D&D 5E (2014) Four-and-Twenty Black Things Baked in a Pie

[iserith]

Originally posted by iserith:

Four-and-Twenty Black Things Baked in a Pie

 
Chef Ulaug, Batungu, Koroth, Irglau, and Urthmoro, once great warriors of the Host of the One Eye were captured in battle and sold into servitude. Now they shamefully serve as the kitchen help in the Secret Party House of the Hill Giant Playboy. The hill giant Lord Xordas is in the middle of throwing a do for high society bad guys traveling through the area who must be honored with no-holds-barred revelry. The PCs have bravely or foolishly turned up this night to do something brave or foolish or possibly both. Having just served the main course of sweagledactyl (swan stuffed in giant eagle inside pterodactyl), Chef Ulaug is preparing some desserts for the guests who have since retired to the Main Pleasure Dome.
 
Orcs are fond of pie (as everybody knows) and so Chef Ulaug has prepared stirge pie. Twenty of the bloody critters are dead and four are alive, screeching and squirming as the Chef puts the finishing garnish on. When the PCs arrive through the doors in the north of the kitchen, Chef Ulaug throws the pie at them, releasing the four stirges. He then throws knives, cleavers, and other sharp kitchen implements at them until they close for melee which he relishes, as it has been some time since he's been able to use his greataxe (hidden under the table).
 
Now, here's the challenge: Batungu, Koroth, Irglau, and Urthmoro are just beyond the doors in the dining room, clearing the table. They're pretty busy and there's a lot of noise coming from the Pleasure Dome, so they don't notice any sounds of battle straight away. But the orcs of the Host of the One Eye are loud-mouthed and prone to shouting harangues about the capabilities of their opponents. So every time Chef Ulaug is missed with an attack (be it melee, ranged, spells, or whatever), he loudly shouts insults at them and this draws the attention of one orc from the dining room who goes to the kitchen to join the battle. Additional orcs follow the same pattern of behavior. (The players should be made aware of this.)
 
The initial encounter is 1 orc and 4 stirges (adjusted 400 XP) for a hard encounter. Statistics for these monsters can be found in the HotDQ supplement.
 
Edit: Under the latest XP guidelines, this is a medium encounter for 4 PCs of 2nd level using adjusted XP. +1 orc is hard (600 XP).  +2 orcs is ludicrous (1000 XP). +3 orcs is 1250 XP. +4 orcs is 1500 XP. At +2 orcs, we're past recommended guidelines.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Originally posted by bawylie:

iserith wrote:Four-and-Twenty Black Things Baked in a Pie
View attachment 70894
 
Chef Ulaug, Batungu, Koroth, Irglau, and Urthmoro, once great warriors of the Host of the One Eye were captured in battle and sold into servitude. Now they shamefully serve as the kitchen help in the Secret Party House of the Hill Giant Playboy. The hill giant Lord Xordas is in the middle of throwing a do for high society bad guys traveling through the area who must be honored with no-holds-barred revelry. The PCs have bravely or foolishly turned up this night to do something brave or foolish or possibly both. Having just served the main course of sweagledactyl (swan stuffed in giant eagle inside pterodactyl), Chef Ulaug is preparing some desserts for the guests who have since retired to the Main Pleasure Dome.
 
Orcs are fond of pie (as everybody knows) and so Chef Ulaug has prepared stirge pie. Twenty of the bloody critters are dead and four are alive, screeching and squirming as the Chef puts the finishing garnish on. When the PCs arrive through the doors in the north of the kitchen, Chef Ulaug throws the pie at them, releasing the four stirges. He then throws knives, cleavers, and other sharp kitchen implements at them until they close for melee which he relishes, as it has been some time since he's been able to use his greataxe (hidden under the table).
 
Now, here's the challenge: Batungu, Koroth, Irglau, and Urthmoro are just beyond the doors in the dining room, clearing the table. They're pretty busy and there's a lot of noise coming from the Pleasure Dome, so they don't notice any sounds of battle straight away. But the orcs of the Host of the One Eye are loud-mouthed and prone to shouting harangues about the capabilities of their opponents. So every time Chef Ulaug is missed with an attack (be it melee, ranged, spells, or whatever), he loudly shouts insults at them and this draws the attention of one orc from the dining room who goes to the kitchen to join the battle. Additional orcs follow the same pattern of behavior. (The players should be made aware of this.)
 
The initial encounter is 1 orc and 4 stirges (200 XP) for a moderate encounter. Each additional orc is 100 XP, topping out at a hard encounter (600 XP). Statistics for these monsters can be found in "Lost Mines of Phandelver."

 
Perfect example of playing a scenario. Bonus, you can play the orcs as intelligently (or not) as you see fit.