A small band of intrepid adventurers find themselves outnumbered and besieged in an old dilapidated manor. Thugs and veterans have surrounded the building, trying to coax the young heroes out from the safety of their current vantage point to no avail.

Frustrated and enraged they resort to extreme tactics to break the stalemate and the thugs decide to try and smoke them out. Knowing the artifact can withstand some measly fire damage. However, this band of adventurers is not like others, they do not fear the flames, instead they feed them. Tossing books, furniture and anything else in the manor which will help turn the house ablaze in a roaring inferno before retreating to the safety of the workshop in the basement and waiting for the chaos outside to blow over.

Good evening my fellow DM's,

I am newish to DM'ing and I'm looking to tap into the hive mind and benefit from all of your wisdom and creativity. Now I had several outcomes planned for various events but as with every situation you present your players, they grab your idea and sprint with it blindly in a completely unexpected direction!

The scene (poorly) described above is the cliffhanger my last session finished on. We have a party barricaded in the basement of a manor with a raging house fire devouring the house above. Now I'd like to reward the party for coming up with creative albeit unorthodox solution to the scenario so I don't want the entire house to collapse into the basement and murder them all.

Does the hive mind have any creative suggestions or tid-bits of inspiration I could use for this scenario?   

There might be another way out of the building, a hidden passage in the basement or something. Depending on what the background of that building is, it could be a lot of things.

The workshop must have something about it's description that made the players feel safe. What was the workshop used for, what tools and/or materials are present? Are there schematics that could be useful in the future? Give them something to do while they wait for the fire to die down. 

How well hidden is this workshop, would the rubble make it harder to find the workshop? If the rubble blocks the door to the workshop, is there another possible way to escape? An exhaust vent, a smugglers tunnel, or something of that nature. 

How will the local town respond to an enormous fire? In most medieval settlements fire was an extremely dangerous event that could take many houses and establishments quickly. Will the thugs and vets be driven off by the possibility of being noticed? Do these thugs and vets have the town's support? How intent are the thugs and vets, will they wait for the fire to die down and scour through the wreckage?

Lots of questions to ask and answer but, as you do, it'll help you flesh out the story for your players and potentially create a very memorable encounter.

Thanks for the comment DMThac0. Lots of food for thought!

Is there an owner of the manor? How are they feeling about it burning down?

There is an owner of the manor and I reckon he’ll be quite miffed and there will be at the very least some consequences lol.

What I’m looking for at this moment in time is a fun option for the party which might help the, escape. As opposed to either just waiting or finding a secret passage out.

I am leaning toward the thugs and vets being scared off at the locals creating a fire brigade, however a couple of them stick around to act as good samaritans. 

The fire is put out and the characters are rescued, but there's that awkward moment when the characters and the thugs make eye contact.

Quote from DMThac0 >>

I am leaning toward the thugs and vets being scared off at the locals creating a fire brigade, however a couple of them stick around to act as good samaritans. 

The fire is put out and the characters are rescued, but there's that awkward moment when the characters and the thugs make eye contact.

 And we find out who is better at convincing the owner of who burned down the house.

If it's a cellar, maybe there is a covered well or cess pit or a few empty ale barrels to hide in.

Since they're in the basement, perhaps there are some loose stones in the floor that, once dislodged, reveal a tunnel or passage they have no choice but to blindly head down ... who knows what's lurking inside?

A Kinda wierd one but possibly fun for the party

The manor was constructed atop the resting place of a long dormant dragon. It is awakened by the sudden intense heat radiating down upon it. It is enraged by this and bursts free from beneath the centuries of dirt to stand tall amongst the flaming ruins of the manor... with the party on its back.

from there it can burn apart the pathetic thugs or take to the skies with the party still clutching onto its back.