Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 6582611" data-attributes="member: 20323">Awesome! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> I did something similar in my campaign world with an invading Cabal. I think this will be a hit for your players.Some questions to consider:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Does the fantasy army have aerial support? This will make a big difference for the party's plan A!</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">How committed in the invading army / nation to this mission? Can they rely on reinforcements and a constant well-stocked supply train from their nation? Recent examples of guerilla war are meant to wear down the invaders until the nation supporting them loses public will to support the war effort.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Related to the above, what is the morale of the troops like so far? Are they accustomed to taking orders from a mage or is there resistance? Or maybe they've been indoctrinated in a magocracy to be fanatically supportive of "wizard's rule"?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What areas has the army overtaken so far? Do they have prisoners at camp? Have they gained intelligence thru their prior conquests that influences their strategy?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What charmed, conjured, or created forces/monsters are at the mage's disposal?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What sort of a mage is the commander? For example, an evoker would approach the invasion effort far more directly than a diviner, and both quite differently from a necromancer!</li> </ul>I have specific thoughts on the party's Plan A below, but I tank the most important question is what does the army know about the PCs and their ability to resist so far? If they literally know next to nothing, then consider what kind of opposition they've faced thus far. If resistance has been paltry, their defenses might seem extraordinarily lax in the face of PC magic and creativity. If there has been considerable resistance with magical support, the commander likely called in a diviner ally or monsters with true sight (as you said), or instituted classic D&D spell counters (e.g. scattering sand or fishing lines eith bells attached around base camp to catch invisible intruders & having rotating command words to catch officers who succumb to charm magic).It's a smart use of spells.First off, consider that at, say, 300 feet the PCs are within bow range and siege weapon range, but not spell range.Second, greater invisibility lasts up to 1 minute and silence up to 10 minutes. That is a very tight window for the bard grappler to make her move. Even when she does, it's very likely the mage commander will be moving between tents and with a personal guard. If the timing is off by a few rounds, her invisibility could expire at an inopportune moment.Third, even though the mage commander can't cast spells due to the silence effect, that doesn't mean apprentice / support / allied mages can't use magic to rescue him (or he might have some magic items which could help). If they can devise a way to see the bard, a simple dispel magic could ruin the bard's day, ending silence & fly outright, and possibly greater invisibility. Now the bard takes falling damage (maybe the mage commander does too, or maybe he has feather fall prepared) and she is surrounded by hostiles!Fourth, once soldiers start targeting the escaping bard, that is a lot of ranged attacks. I would use the Mob rules in the DMG. Say the bard has AC 18, is invisible (disadvantage to attack, which I'll say translates to a +3 AC), but they know where she is because of the commander calling her out. Say the average soldier has a +3 to hit with their crossbow. According to the DMG 1 out of 5 attacks hits. Now, if she is grappling the commander and you want to give her half cover (+2 AC) that ratio goes to 1 out of 20 attacks hits. Maybe each crossbow hit does 6 damage? You can pretty quickly see that she is in for some serious hurt if soldiers start shooting.Fifth, knowing PCs they'll want to lend artillery support to their friend. Have the army return fire with not just bows but also ballistas, cannons, mangonels, or whatever time allows, as well as sending out cavalry to assault their position (who would be stymied by the earth elemental).Sixth, if the PCs do manage to pull it off, remember the mage commander has a high Intelligence and probably will lead with something like "Yes, you could kill me, but the prisoners from the last Chateau I conquered, I doubt they would survive long where I've put them..." or you whatever twist you feel would be good.</blockquote>

Verification