My campaign is currently in early adventure 3, Digging for Lies. The Incident took place, and the players sent Simon Langfield to the trinket stand to arrange for a meeting with Kaja Stewart, which we are going to play in the next session. However from what I already heard the players discussing, they don't plan to go in posing as weapon buyers. They aren't the most subtle bunch, and so instead they want to set up an ambush for Kaja by turning up early to the meeting. So the starting setup as written in the adventure will be of not much use to me.
I always try to make the best out of the ideas of my players instead of forcing them to play an encounter as written. So I decided that they can hide at the subrail station, and Kaja will come in from the north accompanied by her bodyguard and the two thugs, carrying cases of arms. Now I'm looking for some ideas for the rest of the setup and the start of the fight:
What do you think? How do I play that ambush so that the players have the feeling they made a clever move, but without making the encounter too much of a pushover?
I always try to make the best out of the ideas of my players instead of forcing them to play an encounter as written. So I decided that they can hide at the subrail station, and Kaja will come in from the north accompanied by her bodyguard and the two thugs, carrying cases of arms. Now I'm looking for some ideas for the rest of the setup and the start of the fight:
- How about Kaja already having hidden her walking turrets around the site at an earlier date, so once the combat begins the player ambushers are in at least for some surprise? Or would that feel unfair and scripted?
- Do you think that once Kaja enters the fenced area, I should make some sort of opposed skill check, her perception (+3) against the stealth of whoever is hiding closest to the north entrance? I could give +2 bonus on the stealth check if the player had described a convincing way to hide, e.g. under a tarp. But as Kaja's perception isn't all that great, I don't want to give too big a bonus and make the check pointless. If Kaja loses the check, the players have a surprise round.
- Under 4E rules, once an encounter starts, everybody always knows where everybody else is (which makes ambushes kind of tricky in 4E). But I guess that is only true until either Kaja detects the hidden constables or they move out of hiding.
What do you think? How do I play that ambush so that the players have the feeling they made a clever move, but without making the encounter too much of a pushover?