My party is trudging through a dead-marshes-type region. The land is suffused with necromantic negative energies, and the veil here is weak between the material realm and the Shadowfell. Feelings of sorrow plague the minds of any creatures that set foot into this cursed land. Lots of abandoned spooky ancient ruins of times long since passed.
Party is engaged in a guerilla warfare campaign against a black dragoness and her house of black dragonborn. Party found a ruined temple in this dead marshes type area which they fortified to take on the adult black dragoness that prowls the land. She's a powerful necromancer and spellcaster. Forge Cleric hallowed it against necrotic damage and surrounded the walls with anti-perching spikes. Fighter smithed a master-craft dragon lance on a chain which they attached to the front of the Forge Cleric's steam tank. Fighter goaded the dragoness into fighting the party away from her lair with a narrowly-successful, super-high intimidation check vs her wisdom save. Fighter made himself the target of her ire.
Party was strategic and calculating and royally smushed her. However, her soul escaped. They found out she has a Clone, and they're on their way to defeat her for the last time in her lair this time.
Dragoness is not happy and is vengeful against the Fighter. She has sent a group of 3 Wyvern riders first, then 6 dragonborn assassins and 2 spellcasters mounted on guard drakes to keep up with the traveling party, and seek out and capture the Fighter. As the DM, I discussed this plot point with him, and the player is excited and enthusiastic for this to happen. None of the other players know.
I plan for the group to scout them out on one night of travel after the party makes camp. Party is using ample Alarm spells around the camp, surrounded further by a Private Sanctum. 1st Dragonborn spellcaster casts invisibility on the whole group as they approach. 2nd spellcaster uses Detect Magic and sneaks into the Private Sanctum, and will see the Alarms. Further scouting for the night.
The next night, the plan goes into action. Group follows the party until they make camp. Dismount some ways away. Approach camp. 1st spellcaster casts invisibility on all of the group but himself and stays outside of the Private Sanctum. 2nd casts Detect Magic and goes inside. He sees the Alarms again. He goes back out and Dispels one or two of the Alarms, enabling the assassins to head into the camp while invisible while two players, the Fighter and the Wizard responsible for the Alarms and the Sanctum, are on watch. All 6 assassins stealth, get into position and ready their actions. Assassinate with blowguns containing tranquilizers. 6 Attack rolls at once. Each with a DC15 Con save or be poisoned and fall unconscious.
First on Fighter. Continue saves until he fails and goes unconscious. If any attacks remain, those go to the Wizard. Hopefully, Fighter is unconscious at this point, as well as Wizard. Tie up and gag fighter. Carry him outside of Sanctum to the claws of the Wyvern riders who fly off with him back to Lair. Stealthily leave. Expect panic and chaos the next morning.
I'd remind you of Mike Tyson's view on boxing: "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."
Don't over plan this. You seem to have created a situation where the assassins have all the tools to bypass the PC's quite specific defences, and then the right equipment to get them into a very exact position. As a player, I don't think I'd enjoy the idea of invisible, magic-detecting blowgun wielders bypassing the decisions we've made about protecting the camp all to get into a position to capture a character. Feels a bit like the DM saying "Despite everything you've done, the NPCs knew exactly how to defeat it, and had all the tools to do it, and did." Seems like you've planned out how you want the story to go and are then trying to fit game mechanics so that it's inevitable.
Even invisibly, the assassins need to make stealth checks as they'll make noise. Not to mention that despite this high level of planning, the PCs may set up other defences you don't know about.
Why don't the assassins do all this and then try to murder the rest of the party in their sleep or one by one on watch, before capturing the Fighter, and taking him on alone? If they can stealthily make 6 silent Blowgun attacks against the Wizard on watch, all of which can knock him unconscious, they should be doing that - but why not just kill him instead?
If they're insufficiently skilled/deadly to take on the party, are they really going for this convoluted stealth mission? If they are, then why all this effort to get to one fighter?
If the Fighter goes unconscious on the first blowgun attack, then you run the risk that they turn their blowguns on the rest of the party and drop one or two more (this is what they should be doing anyway). At which point, in come the wyverns and assassins and finish off the remainder before killing everyone but the fighter.
I don't know what level the characters are, but I'm guessing if they're taking on adult dragons they're around level 9-10. You've set up a group of 3 CR6 wyverns, what I assume are 6 x CR8 assassins, and whatever the spellcasters are - an encounter that the PCs might find tough in a head on fight anyway.
Another way to capture the fighter if this all goes awry:
Swoop in with the wyvern riders from above, pepper the fighter with blowgun darts. When he goes unconscious, the wyverns swoop down, pick him up and they all fly off.
I might humbly suggest moving onto another plot point or campaign arc before trying this. Your players seem to have performed admirably and defeated the Dragon the first time around. Why not let them enjoy their victory with some time in town? Dragons are extremely patient creatures and would wait until the parties defenses are down before attempting a kidnapping. When the party is relaxed in a tavern somewhere happily drunk and carousing, that’s when the snatch and grab happens. Alternatively, when the fighter is alone perhaps a mirror or painting in his room pulls him through a magical door way to the dragon. Now his kidnapping is a mystery the party needs to solve.
Happy gaming!
