First off, if you're in my campaign, please don't read this ;)
Last session, the party (five players, all level six) investigated rumors of a remote temple high in the mountains that was under siege by enemy forces. Upon reaching it, they discovered it was a temple of the god of knowledge, home to about thirty paladins. Outside the fortified gates of the temple was an army of at least three hundred zombies led by a mysterious man in black lacquered armor as well as several groups of mercenaries who had thrown in with the attackers for the promise of carnage and loot. The players managed to get a message into the temple and learned that if they could get close enough, the paladins could dispatch an agent named Annemarie to sneak them into the temple via a hidden secret tunnel. The party made it in, but they were discovered along the way and had to collapse the tunnel behind them, trapping them inside the temple. I ended the session there, so I still have a lot of plot cards I haven't shown.
Everyone knows a big battle is coming next session and I want it to be fun and interesting and maybe even a little bit unconventional. Obviously, I don't plan on a traditional battle with the players, along with 30 paladins against 300+ enemies. A single round of combat would drive everyone insane with boredom. Instead, I thought I would resolve the larger battle using skills challenges and then let the players take on a more reasonable force of the enemy leadership using traditional combat rules. I was heavily inspired by James Haeck's Sharkfin Shipwreck challenge from last week and I modified elements of it to fit my situation.
I would appreciate your thoughts and input on my ideas so far as well as any potential problems you foresee and ideas you to make it even better. This is still a work in progress, but I like the foundation so far.
The group finds itself inside the temple. After a skirmish on the way in, the attacking forces are very agitated and war is on the horizon. I am giving the party one day to make preparations for the coming battle. This will be done via a skill challenge.
Skill Challenge: Make ready the defenses
Arcana – Strategize on magic that can be used to slow or damage the enemy army
Athletics – Physically build and move defensive bulwarks into place
Deception – Make the defenses appear even more formidable than they already are
Insight – Set up internal defenses based on strategic benefit if/when the enemy gets inside
Investigation – Search for and shut down sneaky enemy tactics and tricks
Medicine – Get the most out of medical supplies and ready hospital resources for the wounded
Perception – Observe enemy scouts to defend against hidden attacking positions
Performance – Keep up the morale of everyone in the temple with stories of glory and victory against the odds
Religion – Appeal to Ioun and any other gods who may lend their divine favor in the coming fight
Stealth – Get as close as possible to enemy units to spy on their battle plans
Survival – Optimize food, water, and sleeping quarters to keep everyone rested and ready
In this skill challenge, the characters try to prepare the temple and defensive forces for the upcoming fight by using the sample actions provided above, or by improvising their own. In this skill challenge, each character’s turn lasts a day of in-game time, and each character can only take one turn, all of which happen simultaneously. On their turn, the character can make one ability check using any ability score and skill proficiency they like, if they can explain how this check could reasonably improve the temple's defenses.
A character succeeds on their ability check by rolling a 10 or higher, and earn one success, and earn an additional success for every 5 points the check exceeds 10. (For example, a roll of 21 earns the character three successes.) Note how many successes the party scores in total. Failing a skill check has no immediate consequences, but the characters will want to accrue as many successes in this skill challenge as possible, since every success will make the next skill challenge—BATTLE! —easier to survive.
Skill Challenge: Battle commences
Just as the rays of the morning sun breaks over the eastern ridge, the calm morning is broken by the horns of war. Shouts on the wall confirm what you all already know. Enemy troops are on the move and the temple is under assault.
Annemarie enters the room and rouses the party. If they scored at least 5 successes in the previous skill challenge, she also gives them her appreciation. “Thank you for everything you've already done to get us ready for battle. Our defenses are much stronger because of your hard work and if we survive this, we won't forget what you have done. Grab your gear and take up positions. The enemy is on the move. It's going to be a rough day.”
Just as she says it, the temple shakes with the deep boom of the first ram against the temple gates. As you rush out into the courtyard, you see Paladins along the walls shouting and engaging unseen enemies outside. Other paladins are tending to the gates to keep it reinforced and defended for as long as possible. Now, the characters must help keep the gates shut and help repel the enemy for as long as possible.
