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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BSF" data-source="post: 1826756" data-attributes="member: 13098"><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />Trust me, the party has a very good idea exactly how ruthless these particular gnolls are.  Nor do they have any area affect evocations.  Macbeth figures his PC can take 4-5 of the gnolls before he dies if they go melee.  Since his PC is one of the front line fighters, the ranger is archery, that bodes ill for the group.  Back on topic.Before telling the group about the gnoll company, I decided what the gnolls would do if they were allowed to act unimpeded.  I know how many are on watch at any given time. I know what they will do during the night.  I know what they will do during the day.  I know where they will go after this.  All of that is assuming nothing causes a change of plans.  The PCs are the wild card in this case.  It is all hinging on what they do to change any of those events.  Maybe they will do nothing?  Every option is valid.  The gnolls aren't stupid, but the PCs are far enough away that the gnolls don't know they are there yet.  It's possible the PCs will 'run silent' for the time being.  My point is that I don't need to do anything except understand what the gnolls will do, and what their motivations are.  That way, I can quickly decide how they will react to anything the party decides to do.  I don't have a storyline to pursue, so I don't feel like I need to railroad any particular encounter or result.  I have a story arc where I know what the goals are and what the current plan is.  I'm just waiting for tension to be applied and the gnolls have to react to the PC's presence.  That is when the fun begins.  When the PCs force a change in the gnolls' plans, they will have affected the game world.</blockquote>

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