Terrain aid query for public square combat encounter

[darkbard]

Comrades,

The sitch: I want to design a dynamic campaign kick off in media res. The PCs are attending an oration in a public square (actually a gladatorial arena that is converted to a marketplace on the frequent days when combat is not held there). A group of assassins strikes against the political speaker atop a (makeshift?) stage: A wizard assassin emerges from the crowd and conjures a demon to slay the speaker; a concealed archer rains down arrows from above (where in an erstwhile arena would provide this vantage?), while ruffian assassins from the assembled crowd open with a volley of crossbow bolts aimed at the speaker and then move to engage the speaker's guards.

Presumably, the PCs will move to attempt to save the life of the speaker, engage the wizard and demon (and, at some point, the archer, as well, I imagine), while the guards and ruffians tie each other up for the first round or two of combat (these latter combatants are all minions and won't affect the combat budget too much either way); the main combat will be between the PCs and the wizard & demon, with the archer offering a second front that threatens the PCs' attempts to save the life of the speaker.

My question: What interesting terrain features, etc. might I include to make this combat as illustrative of 4E style movement, positioning, stunting, etc. as I can?

I have thought of factoring in moving through the crowd at the onset of combat as one possibility (perhaps as difficult terrain, and requiring a squeeze action penalty while moving through the crowd). Of course, there is the possibility of two separate elevations of combat (or three, considering the archer's location).

Of note: there are only 3 PCs, so I don't wish to split the party on too many fronts for fear of what difficulty this may get them into if they're spread too thinly.

Thanks for your suggestions in advance!

 

[Garthanos]

A bell tower with a loose bell... and breakable wooden supports to bring crashing down force movement and damage too... maybe break open a passage to ancient the sewer system and create a transition for the scene.

A fountain... with statues and water ummm to make the bad guys slip and go prone?

 

[darkbard]

A bell tower with a loose bell... and breakable wooden supports to bring crashing down force movement and damage too...

Mmmmm. I like it. A bell tower (or perhaps giant gong atop a platform) is just the kind of thing that might serve a functional purpose in an arena.

maybe break open a passage to ancient the sewer system and create a transition for the scene.

A fountain... with statues and water ummm to make the bad guys slip and go prone?

I negelected to mention it's a Dark Sun campaign, so not so much with the water. Thanks for the thoughts!

 

[Garthanos]

I negelected to mention it's a Dark Sun campaign, so not so much with the water. Thanks for the thoughts!

Well that was needed context LOL

 

[Tony Vargas]

I don't recall the usual domesticated animals in Darksun, but I think there were some that were giant lizards or insects? A large, very slow moving draft-creature could be terrain feature, of sorts. Heck, it could be the makeshift stage.

A roman-style arena would have places high up to attach awnings for shade, if the current inhabitants still use them, they'd be a perch for the archer with some concealment.

In the past, I've run a 'crowded square' where most of the map has someone standing in any give spot, at the bottom of each round it thins out as non-combatants flee, find cover, or trample eachother. Otherwise, you can use Athletics to push your way through, acrobatics to weave through the crowd (or run on their shoulders or whatever), intimidate to make people scurry out of your way, etc. (even AEs to clear the area of people, if you don't mind walking on bodies). Part of the crowd can coalesce into an Angry Mob, too.

Since you have NPCs fighting the bad guys, too, one thing you can do is deduct the helpful or enemy-of-my-enemy NPCs exp value from the total value for the bad guys, just as a rough guide. I've also deducted the exp of such NPCs if they're killed, giving the more cynical players reason to protect NPCs, or at least not use them as total canon fodder.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Pits and trap doors, very classic in arenas.

 

[darkbard]

Pits and trap doors, very classic in arenas.

Whaddya think: the classic false-floor pit is most appropriate?

False-Floor Pit
Object

Level 1 Trap
XP 100
Detect Perception DC 19
Initiative -
Immune attacks
Triggered Actions
Attack Encounter
Trigger: A creature enters one of the trap’s four squares.
Attack (Immediate Reaction): Melee 1 (triggering creature); +4 vs. Reflex
Hit: The target falls 10 feet to the bottom of the pit, taking 1d10 damage and falling prone.
Miss: The target returns to the last square it occupied and its movement ends immediately.
Effect: The false floor opens and the pit is no longer hidden.
Countermeasures
Disable: Thievery DC 19 Success: The false floor is jammed closed and the trap cannot attack.