To successfully complete this skill challenge, the characters must make three successful ability checks before earning three failures. They can use any ability score paired with any skill or tool proficiency they wish, but a character cannot use the same ability score or proficiency two turns in a row. Each character must take a turn before any character may go a second time. The DC of this ability check starts at 24 but is decreased by 1 for each success the party earned in the previous challenge. Additionally, at the start of every turn after the first, the DC increases by 1 as the storm increases in intensity.
If your players seem stuck or can’t think of a good action to take during this skill challenge, you can suggest some course of action, and figure out what a good ability score and proficiency combination would be. A character who wants to make a Strength (Athletics) check could reinforce the gate. A character who wants to make a Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence (Investigation) check could help direct troops to the areas of greatest need.
Success: Hold the line!
If the characters earn three successes before three failures, the gates of the temple hold and the forces on the wall have weathered the storm of the assault, albeit with some losses. The enemy falls back out of range to decide what to do next. Annemarie finds the party and gives an update. The defenders were able to destroy at least half the undead army from the look of things and the mercenary forces who remain are doubting the promise of easy loot and money that they had bargained for. Now is the time to press the counterattack. The two dozen or so remaining paladins are riding high on their victory and now is their best chance to open the gates and crush their wounded foes. The party has used four level 1 spell slots, three level 2 spell slots, and one level three spell slot. The party is free to distribute this burden among themselves as they see fit.
Failure: There are too many of them!
If the characters earn three failures before three successes, the casualties among the defenders are much heavier than expected and the gates finally give way to the overwhelming assault. The army of the undead pours into the courtyard along with mercenary forces shouting and fighting for gold and loot. Paladins abandon their positions along the wall to take up melee combat in the yard below. A pitched battle ensues, and the outcome is not at all clear right now. The party has suffered 80 damage and has used five level 1 spell slots, four level 2 spell slots, and two level three spell slots. The party is free to distribute this burden among themselves as they see fit. Additionally, Zarrak has used two sorcery points, Thud has used one channel divinity, Melias has used one inspiration, and Beelock has used one crimson rite.
This is as far as I have gotten. I am thinking of working in some lair actions to represent the effects of the battle raging around the party during the final fight.
We finally got to play this scenario today. The skill challenge went off perfectly and everyone had a lot of fun describing how their characters interacted with the situation to lend aid. Players applied their skills effectively and managed to get a good bonus for the second skill challenge and made three straight successes. That means they went into the final fight with minimal drain on their abilities.
For the final fight, I had a fairly straightforward snow field battle with the ongoing battle around them between the paladins and the undead manifesting in a series of lair actions that overflowed into the battlefield occasionally. As the big bad guy, I lightly modified [monster[Naergoth Bladelord[/monster] and added some lieutenants and a bunch of zombie minions to clog up the party's free movement around the battlefield. Before the battle, I had planned out the following strategy for me to follow and i ended up following it just about exactly:
The Bladelord acts on initiative 20. On the field of battle, the party faces the bladelord flanked by 6 zombies, a black dragon mercenary leader (use red half dragon gladiator, change breath weapon to acid), and two human veterans. The bladelord sends his troops in first while firing from range and moving around the battlefield. He stands back and strategically supports his troops with his longbow before moving to cover with his movement. When half of his troops are dispatched, he moves into melee with his bonded blade to finish the job.
The bonded blade is a magic sword I had cooked up for his use. I'll post more about it in another thread. I also added three lair actions, all of which kept the party from settling into any one reliable strategy:
A zombie that is otherwise occupied with unrelated battle on the perimeter responds to the bladelord’s command and wanders in to take an attack against one opponent it can see. After the attack, it remains on the battlefield.
The bladelord points to a location. A flurry of arrows hits every square in a ten-foot radius from that square. All creatures within range must make a DC13 DEX saving throw, taking 1d8 damage on a failure or half as much on a success.
A thick cloud of smoke drifts across the battlefield, obscuring a ten-foot radius from any location the bladelord chooses. Anything inside of or behind the cloud of smoke is considered heavily obscured. The cloud lingers until the end of the current round of combat, or until it is dissipated by other means.
