM fiat, nor is it a "take their crap" setup. They will be asked for the meet, and if they decline, the retrieval squad gets called in. They will they be scouted, tested and spied upon, giving them ample chance to notice what's happening. And once the squad is confident of success and have a plan, they will strike. After the meeting, if all goes well(ie. No one mouths off to the BBEG while standing in front of him), they will be released unharmed and with all their items/wealth intact. They are all mature players and I think they will enjoy the scenario, once it has finished unfolding.
As for the waves of mooks, I'm planning a different engagement to that effect down the road a bit. This is one that they will be expected to win, after a long drawn out battle with waves of bad guys, possibly defending innocents (a la, the Battle of Helms Deep) . You have to give them bright points to look to if you expect to keep them slogging through the darkness...