Konsequences - Kobold style

[Michael Morris]

Infiltrating a walled town in the middle of a somewhat hostile wilderness >> walking into a church that prides itself on welcoming everyone. Infiltrating a town whose (somewhat xenophobic) population you do not look even remotely like is harder than infiltrating a church filled with members of your own race. Doing this, and then launching attacks without drawing any attention is also very hard.

The kobold's plan isn't impossible in the abstract (it is, perhaps, overly devious and might require knowledge the kobolds don't have), but it is almost certainly beyond their capacities. If they were lvl 10+, well, things might be different. If they reduce their plan to terrorizing outlying farms (which, themselves, are probably well defended if the world is to be self consistent), then things might work out for them (I would still expect a farm to be able to fight them off, a couple of guard dogs+a non-minion farmer or two is a minimal defense force).

You're presuming to tell me what is and is not possible IN MY CAMPAIGN with exactly 0 knowledge of the situation at hand. Hell, you know less about the situation than the players do. Take your bombastic pronouncements somewhere else please.

 

[robertliguori]

I really like this idea.

As for townsfolk too easily turning on them?

Fear is a huge motivating force. No one wants to think about their baby being burned on a stake by Kobolds, no matter how small the chance might be. If the kobolds indicate: Turn on the heros or we will burn more babies- there will be pleanty of people ready to turn on the heros no matter how illogical it might be.

For an example that works well:

Spoiler

Anyone see The Dark Knight? Look how quickly they turned on batman?

Fear works less well as an aggressive motivating force when the Batman, instead of running, replies "Screw you." spends a Healing Surge, and adds a few more dead cops to his kill total. The flip side of "He has done horrible things, we must stop him!" is "If we try to stop him, he will do horrible things to us specifically."

Michael Morris: You are running into the RAW assumption, in which we assume that when you say things like "Level 2 kobold rangers", their abilities, capacities, and interactions with the world are strictly according to the rules for level 2 kobold rangers.

Now, I am reasonably sure that a pair of by-the-book kobold rangers could infiltrate an unsuspecting hamlet, nab a kid, arrange the murder quietly, and set up the display mentioned...once. After that, you get lit torches, 24-hour watches, and since there was nothing in the note to indicate that the kobolds plan on following the PCs, the logical reaction of the townsfolk will be to seize on anyone who can ensure that there are no notes #2-70.

 

[Ginnel]

Woah guys seriously I'm disapointed in some of the responses in this thread, a DM was asking for advice for some ideas, and you take it off tangent because of your own personal views on realism based on your own game worlds/trying to score points off a well known staff member, not cool.

back on topic

I think your current plan is reasonable, a result which the party can't influence to start with (like the start of most adventures) leading on to a free form response, expect the party to go back to said lair hunting for the kobolds, maybe the kobolds left tracks there indicating two of them? maybe they see them enter and plan a nasty suprise or two.

My advice on the frequency of these inconviences provided by the kobolds is to use them sparingly and give the PC's a chance to notice, otherwise they may be tempted to triple check most things they run in to.

 

[Scribble]

Fear works less well as an aggressive motivating force when the Batman, instead of running, replies "Screw you." spends a Healing Surge, and adds a few more dead cops to his kill total. The flip side of "He has done horrible things, we must stop him!" is "If we try to stop him, he will do horrible things to us specifically."

Ummm Batman doesn't kill cops... he's Batman!

The Joker effectively uses scare tactics.

 

[robertliguori]

Ummm Batman doesn't kill cops... he's Batman!

The Joker effectively uses scare tactics.

I do wonder how Batman keeps his sterling reputation, given the presence of copy-bats, as they are referred to. It's hard to be known as one who does not kill when you are also known only as a man in a mask, and other men in the same mask often go out with guns and shoot those you only disable.

 

[LostSoul]

I do wonder how Batman keeps his sterling reputation, given the presence of copy-bats, as they are referred to. It's hard to be known as one who does not kill when you are also known only as a man in a mask, and other men in the same mask often go out with guns and shoot those you only disable.

Did you like the movie?