The easiest way to deal with something like this is to create checkpoints and primary/secondary locations. As the players attempt to re/take a city they must reclaim these locations and each one represents momentum toward success.
Reclaiming the town of Brownstone:
Victory: recovering 80% of the town
Checkpoints: East gate North Gate Town Square
Primary Targets: Barracks Smithy Church Granary
Secondary Targets: Tavern/Inn Stables Mayor's House
If the player can reclaim 6-8 of those locations they can rally against the opponents and the town is saved. You then populate each location with troops that match the party level. 4-6 for a fairly difficult battle sounds good, 2-4 for a little easier battle. Toss in a few random patrols of 2-3 troops that wander the town. Then you have all of these troops react to the amount of noise and damage, or lack there of, to indicate the opponents recognizing the on coming battles.
Siege Defense: Goal is to succeed against attrition and repel the invaders. **Special property of Siege: all resources (HP, spells, abilities, etc) recover at 1/2 their normal amount per rest**
Day/Night 1: Skill challenges to fortify defensive position.
Day 2: Initial attack Successful defense: Assess troop loss on both sides (greater for invaders) Failure of defense: Assess troop loss on both sides (greater for defenders)
Night 2: Respond to attack Previous success: Possible counter attack by players (use the method outlined in the spoiler above) Previous failure: Refortifying position (use skill checks again with higher DCs)
Day 3: Secondary Attack Successful defense: Troop loss on both sides (morale check of invading army) Failure on defense: City gate/wall breached
Night 3/Day 4: Resolution Previous success: Retaliate if the invaders have not fled (use method outlined in the spoiler above) Previous failure: Recover the city (use method outlined in the spoiler above)
First off, if you're in my campaign, please don't read this ;)
Last session, the party (five players, all level six) investigated rumors of a remote temple high in the mountains that was under siege by enemy forces. Upon reaching it, they discovered it was a temple of the god of knowledge, home to about thirty paladins. Outside the fortified gates of the temple was an army of at least three hundred zombies led by a mysterious man in black lacquered armor as well as several groups of mercenaries who had thrown in with the attackers for the promise of carnage and loot. The players managed to get a message into the temple and learned that if they could get close enough, the paladins could dispatch an agent named Annemarie to sneak them into the temple via a hidden secret tunnel. The party made it in, but they were discovered along the way and had to collapse the tunnel behind them, trapping them inside the temple. I ended the session there, so I still have a lot of plot cards I haven't shown.
Everyone knows a big battle is coming next session and I want it to be fun and interesting and maybe even a little bit unconventional. Obviously, I don't plan on a traditional battle with the players, along with 30 paladins against 300+ enemies. A single round of combat would drive everyone insane with boredom. Instead, I thought I would resolve the larger battle using skills challenges and then let the players take on a more reasonable force of the enemy leadership using traditional combat rules. I was heavily inspired by James Haeck's Sharkfin Shipwreck challenge from last week and I modified elements of it to fit my situation.
I would appreciate your thoughts and input on my ideas so far as well as any potential problems you foresee and ideas you to make it even better. This is still a work in progress, but I like the foundation so far.
The group finds itself inside the temple. After a skirmish on the way in, the attacking forces are very agitated and war is on the horizon. I am giving the party one day to make preparations for the coming battle. This will be done via a skill challenge.
Skill Challenge: Make ready the defenses
In this skill challenge, the characters try to prepare the temple and defensive forces for the upcoming fight by using the sample actions provided above, or by improvising their own. In this skill challenge, each character’s turn lasts a day of in-game time, and each character can only take one turn, all of which happen simultaneously. On their turn, the character can make one ability check using any ability score and skill proficiency they like, if they can explain how this check could reasonably improve the temple's defenses.
A character succeeds on their ability check by rolling a 10 or higher, and earn one success, and earn an additional success for every 5 points the check exceeds 10. (For example, a roll of 21 earns the character three successes.) Note how many successes the party scores in total. Failing a skill check has no immediate consequences, but the characters will want to accrue as many successes in this skill challenge as possible, since every success will make the next skill challenge—BATTLE! —easier to survive.
