My party of four level 9 players (who are frankly a bit overpowered, but that part is fine - one of them is even an NPC at level 7-8) have come across a hobgoblin battalion in the middle of a withering forest on their main quest for something else. The hobgoblins are there to excavate an ancient elven temple fort and have started cutting down the surrounding forest and clearing the area before excavation can begin properly. I'm basically looking for input for interesting flavour stuff to accompany the encounter (which can go both all ways; combat, interaction or exploration depending on what the PCs choose).
There's a warlord at the head of the battalion with his personal retinue of a Goblin Undying Warlock and 2 Iron Shadows as his personal bodyguard. Then there are two squad captains, each with 10-15 regular hoblins under their command, a hobgoblin devastator as battlefield strategist and three half-blind, mute, chained bugbears as slaves for all the heavy lifting. So all of that is pretty straight forward.
So, does anyone have any interesting ideas to fluff out the encounter? Thanks. <3
Think of the leader's motives. What is the operation's overall goal? I know that it is to clear the land and excavate the temple, but why? Is the leader interested in the area's history? Are they looking for magic items? Do they just hate elves so much that they want to deface their holy grounds? How does excavating the temple contribute to the army's overall goals? Incorporate this information into how the creatures act.
Think of all the other monsters' desires, too. Consider how the motives of the other monsters, although their actions are driven in part by the leader's motives, might differ from those of their leaders. A good example of this is the case of the bugbears. They are enslaved and forced to work for the operation, and thus are likely hostile to the hobgoblin officers. This means that they might, say, side with the party and turn against the battalion to gain freedom. Similarly, either the warlock, the devastator, or one of the captains might be interested in overthrowing the warlord.
Give the players a reason to care. If this scenario existed in a vacuum, I as a D&D player, would walk right by it since it was a pointless and dangerous interruption to my motives. Thus, you need to give the players a reason to intervene. The party druid might get mad if you emphasize that the hobgoblins are devastating an ancient forest, or the hobgoblins might be searching for a magic item that the party wishes to obtain instead of them. In both of these cases, combat is not the only solution. The hobgoblins could be persuaded to go away, for example, or the magic item could be purchased from them after it is obtained.
In case of combat, prepare for some interesting battles. Interesting combat takes extra effort to prepare, but the way I see it, it is more rewarding in the end for everyone at the table. Making combat more compelling is an art of its own that I can't explain in a single post, but a simple way to shake it up a bit is to incorporate the terrain into any combat that ensues. For example, there might be logs lying around that can be pushed, slow movement down, or be set on fire, or large equipment that can be climbed on (or even operated). Another thing you can do is to implement tactics that accurately represent the hobgoblins' unusual depth at martial strategy, for which I can direct you to this helpful article.
Hope this helps!
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Panda-wat (I hate my username) is somehow convinced that he is objectively right about everything D&D related even though he obviously is not. Considering that, he'd probably make a great D&D youtuber.
"If I die, I can live with that." ~Luke Hart, the DM lair
Wow, thanks a lot for all the tips and advice, Panda_wat. But all of that is pretty much already in order (sorry if that was unclear). I'm more looking for weird/interesting ideas for environmental characteristics, strange behaviour or language og culture from the hobgoblins, mysterious plants or animals slinking in the thicket, bizarre influences from the surroundings, ancients scripts on the way stones on the forest or whatever... pretty much a bunch more of the stuff you mentioned under your last bullet (because I absolutely agree with you on that).
I'd think about who cares the forest is being destroyed? Maybe a family of gnomes are fleeing or monster who lived there have now been displaced and are attacking a nearby village for prey.
I'd also think about why a hobgoblin war party is carrying this out? Doesn't feel like soldiers work to me. What are they expecting to find? Is there being their illegal/considered an invasion from their country, etc.
The hobgoblins could be on alert for a separate party of druids/rangers that have been hunting them down ever since they started deforestation/marching through. Maybe the party meets that other group, or has some kind of hand in a tense standoff that happens between them. Whenever I want to make things interesting, my go-to is to have the party not the main enemies or allies. They're 3rd-party to a totally different conflict between two rival forces.
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I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
If the forest is withering perhaps there are some environmental hazards - branches falling off dying trees; dead roots give way, dropping the party into the underground den that creatures have built under the tree.
Is the forest withering because of magic? Is the wildlife also affected? The party have to avoid/fight boney half-dead creatures driven mad by the changing of their bodies.
If the party stay in the forest too long, will they start to wither too?
Ahoy there, mateys!
