Crossing should be done while invisible. Neither side will have significant detection for invisible
both sides absolutely would... Just because something is invisible doesn't mean it doesn't interact with the environment. Bell on string rings, barbed wire bends, board cracks, puddle splashes, mud clumps, smoke whirls around the invisible person, the sound of someone walking towards you = someone is there...and we're talking mass AOE options so you don't need to know exactly where. Even without the AoE, once there's a detection, just have everyone on the line throw a few handfulls of pebbles. Where they bounce in mid-air...that's your target. I would imagine in a D&D world, even your newest noob understands invisible creatures have to be considered when you're specifically designing something that no creature is supposed to cross.
@ OP...with those resources, I was answering your 'how would you run this session' question, which is a huge question. But for the specific, 'how to cross question'...elf side is easy since there's a bunch of magic options. Dwarf side = dig.
I thought that was going to be a link to Diggy Diggy Hole lol.
plant growth is great for slowing down people in a large area
arcane archers with seeking arrows could be like snipers that fire at any one who sticks their head up and bursting arrows is another artillery option ( it recharges faster than fire balls
mirage arcane this spell can change the terrain in a pretty substantial way and probably hide a trench
As for how to run it, I'd say each side has one of each of the following:
Artillery such as arcane cannons, fire balls or bombs
Trench wall like a barbed wire, caltrops, wall of thorns or glyph of warding that they line up in front of the trench to make going in a little harder
A mine field at the back and sides to prevent flanking and to scatter around the field.
a special weapon like poison gas or cloud kill to deploy
a general infantry weapon/ attack
As for how to run it, I'd do it as a skill challenge/ maze The players have to plot a way through no mans land and come up with their own way to cover the crossing though each side might have a suggested plan. To do this I'd probably split the no mans land into a grid of about 100ft squares and make it a maze of things like caltrops, mines and other hazards. I'd do maybe 5 rows, 3 where only artillery can fire, 2 where both artillery and infantry can fire. They move a square every two turns (1 turn if they dash and make no attempt to mitigate being hit) dealing with what ever hazard is there and if possible doing something to avoid an artillery strike, otherwise they have to save from artillery, when they get to a certain range it's instead infantry they need to avoid being hit by and in the final layer there is a wall of some kind to get past like barbed wire.
So at the start I'd tell each of them to plot a route. Then I'd go round by round until they get to the end saying things like "you are in an artillery square, what do you do" they might say "I go low and try to sneak through unseen" then they roll stealth if they beat the score they don't have to save on artillery, if they fail they do. If they do something that might help but not completely protect like fog cloud then I'd give them advantage on the artillery save and they might also be able to help others. They might also be in a trap square in which case I'd say " this is a caltrop square, you can make a dex save to move through quickly or move slowly and safely" then they'd make a dex save and stealth. At the end of every round I'd trigger a special move like setting a square on fire or releasing a cloud kill just to mix it up.
These are fantastic! Some more ideas to spice up the defenses of each side, and a clever method of making a dungeon crawl out of it. I really like the Oaken Bolter idea. I had to look up what it was first, but fell in love with it for the dwarves, and definitely using that. I do have bombs (basically hand grenades) so will fit in well, as well as smoke bombs. Those two items are pretty common for armies in my world. This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you so much!
With everything i got here and from others on how to change the battlefield for both sides, I feel not only confidant, but am super excited to run this session now.
I like it all except this....RAW sure, but throwing a bunch of small ball bearings on torn-up no-creatures land thinking it'll actually do anything at all is beyond even my stretchy imagination. Almost as futile as trying to throw them down in a jungle. Even in a nobles flat, manicured back yard they wouldn't do anything...at all. I love me some nice bearings, but they're funner with imaginative uses vs. as designed in most terrains.
I like it all except this....RAW sure, but throwing a bunch of small ball bearings on torn-up no-creatures land thinking it'll actually do anything at all is beyond even my stretchy imagination. Almost as futile as trying to throw them down in a jungle. Even in a nobles flat, manicured back yard they wouldn't do anything...at all. I love me some nice bearings, but they're funner with imaginative uses vs. as designed in most terrains.
Caltrops might be a slightly better option in this case.
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I thought that was going to be a link to Diggy Diggy Hole lol.
huh, fun...never heard of that before.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
These are fantastic! Some more ideas to spice up the defenses of each side, and a clever method of making a dungeon crawl out of it. I really like the Oaken Bolter idea. I had to look up what it was first, but fell in love with it for the dwarves, and definitely using that. I do have bombs (basically hand grenades) so will fit in well, as well as smoke bombs. Those two items are pretty common for armies in my world. This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you so much!
With everything i got here and from others on how to change the battlefield for both sides, I feel not only confidant, but am super excited to run this session now.
I like it all except this....RAW sure, but throwing a bunch of small ball bearings on torn-up no-creatures land thinking it'll actually do anything at all is beyond even my stretchy imagination. Almost as futile as trying to throw them down in a jungle. Even in a nobles flat, manicured back yard they wouldn't do anything...at all. I love me some nice bearings, but they're funner with imaginative uses vs. as designed in most terrains.
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks
Caltrops might be a slightly better option in this case.