D&D 5E Ack! Sleeping in Hobgoblin Barracks (Lost Mine of Phandelver)

[jayoungr]

So my group finally made it to Wave Echo Cave tonight. They have cleared out about half of it, mostly on the western side. The last place they cleared out was room 11, the hobgoblin barracks. To my utter disbelief, once they finished with the battle they announced they were going to pile the hobgoblin corpses in the corner and have a long rest in the room.

I know (but they don't) that this barracks is the leading edge of the Black Spider's operation. I tried to drop them some hints. I had them all roll intelligence (investigation), hoping I could drop them a hint about what might be going on, but no one rolled above a 9. When they complained that the hobgoblins had very little treasure on them, I even said, "Someone must be underpaying them," hoping they'd take the hint and move to a safer area to spend the night. They haven't even stopped to wonder what a bunch of hobgoblins were doing holed up deep in the mine. Possibly they were more focused on just finishing up for the night, because that's where we ended the session.

But um...I'm at a loss as to what to do now! They really should be discovered before they can finish a long rest; Nezznar has another shift of hobgoblins who are bound to be using the room. But how should I handle it? I'd appreciate it if the board can help me lay out the various options with their pros and cons. I have a feeling I'm missing a lot here.

Thoughts:

I don't feel too guilty about denying them a long rest, since I don't think there's any way they would have eight undisturbed hours in that room. Reality check, though--would that be unfair?

Nezznar would almost certainly want to take them alive, if he hears about them. Could be interesting--he might propose an alliance, as suggested in the adventure.

Should I them some kind of saving throw to wake up as soon as someone opens the door? Is it unfair to assume someone finds them without them waking up?

How about if the remaining hobgoblins try to capture them? I think I have to give them a chance to fight their way free if I do that, but there should be a penalty for being asleep. Automatic surprise round? How many hobgoblins are a fair number to try to capture them? They fought off seven in the room before; it wasn't an easy fight, and they blew some of their long-rest-recharge abilities.

Just ... ack, how do I handle this? We wanted to finish the adventure this weekend, so we'll be playing another session either Saturday night or Sunday afternoon.

***

Oh, and while I have your attention: Just why does Mormesk the Wraith want to get rid of that Spectator, anyway?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

MY first gut reaction is to just start the next game with "After you wake up and reprep we continue and..."

I get the feeling you really don't want them to have the rest though...

 

[Fralex]

Sounds like you were being very fair to your players! They had plenty of chances to reconsider this course of action. Now you get to scare them!

So first, they are at least going to sleep in shifts, like most adventurers do, right? You could innocently ask them if they're all going to sleep at once in case they forgot or it didn't occur to them. You can likely count on at least one person keeping watch to wake up the others if they hear trouble approaching.

They'll have a chance to fight back when the enemies arrive, they'll just be groggy at the start. Surprise round sounds fair, depending on how quickly they are alerted to the danger by the guy keeping watch. I think there are rules about how long it takes to get your armor back on and stuff in the book. This could even help make the encounter more interesting; they've never had one start like this before!

Oh, and make them nervous first. Go through the long rest one hour at a time, gradually building the tension. Like, tell the watcher she hears faint footsteps, but then they die down. Tell her she hears nothing for the next hour. Let her make a perception check. But don't have it reveal anything. It's just going to make her anxious. Have the footsteps come back, slightly louder this time. Have them stop abruptly. Give another check, say they can just make out a muffled conversation on a success. Wait another hour. You get the idea. Make them squirm a little, it'll be fun! I'm not even their DM and I'm getting a tingling feeling thinking about this.

Hee
Heheeheh
*snicker*

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Oh, and make them nervous first. Go through the long rest one hour at a time, gradually building the tension. Like, tell the watcher she hears faint footsteps, but then they die down. Tell her she hears nothing for the next hour. Let her make a perception check. But don't have it reveal anything. It's just going to make her anxious. Have the footsteps come back, slightly louder this time. Have them stop abruptly. Give another check, say they can just make out a muffled conversation on a success. Wait another hour. You get the idea. Make them squirm a little, it'll be fun! I'm not even their DM and I'm getting a tingling feeling thinking about this.

be careful following this advise... if your players are into it, this would be great. If on the other hand they just get board and there minds wander it is best to skip this kind of thing. I know players that would make it to the second hour, realize there rolls don't matter and be on there phones... I know of worse still people who will just come out and say "Can we skip the sleep drama and get back to the game."

again know your PCs before you try this sort of thing...

 

[Piratecat]

Does the group have a sentry?

