How would these town guardsmen react?

[NewJeffCT]

OK, you are a member of the town guard of a small and somewhat isolated town of about 2,000.

The town guard consists of about 25 full time soldiers and two groups of 25 part-timers who rotate in three month seasonal shifts. The full-timers are competent professionals. In case of an emergency, the entire group of 50 could be mobilized. (The full timers would be Warrior 1 or Warrior 2 in 3E, but we are playing 4E, the part-timers would be commoners, or minions in 4E) The captain is a veteran soldier.

The PCs have become local heroes in recent sessions when they helped stop a goblin raid on the town. The town guard performed so-so in helping them out. However, they uncovered a plot for a larger goblin raid and the captain of the town guard said that he must go to see the Duke to ask for more men to protect the town. It is about 10 days for him to go there and come back, assuming about a day in between to get an audience with the Duke.

While the captain was out of town, he asked the players to maintain a presence in the town, as the townsfolk had taken to them quite well (great rolling on some skill challenges to enhance reputation even further – saving a man from a stray remaining goblin, etc) The captain took a few other guardsmen with him as well.

However, about two days after the captain left, the PCs discovered the location of where the goblins are gathering and are intending to ride out & strike at the goblins in hopes of defeating their leader and stopping the raid before it starts.

If you were on the town guard and the well liked PCs came up to you and said they were leaving town to stop the goblin raid and that Corporal Carl is in charge, how would you react? Suck it up? Panic? Demand the PCs stay in town? Something else? Mobilize all 50 part-timers?

Let me know if you need more info – thanks.

 

[Huw]

The most senior guardsman (Corporal Carl?) is in charge, and has been even when the PCs were around. If the PCs don't stay, he'll mobilise the reserves. The PCs don't answer to him unless they've actually joined the guard.

If the captain's competent, he'll have left his second in command in charge. Don't need them around just to speak to the duke. The town ends up slightly underpowered but not undermanned, and the PCs go on their adventure.

If the PCs are competent, they'll engage in a little publicity on the corporal's behalf before they leave. A leaving ceremony for example. If I were DM that'd be up to them to suggest.

Of course, as the DM, you could introduce some corruption, incompetence, power struggles, politics and plain old fashioned bad luck to make things interesting.

Possible scenario: The PCs leave a sending scroll as a goodwill gesture. Just as they're about to pursue the BBEG, Corporal Carl calls. There's a situation, can they hurry back?

 

[Deset Gled]

The guards' main concern is the town, so they should try and convince the PCs to stay and defend. The guards have no proof that the goblin raid the PCs found is the only danger to the town, and would be terrified without a true leader.

In (relatively more) real life, I would expect the guards to try and get the party to split up; some of them should go on the offensive, and some should remain in the town to be defensive. In a game, I don't generally approve of the party splitting up, so I would have the guards try to convince the party to all stay instead.

If the party leaves against the guards wishes, the guards would try to bolster their forces a little bit by rallying some more volunteers from the town. But the number of extra people coming to help would be relatively small.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Thanks - since I'm still learning 4E after DMing a long-running 3.5 campaign, is there a scroll or ritual or device that would do the aforementioned SENDING? I'm at work, so can't check my books.

 

[NewJeffCT]

The guards' main concern is the town, so they should try and convince the PCs to stay and defend. The guards have no proof that the goblin raid the PCs found is the only danger to the town, and would be terrified without a true leader.

The players know that there is a threat to the town that is closer than the goblins (who are a few days ride outside of town) - however, they seem to think the goblins are the greater danger.

 

[billd91]

If you were on the town guard and the well liked PCs came up to you and said they were leaving town to stop the goblin raid and that Corporal Carl is in charge, how would you react? Suck it up? Panic? Demand the PCs stay in town? Something else? Mobilize all 50 part-timers?

As long as the PCs weren't putting someone in charge who wouldn't normally be in charge with the guard captain gone, I would expect the town guard to suck it up and do the job they're paid to do - guard the town. The PCs may have become local heroes, but the town guard operated before they came to town and they'll operate after they leave doing their jobs as they always have done.

Now, since they've been raided once, the captain is running the errand, and they have some inkling of other trouble in the region, I think mobilizing the reserves would be prudent.

 

[fba827]

Thanks - since I'm still learning 4E after DMing a long-running 3.5 campaign, is there a scroll or ritual or device that would do the aforementioned SENDING? I'm at work, so can't check my books.

Sending is a ritual (at the back of PHB1, page 300-something). The sender can send up to 25 words to someone he knows (like a mental whisper type thing) and that person can do an instantaneous mental whisper back (up to 25 words)

Carl could have it as a scroll (scrolls can be used by anyone).
It would take 50gp worth of magical components and only takes 5 minutes (half normal time since it's a scroll) - though since it's an NPC doing this and it's all off screen, those two points are irrelevant.

However, the distance a sending can transmit is limited by an arcana check.
Low arcana check could be as little as a 10mile distance between sender and recipient. Higher checks are hundreds, if not thousands, of miles. But, again, if it's an NPC doing it and it's off screen, you can say he has a special device OR he had an arcanist in town help him, etc.

That leaves the question, why doesn't he use the sending to contact his own superior instead? perhaps because he knows that guy is busy with politics right now and he's much further away than the PCs.

 

[NewJeffCT]

That leaves the question, why doesn't he use the sending to contact his own superior instead? perhaps because he knows that guy is busy with politics right now and he's much further away than the PCs.

The PCs just found the plans of the larger than expected goblin raid at the end of last session, so the guards are not aware of the size of the potential threat.

 

[Roger]

If you were on the town guard and the well liked PCs came up to you and said they were leaving town to stop the goblin raid and that Corporal Carl is in charge, how would you react?

"Good luck, and don't let the gate hit your mule on the way out."

Finally, those oh-so-pretty foreigners are leaving, with all their piles and piles of gold and weapons and crap. Think they can just march into our town and tell us how to protect our own families, eh? If we're lucky they'll all sink into the swamp and we'll never hear from them again.



Cheers,
Roger

 

[NewJeffCT]

"Good luck, and don't let the gate hit your mule on the way out."

Finally, those oh-so-pretty foreigners are leaving, with all their piles and piles of gold and weapons and crap. Think they can just march into our town and tell us how to protect our own families, eh? If we're lucky they'll all sink into the swamp and we'll never hear from them again.



Cheers,
Roger

Well, one PC is from town and two are from farms just outside of town... so, they aren't exactly foreigners.