Looking for adventure ideas to add to outpost encounters.

[Oryan77]

I have a scenario coming up that will involve the PCs scouting out 3 different outposts, killing the "guards" at each outpost, and then making their way to a main encampment where they are supposed to kill off the bad guys there and retrieve any intel they might find. This scenario is a side quest for the group that gets them involved a bit in a large war going on called The War of Giants.

Maybe it isn't an issue, but I started thinking that these outpost encounters might be a little bland since all I really did was stage them as hack-n-slash encounters. I wanted to see if anyone had ideas on how to spice them up.

Here are the outposts and villains keeping watch there:

1. Outpost is a ruined pyramid. The top of it may have been used to perform rituals because there are no entrances leading inside. Some trolls patrol around the perimeter and more trolls keep lookout from the top.

2. Outpost is an abandoned jail, with 1 large jail cell in the back and a caged pit in the center of the main room. It is a single story building with no other rooms, no windows, and only the front door leading in/out. Ogres are camping here and patrol the perimeter.

3. Outpost is a ruined bell tower. Only the outer walls and roof are still intact. The floors have crumbled away and the interior is nothing more than a single empty room. The old bell is lying outside half buried in the ground. Some old stone steps lead up to the tower but they are mostly buried in the ground. There are lots of trees around. Some Ettins are camping here and patrol the perimeter.

 

[TarionzCousin]

1. How far is it to the top? The trolls on top, if they see the PC's, could use ranged weapons on them while the PC's fight the lower trolls and/or climb the pyramid.

2. What is in the pit and what happens if it is let out? Is it a pet of the ogres?

3. If the bell weren't completely buried, it might still be able to be heard if beaten on by a club. What if one ettin runs toward it when combat begins, intending to ring the bell and warn whomever?

 

[Grogg of the North]

Are the PCs part of larger army?

Complete Warrior has a list of complications that you could use if the PCs are working in concert with a larger force.