Right now, the players in my group are about 1 mile outside the hilltop fortress of a bandit king (or, a guy who fancies himself a bandit king). The game is D&D and it's 4E. The party is 6 PCs, plus one allied cleric and five allied level 7 soldiers. (The allied soldiers are currently in a different location)
The fort is pretty well defended and there are 75-80 men under the Bandit King's ("BK") command. The non-minions in the bunch are mostly either Human Outlaws or Human Dire Beast Hunters, led by several elites (an assassin/lurker, a skirmisher and a soldier). There is also a trained owlbear and two controller types, as well as several Ravenous Attack Dogs. I picked the Dire Beast Hunters, as I imagined them using the net attack to capture slaves for trading.
The players' plan was to attack supply wagons going into and out of the fort, forcing the BK to come out after them.
They managed to keep the first ambush hidden from the fort's view, but it will be more difficult going forward.
So, if you were the Bandit King and in charge of the fort, what would you do if:
(a) You saw your supply wagon being ambushed a mile outside the fort? Do you ride out with 25% of your men, 50%, all of them? (The fort also abuts a large lake, so they can get fish from the lake for food. That is currently not an issue.) My thought was 25% of their number leave the fort, and keep a few men a safe distance behind to immediately report back. 75% stay in the fort in case it's a trick.
(b) If the PCs keep the second ambush hidden, how soon do you send out men looking for what happened to the wagons? The players have already found out they sent out four wagons a week at different times and to different locations and round trip is usually 6-8 days each. If you suspect foul play, do you ride out in force?
(c) In a straight up fight, the PCs are over-matched vs all the bandits, even if you add in their allied cleric and five allied soldiers, so are looking to get them into "bite sized" groups.
(d) If the players wait too long, the BK will unite his forces with a local band of orcs, and then be able to grow their power even further.
Any other ideas, or anything I'm missing?
Thanks
The fort is pretty well defended and there are 75-80 men under the Bandit King's ("BK") command. The non-minions in the bunch are mostly either Human Outlaws or Human Dire Beast Hunters, led by several elites (an assassin/lurker, a skirmisher and a soldier). There is also a trained owlbear and two controller types, as well as several Ravenous Attack Dogs. I picked the Dire Beast Hunters, as I imagined them using the net attack to capture slaves for trading.
The players' plan was to attack supply wagons going into and out of the fort, forcing the BK to come out after them.
They managed to keep the first ambush hidden from the fort's view, but it will be more difficult going forward.
So, if you were the Bandit King and in charge of the fort, what would you do if:
(a) You saw your supply wagon being ambushed a mile outside the fort? Do you ride out with 25% of your men, 50%, all of them? (The fort also abuts a large lake, so they can get fish from the lake for food. That is currently not an issue.) My thought was 25% of their number leave the fort, and keep a few men a safe distance behind to immediately report back. 75% stay in the fort in case it's a trick.
(b) If the PCs keep the second ambush hidden, how soon do you send out men looking for what happened to the wagons? The players have already found out they sent out four wagons a week at different times and to different locations and round trip is usually 6-8 days each. If you suspect foul play, do you ride out in force?
(c) In a straight up fight, the PCs are over-matched vs all the bandits, even if you add in their allied cleric and five allied soldiers, so are looking to get them into "bite sized" groups.
(d) If the players wait too long, the BK will unite his forces with a local band of orcs, and then be able to grow their power even further.
Any other ideas, or anything I'm missing?
Thanks
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