GOBLIN ARMY vs. 10th lvl PCs: Seeking some ideas. [My players GET LOST!]

>>Seriously, if you're playing in my group, please do not read this. I have nowhere else to go. The Wizards boards were not helpful!<<

To the rest of you, welcome!

Anybody read or DMed "Into the Dragon's lair"? Even if you haven't, your ideas are needed! I'd like some more ideas about how a goblin army would defend their turf. I'm perfectly willing to add things to the module, but I'd prefer Core Rules stuff. Tactics, combat maneuvers, whatever you think is useful.

[BEWARE--"Into the Dragon's Lair" SPOILERS HERE!!!]

Here's who's left in the party:

Bear (Rgr3/Rog3/Clr3)
Dalabrac (Rog6/Shadowdancer2)
Lucius (Wiz--Illusionist 10)
Artemus (Druid 10)
Quidam (NPC Clr6/Auspician3)

They just entered Grodd and attacked the first watchtower they saw. One PC perished (and was left behind) in the attack, and the goblins set off every alarm they had--signal fires and about 12 horns. Suffice to say the hornet's nest is riled. Next they're going to climb up onto a high cavern ledge and see what the goblins do.

The party likes to use web, spike stones, and flame strikes, and the two rogues pair up in combat to flank and then double-sneak attack their hapless victims.

Of course a goblin Warband (numbering 70) will be dispatched to set up shop at the watchtower, and they will be accompanied by a goblin wizard (who may be Coulam--from Doxon's group--in disguise). In addition to their many soldiers, the goblins have adepts, rogues, and fighters a-plenty, some of them quite high level.

Any advice from those who've run this module, or from those who own it and would like to play "Armchair DM"? Any general advice or crafty tricks on how a goblin army can take on 10th level PCs?

Much appreciated.

How much do the goblins know about the PC's? I would expect that the first espedition would get wiped out and the knowledge gained there will make the second or third wave much tougher.

They already know what they learned in the attack on the watchtower--about eight goblins survived. The goblins know the party composition and the fact that they're pretty badass.

Poisoned weapons.
Stinking cloud spells, overlapped to cause a real annoyance to the pc's and allows the goblins to pepper them some more from a distance.

Have a few goblins engage the pc's while the rest continue to rain missile weapons then for no reason the goblin's do a defensive retreat.
Allow a goblin to go into a position to be flanked left and right, but not front and back. WATCH the pc's if they place their characters there, it's an auto reflex save or fall into a spiked pit, or poison spiked pit.

The goblins know they are badass so they will use rat bastard tactics.

Shatter a weapon that's already in someone's hand. The weapon gains the save of the char, but there is stll a chance that the weapon fails the saving throw and gets broken.

Read up on the shatter spell, it does more than just glass.

Energy adminxed acid fireball. insult to injury.
or if not available, energy adminxed burning hands, or shocking grasp, delivered by spectral hand.

Tom Cashel said:

Here's who's left in the party:

Bear (Rgr3/Rog3/Clr3)
Dalabrac (Rog6/Shadowdancer2)
Lucius (Wiz--Illusionist 10)
Artemus (Druid 10)
Quidam (NPC Clr6/Auspician3)

Click to expand...

Random notes:
They would seem to be lacking in brute strength.
4 characters are going to have a hard time keeping scores of goblins away from the Wizard.

I'd arm the goblins with lots of minor magic items, and less often used non-magic items: Flaming Oil, Thunderstones, That gluey paste, and NETS. Definitely nets. And while they are trying to escape the net, pummel them badly.

Rock slides are also efficient in forcing the players to use fly when they don't want to. Especially if it is the limited times per day variety. They then become the target for 20 odd archers/crossbowgoblins.

You can really turn the hastle up a notch by having them constantly harrowed. No sooner do they scorch all the archers with a fireball than another trap is sprung, or a ballistae bolt is fired from within a cave towards their ledge. Or a net drops down upon them from a ledge above, or a pair of Dire Wolves chews on a pony. Make it seem like the little buggers are everywhere, and as numerous as the stars in the heavens. Make sure, though that it doesn't come across as being too well co-ordinated, but rather a massive pot-purri of oportunism and mayhem.

At the end of the session, you can have the valley/mountain become very quiet. That should then freak them a bit.

Shatter , as mentioned before, is a great spell if you have some set up time. Hanging thunderstones/ alchemist fire etc can be shattered at a distance and targeted by casting shatter over the parties caster's.

Anything to blind the party such as stinking clouds, smokesticks etc with large numbers of bad guys is useful, just have the bad guys fire missile weapons into the area were the PC's are sure you have a 50% miss chance but with enough missile weapons who cares and this disables the characters ability to return fire becuase you can spread out your bad guys fairly well and targeting spells are nullified.

any sort of pits with spikes work even if they are visible it channels the PC's into a certain pathway. Controlling the PC's choices instead of them controlling them is the idea.

Limiting their choices while having prepared for those limitations are the idea.

later

How would you defend your subterranean kingdom?

You should probably take a look at How would you defend your subterranean kingdom?, a 168-post thread from a few months back.

100's of Goblin Archers.

Every 100 goblin archers will generate 5 natural 20's (automatic hit) each round.

Nets! And Flaming Oil! In combination!

Wolf Riders.

Chariots (run over the characters).

Goblin Fanatic ... Buffed, Raging, Frenzied, Drugged Goblin in the middle of a pack of regular Goblins.

Goblin Fanatic:
Goblin Warrior (usual stats) armed with Lage ball and chain (treat as heavy flail that does 2-12 damage)
When entering Frenzy, receives benefits for Frenzy, Rage, and Bulls Strength (+14 to str, +4 to con, -6 to ac, +2 to will saves, extra attack each round). Dies when Frenzy/Rage ends.

Goblin fanatic enters frenzy as soon as he comes within charge reach of enemy.

It might also be important to note that goblins as a whole are not particularly smart or courageous. Sure, their leaders might be of decent level, but the rank and file that make an army dangerous are cannon fodder. Assuming the players don't overtly try to just break the army through fear, they will try to break them into smaller groups. 2 Rogues, an Illusionist, and a Druid are pretty much a perfect group for distraction and misdirection.

Here's the challenge for the gobbos: They need to find the PCs before they can slaughter them. One giant stampeding army isn't great for tracking down 4 or 5 guys who don't want to be found. The 70 member group will have to split up to find the party, then hopefully call for reinforcements.

If I were the PCs, I would probably use a horn at least once to pull the group into a trap. If it worked well enough, I might be abe to get away with using the horn twice. Good chance of some innocuous animal being the druid and kicking off another ambush. Some illusion spells, maybe some traps if the rogues have enough time. I don't know what the shadowdancer does with his shadow, but if that thing makes spawn, it could be a bad thing for the goblin army. If it doesn't make spawn, it still doesn't take a lot of strength drain to put a goblin out of commission.

First of all, you should try and figure out what information that I said above the goblins might know. Their recon probably isn't as good as mine . Beyond seeing through the PCs ambushes, the goblins want to be the ones with surprise, not vice versa. That probably means putting a lot of eggs in one basket and magicking up a few single scouts to bring a large group down on the PCs heads.

-nameless

use darkvision to their advantage.

goblins have a +4 Move Silent racial bonus. use it.

cover. plenty of cover.


don't use fire as it provides light. use acid or green slime.

ranged weapons.

use their movement. goblins although small move faster than halflings, gnomes, and dwarves