Also, it may be fun if the gong platform upon which the archer is stationed is actually an unstable monolith:

Unstable Monolith Single Use Terrain
This spotted stone does not sit easily in the earth and might fall with a bit of pressure.
Standard Action
Requirement: You must be adjacent to the monolith.
Check: Athletics check, DC 21, to topple the monolith.
Success: The monolith falls in the direction you choose and makes the following attack.
Target: Each creature in a close blast 3 in the direction the monolith falls
Attack: +9 vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d8 + 4 damage, the monolith knocks the target prone, and the target has superior cover and cannot stand up. The target cannot stand up until it makes a DC 15 escape check.
Miss: Half damage, and the monolith slides the target to the nearest unoccupied square adjacent to the area of the blast.
Effect: The area of the blast is difficult terrain until the end of the encounter.

 

[darkbard]

Lots of good ideas here, Tony!

I don't recall the usual domesticated animals in Darksun, but I think there were some that were giant lizards or insects? A large, very slow moving draft-creature could be terrain feature, of sorts. Heck, it could be the makeshift stage.

I'm imagining the havoc that might be wreaked by such a creatures as a mekillot, but that's a L10 creature!

In the past, I've run a 'crowded square' where most of the map has someone standing in any give spot, at the bottom of each round it thins out as non-combatants flee, find cover, or trample eachother. Otherwise, you can use Athletics to push your way through, acrobatics to weave through the crowd (or run on their shoulders or whatever), intimidate to make people scurry out of your way, etc. (even AEs to clear the area of people, if you don't mind walking on bodies). Part of the crowd can coalesce into an Angry Mob, too.

Maybe some sort of de-escalating function for the crowd, along these lines: until the end of R1, moving through them counts as squeezing, with all its concomitant penalties; until the end of R2, they comprise difficult terrain.

Hmmmm. Perhaps leveling down the Angry Mob to L1 might work! But only if the PCs take combat actions against the mob to clear them from their way...

Since you have NPCs fighting the bad guys, too, one thing you can do is deduct the helpful or enemy-of-my-enemy NPCs exp value from the total value for the bad guys, just as a rough guide. I've also deducted the exp of such NPCs if they're killed, giving the more cynical players reason to protect NPCs, or at least not use them as total canon fodder.

We don't really play with standard XP rewards; we just level up when it seems appropriate to the story. But balancing out the combatants on both "sides" of the combat is still useful from an encounter budget perspective.

I intend to stack the deck against the PCs saving the speaker somewhat: not make it impossible per se but just unlikely given the distance and obstacles in their path. I hope to make it a difficult decision for them as to choosing between aiding the speaker and stopping a rampaging demon from slaying dozens of innocents.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I intend to stack the deck against the PCs saving the speaker somewhat: not make it impossible per se but just unlikely given the distance and obstacles in their path. I hope to make it a difficult decision for them as to choosing between aiding the speaker and stopping a rampaging demon from slaying dozens of innocents.

Yeah, that sounds good. Put them on the horns of a dilemma. They can succeed either way, potentially, but they COULD end up with nothing if they go for the gusto.

 

[pemerton]

I want to design a dynamic campaign kick off in media res. The PCs are attending an oration in a public square (actually a gladatorial arena that is converted to a marketplace on the frequent days when combat is not held there). A group of assassins strikes against the political speaker atop a (makeshift?) stage: A wizard assassin emerges from the crowd and conjures a demon to slay the speaker; a concealed archer rains down arrows from above (where in an erstwhile arena would provide this vantage?), while ruffian assassins from the assembled crowd open with a volley of crossbow bolts aimed at the speaker and then move to engage the speaker's guards.

Presumably, the PCs will move to attempt to save the life of the speaker, engage the wizard and demon (and, at some point, the archer, as well, I imagine), while the guards and ruffians tie each other up for the first round or two of combat (these latter combatants are all minions and won't affect the combat budget too much either way); the main combat will be between the PCs and the wizard & demon, with the archer offering a second front that threatens the PCs' attempts to save the life of the speaker.

My question: What interesting terrain features, etc. might I include to make this combat as illustrative of 4E style movement, positioning, stunting, etc. as I can?

In my game, around 12th/13th level, the PCs were staking out a public square, and got into a fight with cultists. The cultists had some sort of ally who was in a (wooden-walled) building overlooking the square, and was hitting the PCs with archery. The PC wizard teleported up into her room (the window she was shooting through was enough to target a teleport) and then blasted her through the wall with a Thunderwave (so she fell into the square). A summoner among the cultists then conjured a demon into the upstairs room, which (in virtue of the Thunderwave blasting away the wall) had become a small area with a drop-off.

It worked pretty well.

So, trying to link that a bit to your suggestion - I think some way to engage the archer (a ladder, teleportation, even a stairway) would be good. Then you can get multiple fronts, which I think is a good thing.

If you look at the article on arenas in the Dragon Annual that came out (late 2009?), I think it has ideas about making a crowd a hazard or a skill challenge, which might be useful too.