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I'm looking for some ideas on how to turn something that looks like a completely impossible encounter into something manageable for the party.
Background:
I am trying to put together a 6th level game for my group. Idea is playing off of Nex & Geb being in a cold war... and Nexian Military Intelligence learns Geb may be planning to start a proxy war via Mwangi tribes on the Nexian Western Front.
The Party is a Nexian Military Special forces team sent to rescue an undercover troop that was doing some reconnaissance (spying) along a trade route to Kibwe. What they discover is a Vegepygmy village working with some intelligent Gebbite Undead to develop massive Alchemical siege weapons and munitions.
Now - a 5 man team infiltrating a pretty large camp of well trained/highly armed Vegepygmy and Undead Military officers may be theoretically possible.... They might be able to set up the perfect series of stealth rolls with coordinated distractions to get in, save the prisoners and get out.... But I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket ... I would like to also provide a potential Plan B option, were they to make some good perception checks or Profession (soldier) checks....
The most obvious is "chuck a flask of alchemist fire into the stores of Alchemical Munitionns - and create a huge explosion taking out a bunch of enemies all at once...
But that can't be the only move... I'm looking for help coming up with other ideas of things the party might be able to do to quickly take out large numbers of the Vegepygmy tribe as well as the undead, so when they do move in, it's just to clean up the few remaining tribal threats.
I'm using this map, in case it inspires any ideas....
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Are you a player or the GM?
If you are the GM, it is really up to the players to come up with ways to figure it out. Most of the times when plans an encounter and comes up with a way that they think the players are going to use the players will not do what the GM thinks they will. Trying to figure out your player’s tactics is like trying to predict the winning lottery numbers.
The GM should make sure that the creatures in the encounter are not going to automatically overwhelm the players. He also needs to make sure the numbers in the encounter are appropriate for the encounter. For example, if the camp by concept has so many creatures that the players have no chance, the GM should figure a reason for some of them not to be there. Maybe some of the Vegepygmy’s are out on patrol or collecting materials needed to make the munitions. Maybe the undead are destroyed by sunlight so are in a cave and the encounter is during the day.
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Yes - I am the GM.
I know how normal encounters are designed and the party is very familiar with typical dungeon crawl mechanics... But I am trying to set up something that has the potential for them to remember for a long time as it breaks the mold.
Sure - they can wait for nightfall, When most of the camp will be sleeping, then watch the pattern of the guards and come up with a plan to sneak down from the cliffs, or come in from an aquatic approach, and interact with as few enemies as possible - and simply stick to the rescue mission and just report back their findings when they are done with their mission. Leave it up to higher ups if they want to send in a larger assualt...
But I would love to sprinkle in a few clues or hints that could lead them to a classic - over the top Action Movie sequence of destruction and mayhem...
I suppose the explosion could start a domino effect...cause some rock slides to take out a number of the huts on the perimeter... Maybe even a guard tower... But I didn't want it to be just a single act that takes out the whole village. I was hoping to have like 5 independent things that could be done to create massive losses.
Put the prisoners to be rescued on an edge or in a corner of the map... maybe the rectangular building at the bottom-left, or the rectangular building that is bottom-center [by the creek that goes under the wall]...
Do not make the party go through the entire village. They can get under/over/through the wall here, here, and here... like the creek under wall...
Do not make the party fight the entire force. As mentioned, the Undead could be in the cave located in the upper-left corner... maybe there is an alter that heals them, or they are involved in some dark ritual...
The prisoners are a second thought, and not the main focus of the camp... there is other stuff going on, and guarding prisoners is extra. It stretches resources thinner than preferred, maybe just a magic lock is good enough? Maybe they just left some hungry dogs to guard the prisoners, and maybe the party has some extra food?
Pretty much give them the rescue, and have an appropriate number of enemies chase them... the exact amount necessary for a good encounter.
When in doubt insert Chaos
For example an Explosion = Fire everywhere. Dangerous to both PCs and enemies Also can be used to create a "maze" that lets you control movement of both sides, letting you to break things up into small fights
Loud Noises could attract monsters in the area for example T-Rex. Fight is now a three way battle PCs vs. Vegis vs. T-Rex
and what if the Vegies have Prisoners.
Fire + T-rex + people in bamboo cages screaming in panic
Chaos
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When in doubt insert Chaos
For example an Explosion = Fire everywhere. Dangerous to both PCs and enemies Also can be used to create a "maze" that lets you control movement of both sides, letting you to break things up into small fights
Ok... You get it!
