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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JonMonster" data-source="post: 2997539" data-attributes="member: 38671">Seems to me that one of the things that dwarves fighting on their home turf have in thier favor is the ability to choose the time and place of battle.  By moving in through the back door the PCs have already ruined that strategy.I would imagine the dwarves would make it a point to force invaders into bottlenecks where strength of numbers counts for little.  Initially, PCs would counter this by striking where they choose - wide open spaces where wizard's boom-boom spells can work thier magic.  So to speak.The dwarves would make use of siege engines.  Great blunderbusses that fill corridors with a hail of shrapnel.  Fire belching cannons.  That sort of thing.  The problem with these devices is that it takes a long time to move them - in fact, they might be designed to not turn around at all.  This would prevent invaders who over-run a position from using it against the dwarves.  Which means PCs coming up from behind don't have to worry about it either.The hardest part for me to wrap my gray matter around is the three dimensional aspect.  Yeah, murderholes and pit traps all that jazz.  But surely there's more to it than that.  How do you defend against enemies who make use of quick tunnelers like umber hulks?  Quick strike forces, I would imagine.  Small quick moving squads.  Rush in.  Push it back.  Seal the gap.  Kill it and let the clerics stoneshape the breach.Weapons.  Imagine yourself standing in a narrow corridor.  What weapon do you want to hold?  For me - I'll take something long and stabby instead of something short and swingy.  Forget the image of dwarven miners swinging big hammers and picks.  That's only the local militia who know nothing else.  For your frontline troops you give 'em something that kills in confined spaces.  As for me though, I'll take a nice big two handed shield.  Then give the three or four guys behind me progressively longer spears.  Now I've got a tunnel blocking wall with lots of pointy bits facing the enemy. That is mobile.  I like that.  Of course, if they are waiting for the PCs the pointy bits may be facing the wrnog way and need too much time to reverse so they'll have to drop the spears and go with the hold out knives.</blockquote>

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