Building tough but fair encounters against military-style kobolds.

[Mountrose]

Greetings,

I'm currently GMing the Kingmaker AP and my players are up against a kobold kingdom. The kobolds are led by a cleric of Asmodeus and I'm trying to use them as lawful, intelligent, resourceful but individually weak enemies, in contrast to a troll threat that's also happening at the same time. The kobolds are playing the long game and don't count on the trolls winning so they really have no incentive to kill the players. They'd rather capture and release them in exchange for major diplomatic concessions and/or a king's ransom.

My 3 players are currently 4th level. The players are veterans and the characters are seriously OP for their level : a bow-using ranger DPR machine, a frontline high AC cleric and a grappling monk able to pin and tie up just about anything. CR 6 encounters are trivial and they recently won a CR 8-9ish encounter by the skin of their teeth.

So I'd like to brainstorm ideas for tough but fair encounters against military-style kobolds, with bonus points for non-lethal capture options. CR would be around 6-8. Given the relatively low level and individually weak military kobold theme, I'd rather work with team tactics and specialised individuals. I'm not too keen on blunt-force options like spamming high-level scrolls (Deep Slumber...).

My thoughts so far :

- I really like the Elite Kobolds (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/unique-monsters/cr-1/black-claw-elite-ko bold-warrior-4/) : versatile, reasonable AC/HP/base attack, poison. Using teamwork 3-5 of these guys have a reasonable chance to ruin someone's day. They might be truly scary if I replaced their feats with teamwork feats like, say, Outflank and Precise Strike. Maybe also swap a warrior level for a rogue level for that sweet sneak attack ?
- The various kobolds from the Kobold King are nice, but a bit bland maybe.
- Sorcerers : at 5th level they start having nasty spells, and a reasonable amount of them. Sleep and magic missile are staples.
- for capture options I was looking at Nets, but I'm not sure it would be that effective unless spammed in unreasonable numbers. Maybe include 1-2 anyway for psychological warfare? Variation on the theme : "grenadiers" with things like Tanglefoot bags, etc.
- a duo of Sap-using rogues with Sap Adept, Sap Master and Distracting attack.
- Troll allies are also a possibility, if only to lure the monk into focusing on tying them up.

Thank you for any input !

[Zarius]

If what you're looking for is military-esque, give 'em a level of fighter, Heavy Repeating Crossbow Proficiency, and barricades. :P

[McDaygo]

What is the tech level of your campaign? Full fantasy? Black powder? Steam punk?

If you want the army to be scary Gunslinger rogues. Have them stealth around the city velociraptor style. You see the squad but the 5-6 hidden in the shadows you never saw coming.

[Quixote]

Maybe a sort of military post at the end of a large underground chamber.

Rudimentary barricades and scaffolding for cover and high ground (+4 AC, +1 attack)

Partially flooded areas for difficult terrain to slow down attackers (halved movement = twice as many ranged attacks)

Pits covered with illusions and illusions of poorly-hidden pits + hot oil and/or tiny monstrous centipedes/swarms dropped from murder holes above (take up their actions climbing out/rolling around/killing bugs while doing a little damage).

Barricades soaked in oil or tar, lit with flaming arrows or bolts (force their movement/deal a little damage).

Maybe some kind of seige weapon that throws a giant net over an area (similar outcome to the pits).

Strong winds make torches go out...maybe a sorcerer to cancel magical light (20-50% miss chance outside of darkvision).

They could try to set fire to the barricades...once they're through the main line, they could get in the tunnels leading up to the second level and force the enemy into a bottleneck...sneaking in seems unlikely with all those Perception checks and darkvision, but maybe part of the group can throw focus long enough to let someone slip past the thickest defenses.

Really, I'd take a look at the Angry DM's site and go from there. Figure out the standard, go-to plan of your typical group, then foil it and force them to do something else. Just try not to target these characters specifically too much. Like...a centipede swarm is CR4, yeah? But it's immune to the ranger's awesome damage, doesn't care about the cleric's AC and definitely can't be grappled by the monk. They'd need to use some of the kobold's oil or something to kill it.

[Tim Emrick]

(Dotting to follow for ideas for my own campaign, which has a dragon-ruled kobold kingdom with serious military ambitions.)

[*Khan*]

Truckers Kobolds.??

[Meirril]

Mountrose wrote:

Greetings,

I'm currently GMing the Kingmaker AP and my players are up against a kobold kingdom. The kobolds are led by a cleric of Asmodeus and I'm trying to use them as lawful, intelligent, resourceful but individually weak enemies

Umm...that isn't anything like the Kobolds I remember from that AP. Actually I remember the party doing a quest for the Kobolds from the AP.

Anyways, on to your situation. It changes a lot depending on what kind of threat they are suppose to be. The most brute force way to do it is to have an army of kobolds threaten the player's kingdom. Individual PCs have no power in front of an army. The army rules are silly and stupid, but it would force the players to make their own army to oppose them, or force them into negotiations. Honestly I don't like this approach. It takes away from the heroic fantasy and player agency.

If the Kobolds are suppose to be an invading force, then you need to buff them a bit. Have the rank and file soldiers be level 1 fighters. That doesn't really change their stats much, but it gives them a lot of little perks. Have them take some teamwork feats and act in squads that use those tactics. Then mix in some elite units that should frighten the party. Like a Griffon air calvary unit. The mounts are more dangerous than the riders. Or a unit of Axe Beak riders that happen to be level 3 cavaliers. A few Bearded Devils summoned to support their devil worshiping followers. Have part of the challenge being to separate the units so they don't end up snowballing the entire army into one encounter.

If the Kobolds are on the defensive, you can have them use a lot of traps. Stuff like kobolds with long spears guarding a barricade with hidden 10' deep pits in front of the barricade. A narrow passage where the kobolds have to go one at a time with an oil and fire trap the kobolds need to throw a lever to set off. Hallways with pressure plate traps set to 100 lbs, or insane spinning scythe traps that hit anything taller than 4'. The Kobolds guarding the traps work as minor harassment and funnel players towards the traps.

[Mudfoot]

Kobolds are small and I'm guessing that some or all the PCs aren't. This makes hit-&-run easy for them, simply by tunnels with 3' ceilings. You've not mentioned a PC rogue or other trap specialist, so the kobolds can make very good use of traps. A few decoys (kobold scarecrow-like puppets or pictures) can waste a lot of that ranger's DPR. A cage of spiders or a thrown wasp's nest can be trouble if they're not good against swarms. Smoke can cause confusion. A remotely-operated portcullis or door can split the party which ought to get them worried.

Basically, don't fight fair. Kobolds don't. Don't break the rules, but don't play the PC's game.

[zza ni]

some kobold themed items and feats:

stun vial
lures

feats to be used with debuffs(like the vial):
for rogues
for casters

pit traps that end in small space would force the one trapped to also squeeze for extra debuff.
twisting tunnels would make it hard for any archer to attack outside of melee reach.
use darkness as much as possible there is close to no reason to have any light source in a kobold den.and anyone bringing in light could be spotted a long distance away (and also ranged from outside their sight. remember if they are in a lighted area even creatures from 200 ft away in darkness can see them clearly).
use 'pets' - i like slimes and vermin to engage the party while the kobold stay hidden and snipe.

also i find that when looting the group is not as impotent to an intelligent enemy (what would they do with medium sized gear anyway. ether are small kobold or large trolls), sundering the party's gear can be really bad news to them. does the archer have a spare bow? high ac for cleric doesn't help against sundering his holy symbol (to prevent focus required spells from being cast or any channels) or his armor (which then lower his ac as well). some slimes are useful in that regard as well..