I need some DMs' advice on an odd scenario the party has found themselves in and their ideal solution.
Setup: The party (4 6th level Warlock, Fighter, Cleric, and Artificer) is badly bashed, bruised with no spell slots to spend, and is trapped inside a mine tunnel. The only exit out of the tunnel into the open ground is surrounded by six goblins with longbows who are instructed to shoot anyone who leaves the mine. The party is afraid that if they spend too long inside the mine tunnel, the BBEG will send forces into it, which they may be unable to handle. In the tunnel with them are two two-wheel wagons/carts. This gave them an idea of how to escape. They want to take one of the wagons and convert it into siege mantles. .e., go A-Team on the wagon. ( not sure how many people will get that reference))
A mantlet is a portable wall or shelter used for stopping projectiles in medieval warfare.
The 'general' idea is to use carpenter tools to pry loose the axle and wheels and nail them at one end of the wagon, allowing it to move along while the bed is raised like a wall. If this can be accomplished, the Fighter with 19 STR and the Cleric will push the Mantle while the Artificer and Warlock take up offensive positions to pop in and out with cantrip spells attacking the bow-wielding goblins. (Yes, Ready attacks can damper the offensive plans, but I'm sure they'll figure that out.)
My initial thoughts
1) What would be the DC to construct/modify such a wagon to a mantlet? No one is proficient with Carpenter tools, but the Artificer can create the tools to be available, so there is no proficiency bonus. a) How long would you say making such a modification would take? b) An hour or two? c) Could cast Mending speed any of this up?
2) Moving this item, I'd say at least two people are doing the work, so I'm thinking of some Athletics check for each round to move it. Multiple fails on the DC would result in a level of exhaustion.
3) I'm looking at the Speed to move such an item, at least half the Speed of the Fighters' movement.
4) for how much damage it could take, I was looking at an AC of 15 for Wood, and a Resilient cart in the DMG is 27 (5d10).
I think it is an excellent idea, but I also know building it correctly and within a reasonable time frame is challenging.
I could be overthinking all this and making it more difficult than necessary, but that is why I'm asking for feedback and suggestions on how to run this construction at the table.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I appreciate any feedback you are willing to provide.
I might go with a variable DC. I'm not sure which ability to use for the check. I could see wisdom, to show how well they think out how the bits would go together, or dex, for how well they execute the plan. I'd say, maybe a DC 10 or 15 as a base. FWIW, Xanathar's has "build a simple wooden structure" as a 10 carpenter tools check, and "design a complex structure" as a 15. Since they are just modifying it, and not trying to build from scratch, and not really trying to make it look pretty. So somewhere in there feels right. Now, the variable comes in and I'd say, for every point they get over the base DC, I'd add to the hp of the final mantlet. maybe 1-for-1, or if you want to be more generous, make the ratio higher, 1 point over gets them 2 or 3 or 5 hp on the final device. (If you really want to go deep into it, you could say it resists piercing damage, but is vulnerable to bludgeoning or slashing. That might give you a final image of the front of the thing studded with arrows, which would be pretty cool.)
Or, you could do something like do a wis check to figure out how long it will take since that can represent their planning, and efficient use of the tools and materials (with the same sort of thing, higher roll makes it go faster, maybe below the DC makes it take longer. Start with a base of 3-4 hours at a DC 15, and then add or subtract in 15-minute increments), then a dex for the end result of how good the quality is. If someone is using mending, I might allow something like advantage on the dex check.
I might just let the fighter and cleric do it without a roll. At a 19 str, you can lift push or drag 570 pounds. It's unclear if that is with or without wheels, but my personal ruling is that is without wheels, so I'd say the wheels on this contraption would make it easier. And if there's two of them, they should be able to move it along. But I guess you want to give them something meaningful to do, so you could let the check show how fast they go. You could really have fun with this part. Pick a number like a 15, but don't call it a DC, its a target. Its like price is right rules, you want close without going over. They hit the 15, (+/- 1 or 2) and they can go as fast or slow as they like. If they're too far below, they slow down. If they're too far above, they speed up, and if the cart moves more than 30 feet, well, it was a bit downhill there, and the thing slipped and got away from them, now rhey have to chase after it. There's always the land vehicle proficiency that exists, also. If the fighter (or anyone else) has the soldier background, or got it somewhere else, you can actually let them use that proficiency.