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My party is trudging through a dead-marshes-type region. The land is suffused with necromantic negative energies, and the veil here is weak between the material realm and the Shadowfell. Feelings of sorrow plague the minds of any creatures that set foot into this cursed land. Lots of abandoned spooky ancient ruins of times long since passed.
Party is engaged in a guerilla warfare campaign against a black dragoness and her house of black dragonborn. Party found a ruined temple in this dead marshes type area which they fortified to take on the adult black dragoness that prowls the land. She's a powerful necromancer and spellcaster. Forge Cleric hallowed it against necrotic damage and surrounded the walls with anti-perching spikes. Fighter smithed a master-craft dragon lance on a chain which they attached to the front of the Forge Cleric's steam tank. Fighter goaded the dragoness into fighting the party away from her lair with a narrowly-successful, super-high intimidation check vs her wisdom save. Fighter made himself the target of her ire.
Party was strategic and calculating and royally smushed her. However, her soul escaped. They found out she has a Clone, and they're on their way to defeat her for the last time in her lair this time.
Dragoness is not happy and is vengeful against the Fighter. She has sent a group of 3 Wyvern riders first, then 6 dragonborn assassins and 2 spellcasters mounted on guard drakes to keep up with the traveling party, and seek out and capture the Fighter. As the DM, I discussed this plot point with him, and the player is excited and enthusiastic for this to happen. None of the other players know.
I plan for the group to scout them out on one night of travel after the party makes camp. Party is using ample Alarm spells around the camp, surrounded further by a Private Sanctum. 1st Dragonborn spellcaster casts invisibility on the whole group as they approach. 2nd spellcaster uses Detect Magic and sneaks into the Private Sanctum, and will see the Alarms. Further scouting for the night.
The next night, the plan goes into action. Group follows the party until they make camp. Dismount some ways away. Approach camp. 1st spellcaster casts invisibility on all of the group but himself and stays outside of the Private Sanctum. 2nd casts Detect Magic and goes inside. He sees the Alarms again. He goes back out and Dispels one or two of the Alarms, enabling the assassins to head into the camp while invisible while two players, the Fighter and the Wizard responsible for the Alarms and the Sanctum, are on watch. All 6 assassins stealth, get into position and ready their actions. Assassinate with blowguns containing tranquilizers. 6 Attack rolls at once. Each with a DC15 Con save or be poisoned and fall unconscious.
First on Fighter. Continue saves until he fails and goes unconscious. If any attacks remain, those go to the Wizard. Hopefully, Fighter is unconscious at this point, as well as Wizard. Tie up and gag fighter. Carry him outside of Sanctum to the claws of the Wyvern riders who fly off with him back to Lair. Stealthily leave. Expect panic and chaos the next morning.
Any pointers and tips?
I'd remind you of Mike Tyson's view on boxing: "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."
Don't over plan this. You seem to have created a situation where the assassins have all the tools to bypass the PC's quite specific defences, and then the right equipment to get them into a very exact position. As a player, I don't think I'd enjoy the idea of invisible, magic-detecting blowgun wielders bypassing the decisions we've made about protecting the camp all to get into a position to capture a character. Feels a bit like the DM saying "Despite everything you've done, the NPCs knew exactly how to defeat it, and had all the tools to do it, and did." Seems like you've planned out how you want the story to go and are then trying to fit game mechanics so that it's inevitable.
Even invisibly, the assassins need to make stealth checks as they'll make noise. Not to mention that despite this high level of planning, the PCs may set up other defences you don't know about.
Why don't the assassins do all this and then try to murder the rest of the party in their sleep or one by one on watch, before capturing the Fighter, and taking him on alone? If they can stealthily make 6 silent Blowgun attacks against the Wizard on watch, all of which can knock him unconscious, they should be doing that - but why not just kill him instead?
If they're insufficiently skilled/deadly to take on the party, are they really going for this convoluted stealth mission? If they are, then why all this effort to get to one fighter?
If the Fighter goes unconscious on the first blowgun attack, then you run the risk that they turn their blowguns on the rest of the party and drop one or two more (this is what they should be doing anyway). At which point, in come the wyverns and assassins and finish off the remainder before killing everyone but the fighter.
I don't know what level the characters are, but I'm guessing if they're taking on adult dragons they're around level 9-10. You've set up a group of 3 CR6 wyverns, what I assume are 6 x CR8 assassins, and whatever the spellcasters are - an encounter that the PCs might find tough in a head on fight anyway.
Another way to capture the fighter if this all goes awry:
Swoop in with the wyvern riders from above, pepper the fighter with blowgun darts. When he goes unconscious, the wyverns swoop down, pick him up and they all fly off.
I might humbly suggest moving onto another plot point or campaign arc before trying this. Your players seem to have performed admirably and defeated the Dragon the first time around. Why not let them enjoy their victory with some time in town? Dragons are extremely patient creatures and would wait until the parties defenses are down before attempting a kidnapping. When the party is relaxed in a tavern somewhere happily drunk and carousing, that’s when the snatch and grab happens. Alternatively, when the fighter is alone perhaps a mirror or painting in his room pulls him through a magical door way to the dragon. Now his kidnapping is a mystery the party needs to solve.
Happy gaming!