D&D 5E Long Rest while trapped in an alert Dungeon

[dpkress2]

They are kobolds, so it would be in keeping with their nature to fortify (setting traps and whatnot, that might be inconvenient under normal circumstances) rather than hunting the party down. Alternately, if they don't think they can win, they might pack up and leave.

Traps for sure. The one thing the party has going for them is that the tunnel that leads to the room they are hiding in has a pretty significant bottleneck at the entrance to the room. Frontal assault is not really an option. the party would cut them down one by one.

They are definitely not packing-up and leaving. They are fanatics.

 

[Krachek]

Kobold will play their game.

If they cant break the wall they may try to periodically send fire smoke, swarm of rats, play loud drums and horn to prevents resting.
They will certainly trap the surrounding area. And prepare next combat, with successive waves and all the power they can use.
Call for backup using their alliance with the hobgoblin or ogre clans.
They may consider an evacuation of the complex with all goods and treasures.
They may also consider to completely flood the level, if it is in their capacity and interest.

 

[dpkress2]

The mine is a 5' vertical shaft with 5' tunnels opening out of the sides. There WAS an elevator that has been destroyed. They even broke the rope it was connected to, so that's no help. They are in a tunnel at the very bottom of this shaft. It's a 5' tunnel that goes relatively straight before it opens up into a cavern that's about 20x30" with a 5' bottleneck at the entrance. No other way out. No secret doors. Most of the Kobolds left are not mooks. A couple of spellcasters, dragonshields, and a white dragon wyrmling to boot.

They are not going to try to attack the party directly. They would probably wait until they come out. They would leave either the dungeon either. Sitting tight and let the party come to them has been working out for them but they are definitely going to make their rest miserable. They might consider collapsing the tunnel. Realistic but harsh. A TPK by suffocation seems so anti-climatic. Especially after the battle they just had.

They haven't themselves any favors since they first entered this dungeon. Many many poor decisions have been made to get them to this spot. But it's been very fun, for me and the players.

 

[Mistwell]

I'm just curious what kind of things other DM's do when a party blocks themselves off in a dungeon for a long rest when the entire complex is alerted to their presence.

In my situation, the party is in a very small cramped kobold mine. They made a dramatic retreat from a big fight and are about to wall themselves off in a small chamber. I'm trying to decide if it's reasonable to let them get through a long rest. I generally root for the party so my inclination is to let them get away with it, but I would be nice to have a justification.

Now the kobolds have been do pretty well holing themselves deep in the mine and letting the party come to them so they can fight on there terms. So there is that.

I've used groups like kobolds to engage in essentially siege warfare tactics in such an occurrence. The PCs make it through the long rest but find a whole lot of nasty traps and environmental hazards once they re-open a way back out after the rest. And as they PCs deal with those challenges, they find kobolds had hidden themselves and readied to fire ranged weapons at the party and then duck back behind cover from a distance, giving ground as needed to another series of cover, etc. as they wear down the party. The party often finds the depletion from dealing with the traps, hazards, and hidden kobolds makes the long rest almost not worth it.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

This depends on specific situation. Do the Kobolds know they are there hiding or is it possible the party from from the Kobolds point of view. How large is dungeon? How well did they hide or block themselves in?

MY personal choice as a DM would be to make it completely up to the party. If they put sufficient effort into the rest then it will succeed unless the dungeon is far too small. If on the other hand all they do is close and bar a door then even in a massive dungeon someone is going to come along and notice them.

 

[dpkress2]

This depends on specific situation. Do the Kobolds know they are there hiding or is it possible the party from from the Kobolds point of view. How large is dungeon? How well did they hide or block themselves in?

MY personal choice as a DM would be to make it completely up to the party. If they put sufficient effort into the rest then it will succeed unless the dungeon is far too small. If on the other hand all they do is close and bar a door then even in a massive dungeon someone is going to come along and notice them.

It's a pretty small dungeon. But they are in a room that hasn't been used in awhile. If they wall themselves up good enough, there is a chance that the kobolds might not find them.

 

[Shiroiken]

In general, I'd say this is a bad idea, but there are several factors to consider. The most important is if the kobolds know where the PCs are. If they do, you have to determine if the kobolds can break into where the players are. If they don't, you have to figure out how likely the kobolds are to find the PCs, which should be partially determined by the size and layout of the lair, plus the intelligence of the kobolds.

It sounds like the kobolds might know where the PCs are. If they have some magically way of sealing the entrances, the kobolds will have to wait. If they just block up the door, the mass of kobolds will probably be enough to break through (I'd force someone to forgo the long rest to keep the barricade closed, requiring a fairly easy Str/Athletics check each hour). You might also consider if there's a way in the players don't know about, such as a chimney or secret door. In any case, this is going to be bad for the PCs.

If they don't know, then the PCs are in a bit of luck. Kobolds are generally stupid and lazy, so they shouldn't have a great chance of finding the PCs. The size and layout of the lair matters though, because hiding out in the chief's room is going to be discovered much faster than an out of the way storage room. I'd suggest an Investigation check each hour for the kobolds, with the DC ranging from 5-20, depending on how likely the kobolds are to discover the party's hiding place. Once found, see the prior paragraph.

 

[Caliban]

Or you know, the kobolds find them and simply collapse the tunnel leading to the room they are in. Then post a guard to listen for people digging their way out and throw burning oil, poisonous snakes, etc on whoever digs out first, then retreat and leave behind a series of traps for them to work through, while being harried at range by kobold archers.

i.e. I'd give them the long rest, but have the kobolds use the time to prepare nasty surprises for them.

 

[schnee]

There's always rolling a barrel of oil by the door, inundating the ground of the corridor around it, and lighting it on fire when they come out.

Or caltrops.

Or, wiring up a bunch of pots and pans with wires tied at ankle height to provide noisy alarms.

The list goes on...

 

[Saeviomagy]

According to:

https://blogs.scientificamerican.co...-human-populations-are-hardwired-for-density/

If your kobolds were raiding a site only 1 mile from their lair, then their total population is ~100.

If the PCs showed up and have only had to fight ~20 kobolds, then in under an hour, the other 80 kobolds are going to arrive.