Also, I got the A-team reference before you even made it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I need some DMs' advice on an odd scenario the party has found themselves in and their ideal solution.
Setup: The party (4 6th level Warlock, Fighter, Cleric, and Artificer) is badly bashed, bruised with no spell slots to spend, and is trapped inside a mine tunnel. The only exit out of the tunnel into the open ground is surrounded by six goblins with longbows who are instructed to shoot anyone who leaves the mine. The party is afraid that if they spend too long inside the mine tunnel, the BBEG will send forces into it, which they may be unable to handle. In the tunnel with them are two two-wheel wagons/carts. This gave them an idea of how to escape. They want to take one of the wagons and convert it into siege mantles. .e., go A-Team on the wagon. ( not sure how many people will get that reference))
A mantlet is a portable wall or shelter used for stopping projectiles in medieval warfare.
The 'general' idea is to use carpenter tools to pry loose the axle and wheels and nail them at one end of the wagon, allowing it to move along while the bed is raised like a wall. If this can be accomplished, the Fighter with 19 STR and the Cleric will push the Mantle while the Artificer and Warlock take up offensive positions to pop in and out with cantrip spells attacking the bow-wielding goblins. (Yes, Ready attacks can damper the offensive plans, but I'm sure they'll figure that out.)
My initial thoughts
1) What would be the DC to construct/modify such a wagon to a mantlet? No one is proficient with Carpenter tools, but the Artificer can create the tools to be available, so there is no proficiency bonus.
a) How long would you say making such a modification would take?
b) An hour or two?
c) Could cast Mending speed any of this up?
2) Moving this item, I'd say at least two people are doing the work, so I'm thinking of some Athletics check for each round to move it. Multiple fails on the DC would result in a level of exhaustion.
3) I'm looking at the Speed to move such an item, at least half the Speed of the Fighters' movement.
4) for how much damage it could take, I was looking at an AC of 15 for Wood, and a Resilient cart in the DMG is 27 (5d10).
I think it is an excellent idea, but I also know building it correctly and within a reasonable time frame is challenging.
I could be overthinking all this and making it more difficult than necessary, but that is why I'm asking for feedback and suggestions on how to run this construction at the table.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I appreciate any feedback you are willing to provide.
I might go with a variable DC. I'm not sure which ability to use for the check. I could see wisdom, to show how well they think out how the bits would go together, or dex, for how well they execute the plan. I'd say, maybe a DC 10 or 15 as a base. FWIW, Xanathar's has "build a simple wooden structure" as a 10 carpenter tools check, and "design a complex structure" as a 15. Since they are just modifying it, and not trying to build from scratch, and not really trying to make it look pretty. So somewhere in there feels right. Now, the variable comes in and I'd say, for every point they get over the base DC, I'd add to the hp of the final mantlet. maybe 1-for-1, or if you want to be more generous, make the ratio higher, 1 point over gets them 2 or 3 or 5 hp on the final device. (If you really want to go deep into it, you could say it resists piercing damage, but is vulnerable to bludgeoning or slashing. That might give you a final image of the front of the thing studded with arrows, which would be pretty cool.)
Or, you could do something like do a wis check to figure out how long it will take since that can represent their planning, and efficient use of the tools and materials (with the same sort of thing, higher roll makes it go faster, maybe below the DC makes it take longer. Start with a base of 3-4 hours at a DC 15, and then add or subtract in 15-minute increments), then a dex for the end result of how good the quality is. If someone is using mending, I might allow something like advantage on the dex check.
I might just let the fighter and cleric do it without a roll. At a 19 str, you can lift push or drag 570 pounds. It's unclear if that is with or without wheels, but my personal ruling is that is without wheels, so I'd say the wheels on this contraption would make it easier. And if there's two of them, they should be able to move it along. But I guess you want to give them something meaningful to do, so you could let the check show how fast they go. You could really have fun with this part. Pick a number like a 15, but don't call it a DC, its a target. Its like price is right rules, you want close without going over. They hit the 15, (+/- 1 or 2) and they can go as fast or slow as they like. If they're too far below, they slow down. If they're too far above, they speed up, and if the cart moves more than 30 feet, well, it was a bit downhill there, and the thing slipped and got away from them, now rhey have to chase after it. There's always the land vehicle proficiency that exists, also. If the fighter (or anyone else) has the soldier background, or got it somewhere else, you can actually let them use that proficiency.
Also, I got the A-team reference before you even made it.