D&D 5E Need help figuring out the crunch behind this zombie siege

[Derren]

Well, aside from the obvious fact that they need to make the breach so they can poor in, they don't. They only need 10 points, you should parse the big point objectives as alternate paths to victory.

Also of note, the victory conditions of the zombies are actually the loss conditions for the townsfolk. If the zombies somehow manage to make two breaches, the town is effectively indefensible, which would cause the townsfolk to panic and flee or whatever they would do at the point where they no longer have hope. That in turn leads to more RP opportunities.

Yet with that list it is impossible to get 10 points unless wall and gate are destroyed.

 

[Leatherhead]

Yet with that list it is impossible to get 10 points unless wall and gate are destroyed.

They can repeat the kill PC or Kill 4 stands objective multiple times.

 

[Delandel]

I made changes based on feedback. I tried balancing the defenders / attackers a bit more and added VP for villagers defending key areas and VP for the horde entering the village and not being dealt with immediately.

Village Fortifications:
- A 10 ft. wide moat encircles the village. The shallow water acts as difficult terrain.
- A 20ft tall stone wall encircles the village. Units can walk on top of it. A 10-ft.-by-10-ft. section of wall has AC 17, HP 40, and a Damage Threshold of 8
- A 15ft wide gate is the sole entrance into Shadowgrange. It’s made of wood reinforced with steel and has AC 16, HP 35, and a Damage Threshold of 2
- Any make-shift barricade made by the villagers is primarily wood and has AC 15, HP 15, and no Damage Threshold

Village Defenders:

Solos:
- Each PC; can be commanders
- 1 priest, Priestess Flora; can be a commander
- 2 thugs, the cathar commander Levi and retired commander Eckhardt; can be commanders
- 3 scouts, Silvia, Rosa, and Ann; can be commanders

Stands (10 identical creatures):
- 4 guards
- 10 commoners
- 1 clergy (treat these as Priests without Divine Eminence, no 2nd or 3rd level spells, and only 10 HP)


Zombie Horde side:
Special Traits:
- The undead do not fear their own destruction and auto-succeed morale checks
- Undead Fortitude: zombies with this ability can only use it once.
Solos:
- 1 cult fanatic, Rineta Smitt; can be a commander
- 3 ogre zombies; can’t be commanders
Stands:
- 40 zombies
- 2 skeletons


Village Objectives:
- destroy an ogre zombie solo = 1 VP, max 3
- destroy all skeletons = 1 VP
- destroy 100 zombies = 1 VP, max 6
- defeat the cult fanatic = 3 VP
- protect the gate = 1 VP per round if the village has two or more stands adjacent to the gate if it has not been reduced to 0 hit points, and if no enemy stands or solos are within 2 squares of the gate
- protect the breach = 1 VP per round if the village has two or more stands or solos adjacent to a breached wall/gate and an enemy stand or solo spent the round attacking through the breach


Horde Objectives:
- destroy a wall = 4 VP
- destroy the gates = 4 VP
- defeat a PC = 1 VP
- defeat 4 stands = 1 VP
- defeat 3 non-PC solos = 1 VP
- overrun the village = 1 VP per round if the horde has ten or more stands inside the village walls


Village Tactics:
- follow PC commands
- PCs given rings that permit telepathic communication amongst them and the other solos/commanders


Horde Tactics:
- the main unit comprised of 2 ogre zombie solos and 33 stands of zombies heads for the gate
- a unit of skeletal archers (2 stands) moves behind the main unit to fire at defenders on the walls
- a secondary unit of 1 ogre zombie solo and 5 stands of zombies heads for a back wall, regiment
- the cult fanatic commands her own unit of 2 zombie stands and hangs back until the Villagers acquire 5 VP, and then she moves into combat

 

[Quartz]

I reckon your PCs are going to lose badly. Very badly. And you're not considering the trick of letting the zombies into the village and then destroying both.

You also haven't considered possible reinforcements if the PCs send out runners.

The telepathic rings are completely OP for the PCs' levels. Let them send messengers to each other if necessary.

A 20' stone wall isn't reasonable for a village. A wooden palisade with sharpened spikes would be more like it.

 

[Derren]

A 20' stone wall isn't reasonable for a village. A wooden palisade with sharpened spikes would be more like it.

I agree, this is more like a well fortified city or even a small fortress than a village.

 

[Delandel]

I reckon your PCs are going to lose badly. Very badly. And you're not considering the trick of letting the zombies into the village and then destroying both.

Are you sure they'll lose badly? They have a gate that should hold a few rounds, and a wall that should hold indefinitely if the PCs stop the ogre zombie from destroying it. A bunch of commoners with crossbows will have rounds to take free shots at the horde before there's a breach and zombies enter melee. They can sit on the wall and fire away with combat advantage due to the high ground. The only retaliation they face is 2 stands of skeleton archers.

Even if the horde breaches, it should be a bottleneck that will stop the horde from taking advantage of their raw numbers.

As for luring the zombies in and burning it down with the undead in it, that's a fine way to win, but the victory points system is only used if you want to save the majority of the city. Even if you lose the mass combat, that just means the undead are in the town rampaging, not game over. You can still retreat to the chapel / armory and take another stand there, or whatever else.

You also haven't considered possible reinforcements if the PCs send out runners.

That's a good idea. I'll put that in the preparation section. If they send runners they have a chance of getting X reinforcements in time for the battle.

The telepathic rings are completely OP for the PCs' levels. Let them send messengers to each other if necessary.

True as well. I'll have dedicated messenger commoners proposed by one of the council members.

A 20' stone wall isn't reasonable for a village. A wooden palisade with sharpened spikes would be more like it.

Hmm. The guide for Innistrad that I base my information off shows the village of Shadowgrange as this picture on the right. I could bump Shadowgrange's status from village to town perhaps, or just say that since the land is exceptionally dangerous compared to regular settings, the wall was a necessity for this settlement.

Or maybe a wooden pallisade is fine. I'd still need platforms so that the defenders can shoot atop it.

 

[Derren]

Are you sure they'll lose badly? They have a gate that should hold a few rounds, and a wall that should hold indefinitely if the PCs stop the ogre zombie from destroying it. A bunch of commoners with crossbows will have rounds to take free shots at the horde before there's a breach and zombies enter melee. They can sit on the wall and fire away with combat advantage due to the high ground. The only retaliation they face is 2 stands of skeleton archers.

One serious question, are you even willing to let the PCs lose or do you intend to change the situation until the PCs will win?