King Obould Many-Arrows Invades!

[rbingham2000]

Here's what I would do in the chieftains position:

1) Get some powerful allies, the trolls from the troll moors, giants from the Spine of the World, tanarukka from hellgate keep, maybe some of the barbarian tribes living in the north.

2) Do not attack the human/dwarven strong points, attack them where they can't defend themselves properly, raid caravans, burn crops, destroy the roads leading to Silverymoon. The populace will soon start having hunger and empty money pouches. They will demand action on part of the militia.

3) Avoid open conflict and try to lure the human/dwarves into traps/ambushes.

4) Send human ambassadors (clerics of evil deities will do it) to human settlements to sow distrust, reporting to the common men that they are left to their own devices by their 'former' allies.

5) Be everywhere at once, a citystate is less likely to provide/send reinforcements to another city when it's own farms are under attack. By threatening multiple targets your antagonists have to spread out their forces, trying to defend them all. Then you can bring your forces to bear on a single target. Key to this is a strong mobile force so...

6) Try to acquire as many horses as you can get (raiding caravans cames in handy here). Even horses not trained for war can be used to quickly relocate infantry units, they just have to dismount before combat. And remind your troops, 'Horses are helpful, not food.'

The only drawback would be that orc warriors would demand all-out attacks and fast successes against their foes but that's where you - the DM - comes in.

~Marimmar

I like your style. Been reading Sun Tzu's Art of War, have you?

 

[d12]

The Silver Marches has many powerful spellcasters so Obould won't make a move without finding some as well. Maybe a powerful half-orc cleric of Grummsh(sp?)? Maybe a grey dwarf outcast wizard? Maybe a fire giant sorcerer - mercenary?

edit: The FRCS lists Obould as a 9th level orc. I'm thinking that if he's going to take on the Silver Marches he needs to be bumped up quite a bit in level to reflect the fact that he's a big threat. Of course, that's only important if your PCs are ever actually going to fight him.

 

[Oni]

Sun Tzu's Art of War

Now there is a good idea, I bet I could glean a lot of ideas from that.


As for his level, I'm kinda thinking i'd like him to be dangerous in the aspect that he's good leader rather than a difficult encounter.

Of course that still begs the question why doesn't one of the powerful archmages that calls the silver marches home pop into his chambers and fry his butt, but dnd almost always begs that question so I'll try to ignore it if I can.

 

[Old One]

Thoughts...

Marimmar has some excellent thoughts...

Some other ideas:

(1) An Equalizer - The biggest threat to any mass humanoid attack is the power of high-level mages (and clerics, to a lesser extent). Perhaps Obould has discovered, stolen, traded for or otherwise obtained some type of poison or a parasite that incapacitates mages or temporarily renders them unable to access the weave. Mages that leave the safety of their towers are set upon by half-orc assassins and are killed, captured or negated and left to cry in their firewine.

(2) Fear - Take a page from the Mongol handbook. Mongols would offer towns and cities a choice...submit or be destroyed. As orc columns (worg and dire boar cavalry with wyvern-mounted scouts works nicely) descend on smaller communities, they are given choices with a twist..."Surrender or be eaten." They make an example of a few small communities that try to resist them, completely devouring every living thing. Communities that surrender are not pillaged, are allowed to keep their leaders for the most part and continue to function, although they are required to pay a "protection" tax to Obould and are garrisoned by a proportional orcish force.

Obould has decided that the time-honored tactics of pillage, rape and burn doesn't work well in the long-term and that a subdued populace that provides steady cash flow, finished goods and other luxuries is much better! Such a tactic might lead to many communities capitulating and allow the orcs to advance much faster than they have in past invasions.

(3) Covert Ops - Orcish casters have been capturing, cataloging and breeding nasty critters since the last orcish invasion failed. They have recruited human looking half-orcs in communities throughout the Silver Marches and set them up as respectable merchants and upstanding members of society. Over the last decade, they have been smuggling nasty critters into the heart of many Silver Marches community. When the attack begins or when an orcish column shows up outside the wall, the fifth column agents release the beasts, sowing confusion, causing casualties and perhaps providing a diversion to allow the half-orc spies to open the gates and allow the orcish army entry.

