My game is rolling towards the end of Rivers Run Red and I used elements of Dudemeister's "Hargulka's Monster Kingdom". However, the players didn't pay enough attention to the troll army they knew was coming and concentrated on exploration and leveling up. Some poor Kingdom rolls meant that their kingdom couldn't really sustain much of an army.
The PC's made a move to hire 100 mercenaries out of Brevoy, and have another reasonably well trained 100 militia at their capital (Stagfell). These two forces are gathered at the capital under the command of NPCs. The PC's didn't have the gold to hire the mercenaries and so promised them land (land they don't yet actually own).
The PC's themselves determined that Hargkulka was not in the troll army and so decided to confront the troll king while his army was away. They have just finished a reasonably cool and epic fight through the troll lair and killed Hargulka. Now they're ready to head back home and I'm wondering whether anything should be left standing.
25 trolls led by a half-orc cavalier should easily murder their way through Stagfell's defenses. Those mercenaries are 2nd level warriors and the militia is 1st level warriors. I expect the capital to be left in ruins and much of the population fled or eaten, but I don't want to leave the PC's without a base from which to continue the story. I also want to figure a way to still include the owlbear's destruction...but of what? The kingdom's other town? Seems a bit mean-spirited.
So what should be left standing of the capital and how to involve the owlbear if the town is already in ruins?
I'm thinking that maybe the walls slow down the troll army until the owlbear arrives and punches a hole through them?
EDIT: For what it's worth, the PC kingdom (The Sword Marches) is Size 6. It's capital has a population of 360 (not counting the militia and mercenaries. It's buildings include 5 houses, an inn, a mill, a bath, a smithy, a library, a monument, a watchtower and 2 walls.
What were the cavalier's specific orders?
Also, the PCs didn't stock up on troll-killin' basics for their capitol's defense? That was silly of them.
Let the players run a mass combat with the forces. With the armies rather small on all sides, the results could swing wildly either way. Still, the walls and tower will give the defenders a decent survival boost.
I've had a couple of opportunities where the players' towns got pillaged. I think each time I picked 1-3 random buildings (depending on size) and Destroyed them, which increases Unrest by 1 per destroyed square. Though I think that might be too much, really. Especially when the kingdom is so small. If the trolls do win, I would maybe destroy 1 plot every 2d4 days?
What were the cavalier's specific orders?
"Kill, enslave, eat or drive off everyone who isn't an orc or troll."
Also, the PCs didn't stock up on troll-killin' basics for their capitol's defense? That was silly of them.
Indeed it was.
If your players haven't built up their kingdom, knowing the trolls are out there ... the the trolls can legitimately sack their kingdom. Go to it.
Well, therin lies the rub. I think they did the best they could. I imposed +2 Unrest per kingdom turn once fear of trolls took root and it has nearly torn their little realm apart. I want to impose a cost, not make them homeless wanderers, accursed among their own people.
If they made a major mistake it was in committing too late. I think they were hoping to find military allies in their exploration and found none. Believing they had no legitimate chance of stopping the trolls in an open-field battle, they hastily built walls and went for a decapitation raid instead.
So yeah, I'm going to wreck their capital and parts of the countryside. But not reduce it to rubble. But what of the owl bear? How to make that interesting after the ruin of the capital?
Troops are fun, go for it. Pennywit's advice is good and it should prove to be very memorable.
Let the players run a mass combat with the forces. With the armies rather small on all sides, the results could swing wildly either way. Still, the walls and tower will give the defenders a decent survival boost.
Yep, this. The odds aren't half as bad as they seem once mass combat enters play. Look at the stats for the basic 25 troll army vs a basic human army (your merc army is weaker, but it's a close enough comparison).
Paltry Militia
Medium army of humans (100 x warrior 3)
Combat
hp 5; DV 11; OM +1
Logistics
Speed 2; Consumption 1
Prerequisite Kingdom size 1 or higher
Tiny Army of Trolls (25 Trolls)
Combat
HP: 4; DV: 11; OV: +1
Special Abilities: Regeneration 1
Logistics:
Speed: 2; Consumption: 1
So, odds favour the Trolls on an open plain. But hang on - your players smart defensive building raises their DV by 4, to 15. Trolls need a 14 or better on a d20 to hit them - hardly a sure thing. Played out as mass combat, there's every chance your PC army could win.
If the PC army wins, the owlbear can show up and rampage a bit before being driven off by the army.
If the PC army loses, I'd expect them to inflict enough damage on the troll army to diminish the damage to your city. 5 Trolls left are hardly going to rip down every building, or chase off every citizen.
(If you are using the Mass Combat rules, I highly suggest one of the fixes from Dudemiester's thread of adding an arbitrary +10hp to each army - this prevents the fight from being over in a single good roll).
If you don't want to break out the mass combat rules, I see plenty of justification that the mercenary army bloodies the trolls on the walls for a few days - the city is well-defended, enough time for the PCs to heroically return and have a personal battle with a few more trolls.
Good ideas, lads and lassies! Thanks and I'll let you know how it goes down.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Another option: Have the trolls and the owlbear attack the town at the same time and end up fighting each other. An epic three-way battle between the owlbear, the trolls, and the militia would be a dramatic finale. You can use the owlbear as a balancer against whichever side takes the least damage.
Another option: Have the trolls and the owlbear attack the town at the same time and end up fighting each other. An epic three-way battle between the owlbear, the trolls, and the militia would be a dramatic finale. You can use the owlbear as a balancer against whichever side takes the least damage.
This was my thinking as well. The owlbear is pretty dang enraged per the module and I don't think its going to take time to distinguish friend from foe so to speak. I would have the owlbear tear through everything, troll and human alike.
That said, the desperate defense as described by pennywit is still gold, just put the owlbear on its own team. This will help to lessen the impact of the two invading entities and you can, if you want, even use it to help even the playing field if you feel like giving the players a hand. Though I would only use that as a) an option of last resort (i.e. it starts to attack the trolls a little more often than humans -- which initially would be true anyway) and b) if the players are otherwise coming up with good/clever ideas but the dice are just betraying them.