Skill Challenge: Battle commences
Just as the rays of the morning sun breaks over the eastern ridge, the calm morning is broken by the horns of war. Shouts on the wall confirm what you all already know. Enemy troops are on the move and the temple is under assault.
Annemarie enters the room and rouses the party. If they scored at least 5 successes in the previous skill challenge, she also gives them her appreciation. “Thank you for everything you've already done to get us ready for battle. Our defenses are much stronger because of your hard work and if we survive this, we won't forget what you have done. Grab your gear and take up positions. The enemy is on the move. It's going to be a rough day.”
Just as she says it, the temple shakes with the deep boom of the first ram against the temple gates. As you rush out into the courtyard, you see Paladins along the walls shouting and engaging unseen enemies outside. Other paladins are tending to the gates to keep it reinforced and defended for as long as possible. Now, the characters must help keep the gates shut and help repel the enemy for as long as possible.
To successfully complete this skill challenge, the characters must make three successful ability checks before earning three failures. They can use any ability score paired with any skill or tool proficiency they wish, but a character cannot use the same ability score or proficiency two turns in a row. Each character must take a turn before any character may go a second time. The DC of this ability check starts at 24 but is decreased by 1 for each success the party earned in the previous challenge. Additionally, at the start of every turn after the first, the DC increases by 1 as the storm increases in intensity.
If your players seem stuck or can’t think of a good action to take during this skill challenge, you can suggest some course of action, and figure out what a good ability score and proficiency combination would be. A character who wants to make a Strength (Athletics) check could reinforce the gate. A character who wants to make a Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence (Investigation) check could help direct troops to the areas of greatest need.
Success: Hold the line!
If the characters earn three successes before three failures, the gates of the temple hold and the forces on the wall have weathered the storm of the assault, albeit with some losses. The enemy falls back out of range to decide what to do next. Annemarie finds the party and gives an update. The defenders were able to destroy at least half the undead army from the look of things and the mercenary forces who remain are doubting the promise of easy loot and money that they had bargained for. Now is the time to press the counterattack. The two dozen or so remaining paladins are riding high on their victory and now is their best chance to open the gates and crush their wounded foes. The party has used four level 1 spell slots, three level 2 spell slots, and one level three spell slot. The party is free to distribute this burden among themselves as they see fit.
Failure: There are too many of them!
If the characters earn three failures before three successes, the casualties among the defenders are much heavier than expected and the gates finally give way to the overwhelming assault. The army of the undead pours into the courtyard along with mercenary forces shouting and fighting for gold and loot. Paladins abandon their positions along the wall to take up melee combat in the yard below. A pitched battle ensues, and the outcome is not at all clear right now. The party has suffered 80 damage and has used five level 1 spell slots, four level 2 spell slots, and two level three spell slots. The party is free to distribute this burden among themselves as they see fit. Additionally, Zarrak has used two sorcery points, Thud has used one channel divinity, Melias has used one inspiration, and Beelock has used one crimson rite.
This is as far as I have gotten. I am thinking of working in some lair actions to represent the effects of the battle raging around the party during the final fight.
What do you think?
"Not all those who wander are lost"
We finally got to play this scenario today. The skill challenge went off perfectly and everyone had a lot of fun describing how their characters interacted with the situation to lend aid. Players applied their skills effectively and managed to get a good bonus for the second skill challenge and made three straight successes. That means they went into the final fight with minimal drain on their abilities.
For the final fight, I had a fairly straightforward snow field battle with the ongoing battle around them between the paladins and the undead manifesting in a series of lair actions that overflowed into the battlefield occasionally. As the big bad guy, I lightly modified [monster[Naergoth Bladelord[/monster] and added some lieutenants and a bunch of zombie minions to clog up the party's free movement around the battlefield. Before the battle, I had planned out the following strategy for me to follow and i ended up following it just about exactly:
The bonded blade is a magic sword I had cooked up for his use. I'll post more about it in another thread. I also added three lair actions, all of which kept the party from settling into any one reliable strategy:
"Not all those who wander are lost"
**Migrating some of my suggestions to this thread from another as it seems to line up well**
Reclaiming/taking over a city/base
Setting up a long term/Epic tier siege battle: