D&D 5E Attacking a hideout

[trentonjoe]

Looking for some suggestions...

The Situation:

The PC's had made an agreement with a group (Duerger lizard riding "bikers" modeled after the Sons of Anarchy) and now need to get out of that agreement.
They have tracked the group back their base and are no thinking about just "kicking" the door in and "negotiating".

The Goal:

I want to make this more than just combat. When we get to combat I want it to be cool. The PC's currently have the element of surprise on their side but these guys should have at least a couple tricks up their cut off sleeves.

Things to add to it:

I would like to include some sort of "skill check" challenge were a failure gives the duerger some sort of advantage (maybe a sneak attack, of pipe bomb explosion,etc).

If and when combat does break out, I would like something going on in the background (a mechanical trap that needs to be disarmed or bomb that is ticking or someone running away to get more bikers).

I don't know, I am just spit balling ideas hoping the community could help. You guys and gals always no how to add green slime and smoke to make something cool.

You know something like Green Slime blobs that when hit release smoke that expands 5's per round. Or something.

 

[Gilladian]

What about "innocents"? Maybe slaves, or captives? The pcs might not even know they're there until they start their attack.

 

[Eltab]

Are the PCs going to do any recon first, or just kick in the door? They could be walking into a trap. They could be massively outnumbered but nobody else is ready for a fight. There could only be a half-dozen foes in the building - and maybe not anybody who can make decisions that bind the group.

Have the place be a bar. The real leader of the group (as in, gives Combat Leader good advice from behind the scenes) is the manager of the place. He is very protective of the barkeep and bar wenches and floozies - because they are his property and bring in money, not because he is loyal or has a heart. If the PCs can figure out to talk to him, they can pay a fine to be freed from the contract. Otherwise they have to fight their way out of it.

One room upstairs has arrow slits in the floor. It is used for ambushes and to aid the bouncers downstairs. Keep the lights off so nobody downstairs can find the little dark marks in the ceiling.

 

[Unwise]

My players are terrified of entering dwarven or duergar places uninvited. They tend to make great traps. At its most basic, they make very good front doors. PCs walk up to "kick in the door" and find they simply can't open it. Not all doors have locks to be picked. Not all doors can be kicked in. If they make enough noise, the murderholes drop stuff on them, a flame cannon pops out and roasts them and maybe some infernal beasts are released. All without getting inside the place.

If they talk their way in, they soon find themselves standing on a pit-trap like Jabba's palace. The duergar don't trust them either, and they have all sorts of defenses set up for untrusted guests. At the very least hidden crossbowmen in the secret gantries around the hall and a pit-trap under the rug in the audience chamber.

My PCs stole from some duergar, they began running away with a wagon, only to find the way out blocked by a string of captives chained across the road. They could mow them down and sever their arms, or have to stop and free them before getting anywhere.

 

[trentonjoe]

Thanks Guys! I love the hostage, human shield component.

 

[iserith]

Somewhere in the hideout is a lab where they make an alchemical drug called haste which has a stimulant effect. It is also highly addictive, rots out your teeth, and ages you 1d4 years per use. This lab's defenders smoke some haste prior to engaging in combat. This gives them the benefit of a haste spell for one minute.

The haste lab itself is an unstable place, prone to dangerous alchemical explosions if the lab equipment is not handled with care. Tweaked up haste-heads exercise poor judgment in this regard, imperiling both the PCs and themselves during the conflict.

 

[jrowland]

I like the drug "Haste" angle.

Read this wiki: Mexican Standoff I think it will help this encounter.

Re: the above wiki, the outside agency should come from left-field, a third agency that you would like to introduce. Try to avoid a Deus Ex-Machina where the party is "saved", but rather a new threat that increases the danger but provides and opportunity for escape (bikers included)...better if the party needs the bikers and visa versa to survive...