My 2 coppers!

~ Old One

 

[Marimmar]

I like your style. Been reading Sun Tzu's Art of War, have you?

Thanx, but no, it wasn't Art of War it were the more modern works of Liddel Hart Strategy and Guderian's Achtung Panzer! Both are good reads for the interested.

~Marimmar

 

[Marimmar]

(2) Fear - [... Orcs c]ould offer towns and cities a choice...submit or be destroyed.

Hehe, the Silver March Militia could even end up fighting conscripted human commoners who are pressed into battle by holding their families hostage.

Another possibility would be to hire adventurers. They would be able to enter most towns/cities unmolested and could eliminate authority figures. Many would scoff at the idea but some would agree to do this getting themselves some nice magic items in the end. (I bet my players would do it if I presented it to them in the right way - they even wanted to plunder a monastery of Lathander once so why not kill some high ranking officers?)

~Marimmar

 

[d12]

Sun Tzu's Art of War
Of course that still begs the question why doesn't one of the powerful archmages that calls the silver marches home pop into his chambers and fry his butt, but dnd almost always begs that question so I'll try to ignore it if I can.

If I were a player this would bug me. Here's an answer - Obould is directing the operation from a dead magic area. He doesn't leave it ever. Therefore, magic can't find him, at least not directly. He sends out runners to give orders the old fashioned way or his clerics send orders via magical means.

Also, Obould has acquired a powerful artifact that allows his servants to summon multiple Kelevzu Demons (from MMII). The Kelevzu have been assassinating high level spellcasters in the area. Only the most brave and noble wizards are not totally preoccupied with defending themselves.

 

[Oni]

Good stuff so far.

I do have an advantage in that none of the people I will be DMing for (at least as it stands right now) know anything much about FR. I won't have to answer any questions on the level of, if Alustriel's CR 28 and Obould's only CR9 why doesn't she just go curb stomp him? So as long as things seem plausible it's all good.

 

[jester47]

Most of the civic leaders in the marches are about tenth level.
Obuld would probably love to attack with smothing besides orcs, but orcs is whats hes gots.
As to why Alustriel does not fry him? She knows about power vaccums and that they can often be worse than the thing that created it. By not killing him, she knows what to expect. If she were to eliminate him, the position he occupied becomes a wild card. Its the same thinking that keeps most nations from assassinating each others leaders.

Also, I think it states in the FRCS that Oboulds plan is to wait until the hunger of the orcs NOT under his command is so great they head south, and then march on the marches with an organised army that is fresh and has not faced a bazillion orcs.

The surrender or be eaten ultimatum and subsequent strategy is quite in his style. He wants to rule and have an empire, and I think any means necessary is on the list of methods.

Aaron.

 

[John Crichton]

Good stuff so far.

I do have an advantage in that none of the people I will be DMing for (at least as it stands right now) know anything much about FR. I won't have to answer any questions on the level of, if Alustriel's CR 28 and Obould's only CR9 why doesn't she just go curb stomp him? So as long as things seem plausible it's all good.

MORE SPOILERS!!!

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Seriously.

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Just using the FRCS doesn't fairly represent his current stats. He is probably right now considered a "chosen" of Gruumish or something like that. All his abilities have been jacked and he has a bunch of clerics constantly watching over him and creating things like armour and weapons worthy of their God. To quote the book "Obould is Gruumish."

The dwarves certainly pissed off the wrong God...

I would say that his CR is ~15 at the moment.

As for Alustriel not coming in to lay the smacketh down, as it were - It's not her style and right now she has no idea what is going on right now. I'm pretty sure she'll make an appearance in the finale the way this is going. There are going to be a few huge battles in The Two Swords and I'm sure at least one of them will have an army from Silverymoon involved. That is unless RAS is taking a different route than what he is foreshadowing...