My PCs recently invaded and took over the town magistrate's Manor. My plan is for the local guard to attempt to retake it. I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on special mechanics that might make things interesting or should I try to run it as a standard encounter.
Without any ideas about what's important about the manor, I'd lay siege to it. Time is on the side of those laying siege and it's less dangerous than retaking the manor.
Therefore, if you want the guard to retake, I'd have the general guard lay siege very openly and have an elite stealth force try to covertly invade and retake. How elite the squad is depends on why the time crunch. This will also determine what type of action we're talking about. Therefore, what is the importance of retaking quickly and what kind of response would that direct you to take if you were charged with retaking the Manor?
Yeah, I see the appeal of looking for special mechanics, but logically, the people who have access to food and water can just wait for the people who don't to come out willingly. No one wants to get killed charging in to save the Magistrate's silverware.
But if you want a raid, and if the PCs haven't had time to Home Alone the place, and the guards don't want to just set fire to the Magistrate's house...
The first thing they'll do is surround the house. They'll have dogs with advantage on perception to make sure no one sneaks out past them, even invisibly. If anyone stands in front of a window, crossbow bolt.
Are these local yokels with pitchforks or do they have access to magic? Even third level spells like Clairvoyance would be a big help. Or having an invisible familiar to scout for them and find out how many players there are and where they're standing. Phantasmal Force, Hypnotic Pattern, whatever. You can easily imagine how many spells would be helpful. They'll keep up the pressure however they can so that nobody can get a short or long rest.
When they went in, they'd go in at a couple of places at once, to force the party to split up. Every group would have a sledgehammer, to knock down doors. They'd all know the layout of the house. If they know where the spellcasters/healers are standing, they'll try to get up close and physically overpower them first.
WOW! Good thinking! The main thing of strategic importance in the manor is the Magistrate himself, so I don't think the guards would be willing to torch the place. The PCs have taken it upon themselves to instate a local bandit leader as the a new leader in town. So, there is an active rebellion going on in town. The guards are probably pretty busy and may be one step above the yokels you've mestioned.
Oh, so this is like a full-scale rebellion, so the town is basically rising up against the magistrate, and the PCs have taken him hostage in his own manor? That's a bit of a different spin. In that case, siege isn't an option. Really all you'd have in that situation is the magistrate's die-hard loyalists will try to break in the manor, rescue their boss, and then try to kill off the PCs. Once that's done, they can use the dead PCs as a show of force to quell the rest of the uprising. You might be able to run some skill checks to see how well the bandit leader's supporters do against the guards to see how big a force comes after the PCs.
I'd have the guards split in two groups though. One with a battering ram coming through the front door (or windows) and one sneaking in the back to catch the PCs by surprise.
Personally, I see it this way. If they win the Magistrate, but lose the town fight, they all get killed by the bandits, including the Magistrate. If they win the town fight, they can still get the Magistrate back later. The PCs still have to hang on to the Magistrate, because he's their only leverage. The PCs have locked themselves in a house and all they can do is sit and wait. So I'd establish a perimeter around the house and then focus on putting down the bandit attack (from the language you're using, it sounds like the PCs are kind of out in left field here, is the town rebelling against the Magistrate or is the town fighting off the bandit leader and his PC allies?).
How ambitious is the second-in-command in charge of the town's defense? If he can fight off the bandits and then capture the PCs, but oops! the Magistrate died during the rescue attempt! Maybe he'd suddenly be in charge of the town?
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My PCs recently invaded and took over the town magistrate's Manor. My plan is for the local guard to attempt to retake it. I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on special mechanics that might make things interesting or should I try to run it as a standard encounter.
Without any ideas about what's important about the manor, I'd lay siege to it. Time is on the side of those laying siege and it's less dangerous than retaking the manor.
Therefore, if you want the guard to retake, I'd have the general guard lay siege very openly and have an elite stealth force try to covertly invade and retake. How elite the squad is depends on why the time crunch. This will also determine what type of action we're talking about. Therefore, what is the importance of retaking quickly and what kind of response would that direct you to take if you were charged with retaking the Manor?
Yeah, I see the appeal of looking for special mechanics, but logically, the people who have access to food and water can just wait for the people who don't to come out willingly. No one wants to get killed charging in to save the Magistrate's silverware.
But if you want a raid, and if the PCs haven't had time to Home Alone the place, and the guards don't want to just set fire to the Magistrate's house...
The first thing they'll do is surround the house. They'll have dogs with advantage on perception to make sure no one sneaks out past them, even invisibly. If anyone stands in front of a window, crossbow bolt.
Are these local yokels with pitchforks or do they have access to magic? Even third level spells like Clairvoyance would be a big help. Or having an invisible familiar to scout for them and find out how many players there are and where they're standing. Phantasmal Force, Hypnotic Pattern, whatever. You can easily imagine how many spells would be helpful. They'll keep up the pressure however they can so that nobody can get a short or long rest.
When they went in, they'd go in at a couple of places at once, to force the party to split up. Every group would have a sledgehammer, to knock down doors. They'd all know the layout of the house. If they know where the spellcasters/healers are standing, they'll try to get up close and physically overpower them first.
WOW! Good thinking! The main thing of strategic importance in the manor is the Magistrate himself, so I don't think the guards would be willing to torch the place. The PCs have taken it upon themselves to instate a local bandit leader as the a new leader in town. So, there is an active rebellion going on in town. The guards are probably pretty busy and may be one step above the yokels you've mestioned.
Oh, so this is like a full-scale rebellion, so the town is basically rising up against the magistrate, and the PCs have taken him hostage in his own manor? That's a bit of a different spin. In that case, siege isn't an option. Really all you'd have in that situation is the magistrate's die-hard loyalists will try to break in the manor, rescue their boss, and then try to kill off the PCs. Once that's done, they can use the dead PCs as a show of force to quell the rest of the uprising. You might be able to run some skill checks to see how well the bandit leader's supporters do against the guards to see how big a force comes after the PCs.
I'd have the guards split in two groups though. One with a battering ram coming through the front door (or windows) and one sneaking in the back to catch the PCs by surprise.
Personally, I see it this way. If they win the Magistrate, but lose the town fight, they all get killed by the bandits, including the Magistrate. If they win the town fight, they can still get the Magistrate back later. The PCs still have to hang on to the Magistrate, because he's their only leverage. The PCs have locked themselves in a house and all they can do is sit and wait. So I'd establish a perimeter around the house and then focus on putting down the bandit attack (from the language you're using, it sounds like the PCs are kind of out in left field here, is the town rebelling against the Magistrate or is the town fighting off the bandit leader and his PC allies?).
How ambitious is the second-in-command in charge of the town's defense? If he can fight off the bandits and then capture the PCs, but oops! the Magistrate died during the rescue attempt! Maybe he'd suddenly be in charge of the town?