In LMoP p42 you have the rules for Wandering Monsters. It says that you should roll for Wandering Monsters as soon a the characters spending a long time in the same area. Considering the monster density in Wave Echo Cave I would say that a long time is about 30 minutes, so just roll every half hour. First time wandering monsters come let it be 1d6 hobgoblins coming back to the barracs for some reason. Let the hobgoblins be surprised, they expect to find fellow hobgoblins in their bunks, not murderous adventurers. Second time wandering monsters come let it be 1d6 hobgoblins investigating why their comrades haven't come back yet. These are not surprised. Then just escalate until your players leave the area or die.
D&D 5E (2014) Ack! Sleeping in Hobgoblin Barracks (Lost Mine of Phandelver)
- Thread starter jayoungr
- Start date
Nebulous
Legend
I think you're 100% right...there's no way 8 hours could pass without anyone noticing the heroes snoozing in a room full of corpses, not in a heavily traveled locale such as this. It's somewhat of a tricky situation if you play it out realistically. *Realistically* they could get overwhelmed and killed or captured by reinforcements because they're not up to full strength at the start of the fight. You might want to have a contingency plan in place if they DO get captured. Maybe anticipate that happening, but have an 'out' planned for them, a way for them to escape and recuperate another way, but make it seem like it's their idea, not yours.
Nebulous
Legend
Even if they leave the area they're likely to just die somewhere else unless they can escape the whole complex. That's why i mentioned a contingency plan. You might need to invent a safe place they CAN rest, or anticipate them being captured and held in an area where they can rest, and then find a way to escape. Throwing waves of enemies at them, especially hobgoblins who are fricking deadly, is going to TPK them pretty fast.
1d6 hobgoblins ain't a wave, 3d6 hobgoblins are.
(thats why I suggested 1d6 hobgoblins, and not 3d6)
Otherwise I agree with you.
If the players think they can sleep a whole night in enemy territory they can always try, but I can't see how they would succeed.
It's not my job as a DM to invent safe places for the characters, that's the players job.
Nebulous
Legend
1d6 hobgoblins ain't a wave, 3d6 hobgoblins are.
(thats why I suggested 1d6 hobgoblins, and not 3d6)
Otherwise I agree with you.
I thought you were suggesting an encounter roll every half hour they're resting, which could potentially end in wave after wave of hobgoblins.
I think we have a disagreement about the meaning of the word "wave" here.
The_Gneech
Explorer
"You wake up covered in spiderwebs, with a drow mage standing over you. 'Welcome to my parlor,' he says with a cruel sneer. 'What brings you here...?'"
-The Gneech
-The Gneech
AmerginLiath
Adventurer
Gneech, that's actually close to my suggestion. The OP discussed how he dropped the hints to the party of the hobgoblins being underpaid and the like, and mentioned here to us that Nezzner would likely want them alive.
If they were sleeping without watches, I would have the sound of movement during the night (as hobgoblins approaching the barracks see the dead and the adventurers and pull back to plan). The PCs would have a chance to hear this, but it wouldn't be great. If they're all sleeping, I'd have them wake up surrounded by hobgoblins (mages especially watched with ready actions for spellcasting – fighter-types would already be unarmed and unarmored) with an officer very interested to have a conversation with them about who they are, what they've done, what they want, and what they can do for their new hobgoblin friends in exchange for getting out alive...
I'm reminded first off of the times as a LARPer that I and others would wake up first thing in the morning in similar circumstances as the story called for it. It wasn't a case of "I'm going to kill you at 6am!" "Fine, then I'm going back to sleep!" as much as what this scenario here presents: an opportunity to play with the world of the game and invert power dynamics based on player choices. To kill off the PCs (especially coup de grace them in their sleep) is the laziest possible option, even if it's the "logical" one. In any good fantasy narrative, sleeping in hobgoblin barracks is just going to get you captured by hobgoblins while sleeping; a nice touch would be, since they killed those other gobbos and are in their bunks, now THEY'RE being conscripted to take their place ("Get up, maggot! Welcome to the Hobgoblin Army, soldier...").
If they were sleeping without watches, I would have the sound of movement during the night (as hobgoblins approaching the barracks see the dead and the adventurers and pull back to plan). The PCs would have a chance to hear this, but it wouldn't be great. If they're all sleeping, I'd have them wake up surrounded by hobgoblins (mages especially watched with ready actions for spellcasting – fighter-types would already be unarmed and unarmored) with an officer very interested to have a conversation with them about who they are, what they've done, what they want, and what they can do for their new hobgoblin friends in exchange for getting out alive...
I'm reminded first off of the times as a LARPer that I and others would wake up first thing in the morning in similar circumstances as the story called for it. It wasn't a case of "I'm going to kill you at 6am!" "Fine, then I'm going back to sleep!" as much as what this scenario here presents: an opportunity to play with the world of the game and invert power dynamics based on player choices. To kill off the PCs (especially coup de grace them in their sleep) is the laziest possible option, even if it's the "logical" one. In any good fantasy narrative, sleeping in hobgoblin barracks is just going to get you captured by hobgoblins while sleeping; a nice touch would be, since they killed those other gobbos and are in their bunks, now THEY'RE being conscripted to take their place ("Get up, maggot! Welcome to the Hobgoblin Army, soldier...").
Bupp
Adventurer
Had a similar issue arise in my group. We were playing Keep on the Borderlands and the group had just cleared out the one of the orc caves, and found the secret room behind the chieftan's quarters, where they decided to do a long rest.
Unfortunately for them, they did not find the secret door leading to the other orc tribe, and the second tribe became aware of their presence and ambushed them (some of the orcs from the first tribe fled during the battle and joined up with the second). Part way through the night the second tribe attacked from both sides. The whole tribe attacked, but the doorways did provide chokepoints to they couldn't bring their full numbers to bear. Still, the two front fighting made this a tough encounter.
While their long rest was interrupted, I did give the party the benefits of a short rest.
Unfortunately for them, they did not find the secret door leading to the other orc tribe, and the second tribe became aware of their presence and ambushed them (some of the orcs from the first tribe fled during the battle and joined up with the second). Part way through the night the second tribe attacked from both sides. The whole tribe attacked, but the doorways did provide chokepoints to they couldn't bring their full numbers to bear. Still, the two front fighting made this a tough encounter.
While their long rest was interrupted, I did give the party the benefits of a short rest.
The_Gneech
Explorer
My one big caveat with this is: tell the players what's happening and roll the dice on the table before just summarily ruling they're automatically captured or whatever. That will at least help the players feel like it was the dice that put them into this fix, and not the DM. ('cause you know they sure aren't going to be willing to accept the responsibility themselves.
)-The Gneech
