how would you defend your burrow?

[Nightfall]

Though I wouldn't chastise anyone else for this but you:
Gnolls on Ghelspad?
(tsk tsk, i expected better )

Well they could be imports from the Calastian empire!

Seriously: you know of any sutable-as-slave-type other races which could survive in the Hornsaw?

Blood Reapers might work, as they are pretty good hunters.
Another might be some Quicksilver Stalkers. (Note these aren't slave per-say BUT could be used for defense) I always favor using Charduni and maybe some Dark elves as slaves. Bat Devils too. Also perhaps a couple hexed creatures.

 

[DerianCypher]

eternal fires.

have fires constantly burning around the burrow. Ooo! ooo! Have them be the fires of hell so that when someone walks through them/is burned by them they go insane!

ooo

yessss...

DC

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

Frustration

Lots of false entrances and illusions that taunt the characters.

That'll keep 'em distracted while the voles move in for the kill!

Also I like vermin, giant ants can dig, scout really effeciently, and do horrible things to people. The slaves who own the burrow can have access to a scent which stops the ants from noticing them. And you can have fun with the low level druid thinking that invisibility to animals is finally going to be useful. Plus ants aren't going to care about illusions since they're so olfactory, and the same system can keep them from trigerring traps the players won't see once the PCs have the 'ignore me' scent.

Heat metal traps are nice, as are suspiciously dry hedge mazes that suddenly catch flame.

I'm not familiar with the setting, but setting down a few spoil food spells on a party that just crossed a trackless waste is always a nasty surprise. I once was in a party that immediately entered negotiations when that happened.

 

[Graf]

Re: Frustration

eternal fires.
ooo
yessss...

DC

Hmmm. I think I'll pass on the fires of hell. Reminds me a bit too much of the HS Shadowrun game that ended with killing Satan.

Blood Reapers might work, as they are pretty good hunters.
Bat Devils too. Also perhaps a couple hexed creatures.

Blood Reapers. Good one. Fits well into a subplot with a cursed bowl of domination.

Lots of false entrances and illusions that taunt the characters.

That'll keep 'em distracted while the voles move in for the kill!

Also I like vermin, giant ants can dig, scout really effeciently, and do horrible things to people. The slaves who own the burrow can have access to a scent which stops the ants from noticing them. And you can have fun with the low level druid thinking that invisibility to animals is finally going to be useful. Plus ants aren't going to care about illusions since they're so olfactory, and the same system can keep them from trigerring traps the players won't see once the PCs have the 'ignore me' scent.

Heat metal traps are nice, as are suspiciously dry hedge mazes that suddenly catch flame.

I'm not familiar with the setting, but setting down a few spoil food spells on a party that just crossed a trackless waste is always a nasty surprise. I once was in a party that immediately entered negotiations when that happened.

illusions are good. the longer they spend in the tunnels the worse their saves will be vs. the illusions (the wall looks, fake, on the other hand that other wall seems to be moving and the last one kept turning purple with little faces).

All vicious ideas.
Initially I was very -eh- on giant ants. But reading what you wrote I have to admit its compelling. Its reasonable that Ants don't react much to illusions.
I'm torn between adding more in and working on refining. Giant ants mean giant ant tunnels, giant ant herders, giant ant food source, and so on.

To be honest I don't give people a lot of over food, water, etc. If they have none and they're in the desert its a big problem, but in this situation its not. So my being unrealistic harms the spoilage factor (I can see arguements about whether the food was in the extra-diminsonal space of holding, whether people carrying food bags get saves, etc). That -is- a good idea though.

Their trap maker is an arcane caster... no heat metal traps per se.

 

[Nightfall]

Okay well dunno if this will work but perhaps they got a Beholder! I know that's a little nutsy, BUT think about like this:

The Red Witches possess also a small artifact of magical power (just increases the chances that more of their kind will be sorcerers), and in return they gain the services of a Beholder. (You could make it one of the FR guardian varieties, so it's not as powerful) The beholder has sworn to defend the artifact, but he figures now with Mesos gone, he'll serve the OWNER of the artifact.

 

[Graf]

The Red Witches possess also a small artifact of magical power (just increases the chances that more of their kind will be sorcerers), and in return they gain the services of a Beholder.

Hmm. guardian beholder isn't a terrible idea. The coven they'll be assaulting is part of a network of larger covens in the area. I'm torn between sticking everything cool into this one coven or spreading it out (though they aren't likely to encounter the other covens). They're getting sick of the hornsaw. Of course they -can- teleport now, which changes everything.

 

[Nightfall]

Well what I'd with teleporting, is also roll a d100. Set it at a certain number. If they roll that, they end up about 100 feet away from their target. Some kind of after effect of Mesos's sundering PLUS the proximity of Mormo's own blood.

As for spreading it out, sure. I'd do it. Make it so they THINK they won, BUT in actuality they pissed off this major brood, so they go off and start assassinating people close to the PCs.