INVASION: and what do the PCs do?

[theskyfullofdust]

Afternoon all

My next D&D game (3.5 edition): the PCs are on their way back to their hometown, only to discover that it has been invaded in their absence, by hobgoblins. I have a few ideas of specific encounters, but was wondering if anyone had any tips or tricks to run/prepare for a town-based adventure in the grip of an invading, hostile force.

I had though that there are three key ways that the PCs can break the enemy hold, which will be what they are most likely to do:

1. find a way to notify the Empire and get the army to come in and deal with the hobgoblins (difficult: only way to contact would be by teleportation, or a spell of Sending; but the hobgoblins have a device that prevents such things, requiring it to be destroyed first);

2. challenge the hobgoblin general to a duel, winner takes all.

3. kill all the hobgoblins (how many are there? The town holds about 3000, how much of an army is needed to maintain order?)

Any ideas/suggestions/advice?

Thanks

Simon

 

[Janx]

the PCs could also send a runner, while doing hit-n-run guerrila tactics until the empire shows up (if they do).

Lack of empire presence to detect, warn or deal with this threat already implies that this area is of minimal value to them.


The force needed to take a town need not be > population. It simply needs to be greater than the armed guards/civilians willing to take up arms.

This is already a frontier town (lack of empire presence says so), so odds are good, more people are armed.

Plus, has the town been taken and sacked, control siezed, or is the town under siege (imagine a walled fort town)?

I'd recommend plotting out how the enemy forces took the town, and what their intent is, and how they plan to hold it.

Then let the PCs come upon the situation.

Try not to over-anticipate what their exact approach will be. They might turn tail and run, or join forces. Odds are good, they'll work against the enemy, but beyond that it is risky to assume.

 

[Thanee]

1. find a way to notify the Empire and get the army to come in and deal with the hobgoblins (difficult: only way to contact would be by teleportation, or a spell of Sending; but the hobgoblins have a device that prevents such things, requiring it to be destroyed first);

I don't know... this seems like a rather easy thing to do in D&D. There are SO many ways to travel fast... and undetected by most.

3. kill all the hobgoblins (how many are there? The town holds about 3000, how much of an army is needed to maintain order?)

Visions of a certain crazy halfling barbarian coming to mind...

Bye
Thanee

 

[ExploderWizard]

It is important to know at what stage the assault on the town is in.

How would you like to set the beginning scene-with burning buildings, screaming townsfolk, and other elements of an attack in progress or is the town waiting quietly for the PC's to discover in the grip of a hostile force?

Once that is decided perhaps we can come up with more ideas to expand on that particular setup.

 

[weem]

Try not to over-anticipate what their exact approach will be. They might turn tail and run, or join forces. Odds are good, they'll work against the enemy, but beyond that it is risky to assume.

Yea, this here.

I ran one particular game where the PC's came into a town that was being harassed at night by goblins who were lead by a band of human rebels. This group of rebels would not care so much about this town, but the sheriff there had captured one of their leaders - so the rebels were (during the night) coming in, setting fires, looting and just generally causing a disturbance while demanding the release of this leader (they didn't know where he was being held).

This leader happened to have once been a popular figure in the military in this town, so the sheriff was faced with a growing number of soldiers wanting to kill him outright for treason, and some who he imagined would want to see him freed - it was getting harder for him (the sheriff) to maintain control of the situation.

When the PC's came in, news of their helping a town to the North arrived before them and the Sheriff was waiting to ask for their help. Basically, he wanted this prisoner to be taken out of town to the capital for the empire to deal with justly. He claimed that he could not trust his people to do it as he would probably be assassinated in transit (or perhaps even freed), or the rebels would find out and spring him loose. Stealth was of the essence and nothing the Sheriff or his men could do would go un-noticed.

When I planned this, I thought I might give them some ideas (via the Sheriff) - but instead, I left it to them... the Sheriff said, "I can give you supplies, whatever you need... you tell me what you want to do"... so MUCH of the session went into the planning - the players talked amongst themselves asking the Sheriff a number of questions trying to get a plan in motion. Their plan worked (posing as merchants, they boxed him up with some other supplies and made their way out of town with only a few snags and close calls here and there, hehe).

The point of this long post is that if you present a large situation like that, there's almost no telling how they will end up going about it's completion, so keep it open. It's easier on you and they will probably have a lot more fun with it (that game ended up being one of their favorites of the campaign).

 

[Dausuul]

What level are the PCs? What spellcasters are in the party and what utility spells do they have available?

 

[theskyfullofdust]

Thanks for the replies & comments so far. A bit more info then, as requested:

The idea is that the hobgoblins have already taken over the town, but have only held it for a few days. There have been rumblings that something was going to happen in the earlier adventurers.

