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Penguintine
2009-06-19, 05:57 PM
Anyone have any ideas about how to get about 20 civilians out of dungeon safely without any spells that rely on teleport or dimensional travel?

Thanks :smallredface:

TheThan
2009-06-19, 06:00 PM
Lets see:

Mount up and heard them like cattle
Arrange helicopter evac
Hire some cavemen to club then and carry them out
Stuff them in bags of holding
Two words: chain gang

AslanCross
2009-06-19, 06:16 PM
Make sure you pass a previously mapped, cleared route (one that you've cleaned of monsters and traps). It's the best mundane way I can think of. Have them stick as close together as possible, and have one of your PCs bring up the rear to prevent something from grabbing the civilians as they pass.

Coidzor
2009-06-19, 06:21 PM
If the way you've come into the dungeon is still clear, break the party up into two halves with the rogue at the head of the group, making sure that there aren't any traps to set off on the way out as opposed to the way in...

Pretty much leading them out is the only real way to go about it.

If there's someone amongst them that seems to take charge either it's a DM trap or you can trust him to allow them to follow directions to a point as long as the route is safe.

Penguintine
2009-06-19, 06:23 PM
Thanks. I should mention we're using Pathfinder/3.5 D&D. Magic is available, just not teleportation or dimensional travel. I wouldn't mind putting them in an extra dimensional space, but usually there's not enough air for 20 people.

J.Gellert
2009-06-19, 06:28 PM
Just walk'em to the exit, and let the monsters sort them out. The strongest will make it, and if they die on the way, they didn't deserve to be 'rescued' anyway.

Or, wait, you're not one of those so-called "Good" aligned parties? Are you? :smallmad:

Remember: If your DM wants the peasants dead, he's going to kill them no matter how hard you try. If your DM doesn't care, they're all going to make it no matter how little you try. So... take it easy :smallwink:

AslanCross
2009-06-19, 06:29 PM
Well, you could buff them with Haste to help them get out faster. It has a duration in minutes, so it should last long enough. I hope you're not in the Underdark, though.

Penguintine
2009-06-19, 06:47 PM
We're not in underdark. The dungeon we're going to should be "easy" enough for our group... but the challenge is getting the civilians out alive! :smallbiggrin:

Coidzor
2009-06-19, 06:48 PM
Yeah, in the Underdark you're pretty much stuck playing nursemaid to 'em unless there's a nearby portal or such to chuck 'em through. Watchin' 'em start trouble you have to resolve, get picked off one by one, that sort of thing. Well, that's good.

Why is it a challenge to get them out alive? What all have you run up to on your way to where they are? Are you at the bottom of the dungeon but you haven't cleared it out yet?

If so, can you just leave 'em where they are or in a safeish cleared out room until you do clear it out?

chiasaur11
2009-06-19, 06:54 PM
You could use a Kobold or shape stone to dig them out.

Just a thought.

Penguintine
2009-06-19, 07:26 PM
The "dungeon" is really a ziggaraut-esque temple, mining facility or other structure located in the center of an empire of really smart Apes who will not be pleased at our attempt to rescue their property.

Alleine
2009-06-19, 07:45 PM
Sounds more like the trouble will be getting them out of the empire, not the dungeon.

If you want to sneak them out, have the wiz/sorc prepare nothing but invisibility and and use it on as many people as possibly, then have the cleric(if you have one) cast silence one or two times on certain people and then just walk out. Its eally hard for them to find you when they can't hear or see and don't know you're leaving. Their best method for detection is moving inside one of the areas of silence or running into you.

HamsterOfTheGod
2009-06-19, 07:54 PM
Pull the old Odysseus trick...disguise them. If you have access to a spell like seeming, you can change the whole lot to look like a party of the intelligent apes then just bluff your way out.

Or hide them in plain site like like in Star Wars. Disguise yourselves as guards and bluff that you're transporting the prisoners.

Or make the guards think the prisoners have already escape by turning them invisble or using rope trick. Hopefully some guard will be sent to out to search for the prisoners. If that happens, you can fight your way out much more easily.

erikun
2009-06-19, 09:42 PM
Anyone have any ideas about how to get about 20 civilians out of dungeon safely without any spells that rely on teleport or dimensional travel?

Willing or unwilling?

Willingly: kill all the orcs, then lead the civilians out.
Unwillingly: keep the orcs alive, to "encourage" the civilians out.

(Alright, alright. I did read the thread. A more reasonable response below.)



Pull the old Odysseus trick...disguise them. If you have access to a spell like seeming, you can change the whole lot to look like a party of the intelligent apes then just bluff your way out.

Or hide them in plain site like like in Star Wars. Disguise yourselves as guards and bluff that you're transporting the prisoners.

Or make the guards think the prisoners have already escape by turning them invisble or using rope trick. Hopefully some guard will be sent to out to search for the prisoners. If that happens, you can fight your way out much more easily.

Combine the two: make the prisoners vanish, then have one of the PCs disguise as a general and order search parties to the surrounding area. (Reserve the PCs' "party" to search the area they are planning to use to escape.) It both reduces the enemy force, and sows the confusion needed to get out!

kopout
2009-06-19, 09:47 PM
Lets see:

Mount up and heard them like cattle



I actually did this once, in my first adventure. We rescued them from a bunch of mindflayers, turns out they where a sentient hiveminded psionic ooze the mindflayers where growing to get to get a sort of magical silly putty. Yea, weird guy our DM, good DM weird guy.

