Hey folks,
So my players are going to have a sub-mission to take out a couple of high level casters so the BBG can't call them to his aid during the climatic battle. One in particular is a general and known military genius. I currently have her built as a 12th level Cleric, and she's going to have a bunch of 10th level, well optimized PCs trying to assassinate her.
I figure she's in the field, surrounded by troops, probably in some sort of fortress or another. While I'm giving the PCs the element of surprise and one sided prep, this lady should be smart enough to even those odds with general precautions somewhat.
Does anyone know a good AP encounter I could draw some inspiration from here? Or just have input? It's hard to plan an encounter that even PCs will get to define, but in particular I should be thinking about:
Troop placement. Mundane warriors, lots of low level guys and probably a solid group of elite body guards that stay close. How will PCs need to bypass an army and avoid reinforcements saving the general? Thinking like level 5 fighters for the standard foot solider, and maybe level 8 fighters or Rangers for the elite guard. I want these guys to be a threat and distraction but don't want them bogging down combat too much if the PCs are clever.
Magic precautions. What kind of spells can she have running to try and make her less vulnerable to ambush?
Mundane traps. If they try and sneak into her fortress at night, I imagine some alarms and traps would be in order. Anything particularly clever to employed here?
Give her a golem bodyguard, an optimized henchman from leadership, who are always around. Station 4 veteran guards nearby (2 of them archers; lets say level 8-9) with means to sound the alarm and one supernatural guardian from planar ally, who doesn't have to be visible/recognisable at all.
The most important spell she would have employed is forbiddance, which a general should be able to afford a couple of times. That spell would be on many locations I imagine - nobles' palaces/castles, temples, treasuries, etc..
Guards will have dogs against those pesky invisible types, priests will purify food and drink routinely (she has to think about being poisened, too).
There are also some arcane means of protecting important people. There are simulacra that can act as representatives (and as decoys) and you can have prepared someone to cast clone, should you be killed (which gets by any tricks the PCs may play on the corpse, like burning and casting into the sea).
Lots of great ideas here. Currently leaning towards using the troop template to represent the army (with high damage and a house rule that applies AC as DR against them), 4 level 8 NPCs (fighter for the class?), an invisible outsider body guard, and perhaps some sort of Bard squire.
Forbidance will definitely be in effect. Probably Unhallow as well.
I don't want to go too all out on the precautions, but I think this is a solid start.