Discussion for a Kingdom of ashes OOC II

[Laurel]

"Heroes Last Stand"

In this, you use your varying flying creatures to drop yourselves ahead of the oncoming rush of elves within a short-ish distance of New Oceanus and Hyrwl. Between your combat abilities, Xath's magic, and Justice's abilities to turn (and destroy) undead you might be able to hold them off long enough to allow at least some of the elves to get into the protection of the walls.

So this is the Heroes last stand some are agreeing to??
Well, we are supposed to be hero's and we do like to rush in fighting
And two of us have undead as favorite enemies (well, at least one of us for sure)

With us cutting off and hopefully slowing down some of the enemy, what about having the regent make a wall of thorns slightly outside where the door would sit. Thus giving Hywrl and New Oceanus time to shut the gate behind it.
The wall has archers, a cannon, and such to keep attacking, while we teleport to rear attack.

 

[Laurel]

Also, reading my wonderful present last night (Quin. Druid) and there is a huge section on Druid's abilities to access 'the other plane'... does that exsist in KoA? It sounds like a dream/fey world...?

 

[The_Universe]

So, Universe, can Preston or Dorn cast this to help with our little problem with the elves?

Well, it's probably not one of their prepared spells for the day. But we will assume, for the moment, that they can cast it. The question becomes whether or not you want them to spend a 4th level spell on augury with a battle likely to begin before nightfall.

And besides, I am not sure that even if you cast it, that I could answer the question. It all sort of depends on how you set up such a thing, where, and how you all rolled once you got there...and all of that is a bit difficult for me to predict...

 

[The_Universe]

The wall has archers, a cannon, and such to keep attacking, while we teleport to rear attack.

This essentially dooms the people on the forward wall, and gives the serpentblood control of at least one cannon on the battlefield. But, it may buy you a bit of time. Not a horrible idea.

 

[The_Universe]

Also, reading my wonderful present last night (Quin. Druid) and there is a huge section on Druid's abilities to access 'the other plane'... does that exsist in KoA? It sounds like a dream/fey world...?

It (or something similar) more than likely exists in some form or another. I'd have to give it a closer to look to tell you more, though. There is definitely a significantly connected plane of dreams to the material world.

 

[Laurel]

If I got the plan right....

This essentially dooms the people on the forward wall, and gives the serpentblood control of at least one cannon on the battlefield. But, it may buy you a bit of time. Not a horrible idea.

Well, currently the elves are just going to be used as a shield then killed then the forward wall is hit anyways....
In the plan you suggested the forward wall hit as well, I was just adding one addition to helping get the elves through the wall with as little of the enemy following as possible.
And the serpent blood only gets the cannon if the wall has fallen... which means the poeple inside are in serious trouble anyways.

 

[The_Universe]

Hmmm...I think I misunderstood what you were talking about. I was envisioning a single wall a few hundred to a few thousand yards out ahead of the gate into Hyrwl, with as many archers that can fit on it, and a cannon.

Presumably, this forward wall will fall long before the normal, inner wall, since it can't be fully enclosed, and it will be an ad hoc construction at best.

Is that what you meant, or did you have something else in mind?

 

[Laurel]

Hopefully this is a better picture....

Hmmm...I think I misunderstood what you were talking about. I was envisioning a single wall a few hundred to a few thousand yards out ahead of the gate into Hyrwl, with as many archers that can fit on it, and a cannon.
Presumably, this forward wall will fall long before the normal, inner wall, since it can't be fully enclosed, and it will be an ad hoc construction at best.
Is that what you meant, or did you have something else in mind?

Basically, as they are getting close to Hywrl we have the city open it's gates. We fly in and land between (in the middle) of the elves and the army, telling the elves to run. With the knowledge of safty so close there should be some adrenaline boost- the last of someone's reserves possibly, but still...
We make the stand fighting as best we can, and let the mages start a more distanced battle with magic. We can cast some things like entangle to slow the enemy down a little, since six individuals will not form a shield to stop them from advancing. Hey, my spells are not good for much in battle, so wasting mine and not others who are more useful may not be bad here. The spell choice though was just the first that came to mind- there are lots of others.
The regent creates a semi-circled wall or a flat wall. It is outside the city gates, but literally touches or is at max one foot away. The wall grows fast and would stop an enemy from being able to push forward. THis allows the guards time to get the gates of the city closed.
The archers and cannon are on the main fortified wall around the city not out in the open. (sorry, I see how that was confusing)
Once we see the gate closed or wall up, get a shout or signal that this is done, or we almost die, that's when we teleport to join the rear guard battle. Or we have a small contingent set up in the forest on one side to close them in one three sides. Orcs in the rear, Hywrl in front, us with some others on one side. This would divide the army and the aerial soldiers from being able to focus on one target alone.
This last part is just agreeing with Jeremiah's options on still attacking from rear. So as we land there has to be some signal for the rear attack to happen immediately.

 

[Laurel]

The regent would cast the spell below, it would not be a wall that would last long, but it only needs to remain to stop the enemy that follows. If we are successful in slowing down the army, then he does not have to waste energy on this tactic. It is only to allow time to get the doors shut.

Wall of Thorns

Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Drd 5, Plant 5 Components: V,S Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Medium (100ft. + 10ft./level) Effect: Wall of thorny brush, up to one 10-ft. cube/level (s) Duration: 10min./level (D) saving throw: none Spell Resistance: No
A wall of thorns spell creates a barrier of very tough, pliable, tangled brush bearing needle-sharp thorns as long as a human’s finger. Any creature forced into or attempting to move through a wall of thorns takes slashing damage per round of movement equal to 25 minus the creature’s AC. Dexterity and dodge bonuses to AC do not count for this calculation. (Creatures with an Armor Class of 25 or higher, without considering Dexterity and dodge bonuses, take no damage from contact with the wall.)

You can make the wall as thin as 5 feet thick, which allows you to shape the wall as a number of 10-by-10-by-5-foot blocks equal to twice your caster level. This has no effect on the damage dealt by the thorns, but any creature attempting to break through takes that much less time to force its way through the barrier.

Creatures can force their way slowly through the wall by making a Strength check as a full-round action. For every 5 points by which the check exceeds 20, a creature moves 5 feet (up to a maximum distance equal to its normal land speed). Of course, moving or attempting to move through the thorns incurs damage as described above. A creature trapped in the thorns can choose to remain motionless in order to avoid taking any more damage.

Any creature within the area of the spell when it is cast takes damage as if it had moved into the wall and is caught inside. In order to escape, it must attempt to push its way free, or it can wait until the spell ends. Creatures with the ability to pass through overgrown areas unhindered can pass through a wall of thorns at normal speed without taking damage.

A wall of thorns can be breached by slow work with edged weapons. Chopping away at the wall creates a safe passage 1 foot deep for every 10 minutes of work. Normal fire cannot harm the barrier, but magical fire burns it away in 10 minutes.

Despite its appearance, a wall of thorns is not actually a living plant, and thus is unaffected by spells that affect plants.

From: PHB & http://srd.pbemnexus.com/spellsTtoZ.html#wall-of-thorns

 

[The_Universe]

It's possible, but the regent can probably only muster in the neighborhood of 10 10ft. cubes.

Additionally, remember that the Hyrwl gates are already thorn walls, and every additional casting may inhibit his ability to open and close "the gates."