Unless the hobgoblins are trying to be sneaky, the PCs will hear them approach as they get off shift—talking and complaining. "Where the hell are our replacements?" In fact, only a few might show up at first, looking for the relief crew.

This degree of "oh crap!" Is fun. It lets the players scramble without ensuring a TPK.

 

[jayoungr]

MY first gut reaction is to just start the next game with "After you wake up and reprep we continue and..."

I get the feeling you really don't want them to have the rest though...

It's not that I want to be mean to them for the sake of being mean. I just think it stretches the bounds of plausibility for them to get away with this, and I feel like I'd be breaking the adventure if I let them do it.

 

[GX.Sigma]

I have made a habit of rolling for wandering monsters whenever the PCs waste time in a hostile environment. They have learned that it's a very very bad idea to sleep in the dungeon.

Here's how I'd handle this specific situation:

"1 hour passes."
(Roll dice)
"The second hour passes."
(Roll dice)
(Roll a few different kinds of dice)
"You hear a knock at the door."

Don't pull punches. They'll get the hint pretty quick.

 

[the Jester]

I don't feel too guilty about denying them a long rest, since I don't think there's any way they would have eight undisturbed hours in that room. Reality check, though--would that be unfair?

You make it sound like reality is about fairness.

Sounds like they're asking for trouble to me. Frankly, if they aren't keeping watches in a situation like this, they deserve to be captured or worse.

 

[Rune]

First, it seems like the PCs are reinacting The Hobbit.

Second, if there is information that you need to impart to the players, never trust the dice to deliver it! (Although, it appears you gave plenty of subtle hints. If the players won't listen--well, they'll learn.)

I think (assuming the PCs set a sentry) a surprise round for the sleepers is sufficient. Since Hobgoblins are much deadlier in numbers (and the armor-wearers may not be wearing it), I'd send a small wave in first and a larger one a couple of rounds later.

 

[Jaelommiss]

But um...I'm at a loss as to what to do now!

No, you're not. After reading you post, I'd say you know exactly what to do. You know what should happen next. You just don't want to because you'll have some rather upset players on your hands. Or perhaps you're not a ruthless jerk like myself. Depending on your table that's not necessarily a bad thing.


What would I do in your situation? Glad you asked.

Before anything else choose a time that the next load of hobgoblins will return at. No changing this time.

Recap the last session, making sure to emphasize that they're in a hobgoblin barracks. If you're lucky they were just tired last week and someone will clue in that sleeping there is a very, VERY bad idea.

Next I'd ask what they do to prepare for the rest. With luck they will at least bar the doors (a barracks should have beds and footlockers) and set a watch rotation. Ask if they will be sleeping in their armour. If you impose a penalty for that is up to you.

Ask what the players do during the rest. Is it eight hours of sleep, a couple hours preparing spells after six hours sleep? Figure out when they will be awake. I'd also figure out how they are keeping track of the hours. Without someone keeping time I would roll a d4 and add that to the eight hours of their rest.

Then we get to the fun bit. When the hobgoblins arrive, have them talking loudly (DC 15 passive perception, -5 penalty to anyone sleeping) as they approach the door. If it hasn't been barricaded then they open it after two rounds. If the door is blocked they will try to kick it open, assuming it to be stuck, and adding an additional round until the door opens. Players who succeed on DC 10 passive perception (-5 for sleeping) will wake up.

The hobgoblins go silent when they see their dead comrades piled up in the corner. Anyone awake at this time will now be aware of them if they were not already.

If everyone is asleep, the hobgoblins will try to sneak to the adventurers. Players whose passive perception -5 beats at least one stealth roll will wake up. After one round each hobgoblin will coup-de-grace a player, starting with those closest to the door. This will likely kill the player, though they are now awake if they survive. DC 10 passive perception (again -5 penalty for sleeping) to hear this and wake up. Each player can use an entire turn to get up and grab their weapons. Remind those who took their armour off to adjust their AC. Anyone awake can use their action to wake another player.

If any players are awake then the hobgoblins will attack them. As soon as the first attack action is taken or spell is cast, sleeping players wake up. Hobgoblins target threats before sleeping characters. Once a character is unconscious the hobgoblins move on to the next target. Once half of the hobgoblins are slain, the remainder retreat to tell the Black Spider and get support.

It goes without saying that the characters do not gain the benefit of a long rest from this, though I would give them a short rest if they spend over an hour resting before the goblin attack.

Really I would expect this to end in a well deserved TPK. If you let them get away with this, then they will try it again, and again, and again.



As an alternative you could ask them all to make intelligence checks before saying something along the lines of "anyone who scored a two or higher gets the feeling that sleeping in a hobgoblin barracks with its freshly butchered occupants would be a very bad idea."