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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JoeBlank" data-source="post: 1936949" data-attributes="member: 1806">Just thought some of you might be interested in the results of your helpful suggestions. For the most part, I used LostSoul's suggestion, but with owlbears instead of trolls. The group was travelling alone, but they met with several merchants along the road, many of whom warned them about owlbear attacks.   On day two, the group spotted something about 100 yards up ahead, just off the road. They could tell it was something large and feathery. The rogue/fighter, Edmund, approached, moving silently and trying to stay hidden in the sparse trees along the side of the road. Once within 100 feet he could tell the "creature" was moving slowly and was on top of something man-sized.  Never one to fall for an ambush, the rogue took out his bow and put an arrow in the "owlbear", which stopped moving. He then heard something moving through the trees to his right, and reacted in time to not be surprised by two hobgoblins. Acting somewhat rashly, and assuming any victim of the owlbear was already dead, the mage centered a fireball on the fake owlbear. He lucked into killing the 3 hobgoblins who were in a nearby tree holding the rope that controlled the movements of the decoy.  A dwarf rog6 joined the hobgoblins, but could not get flanking on the rogue/fighter Ed. The rest of the group advanced and made quick work of the dwarf and the remaining 5 hobgoblins. They were pleased with the idea of the fake owlbear, and wondered aloud whether there were actually any owlbears in the area or if the bandits had just spread the rumor.  Rather than have the real owlbear attack right away, I built some suspense and held off until during the night. Rolled randomly but the dice were with me and I got revenge on Ed for spoiling the ambush. During his watch, the owlbear came storming out of the woods and had him down to half HP and grappled before the others were even awake. Bravely, the others fought without armor and defeated the owlbear.   They were very careful the rest of the trip to the Hall of the Rainbow Mage. Having made the choice to travel overland, they took some risks and used some valuable healing potions and scrolls, but they have the teleport scroll for later use now. Thanks again to everyone who helped. I've been planning this portion of the adventure for months, and only developed this encounter a few hours before the game session. It took up most of our time, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I love when things work out well.</blockquote>

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