Farmer mob and the Hambleys (Spoilers)

[Basillicum]

Hello all,

I'm looking to expand a bit on the Farmlands happenings in the Skinsaw Murders chapter, and want to share my ideas. Also looking for input, obviously.

My group just investigated the Sandpoint Lumber Mill, and I'm pretty sure they will be going to Habe's Sanatorium next session. While they do that, farmers in the south of the hinterlands will be planning to set out for the Hambley Farm by evening.

Caizarlu's notes at the sanatorium should give the party reason to travel to the farmlands, but I strongly suspect they will decide to rest up before going there. In this case, the setting changes, and I introduce them to a rainy evening near the Hambley Farm, where a mob of restless farmers are amassing to set upon the crazed Hambleys. At this point I hand each of my players one or two farmer NPCs (commoners and experts) to control.

Of course, the ghouls will surround and utterly destroy the mob. To make an interesting challenge out of the slaughter, I'm considering awarding hero points to the player that managed to do stuff such as slaying a ghoul or surviving to the tenth round or some such. I'm rarely giving out hero points as it is. It should be very difficult for any of them to escape, but it's possible. If none of them do, Maester Grump (under my control) ends up as the default survivor that arrives in Sandpoint the next morning.

The main point of this encounter is to impress upon the players the terrible danger that the farmlands are in, but I think it might be useful in other ways as well. For example, it might show them that their hanging back can have consequences. After all, should they choose to go to the farmlands immediately upon discovering Caizarlu's notes (or even before visiting the sanatorium at all), they might be able to stop the mob from going to their certain death.

Also, as an afterthough, how about a ghoul cow/aurochs?

[the Lorax]

Did something similar myself, except I gave my PCs level 2 commoners.

Ran the farm event, and had ghouls overrun the place.

They were pretty skittish when they got there with their PCs.

It doesn't take much to deal with the low level commoners - they'll just get paralyzed and die.

Its much more fun way to have Farmer Grump "tell the story".

[HellFire442]

My PCs wanted to camp out before hand as well. I didn't want to run an encounter that night and I didn't think to make them play as commoners (great idea!)

What I did do was describe the rains and their journey to the farm. Along the way the PCs passed several farms, all of which were abandoned. One showed signs of a struggle but did not have dead bodies etc.

Finally they came to the largest farm yet (some of the PCs were local and recognized that this was one of the wealthier farms) and they found people. The farmers had banded together and holed up at the farm. Most people where in the barn and it primarly consisted of the old, the young and the women. There were some men around who did not travel to the Hambley farm and their focus was on protecting those who where left.

Basically the farmers had already tried to solve the problem themselves. It didn't work and several people died. They are now concerned and waiting for daylight/ it to stop raining before they set out again. The farmers are unfriendly to the PCs unless they are local enough to know the farmers.

[the Lorax]

I think it lasted all of 3 rounds of actual fighting.
I made little NPC sheets with (very) short backgrounds on the NPCs, told them to tell me one secret that the NPC had (and tried to work it into the story)they were.

Banj Hatnot - local teamster and a recently found out he's about to have a child (with someone who is not his wife).

Pervis Hambly - Eldest of the Hambly children, recently back from spending six months at Windsong Abby learning veterinary lore.

Junior Grump - Junior is a bit simple and overly fond of Applejack.

Charlie Ray - a local hunter - speaks goblin, and sometimes trades with the goblins. His cousin opened a shop in Sandpoint selling "Authentic Goblin Weapons" after the invasion and all the goblin dead in the area.

They went along with Master Grump to check out the weird goings on at the Hambly farm. Pervis and Banj became ghoul chow. They players got to see the well dressed ghoul leading from the back of the pack at the end (Aldren's manservant)Junior was hung up to ripen right outside the farm, Charlie Ray and Master Grump scattered.

End of scene....then PCs in town Master Grump comes running in exhausted and tearful, telling them the story...

That cornfield full of ghouls really had the players jumpy. It was an excellent lead in.

[mousmous]

I'm not sure I have any input other than this is a great idea. Wish I had done something like this.