I didn't even think about the aftermath - how the flying bits of flammable Alchemical compounds would change the map! That's a great idea, and one I will make sure to consider.Irritating/waking up a giant monster who comes to investigate the explosion is also a cool idea... Though I'm unsure if it would necessarily make things easier for the past on any way... Its certainly not something they would be planning for.
After the explosion, an irritated Hydra stumbles sleepily out from behind the warerfall...
When in doubt insert Chaos
For example an Explosion = Fire everywhere. Dangerous to both PCs and enemies Also can be used to create a "maze" that lets you control movement of both sides, letting you to break things up into small fights
Ok... You get it!
I didn't even think about the aftermath - how the flying bits of flammable Alchemical compounds would change the map! That's a great idea, and one I will make sure to consider.Irritating/waking up a giant monster who comes to investigate the explosion is also a cool idea... Though I'm unsure if it would necessarily make things easier for the past on any way... Its certainly not something they would be planning for.
One thing adding the giant monster dose is it distracts the Village giving you and excuse for why the entire horde doesn't come down on the Party's heads.
Plus it makes a great backdrop, PCs are fighting a group of Vegies but you get to throw in a description of the Rampaging T-rex in the background, tromping through a building.
Few rounds in you bring in some Vegie reinforcements but then suddenly the Monster's head comes out of nowhere and chomps them, giving the PCs some breathing room.
It's more a narrative tool to help herd things around
If you want an action movie like setup you need to follow their model instead of the normal game model. The reason there is so much destruction and chaos in an action movie is that the opponents in the movie are not really a challenge for the heroes. They are basically cannon fodder instead of level appropriate creatures. They rely on and mass numbers to create a challenge. In a one-to-one fight they don’t stand a chance. Even a one to a few, the targets are no match for the party. It’s only when they are dozens to one, they become a challenge.
This can be done in a game but be warned it is a long-drawn-out encounter. The combat may last a full session, or maybe even longer. The best way to do it is to have a main boss with a lot of lesser minions. The minions should be slightly under what the party can deal with but there should be enough of them that they are overcoming them is difficult. Don’t have them all in one spot either or the spell will often take them out with a single fire ball or other area of effect spell. Have them come in waves so that a single spell will not end the battle. The party has to wade through the minions to get to the boss, or the boss does not appear until after the minions are mostly defeated.
Running this type of encounter can really bog things down if you are not prepared. I regularly use this type of scenario so have come up with a few things I use to help. First and most important do not roll individual dice for the horde. Use a computer-based tool to make all the rolls for the horde. Rolling dice for the boss is ok, because by that time the number of enemies has been reduced to a more traditional encounter. Do not use individual initiative for the opponents. Treat all similar creatures as having the same initiative and handle all their actions at once. Know the abilities of all the creatures in the encounter.
Study each type of creature so you understand what they are capable of and especially what defenses they have. Make sure to have a printout or file for each creature and character in the encounter. That includes by the players characters as well. Do some dry runs and simulations of the encounter to get a feel for how it may go. Do some calculations on how long it will take the party to take out the individual targets.
The last couple of things require you really know your party’s capabilities. That is really the key thing here if you know what your party is capable of handling you have a better chance of predicting their tactics. Also take in to account how the players think. Too many times I have figured one of the spell casters would bring up a particular spell only to have them forget or ignore the spell.
Just make it easier for them. You said in the opening post that they need to roll perfectly on stealth rolls. Why? Is the entire village utterly silent and on high alert at all times? If so how are they making alchemical items?
If I were running this scenario I would say that the primary purpose of the village is making alchemical items, holding prisoners is just a nuisance, they just don’t have the personnel, the sooner the prisoners can be transferred to a proper prison the better. That should give the PCs plenty of scope for organising a prison break.
A couple of other thoughts.
1) Real waterfalls are noisy, think how loud an ordinary shower can be, a waterfall is dumping many orders of magnitude more water than that. Fantasy waterfalls might not be loud, but that seems like an unreasonable call to me. There should a significant circumstance bonus to any stealth checks near the waterfall.
2) You could turn the scenario on its head. Maybe they want the prisoners rescued. Why? Who knows? Maybe one of the prisoners is a doppelgänger and by “rescuing” him you’ve just given him the perfect cover. If you do this there should be some foreshadowing. For example, they were sent to rescue five prisoners, but there were actually six. Hmm…
Oh and if you are determined on turning the encounter into an action heist scenario with lots of explosions just make it happen. Have a vegepygmy exit a hut balancing a large quantity of alchemical items just as the PCs are sneaking in. The vegepygmy is clumsy and just happens to be carrying shock sensitive alchemical explosives.