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Hey All,
I'll finally be continuing the adventure this Saturday (holidays and moving sure do wreck game-time). They'll be delving into the Thistletop Dungeons, and I wanted to get a feel of the tactics the defenders will use depending on how my players infiltrate. This is less of a question and more of me thinking by writing and looking for feedback, but I do have a question at the end.
We left off with the group having just finished clearing the goblin fortress and they had indicated that they were going to proceed down without first resting. If that holds true, I am going to assume that those in the dungeons are unaware of the fact that the PCs have defeated the goblins upstairs.
If the group goes down the back stairs (stairway #1 on the map), they'll run into Lyrie first. I think, even if she hears them coming, Lyrie would still be caught by suprise due to her thinking the PCs are an annoying group of goblins rather than attackers. The secret door to level 2 would still be open.
Lyrie would fight just enough to take damage and then run down the stairs to join Nualia (which, I'm hoping she fumbles jumping over the trap because that would just be hilarious). Bruthazmus wouldn't be aware because he's busy. I imagine the Yeth Hounds in the chapel area would hear the fight, but probably wouldn't pay it any heed as they only listen to Nualia and are used to the sounds of goblin-fighting anyways.
Assuming the PCs pursue, they either watch Lyrie getting eviscerated (fun) or have to discover the trap themselves (not as fun, but still fun) and deal with Nualia, Lyrie (assuming Lyrie isn't cowering in fear), and the Yeth Hound. When the Yeth Hound bays, I figure the two in the Chapel would respond and come downstairs to help. If the PCs do not pursue downstairs, then I would think that Nualia, Lyrie, and the Yeth Hound would then come upstairs to attack the PCs at some point.
Now, if the group goes down the front stairs (stairway #2), they'll likely run into Bruthazmus' porn extravaganza first, and that battle will probably do little to alert Lyrie or concern the Yeth Hounds in the chapel. Orik would probably respond.
Once the group gets to the chapel and the Yeth Hounds bay, would Nualia respond and come up to confront the group, or would she likely stay downstairs and set up her defenses down there?
When I ran the game for my group, the PCs took their time. They stealthed through most of the second level and encountered all of the named NPCs alone and vulnerable. Brathazmus was caught his his goblin wenches and put down. Orik was caught while sleeping and subdued. He surrendered and agreed to help fight Nualia after some discussion. Lyrie was encountered after the chapel fight so she was aware of the PCs approach. She successfully bluffed the party into thinking that she could Fireball them if they decided to attack her. So they let her walk away.
Nualia ended up having plenty of advanced warning that the PCs were coming. She took time to cast her buffs and ordered her Yeth Hound to try and hide around the corner. She stood behind the cage trap and challenged the party to face her in single combat (if they dared!). It worked and the cage fell on the first PC to charge her. This was the signal for the Yeth Hound to fly out of it's hiding spot and bay. It caught both Orik and another party member, who promptly took off.
It ended up being a harrowing fight because I decided Nualia was crafty enough to fight the group in a place where she could nullify the numerical advantage of the party.
I should also note that I remade Nualia into an Antipaladin 5 instead of Fighter 2/Cleric 3. This is a significant increase in challenge and your mileage may vary, depending on how optimized your party is...
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My group found the . . . ehem . . . love fest and made short work of Bruthazmus. Orik investigated the noise and a fight/surrender happened for the players to learn about the layout. The bay from the hounds in the temple put Lyrie on alert but they filled the room with bodies so she never could run even if she wanted to.
I would not imagine that anyone, save Lyrie, would hear the hounds. Nualia is a player character killer, especially with the Yeth hound she has with her. I would not give her any more chance than is already listed.
She and that hound took on a party of 7 (granted no healers) and damn near TPKd them. Once she hit her hit point damage total and ran did the fight finally swing in the groups favor. I killed one character in that fight as well.
Charisma based Will saves are a party bane when everyone dumps Charisma. Brought a tear to my eye when I read that save. :)