HamsterOfTheGod
2009-06-19, 10:11 PM
Combine the two: make the prisoners vanish, then have one of the PCs disguise as a general and order search parties to the surrounding area. (Reserve the PCs' "party" to search the area they are planning to use to escape.) It both reduces the enemy force, and sows the confusion needed to get out!

Nice. See that's how an adventuring party is supposed to work.

TheThan
2009-06-19, 10:26 PM
I actually did this once, in my first adventure. We rescued them from a bunch of mindflayers, turns out they where a sentient hiveminded psionic ooze the mindflayers where growing to get to get a sort of magical silly putty. Yea, weird guy our DM, good DM weird guy.

Right on man, right on.

aivanther
2009-06-19, 10:50 PM
Better ideas have been posted already (that I would have posted, honest!) so here's a less useful, but possibly more interesting one

Split into three groups. Group 1 is escort, they hang around the group. Group 2: Stays behind and rampages through, keeping any threats behind them occupied. Group 3: Rampages ahead, clearing out anything that happens to be in their way. This idea requires group 2 to be able tp take huge amount of damage and group 3 to be able to take huge amount of damage, as they are really just a screen.

Oh, and if worst comes to worst, kill them all, cut off their little toe on their right foot, shove them in a bag of hodling, and then resurrect them later. Granted, this is expensive, but hey, it's a worst case scenario.

Ravens_cry
2009-06-19, 11:07 PM
Depending on the resources of the party, and/or the families and loved ones of the people you're rescuing, you could just kill them, chop them into easy to carry bits, put the bits in bag of holding, lug them out, and raise dead.
Simple.

Coidzor
2009-06-19, 11:23 PM
How capable of mass genocide are you guys?

What're your levels/resources?

What was your escape plan before you realized you'd have to truck 20 plebes out with you?

Are they all commoners or are a few of them potentially of limited use?

Sstoopidtallkid
2009-06-19, 11:26 PM
What, besides intelligent Apes, will you be facing, and do the Apes have any high-level characters to your knowledge? And do you have plans to get them out of Ape country?

Penguintine
2009-06-20, 01:20 PM
The apes have other interesting slaves besides humans: Goblins, Half-Giants and Orcs. The Apes ride dinosaurs and there might be some 'flying' sharks around.

Invisibility isn't really an option because it's a higher level now and seeming might not work because I'm not sure if it can make a human appear to be an ape.

Zaq
2009-06-20, 01:24 PM
How far do you have to travel? How well-patrolled is the dungeon? Do the apes already know you're there? Are there any nasty dungeon-type obstacles (chasms, rivers, physics-defying-yet-totally-awesome lava pools, inordinately trapped hallways, sheer cliffs, or anything you might otherwise find in Zelda or Tomb Raider) that the civilians will have a really hard time against?

Details, man! Details!

Sebastian
2009-06-20, 02:08 PM
Thanks. I should mention we're using Pathfinder/3.5 D&D. Magic is available, just not teleportation or dimensional travel. I wouldn't mind putting them in an extra dimensional space, but usually there's not enough air for 20 people.

flesh to stone + bag of holding.

Penguintine
2009-06-20, 02:22 PM
How far do you have to travel? How well-patrolled is the dungeon? Do the apes already know you're there? Are there any nasty dungeon-type obstacles (chasms, rivers, physics-defying-yet-totally-awesome lava pools, inordinately trapped hallways, sheer cliffs, or anything you might otherwise find in Zelda or Tomb Raider) that the civilians will have a really hard time against?

Details, man! Details!

The apes don't know what we're up to. They're a warrior type culture, so I would imagine everything is well guarded... I'm not sure as to what other terrain or other features which may be taken into account. We're still in the planning phase; we haven't entered the dungeon yet.

As far escaping through the ape-empire, I need help with that too. :smallredface:

We're pretty high level 15-17th level.

Artanis
2009-06-20, 02:50 PM
How flammable is the place? Because if you torch it, it would motivate both the civilians and the monsters to get the hell out of there, leaving you with a clear path and speedy herd.

Mewtarthio
2009-06-20, 03:04 PM
The Apes ride dinosaurs and there might be some 'flying' sharks around.

Dinosaurs and flying sharks? Why do you even bother trying to rescue these people? You should be trying to break in to the prison so you can lock yourselves up and avoid the wrath of your almighty ape overlords.

Coidzor
2009-06-20, 03:05 PM
That flesh to stone bit is a good idea as it's cheaper to undo than raise dead. and less morally dubious....

Plus they get to ride with the treasure.

I'm gonna have to go with the slaughter the apes, try to start a slave revolt, and start fires all over their city so that they have that to deal with on the way out. granaries are a good choice for thing to set fire to as it's valuable enough that they'll definitely pay significant attention if a fire breaks out in one so that it doesn't spread to the rest.

So I guess see about capturing an armory and gaining the cooperation of a group of their orc/hobbo/giantkin slaves.

Also, see about killing/stealing the flying sharks in their eeyrie before making your move openly.

If they're able to be dealt with, reserve a couple for you and turn the rest over to le resistance....