INVASION: and what do the PCs do?

[S'mon]

A figure I've seen from counter-insurgency analysyts on the number of troops needed to hold and control territory effectively in the face of a potentially hostile population is 1:25. So you can normally hold a hostile town of 3000 with 120 troops. If there's a populated rural hinterland you will need to increase numbers accordingly.

Note that that is for all-hostiles. Where I come from IRL there was roughly 0.5 million hostiles to 1 million hostiles, and so the counter-insurgency garrison forces needed to number around 20,000, which is about what there was, counting armed police as well as military. You may be able to hold hostile territory with much less (especially if you have superior technology, training etc), but you won't be able to control it unless you eg make deals with local leaders for their cooperation.

This 1:25 ratio does not seem much affected by technological change, BTW.

Re hobgoblins, I like them because you can give them human characteristics, they allow for much more complex stories with greater real-world analogies to historical occupations. You can have Nazi hobgoblins, Soviet hobgoblins...

 

[theskyfullofdust]

A figure I've seen from counter-insurgency analysyts on the number of troops needed to hold and control territory effectively in the face of a potentially hostile population is 1:25. So you can normally hold a hostile town of 3000 with 120 troops. If there's a populated rural hinterland you will need to increase numbers accordingly.

Note that that is for all-hostiles. Where I come from IRL there was roughly 0.5 million hostiles to 1 million hostiles, and so the counter-insurgency garrison forces needed to number around 20,000, which is about what there was, counting armed police as well as military. You may be able to hold hostile territory with much less (especially if you have superior technology, training etc), but you won't be able to control it unless you eg make deals with local leaders for their cooperation.

This 1:25 ratio does not seem much affected by technological change, BTW.

Re hobgoblins, I like them because you can give them human characteristics, they allow for much more complex stories with greater real-world analogies to historical occupations. You can have Nazi hobgoblins, Soviet hobgoblins...

That's great, thanks. I was thinking maybe 2-500 maximum, and they'd make deals with some of the populace: the dwarves, for example, are collaborating so long as they are left to their own devices... the hobgoblins will also get access to the dwarven firearms, which makes an impact.

I like using hobgob's too; simple to design w/o all that level adjustment stuff; more lawful, etc.

So, if I go for something like 300 soldiers, for the main force; blostered by the traitors from the local militia, another couple of hundred orcs and their kin (through a couple of ogre units, goblin couriers too), and that should do for the invaders.

Now I need to come up with ideas for set areas: got the siege of the wizard's guild in mind; another at the tavern the PCs own and left in the hands of their allies...

I was thinking of splitting the town into different 'zones', each flavoured with set encounters in each, different 'random monsters', mostly patrol frequencies, that sort of thing.

Any ideas?

p.s. here's the map of the town.