My party of four level 9 players (who are frankly a bit overpowered, but that part is fine - one of them is even an NPC at level 7-8) have come across a hobgoblin battalion in the middle of a withering forest on their main quest for something else. The hobgoblins are there to excavate an ancient elven temple fort and have started cutting down the surrounding forest and clearing the area before excavation can begin properly. I'm basically looking for input for interesting flavour stuff to accompany the encounter (which can go both all ways; combat, interaction or exploration depending on what the PCs choose).
There's a warlord at the head of the battalion with his personal retinue of a Goblin Undying Warlock and 2 Iron Shadows as his personal bodyguard. Then there are two squad captains, each with 10-15 regular hoblins under their command, a hobgoblin devastator as battlefield strategist and three half-blind, mute, chained bugbears as slaves for all the heavy lifting. So all of that is pretty straight forward.
So, does anyone have any interesting ideas to fluff out the encounter? Thanks. <3
Here are my suggestions:
Think of the leader's motives. What is the operation's overall goal? I know that it is to clear the land and excavate the temple, but why? Is the leader interested in the area's history? Are they looking for magic items? Do they just hate elves so much that they want to deface their holy grounds? How does excavating the temple contribute to the army's overall goals? Incorporate this information into how the creatures act.
Think of all the other monsters' desires, too. Consider how the motives of the other monsters, although their actions are driven in part by the leader's motives, might differ from those of their leaders. A good example of this is the case of the bugbears. They are enslaved and forced to work for the operation, and thus are likely hostile to the hobgoblin officers. This means that they might, say, side with the party and turn against the battalion to gain freedom. Similarly, either the warlock, the devastator, or one of the captains might be interested in overthrowing the warlord.
Give the players a reason to care. If this scenario existed in a vacuum, I as a D&D player, would walk right by it since it was a pointless and dangerous interruption to my motives. Thus, you need to give the players a reason to intervene. The party druid might get mad if you emphasize that the hobgoblins are devastating an ancient forest, or the hobgoblins might be searching for a magic item that the party wishes to obtain instead of them. In both of these cases, combat is not the only solution. The hobgoblins could be persuaded to go away, for example, or the magic item could be purchased from them after it is obtained.
In case of combat, prepare for some interesting battles. Interesting combat takes extra effort to prepare, but the way I see it, it is more rewarding in the end for everyone at the table. Making combat more compelling is an art of its own that I can't explain in a single post, but a simple way to shake it up a bit is to incorporate the terrain into any combat that ensues. For example, there might be logs lying around that can be pushed, slow movement down, or be set on fire, or large equipment that can be climbed on (or even operated). Another thing you can do is to implement tactics that accurately represent the hobgoblins' unusual depth at martial strategy, for which I can direct you to this helpful article.
Hope this helps!
Panda-wat (I hate my username) is somehow convinced that he is objectively right about everything D&D related even though he obviously is not. Considering that, he'd probably make a great D&D youtuber.
"If I die, I can live with that." ~Luke Hart, the DM lair
Wow, thanks a lot for all the tips and advice, Panda_wat. But all of that is pretty much already in order (sorry if that was unclear). I'm more looking for weird/interesting ideas for environmental characteristics, strange behaviour or language og culture from the hobgoblins, mysterious plants or animals slinking in the thicket, bizarre influences from the surroundings, ancients scripts on the way stones on the forest or whatever... pretty much a bunch more of the stuff you mentioned under your last bullet (because I absolutely agree with you on that).
Thanks again. :)
I'd think about who cares the forest is being destroyed? Maybe a family of gnomes are fleeing or monster who lived there have now been displaced and are attacking a nearby village for prey.
I'd also think about why a hobgoblin war party is carrying this out? Doesn't feel like soldiers work to me. What are they expecting to find? Is there being their illegal/considered an invasion from their country, etc.
The hobgoblins could be on alert for a separate party of druids/rangers that have been hunting them down ever since they started deforestation/marching through. Maybe the party meets that other group, or has some kind of hand in a tense standoff that happens between them. Whenever I want to make things interesting, my go-to is to have the party not the main enemies or allies. They're 3rd-party to a totally different conflict between two rival forces.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
If the forest is withering perhaps there are some environmental hazards - branches falling off dying trees; dead roots give way, dropping the party into the underground den that creatures have built under the tree.
Is the forest withering because of magic? Is the wildlife also affected? The party have to avoid/fight boney half-dead creatures driven mad by the changing of their bodies.
If the party stay in the forest too long, will they start to wither too?
DM - Storm King's Thunder
DM - Torosevia (WIP homebrew world)
Kelytha Meliamne - Matti Silverstorm - Silver - Star-Setting-In-The-East - Tor Baltos