Wanted: Defend the Castle/House Adventures & Ideas

[TarionzCousin]

While the PC's in my campaign have been off doing heroic things, their home has been attacked!

Over the course of a year, they have accumulated 5 NPC allies/servants:

1. Human woman cook
2. Human man housekeeper
3. Wax golem scholar, for their growing library
4. Rogue modron
5. "Reformed through continual punishment" quasit

So these loyal +/- troops had to defend the homestead against villains on their own.

As such, I am seeking all "Defend the Building" adventures from any era. I'll convert 1E - 4E and non-D&D alike. I just need some clever ideas besides "Monsters bust in the windows and knock down the doors."

I've got a month to prepare, and the kicker is that the players will be playing the servants for a session or three--until the defense of their home is resolved.

Have you played or ran any adventure/module/campaign that included this sort of element? Published adventures and ideas are welcome.

Note: if it matters, the house has two stories and a basement with a long tunnel to the sewers.

 

[Uragosh]

I am doing a similar type of side quest for my 4e. My PC's need to help defend a farm house from a band of goblins. some of the defenses that i have prepared for so far are boarding up windows, making pit traps (holes were already dug, just need to add spikes), and collapsing the tunnel that connects the basement to the barn. I am going to run these as skill challenges.

 

[diaglo]

While the PC's in my campaign have been off doing heroic things, their home has been attacked!

Over the course of a year, they have accumulated 5 NPC allies/servants:

1. Human woman cook
2. Human man housekeeper
3. Wax golem scholar, for their growing library
4. Rogue modron
5. "Reformed through continual punishment" quasit

So these loyal +/- troops had to defend the homestead against villains on their own.

As such, I am seeking all "Defend the Building" adventures from any era. I'll convert 1E - 4E and non-D&D alike. I just need some clever ideas besides "Monsters bust in the windows and knock down the doors."

I've got a month to prepare, and the kicker is that the players will be playing the servants for a session or three--until the defense of their home is resolved.

Have you played or ran any adventure/module/campaign that included this sort of element? Published adventures and ideas are welcome.

Note: if it matters, the house has two stories and a basement with a long tunnel to the sewers.

since the response here was so inspiring. in case anyone else wants a d100 list try this link:

http://www.circvsmaximvs.com/forum/...-Defend-the-Castle-House-Adventures-amp-Ideas

 

[Gilladian]

Hmmm... I'm presuming you know if the human defenders have any interesting skills, such as carpentry or masonry, etc...? I would definitely allow them to put those skills to use, if they have any prep time.

If they know they're going to defend the house, they should be able to get plenty of water and/or sand for dousing fires. Maybe they can do something to fireproof the roof? Coat it with mud or something?

Are they in town, or in a village, or out in the wilderness? Since you mention sewers, I'm going to assume in town: that means no digging a moat, nor pit traps, etc...

Have they thought about going to the watch and complaining? If nothing else, maybe they can get the local city watchman on their side, and he can ring an alarm bell if he sees anything wrong. Does the city/town have merceneries they could hire? Even one or two low level men at arms could beef up their defenses a lot. How about recruiting some street urchins or a local beggar to keep an eye on the place during the day while they get some sleep? Otherwise, they're soon going to be exhausted because there aren't enough of them to keep a 24/7 watch going. If they don't think of these options on their own, you could have any of these groups "notice something funny" and come ask what's going on or try to sell them some info.

They should lay in other supplies such as lamp oil, food and water, arrows, medical supplies, and such. They should be prepared to retreat through the sewers and/or over the roofs if/when the house begins to fall to the intruders. Either a ladder/bridge they can easily swing out to another building nearby from the roof, or a hidden pack of sewer-survival gear in the basement may save their lives.

But really, if you're going to let them run the defenders, all these things are the players' job to come up with. You should be trying to figure out how to attack the house/castle. Burglary/Fire/Disease are probably the most effective assaults besides full on attack. The attackers should try to get someone inside to spy on the place before the attack begins. If they're attacking a HOUSE, then they could disguise themselves as city inspectors, a tax collector, the local sherrif, etc.. and make up reasons they have to come in and see/search the place. If they're monsters who are attacking, then maybe they have a humanoid ally who can do the spying. If the defenders have a castle, then the attackers could pretend to be guards looking for a job, or more servants seeking to be hired. Lots of ways to get inside, if only briefly.

Hope some of this helps!