They have disposed of the leaders (an alliance of merchants), bribed and compelled by force of arms the local militia to join with them, killed every adventuring-type they could find (there weren't many), and have laid siege to the local wizard's guild.

There are a few rebels that the PCs met before they reach the town; some of them will be the PCs contacts.

The hobgoblin's goal: take control of the town, make it there own, use it as a base to explore the wilderness beyond, looking for artefacts they believe lies in various ruins.

I want to leave it open for the PCs to do as they wish, sort of like a mini-sandbox, and if I know my players they might do anything, even so far as try and make a bid to take control themselves.

They are all Level 6, spell-casters are a kobold wu jen and a cleric; utility spells are not many, mostly attack-based. One of them is also a harpy, with her song ability getting better all the time and can completely change an encounter if she sings and all the big bads fail their saves.

The town is a frontier town, founded by merchants, and the Empire does only have a passing interest in it. So, maybe they Empire won't get involved at all, leaving it up to the PCs to change things, if they want to.

I plan on going through my notes, noting who has allied themselves with the invaders, who rebels, who is just hiding, and need to come up with a few planned/location encounters that the PCs come across as they do whatever it is they plan on doing...

 

[Dausuul]

Okay, so unless the besieged wizard's guild has some higher-level NPC casters, you don't really have to worry about the PCs busting out with teleport and such. You can set the whole sandbox up pretty straightforwardly and let the PCs play in it, without fear of them neatly bypassing all obstacles through magic.

If they get a message to the Empire, I'd say have the Empire send a handful of green troops in response, with an inexperienced and hesitant commander who will eagerly agree to anything the PCs tell him to do. The PCs thus get some new resources for their trouble, but still have to figure out how to deal with the problem, since the forces they've got are manifestly inadequate for a frontal assault.

Otherwise, you're on the right track. Make up notes on which NPCs are doing what, work out some rough stats for the size and makeup of the hobgoblin army, map out the town with important buildings and terrain features, and design a few generic encounters with hobgoblin forces, suitable for dropping in where appropriate. Then play it by ear. Let the PCs decide how they're going to handle the problem and build off whatever they choose to do.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Are the hobgoblins from a hobgoblin kingdom or are they a nomad tribe that have decided to settle in the town and use it as a base?

Why would the hobgoblins not simply kill all non hobgoblins in the town if there is continued resistance?

Is there a significant population of the town that has escaped into the surrounding wilderness that could form the basis of a rebel army?

If the pcs are to mount a rebellion then they need potential rebels and a way to ensure that the hobgoblisn cannot simply kill everyone and thus end the rebellion.

If the Hobgoblins are simply a band held together by the personality of a warlord then killing the warlord may be sufficient to break up the army so that the surviving local can drive them off.

Even if the Empire has no interest in the merchant town does not mean that they will sit back and allow a powerful hobgoblin kingdom set up shop on their doorstep.

 

[theskyfullofdust]

Are the hobgoblins from a hobgoblin kingdom or are they a nomad tribe that have decided to settle in the town and use it as a base?

The hobgoblins have their own Empire, a theocracy to be exact. It borders the human-centric Empire over the sea; they had a small presence in the frontier town, a fort of 200-odd soldiers who were exploring ruins.

Why would the hobgoblins not simply kill all non hobgoblins in the town if there is continued resistance?

Good question: mostly because they need the townsfolk as slaves; plus they can get some of them to work for them and act as a resource.

Is there a significant population of the town that has escaped into the surrounding wilderness that could form the basis of a rebel army?

I am thinking that is will be a small gang, not big enough for an army. The PCs, if they wanted, would seek out allies in the conquered town.

If the pcs are to mount a rebellion then they need potential rebels and a way to ensure that the hobgoblisn cannot simply kill everyone and thus end the rebellion.

There are plenty of places in the wilderness to hide out; hit & run tactics could help too I guess.

If the Hobgoblins are simply a band held together by the personality of a warlord then killing the warlord may be sufficient to break up the army so that the surviving local can drive them off.

The hobgoblins worship a god of war and will be led by a warrior-priest. It is possible that this general could be challenged, maybe for right of rulership... in any event, it would certainly cause problems for the invaders if their leader dies.

Even if the Empire has no interest in the merchant town does not mean that they will sit back and allow a powerful hobgoblin kingdom set up shop on their doorstep.

If the Empire was alerted, I think I'll take Dausuul advice and send in a small force to begin with, as the Empire investigates and checks to see if it is worthwhile sending in more. They might be more likely to strike up diplomatic talks with them instead, rather than send in a large force.

* * *

Thanks for the advice so far, much obliged and it is helping me formulate the ideas already festering in my mind